Farewell, "Old Paint"

I sold and said goodbye to a piece of machinery yesterday. I normally do not get attached to such things and I usually scoff at those who do; who name their cars, who think that their vehicles, appliances or tools have personality traits or develop attachments to inanimate objects. I likely do this to prevent myself from taking it personally when a device or machine behaves poorly or refuses to work at all. I know that a piece of machinery does not care what kind of day I've had, how much of a hurry I'm in or what my mood is so I try not to get too involved in trying to decipher the whims of a hundred moving parts at any given moment.
So forgive me now as I wax melancholy, because I am sad to let this particular machine leave my life.
I've been riding motorcycles pretty much all my life, but until I bought this KLR650 I didn't really have a 'relationship' with a bike. Prior to this particular bike I raced, I diced along the roadways, I climbed hills and cruised highways all on board two-wheeled conveyances that were tons of fun, fuel efficient, and occasionally adrenaline generating.




Farewell KLR

But until I decided on a purpose-driven purchase, I hadn't really come to grips with buying a machine that I would customize, plan around, and test for a particular mission. This purchase came after much soul-searching, re-searching, surfing, dialog, and eventually hunting to find the right one. Planning for the ultimate-mid-life-crisis-adventure-motorcycle ride was a big deal in so many respects and determining the right motorcycle was both daunting and rewarding.

This bike filled the bill with all the check-boxes filled and it ended up being exactly the right machine for me and my big plans. By the time it was all said and done I had ridden a little over 5,500 miles in one trip, and pushed every limit the bike had; both highway and off-road, just to have the bike reward me with a "sure, we can do that" response. We've been cold and hot, wet and muddy and arid, to 12,000+ feet and to sea level and covered miles of pavement and rocks, and sand and mud and fields without so much as a single bauble of complaint.

I had fun ... I grew to expect and depend on a reliable and exhilarating ride, and I grew to love the machine.

Sheesh .. I'll miss it.

Thanks for you're understanding :)