Got it!

[Feanor]

Well, I was looking for a sign last night to get me to pick up a bike today and I found it!

Two baby squirrels fell out of one of the Eucalyptus trees in my back yard and after waiting about 30 minutes to see if their parents would come and claim them, I went out and gathered them up...

It was pretty funny because I got all worked up about them making it (they fell a long ways) and after doing research on the net, I got some puppy formula from the gorcery store and tried to feed them...

It was funny stuff because I was SO worked up about trying to get them to feed that I guess I was clenching my teeth pretty hard and I lost a filling!

The squirrels seemed to be in good condition despite my attempts at care and getting yelled at by the wife for using one of the "good" cotton towels :) So I put them in a warm spot in the towel in another room and the next morning I brought them to a wildlife hospital where they help injured native wildlife...

After walking out of the hospital with instructions to call back in 2-3 days to see how they were I was feeling pretty damned good, maybe even mildly heroic in off-beat kind of way and so I say to myself... "You did a good thing... now Concord Kawasaki is only about 5 minutes away from here *laughing*

I went, I saw... I bought... Salepeople at Concord were GREAT! Very approachable and helpful and a wonderful experience all the way around!

So they're putting the bike together tonight, then I pick it up tomorrow and Voila! I'll be the newest KDX owner on the forum (at least for a few hours maybe LoL!)

One of the very best things about it besides the new bike is that Ian, the salesperson I dealt with let me know about a riding area (can't recall the name at the moment) that was closeby to me where you could ride year round I guess because it was private property of some kind. So just pay the fee and ride... I was thinking alternatively that I would have to wait until October or november some time... Or drive FAR away to a year around place... So good news there!

First motorcycle ever... Man what a great feeling! :)

Sorry to drone on... I'm just that jazzed!

Have a good one all! and I just wanted to say a hearty thank you! to all the guys and gals here. The advice, suggestions, and info were, and are, incredibly helpful! I'm going to be a regular here at dirtrider.net in the "Newbie and loving it!" category...

Feanor

Thanks Ian! Thanks Katherine at Concord Kawasaki!

p.s. I'm thinking of putting a "Rocky the Flying Squirrel" sticker on the bike haha! Oh, and I have a dental appointment today too!

 

[JasonWho]

---

 

[CZ511]

Congratulations and I know you are going to love that KDX. And yes, you must put on a Rocky The Flying Squirrel sticker. If it wasn't for the squirrels, you may not have purchased the bike today!! Thumbs up to the Squirrels. Check out www.wickedcoolstuff.com They have some cool Rocky The Flying Squirrel stickers.

 

[250RDude]

Good luck on the New Ride. :yeehaw:
Here's your sticker. http://shop.store.yahoo.com/wickedcoolstuff/roflsqblst.html

 

[skipro3]

Just remember: No good deed goes unpunished.
Congrats and if you are ever up in El Dorado County to go riding, let me know and we'll hook up. Georgetown, Rock Creek, Bald Mt., Elkins Flat, Foresthill, etc.
See Ya!

 

[rethnal]

Well... WHAT MODEL??????? :)

 

[Feanor]

Oops! :)

Well... WHAT MODEL??????? :)

Thanks for all the great comments! :) Apologies for forgetting the model!

It's a 2004 KDX-220R and it should be ready to pick up TODAY! Funny thing is that I don't have a hitch carrier yet and my brother might be busy this evening (with his truck) so I may have to wait till Wednesday *argh*

I love the Rocky the Flying Squirrel sticker! hahah! I wish it came in Kawasaki Green but I'll make do...

Another very funny, heartening and totally embarassing story about the bike purchase:

When Ian told me that the mechanic was out on Monday and so the bike would unfortunately not be ready till this morning I said, "No problem at all!" I won't really be able to ride it until October some time anyway so all academic" (my only experience was from Carnegie, a state run park)

Then he looked at me confused and said "There's lots of places to ride year round... there Club Moto, and Sandhill, and Hollister and any private property if you know someone... The red sticker restrictions are only for State run parks and off road vehicle areas..."

Talk about feeling like a NEWB! LoL! But it was a good newb feeling because it meant I was wrong about only being able to actually ride a portion of the year... I thought that the red sticker meant no using the bike during the off season months ever, anywhere in California! Also, I found out that they give FREE lessons at Club Moto saturday mornings on their beginner MX track, so I'll be spending ALOT of time there...

