I tried a bike once, and that was enough. My brother had an R6, and since we were both idiots, he encouraged me to give it a try.

It was on that day that I discovered that their brakes are thankfully equally potent as their engines. I finished the ride and realized that if I ever got a bike, I would either be jailed or dead in short order, so decided to not get one.

I know there are plenty of more reasonable bikes out there, but the problem is I would gain skills on those, and then talk myself into getting something faster.

I don’t have a problem with fast/fun cars; I’ve had a Datsun 280Z with an LS1 swap (waaaay too much power for the tires and aero - if you launched hard, it would start to hook up in 3rd, and by 110-120 MPH it started getting floaty), and used to daily a Honda S2000 (favorite car I’ve ever owned - they’re like big go-karts). But bikes are on another level. The only thing I’ve experienced like that was an acquaintance’s MKIV Supra, where every upshift feels like the hand of god shoving you back, there’s a cacophony of intake shriek, blow-off puff, and exhaust roar, and you’re doing your best to keep focus.

Man, I love engines. EVs are definitely the future for a variety of reasons, but I’m still sad about it. The sheer number of mechanical pieces all working together in perfect symphony is mind-boggling and beautiful.