Old days revisited

At last the weather's starting to warm up and those chilly winds are getting less. Everyone tells me it's been a long cold winter but I was lucky enough to spend most of it Queensland so missed the worst of it in the early months.

So time to get the gear out & head out on the road for a bit of a burn. First thing I needed was a new helmet so I went online, did some research and in the end Peter Stevens gave me a better deal than I could get online.
I ended up with an Arai Corsair-V which is a beautiful lid - right weight, comfort and fit for my head. There's even an adjustable spoiler to reduce wind turbulence, however, it still generates a lot of wind noise and maybe even more than the previous Arai Vector I owned!
All the Arai helmets have had the visor vision extended by 10mm which is one of the more noticeable improvements.

So, I got to try it out a few weeks ago when we had a visit from an ex-pat from Adelaide - Pete came over for a week-end visit and we arranged a nostalgic burn down to Deans Marsh with Cam on the Daytona R.
Both Pete & I were itching to get on the Daytona & we both had our opportunity! The rain stayed away and it was the perfect day for a cruise down through the Otways.

We all had the chance to swap around bikes and Cam felt like he was a big sail in the wind when he rode the Speed 3 after the Daytona - he was getting knocked around like Mike Tyson in the upright position and couldn't wait to get back in behind the fairing on the 675R.
Martians was quiet except for a few dirt bike riders and it looked like it might have changed owners - I haven't been there for about a year & didn't recognise anyone. It didn't feel as welcoming and the coffee has definitely gone downhill! We hung around for a while & then took off on the trip home.

It was my turn on the Daytona and the first thing I did was stall it trying to get out on the road :-/
I thought, maybe I'm getting too old for these fast bikes where you need to sit like a jockey! Then I got out on the road... whaoooooo :-o It was awesome - what an experience - it howls and that's just with standard equipment! Once it's up to speed the riding position becomes quite comfortable - the hardest part is holding it back! The adjustable Ohlins suspension is incredible and makes cornering on those bumpy rodes feel uneventful. I loved every bit of it - except for the bits where I had to ride it at 60km/hr - then it becomes painful - mentally and physically :-)

It was great to see Pete & Leone again and I'm keen to get back over to SA later in the year to go an a few rides with Pete into the hills - the roads over there sound fantastic and the revenue collectors aren't as prolific as they are here in the 'we'll get you' state!
Anyway, looks like time to book a few long week-ends away and get a few more kms on the bikes. I can't wait for the weather to get warmer and the days longer.