Hello everyone.
So not a huge amount of stuff to talk about over the last several weeks. It has been so crazy hot here that riding the bike has just been a quick trip deal, and add in the evening storms and I have been letting it sit more than I want.
However, I did manage to get out on a few longer trips to experience some new things.
Several weeks ago I made the 40 mile round trip to my bank on the weekend and this took me over into the much more congested roads and traffic. Was good to get used to having far more cars around and many of those zooming around like crazed idiots! Was also a very hot day (temps over 100) so got to experience a long ride in jacket, helmet and gloves during that heat. Not exactly pleasant, but was not horrible either.
Made it over and back without any serious problems, and only a few times where a car made me feel a bit unsettled, but keeping close watch on traffic around me pays off in knowing what people are trying to do or appear to be doing and being ready to react helps quite a bit.
Just this past weekend I did a longer ride to a friends place for a quick visit. 85 mile round trip, again on the weekend with temps over 100 in all the gear. After spending an hour with my friend, went to head home and the sky had gotten very ugly looking over in my part of the city!
Just a few miles after leaving my friends place, I was hit by very high blasts of wind with quite a bit of dust/debris in it (typical monsoon storm intro here). I was heading into the wind, so just had to slow a bit and was fine, but then my route took me in another direction where the wind became a crosswind on my right side. It was probably blowing around 35-40 mph for several miles and was interesting to find the right balance of speed and body adjustment to keep from being blown over or into the next lane. Thankfully it was only a cross wind for about 5 miles, then was back to blowing into my face. Still was a bit crazy at times with odd bursts from odd directions due to surrounding terrain or structures. It finally calmed down to a light wind and things were good, only now the sky was getting much darker.
Shortly after the wind died down the light rain started. At first just a few hits a second, but then it became a steady light rain, enough to get the road wet and even pool a bit in the low spots. It also made my legs and arms pretty wet and kept a steady tap tap tap on the helmet visor, but never was bad enough to impair vision thankfully. The rain lasted about 10 miles or so, on a mostly 2 lane road that went straight along and had lots of small dips and puddles, but nothing horrible.
Once the rain stopped, then the next 15 miles of trip were just on the wet roads, a few which were very wet, some washes still having a light run of water across them (less than an inch deep, but still moving) and a few spots where it had moved sand/dirt out into the roadway as well. It finally dried up during the last 2 miles so that only a few spots on the road were wet.
Lots of new experiences, and managed to survive them :)
Hopefully in another month or so, things will cool down enough I can start taking some longer trips on the weekends, and then we can start having some actual adventures and interesting things to talk about instead LOL.
Till the next time.
Chris
Update for June
Hello,
So with work and the heat and other weather, not had much time for riding in June, but a few updates.
My center stand finally arrived at the dealer in the middle of the month. Took long enough!
So I had to ride the bike down to the dealership so they could install the stand. I was going to ride it to work one day since the dealer is near my office, but too many other things that prevented that option from happening.
So this past weekend I took time on Saturday to ride it down and have the work done.
So I live roughly 30 miles from the dealership. This required me to ride on the highway across the open reservation between my home area and the area of town where the dealer is located. Then I needed to take the freeway around the main bulk of the city to get close to where the dealer is.
This was the first time I had a chance to ride on higher speed roads like this. In general I was not too worried about the speed, and even the traffic was not going to be too bad on a weekend. However, the process of riding at higher speeds, among more cars with multiple lanes in both directions created some extra stress, but in the end I was able to deal with it all quite well.
I kept the bike around the speed limit and just let all the faster traffic move past on the highway and freeway both. The freeway exits were a little worrisome since few people watch for bikes (or cars even) when pulling onto the freeway, so had to time things right. I only had one vehicle that did anything kind of stupid, and I saw it was going to happen and was able to adjust around it.
The hardest part though was the wind! It was blowing very hard and with the hills and various structures along the freeway, was coming at different angles as well. While I have ridden in similar winds in town, it is not that hard going 40-45mph, but when you are going 65-70mph, things are much more difficult.
