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Bttrthnwrk
| | Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 12:12 am: | 
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Skinstains:
> it is too late for you. You drank the (blue) Kool-aide didn't you?
I don't know what you could mean. However, I did just order the '09 service manual from American Sport Bike today. And I haven't even bought a Uly. Yet. I can perhaps sense one in my future, somewhere, though. I'll be talking to a dealership about their blue '09 in stock in about 8 days, unless I get jammed up at work again on that weekend, too. That's why I'm not there this weekend.
Etennuly and Crusty:
Thanks. Going with the new, improved break-in sounds like a plan, since it no longer appears to mean I have to mope along at 2500 rpm for forever (or at least it would seem like that).
Atoms:
I think you've managed to push both my cheap button and my "I don't like flying" button at the same time. What an offer. |
Bttrthnwrk
| | Posted on Saturday, February 21, 2009 - 11:20 pm: |
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So, my wife and I drove up to Phoenix today and stopped in at Arrowhead H-D/Buell. After waving the $14,500+ OTD price in front of us for a few minutes, we dickered a little and they came back with about 2 and 1/2 times more off the first price than my wife and I figured they would. Wow.
Of course, my wife doesn't know anyone named Ruth, and immediately asked for even more off. Of course, that's one of the main reasons I take her along for stuff like this. Well, driving me up there and her company count for something too, but she's had car dealers ask her if she'd like to work for them. More than once, too. Except for the Toyota salesman whose manager informed her that she'd managed to score a "flat" (I didn't know what that was before then), and then asked her to never come back there and buy another car again. Poor guy looked pretty frazzled, as I recall. Oddly enough, we did get another Toyota from that dealership, but that was several years later.
However, times are tough, and after they came back with what she asked for that time, I called a halt to her demands, and settled for the offer they made then. We were both pretty happy, seemed like. I didn't get a killer deal, but I figure all of us have to eat, not just me. And I'll likely never be back in that store again, unless something goes really awry down here in Tucson with either my wrenching or (in a pinch) the Tucson H-D/Buell shop. 150 miles is a long way to go for emergency service, which is hopefully the only kind I'll really need.
Anyway, I did manage to gracefully drop the bike while pulling away from a parking space after we had lunch at Chipotle Grill in northwest Phoenix. Since I got this bike because I like to fool around in the dirt, I'm pretty sure it won't be the last time I manage to do that, either. I can see I'm going to need to really think about crawling speed maneuvers however, while perched 'way up there. Broke off the right front turn signal lens cover, but a little handy black electrical tape fixed that right up. I might have mentioned that I'm guilty of being a little cheap, sometimes. I'll have to stock up on levers, and maybe a spare shifter and brake pedal, too. Bonked the right side puck and the right hand guard, but that's what they're for, after all.
So, here's my new 2009 Uly, in blue. These first 3 were taken in a lot on the way home, in Chandler, just southeast of Phoenix proper. I'd gotten in all 50 miles of my first break-in by then, and my hand was thinking about going numb. I can see I'm going to have to get a throttle lock ASAP.
This last one is a combined picture showing my '06 Suzuki M50 cruiser and my new Uly, side-by-side. Sorry, but it's dark out by then, and there's no flash on my iPhone. You can even see my truck in the background. Like I said, there's only one color, and that's blue...
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Crusty
| | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2009 - 07:41 am: |
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Nice bike! Congratulations!. If you like to be cheap, just wait until you go to buy parts for that Uly; the entire turn signal costs under ten bucks.
You're about to discover just how much fun a motorcycle can be. Absolutely nothing else feels as good as a Buell. You'll find yourself grinning like an idiot after a ride. You'll be looking for the long way to get somewhere, just to enjoy the ride a little more. It's that kind of bike.
I do have one question; what does it mean to "score a flat"? I'm not in the car business, and I'm not good at dickering, but I am curious. |
Florida_lime
| | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2009 - 12:46 pm: |
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Congratulations Bttrthnwrk !
If that blue was available when I bought my '07, I would have been tempted.
But I bought the faster black -- verified by the Florida State Police last Sunday !
Only got a warning, after he asked several of questions about it.  |
Etennuly
| | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2009 - 05:10 pm: |
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Congrats on a nice bike! You will get used to being 'up there' and find that it isn't too hard to avoid situations that cause the ground to be too far away. |
Bttrthnwrk
| | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2009 - 10:38 pm: |
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Crusty> what does it mean to "score a flat"?
Apparently, that's when the sale is for absolutely no profit. No loss to the dealer on the car itself, but no profit, either. And all the time and effort that went into upkeep and paperwork and the sale itself were all for free.
Like I said, the manager looked frazzled. The salesman had been running back and forth between us and him for about 5 hours. It was the last day of the month, and the salesman was hoping for another sale to close out his month on. I had zoned out about 2 or 2 and a half hours into the ordeal, but my wife was going strong, even at the end. She didn't look frazzled, at all. Smug, maybe. Geez.
Etennuly> You will get used to being 'up there'
I even managed to catch myself at a light today without keeling over. I had just crept up about 9 inches, and the bike really wanted to fall to the right. But I gritted it out. Just barely, maybe, but I did it.
I took the Uly around some of the best curves I'd found on my cruiser. I have to admit I was puzzled and a little disappointed. For some reason, none of my best curves seemed as curvy when I was on the Uly. Some fiend had come along sometime yesterday, no doubt, and straightened out all the local twisties I normally scrape the M-50's pegs on. This Uly is nothing short of amazing. Some of those curves actually seemed straight. None of them were as curvy seeming as they were last week. And the Uly sure handles better in the dirt than my cruiser does. Smooter, steadier, and I can get my butt back far enough to lighten the load on the front wheel, which improves steering. No mud, though. Usually, if I wanted mud, I'd have to bring the water with me to make it.
Woo-ee! I'm impressed!
Now, if only I could figure out how to get the pin to release the catch so I can switch the 2 wires in the headlight connector so I can have both lights on when switched to high beam, I'd be happy. Unfortunately, I think that connector's smarter than me. It just won't let go of those wires. Well, I'll try again next weekend, maybe. Sooner, if it's still light out and I'm not riding instead of fiddling with the bike. |
Etennuly
| | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2009 - 11:28 pm: |
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I had the same problem with those damn wires in the plugs. Bifocals don't help. After testing, probing and struggling I cut them and butt spliced with heat shrink. Been like that a couple of years with no problems. |
Jphish
| | Posted on Monday, February 23, 2009 - 11:42 am: |
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Btt - Those pins ARE a bit reluctant to let go - but it can be done. Mark the yellow / orange wires so you dont mistakenly put them back in the same hole you took 'em out of. Strip the tape around the wire bundle up about 2" to give you a little room to work. spray a little silicone into the male end of connector from the pin side. Wear one of those blue nylon grippy gloves - grasp connector firmly - using small jeweler screwdriver (or similar object) with serious intent, push all 4 pins out - while NOT running screwdriver through your hand. If you only push out the 2 wires to be reversed, I found space too confined to just switch 'em. (But you might try that first) I used some elec contact cleaner to clean pins then just pushed them back in. Works great! There is a good review of process by 'Speedkills' in Knowledge vault from July 17 08'. Good Luck |
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