Pullin' G's

Final Blog update

2010-02-06T23:09:00.002-06:00

Well fellas, I crashed my KLR Nov. 22, 2009. It was my fault. Went into a turn too fast. Leaned over to try to make it. Scraped pegs. Wasn't making it still. Leaned over further. Lifted the rear wheel off the ground. Low-sided, and caught the toe of my right foot on the ground. It twisted my leg and broke it in three places; spiral fracture.

Then, I went for a nice flight into the woods. My buddies took good care of me. Called my wife and the ambulance.

It has been a pretty bad couple of months since then. Two more weeks and I can start putting weight on it again. I've been on crutches ever since. (it will have been three months) I now have a metal plate that goes from my ankle to just below my knee.

This was a right turn. I'm damned lucky there was not an oncoming vehicle, or it would have been lights-out for me.

We haven't had kids yet, so I think I'll hang up my gloves, fix and sell the bikes, and maybe consider a Miata some day when we can afford it. I left the door open to resume riding when our kids are grown.

Have fun everyone, and try to keep the rubber side down. It seems to be more fun that way. ;)

-Jeremy

Cold weather riding.

2009-10-31T09:46:00.005-05:00

Usually, I pack it up when it starts to get to 40°F and below. As I type this, it is hovering right around 40. This year, however, I didn't do as much riding as I would have liked. I rode my scooter quite a bit, but hardly rode a motorcycle at all until I traded the FJR for the KLR. Now, I'm enjoying riding more, but the KLR's wind & weather protection is lacking when compared to the FJR's.

So, I just placed an order at motorcyclesuperstore.com for a set of boots, cold weather gloves, and a windproof balaclava.

I've never had a proper set of cold weather riding gloves. In the past, I have made do with Gore-Tex ski gloves. They don't allow good enough finger & thumb articulation for motorcycle riding though. I'm hoping these are better, as they're motorcycle-specific. Here's to hoping!

I already have a set of Oxtar Matrix boots with the Gore-Tex liner. However, I bought them in size 42, which fits perfectly with thin socks. Unfortunately, cold weather riding is better done with warmer, slightly thicker socks. So these, I ordered in US Size 10 (Euro 43) and will hopefully have room for warmer socks. I also felt like it was overkill for the boots to go up so high. (these are only 3/4 height) If I'm wearing my riding pants, I'm not as worried about getting hit in the shins by rocks as I would otherwise. I think I will enjoy the better ankle flexibilty.

I'm hoping to get another month of riding in before the snow flies.

Finished 685cc project for Schnitz

2009-10-21T17:42:00.003-05:00

The other day, I finished the installation of the Schnitz 685cc kit for my KLR650. After only 3,000 miles, it was burning oil. Unacceptable. I researched the issue at klr650.net, and the word on the street is that Kawasaki would measure the oil loss, and if it is above a certain amount, they would re-hone the cylinder and install new rings. Pfft. Then what, it will probably start burning oil in another 3,000 miles. Also unacceptable.

The good folks at klr650.net said that installing the 685cc piston kit stopped all oil-burning problems, leading me to believe that it is probably an issue with bad rings or a cylinder bored out-of round. In either case, I should be good to go. I hope so, as I really like this bike. It is quick enough to be fun, but not fast enough that I'm always speeding like crazy. (like I was on the FJR) It makes hardly any engine heat in the hot summer months. It's super-easy to work on too. The only problems so far have been the massive oil consumption and The Death Weave it exhibits if I try to take a sweeping turn at 80+ mph. I can deal with that. I've decided that if this doesn't fix the issues, I'm going to sell it as soon as it's paid-for, and get a Honda Deauville, which they're bringing to the USA next year. (it has been a hot seller in the UK for years; it is a shaft-driven, 700cc, V-twin with integrated hard bags and shaft drive)

I just finished the break-in on the new piston today, having clicked over 200 miles on the odometer. I'm supposed to change the oil & filter again now.

I'm also overdue for lubing the chain. God, I sure didn't miss this when I had a shaft-driven bike.

In other news, a fellow rider and I went riding today. He suggested we go offroad and see where a fire road led to. I told him that I didn't think it led anywhere, as we were near my place and the suburbs are too dense for it to lead anywhere. I figured what the hell, and let him lead me on his Triumph Tiger. He had street-biased tires, I had 50/50 tires (mostly bald in the rear). I went down in a rutted muddy trail, he didn't. I need to get more experience on this type of terrtain I guess. This is the first drop on the KLR. It took it like a champ; we were only going maybe 5 mph. But I wore the mud on my side and on the bike like a mark of shame for the rest of the day.

