so I just got my endorsement last month. about a week after leaving the inlaws house for my new duty station here in Kansas, the father in law calls me about the 1500 I now own. they are going to trailer it up along with his two tone drifter then about a week latler we are supposed to head to Sturgis. now im beginning to worry that I bout way to much bike for my first go, considering im 5' 10" 130lbs soaking wet. Monday will be my first chance to ride (army mandated and funded MSF course) think they got little 250s for us to ride. the FIL (father in law) kkeps assuring me that these girls handle like a bike half its size.........am I in trouble?
*my one saving grace is I am comfortable with manual trannys
Quote from: draconarmy on July 10, 2013, 21:27:22 PM
the FIL (father in law) kkeps assuring me that these girls handle like a bike half its size.........am I in trouble?
Your FIL has obviously never ridden a bike half the size of a Drifter. 8)
Well being Army and so you have to be smart, agile, strong, fit, and you have the power to over come and conquor. Ok that being said, just get comfortable and relax and you will be fine, once you think you have it ace you will be in trouble. Never ride faster then your guardian angel can fly and you are ok. Just remember your ability and what you are comfortable with and ride to that level.
Yes the drifter is not a good bike for a newby, a 250cc might be better..
However..
If you are well rested and the roads are well surfaced and you can keep calm then the long ride to Sturgis will soon have you riding like a pro..
Here are some hint's that will help..
On a long run choose the path that is clearest.
Allow anyone to overtake, ride at a speed that is comfortable.
Do not try to keep up with a group..If you are riding with a group it is their job to ride at the speed of the slowest rider..not the other way round..
Don't try to race..your bike only has a top speed of about 107mph flat out..other bikes can easily go faster than you..
When you are feeling comfortable and the road is smooth, remove one hand from the handlebar, start off by just opening your fingers, then release and hold and release and finally rest your hand on your thigh..This prevents the 'death grip' that tires you out quickly.
Stop and rest and drink when you stop for gas, take a short walk to remove the tension from your legs and back before riding on.
Make sure you know the route before you start because if the other riders go too fast you can catch up at the end of the day..
Don't drink alcohol before or during a ride.
All of the above is common sense but you may think you are under pressure from other riders to do something they do...you are not...
This is your first ride..enjoy it..
John.
I'm not sure about the buyer's remorse part. The 1500 is a great bike.
I think what you're saying is that you'd rather have more seat time before going on a long ride. If you've taken the MSF course already, then transfer all those exercises to your Drifter in a parking lot at first. Practice stops at different speeds. That's where I had to gain the skill on my Drifter. . . . predicting how the weight will react in different stopping scenarios.
After practicing in the parking lot, then gradually hit some local roads. As my MSF instructor said "Practice Makes Permanent".
Yeah, don't go too quick... you really need to ride the bike around in parking lots, around the block, etc. until you are comfortable with it. It is a heavy bike... you need to be able to handle it on hills, corners etc.
My personal opinion is two weeks worth of riding isn't going to get you prepared to ride from Kansas to Sturgis.
First... the winds on the Great Plains is really a problem... the big fenders make it worse. Been there... it will wear you out. Secondly, as you get tired the bike feels like it weighs more.
My recommendation: Put off riding to Sturgis until next year... go in a cage. In the meantime, ride the bike in safe areas until you get used to it. Learn how to pick it up when you drop it... you will drop it... and you really need to learn how to pick it up properly.
thanks everyone but I think many of you misunderstood. im not riding to Sturgis, she is being trailered there. I was more worried about laying it down at the slow speeds of Sturgis
AH ok ..then start to practice slow riding and balance.......
Wow you certainly got me there..It never occurred to me that someone would trailer a working bike anywhere unless they weren't bringing it home ..
John
lol yeah but with the wifey going and her having back problems she cant handle long bike rides. not to mention I think it would be irresponsible of me to start riding double so soon
I can understand going in a car to enjoy Sturgis with your wife..but I can't understand why you want to trailer the bike..It will cost you more in fuel, it will be more difficult to drive the car and trailer, it will leave you open to theft of the bike, the trailer, and the car..
