Show Bikes at the Toronto Motorcycle Show

I once entered a bike in the Toronto motorcycle show, but I did not win. However, I did come to some conclusions about show bikes, and what, exactly makes a show bike competitive.

If I may be black and white about it, there are two kinds of show bikes. One where you add all kinds of crap to the bike, the other where you strip off all kinds of crap from the bike. OK I know I'm oversimplifying a little. And maybe some of the fashions are changing. But it was back in 1986, when I entered my Honda CBX in the "International Motorcycle Show" in Toronto (Incidentally the successor to that show is on again for 2010, this coming weekend.) I must have spent a month cleaning every nook and cranny of that bike to get it perfect for the show. Then at the last minute, I realized that the bike was basically stock (except for the Wolf mufflers), and I would need some kind of unique accessory to sweep the judges off their feet and get the blue ribbon. So I knitted a little wool brake fluid reservoir warmer, in the colours of the bike which were red, grey, and black. Well, to be honest, I asked someone to knit it for me, as I have no clue how to knit.

Then I got a truck to take the bike to the show, as it had to be clean when it got there. I actually thought that since it may be the only sport touring bike in the show, I would at least score a win in that category. Little did I know. As soon as I arrived, the judges assigned it to the category "Asian Touring", which in 1986 meant I was going to be in competition with about 20 Goldwings bedecked in hundreds of pounds of chrome and extra lights. There was no sport touring category, but there was a sport category where I might have had a chance, but I could not be accepted by the "sport" crowd with those two little saddlebags on the back of the bike. So in the end I didn't get a blue, red, or whatever ribbon comes third, I don't even know what colour it is. I don't think the judges even noticed all the custom knitting that had been done on the brakes. At least I got a chance to drive the bike home from the show, because I wasn't worried about a little road dirt at that time.

I was thinking afterwards, there is a reason why people don't enter sport touring bikes in shows. It's because you rarely see a sport touring bike with much stuff added for show, or taken off for show. The one place I see sport touring bikes heavily modified is in the Iron Butt rally, where they have GPS systems, extra fuel tanks, extra lights, or whatever it takes to go 11,000 miles in 11 days. Sometimes I think that it mostly takes being a bit nuts. Sport touring bikes hardly ever have chrome added just for looks, the way a lot of cruisers do, or luxury touring bikes. I guess it's the very nature of the owners. They want just what's necessary to get them where they are going.

Sport bikes are another case. People who buy sport bikes do like to "improve" on them. Change some parts to reduce the weight, or increase the tire grip, or power, or the ever popular increase in noise level from the exhaust. But they never seem to add stuff that makes it heavier or slower.

The real hard core show bikes are the customs. Those are the bikes that are actually made for shows. You might be able to ride them to the donut shop also, but that is only a secondary purpose. Although many of the custom bikes seem to be so outrageous that you couldn't use them in real life, all are equipped with the basics, such as brakes, gas tank, motor, seat, wheels, handlebars, lights, speedometer, even a licence plate (usually turned at some crazy angle and hidden where no cop would think of looking).

Things have progressed since 1986, so I included a picture of the type of show bike you might be competing against today, which I found on the Internet.

What Kind of Bike Would T.E. Lawrence Ride?

The Brough Superior is one of the greatest legends in motorcycling. It was called "The Rolls Royce" of motorcycles, admittedly, by its own advertising staff. But apparently they didn't get sued by Rolls Royce, so that gave them a certain cachet. It was also owned and driven by "Lawrence of Arabia", who had several. And it was the bike he crashed when he died.

What kind of bike would T.E. Lawrence a have picked today that would be the equal of the Brough Superior of the thirties?

A few years ago, at the height of the custom bike craze, Jay Leno, was given a bike by the Teutle family. They had their own reality show on TV, which I used to watch sometimes, and in each episode, they built a custom chopper. A chopper is a unique one-off custom bike that has a cruiser style, with feet forward, low seat, long fork and handlebars. Lots of fancy paint and chrome.

They asked Jay what he wanted, and as a bike collector, he asked for something like a Brough Superior. They produced a chopper and unveiled it in front of Jay on TV. Jay's expression was priceless. Whatever he was expecting, I don't think it was a chopper, but he should have known better. A chopper is the exact opposite of a Brough Superior, and understanding that helps to understand a what it takes to be a modern successor.