Rustic Roads Project: Continued

2009-08-30T09:29:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was a productive day for me, Rustic Roads-wise. I managed to hit 7 more Rustic Roads. (see photos below) That puts me over the 10 required minimum to win the first Rustic Roads patch. There are 108 dedicated Rustic Roads now. I don't think I'll ever get them all, but when I feel like going for rides and don't have any ideas, I think that's what I'll do. Just try and hit them here and there. In the photos, the shot that is not by a numbered sign is #30. The signs are missing on both ends of this one. I hope I can still get credit for it! Also, you can tell that those are not my usual quality photos. I forgot my camera and had to use my cell phone camera. Bummer. I guess they'll do for evidence purposes.

One thing I'm wanting more than ever these days is a proper GPS for motorcycling. With maps and a compass, one is able to do the same things one can do with a GPS, but frequent stops are needed to change maps, get bearings, etc.

After doing some research, I think I'll probably go with a Garmin 60Cx when I can scrape together a few hundred dollars. This is a handheld GPS, one that has a basemap built in, but also has all the features of a handheld GPS.

Received the Wolfman Expedition Lite Tankbag Today

2009-08-25T22:19:00.004-05:00

It was delivered today at work. I slept in this morning. Missed the last train, so I had to ride. I took Burgertime, since it gets better gas mileage (60 mpg vs. 52) and since it is better in traffic. I didn't realize the tankbag was coming today, or I might've taken the KLR.

I took a few available shots of the tankbag on the bike. ISO 800 on the Elph is very grainy, but here's a trick to make the shots usable at those high ISO settings: Take the photo at the highest quality and highest resolution. Then, when you reduce them in size to 800 x 600 or 640 x 480, they don't look terrible. They still don't look great, but at least they don't look terrible. Good enough for a blog at least, hehehe.

The funny thing is that I haven't really needed the extra storage so far. The thing I missed most about having a tankbag was the map pocket.

I'm all set for the annual STn Region 4 meet in a couple weekends.

In other news, Kate got a basket for the handlebars of her bicycle, so that she can take Floyd for bike rides. Here's a short youtube video of it in action. If you (or your wife) has a small dog and might like to try this, it is called a Snoozer buddy, and we got it on ebay for $50.

Rustic Roads Project

2009-08-23T22:38:00.006-05:00

The state of Wisconsin has 108 designated Rustic Roads. They are old-fashioned country roads, but all of them are a little more scenic than usual. They are either embedded in scenic landscapes, rolling hills, twisty bits... something interesting for the motorist.

The state gives a patch to each motorcyclist who sends in a photo of himself or his bike at the numbered sign. If 10 are sent in, a certain patch is given out. If 25 are sent in, another one is given out. They have even introduced a special one for 100! I don't know if I will get that many, but it will be fun to try.

Here are a couple of shots I got while I was out hitting four of them today:

This one started it all out. Another motorcyclist even showed up just in time to fill in the empty road.

Here's the start of another one I hit today.

Later on, it got very hilly; a nice change from the Chicago suburbs.

Sailor Dan's bar was along one of those, I think it was #11.

Now that I have a KLR and occasionally call myself an "Adventure Rider," I have to take opportunities like this from time to time. It looked to me like an access road for the utility company to get to the power lines. I didn't see any signs that said "No Trespassing" or "Private Property," so I went ahead and explored a bit. I stopped and deflated my tires from 30 psi to 15 psi, so I would have enough traction in the grass and dirt.

A bit further in, it got rougher and rougher, until it looked like this:

...and finally, like this. I wound up in some farmer's back yard. I had to turn around so as not to be rude, riding across his property uninvited.

When I got back to the road, I re-inflated to ~30 psi.

It was a little sad to have to ride home again. It was a great afternoon. The summer here in the midwest has been pretty weak. There were only a few days where the temperature got above 90°F. Most of the summer, it has been in the 70s, which is fine with me!

I kept an eye on oil level at the sight glass. After this ride of around 170 miles, I don't seem to have burned any more oil. I assume this is because I was nearly always below 4500 RPM.

I can't wait to get started on the Schnitz 685cc big-bore kit. I think it is a little ironic that my four stroke motorcycle burns more oil than it would if it were a two-stroke. At least if it were a two-stroke 650cc bike, it would make a ton more power and weigh a lot less!

The BeadRider seat pad is great. Again, not as comfortable as an aftermarket saddle, but I didn't get Monkey Butt either, so it is doing its job.

Yerkes Update

2009-08-23T21:25:00.005-05:00

As it turned out, I swung by Yerkes again today. Here are some better photos, as promised:

Here's the main doorway.

These are the little busts above and to each side of it. I like the details like this. Modern designs don't spend any time or effort on embellishments that make the buildings look so nice.

Here's what the columns look like.

Here's the view from the back.

A couple shots from the front:

Here's one of the smaller towers, and the lion guarding it.

Here's the tower with the large refractor.

