St. Stephen

True, although SoCal is probably the exception in the U.S. And even L.A. can't support a motogp or WSBK round, compared to the U.K. with 20% of our population. And don't even mention Spain or Italy! On the other hand, having spent the past weekend in Portland, which I believe is Cogswell's stomping ground, I believe they have been taken over by Little Green Electric Scooter culture!

Fun feature this week on the RC45 in CN: http://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1007261-cycle-news-issue-29-july-24/76 A couple of the photos are just stunning.

Good time appears to have been had by all, looks like fun. Based on the photos, I am very impressed by the high % of VFR's on a VFRD ride!

Sweet. Agree with you and Philois, the cleaner the better. Sebspeed, there's a 7th gen naked project here.... Oh, and a couple more photos please?

I've spent several decades with chain-driven bikes, from a lawnmotor-powered minibike, through my 6th gen, and then had a few 7th gen years to think about and research chains while I rode my wonderfully maintenance-free shaft drive 7th gen (OK, except the recall...). Now, I own two (yeah!) chain drive bikes. I'm a slow learner, but this is what I've learned: I over-tightened and over-chain lubed. I didn't leave enough slack (more generally I am trying very hard not to over tighten everything, gradually succeeding 😕), and all that extra lube did nothing. These are sealed o-ring chains, the lube is only necessary to help the roller meet the sprockets. A bit of lube every 500 miles or so does the job. I undercleaned. It's mainly the grit that kills the chain. Use WD40 or something similar as a cleaning agent, regularly, using a brush such as Tirox, which I really like, see photo, remove as much dirt and grit as possible, wipe down with rag and/or spray gently with a hose, and lay on a bit of lube on the rollers. Wipe off the excess lube. As always YMMV.

Three comments, in reverse order: 1. You are going to have a GREAT weekend. It looks like even the Assen weather is on your side! Assen is at the top of my list of motogp tracks I haven't been to (which is most of them), I'm jealous. Looking forward to more pics Leon. 2. I continue to thoroughly enjoy your attempts to turn the RC-51 into a sport-tourer. 3. I saw UB40 live in the 80's, great band! 😎

Slightly better than sliced bread, IMO! I use them in typical sport touring action, and I'm a 7/10ths rider on the street. Mostly. 120/70 front, 190/55 rear. For perspective I have run PR3's and PR4's on my 6th and 7th gens and really liked them. Excellent in the wet, good in the dry, decent but not great mileage, good grip. A good all-around tire, which is what I'm looking for. So I was happy to put on a pair of Road 5's on my 2017 Multistrada earlier this month just prior to 2900 miles riding around the SW U.S. This was a mix of epic mountain roads, boring straight desert to the vanishing point, and temps from 39 (Mammoth Lakes 6am) to 107 (Vegas, before noon). Not a drop of rain, but I would expect the R5's to be at least as good as their predecessors. Got back a week ago, here are my comments: I really like that there is no tread at all within an inch or so of the edge. I'm not going to reach those lean angles in the rain, and every little extra bit of rubber is appreciated in a dry corner. Wear is good, and considering all the droning straight miles I did, I'm impressed that neither tire shows signs of squaring off yet. At this point I'd guess at least 6K miles. Rounded profile means a nice neutral roll into corners, no sudden there/not there moments. I only had to add air once, and it was a cold morning, probably didn't have to. Usually I'm adding a few psi every few days on the road. No flats!! Not sure I can credit this to Michelin, but still. Smooth ride, seem to do a better job absorbing bumps than the Pirelli's that were OEM. I've now also taken a few test runs on one of my favorite local roads (the road's name is top secret, but it's between Marshall and Pt. Reyes Station) and side grip in a long corner is very good. Again, I also like the very neutral feel going from hard right to hard left and visa versa. Anyway, for me I'm happy so far. I'm not a racer, and I'm not an Ironbutt finisher, but at this point I would buy them again. If you think you would push them a bit harder than I have I suggest bugging Duc2V4 for his latest comments, you'll get good feedback. I'll post my final miles when I replace them.

Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads.

Geez yes, the end of FP4! How long can that front tire point in the wrong direction? At 70 degrees lean? The entire corner apparently. In five or 10 years all riders will have "pucks" on their legs from hip to ankle! And elbows of course. FYI, except for a nice ride south from Montrose the next day I did not run 550, because of the fires. One lane for quite a while heading north out of Durango, so I did 160E to 149N (epic) to 50W. Yes, I'm up for a Montana ride, never been there except for a car ride on the interstate. Did you hit this gas station?

Hey, you said only 400 miles/day! I would have recommended northern Montana as a route if I knew. 😎 Durango was smokey a week ago but all was fine once you got up and out of town:

Agreed. Bike shops can be pretty bad but they are under tremendous cost pressure, which, among other things, leads to them hiring very cheap labor. A dealer near me prints the following at the bottom of every service receipt: "Fast. Cheap. Done Right. Pick Two."