The true beauty of this motorcycle. (another LONG read)

[Guth_imp]

An edited, much more succinct, east of the Mississippi version of my previous post...

Jeez Capo, if my posts were fueled by mushroom induced inspiration or something of the like, I'm afraid that they would likely be measured in Gigabytes rather that how many square inches of screen consumption they account for.

I've had my CB1100 up to the redline in the first few gears more than once. If I'm being honest, I'll admit to enjoying it — but not really that much and certainly not enough for it to be commonplace whenever I'm out on the bike. Maybe other guys find more enjoyment in this practice than I do. I do so more with the intention of providing the engine with a little rev-therapy and to satisfy my occasional curiosity. But this just isn't how I like to ride the bike. When I'm out on the CB1100, I simply don't find enough satisfaction in running the engine up to the redline. I'm okay with that, I'm not one of those guys that wants to drive/ride every vehicle fast, all the time. Some vehicles inspire this more than others, but I've always found different things to enjoy about every vehicle I've owned. I'm a bit of a chameleon in that way.

While I don't get all that much satisfaction out of running the CB1100 up to the redline, I sure can't say the same about my S2000. That little car isn't exactly fast by todays standards but it is still an unbelievable hoot. It is practically the polar opposite of the CB1100. Unlike the CB, I really have to be sure to try and measure my driving when I'm behind the wheel of the S, else I chance racking up quite a few tickets because repeatedly running that engine up to the redline is unbelievably satisfying. I don't think that I will ever tire of it. Downshift to pass? Bonus! That means I get to upshift again. I actually don't mind this in the case of the CB1100 either. I like to shift — I just go about it differently on the CB.

So while the engines in S2000 and the CB1100 share a very similar redline figure, the way they each go about reaching their respective redlines (and the way they make me feel while doing so) is notably different. But I'm truly okay with that. For lack of a better way to put it, I truly enjoy the CB1100 in the way that I feel that it was meant to be enjoyed. I'm guessing that this is probably due to my somewhat chameleon-like personality when it comes to vehicles in general, whether we're talking about cars or motorcycles.

I'm not left wanting a faster, sportier, better handling bike when pulling the CB into the garage after being out for a ride. This bike does what I want it to do and it does it well. Perhaps just as importantly for me, after I've tucked it away, I still can't help but stop for a moment and just stare at it for a while. I find this to be particularly satisfying.

I don't get the sense that VLJ has the "chameleon" gene in his makeup. For his sake I'd love to be wrong because I really do think that the CB1100 is a special machine in it's own unique way.

The longer this particular conversation rolls on, I'm imagining a waiver form in egleaves' mind that is growing in size as well, lol.

(All in good fun VLJ. Hope you guys have great time on Sunday!)