Gardo, that was an interesting blog post you just put up. I found myself nodding in agreement quite a bit. In the last year I have become a full-fledged small displacement convert.

Like anyone else who has been a petrolhead long enough, I once lusted after unholy amounts of horsepower and chassis-twisting torque. Hot rods, Jeeps, and motos, all modded to set my hair on fire at Mach 1 with just the slightest tap of the go pedal or the slightest goose of the throttle.

After years in that game I found myself fundamentally unsatisfied--not with the machines themselves, but with something in myself. After much introspection I realized that I had become an addict to chasing more: more power, more bragging rights. It had become a race for nothing but ego, an endless race for higher dyno numbers. Literally, I was only satisfied when my machines made more power than some other guy's machines.

I was no longer having fun--all my toys were shallow, ersatz penis enlargers. I was no longer having fun.

I did a complete about-face. I made a conscious decision to go back to what was fun. I gave up all the hot rods and 4x4s, and ran back to the arms of my first love: motorcycles, and nothing else. Furthermore, I made another conscious decision to go back to what I had originally found fun about motorcycles so many years ago: simple and lightweight. Riding simply for the sake of riding.

All of my toys now actually please me because I no longer care about being a pretentious asshat; you know, one of those jerks you see at the stoplight drag races. I now only ride ultra lightweight, small displacement single cylinder motorcycles. My greatest concession to complexity is (sometimes) electronic fuel injection. I will never go back.

I am happier than ever.