My Motorcycles over the Years
1978 Honda Hawk
I bought this machine used in 1980, and sold it around 1993. 27 Horsepower.
Stock photo.
Two-cylinder, 395 cc air cooled engine with 27 horsepower, heavily “analog” (carburetors, etc, although it did have electronic spark advance; high tech for the day.)
Chain drive, required regular lubrication with a spray can of molybdenum disulfide.
It had a range of about 100 miles on a tank of gas at about 40 miles per gallon.
This one came with a faring, which I came to appreciate.
Street weight: about 400 pounds. I could pick it up fairly easily when it tipped.
Photo of the author (at age 22) departing San Francisco for a 5-week, 7500-mile journey to Houston, where I would start grad school at Rice University.
2010 Honda Shadow RS
I bought this new in 2011, and sold it in 2013, when I bought the NT. 43 Horsepower.
Stock photo.
V-twin, 745 cc liquid-cooled engine with 43 hp.
Chain drive; The chain used O-rings to keep in the lubrication, but it was still necessary to “oil” it periodically to keep it from rusting.
Fuel injection, and microprocessor-controlled spark timing gave it better gas mileage than the Hawk despite the weight and power increase; 50 mpg versus 40. The 2.8-gallon gas tank brought the range up to close to 125 miles.
This was the only cycle I bought new; I put 10,000 miles on it without a spill. I chose the “tri-color” paint scheme, and added the fairing.
Curb weight 510 pounds versus 400 for the Hawk.
Photo of the author with the RS on Mount Washington, New Hampshire. This was part of a 2012 ten-day ride from Virginia to Quebec and back. While great, convinced me I needed a different cycle for future odysseys.
2012 Honda NT-700VA
I bought this used in 2013, with the intention of taking a long trip with it. 65 Horsepower.
Stock photo.
V-twin, 680 cc liquid cooled engine. Despite the engine having less displacement than the RS, it had significantly more power, which I appreciated. “NT” apparently stands for New Technology. It was and is a fabulous machine. It never let me down.
Shaft Drive, which added 50-60 pounds, but which proved itself on the unpaved roads Up North.
This is a true “Small touring bike,” and only sold in the US for two years, which is a shame. It was called the Deauville in Europe, but had no name other than “the NT” in the US. As a touring bike, it had some built-in storage, a roll bar, a fairing, ABS brakes, and a 5.5-gallon gas tank that supported a range of over 200 miles.
I had heated handgrips added after I bought it.
HEAVY: 570 pounds, which is way more than most of the adventure bikes I rode with up north, but much less than the 900-pound Goldwing. Somehow it still got 50 miles per gallon. I found it challenging to pick up when it tipped.
Knobby tires I had installed in Edmonton: Continental TKC 80 “Off Road Enduro” tires.
End of riding the Dempster. I am spent.