The wind was buffeting me fairly hard and made even slight moves of my head or body have impact on how the bike moved. The cross winds on a few occasions pushed me to the edge of the lane and it was a good amount of effort to keep from drifting into another lane. I can now see why riders are so tired after battling winds for even short distances.
This was also one of the longest rides time wise for me, and I was feeling it in the hands and arms having to keep control of the bike and throttle. Definitely need to work out my hands and wrists to develop some better strength there.
So have now ridden on highways, in winds, with cars passing often and even passing a few myself, and pushed the bike up to around 75mph at one point (though I cannot see the benefit of moving that fast, not comfortable at all), and went a total of 67 miles over the day.
But at least the center stand is on the bike now and helps with parking the bike for more stability and will assist in future if I need to work on the bike. It helps a little with parking the bike in the garage, but not as much as I hoped as I cannot get as close to the wall since I need to put the stand down on the side that faces the wall, and that process is not as easy as it looks. And the stand does not grip the painted floor of the garage very well, slides to easily, so will need to find a rubber mat to place under the stand to allow it to work easier.
As we are moving into the high heat season, and winds are higher and soon the summer storms will be coming more often, not sure how much riding I will get in over the next few months. I do need to go out in the wind more to get practice with it, and eventually will need to go ride during the rain to get some time with wet roads, but in no hurry to do that. :)
So updates might be a bit slow for a few months, but once it cools down, I hope to be out every weekend on it, and will probably be taking another riding class this fall season, and maybe do a few out of town day trips to start getting some travel time. Will need to start getting some better riding equipment as well, starting with the helmet (one I have is starting to show its age) and gloves (mine are pretty beat up).
Till next time.
So with work and the heat and other weather, not had much time for riding in June, but a few updates.
My center stand finally arrived at the dealer in the middle of the month. Took long enough!
So I had to ride the bike down to the dealership so they could install the stand. I was going to ride it to work one day since the dealer is near my office, but too many other things that prevented that option from happening.
So this past weekend I took time on Saturday to ride it down and have the work done.
So I live roughly 30 miles from the dealership. This required me to ride on the highway across the open reservation between my home area and the area of town where the dealer is located. Then I needed to take the freeway around the main bulk of the city to get close to where the dealer is.
This was the first time I had a chance to ride on higher speed roads like this. In general I was not too worried about the speed, and even the traffic was not going to be too bad on a weekend. However, the process of riding at higher speeds, among more cars with multiple lanes in both directions created some extra stress, but in the end I was able to deal with it all quite well.
I kept the bike around the speed limit and just let all the faster traffic move past on the highway and freeway both. The freeway exits were a little worrisome since few people watch for bikes (or cars even) when pulling onto the freeway, so had to time things right. I only had one vehicle that did anything kind of stupid, and I saw it was going to happen and was able to adjust around it.
The hardest part though was the wind! It was blowing very hard and with the hills and various structures along the freeway, was coming at different angles as well. While I have ridden in similar winds in town, it is not that hard going 40-45mph, but when you are going 65-70mph, things are much more difficult.
The wind was buffeting me fairly hard and made even slight moves of my head or body have impact on how the bike moved. The cross winds on a few occasions pushed me to the edge of the lane and it was a good amount of effort to keep from drifting into another lane. I can now see why riders are so tired after battling winds for even short distances.
This was also one of the longest rides time wise for me, and I was feeling it in the hands and arms having to keep control of the bike and throttle. Definitely need to work out my hands and wrists to develop some better strength there.
So have now ridden on highways, in winds, with cars passing often and even passing a few myself, and pushed the bike up to around 75mph at one point (though I cannot see the benefit of moving that fast, not comfortable at all), and went a total of 67 miles over the day.
