First ride today

[mikeswe]

First ride of the year and first ride on the -08 FZ1. Still pretty cold, 10degC, and lots of gravel still on the roads, but it was a nice ride. Keeping the revs under 6000rpm of course. Only diff from the -06 is that the snatchy throttle response is gone. The new Rizoma fatbar felt perfect.

 

[FZ1inTX]

Very nice! Glad to hear you're back out on two wheels!

Btw, you do not have to stay under 6k for the breakin. The manual states no "prolonged" revs above 6k. I've always broken in my bikes fairly aggressively using low gears, mid-range RPMs and compression. It's the same way the race bike builders seat the rings. Heavy on and off the throttle to keep the pressures up in the cylinders to put the maximum force on the rings and seat them quickly. I've done this to bikes and cars alike and never have blown an engine nor had one fail, leak or let me down over the last 25 years.

Oh, and I change the oil for the first time at about 75 - 100 miles.

Ride safe and in Sweden? PICS! I know you have a beautiful country to show off! The owner of the place I work for here is in Sweden. Antonia Johnson. Fantastic woman!

 

[mikeswe]

Yeah I guess it's ok to rev it higher on occasion. I try to ride on smaller roads now so it's lots of accelleration and decelleration. The lake you see in the background is still covered in ice and it will be like that for perhaps another month. I was out fishing on that lake just two weeks ago, I was walking on the ice when I saw one of those hairy caterpillars crawling on the ice perhaps 100m out from the shore. I had to take a pic (with the phone).

 

[FZ1inTX]

Nice! It is amazing what creatures can survive in temperate places. How long is a riding season where you live? Do you also own winter toys? Like a big Yamaha liter sled?

 

[mikeswe]

Nice! It is amazing what creatures can survive in temperate places. How long is a riding season where you live? Do you also own winter toys? Like a big Yamaha liter sled?

The bike season for me is around 7 months. Up north they play with their snowmobiles, but here down south the winters are often not decent enough to have prolonged periods with cold and snow. Except this winter, it has been quite extraordinary, and I like it like that. I like ice-fishing and also when it's possible I like to go iceskating on lakes.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-1EviDfPR4]YouTube - Långfärdsskridsko 071216[/ame]

 

[scout]

What's surprising is how wet and clear the ice looks, and the effortless speed of skating. Only way to go when ice is available, for sure. Were those fishing poles you guys were carrying?

 

[mikeswe]

What's surprising is how wet and clear the ice looks, and the effortless speed of skating. Only way to go when ice is available, for sure. Were those fishing poles you guys were carrying?

These conditions are rare, it has to freeze before the snow comes, usually that's only a few weeks in nov-dec. But when you have perfect ice, the wind in your back, sometimes the water is so clear you can see the bottom of the lake rushing past, it's almost unreal. The poles are used pretty much like skiing poles, when it's strong wind against you, you have to give it some push with your arms. They are also used to poke the ice to see if it's safe.