1991's
motohistory:
--
Could it be the Vespa that I was a passenger on or the Suzuki that I was on when I was young? Don't know.. but I guess I always wanted to corner fast.
I used to run really fast in 2nd-8th grade.. Corner and lean into the turn... No one catches me.. It was a rush to feel the G-load on your feet!
In high school, I rode a Huffy road bike from K-mart/Target and had a blast riding it all through Milwaukee, from the beach to the suburbs to play tennis.
Onward to my Real motorcycle birth...
It was not until I went to college that I got an idea to buy the bike. It was Thong, my older brother, who first suggested that he wanted a bike. Then I thought.. hell yeah.. I'm going to do it!
I finished my first year at Marquette University(Milwaukee, WI) and then found that I can't afford dorm and had to commute for the rest of college and also work part time too. I needed transportation.
I had no car so the cheapest thing was a bike.. I took all of my savings since I was 7 years old..(yes all the quarters and cash) and bought myself a 1989 Kawasaki EX500 from a really nice girl who broke up with her boyfriend who rode. Lucky me it had only 927 miles on it!
With the EX500, I took the MSF Beginner's course and off I went and passed the driver's license. Hell's Angel... I was not.
I reassured my folks that I'd take care of myself and got the helmet, gloves, boots and a nice flourescent yellow windbreaker.
I rode my bike to work at the bank. I came in with a tie and white shirt underneath the breaker. There were times when I rode to work and home all soaked! I wised up and saved for a First Gear rain suit. I still have it and it still fits.
Then... my best friend in an Olds Cutlass wanted to go to Racine and see the beach there. I rode.. and the windbreaker just flapped till I was numb. That was when I swore to leathers... a Fieldsheer Vulcan. It is like a H.G. V-pilot jacket. Still fits... :)
I was a skinny Mad Max.. with leathers on. Come on babes hop on my bike! Yeah.. right..!
I rode mostly in Milwaukee streets and strafed the Lake front s-curves. I never rode in a pack at all. I went to a "motorcycle rally" once cause I saw it in the papers. I saw HD bikes all heading there.. I pulled in.. and they were all Black Leather.. folks. Me.. I still wore the yellow windbreaker since it was hot... NOT A GOOD place to be! They roasted Honda's for Fun and I could be their first Kawasaki! CCCCC-yAAAAHHHHH!!
After moving to Chicago suburbs and working.. I meet up with Scott Lambert from Motolist. That's how we began.. He waited at an off ramp on I-90 Eastbound and that's where we met. First time riding with another rider! Was a blast! I broke speed laws and keeping up with Scott's RR. I tell you what.. The EX500 can dance its front end dicing through traffic at 90+ !
Later.. Scott, Rob, George, I and other from Motolist went to Gohr Power Sportbike School at Blackhawk. That weekend gave me a whole NEW appreciation and respect for the racers.. their concentration, stamina, fitness, and skill.
Lets just say that my EX500 had new Metzler tires and they had my total confidence to allow me to hang it out there. Wasn't until.. Rob or someone came over to tell me that I'd better take my fairing lower cowl off cause I'm scraping it. I didn't think I leaned that much.. I'm not that good to tell how much I'm leaning..
Coming off the EX500.. I wanted something with more power and that is where I got my 93 VFR750F. It is still a learning experience for me even after buying the VFR in December of '95.
I passed on my First Love to Thong. But the EX500 will always be a bike like no other.. Nothing will equal it cause I had my start and those experiences carry forward.. The EX500 Lives on...
I'm currently working on getting a used 89 Honda RS125 2-stroke race bike and will take the Learning Curves Roadrace School.
Let that be another chapter.. that I shall continue.... in time.
Postmarked.... 3/5/98
#1991 <--- I was 19 years old at "birth" in '91.
Nhut
93 VFR750F
89 RS125 (in the works)
89 EX500 Fond memories of.
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