But at least the center stand is on the bike now and helps with parking the bike for more stability and will assist in future if I need to work on the bike. It helps a little with parking the bike in the garage, but not as much as I hoped as I cannot get as close to the wall since I need to put the stand down on the side that faces the wall, and that process is not as easy as it looks. And the stand does not grip the painted floor of the garage very well, slides to easily, so will need to find a rubber mat to place under the stand to allow it to work easier.
As we are moving into the high heat season, and winds are higher and soon the summer storms will be coming more often, not sure how much riding I will get in over the next few months. I do need to go out in the wind more to get practice with it, and eventually will need to go ride during the rain to get some time with wet roads, but in no hurry to do that. :)
So updates might be a bit slow for a few months, but once it cools down, I hope to be out every weekend on it, and will probably be taking another riding class this fall season, and maybe do a few out of town day trips to start getting some travel time. Will need to start getting some better riding equipment as well, starting with the helmet (one I have is starting to show its age) and gloves (mine are pretty beat up).
Till next time.
Slow week for riding
Hello,
So not much to update today.
Did not get much time on the bike last week, just too busy with work and other things. I think I managed a lunch ride or two, and did take it out for a bit of a ride on Saturday to visit a friend and over to the car show on Sunday.
I did have a little excitement on the bike on Saturday. The friend I visited has a very steep driveway, and when I pulled into the drive I slowed for the slight bump up, but forgot to downshift into 1st so was still in 2nd. The steepness and slow rate of speed bogged the bike down, so I quickly downshifted into 1st, but as I was already starting to lose balance I gave it a bit too much throttle and the bike lurched forward, squealed the rear tire (and left about a 1 foot long black streak on the driveway) and I felt most of the weight come off the front wheel!!!
Thankfully my years of mountain biking already had me leaning forward for going up a steep hill and the bike quickly settled back and I was able to stay vertical and make it to the top of the hill! Still a bit freaky, not really into wheelies and this was a close one!
Rest of the riding was pretty much normal. Finally to the point that I can ride with one hand briefly if I need too (had a few times I needed to adjust the shoulder bag I use when the wind blows it around off my back). Bit scary the first few times, but at slower speeds it seems okay now, though still not sure I would want to try this at higher rates of speed.
I never got out on the the highway so still not yet gone much faster, and the winds lately have been really blowing hard, so not sure I want to try right now.
I may end up riding it to work next week as the part I am waiting for should be in by then and I can take the bike in to have it installed. So that will require doing at least 10 miles on the 4 lane divided highway until I get into another part of town, and from there I can either continue on the 8 lane freeway around to my office and the bike dealer, or I can take a shorter route through town on the main surface roads, but have far more stop lights. Will see what I feel like when the day arrives!
Not much riding will occur this weekend as I will be busy with another event and unable to ride, and not going to take the bike to the event as it is out of town. But since the weekend is a holiday, I will get Monday to play around, so perhaps will do some new experiences then.
Till the next update
Chris
So not much to update today.
Did not get much time on the bike last week, just too busy with work and other things. I think I managed a lunch ride or two, and did take it out for a bit of a ride on Saturday to visit a friend and over to the car show on Sunday.
I did have a little excitement on the bike on Saturday. The friend I visited has a very steep driveway, and when I pulled into the drive I slowed for the slight bump up, but forgot to downshift into 1st so was still in 2nd. The steepness and slow rate of speed bogged the bike down, so I quickly downshifted into 1st, but as I was already starting to lose balance I gave it a bit too much throttle and the bike lurched forward, squealed the rear tire (and left about a 1 foot long black streak on the driveway) and I felt most of the weight come off the front wheel!!!
Thankfully my years of mountain biking already had me leaning forward for going up a steep hill and the bike quickly settled back and I was able to stay vertical and make it to the top of the hill! Still a bit freaky, not really into wheelies and this was a close one!
Rest of the riding was pretty much normal. Finally to the point that I can ride with one hand briefly if I need too (had a few times I needed to adjust the shoulder bag I use when the wind blows it around off my back). Bit scary the first few times, but at slower speeds it seems okay now, though still not sure I would want to try this at higher rates of speed.
