08 January 2008

For The Love Of Johnny Strabler; There's Nothing Cozy About A Motorcycle

I wanted a motorcycle for a solid minute or two. It was before I bought my old truck. I thought maybe I'd get an old BMW from WW2. One of those stripped down, mean looking ones that are little more than a bicycle with a motor.

I looked at a gorgeous old BMW R60/2 and a Triumph 650 Bonneville and they were simply beautiful machines. I had the money in my hand...

And then I decided I was too much of a pussy to ride a motorcycle. I also thought about not being able to really listen to the radio or eat a bagel while driving and the idea fell apart as quickly as it came together. There's nothing cozy about a riding a motorcycle. I had to call my old friend Ronnie Raygun with my tail betwixt my legs and tell him to cancel our crash course driving lesson.

But for a spell I was really amped. I figured I'd ride around Woodstock, maybe head towards Bearsville. I wanted to fall off the bike blinded by the sun and maybe have my girl drive me 50 miles to a doctor in Middletown. Then I'd rent a house in Saugerties, paint it pink and record some tunes in the basement. I had it all figured out.

So for those who are brave enough to ride and for those who sacrifice a good drive with the radio blasting, the windows down and a coffee on the dashboard, why wouldn't you want to ride something bad ass like a Harley or a Triumph or an old BMW?

Why the FUCK would you ride one of these neon green or hot yellow rice rockets? They look like video game bikes.

I don't even care about 'Made in America' or whatever but just the look! Why would you want a sporty samurai warrior hyper-bike when you could ride one of these classic, evil and timeless gasoline guzzling suicide machines?


Brooke Lynn said...

I always rode with my ipod on
you just have to get an arm band holder to you can switch songs. I did smoke a cig a few times while riding but i always lost my smoke within a few blocks. On the upside you can always find parking it cost about 6 bucks to fill your tank and you look like a badass

Anonymous said...

Hi dude. You will find if you asked the owners, and looked about a bit, that the old suicide machines guzzle a lot less fuel per mile than new modern motorbikes. More fuel efficient, but not so much power. Then again 80 mph is fast enough anyway.

My 1980 kawasaki z400 will do 60 to the gallon on a good run. Its basically a smaller more modern version of a 650 triumph. I love, except just like the old triumphs it leaks oil and is generally on the wrong side of reliable. Fun to ride tho :D

Long live the old machines :)