This is a very new hobby for me. Growing up motorcycles never caught my interest. I know that my parents did not want me riding my neighbors old scooter and for good reason as I look back on it now. So my experience with two wheel vehicles was restricted to bicycles while growing up. I did drive a scooter in the Bahama's when I was visiting there with my girlfriend and her parents.
So from the age of fifteen to thirty I had ridden one scooter in the Bahama's and never really thought about getting a motorcycle. That all changed in 2002. In my department at work we had four (of twenty) people that road motorcycles. And two of my close friends were looking at buying dual puprose motorcycles. (Dual purpose motorcycles are designed for both on and off road use). I started to research motorcycels a little more as the number of riders in our department was going to be six.
I found out that there was a Motor Cycle Safety Class at a local college that taught you how to ride safely during a three day class. The class spent eight to eleven hours on the motorcycle and six hours of class time. The best thing about this class was the fact that they provided the motorcycles and safety equipment. Therefore, I was able to take the class without committing to purchasing all of the equipment or a motorcycle.
The class was a great way to get introduced to a motorcycle. The class is structured for students who have never ridden before, which fit perfectly for me. After the three day class I felt I could comptently ride a motorcycle. Now I just had to decide if I was actually going to go out and purchase a motorcycle.
My friends had both purchased 2002 Suzuki DRZ-400s. I decided to go with a different
manufacturer and purchased a 2003 Kawasaki KLR-650. I started riding it immediately and
really enjoyed riding around town on it. On weekends we would head out to off road
courses and ride on the dirt. I came to the conclusion that I enjoyed riding on the
asphalt more than the dirt. The KLR-650 was just too heavy to ride off road effectively.
The KLR-650 is actually designed for logging dirt roads and jeep trails, not really for
off road and motorcross courses.
So I started to spend more time on the road and less time at the off road courses. In the end I decided that the KLR-650 was not the right motorcycle for me and I looked at some alternatives. After a couple of months a friend showed me an add for a used 1993 Yamaham FJ1200.
I was not that excited about purchasing a used motorcycle since I did not know anything
about servicing a motorcycle or how to make sure that the motorcycle was in good shape
before I bought it. Fortunately a friend of mine offered to help me and we took the
FJ1200 for a test drive. The FJ was in great shape (it just needed a new battery). I came
back from the test drive and found a Yahoo Group dedicated to the FJ1100/FJ1200 and asked
them some questions about option and cost and found out that I was getting a great deal. I
called the owner and told him I would take it. The only trouble with the purchase was
the title was never transferred to the current owner so I had to wait a couple of weeks
for that before I could have it transferred to me.
In July 2006 my new 2005 Yamaha FJR1300 arrived at the dealership. I had decided, in June that it was time to move up to a new motorcycle. I really enjoyed my FJ1200 and decided that I wanted the updated and faster version.
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Now, April 2006, I still love the new motorcycle. I have not taken it on any long trips yet, but am thinking about taking a weekend and just riding for hours in one direction, staying the night, and coming home, just to stretch its legs.
Now I have had the motorcycle over a year now and love it. Every so often I catch myself looking at new ones, but have not had the urge to buy one yet. I am still enjoying my FJ1200 too much.
I am not sure if the motorcycle thing was a small mid-life crisis or not. In the end I do not think it was, either way I really do enjoy getting out on the motorcycle on a nice day and riding for awhile.