My first bike after taking a 20 year hiatus from riding (wife and kids and all) was a 2001 V-Star 1100 custom with a hypercharger and Hard Chrome pipes...looked and sounded great. I had 3 good years on that bike but my increasingly aggressive riding prompted me to search fro something with a little more power and better handling characteristics, especially after hitting the frame a couple of times while leaned over hard in some corners (that will wake you up!).
Along comes my 2006 Kawasaki Mean Streak. I loved that bike in almost every way, good power and AWESOME handling. I could really push that bike hard through the twisties and used up virtually every bit of the tires with nary a chicken strip to be found. The only downfall of this bike in IMHO is the short range. I had started to take longer trips and when riding hard I would only get about 100 miles (give or take) before going dry. I was tired of being the fuel stop for the guys I was riding with.
I had test driven a Roadster about 3 years ago at a dealer ride event and fell in love with the power of this beast. My only mistake on that test ride was putting my wife on the back, the power floored her and she was certain I would kill myself with this machine. Regardless, it was on my list of must haves. Well, after 4 glorious years on my Meanie I took the plunge and found an incredible deal on a 2012 Roadster in matte black with 1800 miles on her. After a couple of short rides I was sure it didn't handle nearly as well as my Meanie, let's face it...she is a BIG girl! I just didn't feel like I could push her as hard in the corners. However, after another week of riding I'm not so sure. Watching the speedo in the corners I found that, although it didn't feel like I was pushing the limits, I was actually going as fast if not faster as I pulled on through. You gotta muscle her around a bit but, in a word, AWESOME!!!
Got back on my Mean Streak last night for a short run and boy does it seem small now. Looking forward to many years of quality riding on this roadster, and with her 6.3 gal. tank I will no longer be causing the frequent fuel stops on those long trips.
Along comes my 2006 Kawasaki Mean Streak. I loved that bike in almost every way, good power and AWESOME handling. I could really push that bike hard through the twisties and used up virtually every bit of the tires with nary a chicken strip to be found. The only downfall of this bike in IMHO is the short range. I had started to take longer trips and when riding hard I would only get about 100 miles (give or take) before going dry. I was tired of being the fuel stop for the guys I was riding with.
I had test driven a Roadster about 3 years ago at a dealer ride event and fell in love with the power of this beast. My only mistake on that test ride was putting my wife on the back, the power floored her and she was certain I would kill myself with this machine. Regardless, it was on my list of must haves. Well, after 4 glorious years on my Meanie I took the plunge and found an incredible deal on a 2012 Roadster in matte black with 1800 miles on her. After a couple of short rides I was sure it didn't handle nearly as well as my Meanie, let's face it...she is a BIG girl! I just didn't feel like I could push her as hard in the corners. However, after another week of riding I'm not so sure. Watching the speedo in the corners I found that, although it didn't feel like I was pushing the limits, I was actually going as fast if not faster as I pulled on through. You gotta muscle her around a bit but, in a word, AWESOME!!!
Got back on my Mean Streak last night for a short run and boy does it seem small now. Looking forward to many years of quality riding on this roadster, and with her 6.3 gal. tank I will no longer be causing the frequent fuel stops on those long trips.
