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Greetings from Portland, OR
Greetings fellow Vulcan riders. I'm hoping to be an asset to the group despite my limited experience!
First a little about me - I've been thinking about a bike purchase for several years now but it never seemed like the right time until last summer. I went through the local TEAM Oregon safety class a couple years back to get my endorsement and had planned to purchase a bike shortly thereafter, but had to settle for a 150cc Chetak scooter for a year or so until the time was right.
Because I am a novice rider I was looking for a bike with medium displacement and when I found a co-worker looking to unload his '05 800 Classic for $2500 I jumped at the chance. Before that I had never even looked at a Vulcan but I was pleased with the styling, condition and the way it handled under my shaky control.
I took it straight to a dealer shop to give it a thorough safety inspection, and a full maintenance service and replaced the tires with brand new Metzeler 880s and began practicing in local parking lots and residential streets in my neighborhood. With the exception of terrorizing a few squirrels, I had no mishaps other than dropping the bike on it's pegs practicing some slow turns. I don't know how I managed to avoid scratching it but that was my first lesson in steering geometry, and how to properly use the clutch!
As Oregon winters and not the best environment for a new rider still learning the performance limits of a new bike, I sadly put her in the garage for the winter and consoled myself with reading David Hough's Proficient Motorcycling books, Mark Zimmerman's Motorcycle Maintenance, and a Clymer shop manual.
I've put about 1800 miles on the bike thus far and am gaining confidence and skill each time I go out.
Now I am hoping to personalize the bike further with some carefully selected accessories this summer. Looking forward to hearing from other 800 classic owners who have purchased and installed new lighting, grips, windscreens as these are my next purchases.
Well if you made it this far, thanks for reading and I hope to see some of you on the road in the future.
First a little about me - I've been thinking about a bike purchase for several years now but it never seemed like the right time until last summer. I went through the local TEAM Oregon safety class a couple years back to get my endorsement and had planned to purchase a bike shortly thereafter, but had to settle for a 150cc Chetak scooter for a year or so until the time was right.
Because I am a novice rider I was looking for a bike with medium displacement and when I found a co-worker looking to unload his '05 800 Classic for $2500 I jumped at the chance. Before that I had never even looked at a Vulcan but I was pleased with the styling, condition and the way it handled under my shaky control.
I took it straight to a dealer shop to give it a thorough safety inspection, and a full maintenance service and replaced the tires with brand new Metzeler 880s and began practicing in local parking lots and residential streets in my neighborhood. With the exception of terrorizing a few squirrels, I had no mishaps other than dropping the bike on it's pegs practicing some slow turns. I don't know how I managed to avoid scratching it but that was my first lesson in steering geometry, and how to properly use the clutch!
As Oregon winters and not the best environment for a new rider still learning the performance limits of a new bike, I sadly put her in the garage for the winter and consoled myself with reading David Hough's Proficient Motorcycling books, Mark Zimmerman's Motorcycle Maintenance, and a Clymer shop manual.
I've put about 1800 miles on the bike thus far and am gaining confidence and skill each time I go out.
Now I am hoping to personalize the bike further with some carefully selected accessories this summer. Looking forward to hearing from other 800 classic owners who have purchased and installed new lighting, grips, windscreens as these are my next purchases.
Well if you made it this far, thanks for reading and I hope to see some of you on the road in the future.
Holler if you need anything!
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