[CardinalFang]

Hello,
My name is Chris and I'm an alcoholic.

Oops, wrong forum. :biggrin:

Bought my first bike (Yamaha dual sport XT225) in 2002 as something simple, light, and cheap to learn on. Got my license and rode it for short commutes and fun in the woods until a road incident shook me up pretty badly in 2009. Sold it shortly after, put the money into the house and never looked back...

Until last year.

After many months of shopping I last week bought my second motorcycle, a used 2013 Suzuki Boulevard C90T B.O.S.S. and am enjoying it daily (put 300 miles on it so far). This is a big step up for me, especially after not riding for so long and I've found it to be an amazing motorcycle. I tell people it's my mid life crisis purchase selected over these two other options:

1. Corvette convertible (costs more than the bike)
2. 18 year old girlfriend (more dangerous than the bike)

Clearly I made the right choice.

I'm taking it slow since this thing weighs eight hundred pounds and has TONS of power, but learning lots of new techniques and skills as well as breaking myself of some bad habits. Looking forward to the day my wife and I can spend time together on it, something I've wanted since I was a kid.

On a more personal note: I'm forty, married, and live in the York, Pennsylvania area (it's serious Harley country since the factory is just down the road). Our son got married and joined the US Air Force in 2014 so we've spent the last year or so trying to get our bearings back. We could not be happier for, or be prouder of him, he's grown up to be a wonderful man.

But it's been a strange trip, man.

Fortunately he still needs us sometimes (the phone rang at 11:15pm last night, in fact) but he doesn't want to pick up the phone and call his mom and dad any more than I did at that age.

I'm a test engineer at a company that repairs and refurbishes cellular devices (phones, tablets, etc) and I enjoy the daily challenges. January was 15 years at this company, so I'm in it for the long haul.

Had a second spine surgery last fall and thought that was the end of my motorcycle plans but with the right doctors and continuous physical therapy (2 days a week) I can lift my right leg over a seat again. A low seat, that is.

I came here looking for advice on cost effectively adding a sissy bar to my motorcycle as well as riding tips and finding people to ride with when the time comes.

That's about it, thanks!

PS - Last night was my first time EVER in highway traffic, turns out it's every bit as terrifying as I thought it would be! But hey, if it wasn't at least a little bit scary it wouldn't be exciting, would it?

 

[Hollywood-]

LOL, Hello Chris, I'm Gary and I am also an Alcoholic.

Welcome to The Forum

 

[hogcowboy]

 

[Critter]

Hello Chris, we will be up your way for the open house.

 

[MZ250]

Best intro I've read so far...welcome to the party, from Northeast Ohio!

 

[93938]

hi chris
welcome neighbor. i live about an hr. north east of you near dorney park. i meet a group from philly at the sheetz on rt 30 in york for various runs. this is the group if you feel like joining them. they have quite a few of the members riding 2 up with the wife's etc. an come pass there on runs an they have no problem picking you up there.
http://www.meetup.com/philadelphia-area-riders/

it's a great thing to have the wife or girl friend ride with you. thank your son for me for his service. vietnam 67-68

 

[CardinalFang]

Critter,
that's good to hear, it's quite an event isn't it? Some of my fondest memories as a teenager were sitting on route 30 with my friends watching all the bikes cruise up and down, looking forward to the day we could have machines of our own. Little did we know how things would turn out and what it REALLY cost to get into the game.

One friend got lucky at age 20 and won a used HD Sportster on a radio station contest but had to sell it a couple years later to pay for school. Another bought a crotch rocket about the same time and sold it to help pay maternity costs. I didn't start riding until I was almost thirty I think, and here I am now with a Japanese motorcycle.

I don't know how it is everywhere else but I'd venture to say Harleys are a cultural thing here in York. Even if we don't own one most of us are fans, not just of the product but of the company as well. Many non-riders have or even collect the black Harley Davidson t-shirts. Harley is one of the few remaining big manufacturers left in York. Caterpillar is long gone, AMP (American Marine Products) is gone, I believe Tyco is pretty well dried up and gone to a service-oriented business model.

