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Motorcycles

2004 Kawasaki Mean Streak 1600	April 2004 My current bike is a Kawasaki Vulcan Mean Streak 1600.  I feel like this bike was engineered just for me.  I love riding it.  Its combination of performance and handling is just what I like in a bike.  Now, that doesn't mean I am not always thinking of some way to improve on it.J My previous bike was a 2002 Yamaha VStar 1100 Custom.  When I bought it, I really liked the look of the Mean Streak but was swayed by a negative review.  Though I really enjoyed riding the VStar, I continued to look at the Streak.  Finally, I decided to stop only looking and finally bought one. This bike has significantly more power than the VStar -- even more than I expected just going from the 1100 to 1600 engine.  Mostly, it is the low end torque that I notice.  Winding it out, it's just like the bike wants to fly.  I can feel strong acceleration all the way from the bottom of the shift up to the limiter.  And in the corners it easily keeps up with my friends on sport bikes. I've seen someone categorize this bike as having "the heart of a cruiser and the soul of a sport bike".  I readily agree and can say this is not just hype.  It aptly describes this wonderful mixture of technologies and gives me the hot rod I really wanted. Customizations: Mustang dual-tour seat & Cobra Mini sissy bar SDC "Back-off" brake light modulator SDC "Diamond Star" headlight modulator Arlen Ness Lo Ram bars Stebel Nautilus Horn Removal of all labels except the Vulcan Mean Streak emblems. I am a member of VROC (Vulcan Riders and Owners Club) and can often be found on Delphi's Vulcan Forum.
2002 Yamaha VStar 1100 Custom	August 2002 After riding my 1984 Honda Shadow for a year, I decided it was time to get a new bike, one I expected to keep long-term.  Having had only Hondas I was expecting I'd buy a  Honda 1100 Shadow Spirit .  After doing the research I ended up with the Honda and the Yamaha VStar 1100 Custom as my finalists.  (As I mentioned, I had taken the Mean Streak out of the running early on due to a poor review.  But this was on the 1500 and the 1600 was coming...) All it took was a test ride to decide for the VStar.  Some of the technology on the Shadow is great (dual-plugs, three-valves, water-cooled, etc.) but it only has single-disc front/drum rear brakes compared with the VStar's dual-disc front/single-disc rear.  And let's face it: a bike is all about riding, not specs.  Riding the VStar was so much more fun!  I even waited two weeks (to let the emotions cool!) and began thinking I might go back to buying the Shadow.  When I went to lay out the money I figured I'd do another test ride -- just to be sure.  But all I had to do was sit on them and I knew I was in love.  No test ride needed.  So I bought the VStar and haven't looked back! Customizations: Passenger back rest Jardine Oil Filter relocation kit Gen-Mar riser extensions MaXair air kit Yamaha Engine Guard Removal of all but the "Star" emblems for a cleaner look.
1984 Honda Shadow	August 2001 I purchased my second bike: a 1984 Honda Shadow .  I bought it from an 86 year old gentleman who was the second owner.  Getting this bike was actually my wife's idea!  I had been talking quite a bit about buying a new car but she suggested I go ahead and get another bike instead.  Getting back in the game, I decided to buy a less-expensive, used bike because I didn't want to invest a lot of money only to find out that my body (which was now 15 years older) didn't enjoy it as much as I remembered.  Needless to say, it didn't take me long to decide that riding was something I still loved to do.  This 700cc V-Twin was great for just me but I knew I wanted something bigger...
1974 Honda CB550	June 1984 I purchased my first bike: a 1974 Honda CB550 .  I had finally decided to get a motorcycle and had always liked the CB550/750 bikes.  I found this one for a fair price and bought it.  I rode this bike occasionally to work (about 60 miles a day) but mostly just recreation and sold it in Spring 1987.  I just realized that my life had other priorities -- growing family and all that -- upon which I needed to focus.  It had two-into-one pipes, a Vetter fairing, crash bars, highway-pegs, and original orange-with-black-accent paint.  Had a lot of fun on this bike...