I write this not in an attempt to cure the most acute cases who will undoubtedly dump their mighty hayabusa to rush out and purchase Kaws new ZX-14 but to share my thoughts, opinions and what I'll loosely refer to as wisdom regarding (and dealing with) the..
"Best Of The Best Sportbikers Disease"
This disease is one of the human mind which dictates that the afflicted in question simply hasta to own/have whatever current make/model/brand of sport/gt/st bike which the rag editors proclaim to be the most current, fastest, quickest or most powerful of'em all...which in the world of sportbiking and the over-heated competition between manufacturers promises to change annually...at times?...bi-annually....and sometimes?...in the worst cases?...from monthly issue too monthly issue.
"THE LOOSE WISDOM": I claim to pocess comes from 30 years of owning and riding motorcycles...albiet the first was a 2 1/2hp tucumseh "Lil' Indian" mini-bike at the age of 12 which I saved enough money from mowing lawns and odd jobs to purchase the first of only two "NEW BIKES" I've ever owned in my life where at 14 years of age I bought a brand new '72 Kawi KE100 for dual purpose of dirt biking and light street riding with my restricted DL at 15 years of age in south florida...and by 1974 at 16 years of age I progreesed to the asphault with a slightly used honda CB360T which I rode for a year and a 1/2 before upgrading to the then new honda 750 Four..which I sold a few months later just before joining the U.S.M.C. which found me permannatly stationed at M.C.A.S. El Toro, CA where I purchased a used Honda XL250 from a discharging sargent and regularly spent the weekends tearing up the mojave desert (and shooting jackrabbits with a .36 cal. blackpowder pistol
) ....once back home I bought a slightly used '81 honda 750 SS which I piled the miles on and then traded in for a slightly used '86 honda nighthawk "S" model...and then the 2nd biggest mistake of my life...which was buying a brand new '89 Goldwing (shortly after getting married and buying our first home)...comfy and cool with FM/Cassette tunes and intercom but...whatta pig...sold it 18 moths and 15,000 miles later...then al bundy'ed it for several years (as we replicated ourselves with three daughters and a friend at work gave me a used yami 185 and a yami 250 in a state of dis-repair...which I repaired and sold the 185 and kept and rode the 250) before re-entering on a slightly used '00 Kaw ZRX1100....and whatta bike...as perfomance took a huge leap forward during my new parents sabaticle...22K miles later to be replaced with a '01 Yami FZ1 which I sold to buy my slightly used '03 Hayabusa w/ a measly 1,600 miles on the odo just about a year ago..to date....but of all those bikes?...only the kaw KE100 (my first) and the goldwing were..."purchased new"...and the rest were as the rags like to term them.."smart money bikes"...typically purchased showroom clean with extremly low miles for about 2/3rds of their 1st owners purchase price.
As my "Loose Wisdom Dictates That..."Buying New Sux". as the first guy always gets to take the biggest financial hit...while you prosper in a huge way from his diseased loss.
CATCH22:"THE AFTERMARKETERS" as those who are afflicted with this "Best Of The Best" disease..and are inclined to purchase such notable, high caliber bikes?...also suffer the great financial hardships imposed by the "Modding Symptom" which more often times than not accompanies said affliction...as the oh so wise aftermarketers begin to take full advantage of their ailing clientel...and as with any newly released model they will only provide such amenties a slip-on/bolt-on exhaust systems and take a "wait 'n see" attitude with regards to sales numbers before tooling up for full systems...as those whom are oh so anxious to mod and buy the first of either will surely live to regret doing so in the mere weeks or months that follow as the first exhaust systems are rarely ever..."The Best"...and will again need replacing (in a "keep up w/ the jonses fashion" ) shortly after dumping their hard earned on the "First Systems Out"...as once again they post to the classifieds "For Sale Section" of their respective O.A.'s and break out their paypal and visa cards so they don't suffer the disgrace of "owning THE 2nd best MODIFICATIONS" at the breakfast table on their next O.A. based group ride.
