Sunday, September 11, 2011

My new/old ride! Let me introduce you to Lucy...

My motorcycle is a 1984 Honda CM 450E, she is an oldie, but a goodie!  I have dubbed her Lucy.

Thursday night Motorcycle Man and I went to look at a bike.  I knew from the moment I saw it,she belonged to me.  I called her Lucy, it just popped into my head. I am still not flat footing completely, but it is a comfortable sit.  I decided that I wasn't going to buy new and was going to find an inexpensive starter bike. I  can always up-grade when I have been riding for a bit and am comfortable.  She has a ding on her tank and a few scratches here and there, but it adds to the Princess Road Warrior persona, after all you can't look tough in a pink jacket.  I might even decide to restore her to her original glory, she is a very nice smooth riding bike.  I had her out in the parkinglot and was working on shifting and stopping.  I got her up to second gear and downshifted smoothly.  She is a completely different ride than my scoot Vixen.  I have to say there is a huge gap between 50 cc and 450cc, but I am managing pretty well.  So my journey continues and I am looking forward to doing my Novice class and traffic course.  

Motorcycle Man is already planning some refurb projects on Lucy and he was out there detailing her today and making sure I have a safe ride.   Thank you Motorcycle Man you are the best!





13 comments:

David Masse said...

Congratations Dar, Lucy rocks!

So what happens to Vixen? Will she find a new home, or are you going to have to make riding choices every day?

Turtle said...

Wow!!
What a beautiful bike! And that metallic burgundy color is simply the best!

I am soooo excited for you.

Keith - Circle Blue said...

Ah, more adventures.

Looks good . . . and, it is a Honda. I hear you meet the nicest people on a Honda :)

I'm glad you are happy. A good beginning is very nice.

Unknown said...

Dar:

welcome to the world of manual shifting, you will come to like it, esp on the open road as you gear down and slingshot through the twisties. congrats on your new ride

bob
Riding the Wet Coast

Dar said...

Thank you all!

David - for now I am able to make riding choices, I love Vixen, but she sure seems tiny & whisper light when I ride her after Lucy. When I consider upgrading it maybe to a bigger bike or possibly a bigger scoot. I'm thinking a bigger scoot for in city driving and I could keep Lucy for longer jaunts.

Turtle - It is a divine colour, I love it! Goes pretty goof with my pink gear.

Keith- It's true what they say about Hondas & meeting nice people! I met my hub 28 years ago when he was riding his Honda V45 Magna and we have stuck together like gum on your motorcycle tire does. LOL (okay I was searching for a bikey analogy - I tried).

I had a great bike lesson from motorcycle man, he is such a good teacher. I did a correct stop several times and I had a flubbed attempt, but I didn't freak! I pulled the clutch in and made sure I was in the right gear & off I went. Yay!!!

Dar said...

Bob!!!! I am soooo excited! I love it!!! I honestly don't know why I waited so long!!!!

SonjaM said...

Welcome to the family, Lucy, and congrats to you, Dar. This is a wonderful little bike. And Honda is a good and reliable brand to start with (my re-entry bike was a Honda too).
I love the handle bar, this is the kind I hope to get for my Sporty.
If you can, keep the scoot. Otherwise you are going to miss that easy twist and go in traffic. I wouldn't want to miss my scooter for the daily commute or to run my errands ;-)
It is natural to have more that one bike anyway, it comes with the addiction, uhm hobby...

Deb said...

DANG! How COOL is THAT?!

Must feel like riding a jet after scooting on a 50cc!!

You go, girl!

RG aka Deb

Dar said...

Sonja Thanks so much! I love the handle bars on my bike too. I tried bikes with straighter handles, but didn't like the reach. These are comfortable handlebars and makes steering easy. My scooter/motorcycle addiction has been 28 years in the making, but when it bit it was full on. I love my scoot & don't think I want to give it up, it's easy to ride. I am enjoying learning the new style of riding.

Deb - it does feel like a rocket, a heavy rocket. I haven't cranked the throttle open yet, I am trying to get used to it's weight. After riding today on it I rode my scoot & it felt as light as a feather. It's been cool learning to coordinate the clutch, throttle & brake, a little challenging trying to get it all working smoothly but I'm getting there.

Trobairitz said...

Congrats Dar. You looks awesome sitting on your new to you ride. I am happy you are venturing into the motorcycle world. You will love it. Can't wait to hear about your and Lucy's adventures.

Ben said...

Congrats on the new ride!

RichardM said...

Congratulations on the new bike. I've heard nothing but good things about the older Honda's. When I started riding, I was looking for something similar but they are hard to find in good condition. The only things on the market were these huge engined bikes that couldn't carry any camping gear.

Richard - My blog

Dar said...

Trobairitz - I am seriously happy about this too. Its funny I always thought the clutching was a huge deal, I'm not sure why either because I drive a manual tranny van. It was a little hard at first because Vixen is a twist'n'go. But I am getting it down and each time I go out it gets better.

Benny - Hey man how are ya! Hope to see you at the scooter rally next spring. I love my new ride she is pretty sweet.

RichardM - It took awhile for us to find Lucy. I looked at least at 20 bikes. Some people wanted way too much for the older ones, yup they were in good condition, but it is still an old bike. I found some of them were too tall or too noisy - I'm not a fan of loud pipes. That could be because the hub has a Honda and it purrs like a kitten. We looked at everything ranging from 250 up to 650 and the higher the cc the bigger the bike was & it was just too heavy for a starter bike. I am used to a feather light compact vino!