The idea came to me in my K100 post. What would it be like to ride the K100 without a seat? Can't get any lower than riding directly on the frame rails, right?
So I went for the full poseur look: Carbon fiber HJC hat, Power Trip black leather bomber, Cortech impact cap and Kevlar gloves, Khakis, and Sidi ankle high street sport boots.
There was no seat. Between my butt and the frame rails there resided only my Alaska Leather blacksheepskin pad. This was originally part of the 2 piece set and was a passenger pad. How much did this lower me? A lot. I had to look through the National Cycle Deflector screen instead of over it. I was so low that the tank seemed like a custom made oversize tank. The handlebars seemed very high. My legs were bent at the knee to beyond 90 degrees. Imagine a 600 supersport's rearsets moved forward but not lowered. Or imagine being on a 600 but rotated so that your back is straight up and down. the steering seemed much more responsive. Some of it was center of gravity, but I'm pretty sure that some of it was from greater leverage from the tiller being relatively higher. Subjectively I claim tighter arc with less need to shift my weight forward and inward.
I expected the ride to be tough on my spine. Surprisingly it was not. The sheepskin was very good at quelling the vibrations felt in the frame rails. I rode a 50 mile loop, including my mountain road, town roads under repair, and a 7 mile stretch of I 40 at Warp Factor 9. The Warpage was part of testing the new leather tank cover. It did not flap nor show any tendency to come off. I'm pretty sure that with some closed cell foam of the sort used in cheap sleeping mats for camping under the sheepskin that really long rides would be feasible. That would be to spread out the pressure point where the thighs were directly non the frame rails. Towards the end of the 50 miles I was beginning to be very aware of those rails.
It was harder to get my feet off the pegs because my legs were so bent, and it was hard to get my butt up in the air like we sometimes want to do. But at a stop, it was much easier to hold the bike up when the road was not perfectly flat. I hope when my modified seat is finished that it splits the difference between the stock Corbin saddle and the fur on frame rails perch which raised the bars enough to make it seem like a hardtail with apes.
One other curious thing should be noted. Looking through the Deflector screen changed perspective greatly. It made everything smaller and farther away. In fact on the I-40 stretch I did seven miles instead of 5 miles because as I sat up straight I realized I had missed my usual braking point and would be coming in to the turn-off pretty hot. I opted to continue to the next exit rather than get on the brakes hard because this was only the second ride on a new front tire.
What about the Telefix fork brace you ask? I believe it cut down on hunt and weave in my two test corners. Perhaps it was the brace that made the response to countersteering inputs so immediate. Since the light was fading fast I didn't feel at liberty to push the turns. I will report more definitively as I ride this new set up more.
All in all, it was a fun little ride, and proved beyond a shadow of a smile that the sheepskin is very good at absorbing vibration and almost has enough bump padding all by itself.
Stay tuned for more FULL POSEUR RIDE REPORTS!
