[BudLight]

Tomorrow I am signed up for about a +/- 200 mile ride with a primarily Harley Davidson group. Surprise, Surprise! I am showing up with a White 2012 Suzuki Burgman 650 Executive with panniers! To make matters worse....I wear Hi-Viz yellow jacket and a white helmet. Luckily I am big and not intimidated much. I am loving my Burgman. She is named "Blanca".
-Bud

 

[Dave_J]

Welcome to the best web site on the whole WWW. Where ya from?

NICE! Don't be surprised that they make you ride in the rear. Most times they don't know about a Burgman 650. Last big ride I did the sport bikers tried to do the "Ditch the Bitch" in the corners and out run me. 5 miles later I was still with them and I had a Car tire on the rear.

 

[v8eyedoc]

Tomorrow I am signed up for about a +/- 200 mile ride with a primarily Harley Davidson group. Surprise, Surprise! I am showing up with a White 2012 Suzuki Burgman 650 Executive with panniers! To make matters worse....I wear Hi-Viz yellow jacket and a white helmet. Luckily I am big and not intimidated much. I am loving my Burgman. She is named "Blanca".
-Bud

I also have a Goldwing GL1800 and went for a group ride with an HD club...........!! They made me ride in the rear..Hahahahahahahahahaha...

Don't be intimidated AT ALL......... :thumbup: :thumbup: After all.someone needs to show up the HD riders....... :lol:

 

[Scootereno]

I have done many group rides and they are mostly all with a bunch of Harley's or Harley clones...or is it clowns?
I have got some light ribbing but nothing truly mean in spirit. Usually after the rides many are coming over to me and swamping me with questions about my ride.
Their curiosity is always peaked when they hear Jimmy Hendrix play the Star Spangled Banner on my stereo over their "Loud Pipes". I start all group rides with that song and yes I do crank it up louder than their pipes. After all they are making a huge racket so why shouldn't I? 8)
Have fun and take it all in as your first group ride will never be forgotten no matter how it turns out. :thumbup:

 

[Gbjbany]

i rode for a year with a local group, some harleys but they were about the ride, they will find it very hard to out run you, and you can corner way better than them anyway.

Just remember - to wear earplugs, cos they love those load pipes, and being behind them you get the full benefit !

Have fun, ride within your limits pic if possible !

 

[DandyDoug]

When i had my last HD I went on two group rides. NEVER AGAIN !

Worst riders I have ever encountered , not a single one of them showed me a half lick of riding skill or ability.
I am sure there are some out there who can ride , just not in the groups I was exposed to.
The riders were all pretty much ok folks , just not my style .

Who in the heck wants to ride in a formation, below the speed limit , making as much noise as possible ( my Road Kind had stock mufflers).
It was embarassing to say the least.
My wife went along on one of those rides, when we got home she took off her helmet and said ," where the heck did you meet those guys, not a single one of them can ride worth a hoot "

I'm not a fan of group rides ( more than 4 or 5 ) anyway.

 

[Duster]

DandyDoug...you would have been amazed with the group of scooter riders
that got together last Sept. in Lewisburg, PA. at Steel Steeds Campground.
Folks that had gotten to know each other via a scooter website, but had
never actually ridden together. We spent 3 days riding in the area.
From the very beginning, everyone rode as if they had been practicing
& riding together for a long time. Several riders had experience riding
with the Patriot Guard Riders in funeral processions, so large group riding
was not new to them. Some others had never ridden with a group larger
that 3 or 4. But, in this case, it worked, & it worked well. In fact,
plans are already in place to get together again in Sept. 2013.
So it CAN work.

 

[Dave_J]

I have set my limit to 9 or less riders for a ride. Any more and the slinky effect causes the rear rider to gun it to catch up and then slam on the stoppers so as not to crash.

There was a "Late Notice" ride this morning at 11:30 with 3 riders saying they would show up. I was ready to say OK then it got to 15 riders and I was a NO SHOW, again.

