Pics of Gear

Here's a photo of my jacket, gloves and helmet. I went with a pair of Teknic gloves, a Field Sheer jacket and a Shoei X-Eleven helmet. You can read about the helmet here: Shoei X-Eleven.

Photos of My Plastic Rocket

It's Here! My New Bike!

I finally picked up my bike this weekend. It rides like a dream!

First impressions:

• The throttle is hyperactive. Just a tad of a turn gives you tons of power.
  
• Titanium is amazing. The bike is super light as a result of generous use of titanium throughout the engine and exhaust system. I love the look of the titanium muffler and the sound is amazing!
• The cockpit is smartly laid out. I love how Yamaha includes visible indicators for both left and right on this bike. I have ridden older Yamaha's and they didn't have this feature.
• Seat is comfy for around town riding. For longer trips I think I'll invest in an air or gel cushion.
• Storage is limited. You don't buy a sport bike for cross country trips. The lockable pillion seat has enough room under it for the included repair kit. There is just enough room to squeeze my cargo net under the seat as well.
• Goes fast, stops fast. As I mentioned earlier, the throttle is amazing; the brakes are equally as impressive. The massive dual disc rotors up front do an amazing job of stopping the bike quickly -- a must for commuting in NoVa.

I've owned a MINI Cooper S for a little over a year now, and have gotten used to waving back to a MINI motorer every now and then. I've forgotten how much more fellow motorcyclists wave to one another -- acknowledging each other's bind with the steel horse.

I don't know if it's the particular model of bike that I got or what, but on my very first day people came up to me and started asking questions about the bike as soon as they recognized I was a motorcyclist.

Holding my helmet and wearing my Field Sheer jacket, on Sunday I was at the mall to get my haircut and a middle-aged man came right up to me and asked me what I rode. He then told me about his bike (yammie R1) and how he loves it even though it is too powerful for him. The biker community seems much more approachable than the snooty NoVa MINI community for sure.

Yesterday I was at Old Navy looking for some shorts and a salesman came right up to me (what do you ride?" he said. I replied and he in turn said, "I ride a gixxer. 600. How long have you been riding?" ... and the conversations continue to go on like this ...

Today I was about to get on my bike after running an errand at the Container Store in Clarendon. A Middle Eastern man came up to me and asked, "Is this the '06 or the '07?" We then proceeded to talked about our love for Yamaha's and Ducattis.

It seems like a tighter knit community than MINIs, with many more enthusiasts.

Next up, some photos of the new bike.