Horst
07-12-2005, 10:54 PM
As soon as I turned 16, I got my driver's licence and soon after that, my m/c endorsement. Motorcycling ran in my family - I had seen pictures of mom and dad dating, and riding his ancient BMW. With neither mom nor dad making a big fuss, and dad actually coming along for the big purhcase, I got a brand new 1977 Honda CJ360T. That was a great day indeed !
Those years were filled with life - finishing school, my first jobs, visiting a girlfriend's house, visiting friends in the Fraser Valley, all on my own shiny motorcycle. Before long, life changed course and got serious - jobs became careers. Marriage, kids, and a mortgage became my main concerns, and almost without noticing, the Honda was sold.
The next ten years saw me driving, not riding. My two younger brothers however, both continued the family tradition, and as the trend was towards sport bikes, that's what they got. By the early 90's I awoke from my slumber and took one of their bikes for a ride. Man did I miss this ! ... before long an old but rideable Yamaha XS650 adorned my driveway. I was so taken by this little bike that my brother Bob remarked 'We got our brother back'.
Soon that bike was followed by a larger XS11 - now things got serious. Bob and I rode often together, to the tip of Vancouver Island ... we even took a long trip to Sturgis. As time went by an older Gold Wing entered the picture. While this was now true touring comfort, I had lost some of the sporting feeling. The next bike was different, a 2001 BMW R1150R roadster. This was almost a sport bike - awesome handling and brakes. But not really a two person bike. My kids and my wife had gotten used to riding with me sometimes.
Enter my current 2002 ST1100A ... the best of all worlds ? ... time will tell. I am sure enjoying the performance and comfort it offers, and have realized that no bike is perfect but the ST sure comes close. Just this last Saturday, my daughter and I went to the Fraser Valley to visit family, and there were my brothers, now busy with kids and houses themselves, but making sure they sat on my bike if even just for awhile. And mom also came out to admire it !
Dad is long gone, but he did help me pick out my first bike and I often think of him when riding. He sure would have appreciated today's great motorcycles, and no doubt riding with his boys. And that's my motorcycling story. ;)
Those years were filled with life - finishing school, my first jobs, visiting a girlfriend's house, visiting friends in the Fraser Valley, all on my own shiny motorcycle. Before long, life changed course and got serious - jobs became careers. Marriage, kids, and a mortgage became my main concerns, and almost without noticing, the Honda was sold.
The next ten years saw me driving, not riding. My two younger brothers however, both continued the family tradition, and as the trend was towards sport bikes, that's what they got. By the early 90's I awoke from my slumber and took one of their bikes for a ride. Man did I miss this ! ... before long an old but rideable Yamaha XS650 adorned my driveway. I was so taken by this little bike that my brother Bob remarked 'We got our brother back'.
Soon that bike was followed by a larger XS11 - now things got serious. Bob and I rode often together, to the tip of Vancouver Island ... we even took a long trip to Sturgis. As time went by an older Gold Wing entered the picture. While this was now true touring comfort, I had lost some of the sporting feeling. The next bike was different, a 2001 BMW R1150R roadster. This was almost a sport bike - awesome handling and brakes. But not really a two person bike. My kids and my wife had gotten used to riding with me sometimes.
Enter my current 2002 ST1100A ... the best of all worlds ? ... time will tell. I am sure enjoying the performance and comfort it offers, and have realized that no bike is perfect but the ST sure comes close. Just this last Saturday, my daughter and I went to the Fraser Valley to visit family, and there were my brothers, now busy with kids and houses themselves, but making sure they sat on my bike if even just for awhile. And mom also came out to admire it !
Dad is long gone, but he did help me pick out my first bike and I often think of him when riding. He sure would have appreciated today's great motorcycles, and no doubt riding with his boys. And that's my motorcycling story. ;)