Wednesday evening I mentioned to my wife I was planning to ride to work Friday. First thing she said was "Better go get that Jacket." So the next day I bought a bright yellow and black jacket with hard pads all over it. I bought it at our local Honda Shop rather than online and I am glad I did. I didn't know there are different types of protective jackets depending on a riders seating position. The reason I am writing about the jacket is that it made a huge difference in the ride. Combined with my white helmet, I felt very visible. I noticed other drivers were looking at me, which usually doesn't happen. I think they might of been making sure I wasn't a motorcycle cop, on a very small motorcycle.
That, combined with all those pockets and pads the jacket gave me a much more secure feeling than I've had while riding in the past. On to the ride...My job is 22 miles away, but that is by taking the main highway, so I mapped out a route on back roads that was a few miles longer, but one that I could ride at a more leasurely pace. I made sure I had my cell phone, some tools, and a battery tender in case my battery was dead by the time I got to work. I didn't need any of these and when it came time to come home the starter cranked the motor over like the battery had plenty of juice left. I was surprised by that because I had all the lights running for 50 minutes or so that morning. The CA95 seemed most comfortable at 40 miles per hour. If I pushed for more the clutch began to slip. Not enough clutch for all that horsepower
more likely I don't have it adjusted properly. Going into corners it really felt like an antique motorcycle, too fast and it wanted to porpoise. I don't know if that is because of the old style front fork or something else. One last thing, I am impressed with how little gas it used. I felt like I pushed the bike pretty hard but I measured only an inch and three quarter drop in fuel level for the entire trip. As I was getting ready to head home, Ashley, our second grade teacher said "Steve, is that your motorcycle? It's really cute!"