My wife wants to ride. What about the S40?

C

cfoster001

New member
Well we bought one. It's black with some sort of blue metal flake in it. She really wanted the blue one but we couldn't find one in stock around here. At first she thought the white one was ugly but after seeing it in the sunlight she started to like it.
Unfortunately the service manager who weighed way to much for the bike took it for a spin around the parking lot. He didn't even warm it up with less than 2 miles on it he just drove it off, stalled and bucked the bike back and furth as it coughed and sputtered trying to carry his weight. Then suddenly he runs this brand new engine out of gas. Oh the heat of it all! My wife is holding her forehead and said " WOW! I was just starting to like that bike before he took it for a ride!" The salesman said " Oh! Why did that guy do that" My wife turns around and said " Where's that black one? Can you bring it out here and keep everyone away from it except for my husband?" THAT'S MY BABY!
All the people standing outside watching this fiasco started laughing and the salesman just kept repeating "Why did that guy do that,Why did that guy do that" He wheeled the black one out while the idiot was still trying to start the white one across the parking lot. I said to the salesman " Man! Even my wife knows the most important time of a brand new engine is the break in period. Why would that guy just start it up and drive it off like that? :fight1: Let's make sure nobody else rides this one but me. OK?" The salesman said " well I think the Sales Manager has to ride it before you can take but I'll find out if that's really necessary." Other than the mechanic that put it together I'm the only one that's ridden the bike to date.
So far it has been a fun bike to ride. I get a lot of looks from the other cruisers and my wife seems to fit it pretty well. After 170 miles I'm sore as ever in the rear end but I think Corbin will take care of that little problem.

We like it.:bluethum:
 
welcome, the s40 is a good bike, but after awhile small.My wife has one,it is a 07' model.Not much vibration, it can do about 65-80 on freeway, my wife loves it but now wants something a little bit bigger. Overall i would say a great beginner bike.
 
My fiancee was introduced to the bike thing last year in Daytona, she rode on the back with me and when we got home, she decided she wanted to get her license. She took the MSF class, got her license, and then the search for her bike began. We looked at some of the aforementioned models: the Vulcan, the S40, and the Honda 600. Both the Honda and the Vulcan were alot more top heavy (being V-twins) but the S40 was lighter, easier to manage, and pretty much on par power-wise. So she bought a red one and has loved it ever since. It does give a small backfire on decel sometimes, but it's had enough power to keep up with my M50 on all our rides.

I'd give it a thumbs up for your wife's (or anyone's) first bike.
 
For a road bike, I would suggest nothing less than a 650cc. Vibration will be less since they usually run at a lower RPM and are designed for longer runs. 250's, etc. are just run-a-round locally bikes. Toys.

Rog
 
I have 420 miles on it now and I'm getting a real feel of the power. I can't lay into the throttle just yet but I can see it is a good power plant. I took it into the lower foothills of the Motherlode today. I had to cross a creek 3 times and saw some miners prospecting with gold pans on the side of the road. Here are some pics of the Thumper.

SP_A0120.jpg


SP_A0126-1.jpg


SP_A0128-1.jpg


SP_A0129-1.jpg


OH yes, I have to tell you I paid $4700 out the door at Tracey Powersports. After riding it for some distance I can tell you my 5'9" frame really appreciates the America.
 
I, too, have the S50 and it's my first bike. I'm 5'3" and 120 pounds. I was a little intimidated with the weight at first, but I'm very comfortable with it now. I added progressive shocks and brought it down enough to flat foot it in boots. It's a nimble bike with a lot of power, and I feel comfortable on the highway and on the interstate. I looked at the thumper, but after doing some research, I decided to go one step up. I'm glad I did. I don't see myself getting rid of this bike anytime soon.
 
I don't know about tiny but I'm 4'10" and about 125 lbs. Short w/ a bit of meat on me. :)

But with my S50, the dealership did lower the coils in the back a bit and I had the seat shaved a bit off the top and sides in order for me to feel comfortable enough with it.
 
I rode for the first time last summer..took the safety course. Started on a Rebel 250 and started riding my son's Kawasaki 650..my husband made me try a Boulevard 2006 C50T and I fell in love with it. I am only 5' 3" and it feels very comfortable. I realize that I still need a lot of practice but in the White Mountains of NH you couldn't ask for a better place to learn..just my thoughts.
 
As said before, the Kawasaki 500LTD is a quite nice little scoot, but you have to rev the hell out of it to get the full bennefit of the vert twin configuration.


very pretty bike, if you can get past the fact that it sounds like a weed wacker
 
Very nice pics. Brokenfin, but the one on the edge of the cliff makes me nervous just by looking at it. I don't think I could park my bike there. :)
 
Back
Top