A day or so ago, I answered a query on a moto-forum as to what bike I rode and why. I began thinking that a short moto history would be a good blog post, as choosing a certain bike is as personal as are the reasons we choose them.

I began riding my own, after riding as a passenger behind my husband 3 times. I quickly decided that I wanted to take the horses by the reins, so to speak. I took the Motorcycle Safely Foundation course and after a few days purchased a 250 Honda Rebel while in Portland, OR where I was supposed to be helping my mother recover from knee surgery. OMG…what a nightmare for a novice especially knowing virtually nada about buying a used motorcycle. I called my Portland Brit rider pal, Ian and asked him to ride it to my mother’s since I had never yet ridden on the streets and was very tentative. When he got to my mother’s he asked me, “can you return this silly beast?” Uh…no.

I had totally bought it solely by looks and it was truly adorable. Though beautifully shiny black and chrome polished, I discovered the chain was shot, the sprockets hosed, the brakes marginal, the tires cracked all around the rims and the seat had been polished to where one could barely keep on it while moving! Well after a conference call to my husband, I rented a U-haul and drove it home. My husband and I proceeded to take it apart and add new parts. It was our first experience tearing down and repairing a motorcycle. I gotta say, it was a great learning tool regarding brakes, sprockets, chains and tires.

Here’s the 1986 Honda Rebel…i called her Jezebel, as it certainly fit.

My first parking lot ride, note the short pants, the unzipped jacket, the hair down, oh ya, I had much to learn.

I put 6K miles on this bike in a few short months and then sold it for more than i bought it and got a new machine.

Lola 2003 1100 V-star

This was a big jump, from a 250 to and 1100 but I thought I was ready. I took my first big fall on Lola after many miles and a fair bit of overconfidence…This shot was taken by a stranger who then sent it a few months later, to Tim the owner of Pashnit.com telling him about this goofy woman who kept riding after her crash. Tim cracked up, seeing me and knowing the tale, he then sent me the shot. I do look a bit dusty, my face swollen from my helmet hitting the pavement and alot wiser. 😉

I was lucky, riding with some experienced friends. I was ok, very shook up, but after a few major tweaks on the beaten bike, I got back on and finished the day’s ride through Yosemite. I have to say it was a conversation piece. Hosed on one side and perfect on the other. I couldn’t go over 45 or it shook. It was a LONG ride home, and in retrospect I probably shouldn’t have done it, but I had to get right back on.

Again Gary and I took the entire bike apart, I bagged and labeled all the parts and we had the frame inspected and then painted it and put it all back together. This took 2 months. In that time I started riding my husbands DL1000 VStrom and all of my thoughts on motorcycling changed. I had clearance on this Strom…no more dragging pegs. 😉

The new Lola

She was absolutely beautiful now, but I sold her anyway as I wanted a bike with more clearance even after putting on a total of 40K miles.

Next…2003 Triumph Sprint ST

This bike started out wrong. I dropped it the first time I rode it…as i went down the driveway of the gent I had bought it from. It was a tight right at the bottom of a steep drive, I looked down at the gutter and ended up in it. He ran down and picked up the bike, saying, OMG you scratched it. “Uh thanks for asking…i’m fine.” 🙂 It was the first of a few drops on that baby. I was lucky, it never really hurt it, only scarred the bag a bit and I seemed to only drop it one way…on the right side!

I put 12K miles on this one and realized, it was more bike than felt I could handle. The riding position was fairly aggressive and off the line this baby cooked. I knew it would eventually cook me and it burned oil like a muther. I had it in and out of the shop numerous times and without taking the entire engine apart, they could find nothing wrong. That’s when Gary crashed his V-Strom out in the NV desert. He was air-vacced back to Reno with a broken wrist. (we couldn’t believe they air-vacced him) Which brings me to another point…insure yourself for emergency evacuation, especially if you do rural riding.

After a couple of healing weeks he began shopping for a new bike. He wanted a 2000 Bandit 1200. He found one in LA and called a friend to go and test ride it. His friend told him it was an awesome deal. So he sent me to pick it up. His faux pas! I took the long way home, three days and 1200 miles later, I was in LOVE!! It’s upright position was perfect, it was super quick and would wheelie with little encouragement. The ride was superb! It was the perfect 10.

I rode into our garage, and asked him how well he liked the Sprint. He granted me the Bandit and quickly traded in the Sprint for an Yamaha FZ1 for himself.

I put 70K miles on that Bandit and then got the one I am currently riding, and 2007 1250. I LOVE the Bandits. I have put nearly 20K miles in 18 months on my 07.

This about sums it up my bandito relationship.

Is it my dream bike…well, my dream is to have more than one. My other would be a dual sport, lighter and easier to maneuver on dirt. But for now, I am quite content.