She was supposed to be ready a few days ago but when the guy at the body shop opened the box of the replacement headlight, he said it looked like someone had dropped the box. It was in worse shape than the one being replaced. So they ordered another one and it took a while for it to come in. And we didn't want her out until all the paint was dry!
Mr. H needed to get some fluids for his bike so we went by A&B Cycle in Mobile. That's where he got his ST1300. While we were there I spotted this bike:
It's a Honda CRF230M, and it looked like it wasn't too tall. Then I did something that would have been unthinkable a few short months ago: I grabbed the bar, threw my leg over and stood it up. I was right. It wasn't too tall! But it wasn't too comfortable, either. It's essentially a dirt bike with street tires, but it's something that fits me.
I think that encouraged Mr. H. We still had an hour and a half before the body shop closed, so we stopped by Halls Motorsports. That's where Mr. H got filters and such for his Suzuki. They carry Yamaha bikes, too. I saw this bike first:
The Suzuki TU250 fits me very nicely, too. It's very close to the Honda Rebel that I'm considering now. The most noticeable difference to me was foot position. The Rebel has the foot pegs farther to the front, like a cruiser. The TU250 has the pegs more directly underneath you. (Remember standing up on your bike pedals when you were a kid? If you go over a rough patch of road, standing on the pegs keeps your spine from absorbing all that jarring. That's not possible when the pegs are out front. However, on a bike, it's best to avoid all those rough patches in the first place!)
Then I saw this bike:
A Suzuki GS500F....Ooooooo! I had no idea that a bike like this would come in a size that fit me. I was wearing flip flops and was able to get this bike up from the side stand unassisted. (that's my criteria for if a bike is too tall) This is billed as a beginner bike and Mr. H seems to agree. Very nice.
Then, parked right next to the GS500F, was this one:
This bike is a Yamaha FZ6R. It is definitely the heaviest bike I sat on today. When Mr. H sat on it, I noticed the pink and gray decorations on the tank. "Hey, this is bike is too girlie for you!" I told him. The salesman at Hall's told us that the previous owner was indeed female and had lowered the seat to fit her stature. Mr. H also informed me that this bike was off limits to me until I had been on the road on some other bike for at least a year! Something to dream about, I guess.
By the time we had looked at all these bikes, it was getting time to go get my car. I'd been calling the body shop every day since Tuesday. She would have been ready Tuesday or Wednesday but the shop discovered that a headlamp had cracked and ordered a replacement. When the replacement arrived and the box was opened, it looked like the box had been dropped. The new lamp was in worse shape than the one to be replaced. It took until Friday for the job to be finished and then the paint needed to dry. Saturday morning, she was ready to go. And I was more than ready to get her back.
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