Many of you know I bought my 2010 NT in Dec 2009 and it was one of the first sold in California. I heard the bike was coming, researched it as best I could and ordered it sight unseen. I was tired of riding my Bagger a 2002 Yamaha Silverado 1100. It was okay in a straight line but that was about it. And I thought with my retirement the NT would fit the type of riding I aspired to. I should have known the first time I threw my leg over it at the dealer it was the wrong bike for me, it was too tall. I figured I'd get used to it, I never did. And life kind of got in the way and I never rode the bike as it was supposed to be riden.
A couple of months ago I saw the first ad in Rider magazine for the Bolt. I was smitten. I had been looking at H-D Sportsters and Street Bobs. I started researching again and read everything I could. I contacted a local dealer and he said he would have a couple in late May or early June. This time I wasn't going to buy without seeing one and testing it. When it came in I rode up to Yucca Valley in the High Desert to test ride.
When I stepped up to the bike I was impressed, it looked like an Iron 883 on steroids. I threw my leg over with no problem and started it up. Nice low rumble. The first thing I noticed was the engine, I could see it, and the rear cylinder was very close to my...well lets just say it was close. Both my feet were firmly on the ground and it made me feel very confident. I let out the clutch and pulled up to a nearby stop sign and put my feet down. Man, they touched down right now, I didn't have to tippy toe it at all. Let out the clutch and pulled out onto Highway 62 toward Twentynine Palms (that's 29 stumps or the "stumps" to any of you old jarheads out there) and easily merged right into traffic. Lots of low end grunt, felt good. I did notice early on that the suspension was as I had read stiff and short. It didn't care for frost breaks across the road or pot holes (kinda like my NT) and the speedo was difficult to see in certain light.
Well, to make a long story short, I was impressed. This was the kind of light and nimble bike I wanted. It's not perfect, but what is. I rode it 45 miles that day to it's new home and left the NT behind. I smiled all the way, and I'm still smiling.:smile:
A couple of months ago I saw the first ad in Rider magazine for the Bolt. I was smitten. I had been looking at H-D Sportsters and Street Bobs. I started researching again and read everything I could. I contacted a local dealer and he said he would have a couple in late May or early June. This time I wasn't going to buy without seeing one and testing it. When it came in I rode up to Yucca Valley in the High Desert to test ride.
When I stepped up to the bike I was impressed, it looked like an Iron 883 on steroids. I threw my leg over with no problem and started it up. Nice low rumble. The first thing I noticed was the engine, I could see it, and the rear cylinder was very close to my...well lets just say it was close. Both my feet were firmly on the ground and it made me feel very confident. I let out the clutch and pulled up to a nearby stop sign and put my feet down. Man, they touched down right now, I didn't have to tippy toe it at all. Let out the clutch and pulled out onto Highway 62 toward Twentynine Palms (that's 29 stumps or the "stumps" to any of you old jarheads out there) and easily merged right into traffic. Lots of low end grunt, felt good. I did notice early on that the suspension was as I had read stiff and short. It didn't care for frost breaks across the road or pot holes (kinda like my NT) and the speedo was difficult to see in certain light.
Well, to make a long story short, I was impressed. This was the kind of light and nimble bike I wanted. It's not perfect, but what is. I rode it 45 miles that day to it's new home and left the NT behind. I smiled all the way, and I'm still smiling.:smile: