Alright, guys, this is going to be windy for a second post, but I HAAAD to do it for two reasons: to get it off my chest, and to make all of you feel comparatively better that your first week of ownership (and the last week, regardless) wasn't as crappy as mine.
To appreciate, here's my newbie info.: Age 38, lawyer, work about 60 hrs./wk., started riding again about a year ago after an almost 20 yr. hiatus, with several years prior dirt and street bike experience. Took the MSF course with the wife (she has owned a Honda S2000 in the past and has great hand/eye, and took to it like a duck to water) and bought a couple of used bikes for her to learn on and for me a "refresher".
After many miles and much practice, we decided to buy a new '06 Midnight Warrior (his) and Blue FZ6 (hers), which we brought home a week ago, without any real problems. I took a much needed week of vacation this week to get acquainted with the bike and ride off the break-in miles. Since Mon. of this week, all the following have happened, in order:
1-Dropped a wrench on the tank and chipped the paint adjusting the right mirror (yeah, I know, I should have gotten out an "engine apron" or towel to protect the paint, but I figured surely I could manage to turn one tool in one direction w/o dropping it--d'oh!).
2-Two hours later the wife drops the Fizzer after deciding to take the opportunity to practice starts from a steep incline from a parking lot onto a street--right mirror, fairing, rear brake pedal damaged (you want irony? she placed an order for frame sliders just before we went riding).
3-In the process of falling off the bike, she manages to bang her new $750.00 Arai Corsair on the pavement and chip the paint job on it, too. Now we'll have to X-ray it to be sure the shell isn't cracked.
4-Today, I need to go in to the office to pick up a file for Mon., and on the way there, the brand new Warrior gets a nail in the tire and has a flat halfway there, out in the boonies.
5-My wife, who was riding with me, since the road is very twisty and fun to ride, took off for home to get the trailer. In the process, trying too hard to hurry quickly back to me, she jackknifes the trailer into our Avalanche on the way out of the driveway, puncturing the right rear quarter panel.
6-Only one dealer, 60 miles away, has a rear for the Warrior. They close at 6:00; it's now 5:00; and I want my bike back to ride this weekend--you do the math. I've trailered bikes many times for many miles without a single problem, but I've never been in that kind of a hurry before. Yes, the bike was all the way in the wheel chock; yes, we used good tie-downs front and rear and compressed the front forks; yes, I had the bike in gear; but at some point, we goofed, because the bike fell over just as we were turning onto the street on which the dealer is located. One silver lining in the clouds: the bike fell right, and the water heater broke the fall, with only a tiny black chip off the muffler and another small chip off the stock air box cover.
7-Service manager looks at us like we are the biggest idiots on planet earth, and I know what he'll be telling his kids over dinner. Furthermore, he has the gall to give me grief about using fix-a-flat on the tire, claiming it can be corrosive on wheels. I ask if I was supposed to maneuver my bike on a totally flat tire and warp the rim instead. I guess he's just peeved he or one of his guys will have to scrape off the goo from the inside of the rim, but I'm pretty sure that at worst, some minor pitting on the aluminum inside of the rim is preferable to having to replace the whole rim because of warping.
Now I get to drive back late tomorrow afternoon to get my bike. And yeah, I know--the week coulda been worse. One of us could have been hurt or killed; the house could have burned down; etc., but it could have been a lot better, too.
On the positive side, I LOVE the Warrior, and the very tiny paint chips will be easy to fix. And thanks to all the time I spent doing critical "research" on this forum before buying the bike, I think I'll have to mod my way thru the psychological scarring. [/emoticons/emotion-2.gif] On order to date: Flat bars w/smooth billet risers; Cruiselite bags; tach cowl; lower cowl; boulevard windshield; mini-rider floorboards; black "aggressive" mirrors from Moto-leather; Iso-grips with accent rings; and Vanson leathers. I'm largely computer illiterate, but once I install all the stuff, I'll try to post some pics.