Visiting "The Birthplace of Modern Astrophysics"

2009-08-23T08:39:00.004-05:00

This is pretty late, but I'm just getting through some of my pictures now. This was the first ride more than 10 minutes I took when I got the new KLR.

It is my favorite local place to go, and I highly recommend visiting if you're in the area. It is located in Williams Bay, WI, and it is called Yerkes Observatory. It is home to the world's largest refracting telescope and was built in 1897. Wikipedia has a nice entry on it.

The part about selling the land to a real estate developer is absolutely heartbreaking. They would surely ruin it. Read the details in the Wikipedia article above.

The photos above were taken on my cell phone, and as such, are not up to the usual standard. I apologize and I promise to add better ones at a later date. As a side note, when you are shopping for a cell phone, I highly recommend that you ignore the number of megapixels that is advertised. It doesn't really matter. The sensor is tiny, the lens is tiny and the quality will never look good anywhere except on a cell phone's screen. One of the best uses I've found for it is snapping pictures when I don't have a camera on me when I would otherwise have nothing. Another good application is when I have to part between cars, I'll use that camera to take photos of the license plates of the cars between which I parked. That way, if I come back to find my bike knocked down, I'll have a VERY good idea of where to start looking.

A country ride to the farmstand

2009-08-23T08:24:00.004-05:00

A lot of my compatriots from advrider.com pride themselves on what rugged terrain they take their bikes on. I'm pretty jealous of the beautiful scenery they have in other parts of the country: Mountains, miles and miles of trails through the woods, desert.

But I guess we each have our own thing. Here in the midwest, I have to try pretty hard to even find a gravel road, much less dirt trails that actually go somewhere. But, one of my mottos is that there is a bright side to most things.

Living in the middle of the Corn Belt this time of year, I can ride 20 minutes to a farm stand and get sweet corn that was just picked this morning for $4 per dozen. This is very very good. Kate and I eat a lot of it every year around this time.

One day when I was out for a ride I saw one such sign for sweet corn at a ma 'n pa farmstand. As soon as I saw the tractor mailbox, I knew it would be good. The Givi V46 topcase has been the single wisest addition to my last two bikes. Not only does it give 46L of storage space, but also a great backrest for my wife when she joins me.

I stopped to get some. The father (farmer apparently) let his two little girls set up and run the farmstand, probably keeping the profits for themselves. As I show closer photos, see if you can spot any signs the stand was set up by little girls.

Well, I thought it was pretty well-done anyway, and those were the best apples I've ever had.

My new KLR650 is an oil-burner

2009-08-21T19:26:00.002-05:00

I had read on klr650.net and on advrider.com that the 2008 KLRs burn oil for some reason or another. I had also read that Kawasaki fitted a larger piston ring for the 2009 models.

Assuming they had fixed the issue, I bought myself a 2009 KLR650. For the first 1500 miles, it didn't burn any oil. I was going easy on it, keeping the throttle below 4000 RPM for the first 600 miles, then below 6000 RPM for the next 400 miles. (per Kawasaki's break-in instructions)

Nevertheless, my KLR is now an oil-burner. On a recent 450 mile day to central Indiana and back, I went through a quart of oil on the expressway. At least I didn't burn my engine up, like this poor sucker. On the above-mentioned fora, there are a couple theories. One theory runs that Kawasaki has used some cheap cylinder liner, that soon goes out of round. Once it becomes even slightly oval-shaped instead of round, oil of course gets by the piston rings.

The other theory is that the oil is "aspirated" out of the crankcase somehow.

Over the years, there have been several suggested modifications (as opposed to farkles) for the KLR650:

- 685cc big-bore kit
- "Doohickey" modification (cam chain tensioner)
- Thermo-Bob (bypass thermostat system, for more constant engine temperatures year-round)
- PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) valve addition

Some folks have reported that the insertion of a $4 PCV valve in the crankcase ventilator hose was enough to stop the oil consumption. Others said that after several thousand miles, they burn oil anyway.

After exhaustive research, I have decided to install the Schnitz 685cc big-bore kit. My good buddies at KLR650.net and advrider.com have all reported that this forged piston kit resolves the oil burning issue once and for all. Not only that, but it yields a 6 hp gain and some torque as well. It is going to involve a pretty extensive engine tear-down, but I'm game. After all, that was part of the reason I bought the KLR in the first place: it is friendly to home mechanics. Today, I called them up and ordered it. I spoke to Ryan Schnitz (son of owner) and Shana Schnitz (daughter of owner) in the process. The mother also works there. Very nice. Not only am I supporting an American company, but a proper Ma 'n Pa store! I'm pretty excited about that. They also carry a lot of the other recommended mods for the KLRs.

