So today I decided to take the Husky for a spin, since I haven’t had much time to ride it since I gave it to myself for x-mas. After 20 years of riding, my daily ride is a 158 h.p. Yamaha R1 which is capable of 100+ mph in 1st gear, so to get on a Husqvarna SMR450 with maybe 30 h.p. tops was quite a shock! It was a fairly short trip, Silverlake to Pasadena, but all freeway so it was not the Husky’s realm. For the first time since I ditched my Vespa 18 years ago I was in the slow lane on the freeway, getting passed!

Just to make things more interesting, I was low on gas, and sure enough, had to switch the petcock on the freeway. I had discovered the extra-stickiness of the petcock when I turned it on in the garage, so I made a quick lane change and onto the shoulder without incident. Made it to the doctor and became a human pincushion for a minute and as a result, am now immune to Hep A and B, Typhoid, Tetanus, Polio, Meningitis, and something else. It was fabulous, one of modern medicine’s glorious moments.

It’s amazing how different two motorcycles could be. I can’t wait to take the Husky to the Supermoto track where it belongs! I was hoping it could be more than just a dirt toy, but also an alternative daily bike, to keep me out of trouble. I have a very bad addiction to speed, and well, the R1 only feeds that. But the Husky is TOO slow for freeway riding, which is an integral part of LA life. Plus the shifter scratched up my freshly-painted silver boots.