I took my new '06 Wing for its first ride yesterday. The temp was 39 F
when I left and dipped into the 20s for the last few hours while
homeward bound. I wore my Damart lowers under my Levis. I wore a stout
down jacket on top of a T shirt and sweater. The gloves were somewhat
padded with an inner layer of Thinsulate (?). The boots were thermal
jobbers I had bought at sears about 30 years ago. The are like new
because I only use them on the bike. (They knew how to make things back
in those days.)
The biker has the Baker air deflectors on it, except for the lower ones
which protect the feet. The present models won't fit the new '06 Wings
because of the heat vent on the bottom that can be opened to warm one's
feet. Unfortunately, on this first ride, I didn't have a clue as to
where the switch was for that vent. The Baker upper side jobbers do not
allow the doors of the fairing side pockets to open fully. The newer
ones for the '06 wont be ready until sometime in January. The dealer is
going to change them out at that time, along with putting on the lower
sets of deflectors for the feet.
All I can say is that the Baker stuff does work. The helped enormously
to keep the wind off the hands and legs. Although, when the temp dropped
into the 20s, the toes and knee caps began to get rather cold.
I put about 150 miles on the Wing with this trip.
I found the front end to have a rather porky-feeling when starting up.
Maybe because I hadn't ridden in about a year due to my Voyager
constantly breaking down. The ABS brakes seemed nothing special - until
some fool a few car lengths ahead of me made a last second decision to
make a quick stop in front me so he could turn left down a side street.
The street under me was wet from the melting snow and rains of the day
before. The bike came down instantly without so much a second of the
wheels locking or sliding. I take that to mean the ABS buggers work -
and well!
Matter of a fact, it just occurred to me that the anti-dive front end
also works. There was no dive while doing the braking. I hadn't even
thought about it until writing this post. That's a *great* feature.
The clutch is going to take a lot of getting used to. In first gear, it
comes into play *immediately*. The engine is so strong that the bike
almost goes out from under you if you haven't backed off almost totally
on the throttle. The instant clutch action takes some getting used to
in all gears, especially in the 2 lower ones.
The on board preset for the rear shock is neat. I found I could dial in
a much more soft ride in the rear with a few pushes of the button. Neat!
One problem I have is that with my 5' 5" of height, my feet hardly reach
the ground. I cannot even get fully on the balls of my feet. That's an
especially bad problem if leaving a gas station that has a very steep
ramp leading down to the street. You have to make sure you watch the
traffic and plan it so you won't have to stop at the bottom of that ramp
entrance. An after market seat that is 2" lower should cure that.
I wished I had read the manual regarding the GPS system; for I got
confounded lost in South Bend. I also wished I had read the manual in
regard to getting the radio to play. I could have used some company on
those dark, lonely back roads. I paid mucho moolah for the 85 watt amp
and fancy speakers. Too bad I couldn't use them. : )
The bike takes corners nicely, no falling in. No, I am not at age 71 a
peg scraper. Never was, really.
As for the windshield, I think I will want the replacement which is
wider and higher than the stock. Higher I don't care about, but wider it
needs to reduce the side buffeting around the upper arms and shoulders.
The Voyager's shield was quite a bit wider than the Wing's.
Needless to say, there is no such thing as vibration. Cruising is
effortless. The bike has so much more of the tach left at 60 that it is
ridiculous.
The effect of the 4 halogen headlights on the dark backroads is awesome.
The accessory stabilizer with the flashing LEDs definitely got the
attention of the drivers behind me. I could see them begin to quickly
slow when I hit the brakes.
The heated grips and seat *absolutely* work to the point of being
uncomfortable if turned up too high. I imagine the heated seat and
backrest for the passenger will work likewise.
The handlebars are set about just perfect. The shift lever is a bit
awkward to use when wearing thick boots due to how low it is set, but
moving it up will probably call for too high a reach when shifting. I'll
leave it where it is.
One complaint is about the cruise control. After setting it, it takes
about 3-5 seconds to kick in. The bike loses a bit of speed before
picking up again. Although, the dash readout does tell you that the
cruise control was set and working. On the Voyager - when the cruise
infrequently worked, you didn't know if the set point had taken or not
until your speed dropped too much. By that time, the guy behind you was
p.o.d with your constant slowing in an effort to get the dang cruise
control to work. Having the control catch in faster would be better.
But the Wing's cruise control has a neat feature. There is an
'accelerate' and 'decelerate' button which ups or lowers your speed,
while keeping the cruise control operative.
I sure hope Baker gets the new lower deflectors made soon. My toes were
freezing for the last hour of the ride. I could hardly walk on them
after reaching home and getting off the bike.
As for the Reverse function, lordy, was it ever heaven to back into the
garage, placing the bike front forward for an easy exit later, and not
having to worry about using my torn knees to back it out. (I spent
almost everyday in the past seasons alternating hot and cold packs on
the knees.
