E
Erratic
Guest
Back in the saddle after more than 10 years sans moto! I've appreciated the info I've gleaned from my few visits here, so I thought I'd say thanks and hello.
I pretty much decided on an oilhead from the beginning. For a while I considered a GS boxer (any age) or smaller dual-sport, but my frequent solo trips of 300-600 miles, typically combining interstate, Ozark twisties, and other pavement steered me back to the RT. So after 6 weeks of lurking on eBay and crawling Craigslist, visiting my local dealer and other dealers' websites, calling people from the Hudson River valley to the Salt Lake to talk about their bikes, I'm happy to have found a pristine 2000 RT with just 15K on the odo within a 2.5-hour drive instead of a three-day journey on a bike I hadn't yet met.
The internet searching/shopping experience was an interesting twist. I'd purchased a vehicle found on the internet before, but the truck I chose was near enough that I could drive to see it with a mechanic during lunch. 10 weeks ago, I found myself prepared to fly practically anywhere in North America, wagering the cost of the plane ticket against the specter of in-person dissatisfaction, to pick up the right bike.
In truth, the idea of the 2- or 3-day ride back to the midwest appealed to me at first. Most sellers I contacted had dealers or mechanics who vouched for their customers' bikes, but it would have been a bad time and place to have a problem with a new (to me) bike. Furthermore, for someone just getting back on the bike, those would have been some long days, and given that it was 100 degrees from NYC to Denver the weekend I picked up my bike, the 150 miles back home, along with the 150 miles I rode each of next two days, was plenty!
The RT has more fairing than any other bike I've owned. Nice quiet cockpit, and the upper windshield setting puts the flow edge just above my helmet. The trade-off, as I found during that 100-degree weekend, was that the flow edge was just above my helmet! And just beyond my elbows and knees. And just above my shoulders. I'm not complaining, though. I get enough breeze and it's a very comfortable ride.
My last bike was a 1981 Moto Guzzi LeMans CX1000 with plenty of miles and a few track days. What a flywheel. Wish I still had it. I've ridden various boxers and bricks, a VT500 Ascot (my first street bike back in the early 80s--a nice plain bike!), and sportbikes by Honda and Kawa. And, six weeks after picking up the RT, I still want that dual-sport. And maybe something for track day...and that's all I need.
And this lamp. The RT, a dual-sport, a track bike, this paddle game and the remote control and the lamp and that's all I need.
Cheers and good roads,
Eric
I pretty much decided on an oilhead from the beginning. For a while I considered a GS boxer (any age) or smaller dual-sport, but my frequent solo trips of 300-600 miles, typically combining interstate, Ozark twisties, and other pavement steered me back to the RT. So after 6 weeks of lurking on eBay and crawling Craigslist, visiting my local dealer and other dealers' websites, calling people from the Hudson River valley to the Salt Lake to talk about their bikes, I'm happy to have found a pristine 2000 RT with just 15K on the odo within a 2.5-hour drive instead of a three-day journey on a bike I hadn't yet met.
The internet searching/shopping experience was an interesting twist. I'd purchased a vehicle found on the internet before, but the truck I chose was near enough that I could drive to see it with a mechanic during lunch. 10 weeks ago, I found myself prepared to fly practically anywhere in North America, wagering the cost of the plane ticket against the specter of in-person dissatisfaction, to pick up the right bike.
In truth, the idea of the 2- or 3-day ride back to the midwest appealed to me at first. Most sellers I contacted had dealers or mechanics who vouched for their customers' bikes, but it would have been a bad time and place to have a problem with a new (to me) bike. Furthermore, for someone just getting back on the bike, those would have been some long days, and given that it was 100 degrees from NYC to Denver the weekend I picked up my bike, the 150 miles back home, along with the 150 miles I rode each of next two days, was plenty!
The RT has more fairing than any other bike I've owned. Nice quiet cockpit, and the upper windshield setting puts the flow edge just above my helmet. The trade-off, as I found during that 100-degree weekend, was that the flow edge was just above my helmet! And just beyond my elbows and knees. And just above my shoulders. I'm not complaining, though. I get enough breeze and it's a very comfortable ride.
My last bike was a 1981 Moto Guzzi LeMans CX1000 with plenty of miles and a few track days. What a flywheel. Wish I still had it. I've ridden various boxers and bricks, a VT500 Ascot (my first street bike back in the early 80s--a nice plain bike!), and sportbikes by Honda and Kawa. And, six weeks after picking up the RT, I still want that dual-sport. And maybe something for track day...and that's all I need.
And this lamp. The RT, a dual-sport, a track bike, this paddle game and the remote control and the lamp and that's all I need.
Cheers and good roads,
Eric
)
