Hello,
I've lurked in this bulleting board for some time now and decided I'd post something once I had something to contribute.
Well let me say I'm a newbie out in the world of motorcycling. I've ridden four wheelers and a crappy dirt bike, but nothing road worthy. I bought my cycle in early may when the weather here in Michigan just started to break. It was in the paper for $2800 obo with low miles. I took a friend who is a "bike guy" having owned over 10 cycles I figured he knew what was good and what was crap in the used market. I had set my sights on the Savage because of the good things I've read on various sites and the lower maintenance (ahem, all things need maintenance!). I originally wanted a Buell Blast but after reading some posts that it was almost impossible to keep a good running engine due to its placement in the frame.
Anyways I did a once over on the bike (a good read is the used bike buying guide that's available on the net). It had only 1400 miles on it (now 1410, yeah I know that's alot of circles around the lot! Ahem, more on that later). I had my friend take it for a ride as he has his endorsement and his comment was that is was a torquey little *itch. He's a big guy (so am I) and drives a Bandit sport bike, so that's quite a complement. Needless to say the silver and chrome kept saying "take me home!" Not to mention the tires still had their new tire nubs on them. Obviously the first owner just got his wheels under him and the Harley Upgrade put the Savage in the corner of the garage. (And $2550 later it was on the way to my home.)
Anyways I've made an upgrade to the bike, which is a Cycle Nation medium tint shield (put it on today). I did a once over again on the bike adjusted the shocks, ect, ect basically made the thing ready to ride for when I get my license in three weeks. So I'm sitting there admiring my work and thought to myself. "Hey, you could hop on it........" Being that I didn't want to look like a total noob on the driving range I decided to push it three feet into the church parking lot next door.
Pulled the choke, started second try, eased it off after 20 seconds and let it idle for another 30. (Did I mention that it was about 15 years since I hopped on anything remotely like the Savage? ) Let the clutch out and eased on the throttle (started a touch shaky as I didn't know the friction zone). Zipped up first gear and made my first loop (a very wide one). That wasn't so bad, I thought to myself and then went down to the narrow end by the alley. Made a tight U-turn then turned back to the wide section of the lot. This time I opened the thottle (kick in the pants later I was in second and about 35 mph). I was thinking this cycle would be like driving a little wimpy econo car. Not bad at all! Infact I'd say it was great. I spent another 30 minutes doing figure eights and trips around the lot putting on a quick 10 miles on the bike.
I just can't wait to get out on the road! I've already planned a 4th of July trip down to Fort Wayne IN.
Here's my list of Gear and Equipment for those curious:
LS 650 Savage year 2002, color silver
black leather saddle bags with silver studs and buckles
cycle nationion medium tint shield (fits pretty easy!)
Clear cycle dry bag inserts (gotta keep my clothes dry in the rain!)
Rider Gear:
Teknik Chicane Jacket
Shoie RF-1000 helmet (I tried on every brand and this one actually fits the way it should)
Well that's the basics of my first experience. If wasn't for that whole needing an endorsement thing I'd be out and about on the Savage and not sitting here typing this.
Safe riding,
Roadie
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