The Brough Superior was a very expensive bike. That's because it was made with the best of everything, engine, frame, brakes, seat, instruments, suspension. All the best stuff available at the time. That's why it could easily do over 100 miles per hour, a feat that was rare in the 1930's.

The second characteristic was high speed capability, and the Brough would not sacrifice speed for mere comfort. The Brough treated the rider with enough respect that he (in those days, I guess it was always a he) would be comfortable, but he was expected to be in good shape physically. The Brough's main objective was not to coddle the rider in every luxury. Although it was a bike built for an officer and a gentleman, he was expected to drive the thing himself, possibly at very high speed, and enjoy doing it.

Rider comfort was somewhere between not being coddled and not being tortured. For the equivalent of a Brough today, we are probably looking at some kind of expensive, fast, sport touring bike. Pure sport bikes are far too uncomfortable and impractical to be a Brough, while luxury bikes are too heavy and comfortable.

The reason I don't think any of the current sport touring bikes can fill the Brough Superior's shoes right now is that none of them stand out from the pack. All of them are developed by marketing people who say you can't cost too much or do anything really different. I'm not saying that modern sport touring bikes are no good, because any one of today's sport touring machines is a hundred times better and faster than a 1933 Brough Superior. What's missing is the quality that elevates the bike into a unique position where everyone agrees it is simply the best sport touring bike in the world, and everybody else gives up.

So this is why I think the predicted new BMW inline six sport touring bike might be the one, even though it is not yet built. BMW is after all, the original sport touring bike, and BMW is still leading the way in redefining the type. The others are the followers. BMW has promised the first bike with the inline six will be a luxury touring model. Well, that one is probably just going to be another luxo-barge designed to coddle the rider, and surround them with every gadget the mind has conceived. But inevitably BMW will come out with a six cylinder sport touring model. I hope it will be worthy of the comparison to the Brough Superior. Jay Leno would probably have one. And so would Lawrence of Arabia, if he was still around.

Picture of T.E. Lawrence talking to George Brough.

Second Picture: My hi-res photoshop conception of the inline six BMW sport touring bike. Click on the picture to see it in a larger size.

Remembering the Inline Six Engines

BMW has announced it will be producing an inline six motorcycle. From their press release:

"The new BMW straight-six will further expand the K-Series in the foreseeable future. The first model to be introduced will be an innovative and luxurious BMW touring machine."

The inline six has a certain appeal for me. My first car was an inline six, which later became an inline five, then I sold it. And in the late eighties I made some memorable trips on my Honda CBX, which also was an inline 6.

The great appeal of the six, is that six is more than four, i.e. prestige. With so many motorcycles and cars being four cylinders, sixes start to sound kind of exotic. But then we come to reality. Why deal with the extra weight, cost, maintenance, and length of the inline six when a four will do?

Let's assume the same total displacement, which is the only fair way to compare engines. A six cylinder engine can make more power than a four because it can rev faster. So in a race pitting bikes limited to, say 250 cc, against each other, the six will produce more power and win. In fact Honda did this soon after they entered the world of Gran Prix motorcycle racing. In 1966 and 1967, Mike Hailwood won four world championships on 250 and 350 cc Honda sixes. After 1967, six cylinder motorbikes were banned from racing, as being unfair competition.

For years Honda tried to circumvent the rule by developing an oval cylinder bike, the NR500, which it introduced in 1979, but without success.

In real life, six cylinders do not have such performance advantage over four, because they are not built to turn at their theoretical speed limits. Part of the problem is that amateur drivers develop anxieties hearing their engines spin up to 12,000 rpm. Well most amateurs do anyway. But a professional factory sponsored racer doesn't care all that much if the engine blows up, as that's the factory's problem. The racer's problem is going fastest on the track.

But the six does have one important advantage over the four cylinder motorcycle. It doesn't vibrate. Of course, there is always a little bit of vibration in moving machinery, but the inline six is the engine configuration with smallest number of cylinders where all primary and secondary imbalances are eliminated. So you don't need a counter-rotating weight inside the engine, and you don't need rubber mounts on the engine. The engine saves on weight and complexity, and the frame can be made lighter because the rigidly mounted engine reinforces the stiffness of the frame. Another benefit is a lighter flywheel, because flywheels are designed to smooth out the power pulses, and the inline six has more, smaller pulses to smooth out.

The Honda CBX was not a really successful overall design, because of the cost. Rival machines with only four cylinders proved to be faster at the drag strip, and so in the real world of motorcycle sales, those few hundredths of a second meant the end of the Honda CBX. The prestige of the two extra cylinders could not overcome the word in the motorcycle magazines, that this was a slower bike.

