Danny,
You are quite funny but we are the same. I too am wanting riding to be fun again so I'm buying two Monkey's one for the office and one for home and one is Yellow
so I can have that Crazy Yellow Banana bike around. Love it.
I test rode the red one, not that color matters, but it was smooth and nice. I'm 240lb's and while not bragging I can tell you it hauled me nicely.
I think 55mph is capable and that's fine. I just want fun.
You're wife may think your nuts but I've had 45 motorcycles over 13 years, how nuts is that?
Yup, you take the nuts prize. At least between the two of us, anyway.
I didn't wait quite as long as you -- I started riding in my 20's, but didn't own my own bike until my 30's. And I've had everything from sport to tourers to big cruisers, the last being the Valkyrie, which was an awesome machine, but it was almost too much machine. It's been getting to be more a chore to ride these last several years, so it got sold a few months ago. I've
only had 11 bikes in that time.
Oh, oops, make that 12. I just plunked down the coin on a red Monkey this afternoon.
Yes, I did it. Left work this afternoon and right up until the exit to the dealers I was on the fence. Something pushed me to that exit instead of going straight home. Got there, looked around where they keep the scooters outside, and there it was, the one last lonely red Monkey. Of course I sat on it, seat blistering hot from sitting in the sun all day, took a couple of squeezes of the clutch and brake, and started grinning without ever turning the key. Found a sales guy, he rattled off a number that sounded good, and without hesitation I was in the finance office filling out the paperwork.
I don't know if you've ever had that feeling of uncertainty when you're buying yet another bike -- I usually do, wondering if I really want to trade in what I'm trading in, if I really want/need this new bike, you know the usual questions one tends to ask oneself before spending a pile of money. Not this time. Told the cute finance girl I feel like being silly as I handed her the sales paper, which she immediately giggled at, seeing what I was buying; i signed the papers, plunked down the coin, and headed home to sort out the insurance business. Going back to pick it up Friday, 'cos that's the soonest I can get a ride. It was the last one the dealer has, last of the 2019's they'll be getting, and it's the color I wanted. The only explanation I can see is that's the universe telling me it is good and right to go forth and be silly.