[owlie]

Glad to hear that you had a good time. I love the picture from the track & have to agree on the trailer.

When we moved last time, the U-Haul that we had basically had no brakes left. Bad deal. Didn’t hit anything, but we only made one trip for our large furniture & bed and then returned it. Did the rest with my husband’s F150 and were just as happy.

Good luck on the video editing. Never tried it myself, but if the shots are all as cool as the one above, I can see where you’d have your work cut out for you. Can’t wait to see it!

[owlie]

Sounds like a blast. Be sure to take some pictures. Are you guys getting fall colors yet, or is it still too early? The yellows up here this year are gorgeous.

[owlie]

Very nice.

Munch, the gauges are so that you can slavishly follow the break in period, just like you obediently follow every other direction you are given.

[owlie]

Definitely take the MSF course. It is a great place to start, and you will know by the end if you are serious about getting a bike.

Also, whenever you butt test the bikes is up to you, but I found that I was a lot more comfortable sitting on them (and making informed decisions about what I thought was comfortable) after I took the MSF class.

Finally, from one girl to another- get the bike that you like, not the one you think some guy is going to like seeing you on. If you go for the sport bikes, and that is what you want to ride, then do it. While, yes, relationships involve a lot of compromise, you still have to find someone who wants to be with you for who you are.

Sorry, I’ll put away the soapbox now…

[owlie]

Bringing it back around to the original subject. I haven’t had any dealings with Icon, but it is good to know that they are being helpful working out the warranty issue.

[owlie]

Good luck! I hope you guys get to have lots of fun with it.

[owlie]

Glad to hear that you had a good outcome. Way to stick to your guns and see it through!

Thanks for letting us know how it turned out.

[owlie]

Welcome to the site. Glad to hear your enjoying your new bike! Good luck on your ride tomorrow.

[owlie]

I did the 2nd gear at the stop sign thing last weekend. Thankfully, I didn’t drop my bike, but the catcalls of the two punks in the car behind me were more irritating than the stupid mistake. Grrr…

[owlie]

I haven’t gone down going that quickly, but I had my first crash within 30 minutes of starting out on my new motorcycle. I turned off the road onto a gravel drive too quickly and laid the bike down. Mostly injured pride, and a few scratches to the bike. Like you I picked up my bike, got back on (after snapping a photo or two), and continued on home.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the last couple of weeks just asking if I want to keep on riding, much less whether I want to go on a 30 mile ride with another rider. Only you can make that decision for yourself.

I guess if I was looking at your question for myself, I would ask myself the following questions:
1) Am I comfortable enough on a bike to be riding in whatever traffic and road conditions will be present? (Am I still thinking about the mechanics of shifting, turning, stopping & starting, etc. If so, is it a distraction, or just a reminder?)
2) Am I familiar with the route? I would look at this one separately from the first item, more from a perspective of “am I going to be distracted by trying to figure out where I am supposed to stop, turn, slow down for railroad crossings, etc.” than is the traffic going to be heavy, am I going to have to unexpected construction, etc. I guess I’m trying to break it into dealing with the expected vs. the unexpected.
3) Am I comfortable riding while my husband is watching? For some people, this makes things harder rather than easier, no matter how supportive the spouse is…

Like you, my husband is super supportive (even though he isn’t a rider). He has encouraged me through all the ups and downs (and there has been more than one) of this new experience. But in the end, you are the only person who can decide what your level of comfort is.

Best of luck!
Owlie

[owlie]

I’m thinking about dragging the weedwhacker to the top of my drive and doing some damage. Both directions are blind due to the vegatation. It never really bothers me in my car, but every now and then someone comes around the curve just a little too fast for comfort. I’ve figured out that I can see an extra 20ft or so if I pull to the very edge of the drive, angled to the left already to pull out. I love living in the sticks, but there are definitely a few challenges.

[owlie]

Congrats on the new bike! I tried to find a Gladius to sit on when looking, but no luck. They are good looking bikes though. Ride safe and post up some pics!

[owlie]

I figured out today that if I start the turn a little earlier than I had been from the left hand side of my lane, I can stay on my side of the road coming out of the turn not have the feeling like I am too fast on the gravel. Unfortunately, it is basically a blind turn, so I don’t want to be in the habit of just going wide.

Now, my driveway (other than the speed) is the same as what you are talking about, and I just break to almost a stop, make the turn gently and stay in the friction zone all the way down with a little rear brake. I have yet to screw that one up.

[owlie]

Welcome to the forums!

For myself, I really didn’t consider it until a few months ago myself. Frankly, your post looks a lot like what I would have said 6 months ago.

Mostly, I started thinking about riding because I had a character floating around in my head, but how can I write a story about a guy who rides motorcycles if I don’t know squat about them? My character was going to ride a newer motorcycle with a kick starter of all things! But at the time, I didn’t know just how ridiculous that idea was…

Once I started looking around for information about riding and watching bikers out on the roads, I became interested in riding for its own sake, and now, here I am…

If you’ve never ridden before, try sitting on some bikes and see how some of the different models feel under you (I would suggest doing this after the class). You might find that while you think the Vulcan is gorgeous, something else is more comfortable…

Best of luck to you!

[owlie]

Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valour. I spent most of last week off the bike (not entirely by my own choice), and while I envied every rider that went by, it was for the best.

I hope that your tournament went well.

[Author]

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