Before the Tour

I got back into motorcycling (the cheap way) in 2010 after a hiatus when I bought a 1985 Honda VF700F Interceptor for $1450. I was prompted by Evil Twin’s purchase of an ’06 Honda Shadow 600. I started to remember how much I enjoyed it. As an added bonus, someone else to ride with?!?! Yeah, I gotta get back to it.

After a couple years, even after adding the soft bags, I finally gave in to the fact that this bike just wasn’t comfortable for me, and decided to look for something more upright, but still able to hit the twisties well.

I sold the Interceptor for $1400. But I still miss that V4 exhaust note.

Enter Rocinante. 2007 Suzuki Bandit 1250. Picked her up in March 2012 for $4500 from a local dealership

This was much more comfortable on longer trips, especially after adding the risers, and a lot more convenient with fuel injection. Had the legs to hit the highways if needed, too. I’d also prettied her up a bit from the point where I’d gotten her.

By this time, Evil Twin and I had been riding together for a while. Eventually, our riding plans started to fall into a rut something like “where do you want to ride today?” “I don’t know. Where do you want to go?” If we wanted to keep things fresh and exciting, something had to be done. Something drastic.