Well, I see I haven't done this yet so here goes....
I live in "Cowtown", Canada (known to cartographers as Calgary) the home of the Calgary Flames of the NHL, home of the Calgary Stampede (the "Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth") and we also hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics (yes, I went to as many events as I could get tickets for and, yes, it's highly recommended IMO). Calgary is ~80 miles from the Rocky Mountains so good riding roads are not far away....and it's VERY easy to get to the interior of British Columbia next door for GREAT riding roads. OK, enough travelogue/Chamber of Commerce stuff.
I finally got my '06 B12S on May 20/06. The thread with all that stuff is in this section.
I've been riding since 1964 and owned various Hondas up until I went to work as a wrench for a Suzuki/Ducati/Ossa/Hodaka dealer in the early-mid 70's.
I learned what handling was (Ducati) and learned what strokers have to offer (Suzuki and Ossa). At the time I had a bought-brand-new CB750K0 Honda which, I thought, was pretty much the dog's bollocks until I got waxed by a '69 Mach III. The H1 rider and I became good friends and we still hang out together. That K0 Honda was my last new street bike until I bought my B12S recently. 36 years is a lonnngggg time without a new street bike.
In 1988, after 15 years of off-roading only, I decided to get back into street bikes, mainly because my back couldn't take the off-road beating any more. I found a reasonably nice (what else ?) CB750K6 and proceeded to restore it to new, riding it during the process. Meanwhile, I was looking for a Kwak H2 for a stroker fun bike.....but none were to be had. Sooooo......I found an absolutely mint '76 Suzi GT550 which is a civilized version of the Kwak Mach III.....not as fast....but a lot more durable and economical to run and a real pleasure to ride when you're in a pootleing mood. Then I found an H2 and made a nice semi-hotrod out of it....and then found another....and another.....and another....and another.
And then I found a '77 Water Buffalo. I've got projects to last me until, oh, maybe 2025....if I live that long.
But, I finally decided to bust the piggy bank and get myself a new Suzi....
and since Suzi doesn't make strokers anymore and since I'm not old enough for a cruiser and since my back won't stand for a Gixxer
....presto...the Bandit. My Mach III-driving buddy's brother had a '97 B12S that had a jet kit, Yosh can and EXTENSIVE dyno time/tuning put into it back in 1998.
It did 280 km/hr (174 MPH) on a speed run over a timed 3 mile stretch of public road in 1999 !!!! I was impressed, to say the least, and that shows what a properly set up bike CAN do, even up at 3500' ASL.
So, I always thought if I could ever afford a new bike again, the Bandit would be at the top of my list, mainly because, even with all the Kwaks and Hondas I've had (and have), my heart belongs to Suzi.
I may not ever want to go that fast....but it's comforting to know I
could do it if I had a mind to.
