Finding My Own Ride

During the weeks that followed my successful completion of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation class, I started my motorcycle hunting adventure. Now, a few months before my beloved boyfriend and I took the class we attended a motorcycle show in Washington DC. I sat on quite a few motorcycles, some of which were too heavy for me to even pull up from the kickstand position. Realizing the physical limitations of being a tiny redhead, I focused my attention on the smaller rides. 


I knew even before we went to the show that I was not a sport bike kind of gal. Perhaps it's because I once dated someone who rode a sport bike and later turned out to be a total douchebag. Maybe it's because I just love the more classic looking motorcycles like the ones James Dean or Steve McQueen would ride. Whatever the reason, I was steering toward the cruisers and cafe racers. 

We made the rounds for me to try the small motorcycles, first stopping at the Honda booth where I sat on their Rebel CMX 250 model. I threw a leg over, sat down and decided that while I loved the look my legs might be a little too long for it. So we went on to check out the Yamaha booth where I tried their V Star 250, which still seemed a little short even though it looked great. The next stop was the Suzuki booth, where a kind older gentleman sized me up and put me on their TU250X. I was excited, because not only could I lift the bike from the stand but it seemed to fit my legs perfectly! I was convinced I would find a way to buy that little Suzuki after we finished the class.

Let's fast forward to the class where my ride was the Rebel CMX 250, the motorcycle I thought was going to be too short for my long legs. Over the course of those two days I fell in love with that bike... okay maybe not that particular one but the type of bike in general. The low center of gravity made it very easy for me to handle, and the weight was light enough that I was able to pull it back upright the one time it tried to go down. I felt one with that motorcycle, even if it didn't do a mind meld so I could magically figure out the clutch and shifting thing.

A week after the class, my awesome boyfriend and I made the rounds to all the local dealerships so we could look at the motorcycles and I could sit on the cadre of small ones again. With the experience of actually riding under my belt at last, I had a better idea of what might work for me. While I fell in love with the Rebel during the class, I still wanted to make sure it was going to be the perfect ride for me. Once again I sat on the V Star 250, the awsome TU250X that I had previously thought was the "it" bike, and finally the Rebel. (Okay, we also went to a Harley-Davidson dealership but even their smallest model was just far too heavy for little ol' me.) At the end of the day, I decided that I was going to make a Rebel my ride. 

So the next stop was Craigslist. I had a few criteria and a limited budget, which made the search a bit difficult. I definitely didn't want a red one and preferred something more recent with few miles. I also wanted to try to spend less than $2,500 if at all possible. Since there wasn't anything local that met my needs, I expanded my search to points further south and finally found a silver beauty near Richmond that was in my price range, had less than 2,000 miles and was of a 2008 vintage. It was still available so my amazing boyfriend and I arranged to rent a Zipcar truck to go down and pick her up. It was a good thing we got a truck, as it was far too rainy and our riding experience far too limited to be riding her back home that day. We all made it home safe and sound through the thunderstorms, and that sweet little silver Rebel was now all mine!