Across the little island of Aruba

[rider1106]

I have been lurking the site for a few years now and have enjoyed the countless ride reports posted by members; hoping that someday I will have the time and money to embark on such a journal myself.

I currently live in Ontario, Canada and have been working towards by Chartered Accounting designation at a big 4 firm. As a gift to myself for passing all of my exams in the first year (woohoo!) I purchased a Ninja250r back in June 2010. I knew it would not be the most comfortable ride to take to the edges of North America and back but it was a start to a (hopeful) long list of bikes that I will own in the future to work towards my goal of going on some of the real adventures I have seen on this site.

In August 2011 I had the opportunity to travel to Aruba with my Dad for a week vacation. Although he doesn't ride I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to rent a Harley and take a day tour around the island.

The total trip was about 60 miles (95km) and took about 4-5 hours with a few pit stops to take in the scenery. I know it's not much but I felt I had to contribute something to this site! Cheers and hope you enjoy!

The Map:
http://goo.gl/maps/J798i

Items (day backpack with the following):
- Water
- Sunscreen
- Map of the island (got it from the harley dealership)
- Cellphone
- Money for food & drinks ($100 cash)
- Sunglasses

The trip started just north of Oranjestad at the Harley Dealership (http://www.harleydavidson-aruba.com/)...it's a small island so not very hard to find. I ended up renting a brand new orange Heritage Softtail. This is the first time I have ever rode on a cruiser, let alone a Harley. The bike was a lot heavier than I had expected and took a little extra push to sit it upright compared to my little Ninja. I'm a pretty short guy but was still able to get both feet flat on the ground which gave me a bit of confidence.

Some notable differences: The seat was VERY comfortable and riding position made me feel like I was sitting in a La-Z Boy. It even had auto cancelling turn signals...this is certainly the luxury vehicle of motor-bikes

I was shown the ignition and how the shifter worked (I didn't really intend on using my heel to shift up). Anyways, snapped a quick pic, started up the bike and off I went.

Surprisingly, the bike handled very well. It did not feel heavy around the corners and I had no problem only keeping one foot down when stopped. It felt weird not having a tachometer, but the engine's sound made it very easy to find the right time to shift.

Overall the trip was a great experience! Kept the bike rubber side down but managed to scrape the floor boards up around the corners and probably set off every car alarm while riding through town. There isn't too much to comment on since this was a short trip but thought I would post some pictures below for your viewing pleasure.

If you ever have the opportunity to take this route I highly recommend it. My only advice is....watch for lots of sand on the roads, it is a very windy island....and if you manage to make it to the south lighthouse, make sure the road is clear before venturing up the hill. It turns into a steep 45 degree angle while still cornering up.....definitely a road you do not want to stop half-way up with a 500+ pound bike.

Cheers and enjoy the pics! (if I manage to find out how to post them in this thread).