Two words: at last!
So by way of significant update, I had signed up for a semi-private M2 course with a friend of Jeff’s who was in a similar position of uncertainty as to when or if he would be able to take one of the regularly scheduled and massively backlogged regular courses. That course is set to run this coming Monday and Tuesday.
BUT – as it happened, I got a call about 2 weeks ago that my perpetually delayed regular course was on and ready to go. Naturally, I jumped on it – bird in the hand and all that.
Apart from nearly collapsing from heat stroke on day 1, I really enjoyed the course – and more to the point – I passed!
I will still take the second course as scheduled because a) I don’t want to leave the other guy in a lurch, and b) I’m actually looking forward to more individual instruction.
The 61st day following my M1 was on Wednesday of this week – and I naturally upgraded as soon as the Driver Test Center opened. I now have a fresh M2 safely in hand.
So what was I up to in the interim? Why, making sure I managed to actually purchase a bike of course! Most of you are familiar with the saga, so I won’t repeat it here. In terms of bikes that I a) actually wanted and that b) I could actually find and buy, it was down to the Duke 390, Kawi Z650 and Honda CBR 650. And the Dukes were disappearing FAST. I took a good long look at each again and just decided on which bike I could see myself being content with for a longer period of time – I really wasn’t looking to repeat the purchase process in a year or two.
The Honda won out. It is arguably priced a bit too high relative to most of the competition, but is right in line with the Triumph Trident, which simply wasn’t in the cards. The Honda just really impressed in terms of quality of materials and fit and finish – most evident after just hopping off the KTM and on to the CB. I also think it is a bike I can grow with for several years – pretty docile and approachable at low revs and very facking fast indeed at the top end. My abilities will not exceed the bike’s capabilities anytime soon. But it’s also not the kind of bike where a small oops with the throttle is going to send you to the moon and force you to change your pants.
I was really attracted to the Smoky Pearl Grey colour the first time I saw it. It compliments the bronze engine casings and wheels very well indeed. The overall styling of the bike really grew on me over the course of my search as well. "Neo Sports Cafe" is a spectacular bit of marketing-be-marketing nonsense, but the design itself is handsome and premium-looking, and transaltes well up and down in size.
My bike was delivered this morning and I will spend the weekend getting to know it before starting my second training course on Monday. And I will add that my purchase experience with Dewildt Honda Powerhouse was wholly positive.
Kind of an understatement to say I am completely tickled to finally have a bike of my own!
My thanks again to all who helped along the way! More pics to follow in the coming weeks.
