Life takes a 90 degree turn

What can I say. Time passes, things change.

Over the course of the past couple months I have been concerned with my inability to ride the ZX6 to my fullest potential, let alone anywhere near that of the bike. Never gained complete confidence in the fast corners, and it didn’t matter whether I was hanging way off or not, I simply felt like I had too much body weight transferred too far forward under hard braking. A friend with similar experiences summed up the sensation best saying "I got tired of feeling like a hood ornament."

I tried several different approaches to the issue of fast cornering, and I got around ‘em, but I sometimes had to think about it, and I found that to be disconcerting. I want to be thinking about my exit line and getting on the throttle, not about weight transfer on the way into the corner and extra counter steering inputs.

I came to the decision that I was simply not enjoying the bike as much as I had planned to. And this forced a lot of reevaluations of what it is that I want to derive from motorcycling at this point in my riding career.

I decided to go in a new direction, one that had you asked me a year ago I’d have told you was preposterous, and gone into detail explaining why and the plans that I had. While I was consumed with trying to figure out my shortcomings with the ZX6 -- a great machine by the way -- I recognized a distinct trend which has been forming among the group of people that I ride with and the types of hardware they bring to the rides. Like all of those Dentists you’ve heard about on TV most of your life, they seem to be agreeing. Maybe it is time for me to try a total departure from that which has come before.

Maybe, it’s time to make a change...

Long Live the Black Monster!

I am looking to develop a greater sense of attachment to motorcycling; looking for a purer, more basic motorcycling experience. Oh, I'm not talking about hopping on something 60 years old and abandoning tech, but I want to try something .... less focussed? That may not be a correct word. Modern sportbikes are track developed, sharp-edged weapons, with silky smooth operation, ensconced in a full fairing. Beautiful to be sure and I have enjoyed them for decades. Now I want to try something one notch backed off from the track experience, more road ridable, with more tactile sensations.

So I am embarking on a new path in my motorcycling career, and I will see where it leads.