I was a really good boy for my 32nd year of life. So good in fact, that I got a super-special present for my 33rd birthday.

I've wanted to get a bigger bike, a bike with hard bags and a comfortable seat, for a while now. I found it, it was a deal that I was comfortable with, and I took it. Here she is: Hoshi.

Isn't she gorgeous? (BTW - Salsa Red/Lava Red is the fastest color combo out there!)

Interested in some history? Read on.

I started riding in 2002. I could no longer resist the urge, had been hanging around some motorcycle types at the watering hole, and began my search. I called an old friend, to see if he knew where I might be able to find a low cost starter bike. I knew that he had one previously, I had helped him pick it up. I'd also heard that his family was picking up young'uns like flypaper in a barn. It was a good phone call. I drove an hour to his place that weekend, and after doing some unlicensed riding around town, sliding around on slush in the alleyways, I agreed that the price of the bike was fair (looking back, it was dirt cheap). Welcome to the family, my 1981 XJ650 Maxim. I rode Kioko for two years, racking up somewhere around 27,000 to 30,000 miles, lots of experience, and more smiles than you can imagine. I also got hooked into a few mailing lists. It was through here that I found my second motorcycle, a 1982 XJ750 Maxim. A new rider found that he wanted to ride bikes, not work on getting them roadworthy, so for little more than toll fare, I purchased this bike. The carburetors were wrapped in a denim shirt, attempted cleaning had not gone as well as he had hoped.

I put Takeo (the 750) on the road for a total of about $500, which included purchase price, carb bits, title, registration and inspection, as well as a set of tires and other smaller replacement bits (turn signal, brake lever, etc). That was 2005, and I put 20,000 miles on Takeo that year. A trip to Maine to see my dad's parents, with dad on his Ultra Classic (I didn't mention that after I brought my first bike to their house for storage, bribing with a chocolate milkshake each, he got the bug again. He finally reassembled the 1974 Norton 850 Commando that had been in boxes for 18 years and a move, and it ran on the second kick. A few weeks later, he bought a brandy-new HD Deuce. Two years later (and some 40,000 plus miles) they bought the Ultra, after a February ride from Pennsylvania to Daytona Bike Week (it didn't get above 40 until they hit GA)). I also went to Vermont a month later to hang with fellow XJers at a carb clinic, and visit with my uncle again (spent two nights there on the way to Maine). In 2006, I put about 15,000 miles on the 750, and never made any 'trips', just rode it as much as possible - 20F and dry, good enough for me. Rides fine in the rain, cold, heat, whatever. Unfortunately living in an apartment complex doesn't permit me to have all of my bikes in one place, so Kioko has been sitting at mom and dad's under a tarp on the carport. Someday soon, I'll ride her again.

This all leads up to the Venture - Hoshi. I took Carol with me, and a close friend (spiritual support, the 'level head' of the transaction) and looked at this Venture, the only one I had found in a week of searching anything within an hours' drive of home. Well, the level head was VERY excited as I was talking numbers in the other room, so I knew I had to do it. I got the all clear from Carol (she rides a lot, has to approve of her seat, view, ergos and all, as she won't complain about anything if it doesn't work out later), went back the next day and signed the papers.

Here we are, about six weeks later, and there are easily 3000 MORE miles on the RSV than when I bought it. Hoshi is a 2000 Royal Star Venture (Yamaha), and I picked her up with almost 74,000 miles on the clock - and a showroom shine, top and bottom, inside and out. A few VERY minor dings (far less than you would expect on a bike with that history), and almost everyone is surprised when I tell them it's 7 years old, and I have to show the odometer to get them to believe the mileage on the bike. She's pristine.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I just wanted to put this together to show everyone what I got for my birthday (we have to treat ourselves, remember).

Rubber down, all y'all.