I missed the anniversary date of my Scooter Cannonball failure (and subsequent broken clavicle) and didn’t realize it until I got home from the dealership with a new bike. In fact, I had not been on two wheels in 367 days.

I had just sold my 2018 Goldwing the day prior. A guy from Tucson found my ad on a forum and reached out. Instead of flying, he took a Greyhound bus all the way to San Bernardino. That was an adventure all by itself. I first went to the place where Google said the Greyhound bus terminal was. It wasn’t. I asked the buyer which address his ticket/Greyhound said his destination was and proceeded to that address. I found out later, once he arrived, the bus wasn’t going there, either. The Greyhound ended up dropping him off on the street about 5 minutes away. We went to the bank, transferred the funds from his account to mine and he rode it back to Arizona. Is it ironic that I bought it from a guy in Arizona three years ago? Maybe.

Back to me

As soon as the buyer said he was coming to buy the bike, I started reaching out to dealerships. I’ve stopped driving my car because I intend to sell it in order to fund another 4-wheel purchase later this year and I don’t want to put any more miles on it. Instead, I’ve been driving my wife’s car. She doesn’t appreciate that one bit and has been asking me when I was going to be riding again Now that I had cash in hand, I knew what I was going to do.

Luckily for me, the closest dealership was also the only one who would make a deal. The Goldwing was sold on Thursday and I was sitting in the dealership signing papers Friday afternoon. I am now the proud owner of a 2026 Yamaha XMax.

Why did I buy an XMax? I’ve been eyeing them since the Cannonball. They were dependable and everyone who ran with one seemed to be happy with the model. I needed something that was light, nimble, customizable and California interstate (80+mph) capable. Even more than that, I needed something that as incredibly masculine and fit my image as a wealthy and handsome middle-aged man. Mission accomplished.

I will do a deeper review in the coming weeks or months but initial impressions are (mostly) great. When I got home, I told my wife I may never ride a regular motorcycle again. Ergonomics are great and I am overall happy with my purchase. As with any motorcycle-y vehicle, some level of customization

I was planning on holding off on buying anything to customize the new wheels, now named Smudge, but that didn’t last very long. The first thing I ordered was a Stahlbus oil drain plug. Second order placed was for a Puig touring windscreen. It desperately needs it. It also needs better mirrors which were resolved by purchasing a set of DoubleTake Adventure mirrors. When I rode it to work for the first time, I realized underseat storage was good but not great. That required me to order Givi bags and a custom pannier rack to carry them. That ride to work also indicated I really needed a new seat. You can see these purchases really adding up.

The only things I haven’t purchased yet that I am going to need are fog/aux lights with the crash bars likely required to mount them and an Apple CarPlay unit. I’ll need to do some wiring to power the lights and the CarPlay which brings me to my actual first purchase which was a service manual. I believe there are some accessory connectors in the stock harness. If not, or they are unsuitable, I will install another PDM60 and run accessories from that. Pulling plastics off is always my most favorite thing.

As of today, I’ve got 408 miles on Smudge (in 6 days). I’m trying really hard to adhere to the recommended break-in period but that is preventing me from seeing what it can really do and get on the interstate. I’m not supposed to stay about 4500rpm for the first 625 miles and 5400rpm for 1000. I’m nearly halfway there and should be there in another week or two.

I’m just happy to be on two wheels again.

Back on Two Wheels

Planning