And i just thought i would give you a little sitrep on how this period has been.
27 August i took the train to Germany to pick up my new toy. Weather was sunny, 24 degree C, perfect weather. Before the pick up i had done some shopping
in a close by Louis.de, among that a UVEX helmet which fitted like a glove, but is noisy as H***. Well arrived the seller took the bike out the garage, and my heart started to pound hard, 30 minutes later after some chit chat and information on the bike, i started to put on my new clothes and im sure the seller had a laugh when i pulled out a pair of army green military winter mittens
well... i started up the bike to warm it up a bit before leaving, still on the sidestand (stock) we went to the garage to pick up the papers..and i admit.. i never took my eyes off the bike and was ready to do a forward summersault to catch it if it tipped over. Its 25 years since i had my last bike so, if i say i was a bit nervous im probably not overstating anything. 1st gear and started to roll, very slow. after a couple of minutes it felt a little better and i didnt have the sellers eyes on by back. Well off to the autobahn and 130 km/h with an ear to ear smile. I stopped a every gasstation i met and i had a feeling that everybody was looking at the bike..damn i was proud. The next 14 days i was commuting home/work every day, still taking it easy and trying to get the feel. The ear to ear smile still on. On the 14th day..Friday afternoon on my way home, i got so daring that when traffic started to queue up i took the Falco in between the cars, everybody did that, but until that day i had allways stayed in my lane and just waited for traffic to move. But not this day.. slowly approaching the front cars and then 2 cars before the very front the light turned green...shit was my first thought, i had a truck to my right and i really didnt feel comfortable, so... and to use a car term... i almost floored it to get past the cars. 2.17 sec later two things happend. 1: my frontwheel had touchdown. 2: i was in need of new underwear
i had done a unintentionaly wheelie, and i can just imagine the people in the two cars i passed during this very scarry moment. After this... im very gentle on the rightside handle.Except for 1 day, where i was entering a motorway with no traffic.. first time i had the red limiter blinking, but thats definately not something that will happen a lot to me, allthough it was a really nice experience.
I have left the straight motorway and now do small curvy roads, still gentle, but my feel for the bike is much much better now. And even if i intended to put the bike into the livingroom by 1. november, its still outside, just in case the weather is reasonable. But i think its time to take it inside, its started to get very cold. Will post a pic when its inside.
I still need to have the sidestand fixed, but found a solid wall which gives me a little confidence when parking. Also looking for an open air kind of inlet..
Well this was just my little sitrep, and i think the very big smile will never fade.
Finn
