I just don't know yet.

For the first times in months I rode.  For the first time since the accident, I was on the back of a bike.


A woman in my community is selling her former husband's Honda Silver wing.  She is asking a fair price for it and Sue prompted me to go and take a look.    Sue knows how much I enjoyed riding and owning a bike.  The owner told me the year but I don't remember exactly.  I think it was within five years old and she had a tad over 17K on her.

In didn't take me long to grab an old helmet and a borrowed set of gloves to take her for a test spin.  I'm not sure why I consider motorcycles women, but to me they are.

So I started her up and she didn't roar to life, she didn't have the "oomph" that Kimmie did despite being a bigger engine.   Of course, she was also a bigger, heavier bike than my old Xciting and that matters.

I rode her around a bit, through some local twistie's I know of on a back road, I opened her up slightly on a straightway and I did feel comfortable, despite wearing none on my safety gear except a pair of borrowed gloves and an old helmet I picked up somewhere along the way.

It felt.....odd.  I don't know what I expected, taking her gingerly through a turn.  Where was the excitement?  Where was the feeling of awe?  Of being on the edge?  The tires seemed a little squirrel'y but they were brand new, still having the nubs on them and the bike had sat for about a month  so the pressure was probably off.   I took my time and was careful.

I knew I was also probably gun shy too.

There were things I like, the former owner had put a Givi windshield on it and that would come in handy on the cooler days or in the rain as the wind and rain where whipped around me and not into my chest as with Kimmie.   The storage was nice, and the previous owner had placed a pretty decent, but now great top box on it.  All the storage departments locked with a singe key.  He really did take good care of the bike and it had undergone a full maintenance review about 1000 miles ago.

Maybe it's just the fact that I never really cared for the looks of a Honda Silver Wing.  Maybe I'm still afraid, still touchy after the accident. Truthfully Sue and I can afford the bike and still have a good chunk of change left over, so I can't say "I can't afford it."

I just don't know if I'm ready yet.  Maybe I never will be.  Maybe this is just not the bike for me.  I just don't know yet.

You can't always get what you want...

But like the man said...sometimes you get what you need.

I simply wasn't planning on buying a used 2009 Kymco Xciting 500.  I originally had my eye on a slightly used 2012 Burgie with a Givi Windshield and top box on it. Somehow the dealer let me walk out the door because he was an pimple in the lower and back side of the human body (OK maybe not but I didn't care for him). His loss.  

In fact, the link to the dealership that I was dealing with used to be on my website.  I had bought my original Burgman there as well, however after my incident with a bolt and a few other minor things my satisfaction with them was low.  Plus I thought they were trying to take advantage of me.  They are designed for a high turnover of bikes, and I am not the unknowing boob that I was over a year ago when I bought my first Burgman.  Don't treat me like I was.  I also spent most of my adult life in sales, you work with the customer to make a deal, you don't let your ego get in the way (considering we were only $500 away in price). I thought I had a legit and fair offer.  They would not work with me.  Oh well, their loss.  This is the end of my ranting and raving. 

Up the street from him was a Honda/Suzuki dealership.  I was looking at a 2008 Kymco Xciting 500 as well as a Piaggio MP3 500.  Frankly they were not my first, second or third choices and I really wasn't impressed with the Kymco at all.  There were several "traditional" bikes I was looking at too, but in the end I decided to stay on a scooter.  A Honda Silver Wing was also in the running but was sold late on Friday (after I was told it was still available).

I was not even looking at the possibility of buying a 2013 Burgman, I could not really afford it...but I let myself get talked into with some gentle arm twisting.  They were willing to work with me. In fact, I was told I had it with the exception of crossing the "T's" and dotting the "I's."   As the pictures show, I am not riding a new Burgman.  That deal fell through, much to my regret.  

Pic by West Coast Powersports

What I ended up with was a 09 Kymco.  Yep, the bike that really didn't excite me in the first place.  She's got slightly over 4,000 KM (or about 2400 miles) on her, is dark metallic silver and had a displacement of 498 cc.  So she's slightly more powerful than my previous 07 Burgman 400.  I was able to pay cash for her and walk away with a new helmet out of deal, that's about it.  It's not what I wanted and frankly I am not sure how long I'll keep her, but at this stage in my life...sometimes you get what you need.  Life is to complex for me not to have another ride. 

The mirrors are crappy and to short for me.

It's a little strange driving a new bike.  This one is a little heavier and a little more powerful than the bikes I've ridden before,  I need to go off into a parking lot somewhere and do some emergency stops and such...just to get used to the handling.  In about two weeks (Feb 16) I plan on taking a 100 plus mile ride up to Crystal Springs with the Suncoast Scooter group.  Another first for me.

Can you think of a better way to break in a new (well, new to me) bike?  To get used to her?  I just hope of capable of doing 100 to 200 miles in one day.  In any case it should be an exciting adventure and should serve as a good shake down for the bike. 

First impression:

1)  I rode it home from the dealership at night and on the freeway.  All told about 60 miles.  One of the reasons I decided to buy the scooter in the end was the "Malossi" stickers on the side.   Malossi makes parts for racing bikes, and it seemed strange to me that the previous owner would put Malossi stickers on the bike without actually putting in Malossi parts.  That meant the previous owner probably knew what they were doing and took good care of the bike.  I hope so anyway.  When I opened her up on the highway, the tachometer stayed low.  A good sign that I might be right. 

2)  I already need to replace the crappy stock mirrors.   Way to short.  

3)  The low beam light is fine, but the high beam bleeds to much off into the sides of the road.  I already have a solution (maybe) based on something I read in the Burgman Forums.  LED's might solve that issue.

Thanks to Daboo from the Burgman forums for the idea.

4)  The Kymco has no storage.  A top box is not a luxury.  It's a necessary. 

5)  This is weird. The speedometer is in Kilometers.  The miles per hour gauge is small and hard to read.  GPS might be in order here.