Over the last couple of days, I have bought both the Kawasaki manual and the Clymer service manual. If you're shopping for service manuals, do not bother looking for the Clymer manual on ebay. It is over 100% more expensive than it can be found at other retailers.

I'll post more about the progress of KLR mechanical mods in the near future. I am going to the Sport-touring.net regional meet in a couple weeks. I won't be starting the install until after then.

Time to start the farkling!

2009-08-21T18:34:00.004-05:00

Czesc Kuba i Malgorzata. Bardzo sie ciesze ze czytacie moj blog, dziekuje. Postaram sie czesciej umieszczac nowe informacje oraz zdjecia. Moj polski jest coraz lepszy, nie sadzicie??? hehehe

(That part was for my international readers)

For those of you who don't know, "farkling" is the act of adding features to a motorcycle or scooter, which are not required, but increase comfort or convenience.

Last week, I added two farkles to the KLR650:

a) A tap on the battery for Slime's "Powersport Inflator", and
b) A Beadrider saddle pad

Here's a shot of the beadrider pad installed on the KLR:

As many professional drivers will tell you, putting one of these on the seat of one's car, bus, or truck makes a long time on a seat more comfortable. Why? Because otherwise, after a while, no air gets to one's butt. When that happens, it is only a short time until Monkey Butt sets in. (Monkey Butt is when one's butt goes numb, and makes one feel like it is bright red and painful, like the Japanese Snow Monkey or Macaque) With this simple seat pad, I'm able to ride hundreds of miles without Monkey Butt. My wife tells me that her dad used to use these pads in Poland. I think they originated in India.

This was intended as a temporary attempt at long distance comfort. If it worked, I would save myself $600 that is required for a Russell saddle. If not, I've only lost $40.

The KLR has tubed tires. All dirtbikes have tubed tires because the spoked wheels will not hold air like the wheels of tubeless tires. This is the reason I bought some equipment with which I could fix a flat at the side of the road or in the middle of the woods. The first item was the Slime inflator mentioned above. If you click on the link, you can see that the inflator itself is about the size of 4 cell phones. It fits in a little case. Last weekend I used it when a buddy and I went down to an all terrain park. We deflated our tires to 15 psi for better off-road traction, and were able to quickly reinflate them before getting back on the road home. This little inflator worked very well.

While I was at Slime's website, I noticed that they have a high-end inflator too. The ones that are available in the USA are usually very cheap, low quality ones that are made in China. On one visit to Poland, my father-in-law, Kuba, bought a high-quality tire inflator that looked similar to this one. I think I may get one of those for the car in the near future, along with some Slime.

The next episode will discuss the oil burning that the KLR650 has become famous for. Stay tuned.

Time for an update

2009-08-17T04:59:00.004-05:00

Well, after much deliberation, I've traded in my trusty FJR for a humble KLR. Lots of folks think I'm nuts, including my wife. I went from 140 hp to 40 hp. From 90 ft-lbs. of torque to 38. From fuel injection to mechanical carburation. From strong, fantastic antilock brakes to adequate non-ABS. From full wind protection to only chest and some upper leg wind protection.

Why did I do it? I was just done with the FJR. Even bikes like that have weaknesses. For the FJR, it was engine heat. I could not bear to ride it most of the summer because it quickly became hot and uncomfortable. For me at least. Kate just loved it, didn't feel any heat, and thinks I just created a reason to get a new bike. To address the heat concern, I bought a Kawasaki KLR650. Its 650cc single cylinder engine, even when it makes its maximum heat, is hardly noticeable. The suspension travel is double what the FJR had, so it just glides over our potholed and frost-heaved northern roads.

It all started when I visited my sister a couple years ago in LA and rented one of the new KLRs on which to enjoy southern California. I just had a blast on those mountain roads, even with only 40 hp. It was just quick enough to be fun, and had a very smooth ride. I had been thinking about it ever since.

Now, I have one of my own. Here are a couple of crappy cell phone pictures of the new bike:

After yesterday's 400+ mile ride to the all terrain park, I'm just over 2000 miles on it now. So far, there are only two things that concern me:

1) If I get a flat, it is going to be a pain in the butt to fix it, as this bike as tubed tires.

2) It burns oil if I cruise any faster than about 63 mph. (70 indicated)

Item 1) is common to any bike with tubed tires, including cruisers and all dirtbikes. That doesn't make it any easier to cope with though. Also, when an inner tube gets punctured, the air leaves very quickly, as opposed to gradually, as on tubless tires. The bright side is that the bead doesn't need to be super-tight, as on tubeless, so changing one's own tires can be a lot easier.

