OT - is this my mid-life crisis?

Tom_S

Why I wait so long to do this? I hadn't ridden a motorcycle in over 30 years. Back then it was dirt bikes - nothing even close to this 400+ lbs. I wasn't even sure if I could ride a bike with my back problems. But my son was pushing me to buy one and found this 90 minutes North. The perfect starter bike, the price was great and it looked really clean in the pictures. So we rented a trailer and picked it up on Saturday. 

PWRRYD

Good choice!  Those Shadow's are very fun to ride.    750 or 1100?

rjj45

Nice bike! - but I thought a starter bike was something like a 250 or 350 cc bike.

Tom_S

It's a 2000 VLX600 and it is a little bigger than I wanted to start on. But it doesn't have crazy power so maybe I won't feel the need to upgrade for at least a few years. $1500 - never dropped with low miles - hard to say no to that. It'll need tires and has a small fuel leak, just like my son's 2002 did. New petcock & accelerator pump rebuild kit should be here in a week. I've never ridden a street bike, so this has sure been a learning experience getting that weight to go where I want it. It's good to have a little adrenaline & fear again at this point in my life!

PWRRYD

Keep your head on a swivle and assume every car you see doesn't see you, even if their eyes are looking right at you.

Tom_S

PWRRYD said:

Keep your head on a swivle and assume every car you see doesn't see you, even if their eyes are looking right at you.

I definitely will! My son & I are taking an MSF course in a few weeks and I'm guessing much of that will be defensive riding. I covered a few fatal motorcycle accidents as a TV news photog, so maybe that's why I never got a bike back then. And that was before smartphones really existed. Now it's like the wild west just driving to work. Every 4th driver is texting or checking Facebook. I've always wished I could shoot them with water based paintballs, just to get them to look up for a second.

Gowa

Well, you chose a good one. I used to ride a Suzuki 850 shaft drive touring bike. Lot's of fun. The Shadow is known for low maintenance.

Wolf

If that's your driveway, you are awfully close to a train-track, or was this just a pretty stop to take a good photo?

Just curious, congrats on your crisis!

Tom_S

Gowa said:

Well, you chose a good one. I used to ride a Suzuki 850 shaft drive touring bike. Lot's of fun. The Shadow is known for low maintenance.

I bought a summer riding jacket at the Honda dealer around the corner I think his words were - "That bike will run forever." 

Wolf said:

If that's your driveway, you are awfully close to a train-track, or was this just a pretty stop to take a good photo?

Just curious, congrats on your crisis!

That's the little town where we picked it up. The seller's house was about 100ft from the tracks. I can't even imagine sleeping when a train comes by and your windows are open.

Wolf

I'm about a mile from the nearest tracks, and even then it's sometimes too close.