I never got out on the the highway so still not yet gone much faster, and the winds lately have been really blowing hard, so not sure I want to try right now.
I may end up riding it to work next week as the part I am waiting for should be in by then and I can take the bike in to have it installed. So that will require doing at least 10 miles on the 4 lane divided highway until I get into another part of town, and from there I can either continue on the 8 lane freeway around to my office and the bike dealer, or I can take a shorter route through town on the main surface roads, but have far more stop lights. Will see what I feel like when the day arrives!
Not much riding will occur this weekend as I will be busy with another event and unable to ride, and not going to take the bike to the event as it is out of town. But since the weekend is a holiday, I will get Monday to play around, so perhaps will do some new experiences then.
Till the next update
Chris
Another week, more miles.
Hello,
So not much new in the last week. Bike now has just shy of 100 miles on it. Took it for longest ride yesterday, not sure of mileage, but was on the bike for at least 45 minutes without stopping. Even took it onto some gravel roads and parking areas which were a bit rough and a little freaky to ride on. Definitely a different experience then riding a mountain bike on same terrain!
I did finally receive the license plate for the bike, so looks a bit better without the huge temporary tag fluttering in the wind. :)
Hoping my center stand arrives this week, so I can get bike in next week to install, will make parking it in the garage much easier.
Plan for this coming weekend will be to take it out on the nearby highway for a roughly 10 mile ride up to a nice exit with a bridge to cross over with, and then back. Goal is to push bike up to about 70 mph, which will be the highest speed I will have ridden on a bike (not sure I have ever been on a bike going faster...probably not).
Will also get a little experience with the faster moving traffic. Just hoping the winds are a bit less so I do not have to work against them. That was another thing on yesterdays ride, very strong winds out of the south which made a few sections of road a bit difficult and when riding into the wind really could feel its attempts to move bike around (as well as made a huge amount of noise!)
Been shopping around for helmets and think I have it narrowed down to a few brands/models that offer the features I am looking for. They are not cheap, about 30% more than I was hoping to spend, but in the end will just do what I need to get what I want. Will make up my mind this week and then likely order online where I can get a better price even with the shipping costs.
Well, guess that is it for now, till the next update!
So not much new in the last week. Bike now has just shy of 100 miles on it. Took it for longest ride yesterday, not sure of mileage, but was on the bike for at least 45 minutes without stopping. Even took it onto some gravel roads and parking areas which were a bit rough and a little freaky to ride on. Definitely a different experience then riding a mountain bike on same terrain!
I did finally receive the license plate for the bike, so looks a bit better without the huge temporary tag fluttering in the wind. :)
Hoping my center stand arrives this week, so I can get bike in next week to install, will make parking it in the garage much easier.
Plan for this coming weekend will be to take it out on the nearby highway for a roughly 10 mile ride up to a nice exit with a bridge to cross over with, and then back. Goal is to push bike up to about 70 mph, which will be the highest speed I will have ridden on a bike (not sure I have ever been on a bike going faster...probably not).
Will also get a little experience with the faster moving traffic. Just hoping the winds are a bit less so I do not have to work against them. That was another thing on yesterdays ride, very strong winds out of the south which made a few sections of road a bit difficult and when riding into the wind really could feel its attempts to move bike around (as well as made a huge amount of noise!)
Been shopping around for helmets and think I have it narrowed down to a few brands/models that offer the features I am looking for. They are not cheap, about 30% more than I was hoping to spend, but in the end will just do what I need to get what I want. Will make up my mind this week and then likely order online where I can get a better price even with the shipping costs.
Well, guess that is it for now, till the next update!
Week 1 with the new Bike.
Hey everyone,
So had the bike now for just over a week. I have managed to put about 45 miles on it just riding locally around my area.
I have taken it out to lunch on multiple occasions and also went out for dinner once as well to see how it was to ride at night (something I have never done previously).
Slowly getting used to the bike, my shifting up and down and acceleration are getting smoother, though still not quite where I think they should be. Getting much better at braking and downshifting at the same time for stops and able to even slow down and start moving again without needing to put my foot down if the lights change in time.
