Got my Wing Home

[MarkB]

I finally took possession of my wing and did my first ride of any duration. My left shin is a little banged up from hitting it on the motor every time I put my foot down. :fiddle: Other than that, I had a great time! I showed it off to a couple friends of mine and they agreed I got a great deal. I'm really stoked! Can't wait to ride to work tomorrow!

Mark

 

[dan filipi]

Pics, we need pics!

 

[slabghost]

It has floor boards? Yes we need pics! No bike rides to work here for a few months.

 

[silverbullet]

Congrats!! :music: :salute: I'm counting the days (4 to be exact) until hopefully I pick up mine.
Yes we need Pictures!! :Egyptian:

 

[MarkB]

Here's the old pics. I'll post some better pics tomorrow when I can snap a few in better light.

Mark

 

[MarkB]

It has floor boards? Yes we need pics! No bike rides to work here for a few months.

No, I have no floor boards.

 

[slabghost]

No floorboards? How are you banging your shin?

 

[AApple]

:clapping: :yahoo: :clapping:
You'll get the hang of it...just takes a few miles, and you'll be able to not bang any part of your body on it! I have to say, I've never hit my shin on the engine, but I have skinned it on my rear boards when putting it on center stand. Dint take me but once to learn that one! :sensored:

Glad ya got it home!! k:

 

[MarkB]

No floorboards? How are you banging your shin?

I think it stems from riding my recumbent bicycle. I want to extend my foot down and forward to stop, so I bang my shin on the motor.

Yeah, I'll get the hang of it. I was doing better as my ride wore on.

I put it up on the center stand in the garage, then had one heckuva time getting it off. It was harder for me to get it off the center stand than it was to get it on! Going to have to practice that!

Good times ahead.

Mark

 

[joedrum]

i havnt got that far ....you cant get it off the stand till you get it on the stand :headscratch: :whip: :hihihi:

 

[GILLT]

Like AApple said, you'll get the hang of it. By the way, nice pics. :good:

 

[bk2valve]

Cool! When I had my 87 1200 Aspencade with the engine guards that stuck out at the back I bruised my shins more than a couple of times...painful!
Brian

 

[carl62cycles]

I finally took possession of my wing and did my first ride of any duration. My left shin is a little banged up from hitting it on the motor every time I put my foot down. :fiddle: Other than that, I had a great time! I showed it off to a couple friends of mine and they agreed I got a great deal. I'm really stoked! Can't wait to ride to work tomorrow!

Mark

Glad your'e happy riding your bike.Your seat could be adjusted backwards two knotches(positions) if i'm correct from the pictures it seems its all the way foward touching the fake tank.That might help a bit with your shin hitting the head.check under the seat on the sides half way down the back sortta.

 

[MarkB]

Glad your'e happy riding your bike.Your seat could be adjusted backwards two knotches(positions) if i'm correct from the pictures it seems its all the way foward touching the fake tank.That might help a bit with your shin hitting the head.check under the seat on the sides half way down the back sortta.[/quote]

It was set all the way forward in the shop, where those pics were taken. I had downloaded the owner's manual and saw how to adjust the seat, so took care of that before I rolled out. I couldn't get it all the way into the back hole until I got it home. Thanks for the suggestion, though!!

I rode the old girl to work today! Because I'm still such a rookie, I stuck to surface streets, so I got a lot of stopping and starting practice. My work is twenty miles, doorstep to doorstep. It was fifty degrees when I left the house and I definitely did not need the liner in the jacket.

My biggest fear was stalling at a stop light, or something silly like that. Nothing like that happened, though..... yet! In fact, the ride in was pretty uneventful.

Coming home, I encountered a little more traffic, which I expected. I made one silly choice in a street and that was interesting. Lots to watch out for! Still, I had no bad surprises other than a couple short notice stops, which I pulled off OK. I do think I have some suspension issues to address, though.

My biggest issue was the fact it got dark on me before I got home and I'm not accustomed to riding in the dark. The windscreen wasn't the easiest to see through, which brings up another point. My windscreen needs to go up, or down just a little. Preferably down. I think I'd prefer to see over the top most of the time. I saw in the owners manual where there is some adjustment, but I couldn't get mine to budge. Honestly, though, I didn't really try all that hard.

All in all, I really and truly enjoyed my ride. I think she'll be a pretty good commuter for me. Mark me down for forty miles today!!

