Has it ever just hit you. . . .

My XJ was/is my first and only bike. I've had her for close to 11 years now, and over half the miles on her, I put there. The original owner loved her dearly and asks after her often, still. In fact his son e-mails me every few months asking if I'm ready to sell back his "dad's bike" yet. I'm not.

This thing was set up as a sport tourer, perhaps before the term was coined. He put on a Vetter fairing, luggage rack and sissy bar, and at one point even had a stereo on it. It's got case guards with highway pegs mounted on them. I've added a throttle lock for those brief occasions I REALLY need my right hand free.

Last weekend I stopped at a local bike shop and was trying on new helmets (the padding on mine is aged and worn). I decided to sit on a few bikes as well. Namely, I perched atop the Yamaha FZ6 which I've been eying for a little while as it seems to be a bit of a reincarnation of my Seca - a little bit of a fairing/windshield, upright seating, and sporty lines. Heck, it even comes with a center stand I could definitely see myself on that bike. No carbs to adjust, a factory warranty, well, it DOES have a chain to lube/adjust. . . .

On the ride home I was thinking about pricing and financing options and if I would be a responsible parent/husband buying a new motorcycle before college is paid for and the wife has a ride of her own. As I'm wont to do, I was weighing out the pros and cons, not only of the new bike, but of replacing the Seca.

On the Seca side, the only thing I could come up with against her was her age and resultant potential difficulty and cost of finding replacement parts as needed. That's it. I LOVE the riding position of this bike. I love the luggage/storage options I have available. I know and am comfortable with the power available as well as cornering characteristics. Heck, even the 'drive shaft effect' is predictable enough for me to downshift in turns (not a great idea, but OK if you know what you're doing). Aside from the occasional creak and groan from middle age, there is not one thing I DON'T love about my bike.

Why the heck would I ever consider 'replacing' her?



(She'll probably blow up the next time I ride her now )

 

well i haven't had my bike for as long as you have, ok, i have had my bike for only a year, but i was thinking over the winter of getting a new bike, almost had the one i have now sold..
but the only reason why i decide not to sell it and buy a new one, Is well i wanted to wait until th one i have completely dies and can't be revived... or i crash (knock on wood)
so i can understand what you mean by all this..

 

I'm with you on this one O - although not my first bike, certainly my love affair continues. I'm 3rd owner of mine, and had her for 16 years now, so well more than half it's mileage is mine.

I find I like looking at new bikes, sitting on them, dreaming of riding them... but then I really don't see the need - I'm sure new bikes do some things better - technology having advanced and all. But somehow my bike just feels..... comfortable. More than just the seat (which is NOT perfect), just the whole thing.

Eventually I'm going to have to go and take some serious hard looks for a big cruiser, so my wife and I can both go for a ride... soon - but hopefully not too soon. Now how to justify the multi-bike garage 8)

 

I don't see the need for a new bike, the 750 does all I need from her!

It is really hard to kill a XJ as well!

Not my first XJ either and I still see the 1 I sold 17 years ago round town. The owner just changes the oil and it keeps going too.

I have seen a few near new XJ 1300s (big naked sports bike) for sale but they want big $$$ 7 to $8000, maybe one day when they are a "classic" .

 

It was 10 years between my last bike, a Honda 650 nighthawk, and my current bikes. I missed riding a lot and was finally able to purchase a Kawasaki Vulcan 800B. Now this is a great bike, smooth and comfortable. I did miss an inline 4, though. I found a 750 Seca last year and have not been sorry at all. My only complaint is that my knees like the Vulcan more after about half an hour in the saddle. Both are so much fun to ride. Can't beat the the Seca for get up and go. I'm blessed to be able to have both.

 

Have I mentioned the highway pegs?

 

Irony is your knickname, and the title of this thread! :lol:

Jim

PS I have had far too many bikes to be a good judge of this!

