Got a bike!
A few posts ago I talked about wanting to get another motorcycle. I looked at a few online: at dealer's websites, on ebay, on Craig's List etc. There was a 1979 Suzuki GS850 I was planning on checking out in Bellows Falls that I found on Craigslist, and a 1980-something GS1100 a little drive into Vermont that the seller was supposed to email pictures of to me. Then I picked up the local weekly want-ads newspaper called "The Weekly Flea".
There it was! A 1980 Suzuki GS850. Only 11k miles. Black, with a fairing and hard saddle bags. Located right here in town, just 10 minutes away. I went to check it out, and then came home to sleep on it for a couple of days.
My old bike was a black 1980 GS850. It was the GL model, which had buckhorn handlebars, a smaller tank and a king-and-queen seat. Kind of the "sport model" if you will. Here's a picture of it, all packed at an event at #4, with carbine and sword strapped to the handlebars and bedroll lashed down to the seat (neither of the people in the picture is me):
This one was sort of like it's older, more mature sister. It has a 5 gallon gas tank, and a 1970's style wide, straight seat. Here's a pic of it in the guy's garage:
It couldn't replace my old bike, but it is sort of thought provoking to me that it is basically the same model only a little more "mature", with it's windshield, hard bags, wide seat and AM/FM cassette player. Creature comforts and motorcycles are an odd mix. The fairing still makes me feel a little middle-aged, but it would be a good place to put smart-assed helmet-sized bumper stickers.
On Monday, it followed me home and I registered it within an hour. I worked a package deal for it, and along with the GS850 came a Suzuki LT185 Quadrunner. Yeah, it's 20 years old, but it doesn't have to win any races, it just has to haul stuff around the woods for me.
The next day, I took the GS to town to gas it up since it came to me on fumes. Of course it took me 5 minutes to get to town, but 45 to get home. On the way, I saw the Charlestown backroads from a different perspective. On East Street, I smelled someone cooking their dinner, a little while later heard some leaves rustling as they blew across the road, and as I turned onto the Ackworth Road, felt the change in wind direction blow against my neck. If felt good to be out in the real world again, not hermetically sealed in a car or truck.
It was the right thing to do. The difference between getting this GS850 and getting my old GS850 is that when I got the old one I was single, and now there are three of us. This afternoon, Jeff and I stood for a few minutes looking at the frame of the bike, pondering how to rig up a sidecar to it...
There it was! A 1980 Suzuki GS850. Only 11k miles. Black, with a fairing and hard saddle bags. Located right here in town, just 10 minutes away. I went to check it out, and then came home to sleep on it for a couple of days.
My old bike was a black 1980 GS850. It was the GL model, which had buckhorn handlebars, a smaller tank and a king-and-queen seat. Kind of the "sport model" if you will. Here's a picture of it, all packed at an event at #4, with carbine and sword strapped to the handlebars and bedroll lashed down to the seat (neither of the people in the picture is me):
This one was sort of like it's older, more mature sister. It has a 5 gallon gas tank, and a 1970's style wide, straight seat. Here's a pic of it in the guy's garage:
It couldn't replace my old bike, but it is sort of thought provoking to me that it is basically the same model only a little more "mature", with it's windshield, hard bags, wide seat and AM/FM cassette player. Creature comforts and motorcycles are an odd mix. The fairing still makes me feel a little middle-aged, but it would be a good place to put smart-assed helmet-sized bumper stickers.
On Monday, it followed me home and I registered it within an hour. I worked a package deal for it, and along with the GS850 came a Suzuki LT185 Quadrunner. Yeah, it's 20 years old, but it doesn't have to win any races, it just has to haul stuff around the woods for me.
The next day, I took the GS to town to gas it up since it came to me on fumes. Of course it took me 5 minutes to get to town, but 45 to get home. On the way, I saw the Charlestown backroads from a different perspective. On East Street, I smelled someone cooking their dinner, a little while later heard some leaves rustling as they blew across the road, and as I turned onto the Ackworth Road, felt the change in wind direction blow against my neck. If felt good to be out in the real world again, not hermetically sealed in a car or truck.
It was the right thing to do. The difference between getting this GS850 and getting my old GS850 is that when I got the old one I was single, and now there are three of us. This afternoon, Jeff and I stood for a few minutes looking at the frame of the bike, pondering how to rig up a sidecar to it...
posted by MVTCoPete | 11:19 PM
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