I have ridden it, and it was good.

The rain finally stopped and I was able to take the bike home. I rode around the Honda of Houston parking lot to get the feel of it first. It was pretty similar to the Ninja 250 that I rode in the class last week. The riding posture was just a little more upright, there's a little more weight, and don't forget the power. Although the bike overall is twice as powerful as the Ninja, it's still VERY manageable and I think even easier to ride at slow speeds because the throttle is smoother than the training bike I rode. It will JUMP if you goose it a little so I had to watch out for that, but again, the bike is so rider-friendly that it wasn't any trouble at all.

After riding it for 35 miles this weekend, I felt confident enough to ride it to work this morning on the HOV lane. No cars beside me and only 1 or 2 places where traffic might merge, but there wasn't any this morning. The side streets off the HOV weren't any trouble either. There was a big hole in the road to miss just outside my building, but I had seen that last week in the truck so I was ready for it. Traffic was pretty light overall and everybody gave me enough room. It also seems like if you wiggle in your lane a little, the cars behind you think, "Uh oh. This guy looks a little iffy." and they give you more room!