Took Nelson for another short ride out getting the mileage up to 380!
Up to today I have struggled a little with the bike and didn't really understand why. I was getting a headache after about 45 mins and my hands were aching after an hour or so.
What have I learned so far after today.
Fuel economy is improved by wearing ear plugs. I started riding the bike the way it should be rode rather than trying to make music with the exhaust. I think the hand pain comes from holding on tightly whilst making that music.
By removing the exhaust noise, I have realised that from about 45mph upwards, my helmet gets noisy and buffeting is affecting me quite badly. I now suspect this is the cause of the headaches. (higher Honda screen fitted) I may try the lower screen or adding spacers to change the angle of the current one. Maybe a job for tomorrow after the Squires meet if anyone is still going.
I am also suffering with buffeting around my stomach area and believe that some of this comes from wind flow up from the forks. Some clever Africa Twin blokes have created a solution to this with a rubber shield fitted in front of the tank that resolves this. I have the template, I just need some rubber.
Finally, I caught up with a couple of blokes on sports bikes. They were having fun... I tagged along for a while and was stunned at just how "capable" this bike is. After a while I decided to pass them and have some fun of my own as I knew the roads well. Not sure where they went but they never came back past me
All in all the Africa Twin is giving me niggles but nothing that will not be resolved in time. More importantly, I have no regrets in buying this bike at all, its so much fun!
