"How hard is it to get your Venture up on the center stand and what if you
go head first down a narrow road and have to back out? Mike"
Well, as I said, while pushing it around it feels every bit of 800 lbs.
I'm blessed with long legs (not a blessing when trying to get hiway pegs
long enough), so I can touch easily (the 2nd gen Ventures have a lower
seat). Centerstand isn't bad, not really any harder than the Virago,
because I think the Virago is unusually difficult to get on the stand for
its size. The only way is the stand-to-the-side technique, and the
passenger grab handle is placed just right for the right hand. I put my
weight into it and it goes right up. Now, my dad's Voyager has a really
cool 2-stange centerstand that makes it a piece of cake.
As for the last question, in the words my dad once spoke to me, you don't
have to be an idiot! : ) Seriously, I try to think ahead and not get in
those situations. That being said, it does happen. Backing up is a pain,
if it's uphill. Consider that when parking and taking narrow roads! I can
back it slightly uphill, and I don't think I've yet had to have someone
push, but another person could probably hold a grab handle and give a good
pull. GW's have reverse, which has to be nice.
I live on about a mile of dirt road. Riding Big Bertha down that was a
little intimidating at first, but again, you get used to it pretty fast.
The only think I don't like is coming to a stop in my gravel drive with a
passenger aboard - it feels really easy to make the front wheel slide while
putting the feet down. I dumped it once, crossing a sandy wash near home.
It was dark, my 12-yr-old son was dozing on the back seat, and I strayed
from the more-packed tire tracks into the soft stuff. I was going slowly,
and felt the thing start to go as the wheels sunk and slid. It was quickly
apparent that I was not going to save it so I let it go, and watched my son
tumble from his seat onto the sand. Rude awakening! He shook his head and
stood up, unharmed, as was the bike which was caught by it's factory crash
bars front and rear. I used the technique I learned for picking up large
bikes - back up to the seat with your butt, one hand on the bar, the other
on the grab handle, and walk backward - worked like a champ.
Jeremy
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