A long time ago, when I was young, one of the many dreams I had was to buy a motorcycle and travel the world on it. I was a dreamer back then — and broke. So I never managed to buy the bike I wanted. Still, with the little money I had, I took the course and got my motorcycle license. Back then, I dreamed of owning a chopper.
Years passed. I got married, started making money, and my priorities changed. I bought a house, changed my car, traveled a bit — and the dream of owning a motorcycle slowly moved to the back of my mind.
Until one day, I started thinking about it again. Only this time, I pictured myself on a enduro-touring bike — me, my wife, and some luggage. I even started searching seriously. I had a short list of three bikes: the BMW F650, the Honda Transalp, and the Kawasaki KLE 500. That was the order of preference.
Being as stingy as I’ve always been, I kept waiting for a good deal. And I found one — a BMW F650. But on the very day I was supposed to go see it, my wife told me she might be pregnant. And she was. The idea of having a baby made me give up on the dream once again. The thought of a motorcycle accident at that time was enough to make me stop.
Time went by, the child grew up, and I started thinking again about getting a motorcycle. This time, since I had a small kid (three years old), I thought maybe I should look for one with a sidecar. Those are quite rare, so I started checking out Ural motorcycles — the classic sidecar kind. I didn’t tell my wife anything. As I said, those bikes are rare and expensive. Then, one evening, she told me:
“I think I might be pregnant again…”
I looked at her for a moment and burst out laughing.
She asked, “Why are you laughing?”
I said, “Because I just started thinking about buying a motorcycle again — and just like the first time, your pregnancy somehow coincides perfectly with my search.”
And so, once again, I gave up on the idea. I’ll admit — I even looked up information about sidecars that fit two passengers. :))
A while later, one summer, I had a scooter for a few weeks. It wasn’t a motorcycle, but it was something. Nothing fancy — a 50cc Chinese scooter. Still, it gave me a taste of that feeling again.
Now, the kids are older, the city’s busier than ever, and I’m constantly running in all directions. I need something faster than a car in traffic. So I thought maybe it’s finally time to buy that long-dreamed-of motorcycle.
But being more practical than I used to be, I decided a scooter makes more sense. That way, there’s no risk my wife will announce she’s pregnant again.
I think I know what I want: a cheap, reliable, and fairly powerful scooter. My shortlist: Honda SH 300, Yamaha X-City 250, Yamaha XMAX 300, or Kymco DT 300. The best deal so far is on the Yamaha X-City — but I’ll need to go test it first.
And that’s how a rebellious young man who once dreamed of riding a chopper became a 50-year-old man looking to buy a 250cc scooter.
Evolution, I guess.
