Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater
This morning there was a heavy frost on the ground, and I elected
to ride the sidecar. I bought an instant-up canopy
last weekend to cover the sidecar, or whichever bike was evicted from
the garage. I'd taken it down during a touch of high wind a few days
ago, so the sidecar was uncovered.
I noticed a touch of frost on the bike as well, until I got around and had a close look at the seat. There was a "puddle" of ice. No problem, I tapped on it and freed it from the cover.
Then I sat down. The seat didn't move. Oh. It was frozen solid. How silly.
My butt was quite cold by the time I got to work.
In other news, I went home via Ducati Seattle to check out a used Monster 620 they had on their website. It was sold yesterday, so I didn't get to see that bike, but they did have a demo bike which I test rode.
The bike struck me as being much like the SV650 I rode earlier this week. It had a nicer throttle, without the on/off lightswitch effect of the SV. On the other hand, the ergonomics were even worse. The seat was pretty low, but the pegs were even closer. The handlebars were further forward and wider, all of which conspired to make the ride fairly uncomfortable.
For the price, it's definitely not the right bike. The SV650, which felt functionally similar to me (I'm sure I would have noticed differences with more time) costs more than $1000 less new, and is easy to find used.
I'm glad I took the time to ride it, though. The Monster 620 is one of those bikes I've been curious about for a long time, although I've always suspected it'd be too small for me. It's good to have actual experience to back it up.
Posted at 21:12 permanent link category: /motorcycle
Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater