Suzuki GSX650F Forum - www.GSX650F.biz

The day started out like any other. I went to work at the normal time, although truth be told, focusing on my immediate tasks took more effort than usual. A normal day by all standards; except for the fact that I was to pick up my first motorcycle from the dealership and ride it home. My friend Tom drove me to Guelph. He had purchased a windshield for his bike and since it was ready the same day as my bike, I asked him to follow me back to Orangeville.

I arrived at the dealership, went in and signed all the required papers, purchased a kickstand puck and a can of chain lubricant and then proceeded outside for a formal briefing from Graeme the salesman. After the thorough briefing, I thanked him for all of his help, then proceeded to put on some of the rain gear I had purchased the previous day. I decided to put on only the pants, as I wanted to see just how water resistant my riding jacket was.

I inserted earplugs (wind noise destroys hearing over time), put on my riding jacket, helmet and gloves and got on the bike and adjusted the rear view mirrors. I raised the kickstand, put the key in the ignition, squeezed the clutch (the GSX650F can only be started with the clutch in and the kickstand up), and hit the starter switch. It fired up immediately and I let it run for about a minute before putting it into gear. Being an inline four cylinder engine, it ran very smoothly without any vibrations. Next I pointed the bike to the exit of the parking lot leading out to Highway 6. This would be my first ride on a major road.

Then the rain started.

As I reached the exit by the edge of the highway, I checked for traffic, turned right and proceeded north. Shifting up through the gears was at first disconcerting, as I was used to riding bikes (only two prior to this in the last two months) with somewhat stiffer shifting. What surprised me was how quickly and smoothly the bike got up to highway speed, before I even got into 3rd gear.

Approximately 800 metres up the highway from the dealership, just as I had settled into 6th gear, I continued my scanning (as drilled into us during the riding course), when I noticed a discoloration in my field of view. The asphalt was dark gray due to the falling rain, but for the life of me, it seemed as if something white popped out of the ground. It was about 150 metres in front of me, IN MY LANE bounding towards me!...at full gallop on four legs! I have no recollection of seeing this animal, which looked like a wolf...no lie, ever crossing onto the highway.

At first sight of this apparition, which in retrospect was probably (I hope) a very large German Shepherd, my hands and feet immediately covered the brakes in anticipation of the inevitable evasive maneuver. Something which my mind was not altogether looking forward to, as the road was wet, I was already at traffic speed and I had an impatient convoy that had formed behind Tom who was following me in his pickup. As I began to modulate my braking, the animal veered off to the left of my track with about 50 metres distance remaining between us.

As I struggled to return my heart rate and blood pressure to nominal levels, I concentrated on finding the back route exit from the highway that would hopefully take me away from both man and beast. I checked my mirrors again and noticed the convoy had exponentially increased in length behind Tom. I was pegged at the speed limit of 80km/h but I was not about to budge a notch over that. Certainly not in this weather. Approximately 6km from the dealership, I saw my exit coming up and gratefully geared down, using engine braking as much as possible prior to the turn.

Once onto the secondary road, I breathed a little easier, but now that my mind was not focused on rampaging animals or trucks bearing down on me, I started to notice that the intensity of the rain had increased and that, wonder of wonders, my fingers were getting numb from cold...in the middle of July. Granted, it was raining and the temperature was about 21C, but the rest of me was toasty warm and dry (the jacket does work). Standard leather riding gloves obviously have a limited coefficient of warmth. I am now seriously considering heated grips and/or heated gloves for fall riding.

There were several occasions when I considered pulling over and jumping in Tom's vehicle to warm my hands, but before I knew it I was passing through Hillsburgh and I knew I was only about 10 minutes from home. With no small amount of satisfaction, I turned onto my street and rode up my driveway and reflected on what had just transpired. While for some this may seem overly sentimental, but riding a bike is nothing like driving a car. Just as I had a big grin on my face when I first soloed an aircraft in my flight training days, I had the same sense of accomplishment when I rode home that day.

My hope is that each time I ride, that same feeling remains and never goes away.

Postscript

I undertook this endeavour with a healthy dose of respect for two-wheeled modes of transportation. Sure, the rain was undesirable, but it had the then unforeseen benefit of forcing me to adjust my speed accordingly and ride all the more carefully. I also did not really get into reporting the technical aspects of my first ride, as I deem my current level of riding experience insufficient to give the bike proper justice. When all is said and done though, the bike is a blast to ride.

I see your priorities are about right:
5 photos of you and the bike,
1 of you, wife and your kids,
4 of the kids.
AND 6 yes 6 of the dog


Life is good

It's funny how that turned out. I never intentionally set that up, but I guess pictures don't lie.

cynapz,
Congrats on the new bike, thanks for sharing the pics. You look like you are blessed in many ways.

Thanks Dwane. Yup. I do consider myself quite blessed. Not necessarily because of my own merits, but grateful nonetheless.

When's chapter 2 being published?!

Great story and great pictures, thanks for sharing

Thanks,

I will probably scrounge up at least one or two more chapters by the time my first break-in period is reached. That could be any time from 1 week to several weeks from now...subject to my everyday life getting in the way.

As of today, 6 days after picking up the bike, I have 559km on tap.

Glad your having fun mate ,its just gets better and better.