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Blatherings From The Editor What Made You Buy It?
Motorcycles are very personal and tend to reflect the personality of their owners. This is very evident by the number of after market manufactures making all kinds of goodies to help you personalize your motorcycle. So, why did you buy the bike you ride? Speed, handling, flash, panache…we all have our various priorities. Seems the younger I was the more speed counted. I only looked at bikes that were fast. I've slowed down a bit over the years and now look for comfort and carrying capacity. That's why I got a K1200RS. Right! How about the color scheme on your bike? Why did you get black, red, gold, yellow, purple, or combinations of all of them? Blue is calm and quite. Green is envy (is that why Kawasaki racing colors are green?). Red is FAST. My comfortable K12RS with its huge carrying capacity is red! Hum..seems my priorities haven't changed all that much as the years have gone by. There is also something about owning a bike that has heritage. What is heritage? An old established marque has heritage, right? So, I bought a bike that has an old establish heritage, just like me. Seems we both go back a few years. When you go looking for that special bike, the type of rider you are will dictate which ones you will look at. I have always liked sport bikes – it’s that go fast thing. I can count the number of times on one hand that I have been in a Harley Davidson shop. Nice bikes, they just don't meet my velocity requirements. There are other more pragmatic requirements. Think a daily commuter’s requirements are that much different from the cross continental traveler? Not really. High gas mileage for example is a requirement for both the commuter and the long distance traveler. One, so that the cost to operate the bike is kept down; and two, so that long distances can be traveled in big gulps. Reliability is another requirement that hits both. So, where does the cruiser that leaves a trail of parts as it shakes down the road fit in? Right up front if the number of sales has anything to say about it! I believe the real selling point for most of us riders is just the gut, visceral feeling we get from a particular brand or style. If the look and feel turns you on, the rest will follow. Who cares why, it just does. Kind of like tastes in wine, women and song…it doesn't have to make any sense, it just has to make you feel good. Deryle and Wanda, feeling really good.
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