May 24, 2010 I meet Green Girl for the first time

A few days ago while I was in Coos Bay having coffee with Jerry Smith, Ron Wardman, and Chuck Bruce I mentioned I was going to stop by the local Kawasaki shop and check out their new bikes. This is the same dealership where I bought my Ninja “El Nino”, the one I had ridden to Alaska and Nova Scotia. Chuck having said the day before he’d like to ride along on my summer tour was naturally interested to see what I might be up to so he went along.

There on the showroom floor sat a gorgeous new 2010 Kawasaki Vulcan 900LT, fully equipped with windshield, saddle bags, and back rest. This is Kawasaki’s entry into the mid-sized cruiser-touring market and it’s a doozy. Reports and test results have rated it well and it’s regarded as an excellent choice for that style of bike.

I sat on it and I was smitten. I talked with the salesman and after a brief bit of haggling arrived at a price we could both live with. The deal was they would prep the bike for a test ride the next morning and if I was satisfied it would be mine.

Naturally it rained cats and dogs the next day and I nearly called it off because of that. Then I thought why not, if I can handle it in the rain and sloppy streets it should do just fine when it’s nice out.

As I was thinking about how to get to Coos Bay for the test ride Chuck called and offered to give me a lift in, “Just in case you decide to bring her home” he said.

Having never ridden a “cruiser” type bike with floorboards and forward foot controls I wasn’t too sure if I’d like it. I needn’t have feared, that riding position is dead simple and the low saddle height makes manoeuvring easy as pie. I toured downtown Coos Bay, then did a bit on the main highway and after a few miles returned satisfied to the dealership.


Chuck gave me a huge grin proclaiming “You’re gonna love that bike!” and deep down I knew he was right. I rode her home through broken periods of rain and sunshine, typical of our costal weather and stored her under the garage eves for the night. I’ve decided to call her Green Girl, it just seems to fit.

My goal of finding a bike I’d be comfortable with on a long distance tour has ended and given my past experience with Kawasaki’s Ninja I know I can rely on Green Girl to take me where I want to go.

Chuck needs a few days away for family business and then we can take off. Our departure date is set for June 6th and I’m getting excited!