The corner viciously curves to the left as a soothing, nearly unthinkably cool breeze ambles through the country pines and the bike bites for traction, one tire revolution at a time. With the tach reaching for the stratosphere, the engine vibrates with a newfound wickedness. Shakes itself right past nasty until it feels like it’s on the bleeding edge of survival. Then it claws its way to the center of an ever-bending apex that’s wrapping around itself like an asphalt noose. Second later there’s nothing left but the shards of a roadway and a damn near desmodromic heart attck. Pop the clutch. Go up a gear. Hear the roar drop. Then the crowd gets quiet and the bike chews some more asphalt goodness. Firing forward with a burst as the road bends over itself and heads back to the right. Before I know it the engine is growing again, making it clear that today it can’t be satiated. It likes being intimate with the high end of its performance.

Over the past two days it seems as if the world has dramatically shifted for the better. Suddenly it no longer feels like I’m riding through Hades during the day – overnight everything got cooler and calmer. Never in my life have I been so excited to wear a sweatshirt again at night while grabbing a smoke. After what feels like an eternity of excess heat, it’s been great to get back to something a bit more ‘normal’. Of course this drastic change in the weather compelled me to chuck the regulations of society, ditch the work week and get on the bike today.

After months of feeling like I was melting while riding, today I just had to hit the road. Absolutely had to, there was simply no other choice. At least not in my mind. Call it a mental health day or slacking or whatever you care to, but the bottom line is that as far as I was concerned it had to be done. Just one of those hills you’ve got to personally climb.

Since I was a bit short on sleep and with the glint of several more days of glorious riding ahead, I decided the smarter play was to pick up the keys for the ST3. Once again, I’m stoked I did. While I didn’t really do any more miles then I would have if I had been on the 10 – just a quick trip up to Palomar and back since I did have a few things to get done back on the ranch - I increasingly find myself feeling a strangely different form of intoxication from this bike. It’s lived up to every expectation I had for it and then some. Just a night and day difference from the 1098 (or the 999) and each time I take it out, I keep finding myself surprised by how much I enjoy the contrasts between the two.

There is something that’s absolutely wonderful about riding a bike at the top of its edge, which is a feat that realistically is hard to do on a true Sportbike like the 1098 when you’re riding it on the street. Even if you’re riding through the canyons at a super speedy clip, the truth is that you’re only scratching the surface of what a full blown sportbike can do. There’s a reason why they were born on racetracks and not city streets. On the other hand the ST3 was never intended for the track but it still hustles pretty damn good. With ‘just’ 107 horsepower, I’ll never confuse it for the raw power of the 1098, but I gotta say that pushing 107 horses offers a completely different kind of kick, that while not nearly as visceral, is remarkably intoxicating nonetheless. There’s something superbly sweet about feeling like you’re asking for every last ounce of enjoyment that a bike has got to offer at any one moment in time. It’s a feeling that’s hard to achieve on a sportbike, but damn easy on the ST3.