Small bikes are awesome, there’s just no getting away from it. Their size means the ride is wholly engaging. Gears must be changed frequently to adjust for every incline or decline, twist and turn; the road must be carefully navigated to make sure your front tire isn’t swallowed by a crack in the blacktop; large vehicles from the opposite direction must be given wide berth to prevent their draft from reducing your hard-earned momentum, and on and on we propel. It’s a perpetual challenge that allows not a moment for concern about the stresses that lie in wait for us at work or home. It is what motorcycling should be all about and now more than ever. After acquiring this Honda CT110 Trail (mint condition, 1982, 600 original miles, I couldn’t resist) from a fellow Vermonter I rode it home via a twisty mountain rode and smiled like the Cheshire Cat from ear to there the whole time. Okay, some of that was nervous grinning at hurtling along frost-heaved surfaces on what are little more than bicycle tires, but overall it was brilliant fun! And what fantastic gears this bike has, long and strong, clean shifts, plenty of roll on. (There’s also a whole other set of low-range gears that can be engaged for hill climbing!) I had filled up with gas for $3 and change, driven 50 miles home, then ran some errands the next day. The day after I decided I had better fill up again only to find at the pump that the tank was almost as full as when I’d filled it 60 miles previously. I apologized to the attendant and rode off like a proud father…“sorry, I forget I only have to fill up once a month”. He gazed after me in dismay with the nozzle in hand. This is the Honda CT. I’m not quite sure how Honda did it, evidently it was sired from the same stable as the Cubs 50, 70 and 90 but this is a 110 and the difference is profound. I’m awed by the little red bike that could - it keeps with most byway traffic and feels solid on the road. Almost daily I get accosted by passers-by who want to know where the hell I got such an immaculate vintage steed. I just lucked out I guess. 

Review Suzuki TU250

As I was nudging my new wee Suzi up a Vermont hill, in the “slow traffic” lane, barely hitting 36mph in 4th, I got to wondering why everyone was hurtling by in such a feverish rush! Where was everyone going on a gorgeous lazy Sunday afternoon, in August, in one of the most beautiful States in the union? Was there a BBQ I was missing? Was there a tsunami rushing up behind us? What was I oblivious to? It is funny how modern communication technologies with their lightning speed transmissions have not removed the haste with which we like to get places physically. For me, an incorrigible nomad, the phone and internet have removed all urgency from my peregrinations and have enabled me to take my sweet time (much to the chagrin of other travelers) when I perambulate somewhere. I now enjoy every moment of every journey. I just sold my V-Max, and my HD bobber, they were too fast. I would race around noisily and find, upon getting home, that I only had an adrenaline buzz and memories of the blacktop in front of me…when you top 60mph you cannot afford to admire the views, or notice the birds overhead, or see the trees, or smell the smells of the mountains and forests you navigate through, it’s just too dangerous to gaze off left and right at the beauty around you. So I sold these gas guzzling behemoths and bought the TU. This truly is a reliable "vintage" bike for the modern age. And I adore it.

Once, when I was in my 20’s, I stood at the basecamp of Everest and gazed in awe at the summit. Next to me stood a weary climber who had twice failed to reach the peak. I tried to empathize with what I imagined he felt and when I expressed my condolences he said very simply “it’s not the point, it’s the journey that matters”. I have owned every manner of cycle in the past 34 years in the saddle and have developed mean skills, ridden in far-flung places, seen extraordinary things. But my fondest road memories are from rides on smaller, slower bikes. Admittedly riding across the Mekong delta on a 250cc with barely a molehill to ascend is very different from the Green Mountains, but 50mph is the golden mean wherever you are. Above 50 and you're on a slalom course and only absolute vigilance will keep you alive (except on freeway riding which I loathe). That can be exhilarating in itself but in a country of arbitrary geriatric speed restrictions it’s just not a good longterm motorcycling lifestyle choice. The TU is also a lifestyle choice and of a very different sort. It’s a choice to give a firm bird to all those hasty drivers in their $60k cars, to slow down and smell the roses, to take your time and a deep breath and get somewhere at a beautiful speed. I have never had so much fun being the thorn in every car-owners side. I hate cars, I hate what they have done to this planet, killing a billion birds and mammals annually (and that’s just American roads), hate their noise and their smell and the aggressive folks inside. Cars kill twice as many people in this country as guns yet no one talks of banning them. If I had one wish I would ask for their instant disappearance from the face of the earth – what a sight to behold them suddenly propelled (yes, perhaps with their occupants) into outerspace! Wow. How wonderful that would be. Anyway. Back to reality.

For the first 800 miles I babied my TU, coaxing it through the gears, keeping the throttle at a quarter turn or less just to get all her little parts oiled and correctly seated, annoying the hell out of everyone else on the road. Heaven. I know a lot of people talk about the amazing gas mileage (it genuinely is extraordinary), the seat comfort (very good even for a tall person), the classic ergonomics (winner all the way)…but I love this bike because it is the perfect ride for all respectable human scenarios. You want to commute? Buy the TU. You want to tour? Don’t even consider another steed! You want to while away a lazy August Sunday for $5 in gas? You feel rightfully obliged to minimize you're environmental impact? You’re a beginner needing a gentle ride to break you in? You’re a pro seeking the antidote to big CC adrenaline insanity and police custody? The TU. Brilliant engine, beautiful fit and finish, comfy seat, cute as a button, great icebreaker, perfect speed and …damn, I should be getting paid by Suzuki, but this is the best bike (or in the top 5) on the American market today, hands down. Buy it, ride it, adore it. Never sell. Give it to your grandchild as an heirloom. America doesn’t know what its missing (I haven’t seen another one on the road) but like the Kawa W650 it will probably be dropped from the US lineup and then become hugely collectible, so I say buy a dozen and make some cash, it will appreciate.

Dear Suzuki, please bring us the SW-1 and the Grasstracker Bigboy too (with cool kickstart) and a mountain of aftermarket accessories like seats and pipes and other cool stuff for all us adulators and fans, we’ll love you for it! I also personally guarantee you will create a whole new following of buyers who would not normally purchase large cc bikes or diminutive scooters....it is a unique opportunity and window that is currently unfilled. Arigatou gozaimasu.