Noobies VÜ

So, it has been a while since I posted and it's been a pretty good couple of months. I am really excited as I finally replaced my motorcycle. I have been wanting to get a new one for some time now but I was somewhat reluctant to do so since I knew I'd wind up with a payment. Well, thanks to the new roomie (yeah, thanks a lot Jason) I made the leap.
Let's back up a smidge shall we?
Yes, I have a new roommate. I was reluctant to rent out the other room since Corey left but Jason was in need and I had the space so I decided what the hell. (As always you may click the images to embiggen)

Well within a week or so of him moving in he bought himself a brand new Harley-Davidson Fat Bob. NEAT bike!. But then the bastard had to go and let me take it for a spin around the block. Big mistake. No, I didn't crash. I fell in love.
THIS was the kind of bike I should have been riding this whole time. Much better ergos and sooo much more comfortable than my Z.


I had to do some thinking and decide what it was I like about Pandora and what I didn't. The list of likes was 2 items long: looks, acceleration.
The dislikes: ergos, squeeky noise, horrible seat (even after getting a $400 custom one), sketchy clutch (sometimes it engaged really hard- could have been operator error), vibrations, horrible seat, noisy, horrible seat. The list goes on. But it's mostly repeats of the horrible seat. I mean this thing was like a medieval torture device. I was constantly pushing myself back off the tank and trying to maintain an upright position. But within seconds of shoving myself back, I was having to shove back again. Try as I might I could not maintain my position on the bike. I have long legs and they were tucked under me when I rode, my arms would get tired from pushing myself back all the time and the general riding position. This was a "sport bike" not to be mistaken for a bullet bike. It had a similar look but the riding position was much more upright. It was kind of a hybrid of a bullet bike and a cruiser of sorts. But it's like they took the worst of both categories and mashed em together.
Don't get me wrong, for the most part I loved the bike. You know what, scratch that. I have pretty much disliked that bike from the get-go. I had hoped to use it to tour the area a bit. That was an epic fail. One ride to Zion and another to Beryl and I knew I would never ride it more than 50 miles.
So for years I have wanted to trade it for a cruiser. Chubs (Jason's Fat Bob) was the final straw. Riding that bike I knew I needed to try and get into something similar. Hopefully without the 5 figure price tag.
Success! I found a Yamaha Raider, took it for a ride and I was done.
Now when I found this bike it was at the Yamaha dealer here in town. I was looking for a Stryker originally.

After kicking around the dealer for 20-30 minutes, chatting with Jason and his boss, the sales kid finally made an appearance. At this point I had discovered the Raider and though I knew it was a more expensive bike I asked about it. Well, it turned out it was an '09 and I could get it for less than the '12 Stryker and it was 500cc's larger! I kept telling myself I didn't need a bike larger than 1400cc or so, but this bike was beautiful and totally fit into what I was wanting.


Nothing is worse (when talking about owning a bike) than buying a bike and then outgrowing it within the first year or so; wishing it had more power, would go faster on the highway, was a bit larger in size,etc. This bike had a lot of promise and I didn't think I'd have to worry too much about outgrowing it. There aren't a whole lot of bikes bigger. lol
I was ready to sign on the dotted line right then, but I wanted to go through my credit union. Silly I know, but that's what I do. I also knew I needed to get a decent trade on my bike. Everyone tries to low-ball when you trade, it's annoying. My bike was mostly mint, only a couple of surface scratches and far less than the allowed 18,000 miles for an '06 model. Try 6k.
Well, Jason and I went across the street to drop off some business cards for his boss and what do I find? ANOTHER Raider, this one had 1k miles on it (apparently it was a demo of sorts) and it was $4000 cheaper! This was kismet. I mean what are the chances?
So long story not quite as long, I bought the "used" bike. The kid at the other dealer wouldn't even acknowledge my existence when I came in to pick up my deposit from the other bike. Really? You're gonna be bitter because I made a financial decision? punk.
Here's the thing though. The guys at Polaris/Victory were awesome. Got me into a great bike at a great price and have been hella supportive. But Jason got cookies. I mean it, he got cookies. A fabulous tin of Mrs. Fields. He also got a free (well with the cost of the bike anyway) membership to the Harley club.


I didn't get cookies. I didn't get a membership to a club. Sure, I know I am being petty (I checked out the club and I'm no longer too butt-chapped over that- Yamaha's club is kind of lame) but where I got a bike, Jason got a community. How cool is that? Granted I bought a used one from a non-Yamaha dealer so what can I expect. I just think it's pretty damn cool that he has gotten all these nifty perks for buying his bike.
I'm thinking a Harley may just have to be in my future. I mean, I want some damn cookies!