While my cornering was really wide the first few rides, I am getting more comfortable with taking the corners a bit tighter and leaning a bit more into them, also going just a tad faster. Will take more practice on that until I get the feel and balance of the bike to become second nature to me.
The area I live in is fairly light in traffic, but still has enough cars on the road to get some experience with watching for turning cars, and scanning around me to make sure no one is doing anything stupid that would be a problem for me. Had the opportunity to be passed, and pass others as well, on the main roads around town. Dealt with stopping and starting on hills (we have some pretty steep ones around here) and moving through the curves of the main roads.
Had a few days with the wind blowing at a good rate, so was interesting to see how it can move you around some on the road as it hits you from various directions. Easy enough to compensate, but was a different feeling than having winds in a car or other large vehicle.
So far have been limited in rate of speed as most of the roads are around 40 mph speed limits, but did get on the main road into town which is 50 mph, and traffic goes much faster on average so was up to 55-60 mph for a mile or so. Bike felt really good and stable at that speed, even with a good crosswind blowing that day. Hoping to get it out on the actual highway in the next week and see how things go when moving up to 70 mph.
Riding at night was easy, lights on the bike are really bright, so gives good visibility of the roads. (Area where I live has no street lights, so can be really dark). May still be a good idea to install some additional lighting for riding in more remote places where there will be no light sources at all and roads will not be nice and smooth.
Read through most of the owners manual at this point, learned what all the lights on the instrument console mean and where most of the various components of the bike are located. The maintenance on the bike is a bit painful, very difficult to access most parts that need periodic replacement, so will get to have some fun when that comes. The first maintenance is due at 2 months or 600 miles, and will actually have the dealer perform that one as they go through a series of checks to make sure everything is adjusted correctly and in proper alignment. After that, I will start looking at doing my own work at least for simple stuff like oil, coolant, air cleaner, battery and brakes. Other things I will still use dealers or shops for most likely, though I am looking into some options for learning more about motorcycle maintenance to see how I can best gather the skills needed to do most things on the bike in case the need would arise in a remote location.
Still have 2 weeks before the center stand arrives, and will be happy when it does. While I was finally able to find a parking solution to have both the car and bike in the garage at the same time, and ability to move each out without moving the other, it is very tight, and the center stand will buy me about 3 inches of space to work with.
Not much more to do right now, just plan to ride more during the day and evening, and keep increasing my skills and getting used to faster roads and eventually work my way into heavier traffic. Also getting used to riding in the extreme heat down here. That will definitely influence my research and purchases of riding gear for my person.
So unless something really interesting happens, will update in another week.
Thanks for coming along on this journey and hopefully you will find it of some interest.
Chris
So had the bike now for just over a week. I have managed to put about 45 miles on it just riding locally around my area.
I have taken it out to lunch on multiple occasions and also went out for dinner once as well to see how it was to ride at night (something I have never done previously).
Slowly getting used to the bike, my shifting up and down and acceleration are getting smoother, though still not quite where I think they should be. Getting much better at braking and downshifting at the same time for stops and able to even slow down and start moving again without needing to put my foot down if the lights change in time.
While my cornering was really wide the first few rides, I am getting more comfortable with taking the corners a bit tighter and leaning a bit more into them, also going just a tad faster. Will take more practice on that until I get the feel and balance of the bike to become second nature to me.
The area I live in is fairly light in traffic, but still has enough cars on the road to get some experience with watching for turning cars, and scanning around me to make sure no one is doing anything stupid that would be a problem for me. Had the opportunity to be passed, and pass others as well, on the main roads around town. Dealt with stopping and starting on hills (we have some pretty steep ones around here) and moving through the curves of the main roads.
Had a few days with the wind blowing at a good rate, so was interesting to see how it can move you around some on the road as it hits you from various directions. Easy enough to compensate, but was a different feeling than having winds in a car or other large vehicle.
