This brand-spankin' new 2009 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic! Yay! Beers for everyone! Just before riding! Just kidding mom! I'd never do that!
This was a late-entry dark horse that suddenly, swiftly moved to the head of the pack. Followers of my tedious exploits were aware that I was waffling between a smaller 650 style cruiser, and a (for me) humongoid 1100. (I've ridden a Yamaha Seca II 600 for years now...).
So this one, right in between the two, just felt right. Like, literally felt right. I sat on a buncha bikes this afternoon, and this one was just the one for me. Enough leg room for my long, bony chicken legs, whereas the VStars felt a wee bit too cramped for me. I had no real intention (har har) of riding out of the store with a new bike today, but it is amazing what those salespeople can do to your brain, huh? They sealed the deal for me by taking my Seca II off my hands at a not-bad trade-in cost, plus not requiring to put even one penny down today. That's right! I got this bike FOR FREE! And good luck to them trying to get a payment out of me! SO LONG SUCKERS!!!!!
I kid. I got a great deal. It helps to be in a old white man in this country, with a good salary and a good credit rating. Also telling them I worked at EA now didn't hurt either. Sure, guys! Free Rock Band 2s for everyone! Seriously, the cool folks at Golden Gate Cycles in SF get big kudos from me for helping me out, being very patient with my numerous questions, not bamboozling me into something I didn't want. I ultimately was happy to let them con me out of my money.
The ride home across the Bay Bridge was unbelievable. I was grinning like a moron the whole way. I got a bunch of thumbs ups from People With Good Taste. It felt like a good reward for me for 17 years of service to Ziff Davis.
Now, when I show up for my first day of work at EA on Monday, I'll be doing it in STYLE, baby!
56 comments:
sweet ride, Jeff!
I believe that qualifies as bangin'.
Old man bike!
Just kidding ;)
Jeff, are you getting a new helmet for your new bike?
Man, that is one sexy machine!
Congrats on the new bike!
awesome looking bike!
Will they be importing you into Burnout Paradise now?
Aghhh, you went and did it. Drive careful!
Awesome man! I recently got a Kawasaki Ninja 500R this spring and I still grin like an idiot at times while just riding 70mph down the freeway. That thing is a blast.
Personally I really didn't see you on a SecaII. I mean its a naked sportbike, I always kind of pictured you on a crusier when you would talk about it. And the Seca being a middle ground between the Supersport Bikes and Crusiers what made you lean towards the crusiers from a SuperSport(Yamaha R6, Honda CBR, Ninja...ect)?
@wickedcobra03 - So are you saying you didn't picture Jeff on a naked sports bike because he is too old? You always pictured him riding an old man bike? ;)
I loved that Seca II, dearly. I love standards, strictly from a posture perspective. And that thing was so agile.
But the cruiser is a reflection of the fact that I'm going to be spending 70 miles a day on it. As much as I loved the Seca, I knew that the daily long ride was gonna kill me. Plus, that thing had 33K miles on it. My new Vulcan? ZERO MILES! (well, 21 now.)
Very nice Jeff, seems like you picked a very nice ride. From my experience Kawasaki has some very nice rides.
But man this whole thing is a pretty big change. I forget how long of a commute you have been doing but I don't know if I'd be up for driving 140 miles nearly everyday but to work at a cool job (like EA) I guess I'd be willing to do twice that.
Well at least now on your downtime you can cruise around on your sweet ride if things are going slow.
Anyway, Is there a set day for when you start your first day?
oh..forgot to mention as well, great podcast over at Gamers with Jobs
Shadou--it's 70 miles round trip! Not each way! Still long, but good god I'd never work 70 miles away, even for EA. :)
First day is Monday...
My wife, mother-in-law, and sisters-in-law all forbid me from even thinking about buying a bike. Do you think you could talk to them for me?
Now just throw a windshield and some saddlebags on that and you'll REALLY be set for that daily ride. And from those of us stuck with beaten up, half-running junkers bought suspiciously too cheap off of craigslist - congrats.
Nice new bike Jeff, enjoy your new commute on that bad boy.
Nice Ride. Too bad you missed the Brodeo
Awesome bike there, Jeff. I was recently given the "green light" to purchase one. For the longest time lady friend was afraid for me to have, but now she does not care... hrm, maybe that should worry me. Perhaps I have rambled on far to long. Maybe. Ok, again, congrats on the new bike.
I always wondered what it's like to be "in a old white man"
Seriously though, nice bike. I'm looking at a Kawasaki but rather a sport bike.
so i got a few questions for ya:
1) how do you feel about lane splitting in CA? ive always wondered how it works out for you out there. here in Wisconsin its illegal. and im not sure how i feel about it. ive done it a few times to be an asshole to slow drivers. but at the same time. i can see how you better watch your ass when you do it. how do you feel about it?
