SV Goodness! And Easter Morning Ride

Wahoo!!!!!!!
I have SV650 goodness!
With much much help from my hero, I brought home a very nicely used SV650 last night!

Weekend was very good, Saturday I went all day without much needed coffee so that I could go to bed early. After a couple of days of trying to see Bay Area SV’s that were seeming very elusive, I went and gave a little test ride to a Superhawk. I’ve been eying these bikes, but put off by the size (1000cc’s just doesn’t sound like me at all) and the gas tank (100 miles, no more.) But rode it anyway, and very much enjoyed the feel and sound of it. Hmmmm… I considered it. Of course I was terrified because I’ve been riding a 400cc dirtbike for the past year. The Superhawk was a reminder, “so THAT’s what happens when you roll on the throttle! Holy crap!” And “How do you turn these things again?”

Then went to bed very early because I was to have a very long day Sunday. But the guy in Rocklin (just outside of Roseville, which is just outside of Sacramento) called back and still had the SV I saw in Cycle Trader. So I arranged to see it in the morning, making my day infinitely more complicated. Here we go!

Sunday I got up at 2 to do the Easter Morning Ride, which I’ve always skipped. Never Again! I will not skip it anymore, what a great time! Fucking great, I don’t know what to say. A couple hundred motorcycles running through San Francisco pre-dawn, running up an unfamiliar (to me) hill in the dark with nothing but a sea of tail-lights twisting up the road in front of you through the fog, arriving to a crowd of motorcyclists you can’t really see, exchanging smiles, coffee, donuts, and something I’m still not sure what it was (“drink this!” “what is it?” “I don’t know just drink it!” “uh, ok”)… To watch the sun rise on Mt. Tam. Brilliant, and the hot boys on dirtbikes didn’t hurt much either, once the sun had come up. Hello Sailor! Damn, but I could not stay to chat them up, I was due in San Jose. Back down the hill, played a bit with one of them, as much as I dared on the sopping wet and unfamiliar road, and sped like a madman to San Jose (this is relative to my engine size. A sportbike guy would not think 90 for an hour was speeding, but, he would also cry when I took him down Tunitas. It’s all perspective.) to meet my hero who took me to meet my new motorcycle two and a half hours away.

The bike is in very good condition, low miles (by my standards anyway) and just really pretty. OK, so I wanted red. Everyone knows red bikes are faster. Oh well, I am not that patient, and I think it was a pretty good deal. Little test ride, it’s a fun bike! And very punchy, compared to the DRZ. I could be mistaken, but I get the feeling it wants to wheelie.
So then we part ways, and my hero takes my dirtbike back to San Jose, and I take the new bike to my grandmother’s house for Easter dinner. This is gold rush country, the roads are swell, but there are a lot of people touring around visiting family. No fun, but I am trying to be conservative anyway. I have no license plate, and don’t want hassle. Wow, I can just pass people now, whenever I feel like it! That’s a feeling I haven’t had in a while. Dinner is great, family is great, and I take off to lanesplit almost the entire way home. This bike is tight and crisp, the way a bike ought to be. The EX felt sloppy. The DRZ is just a different animal. (a really fucking great animal!) This feels like other sportbikes I’ve been on, and sounds nifty too. Not loud, not even growly, just real. It’s actually quiet but it has that “whirr” which I can’t describe to non-riders. So nevermind, I’m happy, I’m scared, it’s way punchy and won’t forgive nearly as many sloppy habits as my DRZ. I have to be much more careful, and I’m riding it very conservatively. Downshifting is not smooth.

But I’m ready to ride all over the place now.
Who wants to go to LA? Portland? Seattle?
C’mon, I’ve got a travel bar!