With the recent icy weather here, only able to bring the VRSCDX home in the truck, but not even take it for a first-time spin!... until this morning with the outdoor thermometer noting it was a balmy 26f. Perfect! The driveway and county road mud/ice will be cold, crusty, and hard. The temps are rising... will have 45 minutes or so before needing to return and risk facing thawing slippery conditions.
This bike did not like the rutted and frozen long driveway. The front wheel and bars were thrown easily left and right. Not sure why. Had to hold on tight. It was concentration city getting the bike to the county road below. Much smoother here. Can tell things are frosty in the air, with the engine, and on the road...
The Close Call
About five minutes after the pic above I reached pavement on a county chip/seal road and went over a rise in the road. On the other side was a 30-40ft. stretch of glare ice from snow melt the previous day
. It crossed the sloped road from R to L. It wasn't there previous mornings. The risks of assumption! Cars were crowding me from behind. There was no time to stop or pull to the side. The ice was right there. There was no time to soil my trousers. I coasted through at 35mph. The rear wheel skipped out to the left 3-4 inches halfway across
then re-enaged without tossing me. I tasted my heart in the back of my throat. The cars behind had a show to watch and a story to tell at work... "Should have seen the fool I was following on the way in today...". I made it through and pulled over to the side to see if indeed I did soil my trousers.
With my heart still at a slightly accelerated pace I paused above the nearby Platte Canyon. We're heading down there. It is a bland looking and cold day...
At the entrance to the canyon I took a pic for here I was going to do something foolish again, spur of the moment... ride through the canyon with one hand on the throttle and hold the digital camera in movie mode with my left hand while riding through the curves, not shifting, keeping the camera hand steady, keeping the viewfinder pointed at the road, not crashing, etc. and etc. Then I asked myself how much I valued possessing a Darwin Award and put the cam back in the pocket...
So on the other side of the canyon I paused. Ridgelines to Mt. Logan off to the left. Temps are on the plus side of 30f. Need to head back to the garage before the mud appears, like a vampire to a coffin before sunrise. Bad analogy...
Told you this was not a glamor filled ride....
And with the driveway getting a little soupy in places, paused about halfway...
Very short and quick impressions...
- The twist of the throttle brought back immediately the great memories of thrust the VRSC can deliver.
- Love the ergos. Many do not, but the lean forward
and foot forward position is great. So different. Enjoy leaning forward into the wind.
- From the saddle can't even tell there is a meaty 240 rear. Previously I could take or leave a fat rear. Now I'm kinda likin' it.
- Stock exhaust note is kinda wimpy at idle, but deliciously low and mean on acceleration. The decel note is outstanding.
- Fit and finish - Superb.
- Suspension. Short travel with the VRSC but I already knew this.
- Nice having the larger fuel tank.
- This thing will be a pain in the $%& to keep clean. On the plus side... will burn many calories keeping it so. Then again, the flat denim look almost is meant to mean the appearance takes a back seat to performance.
Now to go check those trousers again.
Cupcake 
Crabcake 
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Linear Mode
