A comparison
Imagine for a moment that Thing (from the Fantastic 4) can fly. Now imagine that you get a chance to ride around on Thing’s back guiding him as you go. Now, imagine that you get the chance to do the same thing with Dean Tripp’s Butterfly.
This is the difference between riding the chibi-maker (Honda VFR 75oF) and riding a Kawasaki Ninja 250. With the former you’re talking tons of power, lots of bad-assery, and not a lot of maneuverability. With the latter you’re talking crazy loop-de-loops, child-like laughter, and inherently limited power.
I sold the former today and bought the latter (1999 model). I’d been going back and forth about getting one of those for a while now. The pre-2008 model has some issues (like no fuel gauge, and limited power) that left me not totally thrilled with it, but seeing tons of forum comments of owners and past owners who absolutely loved it made me think it worth considering.
There were a few reasons I ended up getting it:
- 50-75 mpg. Mileage is a really big deal to me.
- lightweight (just over 300lbs)
- easy to manage/maneuver
- everyone who owns one claims it can do 90 with no problem.
To top it off, this particular one is in mint condition. The last owner took amazingly good care of it, and its tires are practically brand new, which means I’m not going to have to worry about replacing anything anytime soon.
The limited top-end power is still a bit of a concern, but I remember riding my Aprilia scooter at 80 (its top speed) and thinking that it would have been perfect if it only had about another 10mph more. My motorcycling friend (TarzanBoy) thinks I should get a 500 or 600, and while I’d like that extra power, I don’t need it or even crave it, and I really don’t want the extra weight. I think I’ll get a few years of very happy riding out of this new bike.
But damn if it isn’t like riding on the back of a butterfly. Maybe a bumblebee would be more apt, with all the high-rev buzzing it does.