 

I personally have been eyeing the 2000-2004 Kawasaki Nomads.... hmmmm! But I'd keep the Seca around for the wife to learn on since she thinks she'd like her own bike.... I can aford some "learning" on the old girl as much as I hate to say it.

 

I hasn't hit me because I just got my XJ and am loving it way too much. I will probably keep it forever but if I get another to add to my collection it will be a Vmax for sure...awsome bike!

 

Scrape, believe it or not, a V-Max was the first motorcycle I ever rode. 8O It was my buddies (first year - '85 I think? - but it was repainted from that fugly maroon to a metallic grey), and it only took one trip around the parking lot (how I didn't dump it, I STILL don't know) for me to exclaim, "I NEED to get a motorcycle!" I had literally ZERO desire to have one before that.

The V-Max is one helluva bike. As long as you're not a fan of turning. Or endurance rides. But if you like smoking the tires, ripping yoru arms out of their sockets shifting from 2nd to 3rd, or setting off seismometers 3 miles away (got to love that rumble), it's a sweet ride.

My buddy sold his (the new owner broke the drive shaft on it in about a week), and I miss hearing that thing and riding it from time to time. I see a LOT of them used with low miles around here. I think people get them and scare the doodie out of themselves or their better/smarter halves and end up selling them. Maybe one day when I get a little closer to mid-life crisis time, I'll pick one up. Definitely not the 'swiss army knife' that the Seca has proven to be for me, but not everything has to be practical

Beware the V-boost!

 

Great read Oblivion...very funny and now I want one more than ever!!! I do believe my mid-life crisis has arrived. :lol:

 

Yes, it "just hit me".......once.
I was riding with my brother, him on his Cyclone and me on my Seca (which used to be his, it's a long story) and we were out for a leisurely cruise, going nowhere in particular. I had my 14-year old (at the time) son on the back of the Seca and I was in the lead. I had no idea where we were or where we were going, I just followed the road. My little bro was an easy riding partner, he didn't push or stretch the envelope when leading and we'd trade off lead position frequently simply for a change of pace. As I mentioned, this particular day I was in the lead, and we were cruising some nondescript country highway when we came up on a sign indicating a right hand fork. In my left mirror, from the corner of my eye, I saw little bro signal and swing out left, then heard the throaty roar of the Cyclone as he passed me like I was standing still. He signalled "right" with the turn signal and an upswept left arm, then leaned it into a peg-scraping hard right and blitzkrieged down the fork. I almost overran the turn. I could hear the Cylcone rumbling off like distant thunder over the howl of the Seca, and when I made the turn, he was gone....vanished....like an alien abduction or something. I finally caught up with him a mile or so down the road, waiting patiently at a stop sign, as if to say "C'mon gramps, let's get the lead out!" The sight and sound of that moment are forever etched in my memory....I'm not quite sure why. I knew right then and there that I HAD to have one of those....and so, after a season of shopping, bike-sitting and dreaming, I did. Don't get me wrong....I love my Seca and would never get rid of it; after all, it was my first "real" street bike (worth mentioning) but compared to what's out there today........
Sometimes you just have a need for speed......
Yes, it has "just hit me". Once.

 

Saw a VMAX in Timaru today. First one I've seen "in the flesh". Nice but the roads here have (lots of) corners. My XJ loves corners .

 

XJs have been known to rip the bottom fairing (on those that have 'em, D & L), scrape the headers, grind the footpegs and sidestand going round corners 8O

Yep, not as fast as a modern bike though .

 

I have scraped my pegs exactly twice - once when I laid the bike down (the story is on the board somewhere here, but it was a low-speed low-side with minimal damage), and once overestimating myself going through 'The Ravine' on Sheridan Road by Bahai Temple in Wilmette (for the locals). I was lucky enough not to have anyone in the oncoming lane as I crossed the double yellow and scraped the pegs to get back to my side.

Have I mentioned I'm generally a very conservative rider? Chicken strips? I got plenty