So far have been limited in rate of speed as most of the roads are around 40 mph speed limits, but did get on the main road into town which is 50 mph, and traffic goes much faster on average so was up to 55-60 mph for a mile or so. Bike felt really good and stable at that speed, even with a good crosswind blowing that day. Hoping to get it out on the actual highway in the next week and see how things go when moving up to 70 mph.
Riding at night was easy, lights on the bike are really bright, so gives good visibility of the roads. (Area where I live has no street lights, so can be really dark). May still be a good idea to install some additional lighting for riding in more remote places where there will be no light sources at all and roads will not be nice and smooth.
Read through most of the owners manual at this point, learned what all the lights on the instrument console mean and where most of the various components of the bike are located. The maintenance on the bike is a bit painful, very difficult to access most parts that need periodic replacement, so will get to have some fun when that comes. The first maintenance is due at 2 months or 600 miles, and will actually have the dealer perform that one as they go through a series of checks to make sure everything is adjusted correctly and in proper alignment. After that, I will start looking at doing my own work at least for simple stuff like oil, coolant, air cleaner, battery and brakes. Other things I will still use dealers or shops for most likely, though I am looking into some options for learning more about motorcycle maintenance to see how I can best gather the skills needed to do most things on the bike in case the need would arise in a remote location.
Still have 2 weeks before the center stand arrives, and will be happy when it does. While I was finally able to find a parking solution to have both the car and bike in the garage at the same time, and ability to move each out without moving the other, it is very tight, and the center stand will buy me about 3 inches of space to work with.
Not much more to do right now, just plan to ride more during the day and evening, and keep increasing my skills and getting used to faster roads and eventually work my way into heavier traffic. Also getting used to riding in the extreme heat down here. That will definitely influence my research and purchases of riding gear for my person.
So unless something really interesting happens, will update in another week.
Thanks for coming along on this journey and hopefully you will find it of some interest.
Chris
Motorcycle is here!
Hey everyone,
So the bike was delayed a bit as one of the 3 parts I ordered was on back order. Still waiting actually, but I had them go ahead with the bike delivery and will just take it back in to get the last part (center stand) installed.
Annoyingly that was the one part I really needed to make parking it in the garage with my car more efficient, but guess I can just play musical parking spots for now.
So they dropped the bike off on Saturday around noon. Looked it over and then decided to take it out right away for lunch, no time like the present as they say.
First ride was a bit nerve wracking, not been on a public street on a motorbike in a very, very long time. Thankfully traffic is pretty light where I live and cars mostly drive slower speeds. Made it to lunch without too much trouble and then rode home.
Since then I have taken it out 2 more times, both lunch runs. All told I have now ridden it about 15 miles around town.
Definitely a different experience than the bikes I rode in my youth and even the bike I rode for my class and rider exam. It travels nice and smoothly, seems to corner well at low speed, though I have noticed I tend to drift wide on higher speed corners, but feeling that will get better as I get used to how the bike is balanced.
Braking is still a bit tricky, brakes work really well, so find myself slowing down too soon before I need, so trying to work on applying them slower or later, otherwise easy to slow and keep bike upright under normal braking conditions.
My biggest challenge so far is the gear shifting. Just not found the sweet spot for when to shift the gears without either shedding too much speed or shifting under power and jerking forward. Thinking I will go do some practice runs in a big parking lot this weekend to go up and down the gears a few times to get used to how the bike changes gears and where and how I can best smooth the shifting process out.
Still need to get the owners manual read so I can learn where all the bike options and functions are, more things on the bike than I probably need right now, but still need to learn how to operate them and make sure nothing is setup in a way it shouldn't be. Another project for the evenings rest of this week.
Today I rode to lunch and the wind was blowing twice as hard as the other days, so was a new experience to ride in the wind and seeing how it can move the bike around a bit. Was not too bad, but can see how a really strong wind can drastically impact how the bike moves and how it could wear you out physically trying to keep it upright.
