Actually, when I think about it now, I'm surprised I survived my twenties. I did all sorts of things that make me cringe now. A couple of weekends ago, I went riding with some local riders, one of whom was a twenty something fellow on a SV650. He was a really nice, intelligent young man and a skilled rider. We got into some mountain twisties, mostly blind curves with steep grades, 180 degree hairpins, sheer rock cliffs and steep drop-offs, etc. and he took off. He had the right bike for it, and knew how to ride fast, hanging off the inside and riding very confidently and for a while I kind of kept up with him as best I could. But a little voice in the back of my head kept saying things like "what if there's a group of bicycles around that curve? What if there' a big truck plodding along at 20mph? What if there's a big patch of gravel or fallen rocks across the road? So I backed off and just let him go. Apparently, in my 50's, I have accepted my own mortality. It would be fun to have a high Hp, high torque, agressive handling bike but I ride way too conservatively and cautiously now to really use it to it's full potential. I still lust after other bikes sometimes, but really the NT is all the bike I need.
