Triumphrat

dazco · 07-01-2005

Man, what a day. Walked to the bus, walked from bus to train, hour train ride, walk 3 miles. Arrive at dealer and they pull it out and start the engine and give me a quick how to and i'm off. Wierd feeling to jump on a bike and take off into heavey taffic after not riding a bike for over 20 years ! get home and realize it was 70 miles, not 50. The good news is the bike doesn't pop at all as i keep reading, so i may leave the AI alone for a while. Pipes are still as new as the were on the showroom floor...not even slight yellowing or blueing. I think rodburner was right about the double wall pipes not blueing. Or maybe 70 miles isn't enought to even slightly turn them.

Anyway, what a blast ! There are a couple things i'm noticing that bother me a bit. The forward pegs feel awesome, but my legs got tierd on the way home. I'm no spring chicken ya know. Whether i'll get used to that or not i dunno. if not i may look for a kit to bring them back some. the bars i love, but they could be a bit further back. I noticed if i sit up so that my reach only allows my fingertips to reack the grips that seem to be where i'd prefer them. Maybe some longer bars in the future. Also, the pipes.......now i see what you mean by "sewing machine". Not that it really bothers me, but i think i'd prefer some slightly louder and especially more throaty sounding pipes. But the bike rides so good i hate to change anything for fear it'll nstart popping. But we'll see. After all, i just got it. I also see what you mean by the heavy steering at slow speed. But it's only at VERY slow speeds like up to maybe 5 MPH. The gearing is perfect for everything but freeway. And there it's not bad, but i would prefer maybe 1 more tooth, so i may do that. I can afford the loss of pickup because theres more than enough as is

Overall it's a total blast ! The ride home was like a dream. I immediatly waxed it and cleaned up all the leftover shipping gunk the dealer didn't get. I do have a couple questions tho.....the dealer didn't mention anything about break in. And i forgot to ask. What is the proceedure? I was keeping it at 4 grand or less. Is that good or if not what? Also, the steering lock....i can't get it to work. i push the key in and turn counterclockwise but it won't go far enough to get the key out in the locked position. And yes, i turned the fork all the way to the left as left would be sitting on the bike.

Anyway, i'll post a pic later on....gotta go ride some. :-D

Gohm · 07-01-2005

Congrats on the new ride!

I know on the Thrux and Bonnie you have to wiggle the steering column a little bit to get the lock to engage sometimes. As far as break-in goes, there are about a 100 theories as to the "proper" way, ranging from babying it to beating the snot out of it to somewhere in between. The important things are not to lug the engine, do not stay at constant rpm (like highway/freeway normal riding), don't idle for long periods and do not redline the bike. your owner's manual will give you additional tips like rpm guidelines etc. I'd guess depending on what your redline is that 4k should be about right. Have fun, take it easy while the motor & tires bed in, but most of all enjoy and don't fret if you accidentaly pop over rpm briefly...It's a modern bike and will be ok.

Roadglide · 07-01-2005

It's a great feeling!
4k should be fine for break-in.
Ride it carefully until you really get to know it before making changes. IMO
Happy motoring!

Clifford · 07-01-2005

Congratulations RoadGlide!

Motorcycles are the gift that keeps on giving. I've never gotten tired of the wonderful feeling of the road flying by under my feet. There's nothing like it.

You'll find the break-in procedure in your owner's manual. I have a T100, but they probably all say the same thing. Mine says:
First 500 miles:-
Do not use full throttle
Avoid high engine speeds at all times
Avoid riding at one constant engine speed
, whether fast or slow, for a long period of time
Avoid agressive starts, stops and rapid accelerations
, except in an emergency
Do not ride at speeds greater than 3/4 of maximum speed

From 500 to 1000 miles:-
Engine speed can gradually be increased to the rev limit
for short periods of time

The steering lock is finicky. Turn handlebars all the way to left, insert key and turn key to left, push key in and at same time, jiggle steering slightly left to right until you feel the lock engage. Turn key to right and remove key. This last part is the non-intuitive part. What it boils down to is: turn left, push in, turn right, remove key. The key is in the same position when you remove it as it was when you first inserted it. After you do it a couple of times you'll get a feel for when it is engaged.

Again, congratulations!

dazco · 07-01-2005

Yea, i got the steering lock to work finally by doing that. I also had a bit of a scare. I got off it at the garage and left it idling while i moved my car to put it in front of it. When i got back on i left the kick stand down since i only had to move it about 10 feet. The bike kept stalling when i put it in gear. I had no idea till i called the dealer that the kick stand has a sitch that kills the engine when you put it in gear if the stand is down ! Scared the @#$%& outa me. Thought the bike was F'd up. Whew !

Took it around town for it's first official ride other than the ride home and the 1st time i parked it a harly owner came up and oogled it ! You guys were right.....i think i'm gonna be doing more talking than riding ! he loved it tho, and when i told him what it cost he nearly fainted.

Now if i can just figure out how to get it into the house at nite. :-D

dazco · 07-01-2005

Quote:

On 2005-07-01 18:14, Clifford wrote:
Congratulations RoadGlide!

Wait a cotton pickin' minute....am i supposed to give my new bike to roadglide or somethin' ? LOL!

Clifford · 07-01-2005

Hey Dazco! Sorry, I just came in out of the sun and my mind is addled! I spent several hours pulling off my carbs and acquainting myself with them. Must be too much gasoline in the air out there too!

Congratulations Dazco! Nice bike! (It really is a nice choice you lucky dog!) Now go ride!

Roadglide · 07-01-2005

"Wait a cotton pickin' minute....am i supposed to give my new bike to roadglide or somethin' ? LOL!"

Sounds like a great idea to me!

dazco · 07-01-2005

Well, you seen one, you seen em all. But ***.......heres mine...

speedy

DJ · 07-01-2005

wow, that thing is f-ing nice. are those the stock bars? badass.