My Journey with Classic Motorcycles: From Honda to Ducati

Yes, I own the Top Gun bike

I’ve been riding motorcycles off and on for most of my life. It all began in 1973 when I bought a Honda 125 and hid it from my parents in another garage. I did eventually break the news to them. Fast forward to around 1986, and living in Green Bay, I took the California Superbike School at Road America and, shortly after that, bought a 1985 Kawasaki 900R Ninja. Yup, the same one Tom Cruise had made famous in the movie Top Gun? All that fun came to an end when I married Ann, who was a nurse, and there was a rash of motorcycle injuries — mostly idiots doing stupid stuff—and she asked me to sell it, which I did.

Fast forward to the present day —well, a bit of a backstory first. Now living in Pewaukee with a daughter, I got the bug again and bought a used Suzuki 1200 Bandit. That bike was so much fun, but later on I decided to move it down the road and buy a — wait for it — 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa! Yup, at one time the fastest production bike made out of the box. It was a total beast and so much fun. What was always a hoot was when I would ride into someplace on this legendary bike and take off my helmet; most of the responses were, “Whoa, I didn’t see that coming.” See, I was in my mid-60s when I owned it, way past the age of an average rider. Keep in mind that up to this point I had always bought used bikes.

And then my wife told me to buy something new. My head was spinning. What to buy? There was something in the back of my head that said it would be a Ducati. I walked into the local dealer, and there it was, a satin white Panigale calling my name. Never mind that I had never ridden one, but I knew I wanted it. What an amazing bike and such a thrilling ride. It was sort of like some of the high-performance cars I’ve driven, where everything was adjustable electronically, like the ride, braking, and acceleration. The throttle was electronic and instantaneous.

I loved that bike, but it met an early demise when an idiot in a car jumped in front of me, and I flew off the bike. I saw the horizon rotate three times and amazingly not hurt. Was I done? Nope! Went right out and bought another one. Rode that for several summers and then one spring when I hopped on, it didn’t quite fit anymore, as my 70-year-old body told me. Yup, 70 and still riding a Ducati Panigale. It was time for something a little bit easier on my butt and back.

There were lots of choices since I’ve owned so many bikes, but it came back to the Ninja I owned in Green Bay. I started scouring the internet and didn’t have much luck. The ones I was finding were either basket cases or way overpriced. I finally found one just west of where I live, and the guy who owned it was a mechanic, so I bought it. Now it’s not the same color as my 85. There were several options available on the A3 that I now have besides the red and black, but it’s still the same ground-breaking bike that was the first to wear the Ninja name with a liquid-cooled, 908cc inline-four with 16 valves and dual overhead camshafts, producing 115 horsepower, making it the first production motorcycle to officially cross the 150 mph barrier. I’ll take their word on that last part. I’ve done a few things, like adding heated handgrips so that I can extend my riding season here in Wisconsin, and had the Corbin seat recovered. This winter I plan on some cosmetics, like having some tank dents removed and a few cracks in the body panels. It’s super-comfortable to ride and gets 40 miles to the gallon.

So what’s next? I turn 73 in February and maybe don’t ride as much as I did, but I’m not ready to call it a day. I know the values keep climbing, so I can partially justify it being an investment. Yeah right. I still enjoy my routes with all their twisties.

Thanks for stopping by and reading about my passion for motorcycles. Next Sunday, another four-wheel spot along with some of its history. Have a great week.