jzzmusician
Official Hoon
My summer adventure.
By Bob
Grade 55
I got married 21 years ago during a period when I was in between motorcycles. You know, that’s when you just sold the one you had to get the money for the one you are currently lusting after.
My wife, (still my wife) was working in the spinal cord division of VA Hospital in Seattle. The only way you got to see her was if you were at least a paraplegic. She kept coming home with stories of guys falling off their bikes. Falling off at stop signs, when their girlfriends would hop on the back and they’d lose their balance, etc. I started getting the feeling that maybe buying another bike was a bad idea.
Until this summer.
I’ve got a big honkin’ diesel truck. I get about 10 miles a gallon in town and about 10 when I’m towing, which is whenever I’m not in town. I don’t drive many miles, only about 8000 a year, but when diesel got to five bucks a gallon, I had had enough. My friend the car dealer shows up and has just the thing. A cute little yellow Chinese scooter. All of 125cc’s. It had enough go to get out of the way and I convinced myself that it was just the thing to go to work and the golf course.
It was horribly unstable. 25 miles an hour felt like 50. I had it about a month and traded it in on a Piaggio 250 MP3. Having two wheels up front the Piaggio handled a lot better. It was great around town, but I found myself wanting to “go for a putt” before work, and it struggled on the open road. Still thinking scooter, (my wife was okay with a scooter, as they didn’t look or sound like a motorcycle) I got rid of it after 600 miles and got the bigger one. The new one had 400cc’s and all of 34 horsepower. It weighed 538 lbs. After the 250 it actually felt like a lot of power. Enough to go riding with my friends. My friend Dwight said I was heading down the slippery slope of motorcycle ownership.
Nope. 34 horsepower just wasn’t enough. And the seating position on a scooter is not conducive to rides over about 20 miles or so.
Six weeks later I took deliver of my current bike, an ’08 FJR. I’ve had it for seven weeks now, the longest of any bike this summer. I’ve got 3500 miles on it and have a couple of observations. My wife is used to the idea of me on a bike again, and I’ll just let that whole topic sit.
I took the motorcycle safety class on my scooter. Good way to spend some time. I hadn’t ridden on 21 years and it was a good refresher. I re-learned some things and learned new things. Highly recommended.
I initially thought the FJR was way too much bike. Going from 34 horsepower to 145 is a big jump and it took me about 1000 miles to feel comfortable with the power. Now it just feels normal.
After 500 miles I knew I needed the helipads as the stock ones were too far forward for me. I wanted some freeway pegs as well. The stock seat sucks and I began to price custom seats.
Last weekend I went on a 300 mile jaunt with a couple of friends and it wasn’t until we got home that I realized my butt didn’t hurt, my wrists were fine, and my knees didn’t ache.
Huh. I guess I don’t need all that custom stuff. Dwight said I was adapting.
I went for another ride last Saturday. 250 miles. Hmmmm…..felt good the whole way. Did another 200 on Sunday. Same thing. No pain. The bike just feels like home.
Now I’m thinking I need a Zumo even though I haven’t gotten lost yet, and my wife said it was okay for me to go on a 3500 mile ride next summer with Dwight. I might need it then. I can honestly say that the only thing that bugs me is helmet noise. Even with earplugs it’s annoying.
I’m also ordering some new tires. I’m going to need them here pretty soon.
One final thing; in the jazz world if somebody is “the ****,” it means they can play their ass off.
The FJR is the ****.
Bob
By Bob
Grade 55
I got married 21 years ago during a period when I was in between motorcycles. You know, that’s when you just sold the one you had to get the money for the one you are currently lusting after.
My wife, (still my wife) was working in the spinal cord division of VA Hospital in Seattle. The only way you got to see her was if you were at least a paraplegic. She kept coming home with stories of guys falling off their bikes. Falling off at stop signs, when their girlfriends would hop on the back and they’d lose their balance, etc. I started getting the feeling that maybe buying another bike was a bad idea.
Until this summer.
I’ve got a big honkin’ diesel truck. I get about 10 miles a gallon in town and about 10 when I’m towing, which is whenever I’m not in town. I don’t drive many miles, only about 8000 a year, but when diesel got to five bucks a gallon, I had had enough. My friend the car dealer shows up and has just the thing. A cute little yellow Chinese scooter. All of 125cc’s. It had enough go to get out of the way and I convinced myself that it was just the thing to go to work and the golf course.
It was horribly unstable. 25 miles an hour felt like 50. I had it about a month and traded it in on a Piaggio 250 MP3. Having two wheels up front the Piaggio handled a lot better. It was great around town, but I found myself wanting to “go for a putt” before work, and it struggled on the open road. Still thinking scooter, (my wife was okay with a scooter, as they didn’t look or sound like a motorcycle) I got rid of it after 600 miles and got the bigger one. The new one had 400cc’s and all of 34 horsepower. It weighed 538 lbs. After the 250 it actually felt like a lot of power. Enough to go riding with my friends. My friend Dwight said I was heading down the slippery slope of motorcycle ownership.
Nope. 34 horsepower just wasn’t enough. And the seating position on a scooter is not conducive to rides over about 20 miles or so.
Six weeks later I took deliver of my current bike, an ’08 FJR. I’ve had it for seven weeks now, the longest of any bike this summer. I’ve got 3500 miles on it and have a couple of observations. My wife is used to the idea of me on a bike again, and I’ll just let that whole topic sit.
I took the motorcycle safety class on my scooter. Good way to spend some time. I hadn’t ridden on 21 years and it was a good refresher. I re-learned some things and learned new things. Highly recommended.
I initially thought the FJR was way too much bike. Going from 34 horsepower to 145 is a big jump and it took me about 1000 miles to feel comfortable with the power. Now it just feels normal.
After 500 miles I knew I needed the helipads as the stock ones were too far forward for me. I wanted some freeway pegs as well. The stock seat sucks and I began to price custom seats.
Last weekend I went on a 300 mile jaunt with a couple of friends and it wasn’t until we got home that I realized my butt didn’t hurt, my wrists were fine, and my knees didn’t ache.
Huh. I guess I don’t need all that custom stuff. Dwight said I was adapting.
I went for another ride last Saturday. 250 miles. Hmmmm…..felt good the whole way. Did another 200 on Sunday. Same thing. No pain. The bike just feels like home.
Now I’m thinking I need a Zumo even though I haven’t gotten lost yet, and my wife said it was okay for me to go on a 3500 mile ride next summer with Dwight. I might need it then. I can honestly say that the only thing that bugs me is helmet noise. Even with earplugs it’s annoying.
I’m also ordering some new tires. I’m going to need them here pretty soon.
One final thing; in the jazz world if somebody is “the ****,” it means they can play their ass off.
The FJR is the ****.
Bob
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