Greetings to all on KB. I pick up my new bike next week and can't wait to get back on the road after a year or two on the sidelines.
I had two motorbikes before marriage forced me to buy a car. Starting out on a Kawasaki KH125 - probably the only one ever sold in NZ. Came with a cable (not hydraulic) front disk brake - and beleive me there were many reasons why that trend never caught on.
The Kwaka was replaced with a Honda CB400n which was my primary transport before during and after marriage. When we split up wife #1 got the car (no biggie) and the fridge - what a bummer that was keeping beer cool in the summer until I could afford a replacement. Anyway I was back on the bike as the only means of transport and made it through a couple of Taranaki seasons, even a winter tour down to Christchurch to see my parents without dramas.
Somehow I ended up with a car and no bike for many years while I got myself back on my feet and into a new life. The desire was always there, and in my late 30's I got back into motorbikes with a 1987 BMW K100RT. I loved that bike, and I loved Sunday breakfasts in Akaroa, and lunch in Twizel just for the hell of it
Being too sensible for my own good the BMW was sold to finance my travels through Europe and eventually bujying a house with wife #2. But now my shit is together at last. At the start of the summer I started the serious search for a motorbike. With a clean sheet of paper I looked at cruisers, dual-purpose, and the old faithful road bikes. But the first R1100RT I took for a test ride reminded me everything I loved about the tourers. It just felt right, and I am delighted to be out there again.
So if any Christchurch KB'ers pass a black R1100 ridden by an old guy with a huge grin - don't forget to wave !
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