28 December: Got to ride it at HPR during their "Customer Appreciation Day" today - everything went very well! Only ran about 13 laps, but it was enough to get more experience and reveal what I need to work on next time out. Smoother corner entrances resulted in higher cornering speeds, less panic, and earlier drives out. I also discovered that this bike, like any other, responds well to body positioning (And poorly to bad positioning, such as leaning the shoulders the wrong way to keep my head level when cranked over), but this one doesn't need nearly as much gymnastics to make the handling more neutral while cornering. When your butt is just over a foot off the ground, the idea of getting it even closer (Especially to the curbing!) seems just wrong at first, but the way it improves the handling inspires loads more confidence. The speeds are up to the mid '90's between turns 3 and 4; when you're that close to the ground, the sensation of speed feels absolutely insane. But as exciting as that has been so far, that speed is still too slow and uncompetitive for a 500 twin. The good news is that we'll go a lot faster with higher turn 3 exit speeds and later braking before turn 4. So far, I've been braking way too early for, well, all the turns, but that'll change!
Sorry, no lap times and no video, yet.
