packing up....

kind of hell...

dinner...

gtp...

admission...

ape-chick

working class choppers...

honda

and so it begins...

flying motorcycle??

Will flying motorcycle soon be a reality?

rolling thunder...

thunder alley

 

sweet beemer...

1960 apparently...

made it...

stuck

on the side of 66....

getting ready...

for rolling thunder...

on the road again...

riding again...

I love my country...

helmet legislation for nc motorcyclists…

if you live in north carolina and you to choose whether or not you wear a helmet, now is the time to take action…

house bill 392, permitting motorcyclists and passengers 18 and older to decide if they want to wear a helmet, was introduced march 17 and referred to the house transportation committee. the crossover date for the bill is may 12.

in an effort to help this happen, if you’re a north carolina resident, you should contact the committee chairs as well as your representative.

from the american motorcyclist association web site (linked above):

What is needed?

In order to advance, HB-392 must be called for consideration and passed out of the House Transportation Committee before the crossover deadline of May 12.

What can I do?

Contact the committee chairs to request HB-392 be taken up for consideration and voted favorably out of the House Transportation Committee.

How do I contact the committee chairs?

Rep. Frank Iler: 919-301-1450; email: Frank.Iler@ncleg.net

Rep. Grey Mills: 919-733-5741; email: Grey.Mills@ncleg.net

What should my message be?

Consider using the following talking points:

• 30 states already allow adult motorcycle operators and passengers to make their own decision with regard to motorcycle helmet use
• Motorcycle rider education and motorist awareness are the keys to reducing crashes involving motorcycles
• As a responsible adult, I’m already making adult decisions regarding my personal protective equipment needs
• Add any other personal reasons why motorcycling is important to you and why you feel that you, not the government, should make the decision regarding helmet use          

Remember, May 12 is the deadline for advancing HB-392 to the full House for consideration.  Take a few minutes NOW to make your voice heard on voluntary helmet use in North Carolina.

As a follow up, contact your representative to make your position known on voluntary motorcycle helmet use.  If your representative is already signed on to HB-392 as a primary or co-sponsor, say “thank you.”  If not, respectfully request he or she consider doing so.  Mention that as a constituent and registered voter, why this is an important issue to you.

Don’t know who your representative is?  Click here and enter your Zip code in the box under “Find Your Officials” to learn more.

get out and do your part…

this just ain't right...

amendment to end ban on youth motorcycles…

senator amy klobuchar recently introduced legislation, senate amendment 264, co-sponsored by senator jon tester, that would exempt youth off-highway vehicles from the consumer product safety improvement act (cpsia) of 2008.

call your senators and let them know you support sa 264. of course the american motorcyclist association is going to make this extremely easy for you. go to this form, enter your phone number and they’ll let you know who your senators are, how to contact them and some talking points.

the vote is supposed to take place this coming week so don’t waste any time contacting your senators.

mark your calendars…

on the heels of my last post and according to a rome news-tribune article, it looks like georgia is serious about setting up the motorcycle-only checkpoints. according to the article they have the budget to run six one-day checkpoints. about the only piece of good news to come out of this is the announcements of the date, times and locations for the first checkpoint:

• wednesday, march 9, 8am-5pm; interstate 75, southbound commercial vehicle inspection station in monroe county
• wednesday, march 9, 8am-5pm; interstate 95, southbound commercial vehicle inspection station in chatham county north of savannah

yesterday representative jim sensenbrenner (r-wi) introduced legislation to prohibit the secretary of transportation funding the motorcycle-only checkpoints. of course if you want to do something about it, head over to the ama web site, fill out the form and let your representative know how you feel…

daytona bike week…

with the daytona 500 behind us, we can start the countdown to bike week starting next weekend. are you planning on riding down there?? for once, the better option may be to trailer your bike!! that or detour around georgia through alabama to get there. why?? because georgia is planning to use some federal funds to set up motorcycle-only checkpoints during bike week.

according to this action alert from the ama, georgia might be taking new york’s lead in setting up motorcycle-only checkpoints. and as if that isn’t bad enough, they want to set them up during daytona bike week to target as many bikers as they can.

