Yes, you CAN go back....

A few weeks ago my pal John The Jeweler came over one evening so we could go on a motorcycle ride. He brought over his 1969 BMW R69S, a highly collectible and desirable bike that was state-of-the art 43 years ago. I roll out my mighty 2012 BMW K1600 and snapped a photo of the best that BMW has had over the years - of the two bikes together.

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Off we go...and John's R69S is pretty slow - it is an old bike, after all. I'm holding back my K1600, which is a hyper-fast, 6-cylinder, computerized technical marvel, but as we're putting around on Virginia backroads my bike feels very heavy, is bucking a bit and protesting at the low speeds and I'm not getting much airflow from all the tupperware around it designed for highway blasting. When I get home I mention to my wife that it sure would be fun to have a smaller, lighter, more simple bike for evening rides like this with my pals. To my surprise she says "Well, go get one! You work hard - you deserve it". I always knew she was a great woman...lol.

Another of my BMW riding pals just made a huge investment and just opened up a Triumph motorcycle dealership in Manassas, VA. http://www.triumphmanassas.com/ I decided to go down and see Ken and his dealership and of course he was very surprised to see me - and tossed me the keys to anything I wanted to try. Long story short, he made me a buddy deal on a new 2013 Triumph Scrambler and I became his second customer and brought this home earlier this week:

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There is no ABS, no linked brakes, no dynamic stability control, no windshield, no stereo system, no self-cancelling turn signals or hydraulic clutch or fancy suspension system. There is not even a fuel gauge. It's primitive and functional, and not all that fast. The high pipes on the right side get hot, and the brakes are marginal at best. And I'm having a blast on it - because it takes me right back to when I was 16 years old and hitting every backroad in Missouri on a bike I had not all that different from this one. It's a more pure essence of motorcycling and I've not owned a bike like this in 40 years. Bugs are hitting me in the face and I can actually see the front wheel and where its going. Its FANTASTIC, and the perfect therapy after a long day at work. I feel like Fonzie on Happy Days and haven't even touched my BMW motorcycle since this one came home....

Fascinating reading. Much like listening to current Porsche sports car owners talk about why they buy a classic from decades ago, before all of the computer age technologies were added. Some of them end up driving the classics more than the new ones ... at least for lesser rides where speed and precise handling are not as needed.

Jerry Seinfeld is a VERY serious Porsche Collector - he has quite the stable. His '73 Carrera RS featured in this video is his 'dead-man's car' as he calls it. They only come up for sale when the owner's die and he says he will never sell his. Wish I had bought one back then, they go for $ 250K and up now...if you've never seen this - its GREAT!

Watch the one with Seth Meyers in Season 2:

http://www.crackle.com/c/comedians-i...getting-coffee

Duane -

That was fun to watch - and hear. Love the sound! Check this out: http://www.complex.com/rides/2013/04...nhattan-garage

And with a hat tip to the team of Porsche Sport Driving School professional driver/instructors at Barber Motorsports Park: https://www.porschedriving.com/Default.aspx ... a good intro to what they have to offer there. Cass Whitehead, featured in that video, has a wild side. At least in years gone by, he used to love to do hot laps in a Cayenne Turbo, which amazingly screamed around the challenging Barber track.

Where did you teach driving?

Interestingly my college roommate competes in Porsche Cayman S racing with his own car even in his mid-sixties. He has won the series championship a number of times and some major races. He competed at the 12 hours at Sebring and has been involved with sports cars most of his adult life ( he had a great Triumph TR4 and Austin Healy in college). Kind of an expensive hobby and while motorcycles aren't exactly cheap, sports car collecting and racing is a whole different level.

The Cayman is my favorite Porsche to drive. Even in the base model. I think one from its first couple years could probably be found used at a wonderful thrill-to-price ratio. I hope to find out someday, when my kids are grown.