Long Term Test: 2007 Honda S2000 Post #9 (Happy Anniversary!)

Current Miles: 93,800

Happy 10th Anniversary to my beloved S2000! I know I joke about this a lot, but this is the longest, most stable, and least expensive relationship I have ever been in. A little bit of background on my S2000:

The Honda S2000 had always been a dream car of mine. I didn't really think about the prospect of owning one until my senior year of college, during which I was actually more focused on saving money to buy a new eighth generation Honda Civic Si. After graduating and starting work in 2008, I saved every penny I could to put a down payment on a Civic Si. I finally reached my goal around the beginning of 2010, when I started actively looking at getting a new 2010 Civic Si Sedan. After looking for a while though, I started to notice the price on used Honda S2000s. For the same amount of money each month, I could get myself into my dream car. My thought process was basically, "I'm in my early twenties, I live on my own, I'm not going to be starting a family with my girlfriend any time soon, and this is a dream car...why the hell not?" After a bit of searching, I found the beautiful Laguna Blue Pearl 2007 Honda S2000 you see here at Santa Monica Honda, being sold as a certified pre-owned vehicle. When I arrived, Santa Monica Honda also had a Berlina Black 2007 S2000 in their showroom, but I immediately drawn to the blue. And so, in May of 2010, I went home with my S2000 with 38,900 miles on the clock. Funny how I still ended up with a Civic Si years later anyway.

Since owning the S2000, I've driven it nearly 55,000 miles, gone through two job changes, moved three times, and went through a long and failed relationship. Yet, despite all of this, the S2000 has always been there for me. Sure, I've had a few minor issues with it along the way. The clutch master cylinder has given out twice since owning it (first time my local Honda dealer replaced it, the second time East Brother and I did the work ourselves). The soft top tore on both the passenger and driver side at the joints (which was thankfully replaced for a mere $100 thanks to an existing service bulletin regarding the top). I had to replace the original wheels with a set of Enkei RPF1 after an idiot decided he needed gas and nearly t-boned me, causing me to dodge and bounce off a curb. About six months ago, my alternator began suffering from the common issue of a bad rectifier in the alternator (causing my dash to flicker uncontrollably), so I purchased a refurbished alternator and replaced it myself. I have also unfortunately been involved in three minor accidents, two of which involved me getting rear ended and one of which a careless senior couple side swiped my car in a parking lot. Still, despite all of this, the car is still there and in great running shape. 

A couple of minor changes have also occurred since my last update. I purchased two interior items from a small company specializing in S2000 interior accessories called Modifry. One was a built in phone mount and the other was a built in cup holder (because, let's face it, you can't really call the space behind the gear lever "cup holders"). These items integrate very well into the S2000 and almost look straight out of the factory. The cup holder is nice as I'm now actually able to have somewhere to put a drink when I take the S2000 out and not have to worry about it getting in the way of my arm when I go to change gears. The phone mount is especially nice since I use Android Auto a lot and having my phone at an angle where it's in my peripheral vision is very handy.   


Since obtaining my 2020 Civic Si, the S2000 has gone back to weekend only duties. I decided that since the S2000 is becoming more rare and the price of the car is still slowly climbing back up, I might as well keep the mileage as low as I can. With what has been going on in the world as of late, keeping the miles low has definitely become a non-issue. I have, unfortunately, not driven the S2000 in about two months now. I definitely miss driving it, but the only reason I leave my house now is to get supplies, and the Si is frankly much more practical for that job. But, once we are allowed to leave our houses and go enjoy life again, the first thing I will do is drop the top on the S2000 and take it out for a nice, long drive.

Future plans for the S2000? I've been saying this for a while now, but the only immediate plans I
have for the S2000 are to get a CT Engineering cold air intake and a GReddy Supreme SP exhaust for the car. After getting the FlashPro for the Civic, I've decided that I might get another one for the S2000 as well. I have no immediate plans to lower the car (I scrape enough driveways at stock height) or do anything quite so drastic with it. If money were no object (which it is, unfortunately. I'm trying to save to buy a house in Los Angeles County...if you live here, you know what I'm talking about), I would definitely turn the S2000 into a track ready project car. CT Engineering supercharger, coilovers, Brembo big brake kit, a Seibon carbon fiber hard top, and the list goes on.

For now, I'm more than content with how the S2000 is, and I hope to enjoy it for another 10 years.