My own CBX was quite a thrill to drive, equipped with moderately loud racing exhausts. If I was stuck behind a sleeping car driver at the traffic lights, all I needed to do was quickly blip the throttle, and the almost unearthly sound of the air-cooled six coupled to two Wolf mufflers, would wake them up. A six makes a slightly different sound from a four, for two reasons. One is that it usually a bit of a longer stroke/bore ratio, that gives the exhaust a more mellow sound than the modern short stroke engines. Engines from the thirties for example, all had extremely long strokes compared to the bore diameter, and we think of those engines as having more mellow sounds than machines today. And with six cylinder compared to four, there were more exhaust pulses per second at the same rpm. But there was another reason that the CBX sounded different. Without a heavy flywheel to slow down the engine, it picked up speed very quickly, jumping from 1000 rpm to 5000 rpm almost instantly. Anyway it always worked, and the bike just sounded like a grand prix racer.

It also sounded interesting when started up after a week of sitting. First a couple of cylinders would fire, sounding like a Harley. Then a few more would cut in and it sounded actually a bit like a V8 car. Finally the last two cylinders would begin firing, and then it sounded like a race car, or maybe a turboprop engine.

Another thing I really liked about the CBX, was that the two outer cylinders on each end of the engine acted as leg shields.

Picture: Stolen off the Internet, so this bike has stock chrome Honda exhaust pipes.

Motorcycle Windshields: A Personal History

I like some weather protection on my motorcycle. If necessity is the mother of invention, then Canada is a great place to invent stuff to keep you warm. Where I was living, in Sept-Iles Quebec, you could freeze even in the middle of summer if you got near the ocean. The only road out of town was near the ocean, for about three hundred miles.

The first piece of equipment was a windshield I bought very soon after I got my Yamaha 250 in 1974. I considered it very successful, and so I decided to go further. In an attempt to block the cold air coming in under the windshield, I got some rubber carpeting, cut it to the right shape and screwed it to the lower edge. Not too pretty, but I could feel a difference.

My second effort was to install leg shields, which I made out of plywood and a broken hockey stick. They didn't look too bad once I painted them. They protected my knees and feet from the wind blast. And yes, even a Yamaha 250 can give you a blast of air as it has a top speed of about 145 kph.

After several years, a small tip-over broke my windshield. But by that time I had disposable cash, so instead of screwing and gluing, I decided to buy one of the fashionable handlebar fairings of the seventies. It was made of a white fiberglass lower piece with a hole for the headlight, and a clear plastic windscreen at the top. On my last big trip with this fairing, I was 30 years old, and I discovered a flaw. It created a backdraft that pushed my head forward, and on long trips it caused a pain in my neck that I did not notice when I was younger. So age was starting to play a part in my motorcycling plans for the first time.

With my next motorcycle I was unable to find a windshield that worked. The bike was a much larger Honda Silver Wing 500. Size had something to do with the problem, as the handlebar windshield needed to be mounted much further forward to go in front of the handlebars, and this distance allowed the wind coming off the windshield to break up into severe turbulence before it got to my head. My solution was to cut off the top of the windshield, which didn't really work, so I kept cutting it shorter until there was nothing left, then it was comfortable again. But I was back to being cold.

Around 1984 I decided to put some big money into the problem, and I paid over $1000 dollars for a genuine Honda Interstate frame mounted fairing, similar to the one on the Honda Gold Wing. Unfortunately, although it did protect me from the cold and rain, the backdraft returned, causing severe pain in my neck and shoulders. I continued to experiment with spare windshields, cutting them to different shapes, and cutting various holes in them with little success.

The same problem dogged me for several years, and onto another bike, my Honda CBX, which was a 6 cylinder sport touring bike with a frame mounted sport fairing. My neck was hurting so badly that, now in my late thirties, I was almost considering giving up on windshields. At least I knew what the problem was, it was all about the back draft off the windshield. No windshield, no problem with my neck. But I would have severely cut back on riding without the protection of a windshield.

But then in 1992, BMW came out with an electrically adjustable windshield that looked like it might work. It was the first electric windshield that could adjust both the height and angle, which by now I knew was important. A lot of people I talked to at first thought it was just a gimmick and would be soon forgotten, but today all sport touring bikes have copied this same basic design.

