Well folks. There I was in Motomart last week with "her indoors" and I nearly (very nearly) walked away thinking that there wasn't really much on show that was catching my eye. Wrong! Up till then I had been reading forums and roadtests and downloading internet images but not actually seeing one in the flesh. Until I spotted this brand spanking gleaming black beast right under my nose! My bottom lip started to drop and salivation set in. I was hooked...instantly hooked. Just had to have one. In fact, it would have been rude not too! I'd been hankering to get back to naked muscle bikes since I sold my beloved ZX9 last March and the withdrawal symptoms of having no bike since then got the better of me (or rather us!) Of all the nakeds, the CB1300 was coming up trumps for me despite early desires for a GSX1400. A quick chat with Todd at Motormart revealed that Sparky had already snapped up said beast but that they would be getting more at the rate of one a month. I knew I there was no going back... having made the initial enquiry, the conversation soon got round to "when's the next one due?" "December." "Oh, bugger!" "Well I can make a phone call and check". "OK then, thanks". "Well you are in luck, Richard. I can have one here by next Tuesday" That was it - the point of no return had been reached so deals were done for dollar bills rather than finance and by Thursday this week the new addition to our household was ready. Well, as you can imagine I was like a dog with two tadgers. Sods law prevailed of course and at the time of pick-up, the Wellington weather was surpassing itself by pissing down for what seemed like forever. Nevertheless, I dodged the wet stuff and now having added a mini Givi we are at last on two wheels again.
I have no qualms about reverting to a bike such as this after about ten years of sportsbikes. It seems a lot of us are doing it. Must be an age thing! After an initial trip today doing the usual Hutt Valley, Rimutakas, Martinborough, Gladstone, Masterton loop I have to say that I feel far more confident on the CB than I did on the Ninja. The bike feels planted much firmer on the road and even two-up, it handles like a dream - almost begging you to bank her into the corners and effortlessly forgiving you for any slight misjudgements. Grin factor? Twelve out of ten. And all with more torque than Michael Parkinson! Brilliant! Just brilliant! In the words of Canned Heat, I'm on the road again! Yippee! See you all out there. Enjoy the pics.
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Those muscle bound things certainly have a strong following.
Originally Posted by Albert
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