My first Ride on my Wide Glide
#11
08-08-2007, 06:18 AM
#12
08-08-2007, 06:53 AM
Club Member
RE: My first Ride on my Wide Glide
ORIGINAL: SJRACER
WOW what a rush! I wish I had done this years ago. I LOVE My wide glide. First the back ground. I posted in the new users forum and thanks for all the response. I am in the process of retiring from the Air Force. On terminal leave now as a matter of fact. Anyway never rode before but was stationed in Germany (just got back 8 days ago) and orderd a 2007 Wide Glide a year ago as a retirement gift. Fast forward to this week. Went to the Riders Edge in Meredith New Hampshire. AWESOME class. I highly recommend it. Anyway the wife and I both passed and got the motorcycle endorsement on the license and picked her up today. I will post a pick when I figure out how to. She is black cherry pearl. I got the leather saddle bags, medium/low sissy bar with luggage rack, engine protection bar and detachable windshield. So today we went to get her. The wife of course drove the car back. Had my brother in law with me, he has an 01 Ultra Classic. First, I had never ridden before the class. I took her around the parking lot a few times to get the feel. Right turns, left turns stopping, starting. Then we took off. Rough at first, I had a hard time getting a smooth start while taking a turn. Different feeling from the buel blast we used during the class. Anyway she is smooth as silk. I love it. Had a 50 mile ride home with no incident. Then went for a couple short rides, then a trip to an empty parking lot to practice starting, stopping and turning. Then took her for another ride to the store my Brother in law owns on York Beach Maine. Great ride. Nice slow and easy. Did much better on the starting, stopping and turns. What a rush.I wish I had done this years ago. So smooth and the power she has is awesome. I am not a speed demon though. Slow and easy. I have stuck to the speed limit. Just wanted to share my experience with all.
A couple questions. Upon inspection, the battery cover lower bolt is gone. Not sure if it was ever there or came out. Has anyone heard of this? I will be calling the dealer tommorow to get a replacement one. Next question, the wide glide doesnt have a Tac. Is this a concern? Should I worry about over reving the engine? I stuck pretty much to what the book says for upshifting and downshifting for the most part, at least within a mile an hour or so. Just wondering. I have a few things to work on still...mostly taking sharp corners, and taking a right turn while starting. I notice I have to lean and turn the handle bars a little. Different feeling than the smaller bike used for the class, but I will get it down. Stopping is easy as pie. I am a very safe, defensive driver. I pretend that nobody else on the road can see me at all. I have been giving myself a good cusion between me and cars in front of me. I ended up putting about 104 miles on her today. Actually 94 cause she had 10 when I picked her up. WOW what an awesome bike. Like I said my only concern other than my limitations as far as my experience is that bolt that isnt there. Has anyone heard of this? Should I be concerned? We looked and didnt see anything else out of place. All seems to be well.
Thanks in advance for the response.
Steve
Retired Air Force and Proud Of It!
WOW what a rush! I wish I had done this years ago. I LOVE My wide glide. First the back ground. I posted in the new users forum and thanks for all the response. I am in the process of retiring from the Air Force. On terminal leave now as a matter of fact. Anyway never rode before but was stationed in Germany (just got back 8 days ago) and orderd a 2007 Wide Glide a year ago as a retirement gift. Fast forward to this week. Went to the Riders Edge in Meredith New Hampshire. AWESOME class. I highly recommend it. Anyway the wife and I both passed and got the motorcycle endorsement on the license and picked her up today. I will post a pick when I figure out how to. She is black cherry pearl. I got the leather saddle bags, medium/low sissy bar with luggage rack, engine protection bar and detachable windshield. So today we went to get her. The wife of course drove the car back. Had my brother in law with me, he has an 01 Ultra Classic. First, I had never ridden before the class. I took her around the parking lot a few times to get the feel. Right turns, left turns stopping, starting. Then we took off. Rough at first, I had a hard time getting a smooth start while taking a turn. Different feeling from the buel blast we used during the class. Anyway she is smooth as silk. I love it. Had a 50 mile ride home with no incident. Then went for a couple short rides, then a trip to an empty parking lot to practice starting, stopping and turning. Then took her for another ride to the store my Brother in law owns on York Beach Maine. Great ride. Nice slow and easy. Did much better on the starting, stopping and turns. What a rush.I wish I had done this years ago. So smooth and the power she has is awesome. I am not a speed demon though. Slow and easy. I have stuck to the speed limit. Just wanted to share my experience with all.