what can you do?? besides trailering your bike – which of course was only mentioned in jest. i, for one, would never suggest someone trailer their bike over riding. the best option is to follow the ama’s suggestion to contact governor deal. you can send him a prewritten letter. once you follow the link, click on the contact tab –> click on ‘web form’ (contact governor nathan deal via web form) –> select ‘please suspend grant to conduct motorcycle-only checkpoints’ and click next step. fill out your contact information and send it on its way.

the other option is to contact him directly from his web site. fill in the contact information, select ‘transportation’ for the category, and the message section. the ama suggests the text below for the message section. i also suggest leaving the ‘i just want governor deal to know my opinion so it will be counted’ unchecked. i know i want to get a response from him.

As a motorcyclist, I understand the Georgia Department of Public Safety was awarded a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to conduct a series of motorcycle-only checkpoints (MOCs). The NHTSA Motorcycle Law Enforcement Demonstrations grant is in the amount of $70,000 and Georgia is the only state to receive this grant for Fiscal Year 2010. I request that Georgia suspend the motorcycle-only checkpoint program until questions raised by the motorcycling community have been addressed.

Specifically, how do MOCs increase the safety of motorcyclists? Where does Georgia draw their authority to conduct MOCs? Will "probable cause" be required to stop a motorcycle under the terms of this grant program? If so, what will constitute "probable cause?" What types of infractions will be recorded by law enforcement officials at these traffic stops? What criteria will be used to measure the success of the MOCs? And, do states have the jurisdiction to inspect vehicles registered in another state?

Again, please suspend this program until questions raised by the motorcycling community have been addressed.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

hopefully with enough response no one will get hassled in georgia on their way to daytona… unless, of course, they deserve it!!

what a nice surprise....

sat down for dinner tonight (heart-shaped burgers handmade by my wonderful wife) to personalized place cards made by my daughter. yes, i shoulda been onna ride today... maybe tomorrow.

day late…

ever wonder where the time is going?? time just seems to be flying lately. i realized it’s already february when i went to pay some bills this morning. which reminded me i needed to flip my waffle house and bike calendars over to february.

this month the waffle house calendar is giving me a free sausage biscuit. i ran out of time to use the free coupon for bert’s chili last month. i’ll be sure not to make the same mistake this month. i also have a coupon for a free waffle and i think they’re giving away something for valentine’s day. if i play it right, i can probably feed the whole family for free!!

my bike calendar is a free calendar i got from an attorney pushing his business. the calendar is supposed to be one of these bikes and babes calendars. the only problem is the models aren’t really babes. i’m wondering where they found these models. out of twelve of them only one is halfway decent. i seriously considered just leaving my calendar on that month for the whole year.

the calendar got me to thinking that either bikers will settle or my standards are a bit higher. i was talking to my wife about the quality, or lack thereof, of the models in the calendar. i don’t even know that many people but i could probably put a better calendar together…

it could be worse…

that’s the phrase my father-in-law responds with when someone is complaining about something. when he first said it to me i figured it was his polite way of telling me to stop whining. but knowing my father-in-law, he’d just tell you to stop whining.

what he is really doing is reminding us that we should be appreciative. now i resist the urge to immediately complain about something and i look at the positives in a situation. i’ve heard him use it enough that i’ve adopted the phrase as well. it helps keep things in perspective.

and that perspective really helped when i was riding on sunday. i remember several rides at the beginning of last year that were cold. temps for those rides were probably in the twenties and thirties. maybe forties.

sunday’s ride was in the upper thirties. but i actually felt warm. so warm that i removed my electric vest and switched out my electric gloves for my winter gloves. it felt great to be out riding, i was enjoying it so much.

perspective… perspective made the ride feel so good. and the reminder that it could be worse. and it was worse that morning when i met up with a fellow rider to head out to thomasville - in thirteen degree temps!! now that was cold…

2011 rides...

first ride…

took the first ride of the year today. not the usual beginning-of-the-year lake loop that i’ve traditionally taken. today’s was just a short ride.

today’s ride had several purposes. first, and most importantly, was just to get out and ride again. the sun was finally shining and the temps were in the 40s – perfect for a nice january ride.

second reason for today’s ride was to test the new nolan helmet. i was a little concerned with the weight of the helmet. turns out it wasn’t a problem – i didn’t notice the weight at all. a quick note about new helmets, figure out where the vent adjustments are *before* you head out.

the best reason for today’s ride was to check out the contour gps video camera my wife gave me for christmas. i couldn’t wait to get home to see the results. and i was pleasantly surprised. the quality of the video is excellent. being able to watch the video, the speed and route is quite impressive. once i get the video edited and posted, i’ll share a link.

