Yesterday on the
Eleven Eleven Eleven II ride I finally got to enjoy the Stage6 BR77 in the twisties. Up til then it was all in City riding, where it can be hard to gauge how effective the kit actually performs. We went out into the Marin area where some of my favorite roads are located including Panoramic.
We also rode up out of Muir Woods, which is generally a difficult rode to ride well. Sadly due to the fire conditions Pan Toll was closed down keeping us from getting to enjoy Bo-Fax, but 21 corners was open, and wow what fun.
The weather was a mixed bag. Temperature wise it was great, but the air quality due to the Butte fires was quite horrible. I would imagine this must have had some effect on how the bikes ran, as it made it difficult for the animals, like us humans, to breath. It also had an effect on vision. My eyes were frequently watering.
Keeping the bike in the power band wasn't too difficult. The gearing on the bike assists in this endeavor. Currently it's set at 14-52. That's one tooth below where I would like to see it on the front. The reasoning being the top speed is greatly compromised by the 14.
Power delivery was pretty amazing. It always had plenty of power to give. I never once felt like the bike wasn't ready to perform. This contrasted heavily with the city riding where it is a struggle to stay in the power band. City riding on this bike isn't what I would call easy. It's a lot of work.
Compared to twisty riding however what a difference. This bike is a joy. It just wants to go. Slow riding isn't much of an option as the bike will quickly shift through the gears pulling hard at each click—as long as the RPMs are kept above 10K the next shift is nearly instantaneous. The draw back here is the vibrations at 10K plus are quite noticeable. I might have to find some heavier bar ends for this bike.
Still with the gearing set this way it is much easier for a rider in my skill bracket to keep the RPMs in the happy zone. If the bike had a 15T front sprocket on it I would have to be riding at a higher level than I currently feel comfortable. I would have to exceed my limits!
Another thing I noticed is that either the bike started developing more power as I rode it, or I became more adept at pulling power out of the bike. I'm rather convinced it was the former, as it is more likely that as the bike was running in it started working even better. This was after all the first time the bike was allowed to really explore the BR77's potential.
After this ride I am now highly motivated to get the EGT sensor hooked up. Currently there's a head temp sensor on the plug connecting to the Mychron, and room for one more temp sensor. Eventually I would prefer to get the head temp swapped out for an H2O sensor, but it's been a little difficult sourcing a proper adapter from the Mychon sensor to the Derbi M14x1.5.
And this bike sadly needs a proper battery. The garbage Shorai presently in the bike is such a huge disappointment. It's not even employed starting up the bike, and it cannot keep up with with just the blinkers and clocks. How Shorai can be proud of a product this compromised is beyond me.
There are a few other things that need attention. The bracket holding the front master resiviour needs to be replaced—it was broken in the Photo fall. An on/off switch needs to be installed on the MyChron so that it doesn't vamp the battery—currently I just disconnect it. The pipe needs a slight modification so that it stops melting boots. The front fender needs some attention again. The front brake needs a good flush. The rear disc needs to get updated like the front disc—I have the disc, it just needs to be installed. And the carb needs some attention as the air screw seems to have developed a leak. Lots of little things to attend on this bike!
Overall yesterday was a lot of fun, and I'm starting to actually enjoy the BR77 the way in which it was intended. That said I still couldn't keep up with Alex in the corners, but that's okay. He's at a higher level than I am—which gives me something to aspire.
Translation
as for the bike, bikes can be repaired but we cant repair life. 
