Nice board you got yourselves here! In my endless pursuit to gather as many information and support sources as possible, I've landed here on UKBEG ... and I gotta' say you all seem like stand-up fellas that have a friendlier demeanor than some
other boards (I think we all know the ones I'm talking about).
Anyways, I'm definitely a new rider only having my motorcycle license since mid-September '09. Let's just say I have more experience on-road than the tale my license issue date tells (shhh)! I love the riding community and am lucky enough to live in a very biker-friendly area (north/central Maryland just west of Baltimore and north of Washington D.C. and Annapolis). I'll be 25 years old in two days so I'm excited to have my insurance rates drop a bit! I'm a technical writer by profession.
I guess a little background on my history is in order since most introduction threads are boring. I started riding dirt bikes when I was little at my cousin's house and have really liked riding ever since. It got so bad that once I had enough money to actually buy a road bike, I did. Before than I had ridden a few of my friends bikes (bless their little hearts ... I'd never let an effin' green horn ride my bike now) which only pushed the passion deeper. I set out looking for bikes and decided I wanted a second generation (for the FI) SV650 of the naked variety but soon learned that the ergos where just a little to cramped for the likes of me -- I'm 6'3", about 255 pounds all suited up. Absolutely fantastic bike; just not for me as all the suspension components would need upgrading to handle my girth.
Then the Buells caught my eye ...
really caught my eye. I thought the XBs were the best looking bikes out there, so I scoured over eBay and Craigslist to find one, and I did: a perfect condition, never-dropped 2003 XB9R in Arctic White and custom powder-coated wheels in Sunset Orange. I picked her up mid-September '09 (the same day I got my license no less):
It only had about 10,000 miles on it and I absolutely loved it for my first road bike. Plenty of power, but the 9 didn't overwhelm me if I did something wrong. I did the usual breather re-route mod and added 1" lower pegs and an HID kit to the projector headlamps (which are fabulous if any of you are on the fence):
When I heard about Buell's demise I immediately went searching for an 1125 knowing they were going to be selling like hotcakes with the huge incentives H-D was giving dealers. I put about 4,000 miles on the XB in the three months I had her. It didn't take too long to find my bike: a 2009 1125CR in Racing Red with 7 miles on the odometer. Went down to Shenandoah H-D in central Virginia (about 3 hours each way) in mid-December '09 and picked her up. I absolutely love this bike. I sadly sold my XB for exactly what I paid for it ($4,000 ... I know ... I got lucky) to a local guy. Thanks Jake. Best part: I upgraded from an XB9R to an 1125CR for $2,014 exactly, including tax, tags, title, and the insurance rate bump!!
Since then I've been modding the CR to suit my needs ... which, incidentally, doesn't change the bike much, lol. So far I've only added a few thing, but, like everyone, I have a list of my own:
- 6000K 55W HID kit (from DDM) - installed
- Rizoma bar ends/weights (50 grams) - pending
- ASB (AmericanSportBike.com) seat retention pin kit - installed
- Rizoma "Reverse Retro" bar end mirrors - pending on finding suitable LED indicator replacements
- Jardine fender eliminator - ordered
- Buell Traction grips - purchased but not installed (awaiting bar ends)
- Temporary battery tender leads (until Powerlet is installed)
- Ulysses frame sliders - ordered
- Engine/clutch case covers - pending - waiting on market to catch up
- DHM (DarkHorseMoto.com) fork & swingarm sliders - pending
- RAM mount for my Garmin GPS - ordered
- BMW Powerlet kit (for GPS and battery tender hookup) - ordered
- 1" lower pegs - still researching on which to get
- 2010 LED tail lamp from Buell (with integrated plate light) - ordered
- KEDA-Design slip-on (keda-design.com = D_adams on BWB) - pending
- EBR pump gas ECM (or custom tune) - pending
- Red LED 194 bulb for parking lamp - ordered
Enough words, here's the new bike, so rightfully named "Ginger" (think Gilligan's Island
):
So far I've got just over 500 miles on'er and getting supplies together to go the first service myself. Any tips are appreciated! I have all the factory service manuals so it shouldn't be hard.
Nice meeting 'ya guys/gals, I'll be seein' 'ya inside!
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One of those days ... but hey, at least I was riding! Got a few thumbs up from other riders, cage-bound because of the weather no doubt.
