Buell, Schmuell

OK, rode all the way down to Clare's Cycle & Sports in Fenwick -- close to St. Catharines -- Sunday to test ride the Buell Lightning scg. And was not impressed. I was SOOOO hoping I'd like it cuz I love the way they've tucked the tank under the seat and put all the wiring into a transparent orange bulb where they tank would normally be -- it's like they took one page out of the iMAC book of design and one from BMW.









Although it was pleasant to be reminded of how hard a twin can vibrate when there's some muscle in the engine, can't say I was impressed. And not just because the shifter was set up for a much larger foot and I had to actually lift my foot off the peg to shove the toe kick up into 2nd or any of the higher gears.

The sitting position was almost upright but the pegs were still cafe style -- very strange. Awkward.

Nah. Was actually more impressed with the Harley Sportster 883 Low I rode while I was waiting for my shot at the Buell. Again, mostly for the monster vibes created by the muscle behind those twin pistons. I've been riding an in-line four for so long I'd almost forgotten how nice the brute force of a twin could feel.

The ride down there was COLD. The high was supposed to be something like 15 but it felt more like 5. But the stretch of Victoria Avenue from the QEW to Highway 20 where Clare's is was lined with blooming trees. Beautiful.