I took the R1150R, A.K.A. Ilene for a 120 mile ride home today from Montpelier VT. With a blue tooth stereo headset, I tunes set a good pace with some lively bluegrass and Bella Fleck, while the GPS (sultry women's voice) guided us along the twisting 2 lane asphalt: over ridges and along trout streams - cutting across the middle of both Vt. and NH (302, 25C, 118, and 3A) before jumping on I-93 for the home stretch.

She needs a good bit of throttle to get going from a stop, and a throaty purr amuses me while I'm waiting for her to get wound up. But she does roll along easily at any speed that I'm really comfortable going on public roads. She feels very solid, with a very low center of gravity, and is almost overly responsive to lean and steering input (hence the name). Overall first impression: just what I was expecting/hoping for.

That bike would be a good one to have down at the Gap.

Beware female GPS's. They are fickle beasts and tend to lie to you when you need them the most. i.e. for directions to the nearest Starbucks.

Oh, a word to the wise, I would /strongly/ recommend putting some valve cover sliders on the bike. They go a very long way to protecting the valve covers if the bike tips. I speak from experience with the guest bike.

Thanks for the sage advice. Got it done today. Went with the Z7105 ZTechnik Engine Guards for R Series. They're tubular Stainless Steel

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Excellent.