St Louis, MO to Jasper, AR(actually Marble Falls, but this is easier to find on the map)
931.6 sMILEs riden, door to door.
Rode the first 100 miles, or so, in the rain. Man that black swingarm shows the filth. I am definitely switching to a more sport touring tire when these are done. It had the smallest noticeable walk in corners during the rain. Not dangerous, per-say, but still annoying.
Got my first attempt at a ferry ride. The side stand is just long enough it makes me nervous. When loaded the bike stands up pretty straight. And I've got the rear preload max'ed in to get near a good sag number. Have to look into that.
Thanks to a new GPS app, I did a couple of miles of gravel road, thinking/hoping it would improve. It didn't. I turned around. The bike didn't seem to care, lol
With the bike in M power mode. I went from MPG in the 30s, to in the 40's! And the throttle response was noticeably smoother. The power "loss" was not so much noticeable. Now I'm in a quandary. I really liked the idea of full gonzo power! But, the extra mileage, and smoother transfers on-off throttle, were nice.
It was pretty easy to arrive at known corners 10 mph faster than normal. Consequently, I've started getting a better feel for the front brakes. Which are pretty aggressive, from my experience. Whatever pad material Kawasaki picked has really good bite right up front.
When your really twisting on it and do a manual upshift, cluch and all. I swear it makes the same flutter/chirping noise as the old Audi group B car did. I can't hear it real well through earplugs, but I caught it a few times.
Got lots of compliments from lots of random folks.
At around 1700 miles, the OEM tires are about done. Both front and rear. Since I intend for this to be a longer haul bike, I'll be going to more sport touring rubber. I might even try the PR5s. At a minimum the PR4s, maybe even the GTs. I didn't have a problem with the 4GT on my Sprint ST. I missed the wet confidence, and not having to worry about not making it home from such a "local" ride
I've stopped calling it my bass boat. It's The Jetboat now.
Pictures, and actual gas receipt math, still to come. As well as maybe video, if I get around to editing it.
