We have a very close friend who just went to Iraq for who knows how long. Professional soldier or merc type.
Anyhoo, he asked me to ride his bike around for him once in a while while he's gone.
I just sent him this e-mail:
D,
Well, thanks to you, I took my first ride on a Harley today! :-)
First off, we miss you and hope you're doing well. We had a jammin party here at the house last night and would have loved to have seen you here. You were and are definitely in our thoughts.
Anyhoo, N and I went on a ride today with a few people in the local area. DAMN was it ever cold. Probably only rode about 45 miles. Not a big deal except for how effin' cold it was. I'm still shakin' off that chill.
When we got back, I went over and picked up your bike. D gave me the key and started it up. I put my bike in your garage and backed yours out and got going on it. Looking at the bike idling there in the driveway, various parts were moving around A LOT. I was somewhat concerned that things might fall off. I'll have to take a box of wrenches to it and make sure everything is tightened down on it.
Very different sitting on the bike. It's a lot smaller cockpit than I had imagined it would be. Harleys always have this "huge" appearance to them, including yours. Getting on it was another story altogether and had me rethinking the size issue entirely. Not too bad in the end, though. There was ample room on it, it just feels different than the crouch position on the sport bikes.
Backed it out to the top of the driveway and closed your garage door. I sat there for a moment just getting a feel for the beast. Rapped gently on the throttle a couple of times. Seemed to have ample juice for the most part. Outweighs the Busa by at least 100 lbs. Maybe 200. (BTW, what is this particular Harley even called? I have no idea.)
Now, before I go any further, I should mention that I always tell people that A) nobody ever rides my bike with VERY few exceptions and more importantly B) I don't ride other people's bikes, not even N's. I've only ridden hers about five times and only because circumstances demanded it for whatever reason.
Why? I've just never felt like I'd be at all comfortable with the idea of wrecking someone else's ride and depriving them of it. They say that statistically, most bike accidents happen on borrowed or new bikes. What I'm saying here is that agreeing to ride yours while you're out of the country is a huge step for me WAY outside my comfort zone. Bleah. :-) Still, I'm happy to help you out.
I sat there on your bike at the top of your driveway deflecting all of those thoughts by sheer willpower! Mind over matter wins, of course and I backed it gently down the driveway. At the bottom of the driveway, I turned the handlebars a little more suddenly than I should have and tipped it a little far. Yep. That gut-wrenching feeling you're having right now is exactly the same one I had. I didn't drop it, thank the effin' stars. Nearly made me pack it in, though!
I kept going and backed it out the rest of the way into the street and took off. You have to picture this, though: I don't ride without my full gear and there I was with my Suzuki emblazoned leathers, full-face helmet and other Moto-GP racing style gear, riding through the neighborhood on your Harley! Must've looked hilarious. Strange looking at the very least, I have little doubt. I'll have to get N to take a picture for you next time I take it out.
Rode down our street, out to ********* and out to ****** Street, then to ***** Blvd. Rode out to ****** and across toward ********. Rode it around the little circle there and then came back to *****. I originally intended to come right back home but I changed my mind and headed North on *******. The bike handles pretty well and I got comfy on it right away. The bike hit 70 right off.
Thanks to the windscreen, it didn't seem nearly as fast as the Busa at 70. A lot warmer, too. More noisy, though. The wind blowing over the screen and hammering my helmet was quite the racket. Took the turn at the top of ****** at 70 like it was nothing. The bike handles just fine. Took the other one at 70 as well and was just as comfortable, even though it's a slight decreasing radius turn. If I owned this bike, I'd feel like it could easily go 90 or 100 around those turns but I'm not going to push on your ride. I realize that when I see other Harleys taking those turns at 50, it's not the bike. . . !
When I got up to the ********** development, I turned in, then made a U-turn at the first available intersection. It handles U-turns okay, just in a little more space than I'm used to. It could have turned more tightly, however, I was being careful and plus, the handlebar was close to hitting my hand on the gas tank and I just didn't want to push it. Came back down ******, passed a car along the way with no real trouble. Just a slightly slower sprint than I usually like to have. It redlines with a deeper throatier sound than I'm used to on the Busa so for the briefest of moments, I had the rpms just a hair too high.
Brought it back to it's home in your garage like it was nothing. It wasn't nothing, though. It was my first ever ride on a Harley. Thanks to you! :-)
I see the appeal of the cruiser ride. Years ago, I used to ride a 750cc Honda Shadow but it was nothing like this. There's something different about it but I haven't quite got my finger on it yet.
I shut everything down, set the alarm and gave the remote and key back to D. Backing my bike off your driveway I had the exact same issue with my own bike that I had with yours and nearly dropped it in exactly the same place! Jeezus. Oh, well,
Rode the half mile back home and put everything away. Damn I'm cold!
I appreciate the opportunity to ride your ride, D. Hope you're doing well over there. Stay safe and send pictures when you can.
