Entries from June 2004 ↓

So I need to get myself involved in some things. I mean I’ve pretty much got general day-to-day existence sorted, I’m awake during daylight, maintain an acceptable level of personal hygiene and sustenance and I even manage to get to work on time. Of course working and hanging around home doesn’t really constitute an enthralling existence in itself, so I’ve got to go and find some things to do with my time, hopefully something new and interesting. I’m sure there are some clubs or gatherings that would spark my curiousity, maybe some courses or lectures I could attend and expand my mind or some rot, some skills I could hone and things I could learn to do. I might have to make a list or find some community noticeboard or some rot or just wander into the city and read some of the bills posted on the walls of vacant buildings.

I mean if I’m looking to find some goals or pursuits, surely there’s nowhere better to start than at the bottom of something that I do not know?

I’ve ended up in some strange kind of situation again. I seem to have a bit of a habit of doing this, regardless of the fact that I’d prefer not to. Essentially I’m not sure what to do next. I mean I’ve managed to have a perfectly good time over the past eighteen months or so, just doing everything you do in a life, with the goal of being able to buy and ride a big, fast, shiny bike. But now I have it. This doesn’t make it any less awesome, but it’s done. I’ve accomplished what I set out to acheive. So what now? I wanted to do some more track days… but I’ve got one booked for Monday week after the superbikes and then I’m going to the Fireblade trackday/launch in four weeks. So what then now? What else?

I don’t really know.

I mean it’s absolutely wonderful that I’m in a situation with so many choices and opportunites, so many options, so many things I could do, but its practically going to waste on someone uncertain like me. It almost makes me feel guilty for not knowing what to want. It’s kind of odd really, I have no real desire to be rich and/or famous, no burning passion to be the best at any particular thing, no longing to be appreciated for any kinds of works or deeds, no inclination at all to be some personality or thing to be admired or really even considered at large. I’m really quite happy and comfortable just being who I am. I never thought I’d be at a point where I honestly said that, but there it is. It’s not to say I have any quarrel with your more-carpe-diem-than-thou “may I never be content” types, I just don’t share their enthusiasm for whatever it is that makes them constantly want to be bigger and better, and maybe I’m wrong to be content, maybe I’m wrong not to want to be larger than myself, maybe I and those like me should be dragged into the street and shot for not sharing the dream of being rich, powerful and the subject of admiration…

By no means am I saying I never intend to do anything with myself, neither is this an admission of apathy, acceptance or adequacy. Don’t be mistaken into thinking this means I plan on choosing paths according to their level of resistance or following any kind of plan or accepted practices. All I mean to say is that I feel no need for glory, no neccessity to be known or to have.

I just intend on being myself, and going wherever it is that doing that is going to take me.

And I like that.

So I’ve been haunting dealers, checking the papers and trading posts for the last three or four months now since I got my big bike licence but on most occasions conditions have conspired against me whether it be rain, timing, cost or just not finding a nice enough example of a bike to really take my fancy. Yesterday though, after days of crappy on-and-off rain and gales, the sun decided to make an appearance so I went out and ran a couple of errands before I headed over to a dealer where I’d seen a couple of bikes that took my interest.

I was on the way to the dealer from work, but decided I may as well stop in and see if anything new had popped in at a couple of other dealers that were on the way. Mostly the same stock as last week, but there was a nice silver and black CBR F4i with an Ohlins on the back, looked very tidy, but I made my way to where I’d been heading to ride another F4i and a 2001 ZX-6R.

I took the CBR out for a ride first, which was a nice snug fit, I had trouble finding the gearshift at first, but after that I really began to take a shine to it. It was comfy, had plenty of go and stop and seemed to suit me really well. There was no problem getting nice feel from the suspension and the gearbox, motor and clutch were all nice and slick. The tilt of the clutch lever started to bug me after a while, but I could always adjust that. I accidentally performed my first stoppie when testing the brakes while coming onto an empty freeway offramp, which was enough to convince me they worked well enough.

