First Ride

Got up a little before sunrise to get ready and warm up the bike. I stalled it at the top of the driveway but after that no problems going down to the parking lots. The Dakar is much easier on the throttle than the Nighthawk was. I’m not sure why. But jerkiness wasn’t an issue. I rode it smoothly and slowly down Juniper and 10th, topping out around 25-30mph. I didn’t go to the dirt lot because there were already a lot of cars there. The other lot was almost completely empty except for 2 or 3 cars. So I made a bunch of big loops testing out rolling on the throttle with the lean, weaving down the parking lot rows, following the street signs, trying to hold a line, etc. Did I drop it? Yes. Twice. Both times were coming to a stop. First when I was coming to a stop at one of the parking lot signs and again when I was parking it after the ride. Not sure what happened on the second one, think it was a bit too much front brake. Fortunately the Dakar has a lot of armor to protect it against me. Total cost: one mirror. The mirror only broke because when it fell it hit an overhang next to the building. The first drop left no damage thanks to the engine guards. It drops, you just pick it up and get on it again. Glad I didn’t get that beautiful Honda.