Hard Things, Good Things

Yesterday morning I got a call from Jim at Ace. He apologized to me, telling me he was very sorry, that the bike had yet to arrive and that he didn't know what had happened. He was clearly frustrated because he had waited until late the night before and the warehouse was closed, so he couldn't learn whether an emergency had arisen or they were planning on delivering that morning. Jim went on to say there was a chance the bike would arrive, but he didn't know if it would be early enough to get it prepped for me and didn't want to give me bad information.

Having worked in sales, I how hard a thing it is to make this kind of call. Jim did it, and while disappointed, I was certainly not disappointed in him. I told him I would wait for word.

Two hours later he called and told me the bike would be ready around two. I told him I would be in after that. He thanked me for my patience and apologized for the scare, to which I said, "I much prefer being told bad news up front, so thanks for that."

I showed up with my wife and daughter, who were made to feel very comfortable. Both were eyeing a Vespa, which kills me.

The bike was ready, the final paperwork took a half hour, I bought my new helmet and jaw-jacked a little with both Jims at Ace. McLaughlin gave me a thorough once-over about new bikes and the specifics of working them in.

Then I took my new bike for a ride.

Wow, is it sweet! Rider position is perfect for me, knees less bent than they were on the Four and I am actually standing when stopped, a comfortable posture all around.

I didn't crack the throttle until I got out on Marsh Creek Road, and even then I kept it under the 5000 RPM mark I was told to monitor to break her in. She sounds a bit reedy until you do get a little higher in the RPMs, at which point a deep Bwwaa sets in. She handles better, has more power and is more comfortable than the old bike. All around, a good thing.

Nice, very nice.