[mightdomaybe]

Well I don't know
Sue celebrated her success this morning at the Cheltenham DSA Test Centre with a 30mile + outing on the TA tonight .
A pal called by on his 1980's Honda Nighthawk, I rolled out the 1986 VFR & Sue, aided by the low-seat led the way on the TA.
Apparently....& it wasn't to me she had a bit of a 'nearly' moment as she headed out on the A road just up from home, & a few more wobbly stops at the lights in nearby Tewkesbury, but apart from that she rode as if she had been at it for ever. We took in Tewkesbury town, out on the A38, up past the Haw Bridge & a bikers weekend Camp & Ride in at the Haw Bridge pub, then some nice varied roads onto Corse Lawn Common, across country with the backdrop of the Malvern Hills, to Upton.....on to Pershore, then home on the lanes & windy roads around Bredon Hill.
The way the market is, I don't think there's going to be enough interest to sell via Ebay, & I'm hopeful that she'll develop enough confidence, IF the weather stays fine & we can get a couple more rides in, to decide to withdraw it from sale.

The only downside was I didn't get the pics sorted I promised Rainman...but rest assured, they'll be with you first thing !

 

[Von Short Hausen]

Well then, wish her congratulations from us at XRV :thumbup:

Tell her we're looking forward to seeing her on rideouts.

(I used to visit Evesham regularly when worked for Aunty Beeb, but sadly that was in the car. Pity, cos it really is beautiful biking country).

 

[Sharribee]

Do I take it she passed then - fantastic congratulations Sue

Tell her to keep persevering, the TA is a lovely bike and it took me a while to get used to it. It took me ages to get the confidence to filter just in case I wobbled and couldnt get my foot down to stop it hitting a car.

I had loads of wobbles when I first started and I was on a CB500, we all get them it's all a learning experience.

 

[ChrisH]

Great, I'm sure she'll get to love the TA like we all do Great part of the country - spent a few years around Pershore/Evesham/Cotswolds. Worked for a guy called Dick Smith in Chipping Campden who eventually went bankrupt. To celebrate he took off on a tour of the Great Wall of China on a Kawa trailbike!!! Last time I saw him he was in his 70's and riding a Fazer 1000... Good memories
Van S H - another guy we worked for had orchards behind the Beeb place - Wood Norton? - remember it well!

 

[mightdomaybe]

Looks as if she 'won't

She's woken up this morning in quite a lot of discomfort (not in the Mabel league, but not very clever)
Aggravation of an old facet joint's & tendons problem in the upper back /shoulder's, put down to the physical effort of straightening the bike up & pushing it about ( the little she did) with arms extended & 'up'.

Not looking good. I did suggest she not be a 'wimp'.....didn't go down too well She's not nice when she's angry:evil: :evil: :evil:

Ho Hum. Ebay ends tomorrow & don't forsee it reaching what it should, so it might be a needs must & a breaking down into 'bare bike' & extras. Dealer offer against a new bike is about £3,200 (I think) which is fairly derisory, but cest la vie.

Very glum, despite last nights outing & the nice weather. Chaps coming to see the CBR though, which is better news. This 'Test' has cost me a fortune.

 

[Whealie]

Congrats to her. Tell her I dropped my @ a few times when I first got it as I hadn't ridden anything so big and heavy and tall before. She'll get used to it. Just take it easy - maybe do some advanced training: Bikesafe, IAM etc. That really helps you find out just what you can do with your bike. Slow control practice is also useful.

 

[ChrisH]

Not looking good. I did suggest she not be a 'wimp'.....didn't go down too well She's not nice when she's angry:evil: :evil: :evil:

No, No that's not the way I think a cooling off period is indicated here... give it a few days and maybe with some encouragement, things will turn round. Hope so... also agree with Whealie about getting some training. Good Luck!

 

[JohnR]

I pulled into a nice gentle stop once, but unfortunately looked behind me at the same time and got into a wobble. In fact it wobbled so much it went for a little lay down!

Luckily the Alpos boxes were on and they kept it off the ground.

It's all part of the learning process, and I never come to a stop now without remembering that drop.

 

[GW_elder]

Firstly , congrats on passing the test. I had a year on a Vara125 before graduating to the TA, its a tough ask going to such a big bike, esp for the fairer sex. I'm a 6ft+ fat git and find it a handful sometimes. Got a big carpark nearby that she can practise in ? I use a 'Park &Ride' one thats empty at weekends, handy for practising slow circles and figure of eights without fear of other traffic. Try to learn the bikes 'tipping over ' point so you'll know when its 'only' a wobble. Either way, good luck , keep the black side down !

 

[LazyRider]

Get rid of the TA and buy your wife a nice low Cruiser. With their low down weight and with her feet flat on the floor, she will be able to enjoy her biking.

 

[mightdomaybe]

I think I've given the wrong impression of where the problem lies. Sue rides the bike beautifully......not like a novice at all. The problem come's when she stops, & particularly when she's having to move the bike around when it isn't "under power"......if this picture get's embedded it may help show the problem. I know there are a few other shorter riders out there but she's very petite as well as 'little' height wise. I appreciate the Centre stand is down, but she's takes size 4 boots & she's just not working from a big enough base.

 

[RainMan]

Congrats to Sue, I would tend to agree with previous posts, let her have a 'cooling off' period and let the aches and pains pass before getting back on the bike, if she still has problems at slow speed, or maneuvering the bike without engine assistance, then I think LazyRider has it spot on, have a look around for a different type of bike, would be a shame as she got this far to lose interest. Got the pictures by the way, most appreciated, unfortunately a puncture put paid to me getting the bars on this weekend.

 

[Sharribee]

Get her to have a look at this, one of the girls that I have ridden with (Archeo) has just bought a TDM and was struggling with the height. She bought a pair of Ladystars which have a raised sole and she finds the slow manovering and paddling around much easier.

The only thing is I think they are quite expensive so it may mean you looking at how much you will loose on the bike and weighing it up.

I will PM you for Sue with more info

 

[BARRIE]

get round the bike shops let her sit on something lower and lighter try out as many bikes as you can get a few test rides

 

[mightdomaybe]

Mabel, thanks for the PM, Sue will have a look at that when she gets back from work. She's got a pair of 'sexy' Sidi's & they have a heel of an inch or so, so I'm not sure it'll make much more of a difference, but I'll get her to look anyway.....& Barrie, we've been doing that since we realised it was an issue. Sue's comfortable & capable on the VFR & CBF, so they are a serious option. We've already got an early VFR, in fact she's riding that now, to work. Spookily, 2 local dealers have just offered us as much in P/X for the TA against a CBF1000 as I could reasonably expect to get for it privately ( unless very, very lucky). One dealer want's all the extras too, for the price....probably because I was 'stupid' enough to mention them the other has offered the same, for the bike & centre stand, so the extras would be mine to sell to help offset the BIG price differential. I'm told that a couple of dealers down South ( well, South of me ) are offering biggish discounts against the list (£500 or so) & the same level of P/X too, so I can feel some phone calls to Hertfordshire & the South Coast coming......
Needless to say, IF I could sell privately the cash would bring about a bigger discount than the PX option, but things seem deader than a dead thing which is deceased, so if we don't get pushed before the weekend, I reckon we'll probably 'jump'.