Leave the bike and trailer at home this year and enjoy Sturgis without any worries..
Over here bikers ride to rallies, in fact some rallies are closed to people who arrive with their bikes on trailers..I realise none of our rallies compare to Sturges but I am pretty sure that most of the bikers at Sturgis will have made the trip on their bikes..
John.
here depending on were you live people do trailer to events because it might be snowing in your area , like me trying to go to Bike week in Daytona. In this case with a spouse who cannot ride far on a bike trailering is an option, I have friends who did a cross country trip on their bike while another couple drove their car along with them. Each to their own...
Actually, John, more people trailer to Sturgis than you would believe. This phenomenon caused the T-Shirt saying " I Rode My Bike to Trailer Week" to come into existence. I can totally relate to banning cars at bike rallys...they won't do it here. As an extension of that idea, I'd like to see all "show" bikes be road worthy...but that won't happen, either.
Practice slow speed balance as much as possible. With the huge crowds of bikes you are in almost a parade configuration around the Sturgis area. If you ride 2up in these traffic jams balance is very important.
Trailering your bike is fine. Don't listen to or let anyone tell you different. It is your life. As John Hopkins said "you may think you are under pressure from other riders to do something they do...you are not..." Do only what you are comfortable with, No more, and you will be fine.
Good points all; also, don't be afraid to ride at those super-slow speeds(like in Sturgis) with your feet down; if you have to slam on your brakes, your feet are already down. A buddy of mine, on take off in heavy traffic, trying to look cool, I guess, put his feet up on the highway pegs as soon as it was rolling; guy in front of him stopped, down went Bill; oh where is a cam-corder when you need one... :D
I was at a bikers funeral a few months ago..it was at walking speed and in first gear walking the bike..that is sitting astride with one foot on each side and actually walking..It's quite a strain on the bike's cooling system and quite a few bikes had to stop and cool down particularly on steep hills..The 1500 drifter seemed to have a pretty good cooling system.
Slow riding is much more difficult than fast riding and you have to keep alert..You will find people on smaller bikes running rings around you..just let them..it is not a competition..
John.
Clutch control...remember ex 4 and 9? Clutch control with eye control...practice the pause and go...there WAS a reason these were put into the curriculum
They say it's sometimes easier to maintain control at slow speed by feathering the clutch in 2nd, rather than first, as you are not prone to lurch as easily.
thank you to everyone for offering tips and not making me feel stupid. I go for the brc portion of msf in the morning, so gonna ride a toy bike then still gotta wait a week or so for the in-laws to get here with my girl. just got yelled at by the wifey for sitting here on the computer with my helmet on... I swear I'm just trying to break it in
Quote from: draconarmy on July 14, 2013, 18:40:33 PM
thank you to everyone for offering tips and not making me feel stupid. just got yelled at by the wifey for sitting here on the computer with my helmet on... I swear I'm just trying to break it in
You do realise that you pressed the post button and we can all read that don't you.
John.
yeah not afraid to make myself a target seems like there is a lot of pickin on these boards anyway
I thought, from your initial post, that you had already taken the class. Don't dismiss the "little" 250s.. I have 250 Ninjas in my fleet, as well as the 250 V-Stars, Suzuki TU250X injected standards, and some Kawasaki 250KLXs...We train on MODERN machinery...
Quoteyeah not afraid to make myself a target seems like there is a lot of pickin on these boards anyway
no one here does any picking on any ...well except for GreenBarn, 49, petemoss, PC, 45, the rest are really nice unless you pick on Troll and he can throw the odd zinger at you.....perhaps you can take some of the heat off me.......no idea why they are always picking on me.
Quote from: CDNRatMan on July 14, 2013, 21:11:10 PM
no one here does any picking on any ...well except for GreenBarn, 49, petemoss, PC, 45, the rest are really nice unless you pick on Troll and he can throw the odd zinger at you.....perhaps you can take some of the heat off me.......no idea why they are always picking on me.
