Ride report

Anthony wanted a report on my first ride, having just bought a new V-Strom 650.

It's hard to give a narrative report about riding 30 miles in a mostly straight line, so instead I'll give some numerical events in no particular order.

• Top speed reached: 55mph. Average speed on El Camino: 35–40mph.
• Stalls: one. Must have unintentionally released the clutch whilst sitting at a light.
• Times other motorists sounded their horns at me: zero.
• Times the bike failed to go into gear from neutral while cars waited behind me: one. Had to rev the engine to get it into first.
• Times I forgot to turn off my turn signal, even when trying consciously to remind myself: two.
• Times I filtered at a light: four (or so).
• Crazy riders on sport bikes observed swinging to sit side saddle at 50mph on San Tomas: one.
• Times I dropped my expensive new motor: zero.
• License plates on vehicle: zero. They'll be mailed to me at the start of June.
• Amount already spent on farkles: $1,386.48, not including clothing or tank bag. Ouch.

I was pleased! The bike is fantastic. Now I'm just waiting for my dodgy back to recover from driving to Fresno so I can head out for another ride…

Posted at 2009-05-22 22:07:00 by Richard Newman • Link to Ride report