Blaine

yea I agree :pointup: Welcome to the forum, Now go out and get a B'Bird for yourself. Do not pass go or collect $200, just head straight to the closest one and buy it. You won't regret it, of course that "filling up the gas tank" thing can be a bother and the smile that never leaves your face can really cause your face to get tired :cycle:

Thanks for all you input guys. Nope, not my first BIG bike, but I am way out of practice on spinning the back tire and the CBR1100XX's clutch handles and acts differently then the rest. None of my bikes were like the Bird. The 1st was a Honda 500-Four, smooth ride and had very little power and speed, then a 750-Four kind of the same just a little more power. Then I got a Kaw' KZ900 and a few year later a KZ1000. These two were such a change from the Hondas and were a little closer to the power and sort of the speed that the Bird has, but heavy. On the KZs I could light up the back tire in the first few gears with just a quick flick of the wrist. You could just start moving in 1st gear and the crank the throttle and it would just sit there and spin, a cloud of smoke and rubber all over and then as the tire heated up it would catch and launch you. :treadmill: When I bought the KZ900, I went crazy spinning the tire around the campus and town, I see someone I knew :babe: and stop them and say "watch this" and spin the tire and take off like a rocket. I think I wore out that first tire within about 3 weeks. :shock: Now that stopped as soon as I found out how much it cost to replace the darn thing, and me on a college student's salary. :bigshock: The KZs were more like a heavy muscle car, and not as refined as the Hondas. My most recent bikes were cruisers, a Vulcan 800, then a Volusia 800, and a '04 Vulcan 1500, (which I still have, lowered it 3" and my wife loves riding it all around, she's not into riding or being a passanger on street bikes). The Cruisers are great for riding around and being seen on. But they are more like a tractor, lots of slow vibrating torque and power, not really made for a quick take off for spinning the tire. And my cage, the Excursion is for the family and traveling around and not a big tire spinner either (also the tires cost too much to waste spinning anyway) HA HA HA. All and all I'm hoping the only damage done to my Bird was the clutch and nothing else was involved. :banghead: As soon as I get it back from the dealer, it's back to riding fast and leaving the tire tread where it belongs I'm just glad I have my fellow Bird buds to vent and discuss my stupidity with and don't mind if they laugh at my antics. :oops: With bike week coming up, the dealer told me they won't get to my bike until the end of next week, I'm going into DTs not riding my Bird. Lets hope they can repair the problem fast and get me back on 2 wheels. Now that my wife's taken over the 1500, I may have to convince her to let me ride it again. :bike:

HeyChuck, I'm 6'2" and 230 #. I've got the Corbin GF & Lady and a oval backrest. I got it because my kids needed/wanted a back rest when they rode with me. They were use to the cruiser setup with the upright seating and backrest. This confortable seat is build for you to be sitting in the riding position. It does sit you down a little lower, sort of sits you into the seat. And the seat sides are wider. You notice it when your legs are down or you're standing up, but not when you're riding. I also found that the little bit it lowers you, caused you legs to be flexed a little more in the riding position. When I first got it and went on a long ride, I was wearing layers for those cold weather rides (naked leather chaps, thick jeans, and thermal wear all together - I was warm though) and the tightness behind my knees just about put my legs to sleep. :shock: I had to keep straightening my legs out as we rode or whenever we stopped. It's warmed up and wearing less layers or my Joe Rockets mesh pants helped. Also, I've gotten a pair of leather street bike pants and they're made to be in the bent leg riding position. They're a lot more comfortable, could be why so many rides end up wearing them. I'm also gotten a lot more use to the position, and that goes a long way to being more comfortable. Another thing you'll notice is that the stock seat has a rough finish and when you stop and start, you don't slide very much. With the Corbin, it has a leather seat surface and you'll find that you (and your passanger) may scoot forward when you stop. But if you keep you knees tight against the tank you won't slide forward as much and it takes most of the problem away. All in all the Corbin seat is very comfortable and seat burns from long rides become a thing of the past. That said, I'm not sure any of the things we add to our bikes is worth what they charge us. Just my observation and 2 cents.

