Today I turned the key on. The dash powered on. I reached for the start button. It powered off. I turned the key off and back on. The dash powered on. I reached for the start button. It powered off. I eventually buckled under to the ignominy of running my errand in an SUV instead of on two wheels. Awaiting word from the scooter shop that the new switch is there ... and I guess they'll have to come pick the bike up. Which is a "free" service they offer, so there's that anyway. I considered ripping into the thing myself and making it go "for now," but I'd rather not do things that the mechanic might have to undo.
I thought about going to look at a bike today, but decided to wait. It's a 1996 Kawasaki Ninja 250. A little more "lean forward" style than I'd like. I'd need to put a handlebar riser on it and maybe get a mechanic to do all the little adjustments entailed in moving the pegs/shifter/foot brake forward to really sit upright. The price is right, and I've seen pictures of that bike stripped of its fairings and turned into a cool-looking "naked" cafe racer / street fighter thing, but ... do I really want to buy a 30-year-old bike that isn't exactly the bike I'm looking for?
On the other hand, while this key switch thing is the only real problem I've had with the Bulldog, it's making me kind of skittish and wanting to find a more quality vehicle. I've even been considering just buying new and still going Chinese, but Lifan instead of one of the generic brands (Lifan used to build Honda's engines, I'm told, and they get a lot of good talk from riders/owners).
For now, I'm just hoping the Bulldog is running in time for my trip to Ormond Beach some time in the next week or two. Otherwise I'll have to make arrangements to drive that SUV. Feh.
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