41073

starting a new year with 41073 miles on the bike… although i didn’t put as many miles on the bike towards the end of the year it was still a good year of riding. in addition to the usual trips around the lake and to the smoke out, i got in a trip to milwaukee as well as another saddle sore 1000.

this year i’m looking forward to the normal rides as well as spending a couple days at myrtle beach, at wilmington and hopefully another iron butt ride – maybe a butt burner 1500 this time. and some rides with my wife – i really enjoy the trips we were able to take last year.

if all goes well i’ll have some video footage of some of my rides – my awesome wife got me a portable video camera for the motorcycle. i attempted to test it out today but by the time i got my lazy butt around to securing the camera to the bike it started to rain. i bagged the ride today in favor of better weather (and a day off work) monday.

here’s looking to another great year of riding – see ya out there…

motorcyclist of the year…

the latest issue of american motorcyclist (the magazine of the ama), with the motorcyclist of the year on the cover, arrived this past weekend. when i initially saw the cover my instinct was to cancel my subscription/membership to the ama.

the ama states the motorcyclist of the year is “designed to highlight the person (or people) who has had the most profound impact on the world of motorcycling – for better or worse – in the previous 12 months.” this year the ama has decided that the most profound impact on motorcycling is for the worse.

what’s really bothersome is that of all the pro-motorcycling causes the ama supports, of all the people that put their time and effort forth to support motorcycling, the ama couldn’t find one person or group that had enough of a positive impact to outweigh the negative…

so who was chosen?? california governor schwarzenegger, who is supposedly pro-motorcycling. why was he chosen?? for signing senate bill 435. in a nutshell, sb435 requires all motorcycles built on or after january 1, 2013 to carry an epa stamp that certifies the exhaust meets sound requirements.

i know us motorcyclist have an issue with excessive noise. if the idea is to help control noise, sb435 is not the way to go about it. the motorcycle industry council worked hard with the society of automobile engineers to develop j2825 which gives a simple, straightforward way to measure and identify motorcycles with excessive noise.

instead governor schwarzenegger thought putting stamps on exhaust systems was the way to enforce noise limits. there are plenty of exhaust exhaust systems and manufactures that make exhaust systems that aren’t noisy but can’t afford to go through the process to get approval to put the stamp on  their exhausts. not only that, the stamp doesn’t prevent the owner from drilling out the baffles and making the exhaust excessively noisy.

i could sit back and be thankful i don’t live in california. and after seeing what a “pro-motorcyling” governor can do, i am thankful. but we’ve all seen other states follow california. unfortunately this would not be a good path to go down. instead i’ll do what i can to make sure a bill like this doesn’t get passed in my state.

i’m still fuming at governor schwarzenegger getting selected. and if the ama wasn’t so important in protecting the rights of motorcyclists i’d cancel my membership. so, i’m also going to do everything i can to ensure all future motorcyclist of the year are selected for making a positive impact on motorcycling, leaving governor schwarzenegger as the only black mark.

it’s time…

to start getting more involved…

bikefest coming alive...

ray price capital city bikefest today….

the ray price capital city bikefest starts today!!

trip prep…

getting ready to take a trip on the blue ridge parkway with my father-in-law at the end of the month. we’ve been talking about riding the parkway for a while and now it’s time to make it happen…

the past week or so i’ve been trying to figure out the details – when we’re going , how far we’ll travel each day, where we’ll stop overnight and other rides we might be able to fit in during our journey. the original plan was to make travel the parkway in two days. knowing we’d want to ride the snake as well as the tail of the dragon. to help plan the trip i ordered the latest version of the blue ridge parkway maps from america rides maps.

