2000-06-08

Hi. It's been a while, eh? I've received a number of emails asking why I haven't updated, so here goes nothing.

The bike is up to 1,600 miles. I've been riding everywhere, as you can tell. I've found the limits of the bike's handling capability already too. When leaning way over on a highway off/on ramp and winding out the engine, the rear tire skips a bit. After further testing and inspection, I'm on the bead of the tire. My tires are only size 130, most sport bikes are 160's or larger. Therefore my tires have mini-sidewalls. I'd show you a picture of them but the entire Bridgestone site is Flash based. If you really want to see it, look for the G550 motorcycle tire. The stock tires have a solid bead where the sidewall meets the tire surface. Obviously, grip at this point is minimal. In a steep lean, I hit the bead, and the tire starts to slip. The end result is, "don't lean that far". I've found through research that Dunlop is the recommended replacement. I'll wait until the stock tires wear out, and then get the Dunlop's to replace them.

My bike can be upgraded with a neet lower fairing to make it look more like a racing bike. It's more than cosmetic, as it forces more air through the engine keeping it cooler. Although, it's about $350, so I'll be holding off on it for a bit. I can also get a fast back tail. Mmmm, speed.

In non-motorcycle news, I've been playing the Diablo 2 beta. It's very much like the original. The graphics are better, the overall game appears more responsive, and the music isn't the same "cool at first, annoying after 8 hours" acoustic jam. Unless the real game has a whole bunch of stuff different or extra, that the beta does not have, it could have been released a year or two ago. I'm still going to get it and play it, but I don't think it's worth the 3 year wait.

This review of Daikatana pretty much sums up the game, even though I've only played the beta.