On Monday I rode the bike the bike to work for the first time. On Tuesday at 5PM I still had sore thigh muscles from trying to hold myself still in on the seat. Enough is enough...I ordered a Corbin seat on Tuesday evening. On Thursday morning it arrived! Now I know that it only had to come from Hollister, but damn!. The seat fits my butt great. There will be no more sliding around (thanks to real leather), and it will be much more comfortable than the stock seat. Unfortunately, it does not really fit the bike very well. It looks like one of the mounting brackets is off, causing the right side of the seat not to locate properly. These guys have a tough return policy because the seats are basically custom, but they are also known for their customer service. This will be an interesting test to see how they respond.
Rode to work
Feb. 6th, 2007 08:21 amI went out and braved the freeways and rode the motorcycle to work yesterday. Overall, it went OK, I came back alive and well.
The Good, the Bad, the Bad, and the Ugly:
Good - The bike ran great. It has good power and handles well. The ride is a bit active, but that's the price I pay for light weight and good gas mileage. Speaking of gas mileage, I had to stop and fill it on my way home. 2.5 Gallons! This should get me 3 round trips (~200 miles) to work!
Bad - It was scarier than I remembered out there on the freeways. I need to speed up and get into the fast lane, the other lanes are just too scary. Also, I need to relax my body a bit. I think next time I will try a route that involves less freeway and more country roads.
Bad - My new riding pants are making it even harder to stay put on the seat. My thighs are still sore today from trying to squeeze the tank to keep myself from sliding forward on the seat.. I am ordering some rubber pads for the sides of the tank which should make this easier. I will most likely order a Corbin leather seat soon also, but I'm trying to avoid spending too much on accessorizing the bike. I could easily go crazy with that!
Ugly - I left home earlier than usual to avoid the worst of the traffic, so it was still pretty cold out. While I was warm enough in all my gear, I did have issues with my visor and/or sunglasses fogging up. I had to leave my visor open a bit to prevent fogging, which resulted in cold wind blowing in my eyes and watery eyes. The wind battled with gravity to deal with the water pooling in my eyes, splashing water onto the inside of my sunglasses, making it difficult to see from one eye. Fixing this is a MUST before trying this ride again!
The Good, the Bad, the Bad, and the Ugly:
Good - The bike ran great. It has good power and handles well. The ride is a bit active, but that's the price I pay for light weight and good gas mileage. Speaking of gas mileage, I had to stop and fill it on my way home. 2.5 Gallons! This should get me 3 round trips (~200 miles) to work!
Bad - It was scarier than I remembered out there on the freeways. I need to speed up and get into the fast lane, the other lanes are just too scary. Also, I need to relax my body a bit. I think next time I will try a route that involves less freeway and more country roads.
Bad - My new riding pants are making it even harder to stay put on the seat. My thighs are still sore today from trying to squeeze the tank to keep myself from sliding forward on the seat.. I am ordering some rubber pads for the sides of the tank which should make this easier. I will most likely order a Corbin leather seat soon also, but I'm trying to avoid spending too much on accessorizing the bike. I could easily go crazy with that!
Ugly - I left home earlier than usual to avoid the worst of the traffic, so it was still pretty cold out. While I was warm enough in all my gear, I did have issues with my visor and/or sunglasses fogging up. I had to leave my visor open a bit to prevent fogging, which resulted in cold wind blowing in my eyes and watery eyes. The wind battled with gravity to deal with the water pooling in my eyes, splashing water onto the inside of my sunglasses, making it difficult to see from one eye. Fixing this is a MUST before trying this ride again!