My short, wild ride as a GZ250 owner

[superdave]

Hello everyone! I bought a nearly-pristine 03 in march and was thrilled with the beauty and rideability of the GZ. Nearly doubled the 1500 miles that were on it when i bought it. Then, on May 20, i made a fatal mistake. :skull: While trying to read address #'s in a search for a business in a nearby town, I turned my head back around to see a van stopped in the road in front of me. I jammed on the brakes, but could not stop in time and rear-ended it.

Fortunately, I always wear not only my helmet, but an armoured jacket, sidi boots, and knee pads as well. I was only slightly shaken up, and, outside of a couple minor bruises on my legs, unhurt. The bike was not so lucky; bent handlebars, broken master cylinder, scratched gas tank, and other assorted damage meant my beautiful bike was totalled.

Now for the happy ending: My insurance company valued the bike at $600 MORE than I paid for it. Even after my deductible, I made a profit!
And yesterday I won an auction for a 1998 Triumph Thunderbird Sport, which is even more handsome than the GZ250, hard as that is to believe.
It is a great, retro-style bike that is in excellent condition. My gf and I are making the 200+ mile trek from Ohio to Michigan to pick it up this weekend on her Norton Commando. Hope I am ready to step up to a 883cc bike! I am riding her bike to prepare me for the ride back. To be honest, although I still enjoyed riding my 250, I was feeling the desire for more power and more stability at highway speeds.

Hopefully, my lesson has been learned and I will pay more attention to the road on the Sport. I drive extensively for my job and haven't had something like that happen in 30 years. But you never know, so wear your helmets, kids!