Yea, for not riding like I normally do, and thinking a tire being replaced is a free ticket. For me tires cost way too much to normally abuse. But I'm still a nut and my wife does call me loose :roll: And rockmeupto125, No abuse, just riding, after seeing the other pictures posted, I'm very gentle with my Bird. And I agree with you on the water temp thing, I was just hoping to cool the water in the radiator (and the water still moves a little in the jacket as the water in the radiator cools, until the thermostate closes). Was a way to cool it a little quicker without running it.. Redbird, you'd think this was my first bike, man, before this bike, I've never had to do any real repairs (besides the normal maintenance stuff). I'm not usually an overly aggressive or extreme rider or one that takes chances on messing up my Bird. It must be the bike drug they give you, when you buy the Bird. And from the pictures, you were given extra doses of it :grin: I've have to get a old bike to abuse if I get that wild hair back. Hey Jim, what's up man? Didn't mean to tick you off. 99.9% of the time, my Bird gets babied and just ridden fast when I can. I just let the stupid part of me take over for a few times. I just had an almost new tire to wear out before I replaced it. Stupid I know.

Yea, that tire was out to get me. What'd you replace the 020 with?

I can't believe this, waiting for a call from the "Stealer" that my tire was there (the had a big delivery and had to go through it to make sure it was there). So I went riding, topped off the tank, BS with another rider for a while, then finally headed back home to wait for their call & 'cause the kids were heading home from school. Pulled up in the driveway I noticed the oil light was on and the temp was up to 255 and flashing, DAMN. :?: I hit the kill switch and then flipped it back on to let the fan run. Checked the oil and it's OK. After a while the temp went down to the usual 216 and I cranked it back up and the oil light came right back on. Switched it off and checked the oil. It's still in the normal level. OK, I let it sit for a little while longer and started back up. The oil light goes out and the temp is down. Yea, whew, everything seems back to normal, so I drop it into 1st to try to move forward. But alas, nothing happens, it just sits there and starts making all kinds of racket. I shut it off and give it a going over and checked the oil again, and it's still OK. Hummmm what the F***? Crank it up and try getting it to move in any gear and still no power to the rear wheels. I push it into the garage and put it on the center stand. Check the oil again and crank it back up and the oil light comes on then off and then the racket starts all over again. It not the motor, 'cause revving it doesn't change the speed of the noise. Of course about this time the dealer calls to tell me my tire did come in on todays delivery. :devilfinger: Today I loaded it up and trailer it into the dealer, to get the new tire put on and told them about it over heating and the oil light going on and then it wouldn't go. The tech thinks it's the clutch and has never hear of this happening to a Bird, thinks maybe the "nut" that holds the clutch cam loose. I hope that's all they find and that it's all covered under the warranty. Boy when I screw something up, I can really do it, I'll post more when I know what the heck I did to my baby. :shock:

Ordered a rear 020 and it should be here on Wednesday. :grin: Called the "stealer" and I can ride the bike in and they'll install/balance the tire for $37. (1 hour labor) :shock: I know a lot of you "do it yourselfers" out there have installed their own tires, but I think for the $$$ I don't want to chance tearing up the rim or not doing a good balancing job. :cool: After I wear this set out I'll try the Avon 45/46.

How are the 020's wearing, what kind of milage do you think you'll get out of them? How about the 45/46's?

Found a review on the BRIDGESTONE BATTLAX BT-010 they rated at 99% satisfaction http://www.motorcyclenews.com/products/buy...ocumentID=54740 DMTA has the rear 180/55 ZR17 for $102 and the front 120/70 ZR17 for $79 http://www.dtmaonline.com/AMAZING/items.as...BRIDGEBT010&Tp= I'll look for stuff on the Avon's as well.

yea, did a seach on "tires" and came up with about 17 pages. but only a few actually had anything to do with actual info on tires or recommendations. But, I'll search again and weed through a few more. Thanks for the heads up on the Avons and the Mich' Pilot . I'm going to do a search on sellers and prices. Thanks, I know I can always depend on you guys to give me the right info and help!

