If all goes according to plan, I'll have my new motorcycle tomorrow (Saturday, July 27th), sometime in the early afternoon. The bike is in EXCELLENT shape. Amazing that it has seventeen year old paint that looks that fresh! Three things were all that marred an otherwise pristine bike. A small area of scratches on the front fairing, barely noticeable, a small tear in the seat, again barely noticeable, and the fuel gauge which has stopped working, just a matter of a fuse or a wire (and the bike has a reserve tank anyway, so the fuel gauge isn't mandatory anyway).

I LOVE the riding position. We actually didn't ride it yet. I sat on it for a while, but with my arm in a splint and still in pain I can't do much. He brought it to the clinic and my father checked it out but didn't ride it. We'll ride it tomorrow and if all goes well we'll buy it. I'm also getting two helmets (which I probably won't use myself, but maybe to take passengers), a tank bag, and a cover. I'm considering setting up a ramp and fixing my apartment so I can keep the bike inside. It just depends. It is a heavy bike (they all were back then, even the sportiest bikes), so I'd probably have to ride it into the apartment as opposed to pushing it. Maybe I'd only keep it in the apartment for the night.

It's not a sure thing, of course. But it was in such sweet condition and ran so beautifully (and sounded so darn nice I could have listened to it rev all day) and he's asking such a great price that I can't see how I can pass it up. It's a PERFECT first sportbike/learning bike. About 70 HP, about 520 pounds with a full tank. Nothing overwhelming, but it'll do 135 and put basically any car behind it on the freeway up to 120 or so.

I'll try to come back with digital pics tomorrow if we get it (I already have pics that he sent me, but I want my own). I'll be disappointed if something prevents me from making the deal, but I do have a few other prospects. This is just the best--the cherry deal that falls into your lap after weeks or months or years of looking around.

Next up: helmet, jacket, boots, gloves, Draggin Jeans, earplugs, chain lube, locks, and maybe saddlebags.

Here are pictures that show what the bike looks like. Again, it's a 1985 Honda VF700F Interceptor, US 49-state model, red. It's almost stock except for a manual cooling fan switch (very cool!), a higher windscreen, and better tires. Still got the back fender and reflectors and everything.