 

[DandyDoug]

I have been known to show up for a ride and when the group got larger than i liked , I just strike out on my own .

At our annual Triumph Bonneville rally we had to ask some folks to delay their departure a few minutes to prevent too large a group. We were all going to the same place for lunch anyway and it helped put some of the lesser skilled riders in a group of like skill level.

Another thing i do not like about large group rides is , when you get to the destination all at the same instant it can overwhelm the staff , cause delays in food getting to the table etc. Unless it was already planned and the the restaurant people were expecting a large group all at once.

 

[Duster]

If a large group is going to someplace to eat, it is only a courtesy
to let the restaurant know a bit of head of time.
TwoWheelTexans has a Pie Run the last Saturday every month,
& quite often there are 75/100 riders show up. The TWT website
has a sign-up list, & the restaurant always knows ahead of time that
the group is coming...a phone call on Sat. morning gives them the
latest head-count, so they can have enough staff people working,
& so there is enough PIE. The TWT folks always schedule the time
for 11 A.M., to beat the noon crowd...because quite often, they ARE
the crowd. Everyone knows that there may be delays being served,
but hey...just visit over a cup of coffee, & the pie will show up.

 

[Bluebottle]

Obviously you should be at the back. The faster more capable bikes always go at the back of a group. :thumbup:

They are the ones that can catch up if the group gets seperated or strung out. It gives them the opportunity to open up now and again too. Slow stuff goes in front - standard practice when I've been involved with groups.
Next time, volunteer to go behind the Harleys and explain why, slowly and loudly :lol:

 

[BudLight]

Thanks for all the comments. The ride went well. I didn't even have to ride in the back! We did about 175 miles of mountain riding in Colorado yesterday just before the next storm is due to arrive. The Burgman (named Blanca) did great in the mountains! I am used to riding a V-Strom DL 1000, KLR 650, a Concours, and a Voyager. I have to say the Burgman is the most comfortable ride. I added side panniers (from Kiwi Dave) and can interchange the the Kappa (Givi Compatible) panniers with the V-Strom. It is ready for some long tours.
-Bud

 

[v8eyedoc]

Thanks for all the comments. The ride went well. I didn't even have to ride in the back! We did about 175 miles of mountain riding in Colorado yesterday just before the next storm is due to arrive. The Burgman (named Blanca) did great in the mountains! I am used to riding a V-Strom DL 1000, KLR 650, a Concours, and a Voyager. I have to say the Burgman is the most comfortable ride. I added side panniers (from Kiwi Dave) and can interchange the the Kappa (Givi Compatible) panniers with the V-Strom. It is ready for some long tours.
-Bud

It is always a bonus when things work out the way you had hoped that they would................. :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[29534]

I ride with a group that includes Harleys, BMWs and a couple of Burgmans (650 and my 400). There are normally 3-6 of us riding. If there are more, I don't go. I almost always lead the ride because I am the most familiar with our mountain roads because I was on them every day for 25 years working insurance claims. The Harleys with stock pipes mix in with the BMWs and other Burgman but the loud Harley is put in the rear. I ride the speed that is comfortable to me through the curves in the mountains. When I ride my BMW, everyone is happy with the speed I ride. When I ride my Burgman 400, the Harley riders complain that they have a hard time keeping up (except for one good Harley rider). Two of us have both a BMW and a Burgman but the others are one brand only diehards.

 

[DandyDoug]

The small group I usually ride with are all very competent riders and on any given day can really" show their skills".
( come on guys you know you all do it occasionally , when the mood strikes, the weather is right and the WOT calls your name )

One guy has a Triumph triple ( the one with the huge tractor motor) it is all tricked out with goodies and a seriously loud pipe. We always ask him to ride in the back and he politely does it. When we come to a place that will echo a bit , no matter where he is in line you can certainly hear him.