the maps arrived today and i was pleasantly surprised. from the start i’ve been impressed with the maps. i also know the maps have expanded and upgraded. but i didn’t realize how much until i got the latest versions of the map.

the new maps contain more routes as well as more detail. detail in both the crispness of the maps themselves and the number of amenities like gas stations, restaurants and lodging along the suggested routes. the routes are well marked on the map with descriptions on the back of the map. the maps, seven in total, are well labeled to indicated how all seven maps fit together. making it easy to pick up a road or route on an adjacent map.

i know wayne put a lot of time and effort towards creating these maps. his effort is definitely paid off with these maps.

well, i better get to finalizing the details of the trip. with the help of these maps it shouldn’t be too tough.

sunday ride…

my neighbor called yesterday wondering if my wife wanted to go shopping with his wife. my wife loved the idea. i thanked my neighbor by asking him if he wanted to go on a motorcycle ride with my son and me…

i’ve talked to my neighbor about the property my in-laws have up at the lake and he’s taken his boat into their cove. but this was an opportunity to show him my in-laws property. but the ride was less about showing my neighbor some property and more about taking my son for a longer ride.

i’ve taken my son on shorter rides around town and he’s done really well. he’s been asking to go on longer rides. i figured this was a good opportunity. the heat has subsided a bit making riding more comfortable. an important factor to consider since i want to instill safety first with my son and emphasize wearing all our gear when we go out riding.

the ride was going to be to the lake and back. i figured that would give my son a good amount of time in the saddle without pushing it too much.

we headed north up route one, jumped off on one fifty eight, through middleburg to the lake. a nice leisurely ride giving a mix of some speed and some twisty roads.

we got to the lake and i showed off the trailer. we headed down to the water where my son could feed the fish with the bread my thoughtful wife packed for him. it was fun watching him try to catch the fish with his hands as he was baiting them with bread. unfortunately he wasn’t as fast as the fish.

after a little more time at the trailer we decided to head home. but not without stopping for lunch first. my son was doing good on the bike and enjoying the ride so we decided to head to clarksville and stop at uppy’s. after topping off our bellies with lunch and ice cream for desert we headed home through oxford via virgilina.

it was a beautiful day for a ride and my son did awesome. my biggest concern, him getting sleepy, never happened. which made me more confident that he’s up for longer rides. he rode over one hundred thirty miles and seemed to enjoy every mile. i think he was in awe of being part of the environment as your traveling instead of just viewing it through the window of a cage.

i look forward to many more rides with him. and maybe one day taking him on an overnight camping trip…

check out the 2010 ride map, this one in light blue.

American Motorcyclist Association - Take an active role in the upcoming elections!

according to the voter guide in the post below some of my legislators won't be getting my vote!!

American Motorcyclist Association - Take an active role in the upcoming elections!

certified – again…

got a package in the mail today containing certificates and a patch for the ss1000 i completed back in july… i was pretty excited to get it today as i didn’t expect them quite so soon. i don’t know if the certification process is quicker once your a member but it was definitely a nice surprise.

now to start planning a bun burner (1500 miles in thirty-six hours) and a bun burner gold (1500 miles in twenty-four hours)… my wife rolled her eyes when i mentioned that earlier today!!!

40000…

took the bike to ray price last week for the 40k service… a smaller service this time. the usual fluid change and general inspection of the bike. i did manage to get new spark plugs too.

i have an extended service plan with ray price which is due to expire next month. the service plan has really been a good deal for me. when i got the bike i didn’t know anything about maintenance. over the years i’ve picked a couple things up. next month i’ll be picking up a lot more. and i’m looking forward to it.

the service department at ray price has really taken care of my bike. i’ve been extremely pleased with the service they’ve provided – i feel they’ve gone above and beyond to take care of me and my bike. i would definitely recommend their service department…

for this service i managed to trade my bike for an ultra classic. unfortunately i was only able to get a picture of it on the road…

it’s the one on the left…

how difficult can it be??