Long Term Test: 2007 Honda S2000 post #8

Seven. Seven is the number of years that I have owned my S2000. I have never owned a car longer than I have had my S2000, and I see myself owning it for many more years to come. But in the meantime, has anything new happened with my S2000? Nothing major. With Android Auto now available to use directly through your phone, I have been looking for a proper mount for my phone to use in the car.

Long Term Test: 2007 BMW K1200S post #8

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I have had to start over, in a sense, with the K1200S. My bike, before things went sideways, wore the BMW sport saddlebags and had the SW-Motech adapter installed for a top case. It also had a set of  auxiliary driving lights that have been useful on more than a few occasions. Now, I am in a position to need to re-install the bags, along with the components needed to hold the bags. Given that the opportunity has presented itself, I felt that this was the right time to add a Kaoko throttle lock, which has sat uninstalled in my garage now for a few months. The next time the bike goes into the shop, which may need to be soon, I will need to have a few additional items addressed as well.

Long Term Test: 2007 Honda S2000 Post #7

Update #7
Mileage: 82,057

As much as I love my S2000, I have to admit that it is starting to wear me down a bit physically. I recently changed jobs, necessitating having to travel to West Los Angeles daily. This is only a mere nine miles north of where I used to work by LAX, however, during rush hour traffic, that nine miles easily translates to an extra 30 to 40 minutes added to my commute. Driving from the South Bay to LAX and back was not all that painful, but driving from the South Bay to West LA and back is starting to actually hurt my back. It is also probably not good for my blood pressure either, as I find myself angry at other commuters far more often than I used to be.

East Brother and I have been talking about jointly getting a car for quite some time now, and we decided to push our timeline up. The idea was to get a car that I could use as a daily driver, and that East Brother could use as a road trip car if he and his wife needed to go somewhere that was beyond the range of their Focus Electric. We will reveal which car we picked over the course of the next few weeks. Of course, this is a post about my S2000, and not our new car.

Back to my S2000. Since my last post, I have had to take my car in for its 90,000 mile scheduled tuneup. I always knew maintaining the S2000 was not exactly going to be cheap, but this scheduled tuneup ended up being quite a bit more than I had expected. All those years of sloughing around in 405 rush hour traffic clearly did not do my car any favors. After spending well over $1,500 to get my S2000 back into top shape, it is interesting that it will only see duty on weekends now. I definitely still love the car, and I do sometimes miss driving it daily. The plan now is to see how things work out with our new vehicle, and to possibly turn my S2000 into a project car. I suppose we will see what happens down the line.

Oh, and that infernal clutch pedal squeak is back. See what I mean? Mind of its own.

F-Type vs. S2000: Is the Jag Really Worth an Extra $42k?

Ever since we acquired a Jaguar F-Type in our long term garage, we have been wanting to pit West Brother's S2000 against it in a sort of "David vs. Goliath" type scenario. Seems like an apples to oranges type comparison, right? Strangely enough, not really. The 2015 Jaguar F-Type we have access to is the standard, supercharged V6 equipped model, making 340 horsepower. Its fastest recorded zero to 60 time is five seconds flat, with a 13.0 second sprint to the quarter mile. West Brother's 2007 Honda S2000, while having a 100 horsepower deficit, makes up for the power difference with a huge weight advantage. The fastest recorded zero to 60 time is 5.4 seconds, with a quarter mile sprint completed in 13.8 seconds. Just by looking at the numbers, there really is not a huge difference in performance. From just performance alone, the Jag has a hard time justifying that extra $42,000. But what about the rest of the car?

Road Trip: Two-up to GMR

I often take those few days before Thanksgiving off to recharge and this past year was no different. It having been a particularly busy year so I was excited to have a few days to go out and do something I had not done in a while. Since my wife was able to take the time off this year as well, we decided to take a morning and revisit one of my old haunts. Being fall, it was still quite cool in the morning and I knew from experience that the temps would get even colder up in the mountains, so we bundled up and headed out on the Beemer.

Long Term Test: 2007 Honda S2000 post# 6

Sixth update
Current Miles: 79,431

Not a lot has happened with the S2000 within the last few months. I had to replace the rear tires with a fresh set back in December in anticipation of El Niño, as my rear tires were nearly bald. I guess that is the price you pay for driving a rear-wheel drive sports car! Aside from a tire replacement, the S2000 has been running strong. A minor gas pedal squeak has reappeared, but it is nothing a little grease cannot fix. I have also recently discovered that my Pioneer head unit does, in fact, have native Pandora support. Coupled with T-Mobile's unlimited music streaming service, this has saved me on many a long drive.

