[roostafish]

First real ride anyway. This will be the bike I ride the qualifiers on. It has a Rekluse clutch, which, well, I have not been all that thrilled with on other bikes I've ridden, but today I was duly impressed.

For the most part I felt right at home, though I can't wait to get my steering damper on, and get some real handguards. I also am anxious to get my Left Hand Rear Brake (LHRB) going. That is going to be fun.

Biggest things I noticed in comparison to my '01 ECO 300: The suspension. Geez, I can't wait to get this stuff to Les. Too soft, midstroke spike (though subdued), and seemed to easily go way too far into the travel (I'm only 160 pounds). I need to set the sag before I complain, but there ya go. It works good for the most part, I just like it stiffer to keep my feet higher off the ground.

The sun/rain switch. This is the second bike that I have ridden that the switch made a huge difference. What a hoot! I rode on sunshine mode most of the day, but tried the rain setting a few times, and it works as advertised. Much better than my first impressions a couple years ago.

Things to sort. My flipturn, a move I use all the time where I do a single wheeled 180. I need to practice doing it with no clutch. Wierd. I was able to do it almost normally by using the clutch lever, but I'll be taking that off soon, so I need to figure it out. Maybe I'll get a MTB master cyl and hook that tiny lever to my clutch.