Item 2) really bothers me. A modern, well-designed engine does not use oil. Kawasaki made some upgrades to the engine of the KLR with the release of the 2008 model year. Why they didn't also fix this problem is a complete mystery to me. It was well-documented in the 2008s, so I held off. They supposedly fitted a larger piston ring for 2009, which supposedly would solve the problem. I'm not sure just how much it uses, but my first guess is about 1/2 qt. per 100 miles, at 72 mph. (80 indicated) I'll keep an eye on this. If it keeps up past about 4,000 miles, I'll either fit a 685cc aftermarket upgrade kit or get rid of the bike and get a V-Strom 650, Triumph Bonneville, or even a BMW boxer. It'd be a shame though, as I really like the character of the thumper engine.

Adding Woodworking to the Blog

2009-03-11T21:33:00.004-05:00

Well everyone, I have decided to add my other hobbies to this blog, as well. It will still remain "Pullin' Gs" in name, but will include woodworking and maybe chess in the future. Should keep it more lively eh? (albeit a bit watered-down for the purists)

Following is my first woodworking entry.

I'm working on a jewelry chest for my wife, based on the New Yankee Workshop design.

My latest adventure was/is the hidden drawer. It is only 1" tall. Not really tall enough for dovetails.

My initial plan was to just butt them together, glue them with epoxy, then reinforce the corners with splines. I built a jig for the router cable to cut the slots through the corners. Didn't work. It wouldn't hold.

I thought about doing a locking rabbet joint, on the suggestion of Lee Schrier from Sawmillcreek.org.

In the end, I decided to dowel it together with Dowelmax. I don't think single dowel joints are recommended by the manufacturer, but why not give 'er a try?

Well, it worked like a charm. The only caveat is that before the glue starts to set up, one has to rotate the sides by hand until they line up.

Here's the top. Kate wanted an ogee rather than the round-over Norm used.

Here's a shot of the progress so far. I need to cut out the "feet" on the bottom trim and build the hidden drawer mechanics. Oh, and attach the knobs, line the drawers, and attach the hinges.

Yep, you caught me. I didn't drill that hole deeply enough. Had to redo it. Lucily I hadn't glued it in yet.

Here's an overhead view. The parts look curved, but they're not. It is a trick of the wide angle lens at close range.

Just now, I got back up from the gar... er shop. I made it too wide. Had to saw off one of the long sides, cut down the two short sides by an inch, and tomorrow, I will re-drill and reglue it. It is tough, being a beginning woodworker.

Norm's method was rabbets and a bunch of brads. I couldn't bear to do it. Had to do something stronger, even if it may not be necessary. If I didn't, I'd think about it every time I looked at that jewelry box, which could be for the rest of my life. There is the far-off chance that if we have kids one day, one of them may break it if it isn't strong enough. Time will tell.

Hope you're not asleep. ;)

Boy, it feels good to be riding again!

2009-03-07T08:10:00.002-06:00

Rode to the mall the other night on the FJR with the wife. It was nice, but ultra-windy. I was all over the lane.

Yesterday, I rode Burgertime to the train station. Even a short 1.6 mile commuting ride feels good after a long winter.

This weekend, it is raining and 40°F. Next week, more rain and maybe snow. But at least we got a taste. Fellow midwesterners will know my pain.

I would love to move, but it is tougher than that. Family is here, work is here, and houses just aren't selling right now. Not only that, but moving takes money too.

See you on the road!

Frigid but short ride today

2009-02-28T17:17:00.003-06:00

Well, today my mom & wife have gone shopping, leaving me without a car. I didn't think I'd want to go anywhere, but I decided to go to CVS Pharmacy to finally upload the pix for printing from our trip to Europe last year.

That is the thing with digital photography: It is so easy to take lots of photos, that one takes hundreds of them, then either doesn't bother to filter them or takes forever to do it. So I took forever to do it and only now, 9 months later am I getting around to printing them.

So, it was either walk or take a bike. I figured this was a good opportunity to get Burgertime out and keep his battery charged up. So I went for probably a 5 mile jaunt, and ended up at CVS. Went in there, did my thing, then went to the credit union to withdraw some cash.

Seeing as how it was 27°F, (-3°C) I was pretty cold by the time I got home. Just had some chamomile tea, which helped, but my knees are still cold about an hour later.

No regrets though. Spring cannot come to Chicago soon enough. It was good to be out on two wheels again. Maybe another month of this jazz, then we'll be into the 40s pretty often..?

First rides of the season

2009-02-08T08:56:00.003-06:00

As any midwestern motorcyclist/scooterist will know, yesterday was the first "nice" day of the season. It was 55 and sunny. There was a ton of melting snow, which made for dirty bikes, but not enough to dissuade me!

I wound up taking Burgertime out for a good ride, with my doglet Floyd in my jacket. He loves it. It was probably 20 miles. I even surprised my wife when I went to pick her up from the health club on it!