Perhaps with the chip on the muffler and airbox, some performance mods are needed . . .
To appreciate, here's my newbie info.: Age 38, lawyer, work about 60 hrs./wk., started riding again about a year ago after an almost 20 yr. hiatus, with several years prior dirt and street bike experience. Took the MSF course with the wife (she has owned a Honda S2000 in the past and has great hand/eye, and took to it like a duck to water) and bought a couple of used bikes for her to learn on and for me a "refresher".
After many miles and much practice, we decided to buy a new '06 Midnight Warrior (his) and Blue FZ6 (hers), which we brought home a week ago, without any real problems. I took a much needed week of vacation this week to get acquainted with the bike and ride off the break-in miles. Since Mon. of this week, all the following have happened, in order:
1-Dropped a wrench on the tank and chipped the paint adjusting the right mirror (yeah, I know, I should have gotten out an "engine apron" or towel to protect the paint, but I figured surely I could manage to turn one tool in one direction w/o dropping it--d'oh!).
2-Two hours later the wife drops the Fizzer after deciding to take the opportunity to practice starts from a steep incline from a parking lot onto a street--right mirror, fairing, rear brake pedal damaged (you want irony? she placed an order for frame sliders just before we went riding).
3-In the process of falling off the bike, she manages to bang her new $750.00 Arai Corsair on the pavement and chip the paint job on it, too. Now we'll have to X-ray it to be sure the shell isn't cracked.
4-Today, I need to go in to the office to pick up a file for Mon., and on the way there, the brand new Warrior gets a nail in the tire and has a flat halfway there, out in the boonies.
5-My wife, who was riding with me, since the road is very twisty and fun to ride, took off for home to get the trailer. In the process, trying too hard to hurry quickly back to me, she jackknifes the trailer into our Avalanche on the way out of the driveway, puncturing the right rear quarter panel.
6-Only one dealer, 60 miles away, has a rear for the Warrior. They close at 6:00; it's now 5:00; and I want my bike back to ride this weekend--you do the math. I've trailered bikes many times for many miles without a single problem, but I've never been in that kind of a hurry before. Yes, the bike was all the way in the wheel chock; yes, we used good tie-downs front and rear and compressed the front forks; yes, I had the bike in gear; but at some point, we goofed, because the bike fell over just as we were turning onto the street on which the dealer is located. One silver lining in the clouds: the bike fell right, and the water heater broke the fall, with only a tiny black chip off the muffler and another small chip off the stock air box cover.
7-Service manager looks at us like we are the biggest idiots on planet earth, and I know what he'll be telling his kids over dinner. Furthermore, he has the gall to give me grief about using fix-a-flat on the tire, claiming it can be corrosive on wheels. I ask if I was supposed to maneuver my bike on a totally flat tire and warp the rim instead. I guess he's just peeved he or one of his guys will have to scrape off the goo from the inside of the rim, but I'm pretty sure that at worst, some minor pitting on the aluminum inside of the rim is preferable to having to replace the whole rim because of warping.
Now I get to drive back late tomorrow afternoon to get my bike. And yeah, I know--the week coulda been worse. One of us could have been hurt or killed; the house could have burned down; etc., but it could have been a lot better, too.
On the positive side, I LOVE the Warrior, and the very tiny paint chips will be easy to fix. And thanks to all the time I spent doing critical "research" on this forum before buying the bike, I think I'll have to mod my way thru the psychological scarring. [/emoticons/emotion-2.gif] On order to date: Flat bars w/smooth billet risers; Cruiselite bags; tach cowl; lower cowl; boulevard windshield; mini-rider floorboards; black "aggressive" mirrors from Moto-leather; Iso-grips with accent rings; and Vanson leathers. I'm largely computer illiterate, but once I install all the stuff, I'll try to post some pics.
Perhaps with the chip on the muffler and airbox, some performance mods are needed . . .
