Cagedodger
Member
Got home with my shiney new XD (and a center stand) a few hours ago. First ride was a 120 mile jaunt through the mountains and it was a little chilly. I took the back roads home so that I'd have a chance to vary the revs often (instead of just staying at 65-70 on the Interstate). I can't wait till the Givi gear I've ordered through a local dealer gets in. There's a bit of a back order on it right now, which sucks because I really wanted to have that windshield for today's ride.
Blue Ridge Powersports let me test ride a standard model equipped with the Honda "tall" windshield and that confirmed that it was entirely too short for me. The ride home gave me plenty of time to think about how I want to get the seat reworked. I also realized that I made a VERY good choice with this bike. It's quite nice!
One of the things that really caught me by surprise is that I can do lock to lock turns with this thing. It's Center of Gravity is so low that it maneuvers like a much smaller bike. I love that! I also found that the engine braking (when manually over ridden with a down shift) is perfectly adequate for steep downhill grades and switchbacks. I didn't go too crazy since it's got brand new tires and week or two old salt on the roads but I really did have a blast getting it home... just not my butt! Ouch!
Blue Ridge Powersports let me test ride a standard model equipped with the Honda "tall" windshield and that confirmed that it was entirely too short for me. The ride home gave me plenty of time to think about how I want to get the seat reworked. I also realized that I made a VERY good choice with this bike. It's quite nice!
One of the things that really caught me by surprise is that I can do lock to lock turns with this thing. It's Center of Gravity is so low that it maneuvers like a much smaller bike. I love that! I also found that the engine braking (when manually over ridden with a down shift) is perfectly adequate for steep downhill grades and switchbacks. I didn't go too crazy since it's got brand new tires and week or two old salt on the roads but I really did have a blast getting it home... just not my butt! Ouch!
