Beginner Bike; Commuter; First-time Bike; A Rant of Sorts

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I routinely browse craigslist in search of nice looking XJ's to share here with you all. I enjoy reading the ads, taking stock in what XJ's are going for and looking at their average condition.

One thing that's really began to drive me crazy are ads written with the word: Great Beginner Bike or Perfect First Time bike or "Little" Bike or Good Commuter but whose implications are "it's only really good for learning on" or "It's a little bike that you'd use to run around town on" or "It's a turd of a bike and only worthwhile for commuting".

As if every rider is only a "True" rider if they have the loudest, fastest, most-horsepower driven bike around.

The Seca II IS a good commuter. It IS a good first time bike and it IS a good beginner bike. But it's so much more than that, too. It's a great bike for zipping through canyon roads. A great bike for taking a 3000 mile, 5-day trip on, a great bike for getting you wherever you what to go. It's a modern motorcycle that can take on any of the "specialty" categories and come out the other side. Take it down dirt roads. Take it down the interstate. Take it over the mountain passes and out to Las Vegas. It'll go where you tell it and do what you ask of it.

What drives me so crazy about the labeling of beginner bike is the notion that anyone who rides one must clearly be a beginner. I've had mine since 2009 and put nearly 20k miles on it. I do dream, from time to time, of something with fuel injection and a 17" rear wheel, but those are short lived and my XJ always reminds me why so many other bikes have come and gone, why the SV650 isn't in my garage anymore; why the BMW GS isn't there either. Why that old XS400 went to live elsewhere, but the XJ is still parked in that same spot in the garage. This little "beginner bike" has soul. And it isn't little. And it isn't just for those who are learning. It's for those who realize what's most important in a bike. Those of us who ride for the sake of riding: Not to impress; not to intimidate; not to pretend; just to ride.

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