Bill, Boyd and I were joined at breakfast by non-riders Robert, Kent and the long lost Bob K. Afterwards, we tackled the ridge area of eastern Polk County. Billy lasted about an hour before the heat of the day and the copious heat pouring from his ST convinced him that he would rather be somewhere else.
Boyd and I continued the ride, stopping at Love's at SR-559 and I-4. Lunch was at Pappy's Grill inside the Winter Haven Airport terminal. Boyd and I both enjoyed the bacon and bleu hamburger which proved to be an excellent choice.
After lunch, we wandered back in the general direction of North Lakeland. By 2:00 p.m., Boyd headed for home while I returned Eddie's Vulcan.
Although the temperature climbed to 95 degrees during thew ride, it was still a good ride across good roads with good friends. That is what it is all about. Remember, "Not all who wander are lost."
As most readers know, I have been using Eddie's Vulcan Voyager for the past several weeks while my Burgman is being repaired (I'm told I can expect delivery of the new frame no earlier than August 22). While I am very grateful to our brother, Eddie, for the use of his cycle, I have not been especially happy with the Voyager itself. To be accurate, I though it was excessively heavy, hard to push over in the turns, skittish around pavement deviations, a real gas hog, the rear cylinder cooks my left leg, and the gear indicator on the 6-speed gearbox just plain lies to you.
Boyd and I continued the ride, stopping at Love's at SR-559 and I-4. Lunch was at Pappy's Grill inside the Winter Haven Airport terminal. Boyd and I both enjoyed the bacon and bleu hamburger which proved to be an excellent choice.
After lunch, we wandered back in the general direction of North Lakeland. By 2:00 p.m., Boyd headed for home while I returned Eddie's Vulcan.
Although the temperature climbed to 95 degrees during thew ride, it was still a good ride across good roads with good friends. That is what it is all about. Remember, "Not all who wander are lost."
As most readers know, I have been using Eddie's Vulcan Voyager for the past several weeks while my Burgman is being repaired (I'm told I can expect delivery of the new frame no earlier than August 22). While I am very grateful to our brother, Eddie, for the use of his cycle, I have not been especially happy with the Voyager itself. To be accurate, I though it was excessively heavy, hard to push over in the turns, skittish around pavement deviations, a real gas hog, the rear cylinder cooks my left leg, and the gear indicator on the 6-speed gearbox just plain lies to you.
After three Saturday rides, I have learned that it is, indeed, heavy and thirsty. You just can't get around those facts. I have also learned that:
1. The skittishness was largely due to an over inflated front tire (caused by a faulty air gauge) which caused it to push sideways whenever it encountered changes in the pavement. After bleeding off 5 psi, it behaves much more gently, climbing over objects that had previously caused course deviations.
2. The handling improved greatly after I remembered a technique I used with my Gold Wing, which also had a driver's backrest. Big machines just will not push over when the rider's back is firmly planted against the backrest. When riding aggressively through curves and corners you have to lean forward slightly so the machine can move under you without being otherwise restricted. It still doesn't handle like my Gold Wing or Burgman, but the Voyager does handle well for what it is.
3. The baked left leg was cured when I noticed that the left lower vent was not fully open. You would have thought that I would have seen that two weeks ago, but, no.
Now, if I could just get the gear indicator to tell me what gear I'm really in, I might learn to really like this bike. I know, I know. I should be able to tell which gear I'm in without that crutch, but I'm not used to having 6 gears and I don't know the engine sounds well enough yet to figure it out. Going into a corner in 4th when you think you are in 2nd can lead to some very interesting manuvers.
1. The skittishness was largely due to an over inflated front tire (caused by a faulty air gauge) which caused it to push sideways whenever it encountered changes in the pavement. After bleeding off 5 psi, it behaves much more gently, climbing over objects that had previously caused course deviations.
2. The handling improved greatly after I remembered a technique I used with my Gold Wing, which also had a driver's backrest. Big machines just will not push over when the rider's back is firmly planted against the backrest. When riding aggressively through curves and corners you have to lean forward slightly so the machine can move under you without being otherwise restricted. It still doesn't handle like my Gold Wing or Burgman, but the Voyager does handle well for what it is.
3. The baked left leg was cured when I noticed that the left lower vent was not fully open. You would have thought that I would have seen that two weeks ago, but, no.
Now, if I could just get the gear indicator to tell me what gear I'm really in, I might learn to really like this bike. I know, I know. I should be able to tell which gear I'm in without that crutch, but I'm not used to having 6 gears and I don't know the engine sounds well enough yet to figure it out. Going into a corner in 4th when you think you are in 2nd can lead to some very interesting manuvers.
