Friday, July 28, 2006

Learning the quirks of a new bike.

I don't know the exact statistic, but a disproportionate number of crashes occur shortly after the rider gets a new bike (even more disproportionate is the number who crash on the ride home from the dealer. I came out ahead on that one!). Since I'm aware of the risk, I've been somewhat cautious as I break my new ride in.

That said, I've already encountered some hilarity. As you know, there was the problem with the ol' bike not starting. Luckily for me, all I had to do was jiggle the killswitch a bit and I was on my way. Unfortunately, I missed out on a whole day of riding because I didn't know that when it happened.

This morning, I did what I always do on an unfamiliar bike: dumped the clutch and killed it in an intersection. In fact, I did it twice in the same intersection. This time it was because I didn't shift down far enough (tricky 6th gear, being all unfamiliar), and tried to take off in second gear.

Durp!

Apart from that, the hardest thing for me to get used to is the Triumph's sporty ergonomics. I repeat to myself before bed, and when I get up in the morning "I must keep my weight off my wrists. I must be able to flap my arms like a chicken." Then I hop on the bike and forget all about it until my wrists start aching again. I'm getting better though.

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