Today was sunny and a balmy 50 degrees so we took advantage: I rolled the Monster out to scrub in a new rear tire and Grant took the Guzzi out for the first time since we fixed the exhaust.
The rear suspension on the Monster seems to work much better when there's 35+ fewer pounds of rider, but I'm paranoid about scraping a boot because I actually did once on this bike. The motor is running SO well--it'll idle smoothly at 900rpms in neutral and opens up beautifully. It was torquey at 1000rpms up through 5500, not snatchy at all which is what I've come to expect under 60 degrees. There's no buzz through the handlebar at all. The new Metzlers are awesome, but the fork still seems a bit pogo-like after the other bikes. We tooled around Mercer Island and it tracked beautifully on the new rubber and seemed to brake better as well.
Next weekend I replace the rear brake pads--I went with the firmer braking substance. Maybe a bath if it's warm enough (time to clean the chain). The bike's just been a trooper; wish I could say the same about the BMW these days.
Saw a lot of Ducs out--Hypermotard, Multistrada 1200, and a couple of 848s. Oh, and a lot of clean Harleys.
