Thinking of upgrading.....

Yep, my co-worker friends who are motorcycle owners told me it would happen but I thought it would take longer than it did. What's that you ask? The feeling that I should move up to a bigger engined motorcycle!

Sure, in the back of my mind I always thought that there was a bigger motorcycle in my future but it's been less than six months since I got Gretl and already I am thinking of trading her in. Sad.

It all started being more than a thought about two weeks ago as I was fighting a very strong headwind on Interstate 70. Throttle was full out and I was barely holding 70mph into the wind. I would have been out of luck had I had to pass or been in need of more speed to get out of something's way. It just was not an option.

So, I've got the upgrade bug pretty good right now. Here's the motorcycle I think I want to move up to but who knows what it'll morph to by tomorrow:

BMW R1150RT, a radical departure from the Cruiser look.

or perhaps:

Honda Valkyrie, a six cylinder monster.

then there's the:

Honda VTX 1800, biggest production V-twin, over 750lbs empty.

Or, I can stay with Gretl, who other than a bit underpowered on the superslabs in high winds, does everything I need her to do without complaint and great fuel economy. A bigger motorcycle would of course not get the 50-60mpg I am getting now, more likely in the 40s instead. There's a price for more power.

I am going, with co-worker friends, up to Black Hills National Forest this coming weekend. It'll be Gretl's first long distance ride so I guess I'll know at the end of that trip whether she'll stay with me for the long run or not.