To all,
Thanks for the advice and information. The bike was unloaded about 1:45
pm today and I've been busy fixing some minor items, checking out the bike,
and getting it titled, registered, and inspected! I also picked up a piece
of sheet metal from the local Home Depot and cut out a piece on which to
place the stickers. I mounted the metal on the license plate holder behind
the license plate and extending ~ 2.5 inches below the bottom of the plate.
The inspector didn't question putting the stickers on the plate and left
enough room for the personal property tax sticker. Looking at it, I'm not
sure I like it. I may move the plate to the front left reflector bracket
instead, but in any case, it's on there. The Department of Motor Vehicles
only took about 10 minutes to process everything after a twenty minute wait.
Not too long, I guess.
When the bike was unloaded from the truck, I (and the driver) noticed
that the mirrors had broken away. I popped them back on, but the right hand
mirror's top-most retaining spring was a bit deformed and wasn't holding on
to tight. Short work with some needle-nose pliers retrained that one.
Other than a couple of missing bolts for the rear wheel fender (which I
have temporarily removed), there didn't appear to be any damage. The left
side knee bumper seemed a little loose, so I went through the process of
removing the side cover and discovered that one of the washers, or whatever
it is called, that retains the rubber ends of the knee bumper in the side
cover is missing. Until I get over to the local cycle shop to see which arm
they'll want for that little nugget, I picked up a small diameter rubber
washer that ought to do the trick.
I've ridden only about 10 miles so far, but I like it a lot. I'm sure
it'll just take some getting used to, but I haven't quite gotten a feel for
where the power bands are for each of the gears. It's very different in
that sense from the FZR600. Maybe it's me, but it doesn't seem to be quite
as snappish in throttle response as the FZR600 either.
As far as the property tax goes, I'm pretty sure that the bike falls
below the threshold for getting a full refund. It's a local thing really.
The current governor is attempting to remove the tax by refunding a
percentage of the tax to the taxpayers. The refund has been increasing
yearly, but I think this year it'll stick at 75% for the amount of tax on a
vehicle over $20,000.00. I'm sure that's clear as mud to everybody not
involved (having to pay the tax), but the bottom line is it won't cost me
that much, if at all.
I'll post more after I got some more time in the saddle.
Thanks again,
Randy
