kim is a new mommy.
Yesterday morning, I got up bright and early, took a shower, and waited for Kim to come over. She drove us both over to AfterShocks, where her CB-1 still was (see last entry for details). I chatted with Phil the Mechanic about the bike show while Kim signed the paperwork with the old owner, and then we all just hung around talking for a while. Robin, the previous owner of the CB-1, had the same jacket as I do (Joe Rocket ballistic), so we chatted about that and how it helped her in a crash once; Robin's also pretty short, so we talked about "short person motorcycling" for a while, and about Robin's new Suzuki SV650, which she was getting lowered at AfterShocks.

The CB-1 came with the owner's manual, so I flipped through it to see if there was anything totally weird about the bike. It has an inline 4 engine, and, perhaps I'm dumb, but I was having a hell of a time finding the carburetors. I'll have to look more closely next time I see her bike. The oil filter is right out in front, totally unobstructed, which I know is going to send Peter into spasms of jealousy (his oil filter is behind a structural piece of the frame, which is in turn, behind the radiator). In fact, I believe the exact quote I said to her at the time was, "oh wow, when you change your oil, you won't be in the worlds of pain that Peter is!". We also noticed that her chain had way too much slack in it (we didn't measure or anything, but from just eyeballing it, it looked like there might have been a good 3" of slack; the manual recommends 5/8" - 1") and could probably use some lube, too, but we didn't worry about that right then. That's easy stuff that can be fixed with a wrench and some WD-40, and Kim had an out-of-town guest at her house to get back to, so we put off the minor maintenance for another time.

Anyways, I rode the CB-1 back to Kim's apartment once we were done chatting up the mechanics. That is such an excellent bike. There was one time I took a corner too sharply, and it confused me for a second because the bike is so much lower to the ground than mine (I can actually *flatfoot* the CB-1 since it's lowered! What a *weird* feeling!), but I corrected for it, and all was OK again. It's funny; the CB-1 is the exact opposite of mine in some respects: the Nighthawk shifts really quickly and smoothly, but you need to really open up the throttle to get quick acceleration. On the other hand, the CB-1 needs more deliberate shifting, but hardly any turning of the throttle. It took me a good 6 or 7 stoplights on the CB-1 before I stopped *really* over-revving it to start going; I literally only needed to nudge the throttle less than an inch to get more than enough power. Very odd.

So, yeah, the CB-1 is now officially Kim's, and is parked in her carport. I took a couple of pictures of her on it, so I'll post those as soon as they're developed. My whole current roll of film is bike pictures! I'll probably develop them this week, even though the roll's only halfway completed, so I can scan them in before we go on vacation. After the Kim/CB-1 pics, the rest of the pictures are all from the bike show! Huzzah! So now I must ramble about the bike show.

huzzah! the bike show!
First of all, I'd just like to say that I guess that this is what all those computer shows in college were supposed to be like for me. I'd always carry arond the little bag, and collect the little kitsch from the booths, and pretend to ooh and ahh over the little chips and cards and software. I could never understand why -- or *how* -- my classmates could spend hours upon hours at these things. I was a bad nerd.

So, the bike show! I carried around a little bag! I collected kitsch and pamphlets and magazines and business cards! I oohed and ahhed over the little engine diagrams and demos and BIKES! There were hundreds of bikes, from every major dealer I can think of, lined up, for you to sit on! And try the controls! And see how you fit! There were Hondas, Suzukis, Aprilias, Ducatis, Harleys, Kawasakis, Triumphs, BMWs, Buells, Yamahas, Moto Guzzis! Shoei and Arai helmets! Mota gear! Peter and I wondered the halls for around four hours, sitting on bikes, talking with dealers, chatting with booth people, and just watching the crowd and the people and the stuff.

I have a bunch of pictures of us sitting on bikes, so I'll post those ASAP. I realized after the fact that I should have taken notes about which bikes I sat on and my impressions of them, but I didn't, so I'll do my best to remember. I'll list them by dealer, so you can skip to the ones you're interested in, or whatever:

