Ugarte
Turbocharged
A week ago I bought an 08 Kawi KLR 650, its a much improved version over the previous years mostly on the streetability side. On the same day and with less than 30 miles on the bike I get a sudden flat in the rear tire (tube tires) at about 60 mph and its all I can do to keep the bike upright with the rear swinging around like crazy. But fortunately I stay up and bring it to a stop on the side of the road. Turned out to be a nail.
This morning I am on my way to work on the KLR at about 40 mph and I see in front of my what I think is a long streak of water and so I make no attempt to avoid it......ahem.....the front wheel begins a long slide on what turned out to be oil and I end up going lock to lock on the front wheel four times before it stabilizes.....the bike stays upright and I continue on.....now with pea size cajones and dirty underwear.
Neither of these incidents is the KLR's fault but I can't help wonder if the Rocket would have been much less scary in both those situations. Looking at the skinny dual sport tires on the KLR and comparing to the Rocket's, the contact patch on the KLR must be about 1/3 of the Rocket's. The margin of useful traction is so much less it seems to me now, after having the sh**t scared out me twice in a week, that I must be nuts for asking this bike to do the same duty as the Rocket. I bought it because there are roads I want to ride that I do not want to take the Rocket on. These roads are often hundreds of miles from my home and so the bike has to do the freeway romp to get there within a reasonable period of time.
Right now I sit here scared of the little green monster after just 600 miles, and its not its fault, the bike is everything kawi designed it to be and it does its thing very well, on and off the road. But, I guess I have been spoiled by the stability and enormous contact patch of the Rocket. At work today I contemplated giving up on riding altogether.....I hate pain, I hate hospitals, and I hate disabling injuries. And worse yet, I have many motorcycle hating friends and relatives just waiting to lay on the implied righteous "I told you so's" while I lie suffering in a hospital bed......yuck!
Needless to say I am taking the Rocket in to work tomorrow.
This morning I am on my way to work on the KLR at about 40 mph and I see in front of my what I think is a long streak of water and so I make no attempt to avoid it......ahem.....the front wheel begins a long slide on what turned out to be oil and I end up going lock to lock on the front wheel four times before it stabilizes.....the bike stays upright and I continue on.....now with pea size cajones and dirty underwear.
Neither of these incidents is the KLR's fault but I can't help wonder if the Rocket would have been much less scary in both those situations. Looking at the skinny dual sport tires on the KLR and comparing to the Rocket's, the contact patch on the KLR must be about 1/3 of the Rocket's. The margin of useful traction is so much less it seems to me now, after having the sh**t scared out me twice in a week, that I must be nuts for asking this bike to do the same duty as the Rocket. I bought it because there are roads I want to ride that I do not want to take the Rocket on. These roads are often hundreds of miles from my home and so the bike has to do the freeway romp to get there within a reasonable period of time.
Right now I sit here scared of the little green monster after just 600 miles, and its not its fault, the bike is everything kawi designed it to be and it does its thing very well, on and off the road. But, I guess I have been spoiled by the stability and enormous contact patch of the Rocket. At work today I contemplated giving up on riding altogether.....I hate pain, I hate hospitals, and I hate disabling injuries. And worse yet, I have many motorcycle hating friends and relatives just waiting to lay on the implied righteous "I told you so's" while I lie suffering in a hospital bed......yuck!
Needless to say I am taking the Rocket in to work tomorrow.
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