2134 miles
75.25 mpg, last tank $5.48/mile
No, I'm not actually worried about the last tank coming in at 75 mpg, the previous tank was almost 83 so it's probably more to do with the how full it was than a difference in mileage. That said I did run a little harder and faster those two days than I have been but, I would still be very happy with 75 mpg since I was expecting 65 when I bought the bike.
I did the first chain tightening today, hope I got it right. I should have watched the youtube video before I did it rather than relying on my memory of how I did it more than 20 years ago. Fact is, two complete turns of the adjustment bolt is way too far, quarter turn increments is key. I probably didn't need to do it yet but this chain is supposed to have so much slack in it in the first place that it worries me a little. But since no one else on the forums seems to have a problem with throwing the chain (at least until it is worn out), I will keep the slack in the proper range.
A correction, I noted before that the centerstand is not the easiest that I have had, that was incorrect. I was just doing it wrong. Instead of standing on the peg with my right foot and yanking back on the handlebars, I turn around and stand on the peg with my left foot and gently prod the bike up by lifting by the passenger grab handle with my right hand while holding the left grip with my left hand. It pops right up.
This is probably a good spot to talk about my handicap because of the difficulty that I have had with various center stands. 33 years ago I was in a car crash that left my right foot partially paralyzed. I cannot lift it up but I can push it down a fraction of an inch. Due to this I must wear a brace in order to walk, drive or ride and to keep it from dropping permanently
. Riding a motorcycle is not that difficult though because I usually use my heel for the rear brake. Of course this means that some bikes are just not going to work for me. Most BMWs are on that list. But I do have to sit on the bike before I buy it. In this case I did not get a chance to do that but I was able to check the fit on a 2017 model. After riding for a few hundred miles I was surprised to find that I don't have to use my heel on this bike, because of the configuration of the rear brake lever I can lean my knee into the lever while using my limited range of motion. This provides me with, probably around, 80 percent of the range of the lever, which is usually plenty. Supplement that with the front brake, which is where most of the braking power comes from anyway.
Earlier I mentioned that I don't get cut off or tailgated as much as when I am driving. I have noticed something else that is weird. Normally people just don't seem to care around me at all, young, old, blond, brunette, male or female, the distribution of different groups is pretty even with a few exceptions that usually seem to relate to how much compensation is going on for certain inadequacies. But when I am on the bike the times that I have been able to determine the gender of the idiot that was trying to kill me with their car, truck or SUV, they are almost all women. Twice I was able to determine that it was a guy and this last time the guy cut me off, then the car behind him cut me off just before a red light. As I rode by them (they inexplicably stayed in the longer line) I saw that the back car was a woman and they were both texting (probably each other). My speculation about what is happening is that men have a line they won't cross when bullying others. For example, a grown man won't bully a three year old but some women don't have that filter or they see a motorcycle as a bigger threat than most men do. I am not a psychologist and I have no idea if I am in the ballpark or if maybe the random distribution fairy smacked me upside the head while I wasn't wearing a helmet but I am paying attention to the other drivers while trying to avoid these situations in the first place.