• Aprilia: These were the first bikes we looked at upon entering the hall. Up until this point, we hadn't realized that we'd be able to *sit on* whatever bikes we wanted to, so we went nuts at the Aprilia booth.
  • RST Futura: Peter sat on a Futura, and I have to admit, he looked really good on it. I know there was something he didn't like; I think it was that his legs were too long, but I'll have to ask him.
  • RSV Mille: One of Peter's co-workers has a Mille, and so he was pretty excited to sit on one himself (he really likes how they look; I don't. Luckily our relationship has survied this). Unfortunately, he had the same problem; his legs were just barely too long [Note: an explanation is in order here. Peter is 6'5", and therefore, has really long legs. A lot of bike manufacturers sculpt the gas tanks where they feel the rider's legs will press against it; since his legs are long, his knee is oftentimes *above* the molded "leg line" on the tank.].
  • SL1000 Falco: Both Peter and I liked the looks of this bike, and we both sat on it. I don't remember his thoughts, but the thing that really stuck out for me was that it was damn near impossible for me to balance this thing. To say I was "tiptoeing" it is really an understatement; I was balancing on the rubber ridge along the outside of the toe of my boots. Wow. It was a beautiful bike, though. [Note: there was one Aprilia, I wish I could remember which, where I barely could tiptoe on *one* foot. I pointed this out to Peter, who said, "oh, but you can just lean it over to tiptoe to the other foot!" at which point, I told him to go *look* at where my right foot was: it was literally about halfway up the side of the bike. "Oh," said Peter. "I guess I hadn't realized how much difference the width makes!" Welcome to short biking, said I.]

• Ducati: From the Aprilias, we continued on our Italian motorbike theme over to the Ducatis. I was really pleasantly surprised with most of them.
  • Monster S4: Both Peter and I fit on, and liked, this bike. I was able to balance it pretty well, and got lots of compliments about how the bright red of the bike matched my hair. ;) [Note: I actually got this comment quite a lot. I think the dealers should give bikes to me as a PR move.]. I know there's a picture of me sitting on the S4 on my roll of film.
  • Monster 600: I really liked this bike. The one I sat on was a matte black color, which I actually liked better than the shiny black of most sportsbikes. It was light, had a neat instrument panel, and I could balance it easily on the balls of my feet. Unfortunately, the Monster 600 isn't available in California (emissions standards, no doubt). It also has upside-down front forks, which I thought was interesting. I ended up chatting for a while with a woman from Mota and a Duc dealer about this bike; the dealer was telling us that it's a great beginning bike, but a lot of people feel like they've "outgrown" it after a relatively short amount of time, and they move up to a Monster 750 or an S4.

• Moto Guzzi: There were only 3 MG bikes available to sit on, so we swung by there on the way to the snack bar. It was crowded, so I didn't wait to sit on any.
  • V11 Sport: Peter sat on this one, mainly because I told him that he had to, since it was bright neon lime green. "It's lime green!" I said. "No, it's not. That's *puke* green." he claimed. I think Peter found this bike so ugly that it personally offended him.

• Honda: After a snack, we went over to the other side of the hall, where our favorite bikes (Honda, Suzuki, Triumph) were. The Hondas were, appropriately, our first stop.
  • Shadow Sabre: I mainly sat on this bike because I wanted to tell my co-worker Chris that I had (he's a cruiser person; Peter and I aren't). I have to admit, though, this was a gorgeous bike. Peter thought I looked great on it, too; he came over and grabbed my butt afterwards. What better endorsement could Honda want? "The Shadow Sabre: it'll make that special someone grab your ass."
  • CBR1100XX: OK, now we're back to the land of the sportsbikes. Peter's been drooling over CBRs since the dawn of time, so we made sure to check this one out. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that he had the "long leg" problem again on this one. :( I didn't sit on it.
  • Interceptor (aka VFR800FI): This one was pretty high on Peter's happy list. He currently rides an '84 VF750 Interceptor, so this was like being on his bike after 16 years of improvements. I found it really comfortable too; it was low enough for me to balance, and much lighter than Peter's current bike. Peter said it best, though: "This bike is just *comfy*. I could ride it for *hours*." 'Nuff said.
  • Super Hawk (aka VTR1000F): Ultimately, though, I think this bike won out for Peter. Both of us loved the way it looked (I'm not a big "plastics" person -- I think the Interceptor has too much fairing), and Peter really fit well on it. This bike is deceptively light -- when I sat on it I figured I'd need to throw it hard to the right to balance it, and I nearly swung it right over off balance. ;) At only 426 pounds, 996cc, cherry-red, and mostly comfortable (Peter says it'd be perfect with a Corbin seat), I think the boi found something to spend his extra non-existant $9k on. ;) Here's a better picture than the crappy one Honda has on its page (note: this pic is the yellow one; Peter and I were in love with the red one.).
  • Nighthawk 750: I had to sit on the Nighthawks, of course. I was surprised by the 750; it obviously felt very similar to my 450, but I was expecting it to feel "bigger," and it didn't. Probably just because I'd been sitting on the huge CBR and Italian bikes, but I was almost disappointed.
  • Nighthawk 250: Mini-my bike! I could basically flatfoot the 250, and, just like the 750, it just felt too *small*. Hard to believe I'd ever be saying that, huh? :)
  • Reflex Scooter: Peter sat on this one just for fun. "It's like for people who really *want* a motorcycle, but just don't or won't go out and buy a real one," he said. "Like, just *look* at this thing! It wants to be a motorcycle so badly."
  • We sat on some Honda ATVs too, but this review is getting too long already. ;)