A friend at work told me that when you're starting out, it helps to ride ALOT and often... as in every weekend and more if you can because there is so much to learn and so much to forget and if you ride once a month or at longer intervals, the "feel" you get for things during the day will all be forgotten, and the next time you're out, you waste the whole day trying to "remember" those things... He mentioned as you got more competent, this effect would lessen and each time you went out, you would learn things or refine things despite the interval of time inbetween, and not simply struggle to maintain... Then he said there was of course another upper limit to this, but not to worry about that for a long time haha!

*must maintain composure, must not rush in too... fast...* haha!

Have a good one all!

Feanor

 

[Feanor]

Update!

Sorry for the delay in posting an update...

I got the bike last week on Wednesday by borrowing an "add-a-bike" hitch carrier from my next door neighbor...

Got it home and immediately went nuts wanting to ride the thing :) It had a gallon or so of gas in it from the dealer (from their testing I assume) and this being my first motorcycle ever, I was even too nervous to start it up in the garage! LoL!

Anyhow, my younger brother solved that dilemna for me by coming over right after work, firing it up and tooling around out on the sidewalk :) At that point, hearing it roar to life the first time was assurance that all was well, and fun was to be had soon!

Here's the synopsis of what happened on the first ride at Sand Hill (which is a private riding park about 20 minutes away from me)

============

First Motocycle (KDX-220R)
First Real Ride (Sandhill)

Only thing I can say is damn my stupididty for not starting this when I was 18! I'm over forty now and not looking forward to any injuries in the future, but today was such a huge BLAST that I want to do it again tomorrow! (We were there for about 7 hours) but I'm sore as hell and nursing all sorts of weird cramps in muscles I never new existed!

I thought the road cycling, another hobby (about 150 miles a week) would help fitness wise, but even with that the cramping is kind of irritating... More gatorade next time!

I stayed mainly on the TT track area and got pretty comfortable with the little infield section as well. I "almost" got to the point after many laps of holding a continuous rear end slide though there were more bad ones than good ones. The infield section is a short twisty path with two small berms along the way; You turn into the section at one side of the TT oval and it spits you out over on the other side... There are two 180 degree turns on rather slippery gravel type surface, and that was good practice for practicing reversing direction and proper body position, hand position etc... Lots of fun getting that rear end out under power! :)

I went on the main motocross track a few times but felt like I was being a nuisance to the more experience riders and maybe even a danger because I was tooling along so slow... There is one turn on the left back side of the track that goes uphill steeply (you have to carry alot of speed when you hit it), it then turns at the top and heads back down to a short tabletop at the bottom and it was particulary nervewarcking for me since there's no real way to cut off that section since there is a large berm splitting the entrance to the turn with the downhill exit. It felt like a terrifying balancing act at the very top of that turn, where the only thing that seemed to keep you stuck on the face of the hill upright was your forward momentum (If you stopped at the top of the turn, you'd have a nice long slide, or tumble, down to the bottom :( ) Its my personal goal now to make that section feel comfortable.

I never got any "air" anywhere because I would either hit the jumps far to slow, or would back off right before, and that made me feel pretty silly... My brother made me feel better though after I told him how embarassing that was by saying "Geez! its your second time on a motorcycle and you want to get air already? Ease up!" :)

Despite all the things I was trying to do but couldn't, I still had one of the best times of my life and hope to go out again soon..

I spoke to Phil who runs the place (he came over and told my brother and I not to ride an area we were riding) and after I apologized, he said "Brand new KDX huh?" and I said brand new everything! *laughing* including rider!

He talked about the classes he holds there for beginners and I will DEFINTELY do SOME beginner class no matter what the cost... I hate not feeling in control of the machine... its nervewracking...

Thanks everyone for all the great advice and support!

Feanor

 

[JasonWho]

---

 

[skipro3]

Thanks for sharing. When your ready to try some of the OHV areas in El Dorado County, i.e. Georgetown, Elkins flat, Foresthill, etc. Let me know and we'll go out sometime. I recommend going to Foresthill first as there are many single track trails to get familiar with your bike on. Also, the Training Wheels Family Enduro is held there in November. As the name implies, it is all (or mostly) about having a good time, although there isn't much that's more humiliating than to get spanked on the course by a 7 year old kid.
P.S. being over 40 isn't a sin. Don't delay any longer and ride like there's no tomorrow.