Will eventually gear the bike up for long distance travel, but for now it will only be making short trips, so have time to look into all the options and make sure I am choosing the best equipment for the ride. Before that will need to get all the gear for my person. I currently have the old helmet, gloves, boots and jacket I received from a friend, but need to replace it all with newer and nicer stuff here in the next month or two.
Will keep taking it out for short trips and then in a few weeks will hopefully feel up to taking it out on the highway and seeing how that goes. :)
Till the next update!
So the bike was delayed a bit as one of the 3 parts I ordered was on back order. Still waiting actually, but I had them go ahead with the bike delivery and will just take it back in to get the last part (center stand) installed.
Annoyingly that was the one part I really needed to make parking it in the garage with my car more efficient, but guess I can just play musical parking spots for now.
So they dropped the bike off on Saturday around noon. Looked it over and then decided to take it out right away for lunch, no time like the present as they say.
First ride was a bit nerve wracking, not been on a public street on a motorbike in a very, very long time. Thankfully traffic is pretty light where I live and cars mostly drive slower speeds. Made it to lunch without too much trouble and then rode home.
Since then I have taken it out 2 more times, both lunch runs. All told I have now ridden it about 15 miles around town.
Definitely a different experience than the bikes I rode in my youth and even the bike I rode for my class and rider exam. It travels nice and smoothly, seems to corner well at low speed, though I have noticed I tend to drift wide on higher speed corners, but feeling that will get better as I get used to how the bike is balanced.
Braking is still a bit tricky, brakes work really well, so find myself slowing down too soon before I need, so trying to work on applying them slower or later, otherwise easy to slow and keep bike upright under normal braking conditions.
My biggest challenge so far is the gear shifting. Just not found the sweet spot for when to shift the gears without either shedding too much speed or shifting under power and jerking forward. Thinking I will go do some practice runs in a big parking lot this weekend to go up and down the gears a few times to get used to how the bike changes gears and where and how I can best smooth the shifting process out.
Still need to get the owners manual read so I can learn where all the bike options and functions are, more things on the bike than I probably need right now, but still need to learn how to operate them and make sure nothing is setup in a way it shouldn't be. Another project for the evenings rest of this week.
Today I rode to lunch and the wind was blowing twice as hard as the other days, so was a new experience to ride in the wind and seeing how it can move the bike around a bit. Was not too bad, but can see how a really strong wind can drastically impact how the bike moves and how it could wear you out physically trying to keep it upright.
Will eventually gear the bike up for long distance travel, but for now it will only be making short trips, so have time to look into all the options and make sure I am choosing the best equipment for the ride. Before that will need to get all the gear for my person. I currently have the old helmet, gloves, boots and jacket I received from a friend, but need to replace it all with newer and nicer stuff here in the next month or two.
Will keep taking it out for short trips and then in a few weeks will hopefully feel up to taking it out on the highway and seeing how that goes. :)
Till the next update!
2017 Suzuki V-Strom 650 ABS
Buying a Motorcycle
Hello again.
So you want to ride a motorcycle around the world? Step two, buy a motorcycle!
It has been awhile, but we are finally back.
So things were delayed a bit as I had some other things to deal with late in 2017, so pushed off the motorcycle shopping till early 2018.
Finally got the money gathered and decided it was time to go looking.
All along I have been leaning toward buying a Suzuki V-Strom model as most of my research I have done in last few years keeps bringing them up as great bikes, and some people I trust recommended them as well. I was also told by many to avoid going with one of the larger adventure bikes as my riding skills are of course not as good as they need to be to handle such a large, heavy and powerful bike.
So I decided in early April of 2018 to price out the Suzuki model I was looking at which was the Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT. I wanted the XT model because it has some extra options that make it a better choice for rougher terrain which is what a good part of my future riding plans will involve.
I looked at the new 2018 bikes, but also wanted to check older inventory with the hopes of getting some discounting on the costs. About same time, I also looked at used bikes locally, figured I should at least look.