"THE FALSE STIGMA OF NEWLY PURCHASED POWER":
Just like a newly elected president?...drunken with power the ZX-14 will march to the town hall podium with a notepad full of "promises to the people" (many of which are yet to be broken with well worded excuses of justification)...backed and supported by a host of big name smiling administrators who will undoubtedly hail their new Commander and Chief with all the same ferver typical of any newly won and seated bi-partisan group...but...out on the streets?....the people will be left wondering "why?"...that despite all the promises?....they are simply unable to shake that XX Blackbird from their shiney new vibrating, un-synched mirrors...and how and why is that damned old Busa is still stuck to their tail like bubble gum?....as they were..promised...."The Best"....and like any new administration in a new model year?...it will also come fully equipped with it's own tribe of gremlins..issues that desperately need sorting out...some of which may even hint at...dare I say it?..."impeachment".
"THE BENEFITS OF RIDING IN THE GRACE OF FALLEN KINGS":
In my 30 years of loose wisdom and experience I've witnessed but a handful of bikes that have truely ruled the hearts, minds and streets of america...amoungst them?....bikes the likes of...The Vincent...Kaws H2...Suzi's Water Buffalo...Yami's RD350 and Vmax...Honda's CBX, Interceptor and Hurricane and now...for the past 7 years running?..The Mighty Hayabusa rides amidst them...with passionate owners who've already sorted out the gremlins...purchased, installed and tuned the best of what the aftermarketing profiteers EVER had to offer up...with well adapted riding skills that play upon both the bikes inherent strength and weaknesses..making the best of them both...as the new king struggles with sorting out his and his administations issues...at great cost to it's tax paying public.
"IN CLOSING": I ride with well seasoned friends who ride and own a wide cross-section of highly tuned, well chosen and purchased bikes...and at the end of the day even the old GS1100...although left in the fastest of staights at times is still in the hunt and smiling for all the ashault he covered in the curves whilst the owners of newer more powerful bikes are still left struggling with adaptability issues as they baby-step their way to discovering and mastering their new bikes power and handling characteristics...matching lines to strengths...with many mid-turn corrections along the way to a level of perfection already attained by their oh so fast compadre's on their old but faithful embattled stallions of war...fallen kings...who now take their place behind the scenes...yet many of whom are responsible for directing a solidly won war.
Now....that said?...I myself...as a motorcycle enthusiast?..am not "Holier Than Thou" nor am I fully innoculated from contracting such diseases myself...as more recently?...with the onslaught of power information regarding the newly released ZX-14 found me questioning my own rational of dropping well over a grand on a new full exhaust and pc for my beloved busa...left wondering if I should hold out and permit justification to dictate that I save my hard earned to go towards the possible purchase of a brand new black ZX-14...where in the end?..the full akro and pc were in fact ordered and...thank god for..."Loose Wisdom".
sorry for the short novel and....
L8R, Bill.
"Best Of The Best Sportbikers Disease"
This disease is one of the human mind which dictates that the afflicted in question simply hasta to own/have whatever current make/model/brand of sport/gt/st bike which the rag editors proclaim to be the most current, fastest, quickest or most powerful of'em all...which in the world of sportbiking and the over-heated competition between manufacturers promises to change annually...at times?...bi-annually....and sometimes?...in the worst cases?...from monthly issue too monthly issue.
