VGER TO VGER

    Times have changed since 97.  There has been a few more trips and a lot more kilometers put on Vger.  So much so, that it is now time to rebuild.  Now comes the question...re-build or new?  So, the bike could do with a freshening up, but of course that leads to the next weak link.  This can turn into a vicious circle.  What would happen then if the money for the rebuild went into something quite new?  Of course you know how that logic worked with my wife.  Maybe I should have told her first.
    Alas, it was time for a new bike.  Old Vger had been to many places and had brought me home all the time.  I won't be getting rid of the bike, yes the rebuild will happen, but at a much more relaxed pace.  For the cost of the insurance, a second bike in the yard is not a bad thing.  As it stands now, a couple of my friends are "between" bikes.  Hey, a good rebuilt 1100 would make a dandy thing to rent..... or borrow, I guess.  After all, they are friends.
    Which leaves the next huge question, What to buy?  After agonizing for more than half an hour I can to my senses.  I'm not old yet and the house is paid for.  Lets go sport touring.  Yup, a new 97 GSXR 1100.  Okay, so it is more like SPORT touring.  Hey, it gets pretty good mileage for 130 hp!  Not to mention my duffle bag still fits on the back.  What else is there?  One good thing about the bike...there isn't even a place to put a cup holder!
    All things considered, it works really well.  The only big trip I have been on was 1835k in one day.  It did hurt after that, but then a lot of folks have trouble riding their touring rigs that far in a day.  It really shows up when the day has about 2 hours of traveling time left.  Around here, I have to put up with the "Drone for Home" situation.  Across the flats for two hours after a long day in the saddle, well, oowwww.  That sums it up.  No fun roads or sites to see, the mind drifts off to places of the body that have way too much feeling in them.  Of course there are the other parts of the body that have strangely disappeared!  Hey, if I can't feel 'em, they must be gone.  At a time like the "Drone for Home", a few missing pieces is not a bad thing.
    I have had the bike for two summers now.  The first summer was not really successful for traveling.  I had knee surgery while the motorcycle shop was shipping the bike to me.  Yeah, I ordered the bike, I broke my leg, they delivered the bike.  Like, huge downer!  So for the first summer I didn't really fit the bike too well.  That was actually a good thing.  It seems as my old bike and the new bike were the same cc's, but I think the new one has larger cc's!  Whew, I figured I would ride the bike carefully because of the fairly recent injury.  No, actually, the first time I pulled the trigger on the thing I found out I was not holding on tight enough!  Well, they are both Suzuki's, both 1100's, but one of them really scared the hell out of me!  Great, I have now just developed a whole lot of respect for the new Vger.  May I only live long and prosper!
    That, of course, was the first summer.  Things are now a lot smoother, not to mention faster, now.  That respect has never been lost. but my riding ability had some catching up to do.  The way I figure it, I can use almost half of the bikes performance now.  Oh how I wish I was 18 again!  (eekkk, that was not a good year, how about 25)  Yeah 25 was better.  Pretty close to bullet proof, not afraid of speed, but I knew to stay out of the way of coming traffic.
    So, the next page will give you all the details of the bike, and all of the work that has been done to it so far.  As long as my wife doesn't read this, I'll tell you about the plans for the winter "tune-up" also.