hi form Poland

[bonehead]

Foot boards.

[Tranquility]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

Old age and cunning will overcome youth and exuberance every time! :shocked:

(Although "kids" don't like to hear that.) :roll:

If you're calling me a "kid", THANKS! If not, don't correct me :-)

I spent the weekend in the company of my hubby's kids, their friends and their friend's parents (high school graduation weekend). I still feel more like a kid than a grownup... but am old enough to realize that the kids don't feel the same way. ~sigh~

That's okay ... to the young and exuberant, I'm an old lady on a bike. To the wise and cunning, I'm still a chick. :-)

[Tranquility]

Foot boards! OMG. My memory sux! What was I just saying about feeling young? Ugh

[Water Warrior 2]

We bought the GZ together to share but realized almost immediately that it wasn't going to work.

Yup, sounds like kids and their toys. Bikes tend to get very personal and no one wants to share. Two bikes can be a lot more fun in most cases. Oh, the foot things are called Floorboards.

I can see the future and you will want to upgrade. A GZ will always be in a position of playing catch up with a bigger bike. Just a fact of life in the bike world as we know it. But for now ride your beginner bike and let it teach you to really ride. Learn to anticipate that next hill and take a run at it. Learn to guage traffic flow and where to be with a given amount of power to work with. An underpowered bike is a grand training tool. You will give up in frustration or learn to look ahead and use what you have most effectively. Lynda rode her GZ 5000 kilometers on a trip to visit her brother. Quite a learning experience and confidence builder to say the least. She now has an "M-50" Suzuki and rides it very well with confidence and experience under her belt. Future plans are to someday ride across Canada coast to coast.

[Tranquility]

Yes, my GZ turned into "my" GZ the moment hubby signed the Honda papers. :-) And I made no bones about how good it felt to be able to call her "mine". Thanks Water Warrior for your advice (anticipating the next hill, gauging traffic, etc.) Indeed every time I ride, I feel more in tune with the road. I used to get terrible butterflies in my stomach before every ride, and riding in traffic (as opposed to country back-roads) was not pleasant in the slightest. Now, zero tummy flutters and I zip through town with no problem. Lots of caution, but no fright.

[Water Warrior 2]

Lots of caution but no fright sounds great. Hate to sound like the Safety Patrol but armored gear, bright colors and the headlight on Hi-beam will help in the long run too. A headlight modulator is an even more attention getting device for cagers. Most cagers are not programmed to see anything smaller than a car. You have to get their attention. When coming up to an intersection I will weave from side to side in my lane to alert oncoming traffic, it works too. Will quit now before I write a book that has been written before. The book is "Proficient Motorcycling" and worth it's weight in gold.

[Tranquility]

Headlight modulator? I'll have to Google that!
Armored gear: check! Leather jacket has armored back, shoulders & elbows.
I own "under" armor but confess that I almost never wear it under my jeans.
Full-face Arai, gloves, 11" leather boots.
Bright colors: need to catch up with that. Right now I'm in jeans and dark leather. Justification is I only ride during the day, but that's really just an excuse.
By the way, your Lynda is my hero! 5,000 kilometers, holy cow! That's like me riding all the way across the states to California. I just can't imagine! Oof!! She didn't do it on a stock seat, did she??

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by Tranquility

Headlight modulator? I'll have to Google that!
Armored gear: check! Leather jacket has armored back, shoulders & elbows.
I own "under" armor but confess that I almost never wear it under my jeans.
Full-face Arai, gloves, 11" leather boots.
Bright colors: need to catch up with that. Right now I'm in jeans and dark leather. Justification is I only ride during the day, but that's really just an excuse.
By the way, your Lynda is my hero! 5,000 kilometers, holy cow! That's like me riding all the way across the states to California. I just can't imagine! Oof!! She didn't do it on a stock seat, did she??

Oh she did too. The stock seat was a perfect fit for her. Not even a sheep skin to soften the seat. Although I am sure the trunk/backrest in place of the pillion seat added to the comfort factor. That was a fun project that worked out perfectly on the GZ.
Headlight modulator. Check out " sales@comagination.com " . They have a sweet plug and play unit that the M-50 now sports. The GZ had a cheaper unit from elsewhere that proved unreliable after a year of service. The Vstrom has Kisan Technology mods for the twin headlights and they are solid items too.
Also, if you ever worry about some one missing the GZ brake light there is a great fix for that. You can get Hyperlight moduating LED brake lights that really get noticed. If you are interested I will find the site where I purchased them. Not all suppliers carry them and this model was the most effective for the money in my opinion. They are small but pack a visual punch on the "M".

[Tranquility]

Thanks for the info, Water Warrior! I saw a bike the other day with a breaklight modulator and thought it was a great idea! Now I see it's far from a new or unique, the web is crawling with units for sale!

Trunk/backrest on Lynda's bike: do you have a pic maybe? I'm liking the sound of that!

[Water Warrior 2]

IIRC, there are pics and descriptions of the backrest/trunk posted by Happy Hobo and myself. Sometime in the first half of 2007. I will try a search but can't promise anything. I am a real looser when in search mode.