[Clay Dowling]

I get a lot of wind under my HJC helmet as well. On a warm day I find it quite pleasant. On these cold fall mornings in Michigan I find it invigorating, in the same way that ice fishing is invigorating. Once the weather turned cold I picked up a balaclava, and life got a lot better. It kills the heavy wind and keeps me warm in general. You might give the balaclava a try if the wind is bothering you to much. Mine stops most of the wind from coming under.

[Clay Dowling]

He did seem to take it very personally that you were trading out your Rebel. He’d be really annoyed by somebody like me, who started with a Magna 750. The price was about the same as a Rebel, without a huge risk of outgrowing the bike. So far it has treated me exceptionally well, handling very nicely. Definitely not as nimble as a 250, but I’ve learned to adjust for it.

Still, if you were a little closer to Michigan I’d consider picking up that 250 for my wife. Much nicer than the scooter she’s interested in.

[Clay Dowling]

The reason for the class is so you can drop out if you decide that motorcycles aren’t your thing. There were two people in my class who dropped. It’s a lot better to drop the class than to buy a bike and decide you hate it.

[Clay Dowling]

I think my mother would like that article. She was not happy when I told her I’d bought a bike.

[Clay Dowling]

Okay, I’m starting to sound like a broken record to myself. But four cylinder engines tend to be pretty smooth. You might see what you can find by way of used four cylinder bikes. The only one I know of is the magna, but you’re going to hate the 110 mile range on the fuel tank with your commute. There must be some others out there though that aren’t sport bikes.

[Clay Dowling]

of the Spider Skulls MC.

[Clay Dowling]

Last week the temperatures got into the 20s and 30s here. I had been using fleece lined leather gloves, but discovered a hole in the finger of one glove on my 45 mile pre-dawn ride to work. A pair of glove liners from a sporting goods store made the ride home a lot more comfortable. A pair of snowmobile gloves from Tractor Supply Company made the day after, where it was 27 degrees, a lot more comfortable than the 37 degree day.

A balaklava is a good idea too. That probably made the biggest difference in my ride.

[Clay Dowling]

I’ve had to use the u-turn a few times in real life. It lead to my only spill so far, when I stalled it. No damage to the bike, but not good for the ego (which is probably good for my hide). Last weekend I needed it again, pulled it off without a hitch.

[Clay Dowling]

You might try looking at a standard setup. My bike is classified as a cruiser, but it sits like a standard. I find it quite comfortable. With the long commute you’re talking about though, I think you need to be very serious about the smoothness of the ride and mechanical reliability. The shadow probably wouldn’t be a bad choice. For comfort and reliability a used Goldwing would be ideal, but they’re a little on the overkill size for a beginner. Even the GL1000 is way too big, although there will be quite a few of them on the market in the spring.

[Clay Dowling]

They offer an Experience Rider course that reviews the same material, but you take it on your own bike. Supposed to be excellent.

[Clay Dowling]

The suggestion above to slow down way in advance is solid. It lets people know you’re going to be slowing down. It’s bad to get surprised when you’re riding, it’s even worse for other people to get surprised. I like to make sure that everybody around me is clear on what I plan to do. Most people so far have been decent enough to give me my space.

[Clay Dowling]

If you’re gonzo for the Harley look, but don’t want the Harley price tag on a first bike (which is perfectly reasonable), look at the Honda Shadow. For a lot less money you can get the same kind of power. Most importantly for you, there is a good used market for them, so you can get one without breaking the bank. I know two people with Shadows and they really like them. You can also get them in a 750, which is a little large but saner than a liter bike.

[Clay Dowling]

My bike is a four cylinder, so I have a lot of leisure to switch. I do it on the road, no stopping. A V-Twin like you have might be a different story though. A co-worker ran out for the first time yesterday, and by the time he knew what was going on his twin cylinder engine had died. More experience with running out might have let him have more warning and not required him to pull over.

[Clay Dowling]

usually one carb runs out before the other one, so your engine will start to sputter. The sure way to tell is when you try to roll on the throttle and don’t get any response. Then you switch to reserve and look for a gas station. If the engine is chugging too hard you’ll just squeeze the clutch in and coast to the side of the road. No particular danger.

Learn where the switch is now though. It can be awkward to find when you’re on the road and haven’t really thought it out ahead of time, like I was the first time.

[Clay Dowling]

I don’t know about all of them, but my Magna is definitely not in that crazy feet-forward position. The shadows that I have seen are also like that, but there is a lot of variation in the Shadow line.

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