so i ride to the dealership this morning - it's a fairly nice day. looking a little overcast, but no rain yet. then i'm wondering if it's going to rain or not. but i'm not really worried about it, i have my rain gear. i get there a little before 0700, so i wait outside, watching the mechanics ride up. another day or work for them... a morning off work for me!!
right before 0700, one of the guys comes out and says he can get me checked in. cool... i haven't seen him before, but he seems very helpful and nice. we get the bike checked in. my inspection is due in june - i ask him if they can do it now and still throw a june sticker on the bike. nope. looks like i'll be back again in june. so after checking over the bike for wear and dings, he tells me i'm all set. i confirm the bike will be ready at noon the next day (friday). he tells me yes - that it might even be ready at the end of today. that would be nice...
i head over to get my loaner/rental bike. after asking around, turns out the rental dood doesn't show up until 0800. although he might be in my 0745. so i kill some time walking around accessories and clothes to figure out what i can spend my money on. i talk to brenda for a bit - she's one of the good ones that work at ray price. i wish there were more like her - but they've gotten rid of all the good people.
finally the rental dood rolls in and i can get the bike. oh, he has to catch up first since he had yesterday off. guess i can't blame him - although he does seem like he's still half asleep. he checks over the inventory and picks out one of the few bikes he still has left. he asks when i'm going to return it. i tell him friday around noon, if my bike is ready. then he gets a concerned look on his face. he calls back to service and confirms with them when my bike will be ready. they tell him saturday. i tell him it doesn't matter to me, although i can't bring the rental back until monday (if they're open) or tuesday. now that's not going to work, because the bike he wants to give me has been rented for the weekend. i tell him that they told me friday, and that's what i was expecting. we head over to service to talk to them.
rental dood tells them he needs to have the bike back by tomorrow (friday). i tell them when i make my appointment, they told me it would be ready the next day. service guy (manager, i'm thinking) asks who i talked to. kevin - who turns out to be the guy who checked me in and is now standing right next to me!!! service guy gives kevin a dirty look and shakes his head. then he says one way or another, they'll have the bike ready. i'm thinking it doesn't matter to me, you guys owe me a rental bike. either someone needs to get my bike services quickly or they need to find another rental bike - don't put me in the middle. and they didn't. i got the rental bike as expected.
and here's the bike they gave me.
i am mixed about the bike. overall, it's a good bike - runs well, it's a little louder than what i would like. but it's free and i get to try out another bike.
i'm not really sure i like the bike. first, while i like having saddlebags, i'm not really a fan of having all those silver thingies all over the bags. some people dig them. and that's fine - they're just not for me. that would be the first thing that turns me off the bike. the second, and probably more important, is the ride. the seating position is, obviously, a little lower than what i'm used to. heck, less than a mile from the dealership, i had already dragged the floor boards twice. but the seating position wasn't comfortable - it was bothering my lower back. i could especially feel it when i took off from a stop. while my lower back never really started aching, it just didn't feel very good. bottom line, i don't think i'd ever get one of these bikes. there are too many others to choose from...
i'll see if i get a chance to ride it around later today...
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