Oh, I think you have SOME idea..... ;D
And draconarmy, don't let anybody bully you into not trailering your bike, if that's what YOU want to do. Sure, I'd prefer to ride to a bike event, but I can think of several good reasons that pulling it on a trailer would make sense.
What Greebarn says; you have to do what YOU are comfortable with...not what others expect of you.
Ride safe, and have fun.
Remember what Harry Callahan said as he walked off the pier leaving Hal Holbrook in the exploding squad car: "A Man's got to know his limitations".
ok so finished MSF today so I am now fully able to ride by military standards but the in-laws wont be here with the bike for more than a week...... who wants to bring me there drifter to borrow
perhaps borrow, rent a small bike just to practice what you learned.....just a thought
Quote from: draconarmy on July 16, 2013, 18:14:34 PM
ok so finished MSF today so I am now fully able to ride by military standards but the in-laws wont be here with the bike for more than a week...... who wants to bring me there drifter to borrow
I'll trust you to ride one of my bikes, just call round and I'll let you borrow one..
John.
Quote from: John Hopkins on July 17, 2013, 08:51:55 AM
I'll trust you to ride one of my bikes, just call round and I'll let you borrow one..
John.
draconarmy: You may need to do more than TRAILER that rental to get it home.... May be a ferry ride involved too... ;D
yeah guess ill just wait... good news is the FIL's mechanic is building me a custom rear seat and luggage rack.... yes ill post pics as soon as I can
ok so here it is custom rear seat and luggage rack for $350. last pic is mine and FIL's bike all tucked up for the trip from Talladega to me here at fort riley. couple days of riding then it back on the trailer to Sturgis.
That's a trailer load of nice bikes there.
so the wifey and I were sittin in the living room watchin the ole boob tube when we got a knock at the door. open the door and who's standing there, but the mother in-law three days early. hugs all around unloaded the bike and off I whent with the father in-law. long story short, definatly no buyers remorse I love this bike.
They ARE pretty amazing....I've had mine since August of '09, and got it on the road (long story) in March of 10....only 38,000 miles of experience with it, but I'm hooked. I still miss my H-Ds, but when I ride 2500 miles in a week without so much as a hiccup, I don't miss them that much....
right after the short ride I remembered the gopro camera or I would have done a short video of the ride..... may still go for another short ride just cus
You don't need an excuse...just go, the bike will appreciate the exercise.
yeah just waitin for the roads to dry some we had a short shower
So when you say "custom luggage rack", did you have that made or is there an aftermarket source for it. I have been wanting just such an animal for my 1500 and have not found one yet.
My Brother in law has a Ultra Glide and has it all pimped out with all the stuff and all the engine rebuilt and bored polished and all that stuff, and he so wanted to ride my 800, so we swapped for a ride........truly amazing at how much my rear fender does move...lol...but I like my nimble little 800 in around town more then that couch he pushes. But again on the open highway it was nice, fast and quick but then I see a lot of tickets in my future if I had one. But for my riding my needs the 800 is really good. Once I win some cash I'll buy a 99 1500 to compliment the 800.
draconarmy have fun with it and pile the miles on, they love to be ridden. Been out everyday this week just riding....so go for it.
QuoteSo when you say "custom luggage rack", did you have that made or is there an aftermarket source for it. I have been wanting just such an animal for my 1500 and have not found one yet.
my father in-law's mechanic custom welded it and the seat bracket.
Quotedraconarmy have fun with it and pile the miles on, they love to be ridden. Been out everyday this week just riding....so go for it.
I have run through two full tanks of gas on it in just a week, and most of that week has been rainy so riding has been sparse.
Well, he did a real nice job based on the pics. I was thinking that I would have to fabricate my own until I saw yours.....I guess I still will. It should be fun. That way I get exactly what I want.