I'll admit it...sometimes I'm a slacker. Normally I don't let things slide, but due to time and distance I've been slow in getting my motorcycle in for it's first tune-up. The odometer read 1865, and it should have been in the shop at 600. Recently it had begun to stall on me, a sure sign that it wasn't happy, so on Tuesday I rode it into San Diego for a tune-up. Hopefully I'll have it back on Friday. In the meantime I'm riding my dad's BMW R1150RT. There's a world of difference between my Suzuki Hayabusa and my dad's BMW, and I was quick to note the sluggishness of this German-engineered beast. It takes quite a bit more twist on the throttle to get this baby moving, and it's not nearly as responsive to rider input on the corners. It's akin to trying to steer a boat with no rudder. The upright seating positioning felt very odd having come from a pure sport bike, and oddly enough my back started to ache on my 70 mile ride back home. I was also surprised at how high this bike sits. I'm 6' and I was tip-toeing at the stop lights. Where the road wasn't flat and I was forced to stop on a slant my heart skipped a bit as my feet flailed desperately seeking purchase to terra firma. Getting off the side streets and onto the freeway it became apparent that this bike was made for distance cruising, because at speed the vibrating thuds of the flat-twin engine smoothed out and I was able to take in the scenery without really thinking about the bike at all (in fact I was almost daydreaming, which is something I would never do while on my Hayabusa). At 80 MPH the bike was rock-steady, and it was in this zone that I actually found the 1150 to be an extremely fun ride.

...but who am I to complain? My dad was gracious enough to lend me his bike while mine is in shop (whataguy). Friday can't come soon enough.

FRIDAY UPDATE: As promised the shop had my bike ready today. If you were the one on the Honda CBR-Whatever that I blew past on my way to work, here's a *wave* for ya. Stop by the Data Center if you want to check out the Hayabusa.