New Bike in the family

I guess my daughter will tell me someday why she wanted to buy a motorcycle.

She hasn't yet.

As with just about everything else she's wanted to do, I've done what I could to help her.

Some dads might have tried to talk their daughters out of getting a motorcycle. The thought occurred to me. But what would I say? Tell her it's dangerous to ride a motorcycle? Yeah, I guess it is. I've had three accidents on my bike, one ended with a trip to the hospital, but I was only there long enough to get an X-ray and some crutches.

But I was also a rider who had no proper training and let my emotions control my riding, and both got me into trouble.

So my kid took a riding course, and then we went shopping for a bike.

Here's what she got, a 1982 Yamaha Maxim 550. It's a great little bike, terrific around town. I rode it on the freeway and it flew at 70 mph and 75 mph with little trouble.

But the lack of a windshield was a little tough for me to take.

The girl is still working on getting the hang of riding, but I think she'll get it.

I'm already planning some rides for us. Maybe she'll tell me then why she wanted the bike in the first place.