Oh wow! That is simply bee-YOU-tiful! I am salivating. I've never owned a motorcycle, but once upon a time my younger brother got ahold of an old British B.S.A. (British Small Arms) motorcycle. After he got it running he graciously permitted me to ride it when I wanted.

Those old bikes weren't noted for being low-riders. You needed a step ladder just the mount the damned thing. But back to the ride, I took his cycle out for a spin 3 or 4 times. The last time found me rounding a street corner at low speed when I hit some pebbles that had gotten kicked up onto the blacktop in the street. The bike went out from under me and I found myself sliding across the street on my back with my helmeted (thank goodness) head going bumpety-bump on the pavement. Several years passed before I finally got back on a two-wheeled motorized vehicle, an 80cc Honda motor scooter. (sigh)

Enjoy yourself on the cycle, Aint, and...uhhh...make SURE you wear a helmet.

I've got a 3/4 modular helmet. DOT approved. It looks like a full face helmet. The whole front flips up though, so it's classified as 3/4 modular. This type offers the best fit with my glasses. The helmet is vented and has removable, washable comfort padding. It makes me look kinda bobble headed compared to a 'skid lid' but, I don't care. Dress for the slide, not the ride.

Oh, I tried a few tall bikes something like you're talking about. They were 650cc dual sports. The view was nice but, for daily commuting across the metro, I want to be able to flat foot the bike on both sides at once. That and the seats on those bikes are like a 2x4 with slippery sock wrapped around it.

Well, it aint a Hayabusa nor a GSX-R but at least it's a Suzuki.

Nice bike!

Hayabusa- 1340cc, DOHC, 16 valves, 6 speeds and 485 pounds of 2 wheel fury. Maybe for my next bike. Maybe not.

I did consider a GS500F or SV650SF as well as several Hondas of that persuasion. The cruiser though, it's more comfortable, better for 2 up riding and much less expensive to insure. As my agent said, "The more wheelies it can do, the more expensive it is to insure." It's really not fair that the SV650s are classified the same as sport bikes. I say they're a standard bike.

But if you'd seen me trying to take a 90 degree turn at 35 mph yesterday...

I wonder if Harley riders would look at you as being a "wanna-be" . Thats a nice looking bike, it would be interesting to see how comfortable it would be on a long trip.

Post pictures of you wearing the jacket when it arrives.

Yesterday, a Harley rider walked up, introduced himself and shook my hand. We were at a small town gas station and bikes were pulling in and passing by left and right. There are a lot of bikes around these parts.

Some people are concerned with what you ride. Real bikers are glad that you do ride.

Whatever. Suzuki/Honda/Yamaha are every bit a real bike as Harley's. Harley has the wannabe japanese bike called the Buell. There's no reason why the Japanese can't do likewise.

When it comes to Italian bikes, it's a whole different story. You never hear anyone question the status of, say, an Augusta or an Aprilia... Italian's always seem to create top notch stuff and that's no different when it comes to bikes. Go figure.