A friend had one, and I ran it down the drag strip a few times... how was it in the real world? One of my dream bikes at the time was an '87 FZR1000, and when I finally rode one... it was awful!

All of those bikes were incredible for the day, but heavy. I remember when the CBR900RR (Fireblade) came out in '93 and changed everything. First time I rode one, I looked like this:

Height of my drag racing days, '00 ZX-12R... first bike I rode into the 9s:

Another FJ-09 rider here.

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America First

Well this thread has really got my blood up...big time! I know I'm too old and worn out to ride now but I'm not too old to dream...and look back. In my trip back this morning I happened to recall another ride. I never wrote this'n up so I'll put my thinkin' cap on and see if I can remember enough of it to pass along.

*****The Poker Run.*****

A riding buddy of mine was friends with a few members of the "Pathfinders", a local club. He got us invited to audit the club and join them for a Poker run.

We were supposed to stage up at the Yokum Fair Grounds in South Texas on a Saturday Morning. We were going to go down Friday afternoon and get a a room, have a good meal and a few cold ones and meet up with a few of the members. We got off to a late start and didn't get down there until later than we planned. Also too late to get a room in town. We wound up staying at The Antler Inn in Cuero. The place was aptly named...Antlers every where; walls, ceilings, tables and floor stands. A plethora of antlers I'm sayin'.

It was raining when we woke up Saturday morning. We had breakfast at a local Choke-n-puke on the highway and headed on down to the fairgrounds. The rain had stopped but the asphalt was wet and very slippery. Had to be careful goin' through the gears not to break traction.

I was on the V-65 Magna and my friend was on his Goldwing. He was riding a little ways ahead of me. The road was a 2 lane blacktop fenced along the side on both sides of the road. Looking up ahead I noticed 2 yearling bulls OUTSIDE THE FENCE just grazing along the side of the road.

They were grazing and not paying any attention to anything else. I was keeping an eye on them but didn't expect any problem. As it happened my friend had a pair of Deer Alerts on his Goldwing. When he went by the 2 yearling bulls he had zipped past them and didn't see but they both freaked out and went in to full on stampede mode. With eyes rolled back in their heads, they broke into a dead run for the highway.

I'm left with no good choices: Try to speed up and get past 'em before they got to me and risk breaking the back wheel lose or slow down and risk hitting them or having to get around 'em.

The crazy look in their eyes scared me badly. I grabbed a handful of throttle and gave it all I dared. The back wheel instantly broke loose but I let off enough to get traction and then just prayed I'd make it.

As I approached them it appeared the one in front was going hit me right in the crash bars. I held my breath and gritted my teeth and gave it a little more. The last thing I saw as I passed was the head of the first bull.
It look like it was going to hit my back wheel for sure. I still don't see how he didn't hit me. But I made it past him by what I can only imagine as inches.

I had to pull over and calm down. It was a bad scare. My friend had turned around and come back to see what I was up to. When he puilled up and parked behind me I told him that we weren't rollin' another inch until he took them ******* deer alerts off. He didn't want to do it then so he agreed to stay behind me until he could get 'em off. He did too, I saw to that don'tcha Know.

The fairgrounds was packed and pandemonium ruled. A deputy sheriff had a microphone and was calling things to order. We finally got off to a start and it was slow going per the slick roads. I don't know how many bikes were in the ride but it was a BUNCH. Dressed up and tricked out Harleys, Full dressed Goldwings, all the way down to old beaters held together with clothes hanger wire. It was a strange assortment of bikes and riders. A few did slip down in the wet roads but no one was hurt or unable to go on.

You know how a poker run works. Five stops, get a random card at each one and at the end you have a hand of cards. I think I had a pair of 6s or something. If I had been holding that hand around a table I'd have folded on the third car. But my lucky friend and an ace high straight flush in spades, AKA a royal flush. Another guy had an ace high straight but it was in diamonds. Spade trump and my friend rode home with a 4 foot tall trophy on the back seat of the wing.

Actually, the bar b que and festivities at the end were as much fun as the ride. Lots of good food and soft drinks. I did see the occasional brown paper bag but everyone was behaving themselves.

There were other trophies given out too. One for the best custom job. One for the ugliest bike. This went to a guy on an OLD Kawasaki 1000 with a milk case tied on the back for his little dog to ride in. We all enjoyed his acceptance speech. Great sense of humor.

There was a trophy for the oldest rider and one for the rider who had ridden his bike the farthest to make the ride. One guy took both. He was 77 years old and had ridden from Seattle Wa.

There was a religious group there on the backs of their jackets it said,"RIDING FOR JESUS". They looked like a pack of outlaw bikers though. Guess you can't judge a book by it's cover.

The festivities ran late so we stayed another night at the good ol' Antler Inn. Slept in the next morning. Back to the choke-n-puke for another greasy breakfast and had a nice uneventful ride back home.

NOTE: The next time I rode with my friend those ******* deer alerts were gone. :^)

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Real men love cats!

Here's a better shot of the Magna.