I went back after about three quarters of an hour, jumped straight off the Honda and onto the Kawa. Hmm… seat didn’t suit my arse as much as the CBR, no matter, lets see how we go. For some reason the Kawa seemed really hesitant to tip in and always wanted to stand itself up again whenever I was cornering, I’d most likely put this down to something being kooky with the tyres (never heard of Macadam’s before), but overall the handling wasn’t as friendly as I found the Honda. I don’t know how much of that I can put down to the rubber, but it was starting to look like the 6R and myself weren’t made for each other. That said, the gearbox was seriously schmick and the motor was so smooth even with me being a bit twitchy with the throttle. It’s definitely still a good bike, but it’s not for me, and the ride had made me that much more interested in the F4i…

So when I get back I start to take another look over the Honda. Yellow’s nice and bright, that’d go down well with Mother dearest, only 5,000 k’s, mmm… yep, like this one a lot… wait a second, what’s that? Upon closer inspection there seemed to be some scratching out of the frame hiding under the right fairing. Hmm. Taking a more suspicious look I started to notice a couple of other things, including a scallop out of the swingarm behind the ankleguards where it looked like the footpegs had been pounded back and taken a lump out. So I decide to ask the sales guy what the score is with this bike, so he tells me that when it came in, it had a shattered display so they replaced that (the odo was reading 900km) but otherwise it is as it was. I point out the other little things I’ve noticed at which point he tells me that “Almost every bike’s been crashed”. I don’t like the way this is going. They did have a brand new 02/03 model F4i for 12k plus on roads, but I felt like backing off for a bit. So after leaving then coming back 20 minutes later after I realised I left my licence behind… I went for another stroll back to the other dealers I’d stopped by earlier.

I pulled up and started to take another squiz at this F4i that was sitting there when a friendly fella appeared from somewhere and asked if I wanted to take it for a spin. Couldn’t hurt to ride another F4i I figured, might be able to see if there were any differences between this one and the suspect one elsewhere. This one ran a little quieter from around the engine which I appreciated, I didn’t have the same trouble with the gearshift and clutch positions as I had before, maybe they’d been banged out of shape on the other one as well. I started to give the bike a bit of a workout and then I really started to take a shine to it. So when I got back again (reserve lights going beserk) I started to go over it with the proverbial toothcomb. Aside from one corner of the chain mud guard being gnawed by a dog, I couldn’t fault the thing. Everthing lined up and was original, no marks, no paint scuffs, no stone chips, nothing. It looked good, almost perfect. So good in fact that I decided to buy it.

The new love in my life…

Profile shot

Nine and a half thousand clicks

So the old blue nag is gone, and I’m really happy with the new steed. Life is wonderful. (pardon the hedonism)

Well I have now well and truly moved living quarters. A couple of Saturdays ago I slung the miscellaneous possessions that constitute my material existence in the back of the truck and with the help of my Dad, moved them to where I am now. That being in Bayswater. I’m also now working three days a week doing Helpdesk work, which means I’m not getting paid the equivalent of a full-time job, but I’d have to be a bit of a bastard to complain about having four days a week off. I’ve settled in pretty well so far and I’m getting into a reasonable consciousmess/unconsciousness routine, unpacked everything and got all my jiggers set up, I’ve even worked out a reasonable route to get to and from work.

I’ve also taken the liberty of indulging in some of the various opportunities afforded by living in a different locale. I’ve vistited some friends, checked out some markets, made some new friends, caught up with others that I haven’t seen in years… it’s all been good.

Now that I’ve secured myself a regular income, the near future should involve me upgrading my mechanical steed to something with a significantly more impressive power to weight ratio, a purchase I’m looking forward to immensely. I’ve also had to procure myself another few less exciting items in order to survive life in the concrete jungle, particularly things like neckties, an iron, ironing board, cleaning products and a small army of penguins with rocket propelled devices of virulent destruction strapped to their mind-controlled backs.

Things seem to be pretty good.