| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
1190 SX Demo Ride Today being September 22, there were two important things that were on my mind when I woke up (other than how full my bladder was). One was that the EBR Demo Truck was going to be in Westfield, MA and the other was that it’s my Birthday. I had made plans to treat myself to taking a Demo ride as a Birthday present, and I was looking forward to it. I left the house right around 9:00. I’d Googled the dealership, and found a very easy yet scenic route to get there. You know how sometimes, a trip has a “Theme”; like the ride to Vermont when I must have seen over a dozen dead porcupines on the road, or the ride through Upper State New York when every little restaurant we stopped at offered burgers with Michigan Sauce? Or the trip where Bill Cox fell in love with Denny’s “Moons Over My Hammy”, and ordered that every time we stopped for breakfast. The thought the name was hilarious, and couldn’t stop talking about it. I started the ride thinking that it was going to be the “Slow Construction Equipment” trip. First it was a rather large backhoe mounted on a rubber tired chassis going 15 MPG. Not two miles after it pulled off, another backhoe (the loader front, backhoe rear type) was keeping traffic down to 20 MPH. After I got by him, things were fine until I came up on a pickup pulling a trailer with a large plastic tank on it. He was being followed by a local cop car with its lights flashing, and they were both racing along at about 10 MPH. I don’t know what was going on, but I wasn’t about to pass a cop with his lights on. They eventually pulled over, and I was on my way. There is some really beautiful scenery and some great roads in west Central Massachusetts, and I was having a very pleasant ride after that, until... I was coming through the town of Granby, when I spied a Brontosaurus statue in front of the school It was about 4 feet high and maybe 6 or 8 feet long. What caught my eye was that it was painted in a Rainbow pattern. I thought it was pretty weird and wondered if it was supposed to be a gay dinosaur. Or maybe it just supported gay rights for dinosaurs. Or maybe it was a prehistoric ancestor to a little pony. I dunno; but it had me thinking. Then about a half mile later on the other side of the road was a business that had a Velociraptor on the roof. It was colored the way I’d imaging a Velociraptor should be, but it was wearing high top sneakers, and it was sporting a pompadour haircut. I have no idea what that store sold, and I’m not sure I want to know, either. The capper came about two miles later. The twin to the first brontosaurus statue was on the side of the road, except this one was painted yellow with stick figures painted in black all over it. I decided that people who live in Granby must really be Strange. Eventually, I made it to EBR of Springfield AKA Indian Motorcycles of Springfield. I was filling out the paperwork for a Demo Ride when I was surprised to see Mike K. He’d spotted my Guzzi when I was pulling into the dealership, and he was pretty psyched to see me. We talked a bit about all kinds of things; then I went out for my first ride on an SX. As the ride leader warned us, we were traveling at a “Spirited” pace. The route was on back roads with very little traffic, and I got to be reminded just how good it feels to ride on one of Erik’s inspired machines. I will say that the bike screws at a high rate of speed. I wasn’t used to it at all, and I was comfortably sailing along with the group. I was pretty impressed. When we got back to the dealership, the guys took their lunch break. I had originally planned to ride both the SX and an RX, but during the break, I sat on an RX and decided that it really wasn’t designed with old, fat gimps in mind. I decided to give it a miss. On the next ride out, the leader told us that he was going to try an alternate route. It was great! We got lost on backroads that had more twists and turns and ups and downs than I could keep track of. The SX was in its element, and it acted like it was an extension of my body. We flowed through the turns and the bike never lost its composure. I was behind a guy on an RX, and a few times, he would stretch his leg out to loosen it up. I have a bad ankle, yet I never felt any ankle discomfort during the ride at all. The big surprise for me was just how comfortable the SX is. I didn’t think that little flat seat was anything more than a lightly upholstered piece of plywood, but it’s comfortable, and, based on a half hour ride, I think it would remain so for a few hours (at least) of speedy corner carving. One of the guys said that there a windscreen coming for the SX, so with that, and if I could come up with a way to attach a set of Hepco & Becker Junior bags, I think it would make one hell of a Sport – Tourer. When Mike and I were talking during Lunch, he told me to try to run the engine up to Redline the next time I went out. The bike gets serious between 8,000 and 11,000 RPM. I couldn’t do it. I know that the bikes are Demos, and that it’s OK to wring them out, but I just can’t do that to a new engine. All my instincts are to be gentle. Intellectually, I know it’s OK, but Emotionally, it just feels wrong. I forced myself to run it up to 10 Grand once, and I will say that scalded cats can’t run as fast. So; I had a ball riding the bikes. I can actually see myself owning one of these, eventually. The Buell Grin was there the whole time I was riding. I think that if EBR can get people to just try one on a Demo ride, they’ll start selling. The bikes are too good. If you don’t think so, and haven’t ridden one yet, you don’t know what you’re missing. Who knows; if I have the time, I might just go up to Keene, NH or down to Razee’s in Rhode Island and ride one again. Oh; if you like old Indians, They have a bunch in the store. Chiefs, a Bonneville, a Scout, a Four, and a vertical single and a vertical twin. I think about ten, in all. They also have a restored 1950 Ford F1 Pickup that they use as the shop truck. It's a pretty neat shop; well worth a visit even if you're not interested in buying a bike. | ||
| Ponti1 |
Thanks for sharing! I hope there will be a demo event near me at some point. I was coming through the town of Granby, when I spied a Brontosaurus statue in front of the school It was about 4 feet high and maybe 6 or 8 feet long. What caught my eye was that it was painted in a Rainbow pattern. I thought it was pretty weird and wondered if it was supposed to be a gay dinosaur. Or maybe it just supported gay rights for dinosaurs. Or maybe it was a prehistoric ancestor to a little pony. I dunno; but it had me thinking. Then about a half mile later on the other side of the road was a business that had a Velociraptor on the roof. It was colored the way I’d imaging a Velociraptor should be, but it was wearing high top sneakers, and it was sporting a pompadour haircut. I have no idea what that store sold, and I’m not sure I want to know, either. The capper came about two miles later. The twin to the first brontosaurus statue was on the side of the road, except this one was painted yellow with stick figures painted in black all over it. I decided that people who live in Granby must really be Strange. This was my favorite thing I have read all week...I am actually going to have to research this town further. | ||
| Ponti1 |
http://www.granbyma.net/dinosaurstatueproject.php Seems as though this mysterious dinosaur thing is indeed an indication...The people of Grandby are, in fact, Strange. | ||
| Wymaen |
Not to threadjack, Crusty, but riding through Arkansas a few weeks ago, I saw a few strange things. This was the most disturbing:  | ||
| Figorvonbuellingham |
Must be a Colorado rabbit cuz it looks stoned out of its mind. | ||
| Rodrob |
I too was surprised at how comfortable the SX is. |