Noticed my bird was handlng really sloppy on the way home. Got home and checked the pressure on the rear tire and it was down to 12.5 psi. DAMN, no wonder in was waddling and swaying my heavy 230 lb butt all around the bumps and corners. :sad: Pumped it back up to 41 psi and spun it to check the surface and found what was left of a roofing nail. I had already worn off the nail head. I'm going to see if it holds air or if it going down fast. If it loosing air fast, I'm going to go out and see how much smoke and how many stripes I can lay down. I can tear up a rear tire without a worry about how much it's going to cost me to replace it, 'cause I've already got to replace it anyway. I've done a search and read a bunch of threads and I can't find an thread(s) where you guys give your recommendations on what rear tires you like, why and what mileage your get on you tires. Figured I'd ask before I fork out the $$$$ :shock: Thanks

Sorry, don't have an answer for you, But congrats getting them to finally rebuild the motor. How much longer before you get the bike back?

I just ordered the Mirror inserts, they make the mirrors wide angle. Tired of looking at my elbows, instead of what's beside or behid me. Add that to the mirror extenders and I may actually be able to see behind me as well as I do on my Vulcan cruiser.

Where did you get your tires installed? I've never had anyone ask me if I wanted nitrogen instead of regular air. Sounds like something exotic to install and be able to brag about. Did it cost extra? If so how much and I wonder how much to get it topped off when the pressure falls?

Seminole Power Sports, what a place NOT to buy a bike or get it worked on. The first bike they ended up not selling to me, was a used bike and I offered them cash, $500 less than they were asking and they said no way several times. I went down the street to Cycle Riders and bought the same bike, new for the amount I had offered SPS, CR also gave me a killer deal on a used bike that my wife wanted. SPS missed out on both sales that day. Then we both were looking for different bikes in October, we rode up to Seminole PS and told them we'd pay cash for a 02 Blackbird and a 03 Vulcan 1500 Classic. The sales person gave me his best price for both bikes, Said I'd be back the next morning with the trailer to get both and do the paperwork. I called back later that day to set up a time to come by and get them and was told a different sales person was the first to greet us when we walked in and we would have to work with him. OK, the new sales person got on the line and I ask about the two bikes and he said he'd call me back with the final price. TA DA, the price of both bikes was back up to suggested retail price and but he said he'd try to knock off a little when we got there and started the paperwork. I ask about the 1st price and was told there is no way they can sell me these bikes for that price. Now the 02 bird was new, but a year old on the showroom floor and the 03 VUlcan had been there since the spring as well and the new 04 Vulcans were already out. So I called down to Cycle Sports Center on John Young and offered them a deal on the 04 Vulcan on the floor and they said OK. We jumped on our bikes and headed down to their store.. We traded in her bike, did the paperwork and paid them as they preped the bike, a few hours later the wife rode it home. When I got home I called Performance Honda to see if they still had the 03 Blackbird and YES, and they agreed on the bottom line price I offerend them, put a deposit down over the phone and said I'd be there first thing the next AM. The next morning, the wife was at work so I had to hook up the trailer and headed out there. As soon as I got there they started getting it preped and had the paper work done in no time. I was home and riding before I knew it. It was funny, I was waiting for them to finish the prep and the sales rep from Seminole called to see why we had not showed up to get our bikes. It was so much fun telling him what I was doing at that moment and how he lost 2 sales because he and his company as a bunch of asses trying to rip me off.

Hey, which Honda "stealer" was it. SPS, Performance, or Cycle Riders? Let us know. I bought my bike at Performance Honda and have been and have been using then for service. I'm not sure about the 1st service that they did and they adjusted my chain more on one side than the other, fixed it myself insead of driving all the way out there. If they are the one, then it's time to switch. On the up side they do have better prices on accessories and chain lube and such If it's Seminole Power Sports, they've jerked me around several times, when I was trying to buy 3 different bikes and several accessories I wanted, but that's a whole 'nother story. They have a really bad rep with about everybody. The service dept at the Colonial Rd. Cycle Riders has done pretty good for me when I had my Suzuki. Anyway, when do you get your bike back? Talk to you later!

Yea, what he said. I have the E41 bags and they are pretty wide and big. When I first put them on, I went riding and looked in the mirror and thought someone has pulled up behind me really close, looked like the hood of a car right on me. I do like that on a ride I can put 2 helmets per bag and my coat and chaps and other stuff in the other and still have room for more. I really like that it has keyless entry on the side so you can get the small/medium stuff in or out. If I had the extra $$, I'd get a smaller set to use on daily rides and save these for weekend rides or longer trips. The WingeRack does look good on the Bird and is very well made. Good luck in your endevor, take lots of pictures for the rest of us to see how it's done and what it looks like in the end.