Well, all in all, life is good again! : )
On Tue, 27 Dec 2005 05:29:08 -0600, George@George.net.not said:
>I took my new '06 Wing for its first ride yesterday. The temp was 39 F
>when I left and dipped into the 20s for the last few hours while
>homeward bound. I wore my Damart lowers under my Levis. I wore a stout
>down jacket on top of a T shirt and sweater. The gloves were somewhat
>padded with an inner layer of Thinsulate (?). The boots were thermal
>jobbers I had bought at sears about 30 years ago. The are like new
>because I only use them on the bike. (They knew how to make things back
>in those days.)
>The biker has the Baker air deflectors on it, except for the lower ones
>which protect the feet. The present models won't fit the new '06 Wings
>because of the heat vent on the bottom that can be opened to warm one's
>feet. Unfortunately, on this first ride, I didn't have a clue as to
>where the switch was for that vent. The Baker upper side jobbers do not
>allow the doors of the fairing side pockets to open fully. The newer
>ones for the '06 wont be ready until sometime in January. The dealer is
>going to change them out at that time, along with putting on the lower
>sets of deflectors for the feet.
>All I can say is that the Baker stuff does work. The helped enormously
>to keep the wind off the hands and legs. Although, when the temp dropped
>into the 20s, the toes and knee caps began to get rather cold.
>I put about 150 miles on the Wing with this trip.
>I found the front end to have a rather porky-feeling when starting up.
>Maybe because I hadn't ridden in about a year due to my Voyager
>constantly breaking down. The ABS brakes seemed nothing special - until
>some fool a few car lengths ahead of me made a last second decision to
>make a quick stop in front me so he could turn left down a side street.
>The street under me was wet from the melting snow and rains of the day
>before. The bike came down instantly without so much a second of the
>wheels locking or sliding. I take that to mean the ABS buggers work -
>and well!
>Matter of a fact, it just occurred to me that the anti-dive front end
>also works. There was no dive while doing the braking. I hadn't even
>thought about it until writing this post. That's a *great* feature.
>The clutch is going to take a lot of getting used to. In first gear, it
>comes into play *immediately*. The engine is so strong that the bike
>almost goes out from under you if you haven't backed off almost totally
>on the throttle. The instant clutch action takes some getting used to
>in all gears, especially in the 2 lower ones.
>The on board preset for the rear shock is neat. I found I could dial in
>a much more soft ride in the rear with a few pushes of the button. Neat!
>One problem I have is that with my 5' 5" of height, my feet hardly reach
>the ground. I cannot even get fully on the balls of my feet. That's an
>especially bad problem if leaving a gas station that has a very steep
>ramp leading down to the street. You have to make sure you watch the
>traffic and plan it so you won't have to stop at the bottom of that ramp
>entrance. An after market seat that is 2" lower should cure that.
>I wished I had read the manual regarding the GPS system; for I got
>confounded lost in South Bend. I also wished I had read the manual in
>regard to getting the radio to play. I could have used some company on
>those dark, lonely back roads. I paid mucho moolah for the 85 watt amp
>and fancy speakers. Too bad I couldn't use them. : )
>The bike takes corners nicely, no falling in. No, I am not at age 71 a
>peg scraper. Never was, really.
>As for the windshield, I think I will want the replacement which is
>wider and higher than the stock. Higher I don't care about, but wider it
>needs to reduce the side buffeting around the upper arms and shoulders.
>The Voyager's shield was quite a bit wider than the Wing's.
>Needless to say, there is no such thing as vibration. Cruising is
>effortless. The bike has so much more of the tach left at 60 that it is
>ridiculous.
>The effect of the 4 halogen headlights on the dark backroads is awesome.
>The accessory stabilizer with the flashing LEDs definitely got the
>attention of the drivers behind me. I could see them begin to quickly
>slow when I hit the brakes.
>The heated grips and seat *absolutely* work to the point of being
>uncomfortable if turned up too high. I imagine the heated seat and
>backrest for the passenger will work likewise.
>The handlebars are set about just perfect. The shift lever is a bit
>awkward to use when wearing thick boots due to how low it is set, but
>moving it up will probably call for too high a reach when shifting. I'll
>leave it where it is.
>One complaint is about the cruise control. After setting it, it takes
>about 3-5 seconds to kick in. The bike loses a bit of speed before
>picking up again. Although, the dash readout does tell you that the
>cruise control was set and working. On the Voyager - when the cruise
>infrequently worked, you didn't know if the set point had taken or not
>until your speed dropped too much. By that time, the guy behind you was
>p.o.d with your constant slowing in an effort to get the dang cruise
>control to work. Having the control catch in faster would be better.
>But the Wing's cruise control has a neat feature. There is an
>'accelerate' and 'decelerate' button which ups or lowers your speed,
>while keeping the cruise control operative.
>I sure hope Baker gets the new lower deflectors made soon. My toes were
>freezing for the last hour of the ride. I could hardly walk on them
>after reaching home and getting off the bike.
>As for the Reverse function, lordy, was it ever heaven to back into the
>garage, placing the bike front forward for an easy exit later, and not
>having to worry about using my torn knees to back it out. (I spent
>almost everyday in the past seasons alternating hot and cold packs on
>the knees.
>Well, all in all, life is good again! : )
Great write-up, George. Thanks. Someday I will want to take a test
drive on one of these things. The 1.8L boxer 6 sounds like a blast!
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that I don't know the answer."
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>about 3-5 seconds to kick in.