Currently, one of the many bikes featured on the Google image collage for VAX 1800 is my Honda cruiser . . . and some winter weather advice.

This is a 2003 VTX 1800 C , at the time it was put on the market, the baddest cruiser on the planet.

In the winter, I run with a windshield.

As it sits in this picture, it is set up for day tripping. I have a sissy rack and bags that give me all I need for cross country travel.

The bike has a K&N hypercharger, a modest custom lighting package, leather bags, highway bars and pegs (no platform foot rests for me), Vance Hines pipes and a break-away cruise control that I think is fantastic.

The back tire is a 180, not a "fat tire," but close. I have a two door garage. The north side is for the bike. My car sets outside. Our very old Lexus 400 sets in the other bay. The "bike bay" is full of bike stuff. The bike is the coolest thing I have ever owned, except for my wife . . . . . . . . . . (just kidding, Sweetie). This bike will blow the doors off most Harleys. Understand that my Honda is "cool" and fast because of Harley. Harley wrote the book on cruiser design and no one has the sound of a Harley and . . . . . . . . Harley does have bikes that will eat mine alive, priced so high that I seldom see them on the road. And Harley is still trying to get away from the old reputation of "repair, repair, repair."

Two of the most common killers for bikers are speed and a thing called "survival instincts." If you are use to riding a crotch rocket, one of those plastic bikes, you are in for a little distress when getting on a vxt. . . . .
. .
Continue reading here . . . .       My cruiser sits much closer to the ground than a plastic bike, and that limits your speed going into a curve. I think Harleys set a little higher than the vtx, as well. The weight and horsepower of an 1800 puts it in a different category, as well. My bike weighs close to 780 pounds when the gas tank is full, and nearly 1,110 pounds when I am on the thing. It is not tossed around by the wind; it does not hydroplane in the rain; it does not respond to the highway grooves on concrete roads; it cannot be horsed around like a smaller bike. And, this last characteristic is what can be troublesome.

When riding a truly heavy bike, you really have to do everything the right way and, often, that is counter to your survival instincts. For example, survival instincts (in a panic) might have you pull on the left handle bar to turn left, when, in fact, you have to push on the left bar to make a left turn.

If you are thinking of moving up to one of these monsters, you really need to invest in a CD or book that talks about riding methodology versus survival instincts. I think you need to ride alone for a year or more, while you learn, and I am talking about a learning curve that extends past the "I think I know my bike, now" stage. I have 9,000 miles on my vtx, my first big time cruiser (previously nothing over 1,100 cc) and I am still making critical mistakes. Not a lot of them, and I feel very comfortable on the bike, but mistakes that have nearly gotten me killed, nontheless.

Winter is upon us. Don't forget about ice on the bridges. They (the bridges) will freeze up long before any of the roadways. Its the airflow under the bridge that cause it to freeze. Be careful. Especially when encountering a bridge in the middle of a curve. You might think about decelerating onto and over a bridge. The torque of a big bike will put that bike on the ground faster than you have time to think. If worried about road conitions, I try to ride across a bridge in as vertically upright a position as possible, just in case. Oh, one more thing to be concerned about, in winter weather: sand or salt on the highways. It is almost the same as hitting ice.