Really. That surprises me. I haven't ridden either the Magna or the Sabre, but I figured if the Magna was good, having a better seating arrangement and a larger tank (and better looks IMO) would be a gimme.

Oh, I wouldn't give you a nickel for the first or second gen magna. I'm all about the 3rd gen.

1994 - 2003.

(picture is example only)

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I've never found the previous generations too terribly enjoyable, and it's all because of frame and geometry and such.

Yamaha Special-II 400cc something or another. Oh my god, what a galactic scale piece of shit this bike was. Handled like a wet noodle, stopped like... well, the brakes were a suggestive after thought. Went well enough after about a 3-day warm up period, and was the most lack-luster, least enjoyable thing I've ever ridden.

Is it weird that I agree with you on everything about the Special, but I had an absolute blast riding it around?

for my own:

1983 Honda Shadow 750. I hated this bike. Ergonomics really sucked for me, and handling wasn't great. Doesn't help that mine never really ran right in all the time I owned it.

2006 V-Strom 1000 is about the best all around bike I've owned. Doesn't really exceed at anything, but for a bike that will handle highway, curves, and dirt, this is it.

2007 Yamaha FZ-1 is so far my favorite out of the bikes I've ever owned. For me, even the stock seat is comfortable enough for long rides. It's not going to handle the dirt roads or the two tracks the way the Strom did, but oh well, I have to adjust less than 5% of my riding.

I want to hear more of Papa's life story through bikes!

You'll have to wait a bit. Intyerview tomorrow, wife's father just died, and I'm 60 today.

Happy Birthday Ed Papa!

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Every bike I've owned has been old. I have 2 right now. My '86 K100 was a keeper. Unfortunately a Guatemalan maid who didn't speak or read English and worked for a lawyer made a left turn in front of me. I escaped with my life. And I'm thankful for that. My R80ST is the one bike I wish I still had. Alas, I had to sell it because I needed the money. Same with my '81 XL500R. Bought it new when I left the service. Upgraded the front end with an '85 XL350 (thus giving me a disc brake). That's the one I owned the longest. Sold it in '09. We rode all over Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona & Colorado.

My '99 VFR is like my stereo or camera equipment; I'm holding on to it to the very last fingernail. It does everything I need. It's a little ragged but she's a bitch and doesn't care. The /5? My dad and I raced that bike for many years from the late 80's to late 90's in AHMRA and WERA. I'll probably pass it on to my son. It's been retired from the track and lives the life of a former Derby winner.

Suzuki TS185, Penton 250, Ducati Monster, R80GS.....meh. Not really worth mentioning.

1977 Kawasaki KE-100    I remember taking this little enduro down Barnett Shoals Road in Clarke County to see how fast it would go.....with 1/2 a tank of gas, synthetic oil in the tank and with me laying down over the gas tank I got her up to 62mph......Nirvana.... We was wide open, layed out and hauling ass!!! During the 3 years I had that one I completely disassembled it twice to clean it up and tweak it. Carb cleanings were required weekly to allow the bike to outrun my Brother on his 175. (Its not all the bike, its 70% the driver!)


I traded it in for a brand new 1978 Kawasaki KZ-250 thumper and took it straight out to Barnett Shoals Rd after the break in period, layed down on the tank and hit a glorious 71 mph! She was a nimble little thumper....would wheelie without Herculean of effort and kept me busy for 2 years making tht 47 dollar a month payment. But when I got her payed off I sold her for 750 bucks and bought a 1972 Mustang(first car) who's trip down Barnett Shoals Road yielded a 102mph run.(although anyone who knows the car knows that at 91 mph the front end floated straight up and the steering was now no more a suggestion.) 



1982 found me in Charleston, SC living on the Good Ship Dewey (DDG-45) and without wheel's...Dad insisted I sell the Mustang before I left for boot camp and as an E-4 I couldn't really afford a car note AND the beer I was drinking. Soooooooo.....A trip to a motorcycle shoppe on Spruill Ave yielded a brand 1983 new Suzuki GS-650G model and a whopping uncomfortably large 117 dollar payment....She was air cooled shaft driven (almost there!!!)....decent in the twisties and a good interstate bike. First trip home I took her out to Barnett Shoals Rd and yeilded a 118 MPH pass first try! I never had to buy anything other then wear parts for the bike and she never failed to start. This was first motorcycle LOVE....I shoulda kept her. But.....the need for windows and a heater because of shore Duty orders in Norfolk VA caused me to think I needed to sell her so I sold her to my brother who wrecked her then let her rot in his front yard.(Never sell vehicles you like to family)


Got out in 1987, found a job, found a wife....made a couple of babies and payed the mortgage till 1994 when a fellow at work put a 1992 Concours up for sale on the board in the break room. The soul less  Ford Festive in the driveway had 141k mile on her, the budget was tight and the 4500 asking price was on deposit in the bank....I bought it. When I went home and told the wife that the owner would be over tomorrow with the bike she asked me if I wanted a divorce. I told her it was a cash deal and that it was done. The next 3 weeks of the marriage were the quietest EVER and it took me another 6 months to get her on the back of the bike....I havent been able to get her off of it since!

Now, that 1992 C-10 needed an updated clutch spring cause the lever was bumping me from the day I bought it but the dealership took 6 weeks to get one in my hand.NEVEER WENT BACK TO A DEALER FOR SERVICE!!!!!!EVER!!!!! She wasnt the quickest quietest or most comfortable bike on the road but for 141 thousand miles she took me to work, the mountains....beach.....the Natchez trace twice and got my cherry on the Dragon. In 2003 I took her down Barnett Shoals Rd and went down it at 121mph...When she died a horrible death by stretched timing chain I was miserable.... She was an old steady friend that loved a good time.


   But by then the C-14 had come out and I didnt really connect with it so the ST1300 was bought....She blew down Barnett Shoals road at 148 MPH.......


   Your supposed to get smarter as you age???

Around Christmas in 1980 I traded the RD for a 1980 Honda CB750F. The only Honda I've ever owned, and when I look back, the only Honda I've ever ridden. Beautiful bike, and at the time the finest handling machine you could buy, though the Suzuki GS machines were right up there.

These where high times for my riding development. After eschewing my two stroke tuning skills (see the above RD post) I got on with learning to ride and maintain a motorcycle. I started acquiring more ATGATT gear. The shop dispatcher at the Mercedes Benz dealership I worked at was an AFM 125GP racer. He kept his little Honda 125 in his kitchen. It was the easiest place to store it as he lived on the 3rd floor. While he didn't impart any skills he did give me, through osmosis, an attitude towards motorcycling.

Fred was pretty scary.

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