Then, I took the FJR in to have some recall work done: faulty throttle position sensor. They actually finished the work the same day. Impressive! It idles more smoothly now. I asked Kate if she wanted to come for a ride, and she said no, she doesn't like being cold. Oh well. So I went by myself for probably 40 minutes. The roads here are all jacked up from the extreme cold we've been having. Big frost heaves everywhere make for a bumpy ride. I keep the tire pressure in the FJR set for two-up riding, so it was a back-breaker of a ride. I cut it a little short.

I also changed oil in our car, a Toyota Matrix. I'm happy to have discovered Amsoil, as it means fewer oil changes are necessary. (only every 10,000 miles, with a filter change every 20,000) It also gets better fuel economy.

We were going to meet some friends at a club for some 80s dancing, but the power was out, so we came home, had some rum 'n cokes, and watched part of a bonus CD from The Sound of Music. Came to bed, played some Age of Empires on my Game Boy DS, and wound up going to bed at 1. Yikes. It was a good day.

Today, I need to clean guns and load ammo for this week's league day.

Baumgartner's, etc.

2008-05-25T07:37:00.004-05:00

We haven't had a proper ride in quite a while. By "proper ride," I mean more than about 40 miles.

So a couple weeks ago, I decided it was time for me to do my part and lead a ride for my buddies at Sport-Touring.net. We were originally going to do a brewery tour at Huber Brewery in Monroe, WI, then have lunch at Baumgartner's, then have a nice ride up to Spring Green.

However, Huber Brewery is now Linhas Brewery, and new management has decided that they didn't get enough interest on previous Memorial Days to warrant being open this Saturday. A big thumbs-down to that!

So we had brunch at Baumgartners, then went for the ride. It was 340 miles all told, and the lovely FJR returned 41.5 mpg on the first tank, since a lot of it was at 80 mph and 43.7 mpg on the second tank, since we spent a lot of time going 50-70 mph. Kate was with me too, and was kind enough to take most of these pictures. (the ones that feature us were taken by Ben (redCBRRider at STn)

Baumgartner's is a German/Swiss style cheese store/tavern. It is the oldest surviving cheese store in Wisconsin, having been in business since the early 1930s. We tried cheese curds (brick) for the first time, and we love them. They remind Kate of the "cheese logs" that are sold in the mountain town of Zakopane, Poland. (but not quite as salty, she says) I had a Braunschweiger and brick cheese sandwich and a cup of chili, Kate had a Ruben. The Ruben wasn't that good, as they neglected to butter and toast the rye. The sandwich was dry, and I forgot to put condiments on it, even though they had Dusseldorf mustard on the table in a squeeze bottle. The chili was great, as usual. I also had a Huber Bock beer; VERY good. This store sells the whole range of beers brewed at Linhas Brewery. I bought a mixed 6-pack of Berghoff and managed to stuff it in the Givi V56 topcase. One of them leaked and spilled in my jacket liner and Kate's jeans. :(

The roads were mostly in good shape; only one tiny back road had sand all over it.

On the way home, Bob led us on roads that were even better than the ones I had picked. I'm glad we followed him.

Kate was wearing her orange/yellow ANSI Class 2 reflective vest, and I loaned my green one to Jim to bring up the rear. That way, I could tell at a glance back that we hadn't lost anyone in traffic or in the ditch at the turns. That worked out pretty well.

I tried to lead the pack at a pace such that the fastest riders wouldn't be bored in the twisty bits, and the slowest riders would catch up on the straights.

I only saw one speed trap the entire time I was in WI, which was 90% of the time. In IL, we saw 3 or 4. They're predatory here, and we have artificially low speed limits to help them get revenue for the state. They only way to have any fun is to get the hell out of town and mount a good radar detector. My Sensoro Traveller saved me on two separate occasions today. Of course, I don't speed that much on the expressways and busier highways, because that's where the cops have the easiest time. They can't be bothered to go out to some twisty back road, where the best turns are. Most people don't speed there, they speed on highways and in town.

All in all, the day cost about $70: $35 for gas, and $35 for food. Not too bad, but expensive enough that I couldn't do this all the time. At least not on an FJR. Maybe on a Ninja 250 (75 mpg) with a bag lunch... ($5)

Today, we're going out for brunch, and I'm going to honestly get working on finishing my nightstand. Maybe a beer or three later.

