Motorcycle History Part 1: My first XS-400

When I was twelve, I bought a similar bike at a garage sale for $50 - a 1979 XS-400-SG...that bike had a broken ignition switch, totally sketchy electrics, a black poly-vinyl tarp stapled over the thrashed seat, leaky hydraulic disc front brake, bent up ugly mag wheels, a ton of scratches from being laid down hard, and 30,000 miles on the clock. Also, the illiterate previous owner signed the "lienholder" line instead of the "seller" line on the title and moved out of state, causing it to be un-titleable. Luckily I never got that one running.

I like my current XS-400 much better. It only as 3200 miles on the clock. It is in *great* shape.

Anyway, I really like these old UJM vertical twins...I like that they're pretty small, and have a kick starter and an electric start. My current XS-400 gets about 60-80MPG, but has enough guts to out-accelerate anything but the most exotic cars. It has enough power to get out of trouble, keep up with traffic, and can even do 85MPH if I need to pop on the freeway for a little bit, but it doesn't have enough power to accidentally pull a wheelie at 70MPH if I mess up and crank open the throttle or accidentally go 180MPH. I like that it has wire-spoked wheels with mechanical drum brakes...everything is so simple, minimalist, and accessible.

I guess I get frustrated that most new motorcycles are either super-expensive, suicidially-fast fake race replica crotch rockets, or stupidly-heavy, super-expensive, poor-handling cruisers. I like how my motorcycle isn't a sportbike or a cruiser...it's just a motorcycle. A proper motorcycle.