Any Motorcycle > Any Car

When I first met my wife I was riding a Suzuki Bandit which was a spectacular sport bike. It was big enough to comfortably seat us both and small enough to be nimble definitely not a Sport Utility Motorcycle or a crotch rocket that barely fits one. You know what I am talking about. The SUM is the motorcycles you see that are as wide as a car with a giant trunk thing that is up to the riders head, usually still trying to split lanes. The crotch rockets are the bikes that are better suited to the track than the street. The Suzuki was a great little bike that would get me comfortable to work, fit Liz on the back comfortably and could still do over 130 if I wanted to. The goal was not to get all nostalgic, but there you have it. Liz liked riding so much she took the MSF course, which I recommend to anyone who rides, and I bought her a Honda Rebel to learn on. Eventually I had to sell my bike just because the insurance was to expensive (Getting caught doing 130 will do that) and I moved within 5 miles of work, so I could not justify the expense. We also sold Liz's car, so we just have a Honda Civic and the Honda Rebel, which works out great as I ride my bicycle to work most days now.

Today I was exhausted and slept in a little so I rode the Rebel into work. That is an actual picture of it. Its only a little 250, you can't let the choke out completely and it does not go into neutral while it is running, but it is still a hell of a lot of fun to ride. I feel a little bit like a Shriner on it, but it does not matter. I would rather be riding almost any motorcycle than any car. I don't care if its between a 125 dirt bike and a porch, the motorcycle is more fun. Now the Rebel is not going to beat a real sports car off the line, but it still takes off faster than most cars on the road without even trying. Hell the thing tops out at 75, but when the freeway is not moving and you are your max speed is not the important part of the equation. The ride home just relieved a whole day worth of stress and I thought I should write something about it.

So for anyone out there who has ever considered getting a motorcycle or trying it out I highly recommend it. Be responsible, be safe, but have fun in life. They make a great second vehicle, get great gas milage, and the insurance on the cruisers is dirt cheap. I think the Rebel insurance for both of us is about $300 a year. Not to mention we have a lot more garage space. You can get a motorcycle used and sell it if you don't like it for almost the same price. I actually made a little money on the Bandit. I paid about $3000 for each of the bikes, so its not a horrible expensive trial considering how much is wasted on a second vehicle that normally only holds one person anyway.