Well it finally happened; I dropped my Ducati Scrambler. It started innocuously enough. Bill let me move the Ducati down to the street to start it up and let it warm up. I got it turned around and rolled it (no engine power) down to the curb, managing to park the back tire nicely abutting the curb. I then leaned the bike to the left to set it on its kickstand and prepared to dismount. Only one tiny problem—I hadn’t put the kickstand down. I realized this just as I felt the bike tip past the point I could right it. Down it went.
I almost dropped the BMW G310 GS once coming into a turn, but I was able to manhandle it and keep it upright. But the Ducat weighs 70 pounds more, and my foot was too far out to get my leg under me for support. In a way I was glad the drop happened like this, where the bike wasn’t under power and in motion. Unfortunately, because I was perpendicular to the camber of the road, I did some scratch damage to the foot peg and the Barkbusters. But the worst damage was a bent shifter. Bill handled the damage perfectly, no anger, no repercussions, just the mindset that it was going to happen eventually because everyone drops their bike eventually.
I was ready to give up my ride for the day and let Bill head off on the R NineT, but he felt the shifter was fixable with a pipe wrench. He headed off to get one while I waited and let myself calm down. Within five minutes the shifter was fixed and the bike was ready to ride.
We headed out on this cold morning, 36 degrees with a wind chill in the twenties. It didn’t take long before we came across a slow-moving Toyota Rav4. We were at the stop sign waiting for oncoming traffic to pass. We waited and waited, realizing that the SUV was moving slowly, but not so far back we could turn in front of the vehicle. As the middle-aged woman driving passed by us, we realized her head was down and her focus clearly told us she was on her phone. This lady proceeded down the road, turned onto the road we were turning on, and made a third turn—all while staying on her phone. We pulled off into the school’s parking lot to let her pass and give us a safety buffer, but what a scary thought to realize how far this woman was willing to drive—through a neighborhood with kids and pedestrians—all while looking at her phone.
One of the best escapes the motorcycle provides is an escape from the phone. Not only would you not be on your phone as you need both hands for shifting, braking, and steering. But you can’t even hear the text chime as you’re revving the throttle and zooming about. Today I realized that Bill can’t hear what I’m doing on my bike just as I can’t hear his bike. So today I felt lost in my own world. Of course I can see Bill, but all I hear and feel is my motorcycle, letting myself get lost in the ride.
I did better with the gloves on the bike today, revving the throttle only twice. I did notice, however, when I was riding the 310 the next day, that the gloves make it difficult to turn on the turn signals. Moving forward, I will focus a little more on my grip in these Rev’It gloves to help me have better control.
Our ride picked up after we got around Mrs. Texter. We saw an osprey circling over the river when we had stopped for a moment. I noticed plum blossoms already opened, a sure sign that spring is almost here. The geese we saw were coupled up in mating pairs, another sign of the vernal season despite the winter chill in the air. It was such a cold, dank ride, my fingers started to get numb, so I was happy when we cut the ride short. Plus, I knew I would be riding again the next day.
The next day was 10 degrees warmer, a good day to get the BMW G310 GS out and about. I stalled three times trying to get the bike up enough for me to see around the neighbor’s SUV. I headed out over to the Greek church parking lot to practice S turns and riding on a straight line. I then cruised about, riding by someone who owns the BMW 1250 GSA, smiling because I like the bike and may own one one day, but also because I could recognize the bike.
I didn’t plan on a long ride as Bill was at home not riding. But I did get to go slalom in the orange cones at the high school parking lot, and I explored more of the back roads of the neighborhood. I stalled twice at stops because the 310 requires more throttle input coming out of the friction zone than the Ducati does. But that’s part of why I was out riding the 310, to experience and learn the riding differences between the two bikes. This will help me later in learning how to ride other motorcycles, something I am really looking forward to in the not-too-distant future.
Flutterby Biker 