I found a very low mile 2013 650 (no XT model that year) and made arrangements to look at it on the weekend.
The dealer close to my work had a 2017 non-XT bike and same company had a 2016 XT at another showroom in the valley. Both new bikes and both discounted in price.
This was on Friday.
On Saturday after talking with some others and doing some more research, I decided to avoid the potential problems with a used bike, and gain the advantages of warranty and easier title and licensing as well as the ability to get bike delivered to my home by going with the new bike. Not to mention that the price difference for the new bike vs the used bike was only about $1,000.
I canceled appointment with used owner on Sunday morning, but dealer did not open again till Tuesday (one of those closed on Monday businesses.)
I called the dealer on Tuesday, only to find out that the 2016 XT had sold on Saturday!!! Well that sucked.
So I did more research and found that I can buy all the XT options separately to install on the 2017 model, which was only a few hundred dollars more than the 2016, and the parts would not be needed for the first year of my riding as I will not be doing much off highway riding till I get my skills more polished.
So on April 11th, 2018 I finalized the purchase of the 2017 Suzuki V-Strom 650 ABS bike. I also at that time ordered a few upgrades to be installed before I get the bike. I wanted to get the hand grip guards, lower engine cowl/guard and center stand installed as those are definitely things I wanted and no real difference in who makes it, and they gave me a small discount on the parts for getting them then.
So hopefully I will have the bike delivered late next week. I will post some photos then and hopefully can start being more active with this documentation of my hopefully great motorcycle adventure.
Till the next installment, have a great day. :)
So you want to ride a motorcycle around the world? Step two, buy a motorcycle!
It has been awhile, but we are finally back.
So things were delayed a bit as I had some other things to deal with late in 2017, so pushed off the motorcycle shopping till early 2018.
Finally got the money gathered and decided it was time to go looking.
All along I have been leaning toward buying a Suzuki V-Strom model as most of my research I have done in last few years keeps bringing them up as great bikes, and some people I trust recommended them as well. I was also told by many to avoid going with one of the larger adventure bikes as my riding skills are of course not as good as they need to be to handle such a large, heavy and powerful bike.
So I decided in early April of 2018 to price out the Suzuki model I was looking at which was the Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT. I wanted the XT model because it has some extra options that make it a better choice for rougher terrain which is what a good part of my future riding plans will involve.
I looked at the new 2018 bikes, but also wanted to check older inventory with the hopes of getting some discounting on the costs. About same time, I also looked at used bikes locally, figured I should at least look.
I found a very low mile 2013 650 (no XT model that year) and made arrangements to look at it on the weekend.
The dealer close to my work had a 2017 non-XT bike and same company had a 2016 XT at another showroom in the valley. Both new bikes and both discounted in price.
This was on Friday.
On Saturday after talking with some others and doing some more research, I decided to avoid the potential problems with a used bike, and gain the advantages of warranty and easier title and licensing as well as the ability to get bike delivered to my home by going with the new bike. Not to mention that the price difference for the new bike vs the used bike was only about $1,000.
I canceled appointment with used owner on Sunday morning, but dealer did not open again till Tuesday (one of those closed on Monday businesses.)
I called the dealer on Tuesday, only to find out that the 2016 XT had sold on Saturday!!! Well that sucked.
So I did more research and found that I can buy all the XT options separately to install on the 2017 model, which was only a few hundred dollars more than the 2016, and the parts would not be needed for the first year of my riding as I will not be doing much off highway riding till I get my skills more polished.
So on April 11th, 2018 I finalized the purchase of the 2017 Suzuki V-Strom 650 ABS bike. I also at that time ordered a few upgrades to be installed before I get the bike. I wanted to get the hand grip guards, lower engine cowl/guard and center stand installed as those are definitely things I wanted and no real difference in who makes it, and they gave me a small discount on the parts for getting them then.
So hopefully I will have the bike delivered late next week. I will post some photos then and hopefully can start being more active with this documentation of my hopefully great motorcycle adventure.
Till the next installment, have a great day. :)
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