I have some opinions I want to share. A new bike always takes a while to get used to and you need to bond with it. I have done that and I love it more than ever. We have done several long trips including 5 days in Arizona. I have been up north at least 4 times. I have ridden in sun, rain, snow and wind. I have been along the coast and up above 8,000 feet - desert, mountains, plains - I have done them all and the Vision has not let me down. The fact is, as I get more comfortable on her, she shows me that she is still capable of doing even more. It's pretty amazing.
I remember flying down Soledad Cyn. last Feb. and racing a train. It was the most awesome thing. The tracks followed the road for 10 miles or more and I saw the train going the same direction as me up ahead. As I caught up to it and slowed to cruise along side some 50 yards to my left - I could tell the engineer saw me. I swear I could see him pointing and checking me out, so finally as the road came to a familiar straight away I jumped up on the throttle and flew up in front of him and through a tunnel. Coming out the other side, I was way ahead of him and out of view so I stopped at a turnout to wait for him to catch up. That must have been some sight as he came around the bend to see me there and he blew his whistle at me! Wow… that was the feeling I had been searching for again; like when I was 21 and I first bought that old '50 Panhead!
Anyway, I just recently got the settings from my good friend Tim, who had his dyno-tuned and he adjusted my ignition to the same numbers. We took off for a big club rally in the Sequoias with our Chapter and met with some 140 friends for a weekend of riding the National Park. What a great trip! We had a blast and made so many new friends as well as renewing old friendships. The Sequoia Kings Hwy is extremely challenging and the 3 Visions in the club stayed together almost the whole way. We also met and had lunch with 2 more - so there were 5 Visions in the restaurant parking lot. Can you imagine?
Coming home was all freeway and an absolute breeze for the Vision riders. We stayed together as usual and just smiled at the gas stops, not wanting to rub it in as the others needed to stretch and take a short break. The next day I could not leave it alone and took the bike into work (a 40 mile commute) thinking I could wipe her down and check the oil and tires. The truth is I just can't get enough. Riding single after that roadtrip I realized that I had finally really bonded with her. I felt invincible, bullet-proof and 21 again. She responds to me before I even ask her to and the power with the new mapping is fun-nominal. The Big Honkers sound so good and the new chrome pieces that I had bought before the trip were shining in the afternoon sun like pure silver. She always draws looks from the people in cars but today their jaws seem drop at every red light.
You know, it's a new day and it's been a long time coming for us motorcycle enthusiasts - yes, call us bikers. The chain to the wallet and the buck knife are no longer the uniform of the day. We can wear our multi-patched vest proudly and say hello to people when we travel. You can read the children's lips as you pass the cars and they want to know, “What was that mommy - a space ship?” I love to give a little wave and roll on the throttle just enough to see their eyes light up. Yep - that's the feeling I've been looking for all these years, but now we're the good guys and the people seem to know it. Thank you Victory – you’ve done well!
