Re: If it weren't for the customers, this job would be the sh*t

["Bob La Londe" <nospam@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Mark Leuck" <m..leuck@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:3YOdnYLCa7KqWvLYnZ2dnUVZ_tadnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

> I noticed you had a CX500, I had the CX650 they made in 83, I loved the
> Guzzi-like engine although the puny gas tank and virtually no reserve made
> long distance riding impossible. Best overall bike I ever had was the last
> one I owned which was a 1981 Suzuki GS750, on one trip I rode that from
> Dallas to Gettysburg PA to Toronto Ca and back.
>
> I've always preferred Suzuki sport bikes but from that list you don't seem
> to have a preference for brand or type, any reason why?

I like riding different bikes for the feel of it.  If I could ride everyday
(which I used to when I had five guys of staff when I was doing a lot of
sateilite installs) I would own a dozen different bikes and learn to ride
each one.

I even put a sidecar on one of my Goldwings just for the fun of learning to
handle it.  Most folks who rode it just whined and complained about how
awful a sidecar is with it pulling one way under acceleration and pushing
the other way on hard braking.  Instead I learned to handle it.  I'm no
sidehack racer, but I got a big kick out of learning the tricks you can do
with one, like slamming on the back brake coming into a parking space to
slide the bike around to face back out of the parking space, or putting the
sidecar up in the air and riding on two wheels for a ways.

I enjoy a bike with few limitations, but I think I enjoy more learning the
capabilities of a new bike.  I don't race and my speed tests have all been
on old sections of closed highway.  I do not push the limit on the road, but
I do enjoy a different ride and learning how to handle a bike.

I recall one trip up Yarnell hill on my Electraglide.  Now there is a Barca
Lounger with wheels.  LOL.  I had a guy on a sportbike (probably a brand new
rider) come racing up on my rear end in one of the straight aways.  He
passed me in my lane with no hesitation.  What a jerk.  Anyway, I watched
him in the next turn.  He just stayed center on his machine. No shift of
weight or anything.  Hmmm...  I started crowding him in the turns by hanging
on with one leg and knee dragging.  You don't have much lean angle on an
FLHT before the board start to drag, but it will fold up and give you a lot
more lean if your foot isn't on it.  It worked.  He would race out ahead of
me on every straight and I would be right up on his ass in the next turn.  I
dogged him all the way up the mountain.  That has to be the hardest run I
ever put that 97 MPH sofa on wheels through.  For me it wasn't about riding
fast, but riding under control.

I actually do not enjoy riding like that, but I did enjoy learning to ride
that bike well.  I'm one of those rolling speed bumps sportbike riders
complain about.  The sceenry is just as important to me, and a liesurely
ride up a beaughtiful canyon side with a few curves for interest is my
thing.

I'm still learning to ride the MeanStreak, but then I don't have the time to
ride everyday since I'm doing most of my own teching these days, and I fish
bass tournaments almost every weekend.  There is another learning curve.
Learning to drive a high speed bass boat at top end.  Wow!  Its definitely
not like driving a car no matter what it looks like.  P.S.  There is no
speed limit on the river.

--
Current Rides (Yuma, Az)
2005 VN1600B2 Kawasaki Vulcan Mean Streak
2001 VLX600 Honda Shadow (for sale)
2003 FLTR Harley Road Glide (wife's bike)
1981 CM200T Honda Twin (project)

Past Rides
1996 VF750C Honda Magna
1976 CL350 Honda
1986 VT500C Honda Shadow
1976 GL1000 Honda Goldwing
1984 VT700C Honda Shadow
1976 GL1000 Honda Goldwing
1981 XS650 Yamaha Heritage Special
198X KZ440LTD Kawasaki
1985 CX500 Honda
1981 FX 1200 Harley Super Glide
1969 SOHC CB750 Honda
198X GN250 Suzuki
1988 VLX600 Honda Shadow
1984 GL1200 Honda Goldwing
1997 FLHT Harley Electra Glide
2002 VRSCA Harley V-Rod
** I knew I forgot one or two
198X Seca 650 Turbo Yamaha
197X Paughco Springer (sans engine)






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