The Rides of My Life

I've always been fascinated by motorcycles. My early memories of riding were renting my neighbors Velosolex moped to ride around Philam Homes in West Avenue,QC. Yeah, you read it right, renting. For P5 an hour, I would ride it until the gas ran out. Thanks Ronnie Abunda for that defining experience.

My Dad gifted me with my first motorcycle, a spanking, brand new Honda XL100, as a college graduation gift in 1974. But it wasn't until 1993 that I began to take a serious look at riding and get a really big, bad ass motorcycle. My first big bike was a 1987 Kawasaki GPZ 400. It was black, fast and loud.

Then, it was followed by a string of Honda sportsbikes like the Honda VFR 400. I remember purchasing this from Toys For The Big Boys at Robinson's Galleria. Love those stickers!

Sometimes, it was a choice between car or bike. So when it was summer, I'd get rid of the car and get myself a bike. And when the rains came in, sell the bike and buy a car. This Honda CBR400 belonged to a client of mine. I swapped my Toyota Cressida for it. Notice the empty parking space in the garage?

I had my last sportsbike in late 1996. She was a real beauty. The Honda CBR400RR. The RR stands for racing replica so you know this bike was seriously fast. They called it a pocket rocket or rice rocket.Of all my sportsbike, this was my favorite.

It wasn't until 1999 that I had both a car and a motorcycle in my garage.My first cruiser was a Honda VLX400 or popularly known as The Steed. Leather and chrome galore. She was dressed to cruise.

After four years on my Steed, I thought it was time for a change. From cruiser to standard, I'd set my sights on the Honda CB400 or the very popular Super 4. I fell in love with it so much that for the next 3 years, I owned four Super 4's of different models. There was the Project Big One or PB1, The Version R, The Version S and the Hyper Vtec Spec1. Great bikes, great rides and of course, great memories.

Alas, I needed a change again. I had decided on going back to a cruiser. I was hunting for a Honda Shadow ACE but as luck would have it, nobody was selling at my budget. A buddy said I should consider a Honda Magna. He said it was a cruiser on steroids! I liked that so I bought it.It was time for those long postponed road trips. Lesh ride!

While the Magna was fun, I need a commuter bike but I wasn't going back to Super 4's. I wanted something different. My ride buddy, Dennis Florendo, introduced me to the Honda Forza. It was a scooter but it was big, great style and best of all, it was fully automatic. Just twist and go. I was immediately hooked on the maxi scooter.

In 2008, I sold the Magna and decided to keep the Forza. A year later, the Forza was sold too. Now, the thought of being bikeless was not an option. This time, I really wanted a cruiser. I had my mind set again on owning that elusive Honda Shadow ACE. This time, with the help of another ride buddy, Gerry Aguinaldo, I was able to have my Shadow ACE. She didn't exactly look pretty but she had a healthy engine and original parts. And I knew, with a bit of T.L.C., would make her look gorgeous.

So far the "bug" to buy a new ride hasn't bitten me yet. But, when that time comes, I won't be selling my Shadow ACE anymore. I'll just be adding new bikes and new memories.