New LT Owner Concern

[hifiman]

Tomorrow I take delivery of my 05 LT. Hopefully the rain will have cleared up by then. I got the sit on my LT yesterday and practice the auto center stand. What a great feature! I had the the salesman go over the features and functions and now I just want to drive it!!
I noticed the top heavy weight did not seem as bad as my CLC. There is one concern I am a little nervous about that I am sure I will get use to. Im use to seeing the front of the bike turn with the handle bars and of course with the LT thats not the case. Is this something that is easy to get use to?

[Ontogeny]

I am sure others will pipe in here soon. I believe you will not only get use to it fast, but you learn to love it as I do. You will no longer feel the turbulence in the handlebars, which is a big plus in my opinion. Good luck and keep us posted.

[katnapinn]

I am sure others will pipe in here soon. I believe you will not only get use to it fast, but you learn to love it as I do. You will no longer feel the turbulence in the handlebars, which is a big plus in my opinion. Good luck and keep us posted. If i can remember that far back.....;) Seems It only took a few miles to get use to it.. I came from a nakid bike so the wind protection was great to have

[cccpastorjack]

Yep...it felt REALLY wierd to me the first time I rode a bike with a frame mounted fairing. In no time at all you'll be used to it and loving it! Good choice on getting an '05 too. Great year!

[fpmlt]

I got my first LT just a month ago. Learned the hard way to CHECK TIRE PRESSURE! Also put a new front tire on as the old one was cupped. All the difference in the world.
Coming off HD, it was a real experience. Coming off the line and running higher RPMs is taking some getting used to, but I've put just at 1000 miles on it this month, and I can say with all certainty, you will love it. It's an awesome machine.

[bflemingor]

Coming from the CLC, you'll also notice how smooth the power rolls on - no "torque pull". Not to mention 2X the HP... You'll never notice the missing "view".

[Shaftywon]

I find it less distracting not being able to see my front wheel and I seem to stay focused farther down the road which helps me stay prepared for the next curve or any changes in my position on the road. Having good rubber and knowing you have checked the tire pressure before riding will ease any concerns about what the front tire is doing as well.

[Tandemfusion]

It's a quick and easy transition. When you think about it, you don't watch the front wheel in the first place. It you DO watch the front wheel, stop it! The only time that is a safe activity is when the bike is not moving!

[LAF]

My Road Glide was my first fixed bike. It did take me a bit to get used to just the bars turning, especially at night with the lights. I did go to motolights on the brake calibers for that reason. It just helped my perception at night.

They were transfered to my LT.

So I will say you will need some time to get used to that aspect, and it wont take a lot of miles until you realize you really like it :)

[jdsd-tourteam]

It's a quick and easy transition. When you think about it, you don't watch the front wheel in the first place. It you DO watch the front wheel, stop it! The only time that is a safe activity is when the bike is not moving!

+1 on that!

I remember my first bike with a frame fairing. It was a Honda 550 Four with a Vetter full fairing that seemed to weigh as much as the bare bike! I remember it had these neat fork-protecting accordian-style boots (that someone said were a BMW part). Cool! It also had a rubber boot that semi-sealed the opening between the fairing and the fork. This kept the rain and cold air coming up through there.

It took me a little while to learn how to slow ride that thing with a weight distribution of 75% front, 25% rear! But I learned. I also learned (without thinking about it) that I was looking out towards the road and not down and that helped my riding.

I was living out near Seattle and I road the bike year round. It was my first experience of what it's like to have a full fairing on a bike (esp. when the weather is crappy). It was wonderful! That bike sowed the seeds of getting an LT decades later.

Jon

[nplenzick]

Tomorrow I take delivery of my 05 LT. Hopefully the rain will have cleared up by then. I got the sit on my LT yesterday and practice the auto center stand. What a great feature! I had the the salesman go over the features and functions and now I just want to drive it!!
I noticed the top heavy weight did not seem as bad as my CLC. There is one concern I am a little nervous about that I am sure I will get use to. Im use to seeing the front of the bike turn with the handle bars and of course with the LT thats not the case. Is this something that is easy to get use to?

I too had a CLC. The LT will seem like a sport bike compared the big twin. You'll have no problems at all.

[jvalny]

I also came from a CLC. Just don't look down at the front wheel. Keep your head up and remember the word from this song "Go where you wanna GO and Do what you wanna do" I think that was from the Mommas and Pappas

[Tom1200]

You will get use to it but it does teach you to not look at the front tire anyways. You do look down to stop and you will be down. Keep your head up and look straight out to stop and turn your head when you turn the bike.

[cfell]

"May the force be with you..."..... "Situational Awareness".

Have someone go around the bike with a vertical pole or board and "reference" the extremities of the bike... that way you will have a good 'idea' of how far in front of you the bike extends.

After that, "feel" where the front wheel touches road irregularities... that will give you an idea of where the "contact" patch is... same with the rear... because, on this bike, you will feel the front then the rear contact at different times...

Practice.... always note the speed in your area where you ride... note about how road artifacts feel when you roll over them.. be aware of subtle changes.. the can be key to "feeling" tires going down, etc..

Bottom line... I rarely "look at" the bike... the instruments, mirrors, etc, sure.. but NOT the bike.. I TRY to feel the bike as an extension of myself because what happens to it, will likely affect me. I learned that riding bicycles a looong time ago.

The benefit... I can use my "tactile" experiences of how the bike FEELS to know what's going on with it... I can then LOOK where I want the bike to GO. IF you look at the tire... you will most surely look at the GROUND... that is not my personal favorite...