i took the bolt to a local yamaha dealer in Perth today to get a exhaust can and air filter fitted and they said "what do you want to ride. till we finish your bike ?"
oops, wrong thing to say to this little black duck !
R1.............nope
MT09 ..........nope
3 wheel scooter thingy...........double nope.
new tracer................ooh yeah baby !
ok, so i turn it on, try to figure out how to start it, eventually realise the kill switch is also the starter.
realise how tall it is, and how different the seating position is to the bolt, so i take off on the ride home.
first impression , it feels like a 250 motocross bike, then i twist the throttle ........first mistake....... bike lunges forward...and i realise that this thing has different power settings, this won't do, stop bike , find max power setting, as i am a big boy now, and take off again at a much greater rate of knots.
i notice a yellow light on the dash that keeps flickering of and on, its traction control, and i can't figure out how to turn it off.
the bike wants to wheelie but the traction control cuts the power and it keeps the front wheel somewhere near the ground.
turning onto the freeway i open it up and hang on, within seconds i am doing a speed which is extremely socially irresponsible and laughing like a madman.
it corners well and i can't get a leg on the ground, not like the bolt.
this little thing goes hard !
not x12 hard or even R1 hard but for a 'Tourer" it goes real hard.
i am 6'4" and most of that is legs, but i am still comfy on the bike.
i have a good variety of road surfaces between the shop and my abode and i try to think how this thing would handle Thai roads, i think it would be perfect.
its got an adjustable screen and hand guards for protection, tho removable panniers, a big rear rack to bolt a top box on, that would be my choice as it would still give it a slim profile for traffic splitting and a height adjustable seat.
now for the return trip to the shop, the question is..........can i get back there without loosing my licence ?
i think i will go the long way.......slowly.
rob