Happy Valentine’s Day to anyone reading this. Please do not send chocolates.
The reason, of course, is that I’m still trying to do the right thing in my eating habits. So far so good, I’ve managed to avoid sugar save for the rare times I don’t have a bit of fake sugar with me. Like this morning it turns out, though I told myself to bring some from home for my morning coffee at work. Oh well. In all though, it’s been going well.
It’s been over three weeks since I quite smoking. So far so good there too. I just realized I haven’t had the urge for a while now. It’s probably time to start thinking about weaning myself off of the patch.
I’ve started looking into buying another motorcycle. Another, you ask? Yep. Though unlike my assortment of cameras, another doesn’t mean an additional motorcycle. I haven’t owned one for quite a few years (and I’ve never owned a car – go figure).
When I was a youth, probably 35 years ago, I owned a Kawasaki 175 Enduro (an F7 I think). It looked a lot like this one which I saw on eBay.
I beat the heck out of that bike over a succession of summers in Montana where we kept it. I did learn to ride though and it was a lot of fun. As I recall it was pretty easy to repair and at one point I think I had the clutch held together with paper clips. After high school we stopped going to Montana and that was it for that bike.
It wasn’t till I moved back to Hawaii that I got another bike. That was another Kawasaki, this time a 305 CSR which I used here in Honolulu for transportation.
I rode that one till it would cost me more to repair than it was worth. I sold it and the fellow I sold it to repaired it himself, something I’m not good at, and made a bit more than his money back.
That was some time ago though. It’s been at least 12 years since I’ve owned a motorcycle proper. I have been riding a moped for the last 3 years, but it’s time to step up again I think. As much as I’d like to drop $15,000-$20,000 on a bike, I’m not in that league. I wouldn’t even want to be responsible for that much bike.
No, I’m thinking low end again. This time I might purchase a Suzuki S40. It’s about as low tech as you can get these days and is in my price range.
If I survive this one, I may end up with an expensive bike, but I need to be realistic. I’m not particularly mechanical. I can usually screw in a light bulb, but I’ve done that wrong more than once. I’m not into constant chrome polishing. And, while this may sound self-serving, I don’t need my ego fed by something big enough and loud enough to set off car alarms as I go by. It’s just not me.
Here’s a link to a review of the S40 that makes it sound rather pleasant.
The big challenge, getting another license. I had a motorcycle license, but through a series of rather bad choices in my life, I let it expire. Now I have to go through the whole process one more time, only this time I guess I’ll have to take the safety classes which, while not mandatory, are pretty much de rigeur these days. Besides, I can save a few bucks off the insurance.
I haven’t bought the bike yet, I have to see about financing and such (credit union), but I expect I’ll probably end up with something before the year is out.
That’s it for Valentine’s Day. There’s no baseball this weekend, so I’m at odds about what to do with myself. I’m sure I’ll find something. 🙂
Aloha!
Slower, cheaper, less useful…