well here in Southern MD it was a humid day, i went out earlier around 11 and roasted my balls off. i came home, parked the bike and just relaxed in the a/c...lounging in my bed watching tv. i usually work on saturdays, but not today! i just layed around watching tv just waiting for time to pass......waiting for it to get later so i could take my bike back out in cooler weather. so around 6 i said screw it.......took'er out. well, it was still somewhat humid but i just grinned and beared it. i just took it slow and cruised around. there's a bridge about 3 miles from my house and its pretty tall and maybe a 1/2mile long. the sunset from that bridge is AMAZING!!!! and i just so happened to be crossing at the perfect time to catch a glimpse of it. it was a great, colorful sunset........and i glanced down at the machine i was riding....looked out over the water......admired the sunset, listened to the roar of my two bros pipe echoing off the wall of thebridgeand thought to myself, this is the greatest thing EVER! all my life i've wanted a bike and last month i finally got one. i still find it hard to believe it belongs to me when i step outside and see it. well as i passed over the bridge on apretty decent evening i was in the greatest mood ever. i dont think anything could have ruined it (ok, i can think of a few, lol). i went to see my g/f at wrk for a few minutes, then was on my way again. i found myself NOT wanting to go back home. all i wanted to do was ride around, enjoy the weather and my new found addiction. but there arent any spectacular roads to ride here in MD. so i just cruised for a bit w/ the biggest smile on my face and the best mood i could possibly be in. thinking to myself.....i finally have one, this isMY bike :)!

so far since i've had it i've put almost twothousand miles on it. i cant seem to keep myself off of it! all my friends admire it and always tell me they wouldnt mind owning one. my usual response is "take the msf course, spend the $200 and you'll NEVER regret it!". i always tell them that riding on two wheels, having that feeling of nothing around you....just you and the bike, is the greatest feeling ever. i truely think its one of those things you HAVE to do before you're time is up on this earth. kinda like that Dr.Pepper commercial w/ the old man thats told he's going to die soon as he drinks a Dr.Pepper and says "what else havent i done?!"..........so he's calls a woman he had a crush on back in the day, and does other things that he's always wanted to do and at the very end they show him flying down a highway on a kawi screaming "wooohoooooooooo!".

well, i'll end my long, drawn out "softy" post here, lol. just thought i'd share the great ride i had this evening and the love i now have for riding. glad to be apart of the "family" and i plan on having this be a life long addiction.........

So, you big softy, I love your post...you hit a vein. 98% of the time I am on my bike, it is the best feeling. I wonder if it is because it engages nearly every sense you have and creates a natural high (endorphins). I love riding through a shaded area and I feel the temperature drop 10 degrees or more,I love the good smells that waft into your helmet as you ride, I love the visuals you notice as you are in touch with your heightened senses...I could go on forever too...I think we all could. Nice post. :)

thanks voodoo [8D]. just as you described it.....its as if all you're senses are on point........catching everything. and i felt that temp drop as i hit the other side of the bridge (for some reason over there its always cooler), felt the cooler air going through the vents on my leather jacket. but yeah, i could go on forever! i always dread that drive back down my road, to my driveway, to my house......where i park my bike until our next trip.

Damn you struck a vein with me too... I couldn't have said it better!!:D If you ride for the love of riding, and not for the attention you get from it, then it's times like this that give you one of the best feelings in the world... nothing else like it! It's weird how sometimes the simplest little things and the right timing, can make for the perfect moment.

And believe me I know the feeling about dreading going home.... I was that way my entire way back from my roadtrip last year. I even stayed at my sisters place in Illinois an extra day or two just cuz I didn't want to start heading back home. After 15 days on the road, exploring new places I'd never been before, the breathtaking scenery and kick ass roads of north Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and then visiting friends and family in other states, the last 2.5 days were the worst part of the whole trip. 1500 miles headed south, knowing my trip was over and I had to go home, no more new places to explore, had to go back to work that following tuesday... it was the worst! [:@] But the rest of the trip made up for it... for those 15 days I didn't have a care in the world! Well except making sure I didn't run out of gas in the super desolate areas of WV, and finding a place to sleep every night, LOL

