06-14-2013, 08:38 AM
1. I reach for sixth occasionally out of habit, but it's not a big deal. At the limiter there's still a significant gap to redline, and the bike has torque to spare across the entire range.
2. I'm in the Houston area; the heat and high humidity here are legendary. So far, no problems with it, but we've yet to get into the Slightly-Warmer-Than-The-Ninth-Plane-of-Hell days that come along in August. However, I have several friends who ride large displacement Yamahas that are air-cooled and they've never had issues. The one exception, of course, is if you're stuck in stop-and-go traffic. No air cooled bike is gonna do well in those circumstances. Best find a place to bail out or park it and wait a while for the traffic to move on.
3. Why you no like 3?! You mean to 3!
4. I don't do ABS on bikes. Ever. Don't particularly like it on cars, for that matter. In my experience it robs you of control, provided you know how to ride/drive. (Don't even get me started on traction control systems. Grrrr. Fortunately I can turn it off with a switch on my Mustang...) Personal thing, of course. Some people really like it, but none for me thanks.
5. I don't. I'm happy to chat with them. I realize you're asking tongue-in-cheek, of course. But it honestly is one the best things about the bike. My latest was a guy at a stoplight in a mini-truck next to me. Got my attention and asked me how I'd retrofitted rear discs to my old Honda... I explained that I only wish I possessed that level of mechanical skill.
As for the trip lengths, 200 miles is all you'll want to do on this one. A long Saturday ride for me is 120 miles, about a tank. Beyond that, fatigue starts to set in. If you're a younger buck than I, however, you can probably push it further. It's not a distance cruiser; I'm past that phase. But it can stretch a bit if you want to ride with cruiser friends for the day. It's not a sport bike, but you can carve corners with far greater agility than a cruiser. It's a great compromise, and that's probably the greatest compliment for this bike. It does many things "good enough." And, of course, it's drop-dead gorgeous. Good looks will get you a long way in life... or so I've been told.
2. I'm in the Houston area; the heat and high humidity here are legendary. So far, no problems with it, but we've yet to get into the Slightly-Warmer-Than-The-Ninth-Plane-of-Hell days that come along in August. However, I have several friends who ride large displacement Yamahas that are air-cooled and they've never had issues. The one exception, of course, is if you're stuck in stop-and-go traffic. No air cooled bike is gonna do well in those circumstances. Best find a place to bail out or park it and wait a while for the traffic to move on.
3. Why you no like 3?! You mean to 3!
4. I don't do ABS on bikes. Ever. Don't particularly like it on cars, for that matter. In my experience it robs you of control, provided you know how to ride/drive. (Don't even get me started on traction control systems. Grrrr. Fortunately I can turn it off with a switch on my Mustang...) Personal thing, of course. Some people really like it, but none for me thanks.
5. I don't. I'm happy to chat with them. I realize you're asking tongue-in-cheek, of course. But it honestly is one the best things about the bike. My latest was a guy at a stoplight in a mini-truck next to me. Got my attention and asked me how I'd retrofitted rear discs to my old Honda... I explained that I only wish I possessed that level of mechanical skill.
As for the trip lengths, 200 miles is all you'll want to do on this one. A long Saturday ride for me is 120 miles, about a tank. Beyond that, fatigue starts to set in. If you're a younger buck than I, however, you can probably push it further. It's not a distance cruiser; I'm past that phase. But it can stretch a bit if you want to ride with cruiser friends for the day. It's not a sport bike, but you can carve corners with far greater agility than a cruiser. It's a great compromise, and that's probably the greatest compliment for this bike. It does many things "good enough." And, of course, it's drop-dead gorgeous. Good looks will get you a long way in life... or so I've been told.