Still cold and snowy out there so I'll regale you with another tale of my past bikes. This was the last motorcycle I owned and pictures of it appeared on this blog in the beginning of my writing endeavors. It was a Kawasaki W650 which was a retro styled machine that resembled a 1960s British motorcycle. When I first saw it in magazines the "Got to have It" bell chimed. A series of events fell into place that permitted me to buy one for the most money I had ever spent on a motorcycle. The first few rides were inspiring but I had one nagging thought. "Gee I wish I had test driven one before I bought this." You see it was a handsome machine and people always asked me questions about it when I stopped. See?



The thing about it was that as a Retro bike it had many of the traits of motorcycles of that era. One of which was 1960s level performance. I wasn't expecting a Rocket Ship or anything like that but it just didn't give me the kick I was accustomed to. As a result it spent far too much time in the garage averaging only 2,000 miles a year while I owned it. The bike never did anything wrong but it never connected with me and was about as comfortable on a long ride as my 1974 Kawasaki which was renowned for being a torture rack. I gravitated toward scooters since they pull off the line much more spiritedly and have that elusive quality labeled as "Mystique".
I felt bad when I rode it for the final time to sell it to a new owner but it taught me two things. First, at least be familiar with a bike on some level before you buy and, Two, the past, for me, is better left in the past. If I get another motorcycle some day it will have four cylinders like a modern design and be another Kawasaki. A commercial years ago asked, "Are you the Kawasaki kind?" I think I am.