Bought a 2013 Blue Concours today, loan approved, papers signed, remainder paid for. Waiting for the check to get to the dealer (Fay Myers in Denver) which should be Thursday.
Been riding off and on since the 70's but my longer time in the saddle has been since I got back on in 2001.
While I've had a few bikes since then, in 2004 I picked up a Hayabusa and have stuck with her. I turned it into a SPORT-Touring platform and have 131,000 miles on her. Been to every state and Canadian province I could reach on two wheels from California to Alaska and Labrador to Florida on her. Plus I have my Iron Butt :) But she still runs great. :)
About 5 years ago I was looking at something like the 'busa but a tiny bit less scrunched. At 6'2", even with the mods, it could get a little uncomfortable at times. Took a test ride on a C14 and it was basically what I wanted. Still, not quite time.
Two years ago, I stumbled on a wonderful woman. She likes my attempts at guitar, enjoys table top gaming, is a computer nerd, and weirdly would much rather ride on the back of my 'busa than ride herself (she wants to tour, I want to ride). The 'busa is good, we rode to Virginia, Chicago, and back to Denver including 36 miles short of an Iron Butt for her :) But there are little things like pegs vs footboards, hand holds vs holding on to me, and lockable storage so we can walk away from the bike.
Last year I said I would be in the market this year. I was. We test drove a couple of bikes and I went for the C14.
We have a 2 week trip planned in June. 5,000 miles to California, Canada, and back to Denver with many stops along the way. There are a couple of mods I have on the 'busa that I want to put on the C14 to prepare; Throttlemeister, Flashing tail light, and some clear shelf paper for the bags and tank. I have an order for the service manual in at the ealer. I sent an email to SISF for the ECU and I'll poke about here for other suggestions.
I look forward to more riding and seeing what's here. (Pictures Thursday.)