What You Don't Know Can Hurt You

My little scooter was beginning to feel like a liability. I had been told that these Chinese imports were good for about 10,000 miles at best, and I was rounding 6,000. Time to figure something else out.

I want to say thank you to the universe for what happened next. I found a buyer for my scoot within a day of posting my Craigslist ad, and he was willing to pay $1000. Since I had purchased it the year before for $1200, I was beyond stoked. It was a win-win for both of us. I had done some upgrades to the bike, and it was actually running really well. I felt confident that this kid would see some good mileage before the 10k mark... I even told him about the high probability of engine failure around this time. Chalk that up to my impeccable sales technique.

I sold my scooter with no idea of a replacement vehicle. All I knew was that I wanted to step up to a motorcycle. My childhood dream of owning one had been revived. I would do it this time. I would find out what this was all about, even if I had no idea how it was going to happen. Sometimes you have to just lean back and let the world take care of you.

I searched Craigslist and eBay, all of the local ads and CycleTrader once I had cash in hand. Nothing solid panned out. I just didn't have the cash to get a quality ride. I feared more time wrenching on a less-than-reliable bike than actual time in the saddle. Then I remembered a former client of ours in Sierra Vista, about an hour and a half away. A rabid motorcycle enthusiast, and former MotoGP racer, he had a cadre of bikes filling his garage. His four-wheeled vehicles were relegated to the drive outside, where they baked in the unforgiving Arizona sun. I recalled the beautiful Yamaha sitting idly in a dark corner. It seemed tiny compared to the 1000cc super-sports on stands receiving loving upgrades and maintenance. I remembered the off-hand comment that it was for sale, and for me, at a good price.

It took one call to find out that the price he had in mind was indeed a good one. It was just above half of current value for that year. I knew that he was meticulous about maintaining his stable of cycles, so I bought it, without a test-ride over the phone.

2006 Yamaha FZ6

And so began my new obsession. And the realization that riding a motorcycle is not something that you learn to do, and then relegate the skill to habit much like driving a car. Riding is a life-long learning process. Even veteran riders of 25 or 30 years will say so. You will be adding to your riding skill set until you retire from it altogether. If you are idiot enough to think that motorcycling is a simple thing to learn, and that you've got it figured out after a month or so on the pegs, then you are almost guaranteed a lesson in "what you don't know can hurt you." For as much fun and exhilaration that a motorcycle can offer, they can be scary vehicles even when alone on the road.

That being said, I have never had such a good time on two wheels. Even my daily commute has taken on a new meaning. I thought this after buying the scooter, and thought that it couldn't get any better. I constantly wonder why more people don't take the plunge and buy a bike.

Perhaps most of us want to be disengaged from the drive, taking and making phone calls, listening to music and even watching movies while on the road. It's wrong and unsafe, but our cars have become more living room than automobile. I find it ironic that the very thing that makes riding more unsafe: apathetic drivers, is what keeps most of us off motorcycles in the first place.

With a healthy respect for my bike's speed and power, I am psyched to immerse myself in this entirely new world. It goes deeper than I thought it would, viewing it from the outside.