Tom Wolf -- or Tobias Wolf, or Virginia Wolf, or one of the other Wolfs, most of whom don't actually spell their name "W-o-l-f" -- once said that you have to suffer for style. He was talking about why he chose to sleep in vinyl pajamas. Or maybe it was velour pajamas. Or whatever. The point is that they were some uncomfortable fucking pajamas that he chose to sleep in because he would look cool doing it. Not that there was anybody watching him sleep. No, this was all for his inner sense of cool, all so that he could feel cool about himself because he knew that if other people could see him, they would think he was cool. He was a genius who saw deeply into his own soul.
Of course, I used to think that anyone who slept in vinyl pajamas was out of his mind. When I first heard the anecdote about Wolf and his pajamas, I even said out loud, "That guy is an idiot." Now, however -- now that I am older, wiser, more jaded, more longing for a do-over of my misspent youth -- I understand the pressure of needing to look cool for nobody but yourself.
Today, I went back to the motorcycle dealer, checked out the SV650 again, and checked out a Suzuki V-Strom DL 650. Both are very nice bikes. The SV is an '05, and I can get it for $4999, which, after taxes and other BS, has me walking out the door for less than $6000, which was my goal. The DL is $6700, and it comes with a lot of extras that the SV doesn't have, and it's slightly more comfortable (with a more upright riding position and a wider seat). There's a lot to like about the DL -- so much so that my dad decided to buy one, and we're now a one-motorcycle family. Very exciting. And, without me even asking, he offered to chip in for one if I decided I wanted a DL instead of an SV. So now I can get the fancier, slightly comfier bike for the same price as the SV.
You'd think this would be a no-brainer. Except the DL is ugly. Ugly, ugly, ugly. Ugly-stepsister ugly. World's-ugliest-dog ugly. Fugly ugly.
Or maybe ugly isn't the best word. To be more precise, the DL looks like an old grandpa bike. It's not a bike that girls are going to want to ride on the back of (though, ironically, it's a bike that girls could actually ride on the back of without being scared to death). It's a bike that's fine for my dad, and I'm glad he's happy with it. But it's hard for me to want one or to really see myself riding one. Not that the SV is über sexy, and once I put a windshield on it it'll take a step towards the dorky side of the street -- but it is cooler looking than the DL regardless.
So... What to do? Go pragmatic and buy the sensible DL? Or buy the vinyl pajamas? My nature is to be conservative, which favors the DL. But I'm also tired of my nature. I want somebody else's nature for a while. But the real trick is going to be finding a nature -- either my own or somebody else's -- that I can hold onto long enough to be happy with whichever bike I choose.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
The DL (known from here on as the "Wee Strom") is an interesting bike. If you were doing a lot of long-distance riding and if you plan to do some of that riding on dirt and gravel roads, then the DL is the better choice. In my view, though, the SV is better for you for a few reasons:
1) It has no bodywork, which makes it much cheaper when it falls over in a parking lot. You're a new rider, which makes such an incident very likely, but you need not be at fault. A couple of weeks ago, we had a windstorm. I go out to the parking lot the next morning and my SV is sitting on its side.
2) It's shorter, which makes those parking lot mishaps less likely in the first place. At your height, you can start to drop it, and "save" it before it gets out of your control.
3) It's cheaper.
4) From what I've seen, 2005 and later SV models actually come with a little flyscreen that looks good, and believe it or not, is exactly the kind of thing that keeps the windblast off your chest, which is all that really matters. It probably does less than the fairing on the Wee Strom, but it's not the big deal you'd think it is.
Now the main draw of the SV650 is the wonderful engine. The Wee Strom has the exact same engine, though tuned for more midrange and less top-end power. But it's essentially the same engine. And the same frame. So it's totally a question of what riding position you prefer and whether you want one that looks like a sportbike (SV650S), a "naked" streetfighter-type bike (SV650) or something out of a bad 80s sci-fi movie (DL650).
A "bad 80s sci-fi movie" describes the V-Strom perfectly!
Yeah, I'm still leaning towards the SV. I keep thinking to myself that it would be nice to do a long ride, which would make the V-Strom the better choice, but realistically that's not likely to happen -- or happen often enough to justify a bike for that purpose.
Plus, there are some cool accessories for the SV, so I can add a windshield and whatnot if need be. It's hard to imagine the little fairing that comes on the '05 being good enough. If it is, that's great. If not, I've seen some pics of the mini fork fairing for the '05, and it looks good.
So I think I'm at the point where I've got to go down to the DMV and take my permit test, and then I'm going to buy this thing.
I'm getting excited about it.
And my dad's V-Strom is going to show up tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, so I'll probably get my first shot at actually riding a motorcycle in less than 24 hours.
Hopefully I won't kill myself too quickly!
Post a Comment