Long Term Test: 2007 BMW K1200S Post #6

Update #6
Current mileage: 28,929

Oh the horror! After nearly 10k miles and over 3 years of ownership, I finally had my incident with the big Beemer. Of course, it would have occurred during a two-up ride with my wife, but luckily, it was a rather minor drop. What happened was that we were stopping at the intersection of Glendora Ridge Road and Glendora Mountain Road and I had ridden the bike onto a dirt embankment to try to turn it around. It was a bit steeper than I anticipated and misjudged the amount of clutch slip for the slow maneuver. Before I knew what happened, the weight of the bike had teetered dangerously far to the left and at what was basically a standstill, the Beemer tipped over onto its side like a wounded buffalo. Luckily, we both jumped off before the bike hit the ground, and the presence of the frame sliders meant there was basically zero damage, except to my ego. The only signs that something had happened was a slight bit of scuffing on the left frame slider and a bit of dirt trapped in the left side mirror housing.

Long Term Test: 2007 Honda S2000 Post #5

Fifth update
Current Miles: 75,502

After five years of ownership, my 2007 Honda S2000 continues to perform beautifully. However, during the time between this post and the last, an old problem popped up again that makes me wonder if my car has a mind of its own. Back in late 2011, my clutch pedal began squeaking. This is usually an indication that the clutch slave cylinder is leaking and is about to die a horrible death. Unfortunately, I was far too busy at the time to be able to go without a car so I could not give it the attention it required. That was probably a bad decision as in early 2012, my clutch pedal completely lost all resistance and was only being held up by the spring attached to the pedal. Without any resistance, shifting gears nearly became impossible. Thankfully, this happened near home so I was able to limp my car to the local Honda dealer where I learned that my car's clutch master cylinder had failed as well. Having no choice, I left my car with the dealer for a day and received it back the following day completely fixed.

Fast forward to earlier this year, the squeaking returned. I thought to myself, "there is no way in hell these components were designed to only last three years, right?" Concerned, I took my car back in to the local Honda dealer. The service rep who helped me looked up my car's records and was also shocked to learn that my car's clutch slave and master cylinders were only replaced a mere three years ago. Strangely enough, when the service rep sent a tech out to drive my car, the squeaking vanished. After doing a visual inspection of both the master and slave cylinders, the tech noted that he could not find any leaks or damage to either cylinder. Confused, I went to pick up my car, and as I started it to drive away, the squeaking returned. "Of course it comes back now," I thought to myself as I drove away. As of a month ago though, the squeaking mysteriously vanished on its own. I swear, my car must have a mind of its own.

In mid-June, I got to drive my S2000 again on the types of roads it was built for. After a day of
shooting pistols, East Brother (on his BMW K1200S) and I drove out to the local back roads for some canyon carving. I really cannot get enough of driving my car in its element. The sound of the engine, the feedback from the steering wheel, and the sensation of perfectly timed gear changes all added up to an amazing afternoon of driving. It is getting the opportunity to drive on these kinds of roads that make me think, "man, I am really glad I bought this car!" Of course, my brother and I will have a full article and videos of our trip in a later posting.

Other updates regarding my car include the recently replaced radio. I replaced the factory radio in my S2000 with a Pioneer unit with both Bluetooth audio capability and hands free phone operation (you can read the full review of the radio here). So far, I have been pretty satisfied with the radio, and it is nice having to only carry around my phone instead of both my phone and iPod. I do miss being able to use the radio buttons to the left of the steering wheel, and it does bother me a little that the included remote does not work when the radio cover is closed, but those are minor issues I can live with.

Admittedly, as I get older, the thought of getting a daily driver to replace my S2000 comes across my mind more frequently. As I am sure I have mentioned many times, the S2000 is a fantastic handling and sounding car, but can be a bit rough for the daily commute. My hope is to get something more pedestrian, like a Honda Accord or Volvo V60, while the S2000 gets relegated to weekend "fun time" use. Unfortunately, without a space to park a second vehicle right now, a second car will have to wait. Besides, living by myself, the S2000 is more than adequate for my needs, and you get a lot more smiles as you drive around town in a convertible roadster rather than a pedestrian people mover.

