Allen Rowand Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Hi everyone, My name's Allen and I'm now the proud owner of my first road bike, which is also my first BMW! I've been learning a lot by visiting here and figured I should join and be able to get involved. A few weeks ago I had a dream that I bought a white motorcycle. I don't have a car (most everything I need is in walking distance or I take the train), but I have to visit my office 60 miles away a few times a month and have to rent a car. "Hmm, I could ride to the office most of the year and just rent during the winter. I've always thought BMW's were great touring bikes- I wonder what's out there…" A quick search online showed a dealer an hour away from me had an RT-P at a price I could walk out the door with. A white BMW. Had the dream Friday, saw the bike Saturday, bought it Tuesday, got my permit Wednesday and brought it home Saturday. Not bad! I'll have a ton of questions (esp. for Woodie and the rest of the RT-P riders) and hope to have something intelligent to contribute soon. I'm looking forward to getting to some events; I'm bummed that I can't make it to the NE Tech Daze, but it's the week before I get my license- in CT you can't ride highways or at night on a permit. Wish I could have gotten into an earlier BRC! Thanks, Allen Link to comment
Firefight911 Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Welcome Allen!! And, of course, congratulations on the new ride. Why not rent the car and go to the Tech Daze? You won't regret it!!! Looking forward to hearing how you progress with your riding and your enjoyment of your new bike. Link to comment
SageRider Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Welcome to the asylum! Great name for your new ride! I second Phil on the Tech day recommendation. You should save enough on your first service performing it yourself to more than pay for the cost of renting the car to attend. Also, a rider training course would likely be very helpful! Link to comment
lopaca Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Allen, Welcome to our communal dream! Now, do yourself a favor and do what 1bmwfan suggested and go to the tech session. I just went to my first one this past weekend and even though it was an LT and not an RT that we worked on, the session gave me a lot of confidence in being able to do more wrenching of my own. Better yet, I met some really great people with common interests. Welcome and enjoy the board. It has served me beyond my expectations. Link to comment
Francois_Dumas Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Welcome Allen, cool bike !! 'Greenwich' rang a bell.... I worked for a company based in Weston and drove through Greenwich a few times and one of my US colleagues lived there. Beautiful houses there as I remember it ! As for riding safely, that's something that needs to be learned, so +1 on the rider training. Have many great miles on your new ride ! Francois Link to comment
boatzo Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Welcome Allen. Hope you really enjoy following your dream. Also ditto on the riding courses, they are very worth while . Link to comment
Quinn Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Hope someone told you about doing the "oil dance" when checking oil level. If not, just do a search on the forum. Link to comment
TEWKS Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Hey Allen, welcome! You've got time to setup for the UN... Pat Link to comment
Wooster Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Welcome to the asylum!...Also, a rider training course would likely be very helpful! No wonder he's called sagerider; best recommendation yet for keeping the dream from morphing into a nightmare ! Wooster w/two crashes to his "credit" - both in first few years of riding Link to comment
Allen Rowand Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 Thanks everyone! I'm scheduled for rider training May 9-11; I'm just chomping at the bit to do some distance riding. In this area it's all stop and go traffic unless you can get on a highway and while I'm finding every small twisty road I can, most of them go into New York after a few miles (and I can't leave the state on my permit). I learned about the "oil dance" here; it's right on the dot with a fresh quart on standby! Best, Allen P.S. Tewks, funny you should mention the UN… tomorrow I'm going to see if I can get the time away from work. My fiancée has already told me to go have fun. Link to comment
Polo Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Welcome Allen. As others have recommended, do a MSF, read Proficient Motorcycling by David Hough, also A Twist of the Wrist by Keith Code, and remember that the brain may know, but the body still fears, so go ride and let the brain tell the body that it's OK. Start slow, and ease in. When you begin to feel confident, that's the time to slow down again. The RT is a great bike, it will forgive and correct lot of your mistakes, but don't get too cocky. Soon the brain doesn't have to tell the body anything, and that's when Nirvana happens. Best of luck! Link to comment
Jeepster Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 My fiancée has already told me to go have fun. Sounds like tou have a keeper there. Is there another bike purchase being planned for her? Welcome to the board, and do try to involve your future wife in your hobby. Have fun and be safe on the new ride. Link to comment
Allen Rowand Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 Polo, Thanks for the recommendation- Proficient Motorcycling is on hold for me at the library. Best, Allen Link to comment
Les is more Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Here's another vote for getting to the NE techdaze in whatever vehicle you have handy. Heck, a couple of years back, I went by airplane! Link to comment
Allen Rowand Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 My fiancée has already told me to go have fun. Sounds like tou have a keeper there. Is there another bike purchase being planned for her? Hey Jeepster, She's a keeper alright. Even offered to take my wallet away when I went to look at the bike, to make sure I didn't make any rash decisions. But there won't be another bike- she's behind me 100% but has no interest in riding, either on her own or as a passenger. It's a bit of a drag, but at least I don't have to ditch my radio box for a pillion. Best, Allen Link to comment
Jeepster Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 My fiancée has already told me to go have fun. Sounds like tou have a keeper there. Is there another bike purchase being planned for her? Hey Jeepster, Even offered to take my wallet away when I went to look at the bike, to make sure I didn't make any rash decisions. She's smart too. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.