Mine! Mine! All mine!

[Blake Sobiloff <sobiloff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The grand and glorious day finally arrived yesterday, and now I am the
proud owner of a blue ST! All I had time for yesterday was to ride from
the dealership back to work, and then from work straight home -- all of
25 miles, piddling along below 3500 RPM. However, I got more hoots,
honks, waves, and thumbs-ups from bikers and cagers in that time than I
think I ever did in a full year of riding my previous bike! It's quite
an eye-catcher.

Initial impressions: 1) Wow. 2) Wow! 3) WOW!

I'm comfortable with the riding position as it is, so I don't think I'll
be looking for any risers. The heat hitting the underside of my thighs,
even through my Aerostitch pants, is quite noticible. Not painful, but
you can definitely tell there's a beast down there. The exhaust note is
too quiet -- it just sounds like air rushing out a tube, without any
character. I'm sure this will change once I can take the engine a bit
higher in the rev range, but I'm already looking forward to the race
can. Even just rolling along at break-in speeds, the bike seems pretty
flickable and it quickly falls right into a good cornering angle.
Superb, superb experience so far.

I was going to read my owner's manual over cereal this morning but it
turns out it's all in German. So, unless I've been lied to all my life
about the outcome of WWII, it looks like someone at the factory grabbed
from the wrong pile of manuals when putting together my bike. (I briefly
wondered if I got a Germany-bound bike, but I guess the MPH speedo and
the fact that both of my headlights are on simultaneously contradicts
that idea.)

Lastly, I checked the ignition wiring for the Cable Tie of Smoking
Death. Fortunately, that piece is absent on mine so it looks like the
factory listened to Richard and Lisa. Eric, you might want to update the
New Owner FAQ with this "early return" info.

Gotta go ride... and order those smaller helmet cheek pads!
- --
Blake Sobiloff <sobiloff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Higher Education Consulting
KPMG LLP
Washington, DC

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