Log> +380 miles on the clock today

I gave the VFR an acid test today, and it tested me in places too. A little ride to the coast got detoured after I discovered Stonehenge was on the route - the stones in the middle of the field just popped up after a curve - and after a major route was closed due to an accident. I saw a handful of Devon coastal towns, ate terrible junk food and tried as many different riding positions as I could think of. My neck is absolutely killing me right now, and the backside is a bit sore too. I'll upload the photos tomorrow, not now no.

First, the bike is an absolute gem. I didn't really get even close to the upper limits of performance but learned so much about how it behaves and what it likes when. Taking off from London the winds were very gusty and strong, and I just tried to hug my tank pad as well as I could. The neck started to feel like someone was hammering marlinspikes through the spinal discs already after 30 miles, and doing on average something like 78 mph. Not good.

I started to get the hang of it later, after having gone nearly numb to the pain. Frequent short stops really are key, and by the time I got to the beautiful winding B-roads, I was feeling better.

The way back was surprisingly better, although the neck was fatigued and hurting. The winds weren't too bad at all and I started hitting high speeds comfortably without any vibrations. At around 90 mph, the wind blowing over the double-bubble windshield supports the head nicely, and you can actually just lean forwards, letting the wind support the head. Except when it gets dark, and you start hitting the moths. I thought at first a bird had flown against my visor, but the yellow smudge was instead the insectoid kind, but it still managed to completely block of my right eye.

And this is where the VFR VTEC only starts to show what it's made of. The VTEC engine has been called bad names by the biking press, but I can't really see why. The extra kick delivered by the VTEC opening the two additional valves at around 6,500 rpm (I'd say around 6,800 in my case) is smooth and welcome. Going in 6th gear on the motorway, I found it to kick in right on time to take the speedometer to 100 and above.