I got to the shop, and my artist's client for the day showed up. He thought he was going to be a no show. I was in hang out mode. I took a seat in his room, and relaxed. The guy was getting an eagle on his arm, and had big plans for a huge background and tying it in with his chest piece, but he wasn't up for the challenge. He started tapping out at about the 2 hour mark. He managed to hang in for another hour after that, but he was done. He kept saying that he wanted to get his chest piece worked on, but my artist told him, "you may feel good there right now, but that will change real quick". He finally gave in, and decided to call it a day. About the time he was leaving, I got a call form the dealership. They wanted to know when I wanted my bike back. I told them today of course. That was a shocking answer to the guy. They hadn't even started on the work yet. I have to reschedule for a day other than Saturday, because they only have one tech on Saturday's. Hopefully I'll be off on Friday, and I can get it all done then.
I told my artist that I had to walk back and pick up Saki, and that I would be back soon to get those touchups done. In the end. one thing worked out with the dealership. A new plan came to me this weekend, and I wanted to go there to look at a couple of things. I'll get to all that in a minute. I made it back to the tattoo shop, and got my touchups. Bowie had his makeup freshened up a bit, and is looking great. I really thought it looked good before, but it does look better. My artist asked what I wanted next, and I laid a few things on him, including the "god arm". I told him what I see, and he didn't scoff at the rams head idea for my shoulder at the top of it all. He actually really liked the idea, so that will be a go at some point. I even mentioned the Princess Leia tattoo, that I showed the picture of her before. I think I might do it. If I do, I think it's going to go on my right thigh. He may have a better idea, if I decide to do it next. We will just have to wait and see. I do have to save my money for something else.
This is where we get to that other reason I wanted to go to the dealership. Lately, I have been watching a lot of motovlogs, and the people on them have been riding Groms. A Grom is a little 125CC bike made by Honda. Kawasaki also makes one called the Z125 Pro. I want one. They look like they are super fun to ride around on, and you can go off road with them as well. They take a beating and just keep coming back. I even wrote a little blog piece about it on Moto Amino. I wanted feedback from the 125 community, and they gave it to me. They even brought up a few 125 bikes that I hadn't even heard of. I was able to eliminate those prospects right away, because there aren't reliable dealers for them in the area.
The dealership I go to just happens to sell both Honda and Kawasakis. Bigger bonus, they had both the bikes I was comparing in person. I was leaning towards the Kawasaki Z125 Pro. It has a more aggressive seating posture, and I'd heard that it is a little faster. The con that it has, is that the breaks aren't as good.That is a tough one to over come, but I could do 1 of 2 things. Either, ride very safe and not get in a situation where I wouldn't need to break suddenly (which would mean never riding it round cars), or 2. I could get better brakes for it and put them on. 2 seems like the smarter option. If I get that one, I would go with the Kawasaki green. I think it looks really sharp in that color scheme.
There it is there. It looks pretty good. The other one that I was thinking about, and remember they are basically the same bike, but there are little differences, is the Honda Grom in red. The Grom was the first one released in the American market. the Z125 above is going after the market that Honda had a strangle hold on. They've been around for a few years now, and there are tons of parts to modify the bike. The 2017 model has a little redesign in the body, and has boosted some of the features on the bike. In every review that I've seen, the Grom wins out in braking. That is a big plus. It has a more upright sport touring posture when riding, and it turns out, it does have. form the rider review that I've been watching, the more getup and go.
Since they are basically the same bike with slight differences, it is really all coming down to, which one looks better. I have to say, seeing them side by side in the dealership, and they did have both of the colors I was looking at, the Grom wins out in appearance. Oh, here is the other difference I forgot to mention. The Grom is a little more expensive, but there is a reason for that. With the redesign, they improved the suspension, they added LED lights to the front and back, and it is supposed to be more ergonomically comfortable. With all that to consider, I think I'm going with the Grom. It just looks more appealing to me, and the brakes and more pep, give it the edge. I won't be getting this for a few months. I want to save up all the money and buy it outright when I get it. I think I'll have a lot of fun on that bike, and if anyone ever visit is and wants to go ride, I have an extra bike for them to tool around on. It just won't go very fast. The top speed on these little street demons, is around 65 MPH, and that is really pushing it with a tailwind, and maybe needing to go downhill. You are really looking at a top speed of 55 MPH.
It's getting to that time, when I should have been asleep about an hour ago, so will bid you a farewell. Peace in and goodnight.
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