The Motorcycle Name Game

I'm contemplating buying a different bike -- a Honda ST1100 to replace my Honda Magna.

This leads me to want to try on possible names for the bike.

I think there's more at work here than simply what appears. I think "trying on the name" is part of the decision-making process. Think of the enamoured high-school sweetheart who just got asked to the prom by the high school basketball star.

She is infatuated with him, and writes his name on her english notebook. She also experiments with the combination of his name and hers. "Mrs. Fiona Charming". She tries it on, and sees how it fits.

It's not just the name, it's everything that goes with it. Do I want to be a part of this life? Does this name, this look, this bike, this lifestyle suit me?

I chose Raven as the name of my bike. It was black. But I also took the name from a legend I heard from during a trip to London. The legend of the Tower Ravens. Ravens surround the base of the Tower of London, and according to legend, cannot be removed from the tower, or the tower will collapse.

As a bike name it suggested something black and light-weight, able to fly. And also, part of the "foundation"; the foundation of my riding career. That bike launched me into the world of motorcycles.

My second bike was a 1982 Honda GL1100 I "Gold Wing Interstate". Riding this 770 pound bike in a steep crosswind, in the evening, her name came to me:

"Oh Black Betty, bam ba lam, she's so rock steady, and she's always ready"


What would I name an ST?

I don't know other bike naming rules, but convention is very strong in the ST Owners Community, that an ST should have "S" and "T" in the name, and preferably, have "ST" in the name contiguously .

I employed this humorous ST naming convention when I test drove one (see "My First Taste Of ST") and dubbed it "STinky Turd".

My ST owning friends have names for their bikes like "STargazer", "STiletto".

I was toying with the potential names for ST1300's for me; some adhering to the "ST naming convention" and some not.

a. Remy. Sure , that violates the ST rule, but does make a pop culture allusion to the TV Show"House", and the beautiful doctor whom he has given the nickname "13",

b. The ST1100 is known in Europe as the "Pan-European". I've seen "Pan-American" stencilled on a few state-side ST1100's. Fans of Douglas Adams "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" might recognize the name "Pan Galactic Freeway Blaster" as a tip of the hat to the "Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster" referenced in his books.

c. STormcrow ... ideal for a gray ST of the 1100 or 1300 variety. This name was one of the nicknames given to the the great Wizard in "Lord Of The Rings" -- Gandalf The Grey".

d. MiSTy .... nicely feminine name, also suitable for a gray bike.