Wifey goes on 1st test ride

So the trip to the Pacific Rim Whale festival was a washout...ended up being a trip in the Jeep due to adverse weather conditions but last weekend we managed to get the Strom all luggaged up with wifey onboard and took a trip around Southern Vancouver Island.
Nanaimo to Port Renfrew on to Sooke, Langford, Victoria and back...a total of 7.5 hours riding punctuated by a few smoke breaks (for me....) and stop at the 17 mile pub for lunch.
The little 650 remained an enjoyable tool for the job and apart from lacking a bit of "pulling away" power did not disappoint. Handling remained neutral and with the rear shock cranked up it soaked up all the rough road surfaces with aplomb, this is one comfortable motorcycle.
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The adjustable Givi screen does a great job of keeping the wind and weather from your face and upper body and the OEM handguards made the heated grips redundant for the day.
Adjusting the height of the screen on the fly is easy so if it rains, up it goes, if its hot, then lower for better airflow.
I am a Givi fan as their products are really well designed and practical.





It was also the first time to try out the new Arai XD4 along with the Scala Pro Teamset bluetooth headsets.
In all my years of riding I have never had communication with my passenger before and what a difference it makes, crystal clear conversation and battery life that lasted all day with no issues.

Online reviews state that music/audio quality is not so good but we didn't experiment with music or using our cell phones, simply enjoyed being able to converse easily even at highway speeds. It will come in very handy spotting wildlife etc on our big trip.

Continuing on the Givi theme I have fitted their engine / crash bars and am very happy with them. Interweb forums have hundreds of posts relating to bad vibrations with bars fitted but I have only noticed a very slight buzz in the 4000rpm range. A starge addition to my steed as I hope I never need them but they appear very sturdy and will definately help in a low speed gravel / parking lot spill.

The Kappa cases mounted on the Givi racks make the bike a little wide to be doing any lane splitting / filtering, but are super easy to mount and remove, and large enough for Wifey and I to keep our basic roadtrip essentials protected and dry. EuroRoadTrip 2012 convinced me that hard side cases are the way to go when touring and also provide a cool place to put your stickers........

The new Kappa Mantra top case fits easily using the generic plastic mounting plate it came with, no need for an expensive 3rd party adapter, just 4 simple bolts and its good to go. Wifey likes the added security of not falling off the back when I get a little throttle happy. I am not a fan of top cases as they always seem to have the weight too far back and too high, but we will only have our waterproofs and lightweight stuff in here along with snacks etc.

After owning this bike for over a year now I am convinced it is a fantastic choice for all-round verstility and continues to amaze me with its fuss free operation, great engine, fine chassis and ABS brakes. Now it has a second fan....Wifey, she really enjoyed the ride, the headset and the comfort, all in all a successful first long pillion ride.

We cannot wait for the Alaska trip......bring it on :)