New Rider - New Bike - Delivery
New Bike
Beverly, a new neighbor, said she would like to have a demonstration ride on my Sea to Sky. After two short jaunts, she said she would like to get a machine of her own. :dg2: Financial restraints wouldn’t allow acquiring an RT or F3.
I suggested she check out the Ryker. She found several on Craig’s List, Marketplace, and Cycle Trader. Before she purchased something she had never seen, I took her to Mountain Motorsports in Akron, TN. for a looksee.
The dealership allowed her to straddle different machines and to adjust the handlebars, footpegs and windshield height to suit her size. They followed my lead on recommending attendance at a Motorcycle Safety Foundation riding course. She agreed and signed up.
A few days later, she announced that she had found a used machine at a dealership 225 miles away and asked if I’d accompany her to look at it. Well, duh!
I threw my winter riding gear onto the back seat of her car and away we went.
At the dealership, it became apparent that the bike was going home with us. While she filled out the paperwork and acquired insurance, I started putting on layers of clothes. A salesperson asked, “Are you riding that Ryker home for that lady?”
I nodded.
“Do you realize it’s 37 degrees and getting colder as we speak?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Do you know it’s snowing?”
I nodded.
“Are you nuts?”
I hesitated . . . and nodded. :gaah:
The sales associate was correct. The temperature was dropping. I discovered the Ryker’s lack of heated handgrips, a heated seat and a rider’s increased exposure to the wind makes for a different ride than experienced on my larger machine. A full-face helmet layered clothing covered by wind pants, and an all-weather armored jacket kept me comfortable. I did not have insulated ski or snowmobile gloves. My hands suffered. I stopped at gas stations twice to hold my hands under the hot-air hand dryers in their bathrooms to thaw my tomato red hands.
Other than frozen fingers, the ride was a delight. The Ryker’s light responsive handling, fantastic acceleration, and stability at freeway speeds which ran 15 mph over the posted seventy limits, contributed to a delightful February ride.
Beverly has read the owner’s manual, learned all the controls, starting procedures, and is now anxiously awaiting her class to start next week. Okay, she rode the bike in my backyard, too.
I’m limiting my input. I don’t want her to have to unlearn what I teach wrong.
It will be fun to share rides this summer.
As an aside, I went to MSF school after having ridden for forty years. I’m embarrassed to admit how much I learned in the classes.
