If it weren't for the customers, this job would be the sh*t

I like riding different bikes for the feel of it. If I could ride everyday (which I used to when I had five guys of staff when I was doing a lot of sateilite installs) I would own a dozen different bikes and learn to ride each one.

I even put a sidecar on one of my Goldwings just for the fun of learning to handle it. Most folks who rode it just whined and complained about how awful a sidecar is with it pulling one way under acceleration and pushing the other way on hard braking. Instead I learned to handle it. I'm no sidehack racer, but I got a big kick out of learning the tricks you can do with one, like slamming on the back brake coming into a parking space to slide the bike around to face back out of the parking space, or putting the sidecar up in the air and riding on two wheels for a ways.

I enjoy a bike with few limitations, but I think I enjoy more learning the capabilities of a new bike. I don't race and my speed tests have all been on old sections of closed highway. I do not push the limit on the road, but I do enjoy a different ride and learning how to handle a bike.

I recall one trip up Yarnell hill on my Electraglide. Now there is a Barca Lounger with wheels. LOL. I had a guy on a sportbike (probably a brand new rider) come racing up on my rear end in one of the straight aways. He passed me in my lane with no hesitation. What a jerk. Anyway, I watched him in the next turn. He just stayed center on his machine. No shift of weight or anything. Hmmm... I started crowding him in the turns by hanging on with one leg and knee dragging. You don't have much lean angle on an FLHT before the board start to drag, but it will fold up and give you a lot more lean if your foot isn't on it. It worked. He would race out ahead of me on every straight and I would be right up on his ass in the next turn. I dogged him all the way up the mountain. That has to be the hardest run I ever put that 97 MPH sofa on wheels through. For me it wasn't about riding fast, but riding under control.

I actually do not enjoy riding like that, but I did enjoy learning to ride that bike well. I'm one of those rolling speed bumps sportbike riders complain about. The sceenry is just as important to me, and a liesurely ride up a beaughtiful canyon side with a few curves for interest is my thing.

I'm still learning to ride the MeanStreak, but then I don't have the time to ride everyday since I'm doing most of my own teching these days, and I fish bass tournaments almost every weekend. There is another learning curve. Learning to drive a high speed bass boat at top end. Wow! Its definitely not like driving a car no matter what it looks like. P.S. There is no speed limit on the river.