At the risk of making you all puke!!!...I just wanted to say how blinkin brilliant the Strom is. Now I know I'm preaching to the converted, but yesterday had to make a fairly long trip in the pouring rain. That's not abnormal for me as I use the bike in all weathers anyway. I use it instead of my car all the time. However, yesterday the bike started out in a pristine showroom finish clean state and ended up looking like it had just finished an African tour. I hit the A12 here in Essex early and it was chucking it down. I was nice and warm with heated grips turned on, had my Frank Thomas gear on and was warm as toast, and I might add, very dry too. The traffic pace was fast, and the roads awash with water so kept my speed down to 65mph to start, but the bike, even with all my luggage and the corresponding huge amount of weight being carried was completely stable and at home. It wasn't long before I noticed the speed had crept up and I was tootling along at 75-80mph where the conditions allowed it. By 9am much of the rush hour had gone and the traffic spaced out quite a lot. I was on the A14 in Suffolk at this point and the traffic speed was much faster but I held steady at 80mph and watched for the usual speed camera's (don't know if they are on or not!).
Then it occurred to me, at that point I had travelled some 70miles since leaving home and was having absolute fun. It was a joyous ride in spite of the weather...exhilarating! The weather as I say was very wet, it was cold and the wind a bit gusty. However, the bike was just getting on with it with no fuss, no drama. Totally unruffled by the wind or rain and water on the roads. Handling and roadholding were totally predictable and confidence inspiring. It never missed a beat and at the end of the day I had covered some 300 miles in total comfort. The bikes had consumed fuel at 48mpg, and had been mostly in 6th and 5th gear for the day. On one piece of 'private ground' inadvertently the bike had crept up to in excess of 90mph for some time but the handling remained fine inspite of the poor weather and cross winds.
So having owned my Strom 1000 for nearly 3 years now, it just keeps doing it for me! I still stand and stare at it too. Anyone think there something wrong with me????
