Fox's Diner

Another Biker Meet

Nikki lead the way on her GPZ600 having shown off its battlescard from her spill a few weeks back; just a few mild scratches: barely a flesh wound. Lucky.

I had no idea of where we started from least of where we were going but Nikki rode promptly but with some attention to convoy drills and I had little risk of loosing her where just a blip on the throttle wound Shadowfax quickly in behind her whatever the raod we were on. It was a rewarding evening ride as I get so used to having to ride A to B so any chance just to bimble for the sake of it is welcome, especially where I've had so little time for Shadowfax and I to become aquainted.

Of course, Shadowfax is a bit of a lardy on the scales and I had quite a fight to get him reversed off Nikki's driveway onto the road and when we arrived at the Fox's Diner in front of all manner of bikers I made sure to give Nikki and I enough room to park only where I could ride off from.



There were a few kids at the cafe with their Dad's on big and safe (tonight) machines as well as a short handful of Ducatis to broaden the rang of engine notes across the gathering dusk. There were some specials, too. One indecyphuable thing with bright headlamps and a throaty roar I quite like the sound of and an SV1000 with a daper purple and yellow spalsh paint job that looked half decent and which sounded a little racier with some ensemble can looking odd along side it. An orange 3-wheeler 70's speed boat popped by, too. No, really, it did with its prow just inches above the deck (no pun) and all lights and seating where they should bein such a craft. Special.

The bike-bits shop was closed and we barely blagged a coke at 9pm. Boy, do they close up early up here! So we didn't stop long. Nikki then took me to her drop zone at quite a busy junction where she's been lucky to ditch her bike on the grass and not to over-shoot it into opposing traffic. The damage really came from her popping across a footpath half-way across the triangular island she'd claimed her own.

The we had a winding bimble back to her house, which I thoroughly enjoyed with having ahlf a chance to play with Shadowfax in the dark (I may regret writing that line one day - so to be clear, I don't play with horses in the dark, park, or any other place in any kind of fiddling sense, although I do enjoy learning to give one a ride every other weekend). The front light, even on its highest electrically adjusted setting is a little too low, but the light picture it projects seems fine. I just like a little more depth to see what's coming. High beam is just amazing. And again, the linked brakes are confidence inspiring where I made a slight error in judgement at how tight a bend was to become and I had no hestitation in just dabbing the rear brake peddle and no ill effect to the ride or control in the corner.

Shadowfax's front forks are a little stiff on bumpy roads, though excellent on the faster surfaces. I think I can play with the rear set-up with a twiddly knob thing on his LHS under the seat but I've left in STD (standard) for now as I don't know what "High" and "Low" means in accordance with height, ride, or re-bound?

Shadowfax's lights made a strain on engine speed in idle so I guess there is something about the battery I need to check so I'll look more closely tomorrow; perhaps play with the levels in its cells as Nikki suggested.

For now, it's been a long day and I need some repair sleep of my own. You can bet my joy at riding Shadowfax will spill over into my REM sleep because, I assure you, it's agreat experience and I feel privilaged to have had the finance and bottle available to make such a bold move from Dilbert to the Pan. Again, everyone should have one.