had a couple extra minutes today so i decided to put the registration sticker on the bike.

being the lazy efficient person i am i decided i would just wipe the old sticker with a towel and apply the new sticker. a short-lived idea due to the reflective license plate mounting bolts covering the sticker.

reaching between the license plate and the the tour-pac i quickly realized i wouldn’t be able to remove the mounting bolt without removing the tour-pac.

i get the key for the tour-pac and attempt to unlock the lock. as i turned the key i heard a pop. not the familiar pop of the mechanism unlocking. and the key is turning freely. i remove the key and see the lock hasn’t unlocked. nope. it broke.

the design of the tour-pac latch prevents me from unbolting the latch– which is actually a good thing. i have to remove the docking point in order to remove the tour-pac. once that’s off i’ll be able to remove the latch, freeing the docking point – which i can then put back on the bike.

i finally remove the docking point and get the tour-pac off. on to the latch… i remove the bolt and slide the latch off. not quite. the way the latch is mounted, along with the docking point still being locked in place, prevents the latch from being removed.

the only way to remove the latch is to break it. which i do. finally the docking point is free. it gets put back on the bike. i return from the attic with the old latch and put that on the tour-pac.

i finally get around to putting the sticker on the bike – completing a two minute job in about thirty minutes…

ss1000…

completed another ss1000 saturday…

took off about five thirty in the morning. a little later than i had originally planned – was too busy sleeping. but i’d rather get a little more sleep, wake up refreshed and start late than start out tired.

first stop was sheetz in youngsviile to document my start location and time. then it was off to richmond. the ride up there was chilly in spite of the extra layers and having the panels in my coat. i knew the morning was cooler but i didn’t expect that cool. good thing i started with my winter gloves.

after richmond it was on to staunton. the temps were rising along with the sun but it was still cool… i was wondering if i was going to need to throw on my other shirt and put the lining in my coat. i decided to keep pushing through. i’d add them at the next stop if needed.

from staunton it was on to hagerstown then to morgantown. the traffic between hagerstown and morgantown was horrible. i was finally in the 4th of july traffic i was fearing. until we got to the i-68 split near hancock. thankfully most of it was heading north and the roads opened up again.

nothing too exciting from morgantown through charleston on to statesville. the temps were definitely getting warmer. hot in fact. funny how a few hours ago i couldn’t wait to get out of the cold weather. now i was missing it.

about the six hundred fifty mile mark i was feeling a little tired. the fireballs were helping but not quite doing the trick. i was planning on taking a short nap in the shade at my next stop. however, when i got there i must have gotten my second wind. after fueling up i was ready to keep going. i never felt sleepy after that.

a lot of the trip between charleston and statesville was familiar from our milwaukee trip in may. it was nice to be in familiar sights, knowing i was closing in on being home.

the final leg between statesville and youngsville brought back memories of traveling the road a few years back, when i was first starting to take longer trips. i remember the feeling of accomplishment of riding for several hours, covering a couple hundred miles. now i was knocking off a thousand miles. and enjoying it!!! where will i be in a few more years?? maybe an iba rally?? who know… all i know is i was really enjoying the ride and looking forward to getting home and spending the rest of the holiday weekend with my wife.

a little after ten in the evening i pulled back into the sheetz station to document the end of my ride, finally making it home about ten-thirty. it was an awesome ride and it was great to be home.

now i’ve got to document my ride and get it off to the iba… you can check out the 2010 ride map – this one in blue…

great service…

was heading back from the smoke out last weekend when the shift lever shaft stripped. luckily i was close to home and could temporarily fix it by tightening the screw on the backside of the shaft.

i took the bike to ray price tuesday to have the shaft replaced. i asked them to also check the front brakes and do an inspection. when the bike’s dropped off the tech looks over the bike. he noticed that i could also use new tires.

overall i’ve been very pleased with the service i’ve gotten from ray price. i have to give them props for this last experience. it’s nice to know they go above and beyond instead of just settling for getting the job done. it’s always good to have another set of eyes looking over the bike.

