I am absolutely in love with my silver white aluminum bike. It is so much better than my '98 in every way. Smoother suspension, more power, smoother engine, quieter exhaust, better brakes. . . probably some stuff I'm forgetting. I even liked the handlebars better than the ones on my '98. The only thing I changed is that, 5 miles into the ride, I made Jim turn around and go back home, and I took off the windscreen. And my search for a windscreen with no buffeting continues. . .
Anyway, I drove up to his place (2 hours from my place) Saturday morning and, with Jim's help, did as much maintenance on my bike as we could before we set out Sunday morning. We also changed all 4 tires on both bikes. The Dunlops were only about $200.00 for a set, and they performed fantastically, as far as I could tell. Changing the fuel filter allowed a good look into the tank, and I was pleased to see that the orange coating was in perfect condition. As Jim stated, the bike performed flawlessly. It's a keeper. I'll be selling the '98 at some point. It's a good bike but no need to keep 2.
I'd never ridden in Southern Central PA, and the roads were much better than I'd anticipated. A great combo of twisties up and down the mountains and long sweepers going through the scenic farmland in the valleys. And the roads were all in fantastic condition with very little traffic. Can't wait to get up there again.
