I have been riding since 1969 and have a life time of motorcycle memories. There is a "right moment" on a bike that moves it from just a bike to "your" bike. I remeber an early Honda four on a hard packed dirt road..an 850 Norton west of Calgary on the old Highway to Banff, a Honda CX 650 E on along ride through the interior of B.C...etc.. some kind of defining moment thing. Well, I have had that with the VTR. Once lately in the Black Hills, and then tonight on a simple 20 mile ride with the sun low in the west. This bike has a unique charisma..rorty exhaust..amazing what a single crank pin will do.. smooth.. responsive engine.. it hit me.. this is another of those keeper bikes... I have been under work related stress..anybody relate... Tonight a sense of well being hit me as I moved along with the VTR... This bike is good for me.. all good bikes are I think... I wonder if some engineering genuis is always behind bikes that have something special....amazing what insight two glasses of good wine will bring out....kidding .. but my thoughts remain..anybody know what I'm saying???

 

I know exactly what you're saying. The first time I took the Superhawk out on a track, I felt at one with the bike. Y'know that trite phrase, "it felt like an extenson of my body?" That described it.

I felt that again today, on the 748.

 

Uhhh.....YEAH!!!

I decided a few years ago my SH and I will never part. There will be other bikes, but my VTR is the first I have loved.

 

I think the rythm of a twin is something special..seems to connect..Maybe Harley knows something..huh...

 

Absolutly, I couldn't begin to talk about the insight that two, or more glasses of wine have brought out!!

Nail on the head...there is that defining moment in life where you think, ah, yes, this is it...And all is well with the world, even if it is just for a moment...Those are the reasons that we do what we do...

 

I can relate. For me, being on the bike is one of the very very few times when I am thinking of nothing else. Like most of you I have too many family, work, self stresses in life to effectively shut them out for very long. But on the bike, on a good road, it all lifts away. I think for those of us that have ridden most of our lives its an inseparable part of who we are. And though I hate all the hype about the book Zen and the art......... it really is a zen experience.

 

Well, I have backslid even beyond what you describe.

Every time I ride any one of my bikes, I think it is close to ideal for the use I'm giving it. It used to be that I had 20+ machines at once for that feeling; now I'm down to 10 (and trying desperately hard not to count).

 

That's why I sold the ZX12 and kept the Superhawk. You must enjoy reading Peter Egan's "Leanings" in Cycle World. If not check it out he's a fantastic writer.

 

I recently sold a nicely modded 954 and kept the 'Hawk. I just liked the feel of it. Still have a really nice Interceptor though...

 

We run red. The avatar says it all. VFR in back, CBRf4 in the middle and the VTR in the foreground. We were looking at the pictures later and commented - most powerful bike is the smallest. This is not trick photography - I lined the bikes up for the shot and never - ever - expected them to look like this. Once I took the shot there was no doubt about it. Now I'm even more proud that I survived! There's no doubt for a moment that tuned suspension helped in that regard. I have an Interceptor too. 97 model bought last year with 2960 miles on the clock - fukt up title situation but grease the wheel. We're solid now and what a race horse. The gear-driven cams take a little to get them smoking but when the VFR breathes - she leaves most panting in her path. This bike doesn't even get racey until it's cranking 5k+. Good news is most of the stop lights are about that far apart. If you're full on it you can pull 150 and get it shut off for the next run. In the usual routes that we ride I can hang with the kid pretty good. Problem is that if he goes to jail - we probably both go. KC996 used to have a really cool sig line that was like "if you liked this then you had to be there" or something like that. Not like that - KC - what was it?

Oh **** I remember now, a friend, a good friend and your best friend - that still blasts Randy

 

A Friend will call your parents to bail you out of jail, a good friend will bail you out of jail, but your best friend is the one sitting next to you saying, "That was ******* awesome!!!!"

Yup....tis the truth....