There is nothing like a road trip to make you either bond with your bike or make you question the intelligence of your purchase and the decission of where ot take it. Last weekend I got home froma 2-week +2400 mile trip from Sacramento CA to Ely,NV to Zion NP to Bryce NP to Mexican Hat, Utah to Flagstaff, AZ to Sacramento, CA and I got to tell you, I believe I made the best purchase for a road bike. Granted, with all the gear I took to camp out, I looked like a Dust Bowl Refugee, but my Speedee just purred accross Hwy 50 in Nevada, Hwy's 89,14, & 12 in Utah and I-40 AZ to CA. It seemed to enjoy the twists and turns of these roads through fall colered aspens and brisk morning desert runs. I found this sweet spot of 3500 rpm in 4th and 5th where the hum of the motor cadence matched the rythm of the road as I took in the countyside on the backcountry roads. I'm not an adequant wordsmith to discribe the beauty of this area. I can say if you're relucant to take an under 1000 cc bike on an extended trip, don't be. My SM just stepped up to every challenge I put it on the road, even 40 to 50 mph head and cross winds on I-5 on 10/10 heading home to Sac. And the country I went through was just amazingly beautiful. Although I had + 6K on 07 SM before I left(purchased 2/08), it wasn't until I got back from the trip that I felt I could say to myself, " Yup, you're a Triumph biker. You're a man of 2 wheels"
