PHEW!!!! What a weekend...
FIRST- had a hell of a time at the hell-raisers ball near my home...Was lucky enough to leave before the mellee, though a few friends were detained (for a WHILE) just for being there...Pagans vs. Angels...MAN what a seen - Sonny Barger was literally surrounded by his thugs during the day when I was there - you had to go 1 at a time escorted by thugs to get his book signed.
SECOND - more importantly, I rode my friend's R1 this weekend...the difference is amazing...I've been reading abuot all this shit and just kind of taking it in, but not having ridden it 'til this weekend, I didn't know what to make of it all.. I'll try to wrap it up with this:
1) The FI (as we all suspected and now know) really is that much better. personally I thought the carbeuretion was pretty danm solid on my 00....Well, the 02 is clearly sick. The Low/Mid grunt is sick, and the machine isn't even broken in completely (I rode it with 430 miles, when we trade back, it had 505!) Regardless how great the bike fires and breathes, this is NOT even close to the best part...
2) The chassis and overall handling package are the true difference, and it is seriously night and day...The bike is so easy to throw around - unlike the past R1's which you kinda turned in and then were commited to a line...we the 02 just isn't this way - ocne you're over, you can move around or change your line fairly easily, you don't need to muscle the bike around, it just goes where you want it to go. The way it handles its weight (light to begin with) is really remarkable though - I didn't imagine moving the engine mass UP would make things too much better when I first read it - but UP and FORWARD was the point, and now having ridden it, MAN is it awesome...The bike just wants to delve into the corners, you can clearly feel the difference between the previous generation and the 02 in terms of how the weight moves around with the bike. Also, the bike's frame feels alot stiffer - like every last drop of input just goes right to the street.
I'm so anxious to pick up my silver machine, I can't even explain - to anyone that has theirs up or has ridden a friends, MAN now I totally get it! :rock :rock
FIRST- had a hell of a time at the hell-raisers ball near my home...Was lucky enough to leave before the mellee, though a few friends were detained (for a WHILE) just for being there...Pagans vs. Angels...MAN what a seen - Sonny Barger was literally surrounded by his thugs during the day when I was there - you had to go 1 at a time escorted by thugs to get his book signed.
SECOND - more importantly, I rode my friend's R1 this weekend...the difference is amazing...I've been reading abuot all this shit and just kind of taking it in, but not having ridden it 'til this weekend, I didn't know what to make of it all.. I'll try to wrap it up with this:
1) The FI (as we all suspected and now know) really is that much better. personally I thought the carbeuretion was pretty danm solid on my 00....Well, the 02 is clearly sick. The Low/Mid grunt is sick, and the machine isn't even broken in completely (I rode it with 430 miles, when we trade back, it had 505!) Regardless how great the bike fires and breathes, this is NOT even close to the best part...
2) The chassis and overall handling package are the true difference, and it is seriously night and day...The bike is so easy to throw around - unlike the past R1's which you kinda turned in and then were commited to a line...we the 02 just isn't this way - ocne you're over, you can move around or change your line fairly easily, you don't need to muscle the bike around, it just goes where you want it to go. The way it handles its weight (light to begin with) is really remarkable though - I didn't imagine moving the engine mass UP would make things too much better when I first read it - but UP and FORWARD was the point, and now having ridden it, MAN is it awesome...The bike just wants to delve into the corners, you can clearly feel the difference between the previous generation and the 02 in terms of how the weight moves around with the bike. Also, the bike's frame feels alot stiffer - like every last drop of input just goes right to the street.
I'm so anxious to pick up my silver machine, I can't even explain - to anyone that has theirs up or has ridden a friends, MAN now I totally get it! :rock :rock