Mark

 

[carl62cycles]

you could get a shorter shield to look over.It's a matter of choice I normally prefer the tallest and that way I dont get stuff flying in my eyes that much it does have its drawbacks at night like you've mentioned.

 

[MarkB]

I'm not going to do anything drastic until I've got a few more miles under my belt. The windscreen can wait; it's not a safety hazard, or anything.

One thing I neglected to mention about my Wing- there was a nice, shiny new set of SS brake lines tucked away in the trunk, still in the package! Guess what my first project will be?!!?

I'm getting ready now to head out the door on my second commute ride on my bike. We are truly blessed with some magnificent riding weather and I'm going to take full advantage while I can and because I can!! Not quite 6 in the morning and it's 50 degrees outside!

Mark

 

[MarkB]

A little bit of an update…. After my last post, I rolled the garage door up and my neighbor was passing by, walking his dog. He had to stop and talk to me about the bike, admiring it and a little surprised it’s an ’83. Long story short, we stood there BSing long enough that I no longer had enough time to take surface streets and make it to work on time.

I thought maybe I would just jump on the freeway and ride it a few miles to make up a little time lost chewing the fat, then get off and go the rest of the way on surface streets. I admit to being a little bit intimidated about getting on the freeway the first time, but as I got up to speed on the on-ramp and jumped right in there, I decided it really wasn’t that big of deal! In fact, it seemed a lot easier than the busy surface streets I had taken home the night before. I got to work in plenty of time and felt a lot more refreshed than I did stopping and going on surface streets.

While the trip in was great, I think I will avoid the freeway on getaway Friday traffic going home. I had promised my wife I would stick to surface streets until I was very sure of myself on the bike and while I’m much more comfortable than I was a couple days ago, I still have a lot to learn. I confessed my sin to mama this morning, but I will keep my word this afternoon.

Mark

 

[dan filipi]

I've found the freeway is much less stressful on my head as well as body.

What helped me the most improving control and confidence is in a large empty parking lot practice slow figure 8's.
I like to take them wide then work my way in tighter and tighter.
With practice I can make full left turns to the steering stops and whip it back to the right into right turn then back left.
Riding the rear brake and feathering the clutch helps a lot to get the turns tight.

Be ready to pick the bike up from going too slow, its happened a couple times

 

[MarkB]

I've found the freeway is much less stressful on my head as well as body.

Seems to be my experience, as well. Still, I promised mama and you know what they say about mama!!

What helped me the most improving control and confidence is in a large empty parking lot practice slow figure 8's.
I like to take them wide then work my way in tighter and tighter.
With practice I can make full left turns to the steering stops and whip it back to the right into right turn then back left.
Riding the rear brake and feathering the clutch helps a lot to get the turns tight.

That's what I figured I would do, too, but I haven't had the time, yet. Out of town company this weekend will keep me grounded, so maybe next weekend I can get some parking lot time. In the meantime, I'm doing the best I can with just utility riding. Today, I had to run some errands over my lunch, so I went out and got a little slow turn exercise in. My MC skills are coming back pretty fast, but I have to remember this is a larger than normal bike.

Be ready to pick the bike up from going too slow, its happened a couple times

I believe you, but I'm hoping to avoid that scenario. :beg: I did see the video about how to pick up a downed bike. Still hoping to avoid having to practice that!

Mark

 

[MarkB]

I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit, but I just love this bike. They are so intuitive! Large, yes, but so manageable in so many ways. I've only ridden this bike three days and I already feel so comfortable on it. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, or a bad thing, but I feel like I'm really getting there!

I still think that bicycle riding has helped me a lot. The slow speed maneuvering and such are pretty much ingrained in me. The weight of the wing is substantially more, of course, but balance is balance. The other part of the equation is the design of the Wing and that's what sets this bike apart, in my mind. The lower center of gravity just makes it work.

I got to spend some time tonight cleaning it up a little. As clean as it was, they really didn't detail it that much in the shop. I'm going to take some brillo pads to the chrome as there are a few specks of surface rust here and there. Not too bad for 29 years, though. I took some Armor All to the seat and it cleaned up better than even I anticipated. Going over the seat that much, I can see that it's in really great shape for the original seat. In fact, I'm having a little bit of a hard time imagining 124000 miles of butt time on it, to tell the truth. I'd think it would be a little more worn. Bottom line; cosmetically, this bike will clean up really well.

The jury is still out on the bike mechanically. I mean, it runs really well, so I have no reason to think there are major problems. I think she's a keeper!

Mark