Thunderbirds Are Go

[GoldOxide_imp]

Thanks, LR! Yes, it takes me a long time to line things up.

The jaunty little CBR250R is a lifetime keeper but after four years of looking for love in all the wrong places, the F800GT will depart the stable. You and I have talked about it...the GT is a bike that seems perfect on paper but in the end it just doesn’t stir my soul. The rational mind tells me it’s a great middleweight sport tourer but the emotional mind tells me...nothing. Nothing except, “Let’s ride something else.” It comes down to the engine as the fundamental determinant of a bike’s essence. In the GT, the 180-deg firing order and bizarre vestigial connecting rod balancing system delivers the eerie sensation of a giant iPhone set on vibrate. The cam hit that happens over 5500 on up is “thrilling” but can’t and shouldn’t be deployed frequently enough to maintain interest.
Thanks, GO. The T-bird is like a little locomotive. You can feel the weight and momentum but it’s all under control like it’s on rails.

There is no doubt.

At nighttime replaying such an engine throb in my head puts me asleep in less than a minute (this is a very good thing). For some, an analogy is like rain on the roof top at night = therapy.