225 or: My Tale Of A '91 BRG Roadster

[MLambert19]

If you already read this in the "Intro/Welcome To MR Thread" please feel free to skip to the new stuff, if not...

Hi. My name's Matt. I'm in Western Maine (some fantastic roads over this way, if I dare say so myself). I'm on my 3rd Miata, and hoping that this one sticks around a while.

I've had a bunch of bikes: 2004 KLR650, 2006 VFR800, 2002 SV650, 2007 DRZ400SM, 1991 GSF400, 2003 SV1000N, 2013 KTM 690 Duke. I used to ride about 8K miles a summer. Upon moving to the mountains of Western Maine, I discovered my bike season is cut significantly short of what it was in the middle of the state. It seems to rain more, get cold sooner and stay cold longer, and the roads have sand on them for much more of the year than elsewhere in Maine.

One of my best friends, a college roommate bought an early NA6 beater for dirt cheap on eBay in college, and I recall how much fun he had with it. After getting caught in a freezing spring downpour in 2012 and riding home near-hypothermic on the SV1000, I decided a Miata might be a great way to get around without fear of the elements. I started reading, and decided an MSM sounded like the solution to my problems.

In June of '12 I flew with a girlfriend to the Carolinas, and drove back in a 22K mile Titanium Gray MSM GT. We drove the Dragon, Blue Ridge Parkway, and a bunch of twisty, scenic, back roads before our timeline eventually forced us to the highway. The car was great. I drove it 10K miles that summer, and then, stupidly, sold it for a profit in the fall.

In the following months, I decided to try out an NC. After much hunting for a used PRHT, I threw in the towel and bought a leftover '12 at a great price. The only thing wrong was the color. Black. My VFR800 was black. It looked amazing, for all of 30 seconds following a wash & wax. Dirt loves black vehicles. I drove the NC 9K miles, and had every intention of keeping it forever.

Then I went and got married (we honeymooned in the NC along Maine's coast, which was fun). My wife, not much of a car enthusiast, drove a Honda Fit (which is actually an excellent car, for an econobox). In fact, it's all she'd ever driven. Lots of snow + Honda Fit = unhappy wife. Welcome to Western Maine, love. Fortunately, I had the foresight to buy another Miata. Little did she know, my NC would be getting traded for a new Subaru that fall (love makes you do silly things).

Enter my current project. 1991 BRG #225. I flew to Buffalo, NY and bought this one, back in June 2014 (anticipating the NC would be traded to avoid a payment and get the wife AWD). The good: 53K miles, hardtop, all VIN tags intact, clean title, zero rust. The bad: repainted at some point, lots of deferred maintenance, ratty side bolster on driver's seat (looks like more than 53K worth of wear). 75mph the whole way back to Maine in one day, not a hiccup.

Thanks for reading, hopefully that didn't bore you to tears. Stay tuned, big things have already happened and more are underway. I just need to properly document them. -Matt