Lonerider59
Wizard
I've been riding on the street for a bit over 48 years now and bought and sold many and all kinds of motorcycles. Since day one and bike one, the motorcycle companes have taunted me with more power and "better" handling. In many ways they were telling the truth, the motorcycles kept making more power and were able to handle the road surface better, even sometimes to a fault. Since my first motorcycle back in 1965, it has become easier and easier to go faster and faster on any road of any kind of surface, whether dirt or pavement, straight or curvey, flat or undulating. Back then we had no way to imagine how well built motorcycles would become right out of the factory. My stock FZ1 from 2008 would have been so completely competent a motorcycle for a racetrack back in 1964 that it would have seemed impossible. Today people on this forum yawn at it's abilities, although it's abilities are far beyond what is legal as far as what it can do and what is legal. And what is my point? The manufacturers will continue to better themselves year after year (or at least they will tantilize us with products they tell us we need) even though we can no longer use the abilities we have at our disposal. We will continue to spend more and more, buying stuff beyond our ability to use, until we realize it is the rider and the pure pleasure of the ride, not the sparkle of the machine, that is what motorcycling is really about and what stirs the inner soul. When I look at my newly acquired "82" CM450 and it's God awful 45 or so H.P. and ride it to it's limits, it still brings a huge smile and a sense of fullfilment and pride that I was able to take a severly beaten old servant and bring her back to service. I'm not trying to diminish the accomplishments of Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, Harley-Davidsn, Ducati, etc. but the sport is more than that, far more. It's also what the rider puts into it.
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