My first street legal bike was a Honda CBR 600. I learned to ride on a bike where you had to reach down and shift gears with a screwdriver jammed in to the place where the foot peg was.

I am aware of the triples only through reputation and Hunter S. Thompson, but that isn't to say I haven't rode some scary beasts at times. My last motorcycle was a Kawasaki by name and engine only. It wasn't street legal, and was basically a stripped down and naked Ninja. Nitro injector. Anything not needed was chopped off for speed. Most of the faring and the body was gone too. It would do zero to 60 in about 3 seconds. I actually rode cross country once or twice on this very beast, going from Washington state to South Carolina, and did it once in less than 3 days. It had lights, but I could yank them off if I had to. This bike died tragically. Somebody plowed through a red light doing about 60 miles per hour. And broad sided me. Haven't had the money or the means to buy another bike since. And my gimpy leg, I don't know if I could hold a bike up any more. I did have a purple Honda motorscooter for a while. Also had a Jawa 125, and while you may laugh, it was a SWEET ride. Comfortable seat, nice bars, and it rode smooth as silk. Hardly any vibration. I have a body made for cafe racers. I am short and squat and can hunker over the gas tank with out a lot of pain or discomfort, like a lot of tall guys seem to have.

I walk with a cane for a reason.

I'd love to get a sidecar ride. Like a Ural. With three wheel drive.

Of course, my heart still pines for a Ducati. Or a Vincent Black Shadow. HST said it was better to be shot out of a cannon than be squeezed out of a tube.