Riding the GT!

Well, I had a couple of doctor appointments, today. My back is still bothering me, from the accident last May. A few months back I started having problems and thought that I just needed to pay more attention to my PT exercises, but when the pain came home to roost, one morning while teaching a motorcycle safety class, I went back to the doctor and got a MRI that found bone chips off of disks in my back that are floating in the spinal column.

Anyway, I dropped by Bob's BMW to make sure that I had the dampening of my new shock correct.

Carter saw me and asked, "What bike would you like to ride, today?"

At first I deferred. We discussed my thoughts on new bikes.

"At some point, I want to ride a LT just because I've not ridden a K bike," I allowed.

He suggested the K1200GT. I told him that I thought that was temptation with at capitol 'T' but decided to take him up on it.

Wow!

What a truly nice motorcycle.

Smooth, well mannered, superb handling, and increadible power!

I want one!

Not only does it have the power and handling to get you out of trouble with maximum dispatch, should you need it, but it also handled wonderfully at low RPM's and low speeds.

I had no trouble riding it through a couple of slow figure 8's with the handle bars hard right and hard left. That was a first for me on any bike.

In fourth gear at about 55mph, I caught up to a very slow driver and decided to scoot around him. Adding a bit of throttle after changing lanes like I reflexively would on my cruiser, resulted in a surge of acceleration that was eye opening. I'll admit that I had a hard time keeping it down to posted speed limits and was more comfortable riding on slower streets where other vehicles helped me maintain a reasonable pace. It just wanted to fly!

Brakes are not only powerful, like those on my cruiser, but they seem much smoother both getting on them and getting off. Also, the mirrors provide much better visibility than any bike I've ridden, previously.

I didn't get a chance to play with the adjustable shocks, but Carter set them for a single rider before I left, and I must say that they handled bumps very well -- exactly what a doctor might order for my back!

I brought it back and as I stopped, putting my foot down for the first time since departure, I felt as if I was being transformed from a creature of flight back to a clay-footed human being.

Walking back into Bob's, I looked at Carter and seeing his knowing smile I just had to laugh. The experience was great fun and the ride was truly inspiring.