Seat Cowl Disappearance

There is a little story before I get to the seat cowl. But tis all relevant. I apologise in advance for what could be a couple of paragraphs....

Well today I finally got my restrictor off. It's been a long 2 years and of course I was pretty anxious to get out and ride now that I have full power. So I did. I wheeled my bike out of the garage. Everything normal.
I geared up, started the bike and set off. I got to the bottom of my road and pootled through the 30 zone not using much power, saving it until the National Speed Limit road going out of town. I pull out onto the road and give it the guns. Not a huge amount but enough for me to get a kick in the teeth compared to 33bhp.

After riding for 20 or so miles I pulled over to fuel up only to find the underseat open and exposed with the seat cowl missing. I fill up and pay then start to worryingly retrace my steps back the way I came with eyes peeled looking out for it. I eventually found the seat cowl at the beginning of the National Speed Limit zone where I first set off. It's scratched beyond just a minor inconvenience and someone obviously ran over it as there are lumps missing. So it's a bin job.

So conclusion is that I probably didn't "click" it into the lock properly last time I put it on. Has this happened to anyone else? My old man had it happen on his Tuono a few months ago. Practically exactly the same thing apart from I was behind him and had to dodge his flying seat cowl at 70mph.
I am now no longer much of a fan of seat cowls as they are hassle and expensive. I won't replace it and doubt I will buy one if/when I buy another bike. I'm pretty gutted and it's been quite a down point after such a great ride after finally getting full power. Still, luckily I have a standard seat to put back on and it wasn't something important falling off.

On a different note. How the hell do you lot keep your licence clean? I'm probably still in slight awe of the actual awesomeness of full power. But this is only a 650. What when you get 1000+?

Originally Posted by Drumming_Animal

On a different note. How the hell do you lot keep your licence clean? I'm probably still in slight awe of the actual awesomeness of full power. But this is only a 650. What when you get 1000+?

With great power comes great responsibility - don't twist the grip so far, or don't get caught when you do

[rictus01]

the trick; if there is one, is to get better and fast obs, or as I was told a long time ago "never ride fast than your observational speed".

Robert's your mothers brother.....

I understand the whole controlling one's speed and stuff. And do so. I was just suprised when I opened the throttle and looked down at the speedo. I shouldn't have been suprised really looking back. The idea of the restriction is to er restrict the bike so when it comes off it's going to make a hell of a difference. I'm still used to little throttle movement and when opening it, not as much power being fed. I could slam open the throttle in 1st and drop the clutch instantly off from traffic lights and the front wheel wouldn't lift that much. Just acceleration. But I'm sure if I did the same now I would flip off the back. Thankfully I'm not that stupid.

Originally Posted by Drumming_Animal

On a different note. How the hell do you lot keep your licence clean? I'm probably still in slight awe of the actual awesomeness of full power. But this is only a 650. What when you get 1000+?

find a nice quite private road/ runway to play on before you hit the road
IOM is also a nice place to get used to it