We still have BAE Systems (BMY when I was a kid, then later United Defense), a downsized Johnson Controls (Formerly York Air Conditioning), and of course Harley Davidson.

Jobs at Harley are highly coveted and the waiting list used to be years long, though I don't know what it's like these days. For example, one guy I went to high school with got in at age 21 or 22 and is still there because that's not a job you take for granted or abandon lightly. It was the holy grail of jobs to us as young people and even if we only got to sweep the floor for a summer we would have appreciated it.

So in this area Harleys aren't just a motorcycle we want to own some day. They're an icon, something we appreciate, hold dear, and are protective of. Whether we own one or not, or even whether we ride at all. That company has fed a lot of families and put a lot of kids through college over the years.

That's one reason it sucked so much when Cat closed production, those bright yellow machines were iconic as well. But I have to say it sure was fun to stand on the picket line late at night with our friend's fathers and yell at the scabs as they came through the entrance! Talk about mis-spent youth!

Swfly,
cool, thank you VERY much for the link. I will take you up on it when I'm ready to do a trip, hopefully this year some time. I see the trip to Centralia was cancelled, probably for the best! LOL, I didn't think you could even get INTO that town at all. Although a town that's been on fire for fifty years certainly sounds like an interesting destination.

I'll pass along your appreciation when I see my son, hopefully around Christmas. Thank YOU for what you've done as well. My father served in Vietnam (Army) as well and I've seen first hand my entire life the toll it took on him. He's still dealing with it in fact, so thank you.

-Chris

 

[Oldman47]

I don't know how it is everywhere else but I'd venture to say Harleys are a cultural thing here in York. Even if we don't own one most of us are fans, not just of the product but of the company as well. Many non-riders have or even collect the black Harley Davidson t-shirts. Harley is one of the few remaining big manufacturers left in York.

Jobs at Harley are highly coveted and the waiting list used to be years long, though I don't know what it's like these days. For example, one guy I went to high school with got in at age 21 or 22 and is still there because that's not a job you take for granted or abandon lightly. It was the holy grail of jobs to us as young people and even if we only got to sweep the floor for a summer we would have appreciated it.

So in this area Harleys aren't just a motorcycle we want to own some day. They're an icon, something we appreciate, hold dear, and are protective of. Whether we own one or not, or even whether we ride at all. That company has fed a lot of families and put a lot of kids through college over the years.

Welcome to the forum.
HD is pretty much an icon everywhere. It sells tons of clothing even to non-riders and what pickup truck is complete without an HD back window decal?
My own opinion of them is a bit different. They are a clothing store that also sells bikes and bike cleaning stuff. I own a metric bike, a Victory Vision, that contains more american made parts than any HD but I own and like my HD branded FXRG jacket. I bought it when I owned a Yamaha and still use it for winter riding on my Victory.

 

[Furboll]

Hello,
My name is Chris and I'm an alcoholic.

Oops, wrong forum. :biggrin:

Bought my first bike (Yamaha dual sport XT225) in 2002 as something simple, light, and cheap to learn on. Got my license and rode it for short commutes and fun in the woods until a road incident shook me up pretty badly in 2009. Sold it shortly after, put the money into the house and never looked back...

Until last year.

After many months of shopping I last week bought my second motorcycle, a used 2013 Suzuki Boulevard C90T B.O.S.S. and am enjoying it daily (put 300 miles on it so far). This is a big step up for me, especially after not riding for so long and I've found it to be an amazing motorcycle. I tell people it's my mid life crisis purchase selected over these two other options:

1. Corvette convertible (costs more than the bike)
2. 18 year old girlfriend (more dangerous than the bike)

Clearly I made the right choice.

I'm taking it slow since this thing weighs eight hundred pounds and has TONS of power, but learning lots of new techniques and skills as well as breaking myself of some bad habits. Looking forward to the day my wife and I can spend time together on it, something I've wanted since I was a kid.

On a more personal note: I'm forty, married, and live in the York, Pennsylvania area (it's serious Harley country since the factory is just down the road). Our son got married and joined the US Air Force in 2014 so we've spent the last year or so trying to get our bearings back. We could not be happier for, or be prouder of him, he's grown up to be a wonderful man.

