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Second Look, First Ride

Date:
By Wom Battle

After some research and a few days of building up to the fact that I'd need to ride something soon, I decided to revisit BMW and take the R1150GS for a ride. To say I was a little nervous is an understatement.  I put on some jeans, my sturdiest joggers, grabbed the old but pristine Bellstaff jacket out of the cupboard (the only bit of motorcycle gear I had left) and off I went, ready to go.  Well almost.... when it came to the crunch I realised that I hadn't picked up my wallet and license on the way out the door, so I had to slip back home and grab it.

OK licensed up, life signed away, and with a helmet borrowed from the dealer it was time to throw a leg over the BMW and see if I could still ride. Kevin showed me the controls, gears, brakes, blah blah, I was to nervous to hear any of it.  There was some talk about the blinkers, one on each side that you could turn off and on and you had to cancel them.  I didn't want to hear about blinkers, way to complex.

Bike started, clutch in, first gear found without any problems... here goes (thinking, if I stall this !!&^*!thing I'm going straight home and will never leave the house again).  Here goes, check the traffic, open the throttle and let the clutch out slowly, more revs, moving forward....then.... off I went! No jerking, bouncing or stalling.  The 20 minute ride I had on this machine was not smooth, I messed the blinkers up a few times, left one on for a while, did a couple of hill starts, missed a couple of gears, braked too hard on one occasion when a car pulled up in front of me.  It was fantastic!  The bike however, it wasn't me.

 

Disclaimer: This non commercial website and its content is not affiliated with or associated in any way with the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Harley-Davidson Australia, the Harley-Davidson Owners Group® or any Harley-Davidson® Dealers in Australia.  The use of the terms Harley-Davidson, and Road King® are unavoidable because that's what I own and ride.  This website,  called "My Harley Davidson" , and any opinions or comments expressed herein are purely about my Harley-Davidson Road King ownership experience, a truly great experience at that. I have no intention whatsoever to infringe on any trademarks or copyright ownership of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company or anyone else.


March 2024
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