Road my new 2007 S50 TODAY!!!

A

ApacheJack

New member
Hello everyone...

Today I made a little bit of HISTORY in my own lifetime... Having NEVER ridden a motorcycle in my life, but yet having my s50 delivered Friday April 18th, I decided to finally start her up today with the encouragement of a friend!

My chiropractor who is a Ducatti owner wanted to stop by and see the bike and lend me some riding gear until mine came in... So, he showed up, really loved the bike, mine is the white pearl as seen in the avatar.

He had me start the bike up in the garage, and get a feel for the clutch etc. He seemed confident with me that I would be ok to take it out for a ride. My neighborhood is gated, we have about 40 homes, totally off the main road. Its quiet and the only traffic is our neighbors coming going from their driveways.

Well, I had my house mate ready with the video camera to get the first ride. I started off easily in first gear and was AMAZED at how quickly the bike just seemed to move with very little effort. I had not ridden my 10 speed bike for a number of years and was concerned a little about balance, BUT, it turned out not to be a factor in the least.

Went around our `horseshoe' street which runs about a quarter mile, make some slow turns in the cul de sacs and came back. The camera was still rolling and all was thumbs up and smiles :D !

Put on FOUR miles running around the neighborhood like that, actually got up into 4th gear and about 40 mph. This is SO COOL !! I have been on cloud nine ever since.

I don't think I am ready just yet to take to the main road and deal with traffic etc. So, I will practice a bit more and get more confident with the controls, starts and stops etc.

Planning on signing up with our local MSF course as soon as my required gear comes in. SHEESH, at 55, I wonder why I waited so long to get into this! I was NEVER interested in bikes most all my life, but always a snowmobiler. For some reason, last fall, it just clicked and I had to guess at a bike that would be great to start with and hopefully enjoy for a long time. Think I made a great choice:bluethum:

And so, it has come to pass.. The learner's permit last week, the bike purchase this week (after being on lay a way since last November) , the MFS course very soon.

There you have it, and I say THANKS to those that own this model that have had very nice things to say and suggest over the past few months.

Truly,
Gary
 
That's good news Gary. I don't know how you could wait since last November with it on layaway.

So have fun but be careful, this bike is really quick for an 800cc cruiser.
 
Hey there Thundurburd! Thanks for the reply, yes, its amazing waiting this long, but, had to wait until a car was paid off first, and then pick another note from the credit union but not too big as I put 2K down to start with :)

Well, today, after the lawn work and stuff, I thought I would take some more laps around the horseshoe here, and then let the bike cool down and wash and wax her to my liking :bluethum: My dealer did a spit shine..... was ok..

Yes, I have heard about this model being very quick. Friend of mine says the Intruders he had were faster, but I am not sure if that is the case or not. Maybe someone would know what the real differences between the two models besides the high rise handlebars and the split seat configuration?

Ok, keep you posted.

Regards,
Gary
 
Congrats! GSV8 on your S50 purchase. I bought my black '06 S50 close to 2 years ago. It's a great bike! I've added fork, tank, saddle and tail bags, sissy seat, luggage rack and a gel passenger seat cushion for my wife. We ride 2 up a lot. Although I started riding 35 years ago (on a Honda CL100), I let my motorcycle endorsement lapse, requiring me to take the MSF course when I got my S50. Even with my experience, I got a lot out of the course. Also, mine was especially intense, since there were only 3 in the class. Good luck and enjoy!
 
Hey there Scott58. Ok on the Ducatti, I believe that is the model my Dr. has, its a 1998 ! While watching me ride around and around here, he was giving me little pointers etc. He was amazed how quick I got around with the gears, both up shift and down shifting before using the brakes. His ONLY complaint was, not enough rpms when I start off. I have always tended to be easy on the clutch with my Saturn. He said that those kind of starts would never work on his bike.

But, we agreed that the s50's motor has great torque and seems to be ok with the lower rpm gentle starts.........well, I'm not at the drags around here:)

DryToast, thats great that you were confident enough to take it to the streets from day one! I didn't feel I could do that, so my sales guy (also the owner) followed me home. Ah, C50............Classic :bluethum:

TBS50, wow, sounds like she is decked out!!! I will probably start with the crash bar, then a windshield... Not sure about the bags etc. yet, its only going to be me on it, and I think a back pack may do fine for now. I'll have to see how the seat works out next. But, I want to do more practice here before taking it out on the road for real.. I'll let you all know when that happens. I want to plan a surprise ride to work soon. There is a little contest at our shop to see who will be the next out of FOUR of us guys to have their bike at work. The VP has a BMW, another fellow just got his Sportster together. The first so far is a co worker with a GPZ-700 who dropped the challenge. I wonder who will be next....

Going to take the bike for another practice session in a few minutes WOOHOO!!

.....Gary
 
I just thought I'd mention my latest upgrade, well ordered it anyways.

I originally had the Suzuki engine guard installed. It looked good but in my opinion too small to protect anything but maybe the engine and pipes. The MC Enterprises guard is bigger and in my opinion will offer some more protection to the feet and ankles.

MC Enterprises USA - Custom Motorcycle Accessories

We may have discussed this before though.
 
Hi again Thundurburd... YES, I really like this and probably will go with same, its #1000-21 for us :)
Thanks again!

JUST put another 7 miles on the bike today. It was interesting, I was stopping at all the T intersections, using my directionals and starting with a bit of a turn. Once I am up to 5 mph, all is great, the interesting part of the story is, there was an SUV behind me! So, that was a first. They kept their distance and all was fine as they turned off into their driveway.

I went around the horseshoe again, and there was a Suburban coming from my left as I waited at the T with my left signal on. They STOPPED and asked if it was a brand new bike!, I said and "AND a BRAND NEW RIDER" ! The driver with a BIG smile said "You could not find a better place to practice!"

Well, that felt GOOD, and he is right, as I can go right out of my driveway and then I'm on the horseshoe that accesses the 40 homes in the neighborhood. I DID have to deal with a few kids on pedal bikes which was interesting. Funny thing was, I could slow down to THEIR speed with caution, then continue on my way.

All from here, all NEW experiences and all great fun :bluethum:

..........Gary
 
Hey there EasyRider.

Just signed up for the MSF course here in MA. I go the second week in JUNE. They are open from June until the fall right now, so I made it in pretty good time. Just emailed a high res scan of my Permit which is required.

Hello KodaTech. Thank you for the welcoming. Its been really very nice to meet up with all of you !

Take care,
Gary
 
Hey there GSV8,

I recently took the Harley Davison motorcycle safety course in Sarasota Florida. It was a blast!! The Buell's we rode were great bikes to train with!! The course is a little expensive but well worth it. Here is Florida, once you have taken and passed the rider's course you automatically qualify for your motorcycle endoursement.

Jason
 
Hey there Jason.

Yes, same here on the license. I actually already PAID for the license while I was getting my learner's permit at our registry, here its $15...

I got a call today from the MSF and confirmed my dates to be there, packet is on the way ! I look forward to it and I am sure it will be fun just as YOURS was with HD. Our HD course here is about 45 minutes away and I would have given that a try if the local chapter was booked up for the season. But, I got lucky.

Take care, thanks for writing in..

....Gary
 
Hello Snafu, thanks, I LOVE it here and as I have mentioned before, its because of one member that steered me here last year after I put the down payment on the S50...

BTW, nice M50..! I was looking at a blue 07 M50 that was sitting right next to the S50. I decided as a first time rider, I would go with the lighter bike, though the M50 does look a bit more "mean" for sure :)

Take care, thanks for writing.

.....Gary
 
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