I had a dirt bike when I was a kid. When I turned 16, I asked my dad if he'd cosign on a loan for a motorcycle. He, of course, said NO. My natural response was to go out and find a cheap enough bike that I could buy without the loan. I found a 1964 Suzuki 250 street bike, a little rough around the edges, but it could do almost 90 on a straightaway, so I jumped at it. For years afterward, I remained puzzled that my father was so mad when I brought it home!
Through the years, I'd occasionally miss riding a bike, but I managed to convince myself that it was a part of my past not to be relived. I was too old - too sensible - to get back on a motorcycle again. All that changed a couple of months ago.
Living in Arizona, I was struck by the fact that this is nearly perfect motorcycle weather. Sure, it's blazing hot in the summer, and winter mornings can be cool, but there's virtually no weather that makes it impossible to ride (unlike Nebraska, where large portions of the year are absolutely out of the question). I also realized how practical a bike could be as an alternate form of transportation - virtually any motorcycle will be more efficient than almost all cars on the road. I decided to take the leap.
Before purchasing or operating a motorcycle, I researched my options. Since safety was a priority, I registered for a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) new rider class. This class combines classroom work with practical operation instruction on a closed course with provided motorcycles. An additional benefit was that passing the class would qualify me to get the motorcycle endorsement on my driver's license without testing at the MVD. I registered and took the class in late November of 2014.
After passing the class, my next step was to determine what bike to buy. In the 70's, my 250 cc bike was "mid size" - plenty large enough to haul my relatively large (6', 165 pound) frame around. After 41 years, I discovered that things change. 60 pounds had been added to me. That didn't help, but an even bigger factor may have been the change in the bikes themselves. My old bike was a 2 stroke, high revving, "standard" motorcycle. It didn't weigh much, and it got pretty much all the performance possible out of it's small displacement. Since I now wanted a "cruiser" style (a more relaxed, laid back type of bike), it soon became apparent I'd need a little more horsepower.
Motorcycle salesmen - close cousins to used car salesmen, as it turns out - were quick to assure me I'd need a large motorcycle. The recommendations I got ranged from 600 to 1800 cc's minimum. Since I didn't have plans for any long trips, I decided to go towards the lower end of the range. After looking at a few bikes and studying online, I decided to go with a Yamaha V Star 650. The V Star seemed a good compromise between power and agility - easy and fun to handle in town, with enough power to handle the freeway. As a bonus, the air-cooled Yamaha has a reputation for reliability, and some great deals can be found on the used market.
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| My V Star, after adding the saddle bags. |
With my decision made, I set out to find my new (to me) bike. I ended up buying a 2007 Custom 650 V Star with about 18,000 miles from a young guy who had his bike listed on Craigslist. He had originally listed the bike for over $4,000, but had reduced it a few times until it was down to about $2,800. After looking it over and taking a short test drive, we agreed on a price of $2,200. Since it needed a new speedometer cable and a clutch, I'd end up with about $2,600 invested - about half the price of new, and less than comparable machines I'd seen advertised.
With the purchase of the motorcycle, I needed to spend some money on a few other things - safety gear! When I was young, I jumped on my bike wearing whatever I happened to have on that day - shorts, t-shirt, tennis shoes, and I was good to go. As an old guy, I knew I'd have to wear something more appropriate.
The first thing I'd need was a helmet. I'd only worn a motorcycle helmet a couple of times in my life, but I'll never ride without again. In addition, I'd want gloves, a jacket, and pants for added protection. Although you can buy all this stuff online, I knew I'd need a bit of help selecting the proper gear. Fortunately, there's a store in Mesa called Cycle Gear that has pretty much everything you need in stock at fairly reasonable prices.
For a helmet, I decided on a full face helmet for maximum protection. As appealing as riding with the wind in your face can be, facial contact with asphalt can be disastrous - I may not be handsome, but I look better with my face still intact! A helmet can cost upwards of $600, but there are some less expensive options out there that still provide the same level of safety. I ended up buying a Bilt (Cycle Gear's store brand) for around $100 - a bargain, considering it has all the safety agency approvals.
I bought some leather gloves with armor on the knuckles, an armored jacket (mesh, with zip out windbreaker liner), and some Kevlar-lined jeans with armor in the knees to complete the look - all told, I spent about $350 for protective equipment, plus another $100 for the saddlebags. For a little over $3,000, I was ready to hit the road!
What I soon found out was, buying everything was the easy part. After over four decades out of the saddle, I was a bit nervous on my first ride. To start off, I took a side road - 45 mph speed limit - to head out of town. I figured a weekday morning ride would be best, traffic-wise, so I headed east of town about 12 miles to meet some friends to play pickleball (more on pickleball in a later post). The ride involved several miles through town, a short (1 mile) stretch of freeway, then 4 or 5 miles on a 4-lane highway (55 mph). The first half of the ride was sheer terror - after my training class and on-line reading, I was convinced every car was trying to murder me. On the freeway, it felt like someone was grabbing my legs and trying to pull them from the pegs. When I hit the end of the freeway and slowed down to about 60, I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders - suddenly, I felt at home on the bike. 60 mph seemed a nice, comfortable cruising speed, and I felt like I could handle the road, traffic, motorcycle, and anything else that came my way. Since that moment, I've not felt overwhelmed on the bike.
