I hadn't ridden the Futura in about a week (I've have had all the fairings off checking the ususal stuff - fuel line disconnects / wiring mods - all of which have been done by the PO, much to my relief) and since the wife was off work (we normally ride to work together in the car) and the weather forecast looked promising, I decided to ride the 30 mile commute to work. Morning temps were nice and cool, 60 F, so it was a pleasant ride. I cruised at 70 - 80 comming into town, and then slowed to negotiate the usual rush-hour traffic congestion, but the bike proved surprisingly easy to maneuver in the city. Being a V-twin it naturally has a totally different feel from my previous Blackbird (I'm still getting used to that) and it does tend to vibrate a bit if I accidentally let the revs drop below 3000, but above 3000 it smooths out quite nicely with virtually no vibration. After my last long ride two weeks ago, I checked fuel mileage and was getting 45 mpg, so pretty happy with that as most V-twins tend to be thursty. I wicked it up to 8000 for the first time this morning, accelerating off the entrance ramp and merging into 80 mph freeway traffic, and she reached merging speed in the blink of an eye, piece of cake. No rocket like the 165 hp Blackbird, but hey, the Fut's giving up about 50 hp, so that considered, acceleration was pretty damned good. Venturing into the upper rpm range for the first time, I also noticed the stock exhaust took on a completely different note. For lack of a better descriptive term, it sounded like a growling big-bore (dare I say it?) VFR on steroids. Wonder what Staintunes with an H-pipe would sound like? Hmmm. I take my lunch to work everyday, so now having hardbags was a welcomed luxury I'd never enjoyed before, more than enough room for lunch, rain gear, summer perforated jacket, spare face shield, etc. and all the other miscellaneous odds and ends we wind up carrying. How I've lived without hardbags before is beyond me. Sweet. Bottom line? The more saddle time I get on this bike, the more I'm enjoying it. Not a bad little bike thus far (knock on wood). Cheers, guys.
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Originally Posted by shannon
Maybe we'll do a fall ride this year too.
