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Picking up red 500 tomorrow

3K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  macjosh1 
#1 · (Edited)
Got the call yesterday. I'd getting a ride down to the dealer (55 miles) to pick up my wife's red 500. She would go but is on a bicycle trip. Having spent most of my moto-miles on Harleys I am curious to try a higher rev bike. There's a very nice backroad route home through springtime Virginia so I am looking forward to the ride.
 
#2 ·
Got the call yesterday. I'd getting a ride down to the dealer (55 miles) to pick up my wife's red 500. She would go but is on a bicycle trip. Having spent most of my moto-miles on Harleys I am curious to try a higher rev bike. There's a very nice backroad route home through springtime Virginia so I looking forward to the ride.
I wouldn't call it a higher rev bike. It Redlines at like 8k. My old bikes didn't get power till 8k.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Well, it's home. The ride is about an hour and it was big fun to ride. The seat was OK for an hour and the shocks are a big soft when you hit bumps ( I go about 190.) It did seem revvy to me coming from big v twins but it certainly goes when you twist the throttle. I did my best to vary the rpms but I was mostly in the higher range given the road. A very nice bike all in all.
 
#8 ·
I put another hundred miles on today on mostly twisty country roads. My only real complaint is that I have a little trouble getting the toe of my boot under the shifter quickly. Otherwise, I had a great ride. Mustang might get some money if they make Rebel seat but even that was largely ok for 100 miles. The bike seems very well made (except for some little plastic bits) for the price point. I' m well past the novice stage but this bike is perfectly fine and very fun for experienced riders.
 
#9 ·
The gear peddle, I had the same problem. First time out on it, I downshifted to 1st, and the gear pedal kept going and pointed straight to the road. Had to get off the bike and muscle it back. Didn't break anything thankfully, but to fix this issue. Look at the assembly of the peddle, you'll see a clamp like thing attached to the small shaft coming out of the motor. Take the little bolt out, pull the assembly off the shaft, rotate it say 1/4 of an inch, (this will raise the peddle) and put it back on. This is what I had to do, and have had no issues since. And I can get my boot under it to upshift without issue.
 
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