Product Review: Pioneer DEH-X6700BT

Car audio has never really been my thing. I think it has to do with the fact that I generally care more for how a car's engine sounds more than how a car's audio system sounds. It also probably has to do with the fact that pretty much every car I have driven to date (with the exception of my Accord and S2000) has had some sort of premium audio system, so it never really occurred to me to look at aftermarket car audio. So why am I doing a review on an aftermarket car radio? In my line of work, you get calls all the time, regardless of whether you are in the office or not. Sometimes, I do get calls while I am driving, but prior to installing this new radio, I could not safely or legally take phone calls while driving. I tried using an ear piece for a little while, but found it to be irritating and uncomfortable. Third party Bluetooth speakers generally do not have great quality which lead me to skip that option in its entirety. This lead me to the idea of finding a new radio that had built in Bluetooth hands free capability. 

Of course, my reasoning behind getting a new radio was not solely based on hands free phone use. I was also tired of having to carry an iPod for my music along with my phone. If I forgot my iPod at home, I would have to resort to listening to the actual radio, which I am not a big fan of. Besides, I have not listened to the radio regularly for over four years now. Having everything I needed on one device would make life much easier. Being a T-Mobile customer, I also wanted to take advantage of the unlimited data for music streaming services, such as Pandora. After doing about a week of research, I settled on the Pioneer DEH-X6700BT. Being a respected brand in car audio, I expected this particular unit to be quite good, especially since it has gotten some glowing reviews.

Product Review: Centric 120 Series Rotors and Stoptech Street Performance Pads

In my third long term post about my S2000, I mentioned that I had needed to change the front brake pads and rotors. Not wanting to pay an exorbitant amount for the OEM Honda brake pads and rotors, I did a little digging around and found what I believe to be the best pad and rotor combination for my driving needs.

StopTech Street Performance Brake Pads

Image Courtesy of The Tire Rack

When I had my 1997 Honda Accord LX back during my time in college, I had already experienced two different sets of aftermarket brake pads: Brembo Sport brake pads and the Hawk HPS Street brake pads. Between the two set of pads, I was most satisfied with the Brembo Sport brake pads. Unfortunately, they are not available for the S2000 (at least they were not at the time of this review), and I never liked the fact that the Hawk HPS pads performed somewhat poorly when cold. Luckily, StopTech had recently introduced the Street Performance pads for the S2000. Knowing that StopTech is a reputable manufacturer of brake components, I was intrigued enough to give them a shot.

The most interesting part about these brake pads is that they are "pre-scorched." This means, according to the box at least, that these brake pads will offer OEM like stopping power before being broken in. Pre-scorching also apparently ensures that these brake pads offer OEM like brake feel and stopping power while the pads are still cold. Sounds too good to be true, right? I am happy to report that StopTech's statement about pre-scorching seems to be true. During the first few days of use, I felt no difference in stopping power or feel between the StopTech pads and the OEM Honda pads. As my use progressed, I noticed the car's stopping distance becoming shorter, and the amount of force I needed to apply to the brake pedal coming to a stop light getting less. After being properly broken in, the pads definitely offer much more stopping power than the OEM Honda pads when warmed up.

Of course, this additional stopping power does come at a price. The StopTech pads are probably the dustiest and noisiest pads that I have used to date. During my first two weeks of use, before the pads were fully broken in, stopping was still a fairly quiet affair. After the pads were broken in though, stopping, especially when cold, became extremely noisy. The sound does go away after the pads get warm. Unfortunately, my daily commute to work is not that long, so the pads seldom have enough time to warm up to full operating temperature. Extra brake dust is also an issue with these pads too. My Enkei RPF1 wheels usually end up being covered in brake dust within about three weeks. I often forget how shiny my wheels are until I wash my car and scrub it all off.

Centric 120 Series Plain Rotors

Image Courtesy of The Tire Rack

Having to never needed to replace the front rotors on my S2000 until now, it took me a little while to come to a decision on what rotors to pick. I had originally thought that getting rotors from StopTech would help alleviate the noise issue. Unfortunately, StopTech only offers replacement rotors that are slotted or cross-drilled, which I just could not justify spending the extra money on fancy rotors when I would not have the time to use them on an autocross or track day. I have also heard that slotted and cross-drilled rotors have a tendency to wear out brake pads faster, which would have also made little financial sense. I was about to bite the bullet and just get a set of StopTech slotted brake rotors when I came across reviews on the Centric 120 Series which seemed good, so I figured they would be worth a shot.