Thinking of selling the FJR

2008-05-04T07:49:00.003-05:00

Well, folks, the time might be approaching. I've found that in order to really enjoy this bike, I need somewhat smooth roads, (which we don't have around here) which are twisty, (which we don't have around here) and without too many cops. (which we do have around here)

I went for one of my first solo rides of the season on it yesterday. I still had the rear tire inflated to 42 psi, since I usually ride the FJR when Kate is coming along. I should have deflated it to the recommended 36 psi, or maybe a little less. Man, it was just punishing on my back. That, and I was continually frustrated when I couldn't get past a cager in an SUV who was going 35 in a 40. (which I would normally ride at 70)

Sometimes, I go on rides and I return thinking: "Man, this is brilliant. Why would I ever want to sell this?" Other times, I'm thinking: "What a beautiful bike. Too bad my back hurts and I'm always inches away from getting arrested."

www.sport-touring.net (Region 4) has rides all the time that would take advantage of this bike's abilities. But I have to ride about 100 miles northwest in order to get there, and to be honest, it's getting old. Maybe I'm just a wimp, but with gas at its current $3.80 a gallon and 45 mpg, that is $17 in gas just to get there and back; that doesn't even count the fun riding, which would be another 200-300 miles.

Burgertime, on the other hand, gets 60 mpg most of the time, and doesn't tempt me into triple digit speeds. It is relaxing to ride, rather than exciting. Riding on rough roads in the suburbs at legal speeds is no big deal. No engine heat and no clutching in traffic. But if I sold the FJR, Kate would miss it, as it is the superior 2-up bike, and it is just so exciting.

Now, I'm getting ready to go, and can't decide which bike to take. The FJR for fun in the few twisty roads, excitement, and effortless power? Or Burgertime and just take it easy? We'll see. But one thing is for sure, if I don't start riding the FJR more, it's gone.

Still thinking of a KLR, as it seems to address all the issues. Better suspension for crappy roads, not as much power & speed to get me in trouble either.

I think I'll take Kate's advice: Keep it for at least one more year. (we may have a baby next year)

Snuck in another ride on Burgertime today

2008-03-25T22:36:00.002-05:00

When I got out of work today, it was sunny and 52°F. I had only one thing on the mind. I got home and got Burgertime out and put at least 50 miles on him. I was freezing by the time I got home, it was only 47°F at that time.

Now, they're talking about snow again tomorrow night, as well as Thursday & Friday. Crapola.

A Nice Break from Chicago Winter

2008-03-19T21:37:00.013-05:00

I had a factory trip out in Carlsbad, CA to do some testing on a commercial door operator. I managed to finish the testing in one day, so I got to spend the other day visiting with my sister & brother-in-law in LA.

After much deliberation, I decided to go ahead and rent a new Kawasaki KLR650. I've had my eye on these ever since they came out. It seems like a perfect bike for potholed roads and a guy with a heavy wrist. (see previous post on it)

Look at those photos for a minute: See how tall the thing is?! That means long-travel suspension, which soaks up the bumps. The hand guards protect one's hands from the wind, even though the bike has those goofy wide handlebars. (remember, I'm used to the FJR) Another cool thing about it being so tall is that there is a TON of legroom. I had a ride on the FJR today, and it was quite cramped by comparison.

Onto the ride. Boy was it ever nice to have sunny weather that never seems to get colder than 60°F.

At the cycle shop, I also picked up a little map by MadMaps called "Get Outta Town Los Angeles", and picked the longest ride on it. 250+ miles in the mountains and "National Forests". (National Forests is in quotes, because they don't really have forests there. They're all dried up shrubs.)

Anyway, the ride was beautiful. Here are a couple more shots:

I tell you what, it was damned hard to get off the plane at O'Hare the next day to cloudy and 30°F. I was coming up with ways in my head the whole way home of how we might move there.

Today, we had a "warm" day. It was 47°F when I got home from work. "Good enough!" says I. I pulled the blanked off the FJR, dusted off the sawdust, checked the tire pressure, bundled up, and went for an hour-long ride. It was fun, but the bike never seems to wake up. It is so damned fast & competent, but so hard to stay under 70 mph. Not that I'm complaining, I just really liked that KLR, and I'm getting funny ideas.

The garage only has room for two bikes, and I think Burgertime is here to stay. I thought the FJR was here to stay too, but I'm not so sure any more. The KLR is better suited to our (crappy) roads, and is less likely to be radared at triple digit speeds with me aboard. Just thinking.

Kate says I need to keep the FJR at least one more year, so we can have a bunch of good rides on it. She is confident a KLR wouldn't be as good two-up. (she's probably right too)

Oh well, thanks for reading this rant.

It's Getting on the Chilly Side to be Riding...

2007-11-04T07:28:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I took Burgertime down to my mom's for a piano lesson. It was 38° when I left, about 54° when I arrived. It is a 150 mile round trip ride, mostly on interstates.

Those in the Chicago area will be familiar with I-294; it is the saddest excuse for a tollway ever. It costs four $0.40 tolls each way to use it, yet it is still very bumpy and poorly paved in some areas. Every other state I've ridden toll roads in (Indiana, for example) at least has the decency to make sure the roads are good if they're going to charge you extra to ride on them. This road is under construction every single year. They never finish. I think the people in charge of maintaining it have kickbacks from certain road crews. The road crews then use crappy materials to ensure that they have constant work.

