[Jeff Higgins]

That insane kickstand feature is long gone on this bike. So is the stupid little nanny switch on it. The bike does have a voltmeter already as well. The little details like that are all taken care of.

I cannot believe the fun I'm having on this bike. It is so, so different for this old Harley rider. It's going to take some getting use to. Turn in is so light and responsive that I find myself apexing way too early, the brakes are so good that I find myself slowing way too far ahead of a corner or a stop light, then having to get back on the gas. And those flat slides chirping right under my chin are just something else. Then there is the power, or more like power to weight. Holy smokes; no modern superbike, but far more than I'm used to.

I was rolling up to a stop light this afternoon; one of those with two lanes going through but one ending pretty quickly on the other side of it. My lane was clear, and there was a line of about ten cars in the other. I timed it perfectly, and the light turned green just as I downshifted into second. When it turned green I whacked it open just like I would if I was on one of the Harleys. The front wheel came up so damn fast and unexpectedly, I went past about four cars at full honk with my front wheel about three feet in the air. I felt like a real ass hole, but I was giggling like a little girl. My Harleys don't do that...