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Longer ride, better day

1K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  spetro 
#1 ·
This may be long but I had a nice 3 hour ride today and had some observations.

First is practice makes perfect. As you may know, I’m back in the saddle after nearly 20 years. Coming from motocross to crotch-rockets and Honda Magnas, the VStar 950 seemed wide and heavy. I found right away that even the basic skills needed to be revisited so I spent my first 2 tanks of gas looking for slow curvy backroads so I could just get myself used to riding again. Today I put in 145 miles and found myself finally, really enjoying the bike. I felt like I was an extension of the bike rather than felling like I was trying to tame it or just survive the ride. Wether I was leaning back in cruise mode or sitting up chasing curves I was in more control than I’d been before.

Second, believe it or not, cruising around slow may be more difficult than riding faster. The 950 is AGILE!!! I can flick it around, avoid road conditions and put it right where I want it whenever I need it. Never felt that way until today. At speed the bike is fluid and super steerable. I was having a blast.

Third, you’ve heard it a million times and I can confirm, you will go where your eyes are looking. There’s a great video on YouTube actually titled like “what you don’t want to do on the dragon” and he stares down a guardrail and sideswipes it. The bike followed his eyes. I really focused on looking down field and deciding where I wanted the bike to go, often times picking a spot in the road and hitting that mark.

Last but not least, this bike continues to impress me. It’s so smooth and runs so good. Shifting is easy using heal toe or just toe shifting. My hands started to hurt toward the end of the ride from me being out of shape but not from vibration or fighting the bike. It’s comfortable. Yeah I have an aftermarket seat but I only had to shift around a few times and as long as the back support is there I can ride all day. Fuel economy, I got to 140 miles (that’s when the light came on last tank) and was sure the gas light was going to come on so I stopped for gas. I barely forced 2.5 gallons in the tank! What kind of mileage am I getting??? Wow. Then there’s the sound. Oh man.... the V&H pipe sound so good when I’m cruising. I got into some hills and twisty and just kept it in 5th and rolled into it.........pure music to my ears.

If there ever was a doubt that getting back into riding wouldn’t be the best decision, those doubts are gone. Happy riding all!
 
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#3 ·
I felt the same way when I got my 1100 a couple of years ago. And KCW is right - that smile is permanent. I does fade in winter but that first ride in the spring brings it right back again.

My hands were hurting too after a long ride. I found I was gripping a little tighter than I needed to (at first) and relaxing my grip helped. But what worked best for me was switching to Kuryakn ISO grips. So much better than stock and well worth the $100.
 
#4 ·
So Preacher...you wanna come jin us in Sept????

Toymaker
 
#5 ·
If hands are hurting after a few more rides might want to rotate bars back or forward a little. A slight adjustment is sometimes all it takes for a more natural riding position. We are not all built the same so minor adjustments are sometimes needed. Just don't make any changes until you are sure that holding on too tight isn't causing the issue.
 
#8 ·
putting a driver's backrest on the seat takes away the need to feel like you must have a death grip on the handlebars when going fast

also try holding your hand right up against the base of the throttle section and keep your index finger pointed out and resting on the base of the brake level. Use your finger and grip on the throttle to hold the throttle steady, not your wrist / forearm /elbow.

and while you are doing this keep your wrists straight so the tendons are straight and your blood can flow to your hands.
 
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