My Last Motorcycle

by Manuela
(Tacoma, Washington, USA)

Two weeks ago my husband and I bought my third bike. I got my first bike two years ago when my husband purchased for me a 1999 Suzuki GSX-R600, 600cc's worth of high speed, stick to the road like glue, adrenalin inducing yellow beauty I named Bumblebee. About fifteen months ago I purchased a Red and Black Suzuki Marauder VZ800, 800cc's of relaxed cruising, I named her Ladybug. While I love both of my bikes neither one can I ride for more than a few hours at a time. My husband rides a 2000 Triumph Tiger and will go for rides that can last for several days and thousands of miles. I needed a comfortable bike so that I can accompany him on these rides. We went down to the local Triumph dealership to check out their cruisers to see if one felt right to me. My husband directed me to Triumphs American a 900cc twin that he had heard good things about. Not paying a lot of attention to the names I sat on a bike and fell in love, it was huge, comfortable and beautiful but it wasn't a 900cc American. When I called out to my husband that I had found the bike of my dreams and my husband turned to see what I was so excited about, I thought he was going to have a coronary on the spot. It was only then that I realized that the bike I was in lust for was not a American but was the flagship of the Triumph line a 2300cc Rocket III Classic. With two grand of my own hard earned cash and a loan to be paid off by my husband I bought my third and very possibly the last bike I will ever own. I named her Dung Beetle. No one understands my naming convention and that's ok, each of my bikes reminds me of beautiful bugs. The Dung Beetle is an extremely powerful bug that can move many times its own weight and is known throughout the world as a beautiful bug under one of its other names, the African Scarab.

It's funny I get two reactions from men when riding my Dung Beetle, the younger men think it's really cool that I ride a big bike and the older ones grouse that it's too big a bike for a"?girl". The Triumph Rocket III is a very special motorcycle, riding her is effortless and the closest thing to heaven I can imagine.