I declared the other day that if the scooter gave me any reason to doubt its ability to do a long ride I would drag one of the Japanese motorcycles out of the bull pen to replace it. It happened. The hole in the big scooters muffler would not stay fixed and I needed a reliable ride to make a quick run to Hyde Park last night. That sounds like an easy trip but it was 150 miles each way. A three hundred mile ride is starting to test my physical endurance but the Kawasaki 750 made the trip a little easier. It has a comfortable seat and foam handlegrips that cushion impacts and engine vibration quite well. It goes without saying that the engine doesn't even stress at highway speeds, something I can't say about the the big scooter and it's humble 250cc motor.

Here was the big surprise of the trip. On short rides around here the Kawasaki drinks fuel quite lavishly. The best I had attained before yesterday was in the neighborhood of 38 mpg. The first refill of the trip came in at 55 mpg which, in combination with a three and a half gallon tank, would allow me to conceivably make the trip to Linda's in Danbury without stopping, something I previously thought unattainable.

I had bought the Kawasaki to do lengthy runs like this and it performed quite well. With the addition of saddle bags it would be an excellent touring machine. I was impressed.