Ari Rankum
NAFO Karting Champion, 2012
I'll be the first to admit that I know this particular road well enough that I would have caught the young squid on his R6 in a clapped-out Yugo.
I closed on him very quickly and began to run down the checklist. Paper tag: check. Crap gear: check. Maladjusted mirrors: check. Ultrawide chicken strips: check. Really poor choice of footwear: check. Crap line through the curves: check. Yup, it was clear: here was a newborn squid.
I watched him for a mile or so from a respectful and safe distance. In true squid fashion, he never, ever checked his six. He was too busy dealing with the "brake checks" from the cage in front of him, probably inspired by his tailgating, but I doubt he knows that. We came to a 4-way stop. It was the cage, the squid, then me. Uh oh, the squid moves his whole body to the right and spies me behind him. Suddenly, this kid's throttle malfunctions, and the engine starts blipping in RPM, higher and higher. I think it was my saddlebags that offended him.
The cage decided to go right. The squid went straight. I went straight, and I swear, I was headed straight anyway. The squid took off as fast as you'd expect anyone with 4" chicken strips to do. I took off as fast as FJRs do. While it wasn't my plan, FJRs gather speed faster than R6s piloted by squids do. Again, I swear, I was just setting up for the speed and position I like entering the next turn. Despite his best efforts, and a half-hearted, okay, really crappy, wheelie, squid boy still had 90% of his mirrors filled with his elbows, and the other 10% filled with FJR. At the next stop, it was the R6 that made the right turn. Too bad, too, cuz that's where the road really starts to get interesting.
I really enjoy the FJR. In spite of all the hard knocks you may be reading on this board, the FJR, anything from 2003 to 2006, is a real blast to ride. Those of you waiting on your '06s can rest assured that the bike is all you've been imagining.
I closed on him very quickly and began to run down the checklist. Paper tag: check. Crap gear: check. Maladjusted mirrors: check. Ultrawide chicken strips: check. Really poor choice of footwear: check. Crap line through the curves: check. Yup, it was clear: here was a newborn squid.
I watched him for a mile or so from a respectful and safe distance. In true squid fashion, he never, ever checked his six. He was too busy dealing with the "brake checks" from the cage in front of him, probably inspired by his tailgating, but I doubt he knows that. We came to a 4-way stop. It was the cage, the squid, then me. Uh oh, the squid moves his whole body to the right and spies me behind him. Suddenly, this kid's throttle malfunctions, and the engine starts blipping in RPM, higher and higher. I think it was my saddlebags that offended him.
The cage decided to go right. The squid went straight. I went straight, and I swear, I was headed straight anyway. The squid took off as fast as you'd expect anyone with 4" chicken strips to do. I took off as fast as FJRs do. While it wasn't my plan, FJRs gather speed faster than R6s piloted by squids do. Again, I swear, I was just setting up for the speed and position I like entering the next turn. Despite his best efforts, and a half-hearted, okay, really crappy, wheelie, squid boy still had 90% of his mirrors filled with his elbows, and the other 10% filled with FJR. At the next stop, it was the R6 that made the right turn. Too bad, too, cuz that's where the road really starts to get interesting.
I really enjoy the FJR. In spite of all the hard knocks you may be reading on this board, the FJR, anything from 2003 to 2006, is a real blast to ride. Those of you waiting on your '06s can rest assured that the bike is all you've been imagining.
