Does Size Really Matter?

I hate to think that this posting may join the legions of the “does size matter” opinion columns. But I’m afraid I cannot make my point without addressing this eternal issue.

Let me begin by saying that, under most circumstances, size does matter. But just because your motorcycle engine is smaller than your friends’ doesn’t mean that you can’t have any fun. My first motorcycle was a used 250cc Honda Rebel. I wanted to buy a motorcycle and join the two-wheeled community, and was able to do so for only $300 because I was willing to accept that fact that I was going to own something smaller than almost everyone else.

Sure, I could have deferred the purchase and saved up more money for a bigger motorcycle. But at the time my poverty status was so acute there was no telling how long that was going to take. Looking back, I see that I made the right decision. I bought the little Honda Rebel and began having fantastic two-wheeled adventures right away. I rode through the mountains. I rode to the beaches. I toured the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I commuted to work… at a maximum speed of about 60 MPH (going downhill).

Before I knew it, my friends were running out to buy motorcycles too. Even though they all started with budget-conscious, used bikes, it seemed like they always ended up with motors over 1000cc. I had a hard time keeping up with them, which began to frustrate me after a while. So I finally sold the little 250cc bike for $500 and bought a 650cc Honda Nighthawk for $1,000. Yes, what I had was still much smaller than my friends, but at least now I could keep up with them and participate in Ironbutt endurance riding events. I rode the 650cc Honda all over North America and had many more fantastic and unforgettable adventures.

With the Honda Nighthawk totally worn out, I sold it for $1,000 and bought a used BMW sport-touring bike with a whooping 750cc motor. It was bigger than anything I had ever had before. My amazing adventures continued but, embarrassed by my small motor, I was still shy about parking next to my friends. Finally I bit the bullet and bought the new bike of my dreams right off the showroom floor. The Honda Interceptor is a world championship-winning sportbike. While it’s wicked-fast, it only displaces 800cc… so to this day my motor is still smaller than my friends who, by this time, are all riding 1300cc to 1600cc touring bikes.

With no new, larger motorcycle in the foreseeable future I must now grapple with the fact that I’m always going to have a smaller motor than everyone else I ride with. If that’s the way it’s got to be, then why not go “all out”? For those of you who don’t know, the Ironbutt Rally is the country’s premiere endurance riding event. The few who finish the rally will have journeyed over 11,000 miles in eleven days… and the top finishers will have traveled much further.

I am a proud member of the Ironbutt long-distance riding community, and I happen to know that the smallest motorcycle to ever finish the rally was a 125cc German motorcycle called a Zundapp.

Since I’m going all-out, I think I can shatter that record with my new 50cc pocketbike. As you can see from the photos, I have already begun training for this grueling event. I’m going to prove to the world that size doesn’t matter, at least when it comes to having fun on a motorcycle. I encourage all wanna-be riders to buy whatever they can afford and start riding RIGHT NOW. Jump in the game. Join the fun. Life is short.

It must be noted that the Zundapp motor had to be rebuilt several times during its stint on the 11,000 mile Ironbutt circuit, so I’m going to need one hell of a mechanical support team to complete this challenge. Any volunteers? Leroy?