Motorcycle
First Decent Ride of The Year
Apr/03/10 11:04 PM
So today I got to ride, not to get somewhere, or to pick something up, just to ride for the hell of it, and it was good!
Gave Travis a call today about the time I thought he would be off of work, and I was right on, he had just gotten home. He chose to meet me at work, I guess he is a glutton for punishment? From there we decided we would make a stop by Cycle Gear to look for a helmet part for him, but would go the long, curvy way. Turns out they don’t make that particular helmet anymore, but I was able to look at the Ogio tankbag I wanted to check out from the catalog. I love everything about the Icon tankbag I have now except for the front zipper, which means I have to dig around in the bag to find anything. The Ogio has a top mounted zipper, once it’s opened, everything will be in plain sight. After spending about an hour looking around the store, and ‘installing’ the stuff Travis got for his bike, we were off to find something to eat.
We decided to eat at a new Bojangles we passed on the way up, but got turned around on the way. No worries, in the digital age we can just turn the GPS on in the phone and find our way, so we just rode. We ended up finding a familiar road as well as a couple of new roads to play around on. The dinner entertainment was in the form of a guy getting pulled over, who decided to pull into the parking lot. He immediately produced a piece of paper for the Sheriff Deputy, who eventually made the girl in the passenger seat drive, but not after the guy waved to the onlookers inside the restaurant. We were included, but more than likely he was waving at the elderly couple in the seat next to the window. I say don’t pull into a restaurant parking lot when you get pulled if you don’t want people in your business! On the way out we were offered a ‘nice’ helmet from a guy coming into the store who had just sold his bike. The helmet was a bargain brand helmet, was taken out of his trunk, and looked like it was tossed in there more than once. He asked $60 for what was probably a $80 helmet new, so we declined politely!
After dinner we rode around the Knightdale/Clayton/Raleigh backroads some more until we ended up in Rolesville to get a drink. Standing in the parking lot just talking, we met all sorts of people. Idiots in a pickup truck who wanted us to wheelie, a guy trying to sell us a set of his and hers Incredible Hulk helmets, even a couple of people looking for directions. All told we rode around 100 miles today and while I am tired and a little sore, I had a blast and can’t wait for a mountain trip!
Gave Travis a call today about the time I thought he would be off of work, and I was right on, he had just gotten home. He chose to meet me at work, I guess he is a glutton for punishment? From there we decided we would make a stop by Cycle Gear to look for a helmet part for him, but would go the long, curvy way. Turns out they don’t make that particular helmet anymore, but I was able to look at the Ogio tankbag I wanted to check out from the catalog. I love everything about the Icon tankbag I have now except for the front zipper, which means I have to dig around in the bag to find anything. The Ogio has a top mounted zipper, once it’s opened, everything will be in plain sight. After spending about an hour looking around the store, and ‘installing’ the stuff Travis got for his bike, we were off to find something to eat.
We decided to eat at a new Bojangles we passed on the way up, but got turned around on the way. No worries, in the digital age we can just turn the GPS on in the phone and find our way, so we just rode. We ended up finding a familiar road as well as a couple of new roads to play around on. The dinner entertainment was in the form of a guy getting pulled over, who decided to pull into the parking lot. He immediately produced a piece of paper for the Sheriff Deputy, who eventually made the girl in the passenger seat drive, but not after the guy waved to the onlookers inside the restaurant. We were included, but more than likely he was waving at the elderly couple in the seat next to the window. I say don’t pull into a restaurant parking lot when you get pulled if you don’t want people in your business! On the way out we were offered a ‘nice’ helmet from a guy coming into the store who had just sold his bike. The helmet was a bargain brand helmet, was taken out of his trunk, and looked like it was tossed in there more than once. He asked $60 for what was probably a $80 helmet new, so we declined politely!
After dinner we rode around the Knightdale/Clayton/Raleigh backroads some more until we ended up in Rolesville to get a drink. Standing in the parking lot just talking, we met all sorts of people. Idiots in a pickup truck who wanted us to wheelie, a guy trying to sell us a set of his and hers Incredible Hulk helmets, even a couple of people looking for directions. All told we rode around 100 miles today and while I am tired and a little sore, I had a blast and can’t wait for a mountain trip!
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Got the bike out
Mar/12/10 06:22 PM
So I tried to get the bike out yesterday, after it had been sitting in the yard under the cover since it’s trip to Canada last August. I knew the battery would be low, if not completely dead, from the Winter, so I was surprised to see the clock still working on the dash. I twisted the throttle a few times to try to get some fuel, choked it and tried to start....nothing.
Hooked the bike up to my truck with some jumper cables and it started without hesitation once I get some gas to the carbs. The bike would turn off after I disconnected the jumper cables so I went ahead and called Car Quest to get a new battery on the way. After a few minutes the bike would stay on without the truck attached so while it was warming up I went inside to gather my gear.
This is the first time I had tried my new helmet, the first one I have had in a while that isn’t a flip up helmet. The scar on my face was cause for concern, as any pressure on that part of my face would be uncomfortable, although the very short time I had it on I felt fine. I would really like to know how it will do on a longer trip, it is so much quieter inside a standard helmet.
I get geared up, James has arrived and it’s time to ride to town to get something to eat, this is a test ride to see how my injuries hold up against the ride. I got approximately 300ft from the house, had to stop for a red light, and....nothing. Off we go, pushing the bike off the road. No problem, we’ll just push start it and pop the clutch...Nope, not even enough juice to turn the head or brake lights on. We were right beside the Police Station, and got yelled at for stopping in the middle of the road. The officer did loan us some jumper cables. I took the long road home at this point, and have officially ridden 1500ft this year!
New battery is here, an $85 AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) that I have yet to install due to the rain. Hopefully there will be time this weekend to take a spin. I’m tired of being cooped up in the house!
Hooked the bike up to my truck with some jumper cables and it started without hesitation once I get some gas to the carbs. The bike would turn off after I disconnected the jumper cables so I went ahead and called Car Quest to get a new battery on the way. After a few minutes the bike would stay on without the truck attached so while it was warming up I went inside to gather my gear.
This is the first time I had tried my new helmet, the first one I have had in a while that isn’t a flip up helmet. The scar on my face was cause for concern, as any pressure on that part of my face would be uncomfortable, although the very short time I had it on I felt fine. I would really like to know how it will do on a longer trip, it is so much quieter inside a standard helmet.
I get geared up, James has arrived and it’s time to ride to town to get something to eat, this is a test ride to see how my injuries hold up against the ride. I got approximately 300ft from the house, had to stop for a red light, and....nothing. Off we go, pushing the bike off the road. No problem, we’ll just push start it and pop the clutch...Nope, not even enough juice to turn the head or brake lights on. We were right beside the Police Station, and got yelled at for stopping in the middle of the road. The officer did loan us some jumper cables. I took the long road home at this point, and have officially ridden 1500ft this year!
New battery is here, an $85 AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) that I have yet to install due to the rain. Hopefully there will be time this weekend to take a spin. I’m tired of being cooped up in the house!