Reflections from a Newb

Well, I recently joined the ranks of the VFR owners of America. I've had three wheelers, four wheelers, a few minibikes and a couple of dirt bikes but up until yesterday...never rode "leagally" on the street. A couple of weeks ago I was riding my 1968 Atlas mini that I restored around the neighborhood and came upon a pile of stuff sitting at the curb. there was a 5 gallon air pig that was an old Craftsman and was in perfect shape. I knew the guy and asked if he was giving it away...he said yes so I scooped it up and took it home. He did tell me that if I took something at the curb I had to come inside the garage and take something else...he was doing some massive spring cleaning. Well, there she sat...a 2002 red interceptor. I didn't know anything about thsse bikes and said ok, fine I'll take the red one!...he had 4 bikes. He said perfect, take it and we'll figure out a price later. It needed a little work...new tires, battery and probably a chain and sproket before long. So it came home with me and we settled on a very fair price of $2000 It's got 23K on it but has been maintained and never crashed just dropped once. Also has the hard interceptor factory bags. So I got a helmemt, a jacket and took my written test.

Went out and did 100 miles this past weekend in three little trips.

OBSERVATIONS

Sunday mornings are the best time to ride. Nobody's out but it was a bit chilly at 55 Old people, teenage girls and soccer moms are scary
Objects in your mirrors really do appear closer than they are
Don't do the one hand low way to a newb on a VFR....he aint' waving back just yet
A 12 pack of budlight cans, a six of blue moon honeywiezen and a bottle of Riesling will all fit in the Honda bags...and won't break if you drive like a sane person
People look at you strange in the supermarket when wearing a joe rocket jacket (it's 85 outside) and purchasing a bunch of booze and packing it in a motorcycle.
Face shields are a good thing in the springtime when going over 30mph...big painful bugs
More experienced riders wearing teeshirts and flipflops scare me more than my unexpeirneced ass.
cupped tires make a bike ride like poo.

More to come as I figure all of this out....BTW, 40 year old from St. Louis, MO....and no...I won't be drinking and riding...EVER!

 

Sorry for the crappy formatting...not sure what happened.

 

Welcome poorboy! Sounds like you got a smokin' deal!

 

What a vivid imagination you have. Any doubts about the truthfulness of your "alleged" purchase would be removed if you post some pics. Welcome aboard, I agree you got a great deal on the bike!

Rollin

 

Welcome to the club!!

 

Wow! A nice bike and a compressor for $2k?! great deal. What were your observations about the bike?

 

Great bike...and I'll get pictures up sometime soon. tires are cupped pretty bad so anything over 40 was a little rough.

Still learning where she likes to be. I think 4000 rpm seems to be her sweet spot.

Neck hurts...butt hurts...hands hurt. I'm sure that thease are caused by the following...new riding position, crappy honda seat, and newb scared hand syndrome.

Once I calm down, learn the shift points and relax a "little" I'm sure things will smooth out.

 

No compressor just an air pig.

 

Looks like you got a smokin' deal. Welcome to the madness...

 

I have a 2003 and find the 4500-5000 rpm works best for me, but that is completely subjective. Good luck and post the pictures.

 

Damn.......You stole that bike Great deal you got there poorboy. Welcome to the nuts house and be safe.