what to think of a dealers bike...

[gsJack]

I'm about 3" shorter than I was when I bought the first GS.

The GSs were my 5th and 6th bikes, not my first and hopefully not my last.   

Man, if you're getting that much shorter that fast, get out of the mud puddle !

OK, i'll bite, what happened ?

Actually thinking further about it, the height loss was probably more like 2-2.5" during that relatively short period of time.  I was 6' 2.5" tall from high school thru most of my adult life but was probably only about 6' 2" even near as I can recall when I bought that first GS in 99 at age 66.

A routine physical in Jan 06 showed a very high level of calcium in my blood and further testing at the Cleveland Clinic located a malfunctioning parathyroid gland in my neck that was stealing calcium from my bones and it was removed surgically in June 06.  I was just under 6' at that time and am probably declining at a more normal rate since then.  My blood calcium was back to normal within hours after surgery and the loss should be more normal now.

As I've said many times here, the lowering of my bike a bit (about 1") was due to the increasing arthritis in my hips making it harder to throw a leg up and over to get on.  It's even harder to get off at the end of a long day.   

[ohgood]

I'm about 3" shorter than I was when I bought the first GS.

The GSs were my 5th and 6th bikes, not my first and hopefully not my last.   

Man, if you're getting that much shorter that fast, get out of the mud puddle !

OK, i'll bite, what happened ?

Actually thinking further about it, the height loss was probably more like 2-2.5" during that relatively short period of time.  I was 6' 2.5" tall from high school thru most of my adult life but was probably only about 6' 2" even near as I can recall when I bought that first GS in 99 at age 66.

A routine physical in Jan 06 showed a very high level of calcium in my blood and further testing at the Cleveland Clinic located a malfunctioning parathyroid gland in my neck that was stealing calcium from my bones and it was removed surgically in June 06.  I was just under 6' at that time and am probably declining at a more normal rate since then.  My blood calcium was back to normal within hours after surgery and the loss should be more normal now.

As I've said many times here, the lowering of my bike a bit (about 1") was due to the increasing arthritis in my hips making it harder to throw a leg up and over to get on.  It's even harder to get off at the end of a long day.   

Awe man, this is not the news I wanted to hear. I've been dealing with being 6'4" since I was 16 or so. You mean I've got at least another 30 years of door handles too low, jeans too short, cars too small, tables that hit my knees, chairs that make me want to start a bonfire, and never actually fitting on a road bike ?

Interestingly enough, one of the tool & die geniuses I apprenticed under was a long distance runner, had arthritis and swore WD-40 worked on his knees. He also thought cutting oil wasn't bad for you...

[mismith356]

thanks gsJack.  It seems not everybody here gets smoking deals for like $1500 for perfect bikes...I thought it was just the Orlando area.  I now have a lead on another bike though, an 05 with lower miles but closer to $3k but it's very clean and never knocked over.  The bike which caused my posting here was 2500 miles but had been sitting, ran rough and have fallen over.  I like this new bike better from the pics and description.

Wife passed her MSF today  ....and we are gonna go have her sit on a few dealer bikes for size and to see what she likes tomorrow.

It's between the GS and an EX500.