You may recall that when the chain went, it shattered the part of the case in front of the sprocket and rendered the current mounting point useless. After about twenty minutes, and a bit of welding, the repair was complete. Its not the prettiest weld, but then, it was never going to be and never had to be either. Its not load bearing so this is fine for me. With the case welded I could get the new chain and sprockets on. Well, that was the plan anyway.
While she was in, I borrowed a 2006 ER-6 Kawasaki to get me home. Despite rock hard tyres, the edge of which had never seen tarmac, it was a fun little ride. The single disc up front was plenty sufficient to pull the little thing up and the mirrors were filled with elbows, but I get that with most rides.
I hadn't ridden a 500 since passing my test and I can remember how powerful a 500 felt back in 2007 on those cold November days being schooled by North London Motorcycle Training. Riding it today, when owning a 1098s and a 954, it felt pedestrian, but I did enjoy the experience. It was nimble and quick enough to keep up with and often pass the traffic, so for a few rides it was fun.