Next to my lovely GF Nora, my first Love is my M900, it has a few mods. I also enjoy my S2R1000 and ST3 and got a couple of Victory's for when I'm in the mood. Glad I'm here on this site and if your are ever in the Mid-Atlantic area and want to do some riding, look me up, I know a few good roads. Since I just did a Motorcycle Bio, the rest of the story is below, it's okay to stop here.
I purchased my first motorcycle, a Honda CB100, in 1970 and have been riding since. In the 70s I rode both street and dirt; favorite dirt bike was an Ossa Super Pioneer and my favorite street bike was a Honda CB 500 Four. I only weighed 120lbs wet in those days so the Honda and I took on quite a few brands and displacements and the OSSA was unbeatable in the woods.
I continued on Hondas while in Stuttgart, Germany from 1976-1982, but got a taste of BMWs and Moto Guzzis and determined that I would own one some day. I lived near the old Solitude Ring
http://home.bawue.de/~matthead/solitude/solitude.html and hung out there on the weekends when I was in town, I have never been to the famous Rock Store in CA but from what I’ve read, this is the equivalent, with the Glemseck Gasthaus providing plenty of food and drink. By the way, I did get to see King Kenny kick butt for 2 years on all the tracks of Central Europe and I witnessed Fast Freddie win his first GP, and King Richard participate in his last ISDT.
Upon return to the states I again purchased a Honda, a CX650, but in 1986 I bought my first BMW, a K75, which I rode until 1992 when I had a disagreement with a deer near my home at Deep Creek Lake, replaced that with a 1992 K75S and then in 1999 I decided I needed to slow down and bought my first cruiser, a Yamaha VStar, which I replaced with a Victory in 2000. In 2002, I decided I missed having a capable sportbike and bought an ‘02 Moto Guzzi Lemans, took it up to FBF and had them do some performance mods to it and it was quite a competent bike when they were finished, I loved that bike, but the ergos just did not suit me on my long trips. I made many mods to that bike trying to get it comfortable but just could not get it where I needed it to be. So in ‘04, the dealer, Winchester Motosports, gave me a leftover ‘02 Ducati Monster 900, with ~100 miles on it, to try out. John Bowman had just purchased a Ducati ST3 to replace his Moto Guzzi Lemans, which had a disagreement with a curve, so I rode the Monster for a week and John and I swapped bikes during a long ride. I had a grin ear to ear riding that Monster and while I liked the ST3, the Monster was just so much more fun. It was a dark, but when they showed me what you could do with DP and aftermarket parts – well it was an easy decision and the price was right.
The M900 and I have become good friends since, although the bank account has taken quite a hit with the mods. She is currently one of my favorite bikes I have ever owned. I still enjoy my cruisers, with 2 Victorys in the garage and I have gotten hooked on Ducatis adding an ST3 and an S2R1000 to the garage. I average about 45K miles a year, roughly spilt between the Ducatis and the Victorys and so I’m not always in town when things are going on. I attended some track days at VIR with the local Ducati club and that has led to more track days at VIR, Barber, Mid-ohio, and Summit and the purchase of an S2R1000 for track duty.
I am a Charter Life Member of AMA and a Charter Member of the Victory Motorcycle Club. I was an MSF instructor for four years, teaching at the Loudon Campus of NVCC. I have no children or wife but I do have a lovely girlfriend, Nora, who rides with me as much as she can. Nora is one of the truly awesome treasures in my life these days and I am so fortunate that she came into my life. I hope you all get to meet her sometime.
