First of all, I love biking. Period. End of argument. Any day I can't ride is a day wasted as far as I'm concerned. As for the GZ, it was a little tight for the first 500 miles or so and getting it to go any faster than 45 mph was a real chore. I took it in for regular maintenance at 600 miles, and ever since it seems to have really loosened up. The engine revs freely and the clutch has lost it's initial grabiness. The other day I was breezing down the expressway and couldn't believe it when the speedometer read 62 mph (ok, so this isn't a superbike - I thought I told you that).
Anyways, each day it seems to run better and better, and some mornings I can't wait to get out of bed and head off on my morning commute, only to drag around the office all day until I'm ready to head home again. I tell you, there's just something about being outside and feeling the thump-thump-thump of that engine that lifts my spirits every time I go for a ride. Especially when I pull up to a light and look at all those people lined up around me in their little metal boxes, all of them so remote and insulated from the world around them, that justifies all the little inconveniences of motorcycling (bugs, manhole covers, exhaust fumes blowing in your face, etc...). It's like all these people are driving around in little living rooms and never bothering to step out the door and experience what's outside. There they are - mom in the front seat talking on the phone and the kids in the back watching TV on their built-in video players, too self-absorbed to even engage each other, let alone the world going past their windows.
(Which reminds me of a story I saw on the news. Seems that Yosemite National Park has been having a hard time attracting visitors lately because a lot of kids seem to think that National Parks are boring. They're so busy living their digital lives that they just can't get into trees and waterfalls and stuff like that, so the Park Service is trying to find ways to get kids interested in nature again. Hmmm, maybe they could cover Half-Dome with a giant HDTV screen and set up some XBox 360's or something. That might interest them, for a couple of minutes that is).
Anyways, motorcycling, I've found, is all about being out in the world and engaging with nature and the elements, and like I said, I love it. Now that I've had a taste there's just no way I'll ever stop riding these things. That is, of course, unless I die first. One big problem with the GZ, though, is the seat. I can only go about 30 miles or so before major butt pain starts settling in. This is a real drag, and unfortunately none of the aftermarket seat manufacturers takes the GZ seriously enough to develop a replacement seat for it. The only solution I've found so far is short rides with long butt breaks, however that may change because I just placed an order for something called a buttbuffer. It's supposed to be some kind of space-age pad and I have no idea if it's gonna work, but at this point I'm getting desperate.
Other than that the GZ is pretty much what I expected it to be. It's steady and reliable, not too fast, and gets me around 70 mpg riding around town. I haven't taken it on the freeway yet, but maybe after I get my buttbuffer I'll be able to take an extended trip somewhere. Meanwhile, I stopped by a Triumph dealership the other day and looked at one of their new Bonnevilles. Ah, now that's a bike. No Harleyesque heft or sportbike plasticiness, just classic 60's styling, a 865cc parallel twin and nice firm cushion to rest your tush on. Hmmm, maybe next spring...Oh, and before I go this news item just came across the wire. It appears that the Turkish government has passed a non-binding resolution condemning the United States for the genocide it committed against the native North American peoples during what it called the Great Indian Wars of the late 19th century. Although many in the American government were outraged at this meddling in U.S. history, there were a few democrats on the house floor who openly wept. Keep following this blog for more updates in this curious exercise among Washington politicians to assert their virtue and claim the moral high ground.
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