I’m helping the environment!

I love my monster truck.

It’s big. It’s spacious. It rides smooth.

But it also loves it’s gas.

I went through a period where I figured I could lower my gas bill by buying a small beater. I was looking at Jetta TDI wagons. But as I did the maths, the increase in my car insurance bill was way more than the additional gas I have to buy.

Then I found something with a relatively small motor, at 1400CC that the insurance was more than reasonable. Behold:

I filled it up when I got it home. $13.

Buying it was a trip. I had to tell the dude that I’ve been riding since high school, and this is my 7th bike. ‘Tis not middle age crazy. I bought it a month ago, but it was just delivered. You see, the tech doing the dealer prep took it for a test ride, dropped the fob which was instantly run over by a car, and the bike was bricked. A new ECU and fob and a month later, here we are. As expected, the sales guy told me the repair cost them $2500, as if I give a shit. Their problem, not mine. (FWIW, they could’ve shot a little PB blaster in the tank lock. Damn thing was corroded and almost ate my key)

I work at home. When I go out, the streets are nearly empty. I’ve lived here long enough to know when and where it’s a bad idea to be out on a bike. It’s also my goal to do some touring. Hence, the size.

Speaking of size, this is a big girl. It’s my fourth liter+ bike, and it’s double the weight of the previous three, at just shy of 700lbs. It’s extremely balanced, but it’s a two foot down bike. My others, I could stand there at a light with one foot on a peg. Bad move here. When you lean at a stop you can really feel the weight, and it seems like it wouldn’t take much to have it topple over. I can feel that once it starts, it can’t be stopped.

My last bike was a Yamaha FZ-1. It was light as a feather and nimble as a cat. It was also psychotic. I’ve found a lot of newer Yamaha sport bikes (and a waverunner) to be that way. I’d have the ass end break loose, or the front push with no rhyme or reason that I could figure.

We’re still getting acquainted. Bikes aren’t like cars. Each has a personality, each has a set of physical characteristics. This one doesn’t like to lean while moving slow. If you do that, you need to be prepared to hit some throttle. It also has a longer wheelbase than I’m used to. If you are planning on tucking into the closest lane, you had better already be at an angle before you go.

It also has tons of power, like the Yamaha, but also GOBs of torque. I let it holler once or twice when I took the initial spin, until I realized that my mobile, the bill-of-sale (needed for the temp tags) and proof of insurance were all sitting on my desk at home. DOH!

Don’t need that kind of trouble in my life.

We’ll see how it goes. So far, first date with the girl was a good one.