2)are you sticking with the stock pipes? or do you like your bike to be quiet?
3)does EA have preffered motorcycle parking?
Ike O:
1) Well, lanesplitting is legal here, so not a problem. It's more about doing it smartly, so that you don't end up, ya know, dead. Or hurt. I don't do it obnoxiously, and I don't do it when traffic is going over, say 40 mph. It's just to get through traffic jams and freeway/bridge backups, mostly.
2) Dude these stock pipes seem plenty loud to me! I can't see getting any others.
3) I don't know! Good question for my first week. Maybe I'll just park in some executive's spot AND SEE WHAT HE WANTS TO DO ABOUT IT.
Nice :) A good salesperson will make you happy when he robs you :)
Great bike, please get someone to film you riding it :)
Thumbs up on the bike.
I hope you are happy, you and your silly bike, Jeff. The Brodeo is now dead. First Darren, then John, then you, then Shawn.
I am so sad. I am so so very sad...
I always wondered - how do you keep the birdshit off the seat of your bike? Or other things, such as mid-day rainstorms, from giving you an uncomfortable ride home? Does it come with some kind of cover and a place to store it while you ride?
Er, I clearly know nothing about motorcycles. Regardless, That's a damn nice ride.
ahh... heh I never was the best at math. 35 each way isn't so bad then.
You would go if EA sent a private chopter for you.
I always wanted to learn to ride a motorcycle.
Guess with the new bike you can't fit all your dirty laundry on it.
Oh, just found out that Shawn is leaving 1up too, so now the Brodio just consist of Ryan Scott, and that will be an hour of silence every day...
Damn myself for noticing the Brodio on the last months of its life...
Awesome ride. Good luck at EA. The Brodeo without you just isn't the same. Still good, just not the same.
Sweet, time to take a trip to the dollar store for some new shades!
I have to agree, that shit's bangin!
Nice!
Of course this comes from the I don't know crap about motorbikes club... it's shiny!
That's awesome Jeff, must be nice getting a honkin' pay raise from EA when compared to Ziff.
That is an awesome motorcycle Jeff. I am totally jealous.
Grats on the new ride, Jeff! I'll be praying for no rain on Monday for you.
Wait, do they have rain in CA?
On the Kawasaki website, it says the classic starts around $7,349....and 45 MPG....nice. Not too hard on the wallet.
Yeah, it really wasn't too too expensive (relatively). And I got a cover for it, to keep the birdshit and rain and leaves and dust off.
And, yeah: Shawn. :(
End of an era, for sure now.
damn. c'est la guerre.
but on the bright side, nice job on gwj and nice bike! (i hope you're on both often)
Where's the Buell XB12R?
Hunter S. Thomspon, "The Great Shark Hunt", page 529-530. "That's when the strange music starts, when you stretch your luck so far that fear becomes exhilaration and vibrates along your arms...letting off now, watching for cops, but only until the next dark stretch and another few seconds on the edge...The Edge...there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
Nice pick, you'll look very sexy on it. But what am I saying, you would look sexy in a potato sack.
You can't be too much of a wuss Jeff, as you always insist you are! I certainly wouldn't ride 70 miles per day on a motorcycle. Of course I'm a legitimate wuss, so there ya go.
For a second I thought you said "(I've ridden a Yamaha Seca II for 600 years now...)."
Luckily you didn't, because that would be messed up.
Nice, Jeff.
Come on out to Denver sometime, and we can ride up over Mosquito Pass, the highest unpaved road in North America. Right at 13,200 ft.
I ride a KLR650, so good on ya Kawi brother!
Gotta say, I laughed out loud when I saw "People With Good Taste". Exactly the kind of thing that makes Jeff Green (TM) writing awesome.
You should totally drive that thing up to Canada so I can do a nude body sketch of you. I mean that in a totally masculine and platonic way.
A nude body sketch?
Someone is posting blog comments on crack.
Thats a damn nice bike, sir.
now thats comedy!
What kind of bike did you start on?
Which EA facility will you be at?
Nice ride! I'm Definately digging it. Sad you had to let a Seca II go though. Those bikes are awesome. Be careful on those new tires!
Nicely played Mr. Green, nicely played. That is a sweet ride. I gotta get me some of that.
Nice, I have a Kawasaki Vulcan myself, though its from 1991, they
look exactly alike.
That is a beautiful bike! I'm more of a vintage Vespa junky my self but doesn't mean I can't appreciate a sexy and sweet ride like that. Enjoy!
That's a sweet ride! My husband is planning on purchasing a motorcycle soon, he is more of a Harley guy though. I think it would be fun to learn to ride a motorcycle. I can't wait to try!
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