The commute was the most interesting part of the day

Today I tried the PG to Menlo Park commute on Neil's NT 650. I don't think I'll be doing that again. Well, I'll be doing it once more, I guess, but that thing is just not a commuting dream for anyone over six feet tall. I get the attraction- it's a really nimble bike, and I'm not immune to the antisocial charms of the Kerker exhaust Neil's running. But right around Moss Landing the "cafe"-style mirrors started unscrewing themselves from the grips so that I had to lever them up with the meat of my palm. That put me in an even more punishing posture. And the cockpit , what would be the top tube of a bicycle, is really short. I just... didn't love it.

Which is funny. I really thought the Hawk was going to be this awesome traffic weapon, at least compared to my K100RS. The KRS is just not a glamourous bike, and I have these dreams of riding something within a decade of its fabrication... The K100's are big, and really top heavy. Somehow BMW was able to make a really heavy bike, and locate the center of gravity above the actual bike. It's like the soul, floating constantly a foot above the tank. But that bike just fits me. I can commute 100 miles each way on that thing, and still be in a good mood when I get home. Way better than when I'm in a car, and that's the point of motorcycles, I think. If you're not comfortable, the whole motorcyling experience is wearing. (well, too wearing). Still wicked fun for an afternoon, where you can pull off you helmet and get a beer, but if you've got to pull off your helmet, and get to work, it kind of sucks. Now, on the commute home, maybe I can take Pescadero, and make this twitchy little bastard work WITH me.

Oh, in uglier motorcycle commute news, I pulled over next to a guy who was stopped on the side of Highway 17 this morning with his shiny BMW R1100RS. Two of the four lugnuts holding his rear wheel on had gone walkabout. He said it felt like a flat. He only had 2 mile left till his exit, so he was going to crank 'em down and go slow... but Hwy 17? I peed a little just talking to him. I've heard of getting the back wheel loose, but good God! Not what we like to see.