I guess if you don't remember if you have introduced yourself that you may as well go ahead and do it again.
I actually don't ride a Bandit, but I'm considering buying one. The truth is that I have waffled quite a bit about what to buy. In recent days, I have thought about the Suzuki GSX650F, various dual-sport bikes, (another) SV650, a Ducati Monster 695, the BMW F800ST, and even the Moto Guzzi Breva 750. My fickle nature has a lot to do with the fact I’ve owned so many motorcycles (I’ll get to that).
My current bike is a new Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT. It's a great ride, but I'm interested in also having a sporty bike. I generally try to avoid owning two bikes at once, but I figure the cruiser is different enough from a sporty bike (or a sport tourer) that I can justify it.
About me. I live in southern Illinois (the Marion, Carbondale area). I grew up in central Virginia, and spent about a dozen years in the Army. When I got out of the Army, I decided I wanted to do something fun for a while, so I attended MMI. I went to their Phoenix campus, and initially took the Harley-Davidson electives. Later, I went back and took the Suzuki elective as well (the F.A.S.T. program). I think it's a pretty good school. I only worked briefly as a mechanic (at a Harley dealership, and later at an aftermarket shop) before being promoted to service manager. I served as a service manager at a Harley dealership for most of my career. We recently moved to southern Illinois, and I took a break from the industry. I guess I'm sort of semi-retired.... or you can classify me as a bum, whichever works for you. The truth is that I’m a stay-at-home Dad for my three kids; and that’s the most challenging job I’ve ever had.
The other thing I always try to brag about is my Iron Butt Association membership. In 2005 I rode from Texas to Laguna Seca to watch the MotoGP race. My buddy and I decided to ride the entire way back to Texas non-stop. We did 1,767 miles in 32 hours. I was on a Yamaha FZ6 at the time. I hope I never try that again... but I do like to brag about it. There are a couple links in my signature block. One is for a write-up I did about the Iron Butt ride, and the other is for a write-up I did about my motorcycle trip through Europe. They're both pretty long, but I did include pictures!
Here is a list of the bikes I’ve owned (pretty much in the order that I owned them) :
1984 Kawasaki LTD 550
1985 Honda Rebel 250
1991 Harley-Davidson XLH-883 Sportster
1976 Yamaha XS360
1996 Harley-Davidson FXDWG Dyna Wide Glide
1999 Ducati 750 Supersport
2000 Kawasaki Concours
1999 Ducati ST2
1999 Ducati M750 Monster
2000 Harley-Davidson XL883 Sportster
2002 Suzuki SV650
1981 Suzuki GS750L
2004 Buell XB12S Lightning
2003 Ducati 999 Monoposto
2004 Suzuki SV650
2003 Honda Metropolitan
1981 Suzuki GS450E
2005 Yamaha FZ6
2006 Suzuki SV650
2007 Triumph Bonneville T-100
2008 Kawasaki Ninja 650R
2008 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT
My history with the Bandit. I started out early as a Bandit fan. Back in the mid-90s I was living in the Washington DC area. Somehow I knew this guy named Ron. He would take his '92 Bandit (I believe it was a 400, but I'm not sure) over to Summit Point Raceway and race every now and then. I would tag along and be a part of his volunteer pit crew. The second Bandit owner that had an influence on me was a guy named Ken. He was part of my riding group in central Texas around 2004. I'm not sure what model his was, but it was one with a fairing. Anyway, being around these guys and their bikes has always made me wonder if it might be the right motorcycle for me.
The next motorcycle I purchase is probably going to be a Honda CRF70F (or something fairly similar) for my nine-year-old son. It will be his first bike. That's sort of what got me on this trek to consider getting another bike for myself. I started out thinking that I should consider getting a dirt-bike or a dual sport for myself (so I could follow him around the local OHV park). The more I paged through buyer's guides, the more I started looking at all the street bikes... and missing having something sporty. So here I am again.