But it's been a strange trip, man.

Fortunately he still needs us sometimes (the phone rang at 11:15pm last night, in fact) but he doesn't want to pick up the phone and call his mom and dad any more than I did at that age.

I'm a test engineer at a company that repairs and refurbishes cellular devices (phones, tablets, etc) and I enjoy the daily challenges. January was 15 years at this company, so I'm in it for the long haul.

Had a second spine surgery last fall and thought that was the end of my motorcycle plans but with the right doctors and continuous physical therapy (2 days a week) I can lift my right leg over a seat again. A low seat, that is.

I came here looking for advice on cost effectively adding a sissy bar to my motorcycle as well as riding tips and finding people to ride with when the time comes.

That's about it, thanks!

PS - Last night was my first time EVER in highway traffic, turns out it's every bit as terrifying as I thought it would be! But hey, if it wasn't at least a little bit scary it wouldn't be exciting, would it?

Hey Chris,
Welcome from your fellow Pennsylvanian. I'm not too far from you in Dillsburg. I actually work in York behind the prison. Just started riding in to work this year because I was cautious of the traffic once I get in to the city, but I overcame it after a few test runs on Sundays. I actually avoid route 30 since I get off work at the same time as the Harley crew does and I can spen up to 40 minutes just trying to make it down to route 74. Mt Zion is a much quicker ans scenic ride for me.

 

[mike721]

Welcome from yet another Pennsylvanian, I'm from more North and East, Bangor, in the foothills of the Poconos.
My wife and I rode through your area in the beginning of the summer, down 30 and then 15, on the way to Virginia and Washington Dc to visit my daughter, then back, with a side trip to Antietam Battlefield in Maryland on the way home. My first decent length trip, we were celebrating my finally getting a motorcycle license with a 650 mile weekend.
That's some pretty country down there, nice riding and lot's of history of course if your into things like that.

When we rode down 15 it was Gettysburg bike weekend and I swear my wife and I were the only 2 on metric bikes, everything else had HD on it, but everyone waved and smiled and it was a very nice ride.

Have fun!!!

 

[Jahuth]

Hello,
My name is Chris and I'm an alcoholic.

Oops, wrong forum. :biggrin:

That was a good one. Laughed out loud on the job and now the boss knows I wasn't working. Thanks a lot.....

 

[The Shake]

Welcome. I am from Lancaster myself, but currently live in Gainesville FL.

 

[Ninja Rebel]

Welcome from North Germany
Ouch, spinal surgery you said, dear Lord, I hope you are good ?

Take it easy riding, get your landmarks back before you abuse of an 800 lbs. machine, mine does only 400 & something...

Sounds that you are a great family man, appreciate that, I think I am too.

Oh, and I am also not alcoholic (well, maybe I am...), but don't tell...

 

[CardinalFang]

Thank you ALL for the warm welcome. I'll be at the White Rose on Philadelphia street (York, PA) Friday night for bike night, maybe I'll see someone from the forum there.

I have a question but haven't reached the number of forum posts to start a thread, nor have I found (after searching) a thread where this topic is discussed:

What's the generally accepted etiquette in dealing with our friendly neighborhood law enforcement officers when being pulled over on a motorcycle?

And I don't mean 'be courteous and compliant', that goes without saying. Would they prefer we dismount after removing a helmet or keep our butts in the seat until asked to dismount? I find most police officers to be fair these days, of course I'm not a punk-ass kid any more either. ;P

I've heard a lot of complaints about Northeastern Regional over the last ten years but found them to be a VERY reasonable bunch. Hell, one time they waited for me shop for my beer before pointing out I turned right on red and shouldn't have. :icon_cool:

Thanks for any input you might have!

-Chris

PS - I have a friend who had an EXTREMELY bad habit of getting out of his car when pulled over. Took being drawn on twice to learn his lesson. Nice guy, just thick headed sometimes.

 

[Critter]

There are several LEO's on the board. Their answer will probably be the best, all things considered.