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Tuesday, June 05, 2007

New Toys

The company stock went up a fair amount in the last week, making it worthwhile to cash in some stock options. Then when I saw this DR-Z400SM at the bike dealer with 170 miles on it, for about $1200 off list, I decided it was time to stop talking about getting a smaller bike (like I’ve been doing for a long while) and do it.

My mental image of a motorcycle goes back to the '70s, when little dual-sports ruled the roads in the aftermath of the oil embargo. There aren’t many bikes that look like those, at least shipped to the US anyway, but this is a sort of modern expression of those bikes.

This bike represents a number of firsts for my adult-life motorcycling: it’s the first sub-liter bike I’ve had, the first (almost) new bike, the first I picked out (as opposed to the previous two more or less following me home), first with a radiator and chain drive (the previous two were shafties), first vehicle with a digital speedometer/console… and the first bike without a tachometer, centerstand, or self-cancelling turn signals (I’ll have to get used to the latter).

The ride is very smooth, which isn’t surprising since it has motocross suspension, and I sit at about the same height as a pickup truck driver. Insurance is actually less than the Virago’s (small engines make a big difference), and it gets close to 60mpg. Unfortunately, the tank is really tiny, so I’ll be filling it more often. Go figure.

Now to get really '70s-retro and replace that little bag on the back with a milk crate…

6 comments:

  1. Very nice. Have fun with the new toy!

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  2. Nice looking bike Far.

    I know it hasn't been long, but I'm glad to see a new post. :)

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  3. Hey guys!

    Yeah, David, I plan to have fun with it. :-D

    Thanks, FM... on both counts. I'll be doing better about posting this week. I'm surprised I didn't get a toe-tap.

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  4. LOL FAR. I didn't know if something was wrong, so I wouldn't toe tap. If I had know you were being lazy, I would have gone from toe tap to tap dancing. :)

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  5. It wasn't being lazy, it was my Muse. Sometimes, she just jumps on my shoulders and rides me hard until I get whatever it is written down. If that happens to be something other than the blog... well, maybe I'll have some good material when I'm done.

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  6. Don't let Mom see it. :) Nice ride Bro

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Comments are welcome, and they don't have to be complimentary. I delete spam on sight, but that's pretty much it for moderation. Long off-topic rants or unconstructive flamage are also candidates for deletion but I haven’t seen any of that so far.

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