@ Michael, my dad has said very similar things to me regarding his Ulysses experiences. He said it was one of the best things he could do to learn ride structure but he also loves going to the AGMs due to all the new people he gets to meet. He has said at different times that a certain AGM was very unfriendly but he put that mostly down to how unorganised it was. People were generally peeved off at the lack of amenties etc.

Dad initally started out on a cruiser and hated every second of it, bad back and neck + cruiser is a recipe for disaster. So he upgraded to a BMW K1200LT and loves it. Admittedly he copped crap for getting a tourer but he didn't care, and I suppose that's where I'm going with this. If the people in the group you ride with give you crap over their bike sometimes they're pre-assuming what the person who rides it is like (as in your case Michael) or are making an uneducated guess on how the bike performs.

People are not always positive when it comes to new people invading their happy little group but eventually everyone warms up to newbies    or at least that's what I am hoping when I go looking for a club around my area.

That is always the problem with organised groups isn't it. They all have a underlying theme. Mixed groups of riders with no club attachments are always more open to choices of bikes.
Hell my last ride just gone, we had a cruiser, an adventure bike, a BMW that was old enough that you couldn't pick its engine noise from that of a dak dak, top end sports bikes and everything else in between. No one cared and no one really knew each other.

Ok I finally heard from the guy who sold me my GS. The group that he told me about is called www.vtwinbingedrinkers.net I met Mick and he's a nice bloke. Actually they sound like a fun crew to hang with. Look em up if you want Ourea.

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