Later that year I
met Craig (see my family page), who had a Honda CB550 motorcycle. He
let me try riding it, until it fell over during a lesson, at which time
we decided it was time for me to get my own - it was his only
transportation.
I ended up getting a Honda CM400T with a large backrest
at the back of the passenger seat. I rode that around until I outgrew it -
it wasn't powerful enough to be safe 2-up on highway 17.
At that point I got
a Suzuki GS850-G and immediately attached a luggage rack and passenger back
rest to it. This was my beloved work-horse. I would have been perfectly
happy with this bike forever (I think?!); unfortunately it was leaking oil
so badly that I had to carry rags around to clean my shoes off after riding.
I eventually got tired of this and retired the bike to die in my backyard.
After this, I went quite a while without any bike at all.
In the summer of 1997, I got my Honda Nighthawk 700S. I rode it a bit, then winter set in. Since I now have a car, its much harder to convince myself to ride in rain, cold, etc., so I didn't ride it much that winter. When winter was over, I never got back into riding the bike; I think it's just not the right bike for me (I sure miss my GS850!)