steelphoenix

I have a new bike!

I picked her up from Botany Honda today. She's a 1990 Honda CBR 250 RR (MC-22 L), and has been named Kotaka (Little Hawk).

I was bouncing all morning, just waiting for the call. My flatmates got annoyed at this about halfway through the morning, and I was firmly but kindly told to sit down before I was tied down - oops...

Anyhow, got driven out to Botany and sat down to do the final details with Richard. After the necessary fiddling with paperwork and insurance and whatnot, Richard led me out back, and there she was, waiting for me! He went over the basics - oil (dipstick), coolant (level), next service, petrol, etc, etc...

Handed over the keys.
Turned her around.
Helmet, gloves, sitting on.

*breathe*

Go.

A little wobbly on the first straight - she is more sensitive on the steering than the Scorpio I've been riding, and her clutch is more sensitive also.

Roll on over the Ti Rakau Drive bridge - suddenly, 80kph has come and gone. Roll off.

Up Ti Rakau Drive, onto the South-Western, and I let her go. Something shifts, I drop deeper into the saddle, and there - it's that perfect harmony of woman and machine that I experienced on the test ride, the rush of air about me and her moving to my will, almost at a thought.

She howls up through fourth and fifth, and the stretch is all too brief - with that perfect, smooth cornering and responsive throttle - as I come to the lights at Carbine Road.

Wait. Breathe.

The brief stretch over Sylvia Park and onto the Southern, let her go again. The longing to go further is strong, to just blow off work for the day -

- to take her as far as I can either way, do the Compass Points just because I can, scream down the Piha Road, open her up wide on the long stretch up to Westgate that nobody's on at this time of day, hit the redline, top speed -

- I shouldn't. And moreover, I don't need to.

Those brief moments of perfection are just a taste of what is to come. She's mine now... and I have all the time in the world to enjoy.

This is a great beginning.