Getting jiggy wid it.

At last, the epiphany of the first few confidence filled rides has finally happened. I have bust my duck, and am now totally convinced thois bike should be on prescription only....... I cannot believe that summer riders, born agains, and those fresh from a CB500 can get on this bike and ride it on the roads amongst other users of the Queens Highway. Don't get me wrong, I am no riding God, but at least I have a few big bikes under my belt to take the edge off the terror this bike fills me with when the performance is used.

No knee down yet as I am still building my confidence in the front tyre and the setup of the bike. I'll spend the weekend getting the sag set, and twiddling stuff until I have a base setting, but right now, it seems good, very good. The bike tracks so precisely and unlike the 11, the rear is not constantly spinning as it leaves the tarmac after every bump or crest. On the other hand, this is a bike that needs its steering damper. I had huge wiggle of the bars this morning, hard on the throttle in 3rd gear, 10k RPM as I peeled left off a 120 mph straight over a junction. The road is worn and rough there and the bike was front light, so I should have expected it, but things are happening so fast, and you are thinking SO hard about the job in hand, that by the time the waggle had started, it was over. Keep it pinned and let the bike settle seems to be the way to go.

I had a mini race with a Scooby last night over the common, and the way the bike eats the gears is amazing. You just keep feeding it gears, and it keeps driving. The big difference here, over my previous bikes, is that there is no let up in pull as you select the next higher gear. You don't have to wait for the engine to pick up after a gear change, it just drives instantly. The result is that I am finding it hard to relax on the bike and that translates back through my body to the bike, which is reacting to my tensed body and getting tossed about. Slow up a bit, relax, breathe, and you can go fast again, but I keep finding myself out of breath, and hurting from the sheer physicality of the bike. It could be I am trying too hard to live up to the bikes reputation and performance, or that I need a track day to find out where the bike and I are happiest. Whatever, the bike is so lovely to ride, and the insanity of it so addictive that riding fast just becomes a case of remembering to relax.

On the flip side, it is possible to bimble along. 30 mph in 6th is fine, and the bike will pull happily in 6th from that speed.

So, give me a few more rides, and the bike and I will be much more happy. I could not be more pleased with the actual purchase though. Bargain.