Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater
I rode the Le Mans into work on Thursday, because I finally remembered to post my bikes-for-sale to the internal motorcycling list. One of my coworkers from a previous life (back when I was compiling builds, instead of dealing with email) mailed back indicating his interest.
So, on Thursday, he got a chance to look at it, and hear it roar a little. He still seemed interested, but I'm not really holding out any hope on that front. If it turns into a sale, I'll be thrilled, but I won't be shocked if he declines.
In riding the bike in, I was reminded on several counts of why I really like the Le Mans. It has a beautiful drivetrain -- the clutch and transmission are buttery-smooth. Power delivery is invigorating, particularly rolling on a heavy dollop of throttle at around 3k RPM, when you get that hearty V-twin staccato roar from the exhaust. It feels really nice to ride, like it's working with you to make riding more enjoyable.
Of course, to counter that, I was reminded also of its relatively heavy feel at low speed (the Z750s is no better, although it's different). I remembered the huge driveline lash as all those gears take up their play going from acceleration to deceleration. I filled the tank, and was reminded of the terrible in-town gas mileage.
So yeah, for all that I like the bike, it's better that someone else buy it and use it for it's actual intended purpose -- distance, moderate to high speed riding.
Posted at 21:43 permanent link category: /motorcycle
I looked down at my front tire today to see a jolly little metallic glint wink back up at me. Yep, there's a nail buried deep in the front tire of the Z750s.
Fortunately, this is nowhere near as grim as it could be. I have two different patching/plugging technologies available, it's not losing air, and I have a spare front tire. How convenient is that? I figure I'll stick on my spare tire tomorrow morning. If I dislike it (as I did on the Le Mans, which is why it's a spare in the first place), I can always go buy a new front for the Z later on.
It's very unusual to get a nail in the front tire, usually they're in the rear -- the front tire kicks them up, and the rear rolls over them once they're aloft. I've even pondered some kind of a deflecting sweeper system that would redirect anything kicked up by the front tire out of the rear tire's path. It'd look goofy, though.
Posted at 21:28 permanent link category: /motorcycle
Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater