This is a total departure from what I have owned for so many years. This is the result of deciding that regardless of past history, the ZX6 is simply not the right bike for me at this time. Turns out that there is a large difference between taking a 20 minutes ride on a prescribed course and living with a bike for 3 to 4 hours at a clip. I am simply not willing to make accommodations to my bikes.
Still in the second phase of break-in. I put another 35 miles on right after unloading and browsing the manual. It's a V-twin alright. V-twins shake like washing machines. I've decided that not only will I embrace that sensation but that I'm going to consider that part of the riding experience. However, there will be no loafing in any gear that keeps me below 5K...
Things smooth out a little above that point and at 6 grand the decent power kicks in. Compared with my other bikes, this one seems deceptively quick to me right now. I decided that's due to the sensation of vibration, which with an inline means you are bogging it, so once that started to clear up a bit, I looked at the speedo to find that I was flying right along, faster than I expected to be. It will also take some time for me to learn the engine to be able to correlate what gear I'm in based upon RPMs at speed. It's all different.
I took Colin out for a 50 mile spin on the ZRX and then I went back out for another 30 miles or so on the S2R. Very different. The Ducati is noticeably lighter -- specs claim 100lbs! -- and more nimble. No surprise that it feels much easier to toss into corners. I'm starting to get a better feel for how to ride this bike and am really enjoying it so far.
My list of potential customizations grows daily.
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