02-01-2017, 09:23 AM
(02-01-2017, 04:18 AM)CB4ME_imp Wrote: .. seems that guys who gave up riding to get married, raise a family, and have a career decided to get back onto a bike assuming that they didn’t lose any skills – except that they did. Motorcycles are also more powerful than they used to be, which can be a surprise for riders who haven’t been on one in awhile.
The main reason I downsized to a 471cc bike. Less opportunity to get in trouble.
This sounds familiar. After a 25 year hiatus from riding, I attended a vintage motorcycle rally. The buzz came back. I decided to buy a Triumph Bonneville until I saw the $13,000 base price. Bonnies were $1300 out-the-door when my buddies rode them in the late 60s.
I looked around and bought a CB500XA for less than $6800 out-the-door. I was concerned that a 500cc bike might not be powerful enough. But I was wrong, it was surprizing quick.
As I was not use the 6-speed close ratio transmission and instant response of the fuel injection, I hobby horsed out of the dealers lot. That was embarrassing, but not dangerous.
That happened two days later when I went to make a left turn at a city intersection. As I approached the car at stop sign on my left started to move forward and stopped when they saw me. I snapped the throttle off when they moved, and back on when they stopped. The bike immediately leaped forward towards the curb. Fortunately there was no one parked there as I wobbled awkwardly around corner. I learned to use second gear after that scare to smooth out turns at intersections.
It took a number of rides before I was comfortable and riding smoothly. I am sure there will be a new learning curve when I get my CB1100 EX a few months from now. The EX is 100 pounds heavier and has twice the horsepower. I'll also have to watch the fuel gauge, as I know it won't get 81 miles to the Imperial gallon like the CB500.