New Member from SC!
#1
10-06-2016, 01:09 AM
New Member from SC!
Hi guys, looking forward to seeing everything in this forum! A little about me...
SWF, living in SC. Old (?) rider, since I just turned 49. I started riding with my Dad, back in the day. Continued riding with my (now ex-) husband, and finally one day I turned to him and said, "I am not going to spend the rest of my life looking at the back of your head."
Bought the bike with no clue in my head that a 1999 stock Sportster 883 was about the worst bike I could have bought as a beginner...oops. Went to a rally over the Parkway, then took my safety course the next weekend, during which I found out all the ways I should have died on that trip. I am forever grateful that she decided to give this fool girl a break and I survived.
Got great advice from an instructor, after telling her that I wasn't comfortable on the bike, and all I was getting from other people was, "Give it little time, you'll get used to the bike." SHE told me, "Forget everything anyone else says...you do what YOU need to do to take control of that bike." So that's what I did. Picked up the manual for my bike, and we learned together.
Mind you, the height and top-heaviness of a stock 883 Sportster was a problem because I was 5'3" and about 140 lbs. If I wore high-heeled boots, I could just reach the ground with my toes. It had sport handlebars...I basically had to assume the position of a sportbike rider to reach them lol.
I did my homework and got to it. Progressive Suspension Shocks on the back to slam it down 3", their kit for the front shocks dropped it another 2" in the front. Curved risers in the front with buckhorn handlebars to move everything back so I could cruise comfortably. Since I could lean back now, I went ahead and put forward controls on it too...I loved being able to kick back like I saw the guys do on the big bikes.
I haven't ridden that much over the past couple of years due to nerve damage in both legs and osteoarthritis in the knees. It affects my knees pretty badly when I have to stop. I've been threatening to find a sidecar for it, or put training wheels on it so my balance won't be such an issue. Any help or encouragement and info on all this would be helpful, because it really does bother me that I'm not riding. She's safe in my Florida room...been thru some pretty major upheavals over the past 5 years, but we're still kickin' it.
SWF, living in SC. Old (?) rider, since I just turned 49. I started riding with my Dad, back in the day. Continued riding with my (now ex-) husband, and finally one day I turned to him and said, "I am not going to spend the rest of my life looking at the back of your head."
Bought the bike with no clue in my head that a 1999 stock Sportster 883 was about the worst bike I could have bought as a beginner...oops. Went to a rally over the Parkway, then took my safety course the next weekend, during which I found out all the ways I should have died on that trip. I am forever grateful that she decided to give this fool girl a break and I survived.
Got great advice from an instructor, after telling her that I wasn't comfortable on the bike, and all I was getting from other people was, "Give it little time, you'll get used to the bike." SHE told me, "Forget everything anyone else says...you do what YOU need to do to take control of that bike." So that's what I did. Picked up the manual for my bike, and we learned together.
Mind you, the height and top-heaviness of a stock 883 Sportster was a problem because I was 5'3" and about 140 lbs. If I wore high-heeled boots, I could just reach the ground with my toes. It had sport handlebars...I basically had to assume the position of a sportbike rider to reach them lol.
I did my homework and got to it. Progressive Suspension Shocks on the back to slam it down 3", their kit for the front shocks dropped it another 2" in the front. Curved risers in the front with buckhorn handlebars to move everything back so I could cruise comfortably. Since I could lean back now, I went ahead and put forward controls on it too...I loved being able to kick back like I saw the guys do on the big bikes.
I haven't ridden that much over the past couple of years due to nerve damage in both legs and osteoarthritis in the knees. It affects my knees pretty badly when I have to stop. I've been threatening to find a sidecar for it, or put training wheels on it so my balance won't be such an issue. Any help or encouragement and info on all this would be helpful, because it really does bother me that I'm not riding. She's safe in my Florida room...been thru some pretty major upheavals over the past 5 years, but we're still kickin' it.
#2
10-06-2016, 01:27 AM
Moderator
Welcome to the H-D Forums from Idaho ! ENJOY !
You might like thiis forum also:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/the-q...kers-only-139/
You might like thiis forum also:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/the-q...kers-only-139/
Last edited by sloufoot; 10-06-2016 at 01:31 AM.
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#3
10-06-2016, 01:28 AM
Seasoned HDF Member
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10-06-2016, 01:32 AM
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#7
10-06-2016, 06:58 AM
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#10
10-06-2016, 09:36 AM
Big Kahuna HDF Member
