I rode bikes, motorbikes that is, since I was 16, starting with a Yamaha FS1e-dx (50cc's of raw unrestricted powaaaah and a top speed, downhill with a tailwind around 45mph) then a range of 125's to fit in with the legal learner limits at the time, before passing my test and moving on to big old tractors like Trumph Tridents which were fantastic fun and could pull 130mph if you wanted, I had a few of those. I was never into speed though, The odd moment of madness on a CBR1100 not withstanding I liked the flexibility and ease of access of bikes, not the whole need for speed culture.
But I stopped riding about 15 years ago, when I gave away my last Triumph to a friend of my ex's.. It had been sat in the front yard for a year and I was feeling guilty about it being unloved and siezing up.
I have since been a steady car driving man, and after a love affair with a Mercedes CLK I couldn't afford, I finally bought a tiny Kia Picanto, 1ltr 3cyl town car.. and I love it. Its such a nice wee car, gets me around all over the place here in NL, and even when I had to do the odd long trip to France or Germany it did its job well.. I will keep it till it falls apart.
But recently my university stopped giving us access to free parking on site, making the short, but at my age, needed, car trip to the office a bit of a chore when there was no space on the road to park.. So I was thinking about getting another bike...maybe an ebike...but why only get a bike to go to work (and yes I do cycle sometimes). It might be nice to tour around NL and its neighbours on a bike?
But one thing I have always hankered over was having a particular type of bike, a Honda VT1100c mk2 Shadow... Not the Ace, Mk3, 4 or the many other later versions, the Mk2 it is just the nicest looking bike I ever saw.
I saw one on the cover of a biking magazine years ago, and fell in love with its good looks and gushing reviews for its reliability and comfort, and wanted one so bad. But they were so hard to find in the UK, since they never went on sale there, all versions around were US imports, and quite rare, and pricey.
The one time I managed to find one was in a bike shop in Dewsbury. I was riding a Japanese import XJ400 at the time, a nice solid commuter bike with a bit of flair. And I wanted to PX if for the shiny chrome beast in the shop. But they din't want my XJ and only offered me a tiny amount for it, so I had to raise more cash...by the time I did, the Shadow was gone... and I moved on to an XJ600 and a couple of Honda's, then my love affair with Triumphs..
But I kept my eye's peeled for another Shadow... Nothing ever came up when I had the funds...
By the time I moved to NL, the bikes were a thing of the past, but I did notice a certain love affair here for cruisers, the catagory of bike the Shadow falls into, lots of Harleys and Suzy Invaders... and.... more than a few Shadows, all marks.. But certainly a fair number of Mk2's which would pop up on facebook or Marktplats from time to time. Even more amazing, these are almost all old man summer cruiser bikes stored in the Winter and only brought out a few times a year to ...well, cruise around.. They are almost all well preserved and looked after despite being made 25-30 years ago with super low milage and regular servicing. And....cheap...ish..
Finances never quite synced to the point where I could afford one though when they came up.. until now.
My local bike shop put one up for sale...I asked Jirawan what she thought...like a good hubby, and....she said... yes if you want it you should get it. <speechless>
So... test ride to make sure she's all good, a small issue with a split on the seat they are going to repair and in a couple of weeks when the seat returns from the upholstary place..this is going to sit outside.. and maybe get wrapped in cotton wool in the winter.
A 1988 VT1100C M2 in not quite mint, but very very good condition, with around 22.5K miles on the clock... Pulls like a tractor, drives as though you are sitting in an armchair with a go faster button.
And we bought it.
Dreams can come true.
But only when you have the best wife in the whole goddam world.
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