"THE LOOSE WISDOM": I claim to pocess comes from 30 years of owning and riding motorcycles...albiet the first was a 2 1/2hp tucumseh "Lil' Indian" mini-bike at the age of 12 which I saved enough money from mowing lawns and odd jobs to purchase the first of only two "NEW BIKES" I've ever owned in my life where at 14 years of age I bought a brand new '72 Kawi KE100 for dual purpose of dirt biking and light street riding with my restricted DL at 15 years of age in south florida...and by 1974 at 16 years of age I progreesed to the asphault with a slightly used honda CB360T which I rode for a year and a 1/2 before upgrading to the then new honda 750 Four..which I sold a few months later just before joining the U.S.M.C. which found me permannatly stationed at M.C.A.S. El Toro, CA where I purchased a used Honda XL250 from a discharging sargent and regularly spent the weekends tearing up the mojave desert (and shooting jackrabbits with a .36 cal. blackpowder pistol
CATCH22:"THE AFTERMARKETERS" as those who are afflicted with this "Best Of The Best" disease..and are inclined to purchase such notable, high caliber bikes?...also suffer the great financial hardships imposed by the "Modding Symptom" which more often times than not accompanies said affliction...as the oh so wise aftermarketers begin to take full advantage of their ailing clientel...and as with any newly released model they will only provide such amenties a slip-on/bolt-on exhaust systems and take a "wait 'n see" attitude with regards to sales numbers before tooling up for full systems...as those whom are oh so anxious to mod and buy the first of either will surely live to regret doing so in the mere weeks or months that follow as the first exhaust systems are rarely ever..."The Best"...and will again need replacing (in a "keep up w/ the jonses fashion" ) shortly after dumping their hard earned on the "First Systems Out"...as once again they post to the classifieds "For Sale Section" of their respective O.A.'s and break out their paypal and visa cards so they don't suffer the disgrace of "owning THE 2nd best MODIFICATIONS" at the breakfast table on their next O.A. based group ride.
"THE FALSE STIGMA OF NEWLY PURCHASED POWER":
Just like a newly elected president?...drunken with power the ZX-14 will march to the town hall podium with a notepad full of "promises to the people" (many of which are yet to be broken with well worded excuses of justification)...backed and supported by a host of big name smiling administrators who will undoubtedly hail their new Commander and Chief with all the same ferver typical of any newly won and seated bi-partisan group...but...out on the streets?....the people will be left wondering "why?"...that despite all the promises?....they are simply unable to shake that XX Blackbird from their shiney new vibrating, un-synched mirrors...and how and why is that damned old Busa is still stuck to their tail like bubble gum?....as they were..promised...."The Best"....and like any new administration in a new model year?...it will also come fully equipped with it's own tribe of gremlins..issues that desperately need sorting out...some of which may even hint at...dare I say it?..."impeachment".
"THE BENEFITS OF RIDING IN THE GRACE OF FALLEN KINGS":
In my 30 years of loose wisdom and experience I've witnessed but a handful of bikes that have truely ruled the hearts, minds and streets of america...amoungst them?....bikes the likes of...The Vincent...Kaws H2...Suzi's Water Buffalo...Yami's RD350 and Vmax...Honda's CBX, Interceptor and Hurricane and now...for the past 7 years running?..The Mighty Hayabusa rides amidst them...with passionate owners who've already sorted out the gremlins...purchased, installed and tuned the best of what the aftermarketing profiteers EVER had to offer up...with well adapted riding skills that play upon both the bikes inherent strength and weaknesses..making the best of them both...as the new king struggles with sorting out his and his administations issues...at great cost to it's tax paying public.
"IN CLOSING": I ride with well seasoned friends who ride and own a wide cross-section of highly tuned, well chosen and purchased bikes...and at the end of the day even the old GS1100...although left in the fastest of staights at times is still in the hunt and smiling for all the ashault he covered in the curves whilst the owners of newer more powerful bikes are still left struggling with adaptability issues as they baby-step their way to discovering and mastering their new bikes power and handling characteristics...matching lines to strengths...with many mid-turn corrections along the way to a level of perfection already attained by their oh so fast compadre's on their old but faithful embattled stallions of war...fallen kings...who now take their place behind the scenes...yet many of whom are responsible for directing a solidly won war.
Now....that said?...I myself...as a motorcycle enthusiast?..am not "Holier Than Thou" nor am I fully innoculated from contracting such diseases myself...as more recently?...with the onslaught of power information regarding the newly released ZX-14 found me questioning my own rational of dropping well over a grand on a new full exhaust and pc for my beloved busa...left wondering if I should hold out and permit justification to dictate that I save my hard earned to go towards the possible purchase of a brand new black ZX-14...where in the end?..the full akro and pc were in fact ordered and...thank god for..."Loose Wisdom".
sorry for the short novel and....
L8R, Bill.
