Autumn 2021, a chilly morning. My wife and I are sitting at the kitchen table, and I'm showing her a bike I've just spotted on the market. Buying your first motorcycle is quite a challenge, and finding one for your wife is even harder.
Let's rewind a little to explain. In July that same year I somehow managed to talk my wife into taking A-category motorcycle lessons with me. A couple of months of school later, autumn has arrived and the riding season is over. And now here we are at the table, trying to find a bike that suits her.
Don't remember anymore why I stopped on Ducatis but I did and very first one what we went to see was 2007 Monster 695 witch was sold in few days I tooked to think about it. And now we are sitting next to coffee table and telling about 2011 Monster 796. Same day went to see it and immediately came clear that this bike doesn't suite for my wife because it was too big. But still I tooked test run (didn't had license back then :D) and almost crashed it thanks to wet asphalt :D. Few days to think, and arrangements were made to shake hands.
My very first motorcycle in all its glory.
So, what was done:
Finally the leaking front forks had to be sorted. It seemed like a simple job, but once again the manual threw a spanner in the works with its special tools. Forks off and to the dealership they went.
Meanwhile the year changed and we finally found a bike for my wife — again a 2007 Ducati Monster 695. This one, of course, was in much better shape than the one we first went to see.
Winter turned to spring and once again it was time to polish our skills for the riding test. Luckily my father came to the rescue — he got his instructor papers, so we could practise in traffic without paying for extra lessons.
Along the way it became clear that, because of its age, my wife's bike was too rough a machine for her. And since using driving-school bikes for the test is very expensive, we had to find an alternative quickly. I combed through every Baltic motorcycle market and ended up bringing a 2019 Yamaha MT-03 over from Lithuania — she fell in love with it straight away!
In the end we both made it through the test, and it was worth it! Spending time in the saddle together is incredibly fun! 😊