- I considered possible mechanical issues with the bike -- wheel bearings, fork springs, shocks.
- I wondered whether the new massive Tombstone-style windshield was adversely affecting handling. (See "Memphis Fats For The Magna")
- I considered the possibility that my skills themselves needed a tune up.
- Finally, I considered whether I was simply "tired of my current bike" and needed a different one. Different for the sake of different, just to experience something new.
In the past I've owned a 500cc UJM "Standard" motorcycle (actually an original "Baby Magna"), an ancient Gold Wing, and now the current Honda Magna, which is touted as the "original power cruiser" (or "Muscle Cruiser"). The same engine as the Honda VF750R Interceptor, in a cruiser frame, with a fairly neutral or standard seating position. With driver footpegs barely forward of "standard" position, the Magna is hardly what would pass for a true "cruiser" configuration by today's standards.
But I've never had a Sport Tourer. I've never had a Dual Sport. I've never had a Sport Bike. And while I've test driven some of these, I don't feel that you can truly experience and get a feel for a bike in a brief drive. I need to own and ride the bike for a year to truly know it.
So recently I began lusting for "something different for the sake of being different" -- and pined for a Ninja 500R. (See "Trip Report, Lust Confession") Because it was a sportier configuration, because it looked cool, because I've never owned anything like it before. Because it's affordable. Because a friend of mine highly recommends that amazing 500cc Kawi parallel twin engine.
But I took a step back from my bike lust, at the advice of another friend, who said, "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with."
So, instead of fantasizing about fixing whatever ailed me by switching bikes, I decided to work on fixing whatever was wrong with my current bike.
And the first step in fixing whatever is wrong, is pinning down exactly what it is that doesn't feel quite right.
So I took the first step. I took off that massive Memphis Fats windshield and rode today without it.
Wow, what a difference!
There is some sort of essential visceral exhilaration that I feel when accelerating rapidly with the wind rushing over me. It is an important part of riding a bike, for me. If I don't have that feeling of rushing wind, I feel like the whole experience is muted. Like eating my favorite dish while I have a head cold (which deprives me of enjoying the flavor and aroma of the food); or listening to my favorite CD on tiny little tinny sounding speakers. Some essential robustness of the experience is lacking. I feel robbed.
Without the windshield, the handling is also improved. The bike seems more responsive to the throttle, and less sensitive to the breeze, than it did with that massive "barn door" mounted to the front forks.
Okay, this is good to know. I can keep the "barn door" for long trips. Being a Memphis Shades windshield, it's easy to remove. I'll only put it on for 100+ mile trips on the Interstate, when the prolonged wind blast is so fatiguing. I'll leave it off for my daily commute, and my local jaunts through the twisties.
Already the bike feels better, the experience seems more satisfying.
But there was still something else that didn't seem quite right. Some sort of squirming in the back wheel that I feel from time to time, even in the straightaways, at low speed. I'll have to investigate further. Could the tire be cupped, or in some other way defective?
But I'm no longer daunted by the task of sorting out "whatever doesn't feel right" with the bike. I'm encouraged by the no-windshield experience. Ready to tackle the next aspect that needs tweaking.
Bring it on.
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