Yes, I did come home to find the lovely tan Honda CB500XA in the stable. As I hadn't test sat on it, I was afraid the fit wouldn't be right. I'm not one to purchase things sight unseen. I also don't care to purchase bikes unridden, but very few new bikes are serviced and available for test riding. That seems to only be the domain of Harley Davidson and BMW. We had read many reviews that said this bike was very comfortable for tall riders in the 6 foot range. So I was optimistic.
Oilburner had a difficult time finding the bike. Dealers in the area said they were in stock, but not "in stock" to look at. They could get them from the warehouse with a deposit. He called around and located a dealer that said they had one. When he arrived, the salesman he talked to was not available, and the one he was working with said the bike wasn't there. Confusion abounds. After some searching it was uncovered that the parts department had taken the bike and was using it as their display! As you have seen from previous pics they had a mannequin with riding clothes, gloves, helmet, boots completed decked out. So...that is how I got the bike. Many people had been looking for it and inquiring about it, but the salesmen didn't know where it was. (Even the owner of that pretty GS700 from a few posts ago and called about that bike before buying the GS.)
Then comes the haggling. Now I am hearing this all second hand and am amazed at the dickering that Oilburner did. The price tag on the bike was NOT what the advertised price was on Cycle Trader. The salesman tried to get around it by saying it wasn't the same bike, until they checked VINs. No disputing it. Oilburner had them knocking $1700 off the bike in one fell swoop. The Cycle Trader ad also mentioned a $100 gear credit. Again, they hemmed and hawed, but gave in and gave it to him. Wow. Just wow.
The story just gets so exciting! Makes her look that much more attractive.
All this time I'm asking Oilburner if he intends to purchase one, or if he will be content with his XR650L. He assured me that his 650 was great, he wasn't interested and it was paid for. Yeah, those assurances didn't last long. He rode mine 1 mile to unload it and get into in the stable and he was smitten. Or course, I didn't know that at the time. As we are talking about it more on Friday, I'm commenting that it is for the best that he keeps his XR650L as there would be no way that the dealership would possibly honor the same price for a second one.
I was wrong. Apparently, he had already ordered one that had to be brought in from Alabama. And they gave him the same price. The only difference was that his didn't have ABS and mine did. Hmmm...
Meet Oilburners bike...
We needed to break the new bikes in. Mine had 1 mile on the clock. His had 2. :) What better way to break a bike in then ride it like you stole it in the twisties. That's how I broke the last GS in, and it hasn't leaked one drop of oil.
We grabbed Alex and went into the mountains. Had lunch at TWoS and hit the curves hard. Hwy 60, Hwy 180, Richard B Russell. The boys were into the curves, so the only way I was getting pics of the bikes was to stop without them. They eventually found me.
Head on over to Flickr to see more glamour shots. As I said, not many due to the fast paced ride.
Impression: Feels very light, even though only 100 lbs lighter than the 1200GS. Very "flickable". Shorter wheel-base made the twisties fun, after learning when to turn. Never having ridden an inline engine she was very smooth to shift. Learning to care for a chain driven bike with be fun what with lubing and adjusting on a regular basis. Love getting 54+ miles per gallon.
Funny story: As I was not even in the state when Oilburner purchased my bike, obviously the bike is in his name. I thought it only justified that his bike be in my name. HA!
And yes...the XR650L went up on the selling block. More on that next time.
