My parents wouldn't let me get any type of motorcycle when I was a kid except for this three wheel thing with a 3 hp motor that hardly ever worked. My brother Kevin and I pulled on that damn starter cord until we were exhausted. I can remember about two times when it worked. The first time my father let everyone on the street ride it and my brother and I only got like one turn. We hated him for that. The second time it worked I took my childhood best friend Brett on a ride around the frontiers of my neighborhood. That was awesome. Then it broke again. I probably broke it. My brother and I went in on an old lambretta scooter when we were in high school, but it broke too. Much fun when it did work. Fast little thing. My first bike was a Yamaha Riva 180 scooter. Bought it my first year of college and used it to explore Los Angeles and the Valley. Many good times and fond memories on that bike. Gave me some problems, but it was worth it. Brought it back to Tucson in the bed of my high school friend's truck and drove it for a while at the U of A until I sold it to another student, who quickly trashed it. Inexplicably, I didn't own another bike until after law school, though I rented them when I traveled. I moved to St. Louis for a year after school and bought a used Blue BMW R-65 from the dealer. That was really my first introduction to motorcycling and it firmly established a love affair with BMW motorcycles that continues to this day. I eventually drove the little bike across the country back to Los Angeles to live and work with my brother in property management for the greater part of a year. I used to go on Sunday motorcycle drives up into Malibu and the wilderness areas. When I came back to Tucson to start law practice, I drove that little R-65 with an Israeli friend on back. He kept trying to fall asleep. I eventually sold that bike to a guy who I still see riding it from time to time years later. Not long thereafter, I picked up a vintage Honda crotch rocket that gave me trouble and had a problem with the id numbers such that I couldn't register it. Traded that in with some extra cash for an old but very low miles Honda Rebel 450. Enjoyed that bike for several years and just sold it recently because it was starting to give me problems from lack of use. During the time I had the Rebel I went on a kind of motorcycle/materialism kick and owed four at one time: The aforementioned Rebel, a BMW F-650 Funduro (I still have that one), a Yamaha Zuma 50 Scooter (still have that one too), and the bike in the blog photo before you, my biggest and coolest bike yet, a Honda VTX 1300. Silver. With windshield and extra light bar. Sweet bike. But I couldn't keep that many mistresses contented and with the upcoming sailing adventure, I need to unload a lot of unnecessary trappings of shore life.