A couple questions. Upon inspection, the battery cover lower bolt is gone. Not sure if it was ever there or came out. Has anyone heard of this? I will be calling the dealer tommorow to get a replacement one. Next question, the wide glide doesnt have a Tac. Is this a concern? Should I worry about over reving the engine? I stuck pretty much to what the book says for upshifting and downshifting for the most part, at least within a mile an hour or so. Just wondering. I have a few things to work on still...mostly taking sharp corners, and taking a right turn while starting. I notice I have to lean and turn the handle bars a little. Different feeling than the smaller bike used for the class, but I will get it down. Stopping is easy as pie. I am a very safe, defensive driver. I pretend that nobody else on the road can see me at all. I have been giving myself a good cusion between me and cars in front of me. I ended up putting about 104 miles on her today. Actually 94 cause she had 10 when I picked her up. WOW what an awesome bike. Like I said my only concern other than my limitations as far as my experience is that bolt that isnt there. Has anyone heard of this? Should I be concerned? We looked and didnt see anything else out of place. All seems to be well.
Thanks in advance for the response.
Steve
Retired Air Force and Proud Of It!
Bolt missing, not unheard of, but dealer will replace. The cover does has a little detent that might keep it on when riding, but I would remove it just incase.
Tach is not needed. The Wide Glide will let you know if you are lugging it or reving too high. When you have it at teh right RPM it is smooth as silk. Once you break it in and can hit 6th gear you will be amazed at how smooth it is doing 75mph in 6th.
#15
08-08-2007, 07:15 AM
RE: My first Ride on my Wide Glide
Wow,
The response from you guys is awesome. I was proud to server and will ALWAYS proudly display an Air Force flag at my house. I am a very strong supporter of our Military! The glide is great. I love it. Raining today so I cant ride. Gotta rinse her off though. After riding down at the beach, she needs it
I have to wash all that nasty salt air off. I will go to one of the local dealers today to try to get a bolt. Like I said, my biggest concern right now is starting her out in a turn. Like a right turn from an intersection. Other than that, good to go. Im gonna find another empty parking lot soon and practice, practice, practice. Panic stops, Right turns, Left turns, and more Right turns. Also gotta practice that dreaded U turn. No way I could have passed the test on my glide for that one. I am glad that I had the buel to use!!! Thanks again for the support.
Steve
The response from you guys is awesome. I was proud to server and will ALWAYS proudly display an Air Force flag at my house. I am a very strong supporter of our Military! The glide is great. I love it. Raining today so I cant ride. Gotta rinse her off though. After riding down at the beach, she needs it
I have to wash all that nasty salt air off. I will go to one of the local dealers today to try to get a bolt. Like I said, my biggest concern right now is starting her out in a turn. Like a right turn from an intersection. Other than that, good to go. Im gonna find another empty parking lot soon and practice, practice, practice. Panic stops, Right turns, Left turns, and more Right turns. Also gotta practice that dreaded U turn. No way I could have passed the test on my glide for that one. I am glad that I had the buel to use!!! Thanks again for the support.Steve
#16
08-08-2007, 09:27 AM
RE: My first Ride on my Wide Glide
Congrats on the new ride! And thank you for the years of service, you will enjoy your retirement riding for sure.
[sm=biker2.gif]
Sounds like you are getting the hang of it, don't worry what others may think, just ride with what makes you comfortable. U-turns will be a piece of cake once you get used to your bike.
[sm=biker2.gif]
Sounds like you are getting the hang of it, don't worry what others may think, just ride with what makes you comfortable. U-turns will be a piece of cake once you get used to your bike.
#17
08-08-2007, 10:01 AM
Club Member
RE: My first Ride on my Wide Glide
Make sure that when you are starting out and it is in a turn to feather the clutch. If the engine stalls be prepared to pull in the clutch to keep it from falling over. Remember from the riding class, stopping when leaned over in a turn can be a bad thing. Once you loose momentum the bike will immediately fall over to the side it is leaning.
#18
08-08-2007, 04:01 PM
RE: My first Ride on my Wide Glide
Thanks for the tip. I did figure out feathering the clutch. It does help. I also notice that with this, you have to lean and turn the bars just a bit. With the buel, it was all lean. A Harley deserves that extra bit. She is a nice ride though. It cleared up for a couple hours. I got about a 25 mile ride in. I stayed on back roads. Practiced turns. Getting better. Damm she is nice. Again you all rock. Thanks for the tips. Keep em coming. And you all are right, I stay in my comfort zone. You leave that comfort zone and the potential for an accident sky rockets. Safety first. Geez, sounding like I am back in the Air Force! Seriously though Safety First is a MUST on a bike.
Steve
Steve
#19
08-08-2007, 05:20 PM
#20
08-08-2007, 06:16 PM