In a way, I now feel as though I never took a break from riding. In other, very important ways, I feel as though it's been a lifetime. As a youth, I felt invincible - I can distinctly remember seeing a car about to pull out in front of me and thinking, "it's OK - if he hits me, it'll be his fault". Seeing potential trouble, I didn't slow down - I just plowed on ahead, trusting in my youthful reflexes and the maneuverability of my bike to keep me alive. Amazingly, it did - I never had an accident on a motorcycle (not counting dumping a dirt bike racing my buddy at night in the snow). Now, I know I'm not quick enough to ride myself out of trouble. My head's on a swivel, always looking for potential trouble. If I even think a car MIGHT turn into me, I slow down, move over, or do whatever I think will keep me upright. I'm not afraid on the bike, but I'm definitely cautious.
After just a month of riding, I'm much more likely to take the freeway than before. I still don't LIKE riding at 70+ mph, but I recognize it's actually safer to ride fast on a limited access road than it is to ride at 50 on a city street. By the way - forget about staying under the speed limit - If you drive at or below the limit, you'll get run over. It's way safer to move with the flow of the traffic.
In any case, short (15 miles or less) trips at freeway speeds aren't a problem for me or the bike - it can easily handle 75 mph for extended miles. I'm not sure what the top speed is, but at 90 it was still accelerating. I know I wouldn't want to ride at that speed for anything other than passing a car or getting out of a tight situation. I have a windshield, which helps, but at freeway speeds the wind is fatiguing, and I still feel like my feet are being pushed off the pegs.
Around town, my bike's a dream to ride. Although it weighs close to 500 pounds, it feels very light and maneuverable - much like my old 250, in that regard. With a very low seat height and low center of gravity, I never feel as though it's going to get away from me. Speed and acceleration are more than adequate for my needs, but it's not a "fast" bike, like a "crotch rocket".
I've only checked the gas mileage on two tanks, but both gave virtually identical results - between 49 and 50 mpg - good enough for me to round it up and say I get 50 miles per gallon. This represents my typical use - warming the bike up, with a combination of city, freeway, and highway driving. While nowhere nearly as economical as the smaller scooters and motorcycles, it's over three times as economical as my car, and compares favorably with most cars on the road.
What don't I like about my new ride? There are just a couple of things:
- Maybe it's just because I
haven't had a car without fuel injection for 25 years, but this thing is
the most cold blooded contraption I can ever remember driving. It
has a carburetor (two, actually), with a manual choke. If it's less
than about 80 degrees outside, plan on using the choke to start it, then
letting it run for 4 or 5 minutes before attempting to ride. Once
warm, it runs flawlessly, but it just won't go when cold. If/when I
upgrade, I'll get a fuel-injected bike
- As I said, the top speed on
my bike is over 90 mph - fast enough to break every speed limit in the
country. That being said, I understand why you'd want a bigger bike
for extended highway travel. Operating at continuous higher speeds
would be fatiguing - there's a lot of vibration, both from the engine and
the bikes interaction with the road. A larger, heavier bike with a
bigger engine would be an improvement in this regard.
- I'll rarely, if ever, ride 2
up. If you plan to do so regularly, you may want a bigger
bike. While this one is certainly capable of carrying you and a
passenger anywhere you want to go, larger, touring model motorcycles will
have more secure and comfortable accommodations for passengers.
Of course there's a lot I really
love about it, too:
- The looks - it looks like a
bigger bike than it is. It's also drop dead gorgeous - I love the
color and lines of the bike.
- Performance and
maneuverability. There's plenty of pop from the line - more than
enough to get away from cars, when necessary, but it's small and light
enough to handle like a smaller bike. While it wouldn't be my first
choice for a long range touring bike, it COULD serve that purpose, while
still being an effective around-town commuter. As I've said - a good
compromise between "too small" and "too big".
- Economy. Just as in the
performance aspect, I get decent economy, along with enough performance to
keep me happy.
- Design. I like the
simplicity of this motorcycle - my bike is virtually identical to those
made a decade earlier. It's air cooled, so there's no radiator to
worry about or maintain.
At this point, I'm still learning
how to ride again, so I don't know how (or how much) I'll ride in the
future. I'd like to take some local trips - 20 to 50 miles or so - with a
friend or two on two-lane highways or into the mountains. I'm not sure if
more extensive traveling is in the cards, but, if it is, that may change my
outlook on things. For now, I'll concentrate on cruising around and
enjoying the ride!
