Hello from Oregon

[bluekat]

My name is Kari, and I'm new here and new to motorcycles, sort of. Back in the early 80's my husband Ron and I had a kawasaki 400. I rode on back and we puttered around during the warm weather. Sold the bike when we had our first child. 2 kids and 20 some years later, Ron has bought a 82 Suzuki GS850G for comuting and for fun. I was fully plannning to just hop on the back again, but one day we stopped in at the only motorcycle place open on a Sunday, a HD store, and I made the mistake of sitting on one small sportster, & hey! This is kind of nice!!

Tomorrow I start my BRT class that will hopefully lead to an endorsement. This past weekend we put over 100 miles on the suzuki riding around the area. I was pretty nervous at first, but by the end of the weekend, I relaxed and just had a blast. Didn't want to stop, but Ron's hands were sore ( the previous owner had removed the padding on the grips) and I was chilled to the point I could no longer ignore the cold. I can't wait to go out again.

We'll be looking for a bike for me. Not the sportster that started this whole thing, but something older and tamer. Ron is already comuting with the Suzuki. We want to do longer rides on the weekends and some light touring when the riding skills are up to snuff.

Nice to meet you all!
kari

[busa-boy33]

Hey there Kari







Happy to have you here with us.

[kraig205]

Welcome to the forum, Kari

[tricker]

[robertc729]

[Thundurburd]

Welcome Kari.

This is a good place to pick up some information about bikes and riding safely. And in addition to that we have a lot of fun.

[SNAFU]

to M-J Kari!

[Uncle B]

A TEXAS

HOWDY " " NEIGHBOR


Oh what a great trip!!!

[bluekat]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!!

I had my first basic rider class tonight. Just classroom stuff going over the basics, but all new stuff to me. Saturday and Sunday we actually get on the bikes...and it looks like it might be sunny instead of rainy after all.

kari

[ORBrit]

Hi Kari,

I'm in Eugene - where are you in Oregon?

Team Oregon have excellent instructors - soak it up and hope the weather holds for you this weekend.

My wife learned to ride about a year ago and progressed from a Rebel 250 to a Kawasaki Vulcan 500 LTD. It is an excellent bike, and has helped her improve her skills and gain confidence. It should last her for years to come.

[TWALKER]

[bluekat]

We're about 40 miles north - Lebanon. My husband picked up his Suzuki in Eugene & we've started to haunt some of the shops down your way.

Sounds like your wife likes the Vulcan. It's on my list of bikes to look at. If you don't mind me asking, how is it on the highway or longer rides? How long did she ride the rebel before moving up to the Vulcan? It sounds like some folks move up from the rebel rather quickly. Anyways, nice to meet ya! Be sure to get out on the road this weekend, we don't get too many nice ones this time of year.

kari

[ORBrit]

If you're down this way there are som fantastic roads not too far out, if you like the twisties. Wolf Creek is my favorite and goes all the way to Reedsport.
Here's a video from that road..

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I AGREE

There's a great shop for parts and gear etc. opposite the DMV in West Eugene called Discount Motorcycle Parts.

My wife had teh Rebel for about 600 miles before she moved up to the Vulcan. Once she started on the Vulcan, she didn't ride the Rebel again so we sold it.
We did a lot of research when looking for her bike. The other ones we considered were the Savage (S40), VStar 650, and Honda Shadow 600. The Vulcan out powers all of them, and is really comfortable. It has no problem cruising at 80+mph on the freeway. I really like the feet forward riding position as well.

Good luck!
What Suzuki does your husband have?

[bluekat]

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out later. I've been in Oregon all my life, and I have yet to explore S. Oregon. Discount Motorcycle Parts...That may have been the place where my husband got his helmet. I couldn't have told you the name, but it was near the DMV. The other place was Cycle Pyscho - that name I remember.

The Suzuki is a GS850G. It's an 81 or 82 - think vintage...retro...ok, just old. But it appears to be mechanically sound, and has been rock solid the whole two weeks he's been riding it. Hopefully it will be a good starter bike to come back to biking on.

kari

[jerth6932]

[frostbitevinnie]

The GS850 is a very solid bike, probably why there are a few left out there. I has a 79' GS850L that I rode for years. Can't say that I miss it since I bought my C90T except for nostalgia sake.

[ORBrit]

Kari, I bet you had a BLAST this weekend on your Team Oregon BRT. The weather really could not have been any better for this time of year!

Tell us all about it when you get a chance.

[bikerbabe]

From Wisconsin!!!!!

[bluekat]

Originally Posted by ORBrit

Kari, I bet you had a BLAST this weekend on your Team Oregon BRT. The weather really could not have been any better for this time of year!

Tell us all about it when you get a chance.

Well...I did have a blast, and it was great weather excepting a little cold in the morning, but I didn't pass the skills part of the class.
I'm still struggling to learn the controls on the bike, but mostly I think I just couldn't relax during the testing, and choked. Didn't help that I was first in line for the test. I may have access to a little ol' honda 125 and hope to get more practice on a bike before trying again. Guess I'm a slow learner
Not giving up yet though...
kari

[ORBrit]

Don't sweat it - just get some parking lot time in, doing exactly what they teach you at Team Oregon. Get some small cones from Bi-Mart or somewhere like that and lay out a course.
Practice launching from a stop, cone weaves, figure 8s and emergency stops. You'll build muscle memory and confidence, then go back and take the IRT - the one day course. No point in doing the BRT again unless you really want to go back to duck walking etc.

Good luck and don't give up!