Finally...

It's in my hot little hands. I brought the bike home today and am I ever happy. Actually, since I don't have my CY endorsement yet, JR drove it for me, and all the way home I was hoping he wouldn't spill it. He did fine though. He did give me a few pointers on things I should do for the bike. I went out and bought the stuff for an oil change, spark plugs and a few other odds and ends, and, a guy from work (another cycle enthusiast) is going to show me how to do all these different things.

A labor of love. :)

So, I know I shouldn't have, but I test drove the bike today. Just on side streets and up and down our driveway several times. (The driveway isn't that big...) What I would do was get into position, set the bike in first, then zoom forward (about 25 feet), back it up and do it again, just to get a feel for things, how it handled, it's quirks, etc. As you can imagine, it was about as fun as watching the grass grow. So, I slipped on my helmet and took off! Just up and down the street at first, getting a feel for the gears and foot placement, and finally made it into 2nd. What an accomplishment! Then third! The only problem with this stretch of road are the several stop signs that taught me the value of good brakes. It was an exhilarating experience, one I wanted to repeat after the gym tonight, but considering I have had about 4 hours of sleep in the last couple of days, I opted out.

INcredible amount of pick up on this bike. I barely handled the throttle and shot forward. I imagine after this, the 250cc bikes are going to seem super slow. I am starting the class tomorrow at 5:15. Not going to ride the bike there...

Besides, there's always tomorrow before the class. :)

I stopped into the College Motors bike shop today just to check out prices on a tire. Installed is a bit more than I wanted to pay, so I am going to see if Bill will help me remove this one and help me remount the new one. It's a good tire, but costs about $90, and that's before labor.

I spent about 3 hours just cleaning the grime off the bike tires, polishing the chrome, waxing the tank... a lot of work! But the bike looks much better now, as if someone loves it. Using Goop hand cleaner worked wonders.

Tomorrow, I'll fill you all in.