Colorado Motorcycle Trip: Day 1

"Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)" (bman76-4)
06/30/2019 at 20:31 • Filed to: None

Woke up at 4am, took an Uber to the airport, and took a 6:30 flight from Wichita to Denver. Thus began my weeklong motorcycle trip to Colorado.

Picked up my rental Sportster 1200, my parents’ rental Ultra Classic, and met up with my aunt and uncle who’d rode their BMW K1600GTL from Wichita to Denver .

Rode out of Denver north to Loveland and over to Estes Park. Realized that I would be passing within about 100yds of fellow Opponaut “TheLoudMusic’s” place, so I dropped by to say hi.

The canyon run between Loveland and Estes Park is absurdly gorgeous and, even though the Sportster is a massive pile of flaming garbage compared to my XSR900, it’s still a fantastic way to experience the scenery.

And then it rained.

DISCUSSION (24)

AestheticsInMotion > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
06/30/2019 at 20:45

That's a cool house. Also I apparently missed the XSR purchase?? Any more info? Oppo review? I've been meaning to find one locally to look at

VincentMalamute-Kim > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
06/30/2019 at 20:53

You actually drove past my house (I’m about a mile south of Hwy 34) in west Loveland. We got a few drops of rain but I could see the rain falling in the mountains this afternoon .

My Transit probably goes up the canyon better than the Sportster.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > AestheticsInMotion
06/30/2019 at 21:12

A short review: it’s my first bike ( although I grew up riding 4-wheelers off-road) and it’s fast.

It’s really fast.

It’s unbelievably goddamn fast.

I’m not a hooligan, and rode it in the low power “B mode” for a month where it “ only” made 75 hp. The TCS and ABS are a huge help to deal with the extremely rapid pace it will very quickly achieve.

It won’t actively try to kill you, and the big torque down low means riding it around at low-mid rpms is super enjoyable. It’s faster than “ your buddy’s 500-700cc bike” under 8000 rpm, and a proper missile from 8000-11500.

I love it, and I can’t really imagine needing much more bike ever.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
06/30/2019 at 21:16

the gables under the roof confuse me

benjrblant > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
06/30/2019 at 21:18

Aw, i would've said hi!

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > OPPOsaurus WRX
06/30/2019 at 21:22

‘Tis a very silly house, but I guess it works.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > benjrblant
06/30/2019 at 21:23

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > VincentMalamute-Kim
06/30/2019 at 21:26

It’s really not that bad. It really loves going 35-50mph, which is pretty perfect for cruising the twisties. I’m not gonna set any records, but it is fun in its own way.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > AestheticsInMotion
06/30/2019 at 21:30

Also, I bought it back in December for about $5k. I’ve put about a thousand miles on it since then and I haven’t died yet :)

smobgirl > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
07/01/2019 at 01:43

If you’d wanted to leave last Tuesday I could’ve given you a ride! I hope it was cooler up there than here. We went for a hike by Golden today and it was brutal.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > AestheticsInMotion
07/01/2019 at 03:02

Lots of XSR content from him in the past. Where you been!?

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
07/01/2019 at 03:05

Can confirm how bad the Sportster is. Don’t push it through corners too hard. Most of the bike is flaming garbage. Except the fork, which is soggy rotten garbage (or at least has about that much rigidity).

How’s your back?

McMike > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
07/01/2019 at 05:49

Thumbs up emoji.

I’d like the ride the rockies some day. It’s not on the way to anywhere for us , and we’d likely do a southern route across the country... but I still want to.

Pickup_man > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
07/01/2019 at 09:17

I approve of retro Sportster. Despite how terrible they might be I miss mine terribly and desperately want another.

AestheticsInMotion > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
07/01/2019 at 16:01

I want to try one out so bad. I kind of hope I fall in love, since Yamaha is offering some craaaaaazy deals on these locally

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > AestheticsInMotion
07/01/2019 at 17:21

You will. It’s so good. And so well priced, even before discounts.

Did you see my post from this morning?

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > smobgirl
07/01/2019 at 20:09

It’s been in the 70’s all day, unfortunately the afternoon rain kind of shortens our riding day.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
07/01/2019 at 20:12

Not bad, although I did honestly think it was a hard tail until I got off and looked at it at the hotel. It definitely needs more pre-load dialed into the rear end, pretty sure I found the bump stops multiple times.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > McMike
07/01/2019 at 20:14

I think my dad and I are going to run Trail Ridge Road early tomorrow morning. It’s quite the climb up to 12,000 ft at the Alpine Center.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Pickup_man
07/01/2019 at 20:20

If it rode anywhere as goo as it looked I’d love it. It makes my want to go ride a Triumph Bonneville and an Indian Scout to see how they compare.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
07/02/2019 at 01:46

It’s only 1.7" of travel in the rear if I remember right, and uses a crap spring/shock. So might as well be a hard tail.

Pickup_man > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
07/02/2019 at 09:33

I had an 883 Low and I actually didn’t mind the way it rode. It was a bit on the stiff side, and it bottomed out easily, but I found it to be confident and easy to push to the limits. Then again my only reference point at that time was a 30 year old UJM with air forks that didn’t hold air, and rear shocks that may as well have been solid rods. Having ridden a few newer bikes I can see the short comings of the Sportster much easier, but memories and nostalgia are powerful things and I still want another one.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
07/03/2019 at 00:24

I hit a bump on I-70 today hard enough I’m convinced both wheels came off the ground. My back still hurts.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
07/03/2019 at 02:01

Oh yeah I know that feeling. Happened to me once while looking over my shoulder to change lanes. Thought I was going to die.