So yes, the duke 200 has made an exit. It has been about a month since she left and the void remains. I dunno if I should have just kept the duke. I guess I will never know. But I am happy I sold the orangutan. She was supposed to be a “step up” bike when i picked her up in 2012. But she was faaaar from it. Took me to the Himalayas, Dhanushkodi, Coorg, Ooty, Mangalore, Kodai etc etc.. And what fun! 27000kms of pure, raw fun! each km I put in was awesome. My daily ride in Bangalore’s horrible traffic-off road circuit, rain, shine, snow, sand and what nots! Great bike. But I had to let her go. I hope the new owner enjoys her as much as i did. But she will be terribly missed.
Goodbye Friend!
So what could be next? What could possibly replace the duke and take me a notch (or more) higher in terms of performance and handling? I SO wanted a daytona 675. But If money grew on trees and wishes were horses, i would probably be riding a matte black daytona 675R to office everyday and office would have been at the end of the pacific coast? So the daytona wasn’t happening. It will have to wait.
In the beginning of this year, i was thinking of “waiting” till i could afford the daytona or if magically, the duke 690 comes along here in India. But “waiting” sucks! So no, no waiting.
Now if any of you have read my blog completely, I had made a post on what I thought of a Ninja 650. It made sense, that bike. It was FAST (200-210ish kmph top whack), comfy, looks ok ok and a great highway machine. So that very bike that i rode came up for sale and since we are pretty close friends, Ravi was willing to sell it to me at a very good price. Initially when he told me, I did not even think about picking it up. I was still in “Wait till I can afford the daytona” mode. But then one day, I snapped out of it and thought “Why wait?” and then this happened! 🙂
Hello You big bad err… green bike? 😀
So it has been less than a week since she came along. Two outings on her so far (to office, but that involves a bit of highway). I am still getting used to the bike. It is a BIG bike (compared to what i have owned so far atleast). I hit about 155kmph without really realizing it, I reckon “touring” should be fun! 🙂
More on the ninja as I pile more miles on this beauty. Yet to name her and definitely not regretting “Waiting!”. The Daytona will probably happen in a few years, or maybe the duke 690 is next? But I think, this Ninja will be in the garage for a long time! 😀
Oh Yes, the lights suck! Need better bulbs.
Ride Safe! Ride Long!
Cheers!
Motorcycles Only 