Gary_in_NJ wrote on 03/04/18 at 14:20:55:Congrats Dave. I look forward to the ride report.
Well, the weather in KY is finally starting to allow the riding to resume. Recent rains have washed the salt off the roads, and temps are getting up over 50.
Friday night I rode the bike for the first time - just a short ride down the street to St. Joe's to buy the Friday night fish dinners.
The heated hand grips were hot in less than a mile - the heated seat barely was noticeable by the time I drove the 3 miles to St. Joes. (I believe my left saddlebag now smells a bit like fish and baked potato).
Today the weather was really nice and I squeezed in a couple rides between doing yard work. The heated seat does work - it just takes a bit longer to come up to temperature than the grips do. The bike is not as heavy as it looks, at 610 pounds with fuel and saddlebags, it is only 70 pounds heavier than the Honda NT700....and it is quit a bit lighter than the ST1100 I sold (too heavy and too tall for my 30" inseam).
The bike rides really nicely, the engine is smooth and has gobs of torque/HP and is scary fast....it only weights about twice what the Savage does and it has 125 HP.......4 times what the Savage has! This is definitely the most powerful bike I have ever owned or ridden. I have the power setting in the "RAIN" setting and that is the gentlest power mode - and it still rockets away if you open up the throttle (I guess as long as the traction control doesn't sense wheel slip it allows a bunch of HP to go to the rear wheel).
I absolutely love the bike - and as long as the bike proves to be reliable and affordable to maintain - I will keep it as long as I can still ride it safely. I am going to continue riding my Savage Cafe' bike, and I likely will be able to keep riding it longer than the new BMW......these two bikes will stay with me until I just can't ride them anymore.
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