There really is not too much to say about the Centric 120 Series plain rotors. They work just as well as the OEM Honda rotors and cost less. I think the best part about these rotors are the painted vents and rotor hat. The paint hides the rust that the OEM Honda rotors tend to exhibit after a few months.

While I cannot comment on the effectiveness of this brake pad and rotor combination on an autocross or track, I can safely say that this combination works well in daily driving and for spirited thrashing about on windy roads. The StopTech pads work well in the daily grind of stop-and-go traffic, offering OEM like stopping power. Take your car up to a canyon or mountain road for some spirited driving, where the pads and rotors can get properly warmed up, and the stopping power and brake feel far surpasses the OEM pads and rotors. The best part? This pad and rotor combination is not that expensive either. The StopTech Street Performance pads cost $53 for the front axle set on Tire Rack, and the Centric 120 Series plain rotors cost $53 each. If you are looking for a good setup for improved brake feel and stopping in daily diving and spirited driving, the StopTech Street Performance brake pads and Centric 120 Series plain rotors make an excellent combo.

Long Term Test: 2007 Honda S2000 Post #3

Third Update
Current Miles: 63,263

A few months ago, my fiancee and I decided to celebrate her birthday by heading down to Oceanside, CA to celebrate with some friends. From where we are located, it is an hour and a half drive along the southbound 405 freeway, connecting to the southbound interstate 5 right along the coast. It is a beautiful, but long drive that I would normally have absolutely no problem handling it in my S2000. Of course, circumstances were quite different this time.

I had started feeling a little sick, although I shrugged it off, thinking it was probably allergy related, and we took off anyway. Of course, I was very wrong about what was happening to me. As we progressed further, the body aches began. About half an hour out from our friend's place, my body was in excruciating pain. Every bump we went over felt amplified five times, shooting pain up my spine and throughout my entire body. Unfortunately, my fiancee does not know how to drive a manual transmission, so I had to pretty much tough it out until we got to our friend's place. By the time we arrived, I was pretty much ready to fall over and sleep. There were definitely two lessons I learned that day: 1. I need to get around to teaching my fiancee how to drive manual, and 2. we should probably just drive my fiancee's Fit when I am sick since the S2000 is pretty rough on the body.

Long Term Test: 2007 BMW K1200S post #2

Second update
Current miles: 23,065

With just over 23,000 miles, the K1200S has been nearly flawless. The power is still utterly intoxicating, offering speed on demand anytime I want it. The versatility is amazing, as I have used the big Beemer for everything from canyon carving in the mountains of New Hampshire to picking up groceries from at the Chinese grocery store in Downtown Boston to day tripping down to Cape Cod for whale watching. In every situation, the bike proves that it is capable of everything I have to throw at it and I continue to explore the limits of its usability. As I ride pretty much year-round, it has experienced temperatures ranging from well down into the low 30s all the way up to well into the high 90s. No matter what the temperature, the bike is comfortable and offers a sense of stability and security that my much smaller Kawasaki Ninja 650R was unable to provide.

Of course, as with any high performance vehicle purchased pre-owned, it has not been entirely without issue. Last fall, the battery started to struggle to provide sufficient amperage to overcome the resistance in the wiring, leading to challenges starting the bike when the engine was hot. That created a few embarrassing moments at gas stops when I had to push start the bike in order to get it going and on more than one occasion, had to jump-start it to get it running. Luckily, a swap of the battery from the older and less efficient lead-acid variety to the new
AGM model used on current BMW motorcycles more than cured the issue. I have also taken to pulling the battery and storing it on a trickle charger anytime I expect to be unable to use the bike at least once every 2 weeks. The battery issue also created a minor problem with the electronically adjustable suspension, causing the damping setting to get stuck. Luckily, it was stuck in SPORT mode so I was still able to really enjoy the ride, though I do admit that I missed the other damping options on some of the longer trips.

In July, when I had the bike's inspection brought up to date, the mechanic doing the inspection notified me of a few items that needed to be addressed in the near future if the bike was to remain safe on the road. This is what prompted my detour to MAX BMW during the Kancamagus Highway trip. While I did not get the service performed that day, I did collect enough information to feel confident that these were the guys I wanted to use when it came time to have the service done.

