Tuesday, I went by and looked at the clutch plates and basket.
In a word, immaculate. Considering the 85K miles, all of these parts looked virtually brand new. I have no point of reference, but, coming from someone who's been around motorcycles his whole life, Ken, the shop owner was impressed, and said nothing in there warrants suspicion, and nothing needs to be replaced.
So back together it went, and he rode it for the first time (the other two techs had been riding it before), and he confirmed everything I had been saying, but he never rode it very long at highway speeds - just concentrating on this 28-29 mph thing in 2nd gear....
Ken says it might be some worn parts on the 2nd gear cog, but, he thinks we should order another Metzler tire. If that fixes it, we know it's the Michelin tire. If it doesn't, well, I'll have a slightly used Michelin tire to put back on it next Summer after I wear out the new Metzler. I'm good with that.
He said he would ride it longer at highway speeds before and after changing the tire to see what I'm talking about at the higher speeds, too.
Progress? At least we are ruling out some things.
But I am anxious for a ride already, and it's only been a week!
