Bob Gets His Ride.

In my last post, I mentioned that you no longer need a special license in SC for a trike -- it's not a motorcycle, and doesn't behave like one, and they no longer have a special trike classification. So that meant that I was able to take Linda's Goldwing out for a spin.

It was a little nerve-wracking at first, but I got an opportunity to focus on the throttle, brakes and shifting, without having to worry about dropping the motorcycle -- three wheels are awesome! It doesn't steer like a motorcycle either, but it was more fun than I thought it would be.

We took a trip to Charleston for a long weekend, and I got a chance to ride around down there, and Linda let me drive the entire trip home. It made me realize that having my own motorcycle would be a lot of fun for both of us. That way we both could ride. So we started looking. I went to the DMV and got my permit, so I'd be ready when I found what I wanted.

My brother-in-law Jim was a big help with advice on what to get. I was thinking small -- a 750 should be big enough, shouldn't it? We went to Sumter and looked at the Hondas (I think he wanted to go to window shop at the new Gold Wings), and Linda, Chris, Quint and Jim all convinced me that, if I intended to ride on the Interstate, I would not be happy with a 750. I wasn't too sure about the Honda 1300 class, and we headed back to Florence.

He let me borrow a Yamaha 250 for the weekend, to see how I liked it. It didn't take long after a few miles on it to realize that I wanted one.

Jim had earlier introduced me to Steve at Yamaha/Kawasaki of Florence, and I went down and spoke with them. He showed me the V-Star 1300 Cruisers, and I picked out the one in the picture above. I had them put on a windshield, and that was it.

It didn't take me long to realize that I needed to take the Bike Safety Course myself, so I signed up. It was a tough weekend, but I learned a lot, and got my waiver at the end.

Now, I've got my Class DM license, and I truly believe that what I learned in the class has helped me avoid the situations on the road that could put me in danger. That knowledge has probably saved my life. If you haven't taken the course and your riding now, or are thinking of getting a motorcycle, I urge you to take it. I guarantee you'll learn something about riding that you didn't know before.