Hiromi_X

eeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

My motorcycle was delivered yesterday afternoon!!! I actually jumped up and down when it arrived. I giggled a little when I saw it because they had to lower it so much. Also, they had to shorten the kickstand, so it's now a cute little stump. Works fine, though, and none of this bothers me 'cause I rather like having an eccentric low-rider sportbike.

I wanted to try it out right away, but it had just begun to rain again and the streets were slick. Plus, traffic of all sorts -- cars, bicyclists, joggers, people walking dogs -- was very hectic at that time, so I waited. I had to keep on waiting because it started to pour, but I was finally able to take it out around 9 pm.

At first, I puttered around a parking lot nearby, but I had already gotten used to the controls while in my own parking lot, and so was getting nothing from it. So despite the dark and the wetness, I went out into the streets, and was perfectly fine despite my trepidations.

Then, I sneaked out of work ridiculously early today to take advantage of clear skies and dry streets. After riding around more, these are my remaining issues:

1) Throttle control. I'm not doing any unintential wheelies or anything, but my use of it isn't exactly subtle. And I think that I'm not paying enough attention to posture, and so my arm and wrist positions are weird.

2) Cancelling the goddamn turn signal. I'm used to automatic cut off.

3) Coordinating braking, clutch, and throttle use in a turn.

4) Getting used to other vehicles.

I was really pleased to discover that one of my best qualities -- coolheadedness -- carries over while riding. I don't tend to panic. I discovered several trouble spots in my neighborhood where the majority of cagers* don't pay the slightest attention to cross traffic, and could have been hit a number of times had I not spotted the risk ahead of time and reacted quickly. A couple of pedestrians walked into my path, but I dealt with them calmly, too. And I got gratifying coolness points. I stopped at a stop sign and saw a gaggle of preschoolers shepherded by a couple of teachers. I waved them through. The wee children all smiled and waved enthusiastically at me.

One annoying thing is that, per the manufacturer, I'm not supposed to exceed 4000 rpm for the first 500 miles. But I can't just putter along at a low speed because I also have to use a variety of speeds, so I have to monkey around with gear experimentation, which is a tad difficult when you're a new rider and have a lot of shit to absorb and skills to acquire.

I was in full gear and after an hour, heat fatigue set in so I came home.

The lining of my jacket is pretty damn sweaty. There's nothing I can do about that because I have to wear it, Texas heat or no. I hope it doesn't get all nasty. It requires special cleaning due to the armor. My helmet's cheek and chin strap pads are removable for washing, but not the entire inner lining. I read somewhere that stuffing with newspaper prevents helmet funk, so I'm trying that.

Gonna take photos later when I can be arsed.

*Car drivers. I love using biker lingo.