Sold my GZ, bought a Kawasaki Vulcan 500 LTD

[burkbuilds]

Thanks for everybody's tips that helped me make a decision about what bike I needed to replace my GZ. I really liked my GZ, and it has served me well but circumstances change in life and I needed something that could run with the Atlanta Highway traffic on a weekly basis driving back and forth from my home to Atlanta for the next three or so years.

I finally decided that the Kawasaki Vulcan 500 would do what I wanted within my budget and my local dealer (5 blocks from my house) made me a good price on a brand new 09 plus gave me book value trade in on my GZ. I could have done a little better if I was willing to drive 2 1/2 hours from home but there is a lot to be said for supporting your local independent business owner and building a relationship with them for future service needs too.

She runs great and very smooth in every respect. I'll have to "baby" her during the break in period though. Manual recommends keeping her under 50 mph for the first 500 miles and then under 72 mph for the next 500. That should take me about a month, and then she'll be ready to ride as I wish. Nice deep red paint job and brand new shiny chrome. First bike I've ever bought brand new!

I just ordered a Slipstreamer Falcon ss-32 windshield for her, and a nice sissy bar/backrest/luggage rack. The dealer made me a deal on saddle bag supports for $40 bucks OEM, couldn't complain about that. Now I've just got to wait for everything else to arrive and install it. I'll probably install heated grips too, they were nice to have last Winter, and combined with the Falcon windshield which gives some deflection out past my hands, I'm hoping to keep my fingers even warmer on those cold days. I'll try to get some pictures posted by tomorrow evening.

5/15/09 Got the windshield and some new saddle bags today and installed them this evening. Here are some pictures of the new gadgets on the bike.

I hope you guys won't mind if I continue to stay on this Forum. I did put 10K on my GZ last year and the advice I got on here was great and I've enjoyed the "personalities" I've encountered on this site. I didn't plan on getting rid of the GZ until the opportunity came up to study Engineering in the Atlanta area and life changed unexpectedly again. I was very happy with my GZ for all the driving I did around town and even for the occasionally (read twice a year) trip to Atlanta but I couldn't see me riding it there every week for three years. Anyway, I haven't seen another motorcycle forum that I liked anywhere near as much as this one and I plan to hang around unless Patrick or Dupo decide to shut me down.

Thanks again for everyone's advice!