Over the last couple of years, my car hobby has been on the back burner because I've been playing with motorcycles. Here's a few pics of my latest obsessions.

This was my first bike, a 2005 Triumph Bonneville. I love that classic styling. It was like riding around in a 57 Chevy. Every where I went people wanted to know what year it was. You should have seen some of their expressions when I told them it was new!

After riding the Triumph for a year, I decided that it would be fun to do some touring, and I needed to find something a bit more comfortable on longer trips.

So I traded the Triumph in on a 2006 BMW K1200GT. Wow, what a machine. All day comfort, 152 horsepower, and awesome handling. The faster you go, the better it handles.

After doing several 300-400 mile day trips, I went on my first tour... in December! I rode from Ohio to Marco Island, Florida. Even in sub-freezing temps, the bike was flawless. With just my Aerostich and a Warm-and-Safe heated liner, I was quite comfortable. The heated grips helped too.

These pics were taken near the Sunshine Skyway bridge in Tampa, FL.

Now here's a billboard you don't see every day. Lawtey, FL, population 673. One of two official speedtraps designated by AAA. I happened to stop for gas in Lawtey, and while there I personally saw 3 different cars get pulled over. All in about 20 minutes. I'm sure it's all about public safety. Couldn't be about revenue generation could it? Yeah, right!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawtey,_Florida

In July '07 I took a bunch of friends from Michigan on a tour of some great Ohio backroads. Southeast Ohio has some of the best motorcycle roads in the country. Who knew?

That's me with the helmet on. Michigan has a helmet law, so my friends were exercising their newfound freedom of choice.

As time goes by, my riding style continues to evolve. While I loved the power and high-speed stability of the BMW, I hated the weight and difficult handling at parking-lot speeds. Even on the closest setting, the clutch lever was about a mile from the grip and I found it very tough to modulate. This, combined with the bike's tall height and massive weight led to a problem keeping it upright! It was time for a change...


After replacing $1000 worth of plastic, I disposed of the BMW on eBay. I then went down to my local Ducati dealer and put a deposit on a 2007 Ducati ST3 ABS.

By the time you read this, I should be riding it!