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Jane and I met in March 1997 and one of the first questions I asked her was, “Do you like motorcycles?”

“Yes.”

I knew right then that we would get along just fine.

 

At the time I owned a very neat Honda CBX 750 so we went riding,………….…. everywhere.

 

I had previously owned:

·         ·         Honda CB 350 four

·         ·         Kawasaki Z 100

·         ·         Honda CB 750 K2

·         ·         Honda XL 100

·         ·         Honda VT 250

·         ·         Yamaha YZ 250

·         ·         Honda CB 900 Bol’dor

 

Shortly after we met we retired the CBX and bought a Yamaha FZR 1000 Genesis, (God it was fast) and another VT 250.   The idea was for me to ride the old 250 daily and not get too many K’s up on the FZR.

 

But Jane had other ideas and came home with a learner’s permit.   I lost my 250.

 

By this time I had seen and fallen in love with the Ducati 748 and 916 models vowing that, one day, I would own one.   (Rick, a friend of ours, describes the Duke as “Sex on wheels”.)

 

Jane and I went riding again,………. everywhere.   It soon became obvious that the VT was just a bit too small and old for touring, so, after Jane blew the engine up we bought a Yamaha XV 250 Virago with about 700 km on the clock and went riding again,……….. everywhere.

 

A couple of years later we moved to Sydney and Jane, having had a licence for some time now, started to make noises about the lack of ponies served up by the 250.   Enter the XV 1100.

 

We were both getting older now so it seemed right to join Ulysses.   We did, and went riding again,……….. everywhere.

 

I still had the FZR (or ‘Fizzer’ as it had become affectionately known) but we generally went day riding with Ulysses together on the XV.

 

One Sunday, after spending about two solid hours on the back of the XV, my loved one proclaimed loudly a desire to dismount in order to allow some blood to flow back into the numb parts of her rear end.   We accomplished this by visiting a local bike dealer, (of course) to check on a jacket, which she had ordered sometime earlier.

 

I just happened to be browsing the stock whilst she was in the accessories department and took a seat on a new Yamaha FJR 1300.   Quick as a flash the salesman say’s, “Take it for a ride.”   Almost as if by design, Jane appears, pop’s up on to the pillion seat and, with an almost orgasmic sigh says, “Ohhh, this is great.   I could sit on this all day”.   At that point I realised that the new jacket had just gotten very expensive.   Jane and I went riding again,………… everywhere.

 

A short time ago, having long since said goodbye to the XV and my beloved fizzer, we rode up to Willow Tree with some friends and had the best weekend ever.   Jane got to ride Melissa’s Kawasaki ZX 600 R and I had my first ride on the bike that I had fallen in love with back in the late 90’s.   (John’s Ducati 748.)   Now I understand what they are talking about.

 

Consequently, the riding bug bit Jane again and I wanted my 748/916/996 more than ever.   As soon as we got home Jane went and test rode an M800 ie and decided she liked it.   With the release of the new Monster S2R due early in 2005, she decided to wait and is now the proud owner of a gorgeous red Italian beast.   The FJR was sold and we moved from Sydney to North-east Tasmania where the roads seem to have been planned with motorcycling in mind.   I am finally the proud owner of a 1995, 916 Strada and Jane and I go riding………everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

AND JUST IN CASE YOU ARE WONDERING, THE SOUND FILE IS THE 916 ON GARDINER STRAIGHT AT PHILLIP ISLAND.