I bought the BMW. I have heard of a lot weaker excuses for getting an expensive new bike than to relieve neck pain. I still couldn't help experimenting with the new windshield, especially since I had a lot of left over clear plastic in the garage. I finally settled on a design that was more like an adjustable air foil. Not only did it eliminate turbulence problems, but it produced very little backdraft. And because the angle was electrically adjustable on the fly, I could also use it to cool off or warm up.

Finally my neck problem started to go away. By this time I was in my mid-forties. The BMW setup was so good I kept the bike for 15 years. The windshield didn't look good, but I didn't care. The BMW also had good hand protection, and excellent leg and foot protection.

It was a sad day when the BMW gave up the ghost after 150,000 km. I pushed it home, and within a couple of days had bought a new 2007 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 with a factory windshield. I was in my late fifties, and I had almost forgotten about the neck problems.

The Kawasaki Vulcan had a huge windshield. It was my first cruiser style bike, and seat was extremely low, which meant I could look through the windshield for the first time. Then the long, wide handlebars and feet-forward position meant that I could make good use of a rider backrest. Typical of most cruisers, it did not have a speedometer mounted in front of the handlebars, which allowed the handlebar windshield to be mounted a little closer to the rider. Whatever the reason, the neck pain has not reappeared.

After a little experimenting (of course), I found that I was satisfied with a slight tilted back position, so that I could see just barely over the top of the windshield. So far, in the 30,000 km I have done on this bike, the neck pain has not returned, but I can also remove the windshield if I need to, with four bolts. And with a nice soft pack on the back seat, to lean on, I can be about as comfortable as in my car.

Picture: My Yamaha 250 in 1975, with windshield, carpet fairing, and hockey stick leg shields. I also have attached to the bike (more or less permanently) a can of chain lube, rain outfits, and a bicycle tire pump.

Motorcycle Styling Trends

After I designed the new BMW 6 cylinder touring bike, and saw it was good, I decided to launch into the topic of motorcycle styling trends. I will also resist the temptation to turn this into a rant.

Forty years ago, the stylists' job at a motorcycle company was limited. Most of the motorcycle's shape was dictated by engineering requirements, or by law (for example the shape of the headlight). Most of the bike was made from metal, with manufacturing constraints on the shape of such things as fenders, wheels, and gas tanks. Even seats were limited as to the shape and colour. Also motorcyclists were a tradition-bound group, rejecting any attempts at radical styling touches such as the Vincent "Black Prince". Mostly the stylists were limited to choosing the colour and pattern of the paint on the gas tank, and giving advice to the engineers about how to not create a motorcycle that looked like it was cobbled together from a parts bin.

Although many motorcyclists have not really changed their tastes, there are new riders that do not cling to tradition, for example Mary Ann, who seems to not be at all put off by the non-traditional shape of the Burgman 400. Those who do cling to tradition are more likely to buy something like a Harley Davidson, and not one of the newfangled V-Rods either, just the old fashioned ones.

Over the years, manufacturing processes have changed, and radical new styling possibilities have opened up. One such technology is Computer Aided Design, which permits complex shapes to be designed quickly that previously might have required a whole team of stylists working for years to develop. Modern plastics can be molded to any shape, almost any finish (e.g. like chrome), can resist high temperatures, and high stress. They can be used for anything from engine covers to luggage racks. Plastics are commonly used for fairings, and fenders, where metal used to be the rule.

Modern motorcycles also now use a variety of frame designs that were not possible forty years ago. So large section aluminum frames have become incorporated into the styles of many bikes. The aluminum frames can be more easily styled than the old steel tube frames, whose shapes were strictly a matter of engineering.

Even the wheels, which are now often made of alloys rather than the old laced up spokes, can be styling exercises.

Laws have changed, too, permitting different headlight shapes, which in turn open up more possibilities with the surrounding fairings. The headlamps themselves have been developed in a wide variety of shapes, the most common, I think being the "evil gremlin eyes" from the movie "Gremlins".

It seems like today, the stylists have free rein to turn almost any dream (or nightmare) into reality. But they are always wary of the fickle customers. Stylists always tread a fine line between being "original" and being "wacko". The Harley Davidson company has become profitable in part by catering to the traditionalists. Although they have made attempts at pushing the boundaries of traditional design, they have also occasionally crossed the line and been punished for it. But the result is that Harley today has the best knowledge of any manufacturer about where that line is drawn. Many other companies try to follow their example.

