Gertrude Goes to Dancing Class

[GrandpaDenny]

Gertrude and I attended an MSF Intermediate class (wait MSF calls it BRC2 - I call it dancing class). No two front tires on this girl, no sirree! She rocked the track and embarrassed the shiny sport bikes, and of course the cruisers weren't even in the competition. Biggest girl in the class, and man was she beautiful. It was WORK, though. If I'd had more time to practice, I think I might've been able to get her to do the figure 8s in the small bike box. Maybe. Y'all would've loved the way she out-stopped EVERYTHING by a long shot, even the fancy sport bikes.

Then on the way back from lunch our resident Squid who didn't want to know how to handle the bike on the street but only wanted to race, tried to run away from the pack on his shiny custom-painted Ninja 636. Imagine his surprise when he looked in his mirrors and saw this big grey Elephant right there with him.

This totally confirms my suspicion that the Voyager XII is the Best. Bike. Ever.

Gertrude did so well I want to buy her something new and shiny. She deserves it.

[sheiserman]

I went to one of those classes out in Wisconsin a few years back. There's a track out there called Road America. They didn't let us on that, but we did get to go crazy ( within reason ) on the go cart track inside the main track. It was as much fun as I've ever had at one time on the XII. In the end, we tallied about 50 miles of what they called "track time". To be honest, my '89 took the flogging of its life out there. In between the fun, we had to put on our serious faces and do handling/braking stuff. It became apparent braking was my main weakness. I forget the distances, but we had to get up to 50 mph by the first cone and be stopped at the instructor. I have a heavy right foot and lock the rear up real easy. We ( me and a patient instructor) finally could do it with enough runs. It was set up so one could get a little remedial practice while most of the group was out on the track. Everything else was fine.

The '89 did score quite a few compliments from the class. Most of them didn't know anything about an XII. I bought mine some shiny new gas and was rewarded with a trip back through Wisconsin on 33. I wanted to go through the class to see how I stacked up as I ride alone 99.9 % of the time. I was happy with the outcome, but didn't realize my braking was suspect.

[GrandpaDenny]

I think braking was the best thing I picked up from the first beginner's class I took two years ago, before I bought Gertrude. Squeeeeeze the front brake and keep squeezing harder and harder. Don't slam it on (that WILL break the front tire loose and dump you), and progressively keep squeezing harder. As the weight of you and the bike shifts onto the front wheel you have more and more traction. It happens pretty quickly, too. She lifted the rear wheel off the ground a couple of times. You don't have to worry about feathering the brake or anything. Just progressively squeeze harder and harder and harder. The rear brake you apply lightly and ease off of. Once all the weight's on the front tire the rear brake doesn't do anything much, just maybe helps keep the bike straight. Doesn't apply if you lift the rear wheel ;)

BTW my brakes are stock, with organic pads (EBC). Ok I do have braided hoses on the front (the dual-hose kind). Brakes are important!

[Nails]

Glad somebody’s maintaining the forum’s pulse in these dog days. I’m 1000 miles from my XII, visiting beaches where young women dress in square inches roughly equal to their age, starting around 20. Terrible reminders of my absurdly old, fat self.

[cranky]

... I know there is a young mind in there screaming to get out!!!! GBG

[Nails]

Not too long, though. For me, ‘fraid it’s dancing with my wife ... or XII.
(My wife thought my mathematical model was pretty accurate. “Yeah.”)

[cushman eagle]

Those old VXIIs do pretty well for their age don't they
Mine took my recent 2915 mile trip with no issues at all,with 97,400 now and runs just like it did when I bought it almost 12 years and 75,400 miles ago

[Sidehopper]

I'm constantly finding that as my confidence/skill level improves, my '94 does exactly what I ask of her. So far I haven't found anything the XII won't do comfortably - for example, while giving a ride to a friend I was doing small-diameter circles in a parking lot and was surprised to feel my boot and peg scraping the ground. We were happily and smoothly circling, and when I was done the bike stood straight back up without any fight.

I guess you can't hide that sport bike heritage - all we are "missing" is the tuning that allows us to hit 160 MPH, which is so unnecessary anyway

[GrandpaDenny]

all we are "missing" is the tuning that allows us to hit 160 MPH, which is so unnecessary anyway

One of my favorite Gertrude vs. sport bike experiences (forgive me for telling this story again) was in the mountains above Emporia, PA with my friends on their C14. The road was very rough, they had to go slow, and she (the wife) was almost bouncing off the back of the C14. So I went around them one-handed, drinking coffee with the other.

I was surprised in the class that I only dragged a peg twice. Got applause both times

[Sidehopper]

So I went around them one-handed, drinking coffee with the other.

I was surprised in the class that I only dragged a peg twice. Got applause both times

It's always nice to see someone handle a bike or car with skill, like a race driver taking a soccer mom van around a track at the limit.

I also love the mental image of you cruising by, intercom active, saying "Man, this coffee is still almost too hot" while Gertrude easily handles the road and your friends are just shaking their heads

[GrandpaDenny]

Well, no bike-to-bike intercom. My headsets are 20 dollar cheapies from Amazon. Only bike-to-bike comms I have is CB.