Well, I woke up Saturday morning and went to check out my first track day at Little Tally. I just went to spectate, but it was pretty damn cool. Though, I don't see myself getting in to track riding on my Busa (or really any bike at all). Anyways, talk about a cold ride. I have some fairly good winter riding gloves (Olympia), but after about 30 miles at 85mph on I-20, my hands were so chill it was actually painful. I have the options somewhat narrowed down at this point... I may be looking to get some Oxford Hot Hands AND a pair of heated gloves. This way, heat is radiating my entire hand. I am a little worried that the palm may get too warm but if that does happen I could just flip the Hot Grips off. I need to figure out if it's possible to use a variable pulse controller unit for the wraps. I'm thinking it should work and that'd offer much more tune ability.
So, I put about 300 miles on the K8 between yesterday's ride out to Munford Alabama and today's back-roads riding. I LOVE the Tobin seat. At first it was a little weird feeling the ridge against my ass. I was thinking hmm, this may could actually get annoying after a while. After trying out several ass-repositions I finally became comfortable with it. It is comfy both while sitting "in" the crease as well as more "on" the crease. Just took a little getting used to. My ass did not get sore once and I really dig the way it looks. So I would definitely recommend to anyone getting the Tobin seat mod.
My palms did get a little sore from time to time. I'm hoping that my Helibars will reduce the discomfort there if not just eliminate it altogether. I am going to try the Sport Grips too. Otherwise, the riding position is really comfy.
What impresses me the most is the power and handling of the bike. It is hard to describe the smoothness of this machine. It is just smooth.
The handling is really, really nice. Until today most of my riding has been very cautious and non-aggressive. Lots of miles just doing straight-runs to and from work. Today I stayed on country back-roads with curves and small elevation changes and rode a little more aggressively. Man, it is so smooth coming in and out of curves. It seems effortless to lean the bike over and pull it up out of a lean when finishing your line out. I know sport / sport-touring bikes have this feel in general but this is different. It's much smoother than my FZ6. With my FZ, it feels like I am putting a lot of effort in to getting the line just right, the lean angle just right, and keeping it smooth. No more. The K8 just makes it all feel kinda effortless and smooth. It feels like an assisted autopilot or something!
I know it'll never corner as well as a smaller sport bike, due to the longer wheelbase and weight (hell, the weight difference between my FZ6 and K8 is really not even noticeable to me). In my opinion, the power, handling, and smoothness outweigh the negatives by far. I mean damn, the thing CAN corner pretty well really.
So to close, I love my bike
When I pulled in to the garage the bike hit 500 miles and a small sprinkle of rain came in. What a perfect way to end the day. I'm going to try the oil change soon, maybe even tonight. Next time I'm out, I'll get to ride her a little harder
So, I put about 300 miles on the K8 between yesterday's ride out to Munford Alabama and today's back-roads riding. I LOVE the Tobin seat. At first it was a little weird feeling the ridge against my ass. I was thinking hmm, this may could actually get annoying after a while. After trying out several ass-repositions I finally became comfortable with it. It is comfy both while sitting "in" the crease as well as more "on" the crease. Just took a little getting used to. My ass did not get sore once and I really dig the way it looks. So I would definitely recommend to anyone getting the Tobin seat mod.
My palms did get a little sore from time to time. I'm hoping that my Helibars will reduce the discomfort there if not just eliminate it altogether. I am going to try the Sport Grips too. Otherwise, the riding position is really comfy.
What impresses me the most is the power and handling of the bike. It is hard to describe the smoothness of this machine. It is just smooth.
So to close, I love my bike