If you were to look closely at my Vulcan 900, you could see that Kawasaki is "styling" a modern motorcycle to look traditional. Even the engine, perhaps especially the engine, has nothing on it that is dictated by engineering. Almost every visible part of what you think is the engine, is a styling trick to make a modern engine look like an old fashioned one. The side covers, air intake box, and cylinder head covers are all plastic covers, looking like chromed metal, that have no function other than decoration. You can take the the engine plastic covers off if you like, but it's going to be ugly. The engine cooling fins are actually metal, but since the engine is water cooled, the fins are only there for the traditional look. The radiator, probably the only concession to reality, is somewhat hidden, and I'm sure the stylists would like to make it disappear altogether. But it's easier to cover something than it is to make it invisible. The exhaust pipes are totally covered by metal heat shields that actually look like exhaust pipes, only much bigger.

There is one fashion trend that all stylists have to accommodate, and that is the fad of wide rear tires. Today, the rear tires of most bikes are wider than optimum, and getting wider every year. Some are getting so wide that they begin to compromise safety, especially on custom bikes. But the customers ask for wider tires, so we'll have to see how far that goes before the pendulum of taste swings back.

Picture: Can you spot the one that is different? The BMW, because it has asymmetric headlights. Also shown, a Suzuki V-Strom, a Honda ST1300, and a Gremlin.

BMW Announces a Six Cylinder Touring BIke

It is typical of all those who tempt fate. No sooner have I written the ultimate ode to keeping the old bike, than BMW promises to deliver the bike that I must own one day.

From a BMW press release:

"The new BMW straight-six will further expand the K-Series in the foreseeable future. The first model to be introduced will be an innovative and luxurious BMW touring machine."

Assuming this bike arrives priced to keep the riff raff away, as BMW prefers, I will probably start buying my lottery tickets now.

It sounds like a cross between my old K1100LT, which is the bike I owned the longest and drove furthest, and my 6 cylinder Honda CBX, which is the bike I traded in to be able to afford the BMW. As I recall, I got $2500 for the CBX in 1992, and today they are worth approximately twice that much.

Soon we will have a BMW touring bike that has an inline six like the Honda CBX.

Before BMW gets too far along in their plans, I want to give them a little advice. Don't make it look too ugly, I have some tolerance of course, but I also have my limits. The K1300GT looks OK so don't stray too far from that. Next, keep it under 700 lbs. I know that's going to be difficult with a 6 cylinder bike loaded with every imaginable piece of nonsense. Then let's not forget some of the basics. An electrical windshield, handlebars that adjust up and down (again like the K1300GT), and weather protection. I guess ABS brakes are unavoidable, but do we also need power brakes? And I would like adjustable stiffness in the rear suspension, while driving if possible. And a full tank of gas has got to go at least 300 km. Finally, I'm not sure if any amount of desire is going to get me over $30,000, so maybe get rid of some the stupider accessories such as a radio/8 track player. But keep the saddlebags (of course you will, you did say it would be a touring bike, right?).

And whatever else you do, I will not buy any bike that I am afraid to drive down a dirt track to a campsite.

Picture: Just to keep the BMW designers from messing things up too much, this is what the bike needs to look like. You may use this design without charge, but I would appreciate being credited in your publicity. I photoshopped this design by combining the front wheel and engine of the Concept 6 with a K1200GT. I will leave BMW designers the details to work out for themselves.

Slowing the Revolving Garage Door

I came across a blog yesterday that caught my eye for two reasons. It was called "Forty Years on Two Wheels", and as of January 1, I have also been motorcycling for forty years. And secondly, the writer just bought a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 exactly like mine, even the colour. But before I could congratulate him on his excellent taste, I realized that after five years he was ending the motorcycling blog.

I was worried that it was the Vulcan 900 that had actually killed his desire to ride a motorcycle, but not really. He was riding less, however, and did not really seem enthused any more after five years of writing almost daily, which is quite understandable. And he did say he would continue riding, though not blogging about it.

But there is still the issue of putting the excitement back in motorcycling. After buying the Vulcan in October, he wrote a blog named "The Revolving Garage Door". Like many other people, he claims to have a short attention span, and keeps a bike for only six months or so before wanting something different.