• Suzuki: Ah, the Suzukis. Whereupon I met with a horrible fate.
  • GSX1300RR (aka Hayabusa): I'd heard a lot about the Hayabusa. It was way too wide for me, but Peter fit pretty well on it, and looked damn good, too.
  • Katana 750: Peter sat on this one, too. I'm not a big Katana fan (for no reason whatsoever, they seem like "frat boy bikes" to me. Send hate mail here.), but he said it seemed "OK."
  • Bandit 1200: I sat on one of the Bandits, but now I can't remember which one (dammit, all the Suzukis look alike). Judging from the fairings, though, I think it was the 1200, and since this is *my* journal, you have to believe me. Ha! I remember that it was substantially heavier than the other Sazooks that I sat on (471 lbs, the catalog says), but still pretty easy to balance.
  • GS500: I liked this one. It was cute and black and light (381 lbs) and I could sit on it easily and balance it well. It just looked fun.
  • SV650S: Y'all knew this was coming. *I* knew it was coming. As soon as I saw the Suzuki booth, I said to Peter, "they're going to have it, you know. And I'm going to have to sit on it." And have the SVS they did. In both blue (which was gorgeous because it was SO blue) and red (which was gorgeous because it was just barely not-red, more like a wine color, just a little "off"...). And I sat on one. And it fit. It fit *well*. It fit like a bike which *knew* it was on my wish list and was proud of that. I had figured it'd be too tall. I had figured that there'd be too much reach to the handlebars. I had figured...I had figured that there'd be *something* wrong with it, once I'd actually *seen* on in person, and sat on it. I had figured wrong. "Looks like we found *your* new bike," Peter said after I'd gotten on it, before I'd even said anything. *sigh*

• Triumph: My other dream bike. Since the Sprint 900 was discontinued in 1998, I had no objects of lust actually *at* the show, but I was still curious.
  • Speed Triple: First of all, we didn't sit on it, but they had one of the Speed Triples from Mission: Impossible 2 there. Apparently it was the only one that was left marginally intact after the filming. ;) Anyways, I sat on a hot pink Speed Triple, which I know there is also a picture of on my current roll of film. I'm pretty sure that the Speed Triple has the same seat height as the Sprint 900, and was therefore pretty disappointed to find out that it was a bit more precarious to balance than I'd have liked. Lowering would help, as would a better seat, but it was still a bit of a bummer. My main concern, though, that the reach to the handlebars would suck, turned out to be a non-issue. That reach was pretty comfortable.
  • Legend TT: I really like the way that this bike looks. If I were more of a cruiser person, this would definitely be at the top of my list. It's got a seat height of only 28", and I love the forest green color. It's just an all-around neat-looking, comfortable bike. I was pretty happy.
  • Sprint ST: I was pretty anxious to sit on the ST, to prove the silly yuppie wrong. Unfortunately, though, the ST was on its centerstand (I don't know why), so I couldn't even reach the ground at all from the seat. Grrr. So I still don't know if I'd fit on an ST.

• BMW: Neither Peter nor I are big BMW fans (sorry), so we didn't really sit on any of the bikes. I did get a great picture of him on a BMW police bike, though, so that'll be neat.

• Kawasaki: There were more Kawas than God at this bike show, and I'd say that 90% of them were Ninjas. Does Kawa make any non-Ninja bikes?
  • Some non-descript Ninjas: I'm sorry, but every single Ninja there looked exactly alike, and so I have no idea whatsoever which particular models I sat on. :( I do remember thinking that the neon blue one was pretty comfortable, but that they were all a *lot* heavier than some of the other mid-sized bikes that I'd sat on (ahem, the SV650, ahem).
  • Police 1000: I did sit on the Kawa police bike; I don't remember if we took a picture or not. Those cop bikes are boats.

I'm sure I forgot some, but I'll remember more once I get the pictures back, and god knows this was already too much. ;) I'll write more about the non-sitting-on-bikes portion of the show later tonight or tomorrow. :)

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