and it’s especially nice to have new tires on the bike before i head out for another saddle sore 1000 tomorrow. look for an update next week on how i made out. as well as updates on the smoke out and rolling thunder – on which i’m woefully behind…

back from milwaukee…

just got back from one of the best trips i’ve ever been on… the scenery, the friendship, the laughs, the ride. and being able to share it all with my wife… it couldn’t have been any better.

we left out of here last wednesday, making our first stop for gas where i realized i had forgotten the key to my motorcycle. so we returned home to pick it up and make another attempt at leaving. we were successful this time, picking up another rider before making a stop for breakfast and to pick up the third rider.

after a delicious breakfast at cracker barrel, which would become a recurring theme during the trip, we began the real journey. the skies were overcast and the temps were cooler. the forecast called for clearing skies with some chance of rain.

as we headed through virginia and west virginia we ran into a little rain. and i mean very little rain. my wife and i couldn’t finish a conversation about whether we should pull over to put on our rain suits before the rain would stop. the threat of rain stopped as we travelled through ohio and indiana.

our first overnight stop was just outside indianapolis after travelling just over six hundred miles. i started the day thinking we’d be stopping about half way. it was such a good day riding the additional miles came easily. and it set us up nicely for the next day’s riding into milwaukee.

one of my only concerns with the route we had chosen was riding through chicago. don’t know why but i just wasn’t looking forward to it. the real problem was just about any route around chicago would add several hours to the trip. consensus was we would ride through instead of around chicago. and through chicago we went!!!

on the way through we pulled off the interstate to take a ride up lake shore drive. the view was a nice change of pace from the interstate we’d been following most of the day.

the roads, at least the interstate, between chicago and milwaukee left a lot to be desired. it was probably good our destination was close as we could focus on that instead of the poor conditions of the roads.

we made it to milwaukee about mid-afternoon. early enough to unload the bikes and have some time to walk around enjoying the sites and tastes of the city.

a couple days later it was time to start heading home. we contemplated taking the lake express ferry from milwaukee to michigan to start the journey until the cost changed our minds. so we headed out aiming for west virginia not quite knowing the route we were taking. just pointing our bikes south and riding, knowing we’d get there eventually.

my wife had the chance to ride on an ultra classic which she really enjoyed. i think it made the trip more bearable for her. although for being the longest trip she’d ever been on she kept a positive attitude and made the best of it. the problem now is i either have to get a seat as comfortable as the ultra classic or get an ultra classic.

after riding all day under sunny skies and warm temps our target was charleston. but a longer route with leisurely stops and a couple deer crossing the highway as the sun was setting encouraged us to stop for the night in cross lanes.

the next day’s ride would take us home. the day started out warm and sunny. as we left west virginia, crossing through virginia and into north carolina, the skies would continue to get darker. eventually dumping a rain on us for about thirty minutes.

before we knew it we were home and being greeted by waiting family. as good as it was to get away it was even better to get back home and be with the family again.

this trip was easily the best trip i’ve been on. it was amazing in so many different ways. but mostly because i got to share it with my wife. i look forward to taking many more trips like this with her. even if it means i have to get a new bikes.

some pictures of our travels through parts of our beautiful country (in no particular order)…

crop dusting

 

a photo op at one of our gas stops…

 

some women in west virginia roofing. yes, the two on the roof are women!!!

 

another photo op at another gas stop – this one a little more scenic.

check out the 2010 ride map – this one in green…

37500…

picked up the bike today from ray price after having it serviced… it didn’t as take too long since my last service to rack up the miles. the trip to milwaukee helped that out.

not much done at this service – usual oil and filter change. they even changed the air filter for me. best of all, the bike got cleaned. not as clean as i would have done. but i can’t complain since i didn’t have to do it.

while the bike was in for service i got to cruise around on a 2010 electra glide classic.

heading home...

had an amazing trip to milwaukee with my wife... packing up tonight to start our journey home tomorrow. it'll be nice to get home again.

milwaukee...

left indianapolis this morning and made it to milwaukee - with a detour through chicago's lake shore drive...

a pic of the bikes before heading out this morning...

