The bike is done! Unfortunately the weather Gods weren't being cooperative this morning and trashed mine and Tony's ride up to the mountain. I met Ken (Spydar) over in Jersey this morning at 7:40am to pick up the turn signal. Ken is a great guy and how couldn't he be, he was sporting his #88 Dale Jr. Amp shirt today! Any friend of Jr. is a friend of mine! Thanks very much Ken. I know you had to be tired from all the traveling, so for you to meet up so early was extremely nice of you. We must get at least one ride in with Tony before the summer ends.
I got home after sitting in traffic at the GW Bridge (What Else Is New), and installed the turn signal which was in perfect condition. Once I finished I called Tony and found out what the weather was like out west so left the ride for another weekend. I, however, was going to get at least a small jaunt in the books for today so I woke up Richie, got him downstairs, and took off.
The new Tourmaster is nothing short of spectacular! I was feeling a nice breeze through the jacket which by the way is comfortable as heck. The new Shoei RF1000 will take a bit to get used to. The helmet is 20 times more comfortable than my Bell, but with the rear spoiler that they have on the back of the helmet doesn't like when you turn your head at speed nor does it like heavy crosswinds. I'm sure I just need to get used to wearing this type of helmet. The noise level is much lower than that of my Bell, which also will take some time to get used to. I am so used to hearing the exhaust note while riding at speed but now it's like I have ear plugs in.
Now for the bike.......The first thing I noticed with the FZ1 stock handlebars is that visibilty in the mirrors dramatically improves! The new bars combined with the mirror mod is absolutely awesome! You see literally no elbows at all, only the lanes behind you. I can actually see the lane I'm riding in as well. Before you were able to see the lanes to either side and had to bend your head to see what was immediately behind the bike.
Handling......Again, I have to get used to the new bars. Gone is the quick flickability that I had with the straight bars, even with the forks lowered through the tree. On the plus side though, the comfort level went up from a 5 to a 10! I was never so comfortable on this bike as I was today. The bars are high and back, and with my short arms, makes riding a real pleasure! With the new bars packed with sand and plugged on each end, vibration was none existent except for a resonant vibration when the bike hits 4k in 5th gear. When in 6th and doing the speed limit you feel nothing.
Richie and I made a large loop racking up about 48 miles. The weather was deteriorating rapidly and I wanted to make it home without getting wet. Not to mention the crosswinds were kicking up even making Richie grab a hold of me a couple of times. Thats the one downfall in not having the lower fairings on the bike. It's also the reason that I will sooner than later have another set of lowers on the bike.
I guess other than insurance issues, this will be the end of this thread. I really want to express my gratitude to all the guys who physically got me back on the road in such a short time. Tony (NJFZ1), thanks for the grips. They are nice and thick the way I like my grips. Ken (Spydar), thanks so much for the new turn signal. It works perfectly! Thanks Alan (Fade), from the FZ1OA site for the new handlebars and bar ends. Without your help I'd still be looking at the bike instead of riding it. I also want to thank all the forum members who have given me words of support and well wishes since this ordeal started. In my life I can count on two hands how many good friends I have kept, but in the short time on this site I would need 4 or 5 hands to count how many great people and friends I have met here on the site. You guys are really a "class act".
I couldn't end this thread without one more shot of the bike sporting Ken's turn signal. It was the last piece of the puzzle!
