We lucked into a day made for riding. It was an Indian summer day with temps in the mid-70s and mostly sunny skies. I was comfortable on the R Nine T, not missing the heat from the Ducati at all.
What I noticed about today’s ride was my ability to keep up with Bill. On both the Ducati and the BMW G310, I would often have to accelerate to close the gap as Bill zoomed off. But on the R Nine T, the 1170 cc engine with 109 hp, I keep up with him easily. So I’ve learned he wasn’t trying to take off and lose me; it really was the motorcycle.
I do miss the gurgle and pops of the LeoVince exhaust, though. The R Nine T engine is on the quiet side. Bill tells me his Triumph Rocket gurgles and pops as he downshifts, so I try and take comfort I knowing one of us gets to enjoy the delicious sounds motorcycles are capable of.
There were still a handful of Halloween decorations still up, and I did get to see an inflatable turkey up for Thanksgiving. One gaggle of Canadian geese were chilling in a ditch. There was wind from the southeast, giving us the warmer temperatures, but also raining leaves on us. At one point we were chasing the leaves as the wind blew them down the road in front of us.
But the best part of the ride for me was when I watched a smattering of leaves and noticed a rogue leaf seeming to float off on its own. It turned out to be a Monarch butterfly, and I smiled as I watched it flutter off up and to the left. We were stopped and starting to turn right, so it was a lovely surprise when the Monarch changed course to flutter by right in front of me. A truly special moment on this ride.
I handled the R Nine T comfortably. The reach to the handlebars is still a tad uncomfortable, but not undoable. And I noticed the clutch seems to take more strength to pull in. I don’t mind that as it’s a good workout for my left grip. Now that I’m on the road riding a dry clutch, I actually think the dry clutch is easier to use than the wet. As long as I’m rolling on the throttle carefully, I have no stutters or almost stalls. I did notice the difference in the grip of the tires on the curves. The R Nine T has 50/50 tires, which are 50% on road, 50% off road. So the treads are big and chunky. On today’s ride I noticed the different feel on the grip.
I also had a slippage. There’s some road construction in the neighborhood, and I got caught parallel to a dugout in the road. I felt the bike slip a bit under me, but I didn’t panic and kept my balance in part, I think, because of the excellent balance to the motorcycle provided by the boxer engine. I really am enjoying my rides on the R Nine T which makes me happy Bill did buy the Rocket.
Keep your fingers crossed for dry roads next weekend; rain is forecasted. But I hope we can still manage our ride.
Flutterby Biker 