I'm glad to hear you're loving the bike!! Stay safe and I hope you enjoy it for many years to come:D

i just started riding too, and what better bike than the F4i.. I dont care if i am alone or sharing the moment with other riders, there is nothing better than being out there, on two wheels, you your bike and the world, i want to ride down to tennessee and in that area some day, the smokey mountains are amazing to drive through. All in all, it does suck getting off of your bike but look at the positive side, you can come here and relish that feeling you had with all of us that can most likely relate, and that itself makes it worth it

im really anxious to go on a long ride w/ other people, people that have some sense (see thread "where are the sane people").i havent really taken my bike on a trip or anything like that yet. just short trips around my area......1hr at MOST. but i dont mind those either.....im still riding! well i just got in from another short ride (its 2am, lol). it was nice being out on the road by myself, w/o all the holiday traffic.......well, i wasnt completely by myself.....there was me and two opposums that i almost hit [:@].

becareful with those damn little things in the road, i about hit a dog today and wrecked, luckly its teaching me to balance my brakes alot more, Much different than on a dirtbike or atv

ORIGINAL: jaynd

im really anxious to go on a long ride w/ other people, people that have some sense (see thread "where are the sane people").i havent really taken my bike on a trip or anything like that yet. just short trips around my area......1hr at MOST. but i dont mind those either.....im still riding! well i just got in from another short ride (its 2am, lol). it was nice being out on the road by myself, w/o all the holiday traffic.......well, i wasnt completely by myself.....there was me and two opposums that i almost hit [:@].


i agree with you. i would like to ride with folks who are into riding and bikes, not the ones who watch ruff ryder videos and wanna look cool on the bike and what not. good post! we all know what u mean.

I know where your comming from i love too just freakin ride man. All my buddies like to go "ride" and take 5 min rides to buddies house to park. Ive got a 06 f4i with 3800 on it already. I'm also in West Va what part of md are you from. I'm bout 45 mins from dc.

^ nice looking F4i! i live in Souther MD......if you mapquest Lusby, thats where im at. im about an hour, maybe slightly morefrom DC.

Same story for me man. Ive put about 2k miles on my bike as well, in only the 2 months Ive owned it. All my buddies were getting bikes, so i decided to get one, thinking it would be a pretty good time. I had NO clue how amazing it is. Ive been into cars ever since i can remember, and never thought i could have more fun thenjust driving around in my camaro,on a nice spring/summer day. That was until I got my bike. Now the only time i drive the car is when its raining.

ORIGINAL: F4ivsLs1

Now the only time i drive the car is when its raining.


haha same here. i've got a tank of gas in my truck lasting me a month! [8D]

ORIGINAL: jaynd

ORIGINAL: F4ivsLs1

Now the only time i drive the car is when its raining.


haha same here. i've got a tank of gas in my truck lasting me a month! [8D]

Same here too... actually I haven't driven my car in so long I kinda forgot ot pay my car insurance and it expired, LOL. Oops!! [:@] Gotta fix that on tues

^ [sm=roll.gif]

....................................damn!

roasted my balls off

Roasted balls...reminds me of the boy scouts.

Fishfryer, nice bike, always liked the red/white. Hows that reflective tape look? 02 F4i re/black here.

I'm lucky to live in an area that has twisted roads for miles. 2-lane rural roads thattwist so much that you have more corners than straight. It follows
small farms and million dollar mansions (microsoft)with animals in the fields that are unrecognizable.This is an area that sport bikes will show up in
droves at the meat store and other wide areas in the road. The caliber of rider ishigh with groups scrubbing tires in the turns and slowing in the straights.
Here the harley guys know their place and wave. You soonlearn to show a hand while leaned over cus thats where you are most of the time. Its not
canyons out here but corners that have 25-30 mph signs (with a few 15's). 80% riding isin the 50-70 (mph)range.
I was fortunate to learn here, with 30 mph corners thatalmost highsided mein the begining, I now take unthinkingly at 50. It's a pasttime that took the place
of go carts and minibikes when I was younger cause Istill find theneed to get the yaya's out. This is different than the dirt bikes though. It is more precise..more smooth..
more of a dance where the background music isa Yoshimura howling at 9k... whichsounds like a blow torch on crack .. I know, I can hear the same as they go
by the other way. On these roads, the 600's rule, guys wear gear, harley guys say oh****, and you can honk at the cows.

Hey Guys... I couldn't agree with you more ...I ride my bike 90% of the time and I love it.. The only thing is I lost my key and couldn't ride this weekend....Bummer....Got to wait for payday and bring out a locksmith....Probably cost me over $100 to get a new key made. This is a second owner bike and they didn't have a second key.