Ordered the AllBlack beast

I retired in September 2007, and as a bit of a treat (and in anticipation of some freedom to come) I ordered a Metallic Diablo Black Kawasaki 1600FI Nomad, to sit in the shed with my other various bike follies enjoyed over the last decade or so. I bought my 1996 1500cc C2 Vulcan in 1999, and the 2002 Yellow VTR1000F2 Honda new as a 50th present to myself. I'm still alive, so...

Time for another one! As black isn't marketed here, the order, confirmed in December 2007 had to be a special build and shipment. So I got to order a 2008 model with a 3+ months delivery lead-time. This is the marketing pic I've had to content myself with looking at.....

A few weeks ago I started the accessory process, and bought in a pair of pannier liners - removable carry-alls that are tailered to fit in the hard saddle bags. Once we're up and running I also hope to buy driving lights, heated grips and a carrier.

But after "willing" the voyage from Japan every step of the way in the last 20+ days since the distributor said our container was loaded today I got the news I was waiting for. It has been off-loaded in Auckland, and the box is now under consignment to Palmerston North.

Tracking details are:
http://www.mainfreight.co.nz/FreightTracking/FreightTracking.asp?ConNo=LYN45519

So I expect it to arrive tomorrow. Unfortunately I will be out of town tomorrow - however the dealer knows I want to be there with camera when the egg hatches, so expect some more excitement on Wednesday!

Mo' later!