Quote from: RedShift on November 02, 2006, 04:01:17 AM
jdanna, what was the hardest control or feature to get used to?  How'd you take to the weight, forward controls, or the sheer bulk of the Boulevard compared to the GS500?

I can relate to feeling "cramped" after a couple of hours - I'm 6'4" myself.   

the bulk definatly takes a bit of getting used to. especially in parking manuevers, and low speed stuff. that stuff is a lot harder to do. If i were to take the mva license test on this thing, i would probably fail it, cause i cant u-turn it nearly as tight as i could with the GS. Im sure with practice that will improve. But once it gets up to speed, it is suprisingly nimble. It wont carve turns like the GS could, by any means, but it can still be a whole lot of fun on the more technical roads. And im sure i will get better as i get more used to the bike, im still being pretty timid with it.

And i love the transmission. It shifts like butter. only problem is that when i get on the highway, a lot of times, i try for 6th gear. But on the GS, i would always try for 7th. In top gear at 80mph, it still has a good amount of pull left in it, where on the gs, you would have to really lay into it to get it to move beyond 80. Dont do this much tho, the bike feels perfect around 60-70, so i keep it around there.

the heel-toe shifter confused me a bit at first too - during most of the test ride i was using it like a normal shifter, until i got comfortable enough with it to use it properly. now that im used to it i absolutly love it, and having floorboards is great.

the grips are a lot meatyer then the ones on the GS. I like that too. Tho the levers are a bit thin, i think im going to add some big chrome harley style levers to it.

Interesting reading.  Thanks for posting your experiences.

I can understand the largess of the Boulevard feeling significantly different from the GS500.  I think your low-speed skill will improve with experience.  Sounds like you made the right choice.  Glad you went for it.