Riding again |
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At last, the summer is here. Green buttons appear on the trees, and flowers
that first with hesitation looked to the sky, now bloom in abundancy and
fill the land with a carpet of millions of colors.
People also show the impact of summer. The car is left at home, and the
roads in Holland are crowded with.....motorcycles.
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Motorcycling. Once you've done it, you can't get away from it. Rent a
bike, and pray for good weather. No, that's not what I want anymore.
After carefull consideration, and long calqulations I come to a decision.
I go and find myself a (cheap) motorcycle. The best place to start is
Internet, and "Marktplaats.nl" and "Speurders.nl" are the places to
look. Also several sites of motor-dealers. As a result of the little
amount of money I can spend I narrow the search to old motors, realiabilety
and free of road-tax is also an important insue. The bike I look for
must not be to heavy, but also not to light. That gives me the space
between a 400cc and 600cc, preferable with cardan.
And first of all : cheap.
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The first brand that comes by is Suzuki, followed bij Kawasaki, and Honda
is way to expensive to look. I place a rather high bid on a Suzuki
GS650, but someone else tops that. A low bid on a Kawasaki 440 Ltd stays
un-answered, and a bid on a Suzuki GS450 get the reaction "If that's al
you can spend, don't ride a motor." It doesn't look good for my bike-plans,
But patience is a virtue. While the second heat-wave in 2006 lais over Holland,
I practice patience.
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 Suzuki GS 450l |
 Suzuki GS 550 |
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 Kawasaki Ltd 550 |
 Suzuki GS 550l |
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The waiting has result. In the "Honda" section on Marktplaats.nl I find
a CX500 c. Despite the fact that exhaust pipes and curves are painted black,
(witch I don't like) I place a offer. The same week I see
in Uitgeest a CX500. It is not an 'c' model, but a standard red colored
CX. On that bike I place another offer.
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I need more info on the CX500, so I search the internet. I find a
CX500 fanclub, and in the forum even a telephone number from a CX-fan
that lives nearby, in Bennekom. I call him, explain the situation, and
ask him a dozen questions. What are weak spots, how realible are those
old CX's. Are there spare-parts availeble ? Theo has an answer to all
the questions, suggest that I pay extra attention to certain places
on the frame, and wishes me luck. And if I buy a CX, I sure have to come
by and show it to his.
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 A CX on the internet.... |
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A few days later, on a Saturday, an e-mail arrives. On what day do I want
to take a look (and test-ride) in Uitgeest ?. I call the seller, and find out
that I am the second person on Kees B.'s list. If the other bidder doesn't
respond before Sunday 13:00, I may come to make a test ride. Sunday 14:00 Kees calls me. The other bidder can't come within a week, and the bike take up to much space. We make an appointment for the next day, Monday Juli 31. |
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That same evening I recieve an e-mail from Robert. I can come to
Utrecht, and make a test ride on his CX500c.
One day there are no offers, the next day I've two. Choices. I write back
that I've just made an appointment, and I will inform him of the
outcome.
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That monday I take the train to Uitgeest, with my old trusty helmet
hanging from the bag. After a few minutes waiting in Uitgeest I see Kees,
who pick's me up from the station. Upon arriving at his house he pulls
open the garage door, and there I see the CX500. My first thought is
"What a big bike!" Then I walked towards it, and was trapped. There it
stood, compressed power, solid, forcefull and bold.
We rode the motor out, and I made a small test ride. Around the square,
in and out the streets. Pull up, brake, turning and stop, all went
smooth, and despite I hadn't been driving for years, it seems to go by
itself. Was I such a good rider, or was the Honda a very forgiving bike ? How big this 'monster' was, it was agile, reacted quick, little soft in the suspension, but very pleasant to ride on. The deep sound from the engine did 'Wow!' to me. I fell for it. I could not let it stand there, so I bought it. Together with Kees I went to the bank and the post-office in Uitgeest. The Honda was signed over to me, and we went back to Kees' house. There, on the driveway, for the first time, stood MY CX. After a cup of coffee and a friendly talk it was time to leave for Ede. Kees was so kind to guide me to the locks at IJmuiden. I didn't want to take the highway to Ede. I had not steered a bike for years, and the dutch traffic can literally be murderous. On the map I plotted a route that brought me trough 80 km/h roads to Ede. But to do that, I had to cross the 'Noordzeekanaal' (Nordsee-channel). Kees rode away on his Virago, and I on a CX, no, on my CX followed. The sun was shining, the engine was running like a, no, not a sewing machine, more like a train. I heard the Twin loud and clear. Not unpleasant, more like the sound was telling me "more, I want more, more, more......." |
We were leaving Uitgeest, rode through Heemskerk, towards Velsen Noord,
and the locks at Ijmuiden. The nord-side is an industrial area, with
the Hoogovens (Cores). And that side is so desolated,, just plain depressive.
When we rode there I recalled why it's such a tiresome road, just for that
piece of it.
 The locks at IJmuiden ('noordersluis') |
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In front of the ferry across the 'Noordzee kanaal' Kees said farewell.
He turned back home. I did the same. First Driehuis, then to family
in Santpoort. There was nobody home in Santpoort, I forgot that Wil and
Roeland where still on the camping at Epe.
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It is a good thing that I know the area that i'm traveling through. I can
focus a bit more on the motor and the way I ride. At the pinyt that
I had left Haarlem behind me, on the road to Hoofddorp, I understood
the bike better, And I think that the bike understood me also.
Still avoiding the highway, I drove on the N201 in the direction of
Hilversum. I passed Vinkeveen, and rode between to lakes though
Loosdrecht, and then through Hilversum to the small town Baarn. There I
had to make a choice : Amersfoort or Ziest. I decided to go for Zeist.
But first a short stop, at a gasstation. Coffee from the thermoscan,
a sandwich from the gasstation, and while the sun continued to shine
I looked with some pride to the Honda. All in all, life was good
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The rest-break is over, I'm on route to Ede, and it's the goal to get
there, preferably sometime today. The engine is started, and I began on
the last part of the voyage home. A rondabout, a viaduct with the A28,
and suddenly I am on familiar grounds. On it went, to Woudenberg,
Scherpenzeel and Renswoude. Short before De Klomp, less then 10
kilometres from home, I was startled by a stuttering engine. Something
wrong ? Did the CX had an hidden flaw ? Will it stop when the engine
is to hot ? Not at all. Even the best engine needs fuel, and all I had
to do, was to switch the fuel-tap to 'spare'.
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Short before entering Ede I decided to look how the CX would ride on
the highway. It's not long ago that the A30 is finneshed and it is not
a very busy road, much less cars there in comparison to the A12.
Okay, let's try it.... On the highway I noticed quickly two things. First, the wind generated by the speed of the motor got under my helmet, and lifted the helmet up. That is very ugly, with the helmet blown up I cannot see the road ahead. Secondly, there was a sound, an undefined knocking from somewhere in the engine, when the rpm got above the 5500. I didn't get to 120 km/h. Not because the CX wouldn't do it, more that the driver was very carefull. |
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The A30 starts (or ends) on the A12, and the connection towards
Arnhem fades into the exit Ede. Therefore I don't have to do any
difficult sideways movement, and can keep the same lane. I drive on
to the exit with a speed around the 100 km/h. A few trafficlights and
turnes later I steer the CX behind the house. Jiffy out, engine off. We're home. |
 The CX500 on his new parking space. |