# I bought a new motorcycle. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 18, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-a-new-motorcycle/445912 "2008-04-18T16:54:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-a-new-motorcycle/445912/1 "2008-04-18T16:54:06Z")
After a hiatus of better than a decade, I decided to get back into motorcycling. So a couple days ago, I purchased a new Honda VLX 600 Shadow. It’s silver and has a lot of chrome on it, which seems to be the style these days. All my previous bikes were a much plainer. For better or worse, motorcycles seem to fall into either racing-style (what we used to call cafe racers) or cruiser-style (all of which look something like Harleys). Not too many other choices. I took it for the first real ride last night. During the bikeless years, I apparently forgot how physically demanding riding a motorcycle can be. I put on about 100 miles last night and got home exhausted. Today I feel like I took a beating. I also forgot that motorcycling gets COLD after the sun goes down. The last 10 miles or so coming home last night were just miserable. I have several neighbors who ride. They are all big fat-asses and all ride straight-pipe Harleys. I can now preen myself over both being slimmer than they are and having a bike that is quieter than theirs. Tonight, I believe I’ll go get myself a helmet and a proper pair of goggles. I road with just wrap-around shades when I was younger with no problems, but I seem to have become more sensitive to wind in middle-age; my eyes were watering at high speed. Yay me. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-a-new-motorcycle/445912/2 "2008-04-18T17:42:41Z")
I did a bad thing yesterday. I chased down a pair of Kawasakis on the highway in medium traffic, over about 20 miles. It’s not safe, it’s not right, but it was kinda fun. And I caught 'em. They weren’t being _too_ extreme, and I was lucky with traffic. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-a-new-motorcycle/445912/3 "2008-04-18T20:13:29Z")
It really does get cold on a motorcycle. Pretty much if it’s under 95 degrees, it will get cold or at least chilly at highway speeds. ---
**Author:** ![dynamitedave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed655f/32.png) [@dynamitedave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dynamitedave)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-a-new-motorcycle/445912/4 "2008-04-19T09:09:42Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] It really does get cold on a motorcycle. Pretty much if it’s under 95 degrees, it will get cold or at least chilly at highway speeds. [/QUOTE] I stop at the nearest fish and chip shop, get a feed of chips and stuff them up the front of my jacket 😃 Though they’re bit cool by the time I’ve got home to eat :smack: I’ve learnt to dress warmer 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-a-new-motorcycle/445912/5 "2008-04-19T14:04:02Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > And I caught 'em. What did you do with them? [QUOTE=dynamitedave] I stop at the nearest fish and chip shop, get a feed of chips and stuff them up the front of my jacket 😃 Though they’re bit cool by the time I’ve got home to eat :smack: I’ve learnt to dress warmer 😉 [/QUOTE] I used to wear a Levi’s denim jacket when I rode my Enduro in the high desert of Southern California. Sometimes I’d run down to a fast food place. I’d put the bag down the front of my jacket, and the drink in one of the interior pockets. Worked like a charm. I often hear people who aren’t inclined to ride (or are even hostile to motorcyclists) say things like, 'Oh, yeah? Well how many groceries can you carry on a bike? Quite a lot, actually. A week’s provisions in a backpack. And it’s amazing what you can lash on with a couple of bungees. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-a-new-motorcycle/445912/6 "2008-04-19T14:34:22Z")
Saddlebags work well too. You can stuff a lot of things into leather saddlebags. This is my ride: [http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/2285015058\_5837350334\_b.jpg](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/2285015058_5837350334_b.jpg)