1972 - Upgraded to Yamaha YDS 650, 2-lung, 4 stroke.  Story as before although trips are more frequent and of longer distance & duration.  Maintained instructor certification nationally and locally.

1974 - Got married - goodbye, old friend (sniff)!

Fast forward to June 10, 2008:  Chatting with spouse of 35 years over high gas prices and lamenting my last $200+ fillup in my '99 F250 PowerStroke Super Diesel when she asks: "what kind of mileage do motorcycles get nowadays?"

June 25th - Took delivery of an '08 HD Ultra Classic (What?...Are you Nuts??).  Loaded it on a trailer and took it home.  For a full day all I did was look at it thinking to myself:  "Self...You've got to be out of your ever-lovin mind!!  You just spent more on this thing than your first house cost and you haven't been on a bike in 34 YEARS!!!!!"

I live in a rural area with many winding roads, changing road conditions, critters and cars that like to cross the line on curves, not to mention the 12% driveway grade from my garage to a 12% grade on the road to get out of our subdivision (What an idiot I am!).

Day 2 AM - Practiced 1/2 a day just getting out of my driveway - uphill, and learning the clutch.  Also practiced balancing and maneuvering in my driveway.  Day 2 PM - Collected some courage and made it up the driveway to the road.  Drove around the neighborhood - felt pretty good!  Heavy...this bike is only twice that of my old 650.  Low-speed handling sucks - better with time? Went to the corner...then to the main road...then to the highway (55-60 mph).  Sweet.  Uh-oh.....Now I have to get back into my garage without dumping it!

As of today - 18 days of ownership.  1200 miles so far.  Daily driver when the sun's out.  I use it for daily commute to work. Daily speeds vary up to 60 mph and on varying road types and surfaces.  Plenty of daily hazards and obstacles to anticipate and watch out for. Working on my lane/track control everyday on the winding roads in my part of the county.  On breaks/lunch I slow-speed-practice in the large parking lot where I work (retired TX Highway Patrol,DoD, now at Lowe's).  Been caught in the rain twice - PO'd a bunch of auto drivers behind me 'cause I was driving slow - this bike's a little squirrely in the rain.

Been on 2 rides: Make-a-Wish last weekend (200+ miles), Group Riding Safety Course (classroom & ride) at nearly 150 miles today.  Signed up for an "Old-Fart's" class at the Motorcycle Safety office at the agency I used to be with.  Just want to make sure I haven't picked up or am "practicing" any bad habits.  I have a good rain suit, good breathing riding jacket, helmet, boots and good gloves.

Still very cautious at this point.  I don't trust turn signals on cars. I'm still working hard at building my confidence on curves and the low-speed maneuvering is getting much better. In-town traffic doesn't intimidate me.  I must say that I was not prepared for the mental resources one has to commit to ride (drive) something as big as this - much more than my old Yamaha 650!

Haven't tipped it over yet and have only stalled it once on take-off.  It's going to be a L-O-N-G time before I'm ready for a passenger.  Attending my first HOG Chapter meeting Tuesday - looking forward to it.  All I have met so far have been very helpful and supportive.  One even stated I have huge Kahones for jumping on an Ultra after all that time out of the saddle.

Getting my 1st 1000-mile checkup and service at the dealership this week.  I'm looking forward to the next 1000 miles and more group rides.

For what it's worth.  So far.....so good.

Lakerats

Spicewood, TX

'08 FLHTCU

Welcome to the site and congratulation on the new ride

Most of the time I would say start with a smaller bike, but you are not “new” just rusty and you are taking it easy, you will do just fine.

As far as the weight and size on the Ultra, when I got mine it took just under a couple thousand miles before I did not notice it was bigger and heaver then my past bikes.

My wife comments every once in a while, you throw that thing around like it’s a toy. How do you do that? I don’t know you just get use to it.

Gfurlo

Approaching things slow and easy.....the best way.

Try an ERC. Its fairly inexpensive and is only one day.  If you find it exceptionally challenging, you will know that a BRC would be a good idea.

nobody rides half as well as they know how.

Welcome back to the fold.  I had been riding softtails for some years when I rented a Classic in Knoxville.  Thought I was gonna crash that puppy the first time I got on it!  Baggers are pretty top heavy, so they feel squirrley(sp) until you get used to them.  Just takes a while.

Good luck and safe riding!