Picked Rhonnda up from the shop this morning. I booked her in yesterday to get a baseline service done and also for my mechanic to sort out why the back brake wasn’t working. The intricacies of Honda’s DCBS is quite beyond me but I know that the back brake should at least work a little. The system was full of air so, after bleeding it, the brakes returned to what they should be. Gary also checked all the fluids, replaced the fluid in the clutch system and gave me a detailed report. The only thing of note that was worthy of some concern is that the left hand fork seal is weeping just a tiny bit so I’ll need to keep an eye on that. Apart from that, all was good.
I haven’t really had much chance to ride with the heat wave conditions that we are presently experiencing but a few initial impressions are that the bike feels smaller than the 750, it is much more nimble and feels much more delicate (in terms of riding feel). It inspires confidence whereas the old bike (and almost certainly it was just because it WAS old,) always felt like it was fighting me whereas the new one just seems to be so much more “user friendly” to use a term that I hate.
So today I had the chance to do a longer ride and I chose to do The Lap. It wasn’t an ideal day to do it as it was again very hot today but I decided to tough it out. Thankfully the heat did its bit in terms of keeping a lot of traffic off the road and I had a really good run. Having ridden the route dozens of times, I had the perfect opportunity to do a comparison between the old and the new. The first thing that was clear was that the 800 doesn’t have the smooth low-down torque that the 750 does. At least one lower gear is needed to keep the progress through the corners going smoothly. My panel of experts reckon that going down one tooth on the front sprocket will solve this but I want to get used to the bike first and will delay this decision for a while.
The second thing that is immediately noticeable is that the bike handles so much better. I have no idea why this is so at this stage and this factor also will require more research. The linked braking system, much derided by those who haven’t used it, works exactly as it is supposed to and, once get used to it, I am sure that I am going to love it.
Overall, the first run through The Lap pointed out all kinds of pleasant revelations that are making me very glad that I stumped up the money. Of course riding around on what appears to be a brand, spanking new bike doesn’t hurt, heck, it even SMELLS like a new bike.
The weather was probably as bad as I could have chosen but we made it. From 37 down on the flat to 41 up at the Pie Shop, to 48 in Kangaroos Valley, back down to 39 in Nowra and gradually cooling down as I got closer to home, levelling off at 34 in my driveway was no easy going but easier than I though it would be.
And you probably noticed that I stopped and took a photo at one of my favourite spots, a place where I have taken lots of photos before. If you don’t HAVE a tradition, create one!
Till next time.