how low can you go…

for the past week or so we’ve been checking the weather up in milwaukee. the forecasts predict temps in the upper sixties/lower seventies – about twenty degrees cooler than here…

getting ready to pack today i realized we should probably be less concerned with the highs and focus more on how *cold* it might be getting.  it’s always easier to dress warmed and shed some layers than get cold and have to try to warm up. i want to avoid the situation i had when i came back from maryland…

of course the lows are going to be a bit cooler – in the low/mid fifties. but it’s not as bad as it could be. and if we can avoid the rain it would be even better…

can’t wait to take off tomorrow…

cleaning up…

wanted to go for a ride with my wife yesterday to test out the new bars… she was in a cleaning mood and suggested i clean the bike instead. my first thought was why would i want to clean the bike *before* heading out on a big trip??

since i figured if i went for a ride my wife wouldn’t be going with me i decided to follow her advice and clean the bike. not necessarily a bad thing but not top on my list of things to do on a saturday…

i can’t remember the last time i actually cleaned my bike. sure it usually gets washed after a service but it never gets cleaned as well. not to mention not getting waxed. so it was probably time i washed the bike.

turns out it wasn’t such a bad thing… it gave me a chance to really go over the bike before heading out. i came across a couple items i wanted to check that i may not have found had i not cleaned the bike. nothing critical but worth checking into further.

when i finished cleaning the bike i felt a lot better about it. not only did it end up clean, i felt more confident about the condition of the bike.

now i looking forward to the trip even more…

installing comfort…

picked up the comfort profile saddlebag guards today from shelton’s… installation was easy and went smoothly. the longest part was running out to pick up a torque wrench. normally i would just tighten the bolts until i thought there were tight enough. on something like this, i figured it was well worth the time and few extra dollars to make surer it was right.

after i i had one side installed my wife sat on the bike and immediately noticed the difference. the real test though will be taking my wife out for a ride to see how much better it is.

gettin’ ready…

my wife and i have taken a couple rides latest in preparation for a trip we’re taking to milwaukee later this month. since she hasn’t been on a trip this long, we thought it would be a good idea to have her get some miles on the bike…

we also got her a new seat from mustang seats which we thought might make the trip more comfortable. the old seat, which is wider, was pushing her legs into the saddlebag guards and cutting the circulation off in her legs. we figured the smaller seat might alleviate that.

our first ride was to the hog meeting. half way to the destination, we saw nothing but a sea of brake lights. after about ten minutes and only moving about a half a mile the traffic just came to a standstill. we decided to pull a u-turn and take some back roads.

while it wasn’t what we wanted because we were trying to get to the meeting on time, it turned out to be a good thing. we traded the congested main road for some scenic two lane roads. we also got a longer ride – never a bad thing on a motorcycle!! the side trip reminded me of the benefits of a detour…

so my wife navigated us through the back roads to our destination. if you knew how my wife is with directions you’d know this is an accomplishment. she is awesome and amazes me every day. although i was secretly thinking that even is she would have gotten us lost i wouldn’t have cared. it’d just have meant more time together on the bike!!

the ride home that night was something else. not traffic this time but the night skies. the skies were dark until the heat lightening lit up the clouds in a beautiful display of lights and shapes.  we were enjoying the openness of the bike and the light show going on around us…

until… we started getting closer to home. as we got closer to home we started seeing more and more streaks of lightening. and as the miles ticked off, the bolts were getting closer to the ground.

within ten minutes of making it home the skies opened up. note to self: be sure to pack the wife’s rain suit for the next trip…

we also took a ride this weekend to durham. we wanted to catch up with a fellow rider and firm up plans for milwaukee. it wasn’t a long ride, but it was a good ride. except for the fact that, even with the new seat, the guards were still digging into my wife’s legs.

i decided to head to shelton’s to see if i could find the comfort profile saddlebag guards. they didn’t have any at the durham store but ordered them from one of their other shops. i should have them in a day or two. of course once i get them on we’ll have to take a few more trips to determine which seat might be better. you won’t find me complaining about that!!!

these past two rides really make me look forward to the ride to milwaukee. i can’t wait for the adventure with my wife – we’re going to have so much fun…