Author Topic: Who Here Lives Near The Tail Of The Dragon? (Read 271 times)

kmh364 · « **Reply #15 on:** September 12, 2007, 06:05:00 AM »

Thanks Gary.

I just got the Duc on Fri, so I'm still coming to terms with it. I've been riding a 1000# H-D barcalounger on wheels for the past 9yrs, so a

bsee · « **Reply #16 on:** September 12, 2007, 09:43:33 AM »

Kevin, then you know the first miles on a new bike are a more dangerous time for even the most experienced rider. Get a bunch of hours in before you go. No way do you want to be thinking about where or how responsive your controls are while you're spinning through Deals Gap.

The bike has to be ready for a ride like this as well. Get through at least the first service so the machine is running smooth and reliably then scrape the pegs a bit in some safe environments to scrub the tires in as far as you might need them to grip.

Finally, if you're going to be there a while, take a slow pass down and back to get familiar with the road conditions and look for any sandy road surfaces, potholes, or particularly scary combination turns. Safety first!

When we last rode the Gap, it was two up on a fully loaded ST1300. That kept the pace fun enough to elicit a few screams through the headset, but significantly less than suicidal.

kmh364 · « **Reply #17 on:** September 12, 2007, 11:06:30 AM »

Understood. Statistics show an unfamiliar bike catches both inexperienced and experienced riders alike out a disproportionate amount of the time.

FWIW, I recommend to my students that they take the ERC as a refresher at least every-other year (preferably at season's start) and/or everytime they get a new bike for the above reason.

The bike has about 900mi on it now and has been dealer-serviced @ the 600mi mark (1st recommended interval). It was a demo, so the bike is well shaken out. I got a good feel for the bike this weekend with the riding I did. I deliberately brought it to the range so that I could ride all the ERC exercises on it to try and find the limits at reasonable speeds and in a controlled enviro closed to regular traffic. The tires have no chicken strips (mold nubs) left, as the rear tire has wear to within 1/4 of each outer edge.

As for the Dragon, I'm no hero or Valentino-wannabee (or is that Stoner-wannabee...it is a Duc, LOL!). I know my limits and I'm not looking to set the lap record there. I'll be down there for nearly a week, so I'll have plenty of time to acclimate myself and I can slowly wick-up the speed as confidence and conditions allow.

bsee · « **Reply #18 on:** September 12, 2007, 12:14:43 PM »

I am a high mileage guy and many of us subscribe to a different way of breaking in bikes than most of the manufacturer recommendations. Out of your control on a demo bike, but first service for me comes between 50-100 miles. Those first engine rotations will result in metal shavings in the oils as parts get used to rubbing against each other. On some bikes, the oil pulled after 50 miles looks like someone dumped a packet of glitter into it. Same thing for the rear end on a shaft drive, though it's usually not quite so ugly. The 500-600 mile service is when we switch over to synthetic oils.

Glad to hear that you are practicing what you preach. Tight turns on the aging blacktop of the typical MSF range will usually do a decent job of scrubbing in the sidewalls. Have a great trip!

kmh364 · « **Reply #19 on:** September 13, 2007, 04:14:31 PM »

You're preaching to the choir, Bob, LOL! In my prior life I was a professionally-trained class-A HD Diesel/Automotive Mechanic (5yrs in the commercial sector, many others privately for myself). I always change my oil in every new engine by the 100mi mark. Then I go with the 500-1000mi change then every 3500-5000 thereafter. Unfortunately, due to the immutable laws of supply/demand economics, I had to go with the demo or wait until Nov. Not a normal practice for me as I prefer new out-of-the-crate/no-body's *ss on my seat bikes. Plus taking delivery of a naked bike during the beginning of the long, cold NE-Corridor winter season didn't make much sense to me either...at least I can enoy the best riding weather of the year for a couple of months before having to take out the Gerbing's heated gear or park the thing until the thaw.

FWIW, timing is everything. When I was in the market in '99 for my first H-D they were in such high demand and such short supply that you had to wait 3mos-2rs. to get the bike you wanted and often had to pay well in excess of MSRP. This time I wanted a Duc and an unobtainable one at that, so it was MSRP and a wait (I did get a few hundred off and the first service free beacause it was a demo). Now H-D dealers are stuck with bikes and a local guy is offering $3K off of MSRP on '07 Baggers (All Touring family models in stock)! That makes a new $18k Road King a better buy than my $14k Duc! Don't forget all the 'extra fees, like prep/freight, paint/wheel/alarm options, Tax/title/tags, etc.! My Duc soared to thousands over MSRP after all was said and done.

Well, as a wise man once said: It's only money and I'll make more! You truly only do live once!

And yes, I do practice what I preach. It doesn't make much sense to me to go thru all the time/trouble/expense to become a professional MSF Rider Coach and then not set a proper example for my students and the public at large. Believe you me, nobody is an RC for the money...if you needed to teach to eat, you'd be a goner for sure, LOL!