Occasionally getting bored is something almost any older rider can relate to. Although it may seem like my advice is directed only at this blogger, he probably has figured it out himself already. This advice is for the rest of you. Absolutely everybody either has this situation now or will have it. And I'm not even saying you need to figure it out, because it is natural for people to change their interests with time. I just happen to know it is easier for me to have fun on a motorcycle than anything else. I have tried other things, and every time I come back to motorcycling, I realize that this is what I like best. Not everybody will be like that. We are all just looking for what feels best for us and it may be something else for you. It is also worth while trying other things from time to time.

The revolving garage door syndrome is one part of the loss of interest in motorcycling. If you have plenty of money, there are lots of bikes out there to entice you for one reason or another. You want the power, coolness, image, or bikes that are specialized for off-road, or race tracks, or long distance touring. Sometimes it's some new feature that you must have, maybe an electric windshield (that got me to buy a bike once) or an electrically adjustable suspension (that could work for me in the future). Some bikes are just sooo cool that you would park one at a motorcycle show just to see how many people would gather around it to gasp in awe.

Much of the excitement about motorcycling has more to do with the bike than the actual motorcycling. But although I can understand that, the reason I stick with one bike for a longer time is out of a sense of economic prudence. Changing bikes frequently is not only expensive, it can be addictive. You can keep it up for a while, but after forty years it begins to wear down the finances, just at a point where you are retiring from work. When when you are finally forced to choose a bike that is practical, rather than exciting, the rush goes away.

How do you slow down the revolving garage door without losing the fun of motorcycling? Maybe I shouldn't be commenting on this, because as a Canadian (rather than Arizonian), every year my interest is automatically boosted by "Spring Fever". Well known to Canadian bikers, who all wish they actually lived in Arizona, Spring Fever is a disease that strikes when the snow goes away. We are so happy to get out on a bike that we don't care what pile of crap we are riding. That realization only sets in by September, and by then were are all gripped with a panic called "the last ride of the season", before we freeze our asses off for another winter. I suppose if I was living in Arizona, I would not have this regular boost, and my interest may drift to other things. I don't know. So for non-Canadians anyway, one answer to the revolving door is "Move to Canada".

Second, even Canadian motorcyclists have to consider the "Food Chain" syndrome. If you are comparing yourself riding a plain old Vulcan 900 (which has now become the smallest Vulcan), to everybody else on bigger, faster, more expensive bikes, that will take away some of the thrill for sure. But there is an easy cure. Do not take the Vulcan to Harley Davidson Show'n Shines, or to sports bike rallies. That is very bad for the ego, as one of three things will happen. First, you are ignored. Second, you are told that at least it's a motorcycle, and you are welcome to attend. Third (and best, actually) some Harley biker will make a negative comment about your bike. Now you can understand why little kids prefer to be yelled at for doing something bad, than being ignored. I would suggest that instead of going to Harley show 'n shines, that you join a scooter or moped club with the Vulcan 900.

It is possible that some of my activities help maintain an interest in motorcycling. For example, I also walk a lot, and ride a bicycle. Compared to each of those, motorcycling is still quite a blast.

I have noticed that anyone who keeps a bike for a long time, has usually done some home made modifications that they often take as much pride in as the entire rest of the bike. True, some of those modifications cost more than the entire rest of the bike, but they don't have to. On the Vulcan the only accessory that I paid a lot for was the Airhawk seat, which was $150. But I did a lot of work removing stuff from the bike, which is cheap, and by reducing weight also boosts speed. Then I added splash guards for my feet which I think cost $12 including the hardware store brackets. I tilted the windshield back, which cost nothing because I used some brackets I have been saving for 30 years. I adjusted the suspension, again free because it is adjustable. I bent the heel shifter out of the way of my boot, again free of charge. My handlebar muffs were pretty expensive: $40 for the muffs, but I had to buy a pair of different mirrors for $22 or the muffs didn't fit right. So far I'm in for less than $300. I still have some planned changes coming. I want new handlebars that are narrower and reach further back. I bought a pair last year that are still hung up in the garage, because the only problem was they were further forward. And wider. And I would like a high-mounted LED brake light. Once I have those taken care of, I would not be too interested in starting again with another bike unless the Vulcan was stolen (not likely) or exploded.

I usually find another key to lack of boredom is maintaining the bike myself. Except for changing tires, any bike I turn over to a professional mechanic, I will begin to lose interest in. If I can force myself to dive in and do it myself, I have started a long term interest. If only in seeing just how long it can last with my tinkering.

Picture: Jack Nicholson in Rebel Rousers. Dress like that and you will never be bored.