Talk to you later, bro!
--Wag--
Anyhoo, he asked me to ride his bike around for him once in a while while he's gone.
I just sent him this e-mail:
D,
Well, thanks to you, I took my first ride on a Harley today! :-)
First off, we miss you and hope you're doing well. We had a jammin party here at the house last night and would have loved to have seen you here. You were and are definitely in our thoughts.
Anyhoo, N and I went on a ride today with a few people in the local area. DAMN was it ever cold. Probably only rode about 45 miles. Not a big deal except for how effin' cold it was. I'm still shakin' off that chill.
When we got back, I went over and picked up your bike. D gave me the key and started it up. I put my bike in your garage and backed yours out and got going on it. Looking at the bike idling there in the driveway, various parts were moving around A LOT. I was somewhat concerned that things might fall off. I'll have to take a box of wrenches to it and make sure everything is tightened down on it.
Very different sitting on the bike. It's a lot smaller cockpit than I had imagined it would be. Harleys always have this "huge" appearance to them, including yours. Getting on it was another story altogether and had me rethinking the size issue entirely. Not too bad in the end, though. There was ample room on it, it just feels different than the crouch position on the sport bikes.
Backed it out to the top of the driveway and closed your garage door. I sat there for a moment just getting a feel for the beast. Rapped gently on the throttle a couple of times. Seemed to have ample juice for the most part. Outweighs the Busa by at least 100 lbs. Maybe 200. (BTW, what is this particular Harley even called? I have no idea.)
Now, before I go any further, I should mention that I always tell people that A) nobody ever rides my bike with VERY few exceptions and more importantly B) I don't ride other people's bikes, not even N's. I've only ridden hers about five times and only because circumstances demanded it for whatever reason.
Why? I've just never felt like I'd be at all comfortable with the idea of wrecking someone else's ride and depriving them of it. They say that statistically, most bike accidents happen on borrowed or new bikes. What I'm saying here is that agreeing to ride yours while you're out of the country is a huge step for me WAY outside my comfort zone. Bleah. :-) Still, I'm happy to help you out.
I sat there on your bike at the top of your driveway deflecting all of those thoughts by sheer willpower! Mind over matter wins, of course and I backed it gently down the driveway. At the bottom of the driveway, I turned the handlebars a little more suddenly than I should have and tipped it a little far. Yep. That gut-wrenching feeling you're having right now is exactly the same one I had. I didn't drop it, thank the effin' stars. Nearly made me pack it in, though!
I kept going and backed it out the rest of the way into the street and took off. You have to picture this, though: I don't ride without my full gear and there I was with my Suzuki emblazoned leathers, full-face helmet and other Moto-GP racing style gear, riding through the neighborhood on your Harley! Must've looked hilarious. Strange looking at the very least, I have little doubt. I'll have to get N to take a picture for you next time I take it out.
Rode down our street, out to ********* and out to ****** Street, then to ***** Blvd. Rode out to ****** and across toward ********. Rode it around the little circle there and then came back to *****. I originally intended to come right back home but I changed my mind and headed North on *******. The bike handles pretty well and I got comfy on it right away. The bike hit 70 right off.
Thanks to the windscreen, it didn't seem nearly as fast as the Busa at 70. A lot warmer, too. More noisy, though. The wind blowing over the screen and hammering my helmet was quite the racket. Took the turn at the top of ****** at 70 like it was nothing. The bike handles just fine. Took the other one at 70 as well and was just as comfortable, even though it's a slight decreasing radius turn. If I owned this bike, I'd feel like it could easily go 90 or 100 around those turns but I'm not going to push on your ride. I realize that when I see other Harleys taking those turns at 50, it's not the bike. . . !
When I got up to the ********** development, I turned in, then made a U-turn at the first available intersection. It handles U-turns okay, just in a little more space than I'm used to. It could have turned more tightly, however, I was being careful and plus, the handlebar was close to hitting my hand on the gas tank and I just didn't want to push it. Came back down ******, passed a car along the way with no real trouble. Just a slightly slower sprint than I usually like to have. It redlines with a deeper throatier sound than I'm used to on the Busa so for the briefest of moments, I had the rpms just a hair too high.
Brought it back to it's home in your garage like it was nothing. It wasn't nothing, though. It was my first ever ride on a Harley. Thanks to you! :-)
I see the appeal of the cruiser ride. Years ago, I used to ride a 750cc Honda Shadow but it was nothing like this. There's something different about it but I haven't quite got my finger on it yet.
I shut everything down, set the alarm and gave the remote and key back to D. Backing my bike off your driveway I had the exact same issue with my own bike that I had with yours and nearly dropped it in exactly the same place! Jeezus. Oh, well,
Rode the half mile back home and put everything away. Damn I'm cold!
I appreciate the opportunity to ride your ride, D. Hope you're doing well over there. Stay safe and send pictures when you can.
Talk to you later, bro!
--Wag--
