Commutism

I rode Bonnie to work today for the first time this year. It was 43 degrees when I left home and a little colder in a few spots along the way. I live in a fairly small town and work in an even smaller town. The 12 miles between them are mostly cornfields. Of course, there's no corn right now. In fact, it's a whole lot of flat nothing around here.

You don't need a photo of Central Illinois in March. Just draw a horizontal line and pretend it's the horizon. That's most of our scenery around here.

On my way home this evening I'll take some back roads. There's a few curves and a couple of inclines that the natives think are hills. That's like how people in arid areas call creeks "rivers."

I sure do miss the terrain around St. Louis.

Perfecto!

I always wear a Perfecto style motorcycle jacket (Think Marlon Brando in The Wild One). The Perfecto was designed for motorcycling. It's a very functional motorcycle jacket and I see no reason to use any other kind. There are some very comfortable synthetic jackets but no synthetic fabric is as tough as good old leather.

When I get a new jacket I always remove the belt and anything tied to the zipper pulls. I also remove the liner and pocket pouches and use the zippers as vents in hot weather. When it's really hot I ride with the jacket front unzipped. In cold weather I wear a sweatshirt or two under the jacket.

The big double breasted overlap in front stops the wind and the Perfecto even sheds rain pretty well.

One big advantage to the Perfecto style jacket is that there are many good imitations, so you can find one for about $100.00. A real Perfecto costs about $500.00.

My jacket is black, my boots are black, my (full-coverage!) helmet is black, my gloves are black and my chaps are black. My motorcycle is black and white.

I also have a white helmet for night riding in town. And my wife's helmet, jacket and gloves are white.

How NOT to take a motorcycle photo

First, be sure to take the photo AFTER the ride so that your jeans are all stretched out and you have serious helmet hair.

Second, face directly into the sun so that your eyes are good and squinty.

Third, make sure to get part of a lamp post in the picture for no good reason.

Fourth, stand in front of the bike, especially if you're over six feet tall, so that you can make the bike look smaller than it is.

Finally, make sure your T-shirt is sticking out the bottom of your jacket for a real touch of class.

Wife and I rode around the lake. Ride was uneventful except for one unusual sight. About ten thousand of several different kinds of water fowl were all clustered together in one lobe of the lake. I would have gotten a photo of it but the sun was directly behind the scene. That didn't stop a bunch of people from trying. The parking lot closest to the phenomenon was packed with amazed onlookers. The lot looked like a good place to get backed over by a distracted driver so we kept going.

Why a Bonnie?

My wife had ridden my Honda CB500 and enjoyed it much more than I enjoyed having a passenger. I sold that bike and later got rid of my 360T. That was around the turn of the 21st century.

I thought I should quit riding before my luck ran out. At the time I was living in an area where old people tried to run over me every time I went for a ride. Of course, I missed riding every nice day after that.

Then in the Spring of last year, 2009, my wife and I were trying to think of fun things to do together. She suggested I get a motorcycle that we could both ride. I thought that could be fun but I really didn't care for baggers, cruisers or Goldwings. I don't like fairings and I'm only comfortable with a vertical riding posture. That also eliminates "crotch rockets." I didn't think I'd like any of the "modern" motorcycles.

But my wife kept talking about it and I kept thinking about it. One morning I googled "retro motorcycle" because I remembered that a few years before there had been a Yamaha that was styled like an old Triumph. I liked the idea of an old styled bike with new engineering.

One of the first images that popped up was a new Triumph Bonneville. I remember uttering to myself, "uh oh." I copied the photo to an email and sent it to my wife with those words: "uh oh."

I found lots of photos and several highly complimentary articles about the new Bonnevilles. I discovered that they were in production, beautiful, fun, super reliable and big enough for passengers. I got very excited about a motorcycle for the first time in a long time.

Of all the models, years and colors, I liked the black and white 2008 T100 best. I called the nearest Triumph dealer and they had a brand new one. I bought it about a week later.

I miss the lightness, maneuverability and quickness of my old 360 but I can't say that I miss it while I'm riding the Bonnie. I only miss it when I'm sitting here thinking about it. If I was riding the Bonnie right now I'd be too busy enjoying myself to miss the 360. Does that make sense?

The Bonnie is not a very comfortable long-distance touring bike. But it carries two passengers effortlessly and goes places I wouldn't care to take a bigger bike. It is an excellent compromise between a solo day-tripper and a two-up traveling machine. As long as I only have one motorcycle, this is my best choice.

Even if my wife didn't want to ride with me, I would still have gotten the Bonnie because it is just so cool and so much fun. And, surprisingly to me, I actually enjoy riding two-up on the Bonnie. Stopping and slow maneuvering with two requires a little extra care, but taking off and riding with two is a breeze on this machine.

I need to upgrade the saddle for the sake of our aching butts, but we have a blast riding around in the country on this bike. Oh yes, that's the other thing. A big bagger is a fine interstate bike but I prefer the scenery-lined back roads and that's where the Bonnie has no peer. A lot of the back roads in central Illinois are rolled and oiled gravel. The Bonnie doesn't mind them but I wouldn't want to travel on them very far with a Goldwing.

My Third Motorcycle

I always thought of my 1974 Honda CB500 as my "second and a half" motorcycle. It was my dad's bike and he gave it to me when he bought a CB 650. I already had my beloved 1977 Honda CJ360T at the time so I hardly ever rode the 500.


In fact, about the only times I ever rode the 500 was when I planned to ride on the interstate or I intended to give a ride to a girlfriend. The 360 was too light for the interstate and too little for passengers.

The rest of the time the 500 collected dust while I rode all over town on the 360. The 500 felt heavy, awkward and sluggish compared to the 360. It was a nice looking, nice running bike. But I never really liked it.

I think my dad gave me the bike to try to bribe me into riding with him. It didn't work. He was a dangerous rider and I stayed the hell away from him. A couple of months after he got the 650 he wrecked it. He busted his rotator cuff and the bike was in the shop for a month. I rode it to his house from the shop because he wasn't ready to ride yet.

I didn't like the 650 either, but that was mostly because it was a bagger with a big view-blocking fairing. I like naked bikes. I like to be able to see the road right in front of me.

Shortly after Dad died I sold the 500. I was glad to be rid of it.

My new Bonneville is about the size and weight of the 500. It probably handles similarly but I like it anyway. I always preferred twins to fours and the Bonnie is NOT sluggish. And the Bonnie is much better for giving rides. That 865cc engine doesn't care if there's a passenger.