A Journey on Two Wheels
I did my first wheelie on a motorcycle yesterday. Enough said!!
It was a real wheelie… Almost 90 degrees vertical, it was fantastic! After the wheelie my hands were shaking for many minutes, my heart was jumping out of my throat and I could hardly speak through my excitement!
I think I am entering another level of mastering my machine!
Other parts of the series can be found here.
I think these series will contain some interesting aspects for people who are not yet into motorcycling as well as those who already ride, as you will probably find similarities.
So when I did not have a motorcycle yet (and did not make any sense in the types of motorbikes), my vision of a motorcycle was that of a sportbike. Of course I knew the cruisers (I ignorantly called them ‘Harleys’) and I knew the classic bikes and I had a very small knowledge of the offroad motorcycles which I hated, but if I would be shown different types of bikes and had to point my finger at the one I thought was coolest, it would definitely be the alienish designed sexy sportbike. And no wonder, because I knew they were fast and when you don’t actually ride, motorcycling feels all about speed.
However, back then I could not just simply buy the bike I wanted (not even the class of the bike I wanted!), and the circumstances brought me a small Honda cruiser — the excellent Honda Rebel CA125. I learned to ride on it and travelled a lot, falling in love with my small cute chopper that felt so big on the first day it was brought to my garage from Vedi.
At first I was pretty unhappy with riding a cruiser, but it has slowly revealed a whole new dimension of motorcycling to me that I could never discover otherwise. I started to feel that motorcycling was not really as much about speeding as it was about the philosophy of riding, the philosophy of control, some danger, adventuring, freedom, freedom and freedom. I think this was very good for my motorcycling experience as a whole, because I figured that the pleasure of motorcycling was much richer and bigger than that of speeding in the open air, becoming forever ‘whacked by the motorcycling bug’. However low in its CCs, the Rebel was great at injecting these concepts into my body and soul (changing it permanently) and after a couple of seasons I realized I’m a cruiser type of a guy. You know when you’re a teenager you wanna choose and stick with one thing, easily labeling yourself and the others! Having ‘found’ myself, I did not expect this would change, but it was a juvenile thing to think!
One significant future-changing permanent impact that the Rebel had left on me though was my huge and long-lasting love affair with Honda. I was amazed by the engineering talent put behind my small machine and the quality of production was just astounding! I knew since that all my future motorcycles were going to be a Honda, and this determination is alive to this day.
It still touches my heart when someone talks positively about Honda, and I am ready to engage in an endless debate with the ‘R1 is better than Fireblade‘ type of fellows having Honda’s bulletproof ‘gearbox’ argument in my arsenal.
So the first major battle inside my head after starting riding was won by the cruisers, and I already knew I was not going to own a sportbike in a very long period of time. The cruisers felt way cooler, very attractive and stylish with an enormous spirit about themselves, and the rumbling of the engine was so addictive that I didn’t understand anyone who wanted to ride anything else. So my dream motorcycle at the time became Honda Shadow — Honda’s flagship cruiser.
Other parts of the series can be found here.
Thanks to Maneh :* and Zhirayr :* for making my stay at Sevan so fantastic!
We believe in going our own way, no matter which way the rest of the world is going.
We believe in bucking the system that’s built to smash individuals as bugs on a windshield.
Some of us believe in the man upstairs. All of us believe in sticking it to the man down here.
We believe in the sky, and we don’t believe in the sunroof.
We believe in freedom.
We believe in dust, tumbleweeds, buffalo, mountain ranges and riding off into the sunset.
We believe in saddle bags and we believe that cowboys had it right.
We believe in refusing to knuckle under to anyone.
We believe in wearing black, because it doesn’t show any dirt or weakness.
We believe the world is going soft, and we’re not going along with it.
We believe in motorcycle rallies that last a week.
We believe in road side attractions, gas station hot dogs, and finding out what’s over the next hill.
We believe in rumbling engines, pistons the size of garbage cans, fuel tanks designed in 1936, freight-train size headlights, chrome and custom paint.
We believe in flames and skulls.
We believe life is what you make it, and we make it one hell of a ride.
We believe the machine you sit on can tell the world exactly where you stand.
We don’t care what everyone else believes…
Amen……
It looks as though the ice is melting in Yerevan — slowly but very firmly. And how could it be otherwise when the weather is so hot and so are the girls!
Season ’09 has started to prove my old claims that Armenians in their essence are people of two wheels, not willing to give up any freedom for any security. I can spot and hear more and more motorbikes in the streets of Yerevan and that makes me excited! I remember how different everything was back in the day, how riding a motorbike was considered outlandish and how criticized the very idea of riding a motorcycle was.
An SUV has stopped me 10 minutes ago as I was approaching the restaurant where I’m posting this from and a charismatic guy in his early thirties asked me how to get into motorcycling. Earlier in the day I was discussing the same with a colleague from my company during a coffee break… And everywhere seems to be this cool atmosphere of people who are tired of watching more TV in their car cages.
This gives me a profound feeling of responsibility. I’m going to do my best, making sure that their starting experience with getting on two wheels is most pleasant and smooth. It freaks me out to think that maybe I had my unbelievably small contribution in making these people want to ride. That perhaps it was my motorcycle they saw in the street that got them thinking. That perhaps it was me entering a curve that thrilled them. These very thoughts get me into this groovy mood! Every time I pass by a child in a car who looks at me with these specific burning eyes and dropped chin, I smile and think that perhaps — just perhaps — I will remain a vivid memory in his small neural network and as years pass — one day, after an intense conversation night with parents, he will open the local dealer’s door with that distinct determined look. I hope his chin drops again, with that same childish amusement he used to have over the motorcycle he gets!
Thank you everyone who has been riding. Thank you all who will be riding. Thank you. Everything will be fucking awesome.
Just hit the fucking road.
In these days when the sun is high and the weather is so calm, I so want to ride a chopper — cruising the countryside with a lovely girl hugging from behind..
My bike in Germany last year, the sexy Suzuki Bandit 600. It was crucial in my understanding of the naked street bikes followed by my purchase of Honda CBF.
There was a lot of rain those days, but my rides on the perfect tarmac of the german roads as well as the A2 Autobahn, travels through Gütersloh, Bielefeld, Melle and Dortmund were unforgettable! I miss Germany a lot these days.
Here’s a Honda Rebel CA125 (my first motorcycle) in Gütersloh:
A nice custom Honda in Bielefeld that belonged to the owner of the Polo motorcycle apparel store, an old woman of non-traditional sexual orientation who has generously shown me around the city:
And finally, an ubercool custom Harley in Dortmund:
Riding in Germany was a shit load of fun and I miss it badly. If you happen to visit it, don’t forget to rent a motorbike — it’s only about 200 euros a week!
