Liking the Same Motorcycles
Here you see my taste in motorcycles.
I had occasion to speak with Ben Hochberg, the former head of the ABATE of Colorado rider training program, and once we were done with the topic at hand we, of course, shifted to discussing motorcycles.
“What are you riding now?” Ben asked.
I told him that of the four bikes I’ve owned I still have three and they are the 1980 CB750 Custom, my ’99 Concours, and my latest, the 2006 V-Strom 650. Get a load of what Ben told me about his bikes.
Sometime in the last couple years he sold his old Kawasaki KZ 750. Now, just like my CB, the KZ is from the era of the UJM, the universal Japanese motorcycle, where function defined style and therefore there were a whole lot of bikes that were virtually identical.
Ben said he was really, really interested in a V-Strom 1000, and came very near to buying one that was remaindered with a great asking price, but ultimately just couldn’t justify even that expense.
Nevertheless, he needed a good bike he could burn some serious miles on because his training activities often take him some distance from home. So when a friend from New York came to visit, a guy who rides an older Concours like mine, Ben decided to take a look at Connies on craigslist. There he found a mint condition 2003 (?) bike with just 10,000 miles on it for a fabulous price. He thought about it but still couldn’t justify the spend.
He did mention it, though, at one point and the friend asked to see the ad. Calling it up on his phone, he showed it to the friend, who got seriously excited and told Ben, “You’ve got to call the guy! It’s going to be gone!” Ben demurred, at which point his wife, Sheila, told him, “Call the guy.” He said to Sheila, “I love you!” and dialed the phone.
Besides the bike involved, it is similar to my situation with the V-Strom. After I got my second bike my wife told me if I ever intended to get another I would need to let go of one of the two I already had. Then, years later, the opportunity came for me to get the V-Strom and I was just wavering. Without mentioning anything about that previous conversation, Judy told me, “Buy the bike. You’ve wanted one for a long time.” Yeah, I love you, too, Judy.
Ben asked about my set-up on the Connie and I told him the first thing I did was to get risers so I wouldn’t have such a serious lean toward the grips. Check. Ben has gotten adapters that allow you to use a tubular handlebar, which then gives you a wide selection so you can have them come up and back to whatever point you want.
“Have you ever thought about getting highway pegs?” he asked.
Oh yeah, I have them and I love them.
“Where did you get them?”
From Murph. Anyone who rides a Concours knows Murph’s. He has designed and produced a whole lot of the best accessories for Connies. And yes, those are the highway pegs Ben has gotten for his Connie.
Now, he has also gotten an aftermarket windshield and I haven’t done that. I’m perfectly happy with stock on that item.
So obviously we must have very similar tastes in bikes, which surprises me because the last time I saw Ben he was riding some big Harley cruiser. I guess that Harley is long gone. He also has a Buell that he says he’ll never part with. I’m not a Harley guy at all and I doubt I’ll ever have a Buell, though I’d take the Buell before I’d take the Harley. Pretty interesting, though, all this similarity.
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The shortest distance between two points is for people who can’t ride.
