I took off just after five in the morning, so I had four hours to get to Motokeidas and Bike Doctor for the initial service. I didn’t want to ride up the highway so thus the loose schedule. I went up the old road with a detour via the east side of Hämeenlinna and returning back on track via Valkeakoski. I had no idea this are is so beautiful. The roads are awesome and I even found some sweet gravel in the agricultural areas.

I dropped the bike off for service with a note about my paranoia concerning the engine noise. The mechs said they’d have look into it. I headed off to killed the day with a friend. I kept dreading the call telling me they’d have to rebuild the top end or something like that. Instead I got a call telling me the bike is ready for pickup in perfect condition. Paranoia, gone. I really can’t explain the feeling I had upon realizing the bike is in full working order. It was finally time to get fully acquainted and ride the hell out of it.

I had a meeting lined up in Helsinki so I had to ride down the motorway to make it in time. I was not looking forward to this as I felt the front is very nervous in speeds above 110 kmh. I seemed to try to get itself into the makings of a tank slapper. This time around it was behaving much better, despite the cruising speed being higher than 110 kmh. It could be that the spring had softened a little or that I had more confidence in the machine or something. Anyhow, the tide went well except for the seat. It was really living up to its infamy. I raised some eyebrows, riding on the pegs every now and then to give the gluts a break. I guess on the motorway it’s a pretty strange sight.

In addition to the initial service, the guys fitted the Akra slip on and uploaded the EVO-1 injection map. Feels good, sounds good and looks shit hot.

So, I passed the 1k marker and now it’s time to start on the mods and roost.