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Real men love cats!

How was it in the real World? At the time. Phenomenal Remember my previous bike was a 1973 Z 900.

Yes, It was heavy by today standards for sure, and it was a bit sensitive to lateral winds. Not very fast changing directions on snakes but very stable at high speed. both in straight lines and fast curves. And surprisingly it was very comfortable even in town.

Later I had a Suzuki TL1000S That was a dream going fast but a nightmare in town.

Never took a picture of it. But was just like this one even the color.


I bought it in 1998. They were the first series and mine had to recalls. First one for a steering dampener second one something related to the fuel tank(it got replaced).

In 2004 I traded it for a Kawa Z750. which proved to be a very fun bike. Not all that fast(around 146 mph) but fast enough. Handled very well at speed and was very nimble in town.

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Expect the unexpected

my one and only motorcycle so far... small but fun...
1974 Kawasaki G3SSD 90cc 5 speed 2 stroke..
my friends have Hogs... I have a piglet.. lol

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...a V-65 Magna was the coolest and best bike I ever rode. Truly! It wasn’t mine but a friend allowed me to ride every now and then. Loved it!

Be safe...be well.

Found another picture with the 11.

This was taken in 89. I still didn't have the Arai.

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Expect the unexpected

They say you own four different motorcycles in your life:

The first is the one you learn to ride on;
The second is the one you learn to work on;
The third is the one you spend all of your money on;
And the fourth is the one you just RIDE.

The picture is the one I lavished all my money on - my 1995 FXSTC Softail Custom. It's been wrecked, repainted three times, and the list of work I did on it is extensive. Unfortunately it was what I call a "100-mile bike" - you either rode it 50 miles out and 50 miles back, or you rode it 100 miles and got a hotel room!

I sold it in 2009 for my current Road Sofa bagger, but I still miss it - for the first 50 miles...

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What about the twenty-fourth one?

At that point you are just holding onto it for the next guy!

I skkiped most of the steps.

On my 5th birthday my dad bought me a second(or third) hand man sized bycicle. He didn't believe in training wheels and, in one afternoon, taught me how to ride the beast and how to get on and off the thing(because my feet still didn't reach the ground), that day I also learned that falling off wasn't a thing that was going to stop me.

It was the only bycicle I ever had. It was with it I learned how to service it, change tires and repair flats, mend and replace broken chains, the works.

It was sold when I got my first thing with an engine on it at 14(a 4 speed 50cc moped).

Since then all my motorcycles have been ridden like there wasn't going to be tomorrow.

I saved my money for petrol, tires, oil, filters, chains sprockets and whatever else got worned out.

Never spent money on "cool" mods. Changed the shock absorbers after realizing it was a must on early Japanese bikes if you wanted to keep body and soul together and have invested in good tires for the same reason.

And here I am.

Edit. Never had an Harley though. I do like the looks of them, and I have ridden a few. I always thought I would buy one when I "calmed down". It hasn't happen yet.

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Expect the unexpected

Kurusu, those Suzuki triples, and the T500 twins, seem to have worn well over time, and have a bit of a cult following. For years, I thought of myself as a BMW guy, until one day I counted, and found out I had more Suzukis.

Never had a Harley, either, and never rode one that made me want to own one. Once I started riding off-road late in middle age, I had even less use for one.

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Not in jail.

1979 FXE that I bought new 41 years ago. Engine was overhauled and upgraded for better performance 10 years ago (cam, S&S carb, porting the heads). Mild customizing (21" front wheel, little sissy bar that was in vogue in late 1970s, some added chrome).

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No life story has happy end.

And it got a real man starter

My Bike,

enjoy,
bdGreen

Yamaha Roadliner "S" at Desert Aire, WA. The dryest rain gauge in Washington.

Great bikes...all....all out of my price range...all of my life....set back by getting run over on my first new motorcycle...1972 Yamaha 350....owned for two weeks....then on my first cross country trip.... a kid turning left lost control as he ran the red light..69 mustang...T-boned me as I tried to avoid. His hood split my thigh bone length wise...the bumper crushed my shin...bone piercing my riding boot...if I had lost conciousness the ER doc was going to remove my leg.....of course the kid has no insurance Took me a year to walk with out a crutch. Never gave up riding....but in 2006...I went back to needing a cane to walk...and its gotten worse very year....sunday I used my walker to go out to go for a ride....a scooter....no clutch no shifting....have never seen another one like it on the road...

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...with this topic but everyone one should ride from Miami (or father north) to Key West. Promise...you will thank me.

Did it for the second time in February. Last part of the ride down was in a storm but you end up in Key West so that makes it worth the terror of riding across the 7 Mile Bridge on a bike.

Be safe...be well.

My two current rides.
I've had Big Red for 18 years. First year firefighter special edition. 2002. HD released them after 911.

2013 Sportster I picked up last year. Only had 3500 miles on it. I don't do long rides anymore and the 320 lb. weight differential is appreciated by these old knees.

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Dance like no one is watching.