Why do I do this to myself?

Today some of the ice melted and I went for a little ride, that's a good thing, but earlier I had been reading the new Cycle World, sometimes that's not a good thing. As always, I enjoy Egan and Edwards, but then I read the article on the new CBR and Kaw ZX10, that's when the panic set in. Oh no, my bike is crap, I don't have a stacked transmission, to allow for a longer swingarm, no electronically controlled steering damper, I don't even have radial mounted anything! It took a bit of a ride to completely realize that I really don't have many traction problems, my brakes can already overcome my tires, or rotate the bike around them, and I haven't had any tank slappin' head shake. I love to read about the latest and greatest, but they need to put it in context.

All the talk is really all about the last 1/4%, mine is 150% of what I'll use, and it's 99% perfect. Apparently the new ones are 99 1/4%..... and 99 & 1/2 is all any bike will ever be. When I bought my GSXR, I asked the dealer to price 5 different bikes that he had there on the floor. I knew which one I wanted, and I knew it was the most expensive of the models I was considering. He did price them, then quite wisely, told me that they were all expensive, so pick the one you want. Good advice, glad I followed it. New bike tests should have a similar disclaimer, "warning: none of these improvements can really be detected by actual humans, like you! So, just pick one that you like." Now that my universe is back in perspective, I'm going to see what they thought about Yamaha's new two wheel drive dirt bike, and wonder how people ever rode those one wheel drive machines....

Paul Rice