Yes, a beat up, high mileage example with lagging and differed maintenance issues.

It is the first upgrade one should do. I immediately swapped the stock shifter for an OEM unit from a 997.3 GT3. It’s how it should’ve been from the factory.

Believe the hype.

19" wheels tend to be the popular upgrade for most 996tt owners, with 30 series tires. Some proper suspension is a big part of the look, too.

Man, that’s a lot of words for some confirmation bias. The 997 and 996 are remarkably similar and much of what you said didn’t really make the case for the 997, except the largely subjective part; the looks.

Nailed it.

Wait, don’t you mean Portland? No wait... it’s endemic to the whole of the PNW, sadly.

Timid, scared and unaware drivers.

And Portland. People here STOP at the end of the on-ramp to merge. True story.

That things is glorious!

What I’d really like to know is how that spare tire is mounted and the hardware required to do the same mount.

This. This guy gets it. I want to give you all of the stars. Well done.

No, it’s true. As a native Portlander, all of the asshole and smug liberal elite seemed to have migrated here. Portland still has some pretty rad stuff but people are here are starting to ruin what made it so great for so long.

I loved watching the Indy 500 growing up with my best friend. Now, the recent ad campaign was easily broken down to, “Indy Car, we used to be awesome!” Yawn.

This. Homeskillet was one guy and a very whiny, foul-mouthed one at that. One guy does not make for universally bad bike or brand.

Hell, I’d be delighted to see a Hypermotard/Strada with wire wheels and 19" front. That would be the business for getting dirty and still maintaining some street manners.

Sean nails it. That Snowcat was a petulant child and leveraged his social media presence into way more followers and exposures than what was necessary. Further, much of what I took from his exploits was his inability to properly deal with the dealer. Moreover, much of that culpability lies with is home dealer, because…

The seating position and general make-up of the new Hypers is remarkably different than the 2v Hyper. But yes, you’re right; the Pikes Peak MTS is the way to go.

The OEM Hyper seat loves to smash you into the tank. As Sean said, they ‘Strada seat helps. I opted for StompGrip tank pads and the racing seat, which, while flatter and grippier, is much taller. So if you’re not impish, get the racing seat; it looks better.

And you really don’t even need a Power Commander. Get a slip-on and reflashed ECU. Not only are you money ahead, but DynoJet will tell you that a PC for this bike makes little sense. Oh, and a 14T front sprocket helps immensely, especially at city speeds.