[AlanRides]

This forum was recommended to me as something that might be fun and helpful. I have a couple of acquaintances over on the Star Bike Forum that I've ridden with and I now consider friends, that are already here, so looking forward to meeting up with them and also meeting some new folks.

A semi-brief history of my riding is completely typical of the baby boomer story: rode in high school and few years after, kind of grew bored with it after totaling my first 1975 Kawasaki 900 Z1-B, having the next '75 Z1 stolen and was working on another '75 Z1 basket case when I just kind of lost interest. Sold the bike and parts to a friend and walked away for 30+ years. Moved to a new town in 2005 and started seeing V-Twins all over the place out here in what used-to-be the semi-country and, after hating the whole V-Twin cruiser/touring niche in the 1970's they suddenly seemed attractive. Image my wife's surprise when I mentioned it to her as I had never told her that I used to ride. Good sport that she is, by 2008 she let me buy a used '07 Kawasaki Nomad and we proceeded to put almost 90k on it. But, no matter what I did with the pillion seat she was never happy sitting on it for long distances. Found an '18 SVTC sitting at a local dealer in November of '19, she sat on the pillion and it passed muster. We've since been to Richland, WA, and Maggie Valley, NC, and a bunch of shorter trips in Texas and Louisiana, putting around 40k on it so far.

The Kawi got real dirty one day, plus the seat thing, so I was forced to trade it in for the SVTC:

Don't have any real beauty shots of the SVTC, but here's an idea.

Thought I'd include one of how this beast spends too much time....constantly needing new shoes. I'm trying some Avon Cobras this time around hoping for better than 7-8k on the rear. Time will tell.

 

[lesblank]

Super glad you joined us. I know you like to ride and figured you would like it here. Bare with us, site is close to be right, but still being tweaked some. Alan road out to the Texas Hill Country to visit me this past September. He helped me with my deck build, if you count handing me one on tin help, and got to ride the Twisted Sisters with him. It was definitely a great time. He's the tall good looking one and I'm the short ugly one.

Y'all need to ask him about his first trike ride on mine. We almost had a Yamaharley baby that day. I'll let him elaborate.

 

[Tinsnips]

Welcome from Niagara Falls. Glad to have you.

 

[01-7700]

Welcome ! That's a very nice deck you built !

 

[ndncowboy]

 

[GARider]

Welcome @AlanRides, glad to see you over here as well. I like your short 200 to 300 miles day journeys. Short my A$$.
Are you doing the tires? I know you do a lot of your own work but thought I would ask. I never had the thought to attempt this on the SVTC.

 

[AlanRides]

Y'all need to ask him about his first trike ride on mine. We almost had a Yamaharley baby that day. I'll let him elaborate.

I believe I will just let those unparalleled feats of derring-do live on and grow in the minds and imaginations of the only 2 eye witnesses (well, 3 if you count the lawn service guy on the riding mower nervously watching from a safe distance and then fleeing) of the actual event as it unfolded in front of their eyes in real time. I am confident that, given the passage of enough time, it will eventually be recorded in the annals of history as an event on par with the Iliad and the Odyssey.....

(Or not.......)

I will share that riding a vehicle that has handlebars lowered to one's knees and does not react "properly" to countersteering was and will be a challenge going forward and one I'm not sure I want to pursue further.....

 

[lesblank]

I had forgotten about the yard guy shifting into high gear going the opposite direction. The bars are almost to my shoulders, don't understand the knee comment, oh wait, I'm all of 5 foot nothing. I had to look at a picture, the bars are almost hitting hitting your knees.

You have some new targets to get with the Court House and Historical Markers. How many you going get. I'm sure the Harris County Court House in downtown Houston will be your favorite. . For those who don't know, Alan, even though he lives just outside Houston, will ride hours going around Houston to keep from having to battle the traffic.

 

[AlanRides]

Are you doing the tires? I know you do a lot of your own work but thought I would ask. I never had the thought to attempt this on the SVTC.

I just pull the wheels off and let the local Honda shop swap rubber. Yamaha shop wants way too much $$$$ to remove and change or even just mount new rubber, plus the Honda shop is less than 2 miles away. I am considering giving one of the local tire shop entrepreneurs (who will work for cash, wink, wink) a shot at it as my eldest son did it for me when he worked at PowerSports shop some years ago and had access to a not state of the art tire changing machine.

I did try to change the front tire one time with spoons and a home made bead breaker. I managed to get the old tire off, but after losing 3 or 4 pounds in sweat equity, inventing multiple variations of common (and some not so common) curse words and realizing the rim protectors I fashioned from old milk jugs failed to protect the rim and bending one of my spoons, I gave up and took it to the Honda guys who popped it on in 2 minutes and sent me away. I just bring them the wheels now and play word games on my phone while the new tires magically appear on the rims with no effort on my part.

One look at that 200/50-16 rear tire with a sidewall so stiff that the weight of the bike won't completely flatten the tire when I let all the air out of it and I immediately abandoned any hope of hand changing that one.

 

[AlanRides]

I had forgotten about the yard guy shifting into high gear going the opposite direction. The bars are almost to my shoulders, don't understand the knee comment, oh wait, I'm all of 5 foot nothing. I had to look at a picture, the bars are almost hitting hitting your knees.

View attachment 88

You have some new targets to get with the Court House and Historical Markers. How many you going get. I'm sure the Harris County Court House in downtown Houston will be your favorite. . For those who don't know, Alan, even though he lives just outside Houston, will ride hours going around Houston to keep from having to battle the traffic.

Haha, my mind is already playing with the memories of that fateful 5 minutes.....I could have sworn the handlebars were even lower than the picture clearly shows they're not. But, still an awkward position for me.....

 

[AlanRides]

For those who don't know, Alan, even though he lives just outside Houston, will ride hours going around Houston to keep from having to battle the traffic.

Well, considering it takes well over an hour to get from my place to your old one in Katy as crossing Houston itself is an hours ride on the freeways. Adding 30-45 minutes to that in order to loop around and avoid most of that insanity is well worth it to me..... Add to that I'm rarely in a hurry when riding, so I just bebop along seeing how far I can get on one tank of gas......

 

[GARider]

I just pull the wheels off and let the local Honda shop swap rubber. Yamaha shop wants way too much $$$$ to remove and change or even just mount new rubber, plus the Honda shop is less than 2 miles away. I am considering giving one of the local tire shop entrepreneurs (who will work for cash, wink, wink) a shot at it as my eldest son did it for me when he worked at PowerSports shop some years ago and had access to a not state of the art tire changing machine.

I did try to change the front tire one time with spoons and a home made bead breaker. I managed to get the old tire off, but after losing 3 or 4 pounds in sweat equity, inventing multiple variations of common (and some not so common) curse words and realizing the rim protectors I fashioned from old milk jugs failed to protect the rim and bending one of my spoons, I gave up and took it to the Honda guys who popped it on in 2 minutes and sent me away. I just bring them the wheels now and play word games on my phone while the new tires magically appear on the rims with no effort on my part.

One look at that 200/50-16 rear tire with a sidewall so stiff that the weight of the bike won't completely flatten the tire when I let all the air out of it and I immediately abandoned any hope of hand changing that one.

Thanks Alan. Maybe my next change I will do the same, it seems I just don’t have the time.