Long Term Test: 2007 Honda S2000 post #2

Second Update
Current Miles: 60,000

When I first purchased my S2000 back in 2010, I knew it was not going to be the most fuel efficient vehicle I could have picked. My other choice of vehicle, a 2010 Honda Civic Si sedan, would have been far more fuel efficient than the S2000, but due to a temporary production halt on the Civic in 2010, I could not find one for sale at the time. Considering the EPA estimated fuel economy rating of 18mpg city/ 24mpg highway/20mpg combined for the 2007 S2000, I think I'm doing reasonably well. My current combined average is around 20.5mpg, just a little over the EPA combined rating. Prior to installing the Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec tires, this average was actually a bit higher. Since the Dunlop tires are stickier than the Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tires that come standard with the car, I expected a small decrease in my fuel economy. The trade off though is a tire with a higher treadwear rating that will last longer. You can view my fuel economy results here.

Maintenance
How expensive is maintenance on the S2000? Unfortunately, maintaining an S2000 is going to cost more than your average Honda. I tell people it is the price one has to pay for driving a performance vehicle. Luckily, newer S2000s are equipped with the maintenance minder, which lets you know when the car is due in for service. Here is a breakdown of the maintenance minder codes:

Old vs New: Light Weight RWD Sports Cars (2007 Honda S2000 vs. 2013 Subaru BRZ)

With the recent introduction of the Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S twins, it would seem that lightweight, rear drive sports cars are making a bit of a come back. What better way to find out if the Subaru/Scion duo did it right by comparing it to another light weight, rear drive sports car? Luckily, I am the proud owner of a slightly older light weight, rear drive sports car, the Honda S2000.

The goal here is not to determine which car is faster, as that would not be a fair fight considering my car out powers the BRZ by a fairly significant amount. My goal in doing this comparison is to find out if Subaru got the lightweight, rear drive formula correct, and to see which of these two cars are more fun to drive.

VS

Long Term Test: 2007 BMW K1200S post #1

Update: Click here to read post #2.

I have been riding for a few years now, having gotten my start with an easy to ride and manageable Kawasaki Ninja 650R. That bike served me well, having taken me on numerous trips, daily commutes, and fun rides around the DC area. However, one of the things that it never did all that well is provide pillion accommodations for a long ride. Learning to ride, I had always wanted to have my wife ride with me so that we could share some memories together. Knowing that I would only be able to keep one bike, I began looking at various sport-touring options that would provide more comfortable pillion accommodations but still offer plenty of fun and sport for my solo rides, which would probably still make up the bulk of my riding. Additionally, I wanted something that would be able to mount a fair amount of luggage for longer trips while requiring minimal maintenance between services.

To satisfy these criteria, I began my search looking at mainly larger bikes specifically designed for sport touring and carrying luggage. The bikes were all shaft-driven, longer wheelbase, and weighing anywhere from 450 to 590 lbs. All had lockable luggage options from the factory and could accommodate a top box with minimal modification or additional parts. Ideally, the bikes should also have some cold weather equipment included from the factory, such as heated hand grips or heated seats. Most importantly, the bike should still be fun to ride. The bikes that quickly found their way to the top of my dossier included at least one new bike, the Honda VFR1200 that was being discounted heavily at the time, as well as several used bikes, including the Kawasaki Concours and Yamaha FJR. What did not originally make my original list was the BMW K1200S.

Long Term Test: 2007 Honda S2000 post #1

Update: Click here to read post #2

First Update
Current Miles: 58,885

Back in May of 2010, I purchased a used 2007 Honda S2000 in Laguna Blue Pearl. The S2000 had always been sort of a dream car for me, and I had vowed to some day own one, even if I had to buy it used. After graduating from college and finishing an internship in Taiwan, I had returned home and begun working, saving every last penny I could on a down payment for an S2000. When I had finally saved up enough money, the hunt for my S2000 began, and led me to this blue beauty you see here. I went to Santa Monica Honda in Santa Monica, CA to look at the car and there was a Berlina Black of the same year was also being sold. Both cars had roughly the same amount of miles and were selling for the same price. While I like the Berlina Black, the Laguna Blue simply called out to me. I also did not want the responsibility of taking care of a black car, especially after hearing various horror stories about it. One week later, I came back to sign the papers for the car that I currently still drive.

Video: First ride of 2013

After putting my motorcycle away in December of 2012, a confluence of a busy work schedule and crap-tacular weather in the Boston area has kept me from riding in 2013. However, when an opening finally presented itself in early March, I jumped at the chance, took the battery off the tender, geared up, and headed onto a few local roads to work the cobwebs out of my brain and do a quick check-up on the bike to make sure everything was working correctly.

See a brief clip after the jump.