The FJR hasn't been ridden for weeks now. It's got the new rear tire mounted and the wheel's back on and everything. The front wheel is still an old one with only probably about 10% of its tread left. I haven't decided if I'm going to ride on that one some more, just to get some more riding in this season or go ahead & change it.

Kate says snow is forecast for this coming week. We will have to insure the old Civic again, as I may not have the option of riding. Bummer. How will I keep from getting depressed when there is nothing to do outside? I hope the piano lessons will do it.

Fuel economy on BurgerTime is dropping. Partly because this last tank was nearly all interstate at 70+ mph and partly because of the temperature drop, with most of that last tank being in the 40° range. Fuel economy on my last tank was the worst yet - 57 mpg. My running average is still 64 mpg. BurgerTime now has about 2000 miles on him.

172 mile ride to get coffee

2007-10-28T21:01:00.001-05:00

Sounds fun, eh? Believe it or not, this kind of thing is pretty commonplace among my Region 4 Buddies from STn.

The meeting place was Cedarburg, WI, 10 AM. It was 33°F when I left home, so I had to bundle up pretty seriously. I decided to take the back roads there, thinking that not only would it be more scenice, but perhaps less cold because I'd be going 25-65 mph instead of 60-80 mph.

I was wearing: long johns, a T-shirt, a thick fleece sweatshirt, a ski jacket, (it has a full collar and my motorcycle jacket doesn't) ski gloves, riding pants with liner, Gore-Tex Oxtar Matrix boots, and SmartWool socks. It was almost exactly 80 miles there. By the time I got there, it had warmed up to about 46°.

I stopped in the meeting place, Cedarburg Coffee Roastery, but it was packed, and they didn't have any food aside from bagels & pastries. So I went next door and got a sandwich and a tea.
Here's the roastery:

A half hour later, my buds started showing up, right as I was finishing breakfast.

We hung around for about 2 hours before I got bored of not riding and headed for home. Also, the wife wanted some quality time together, so I thought this was a good way to oblige her. Going home, I took the interstate, and was pleased to note that BurgerTime had no objections to maintaining 80 mph for about 70 miles straight. Heading home, I managed 61.6 mpg, in the 60° temperatures.

Here is the thread about this trip. On Page 3 of that thread, I posted some photos of my STn buddies.

On the way home, I realized that I needed a half inch torque wrench to torque the rear axle nut onto the FJR when I put the rear wheel back on. So I stopped in Home Depot, and they relieved me of $167. I did get a few other things; the torque wrench was only $70. It came in a blow-molded case. One surprise was that it also ratchets! The other surprise was how long it is; the case is 28" long, the wrench itself is only a couple inches shorter. It is one of the preset-type torque wrenches. To use it, one sets the torque, in either foot-pounds or Newton-meters, send the direction of the ratchet, and tighten until it clicks. Very nice.

Aside from the torque wrench, I got a Master combination key box, for when Kate or I locks ourself out of the condo or garage. I'll screw this to some piece of wood trim outside. Alos, I picked up I got a bunch of the high efficiency fluorescent bulbs that are a direct replacement for the incandescent bulbs that are so inefficient. They only draw 13 W, yet the put out the same amount of light as the 60 W bulbs they replace. Home Depot finally is carrying some that don't have mercury in them, so I bought two six packs of them. We replaced the vanity bulbs in our bathroom with these, and Kate says these are way too bright for 5 AM. They have some 9 W ones that supposedly put out the same amount of light as a 40 W incandescent bulb, but that's going to have to wait a while. I don't dare venture into the Depot again soon.

I also got a sweet pair of Fiskars utility shears that are titanium-nitride coated. They advertise that they can cut small wires and such. They should come in handy around the house for cutting open those god-forsaken plastic clamshell packages.

I just love this patch. I want to join the police too!

Not a bad turnout, at the coffee meet; I'd guess 20-25 bikes.

It's raining and I'm happy anyhow...

2007-10-26T22:32:00.000-05:00

"How can this be?!" one might ask.

Well, today is the day I decided to remove the rear wheel from the FJR. I was in the (relative) comfort of my garage instead of shaking my fist at the heavens. The tire is worn out, after 7,500 blissful miles, mostly two-up. The tire was an Avon Azaro AV46. It was a dual compound tire, meaning it's softer rubber on the edges and harder in the middle. (good mileage AND handling)

On with the story.

I visited FJRTech and printed up the instructions. After making sure I had all the tools, I printed up the pages on rear wheel removal from the Yamaha service manual. Next, I brought the boombox down to the garage and stoked it up with Mozart's early piano sonatas. The job took two CDs, and I managed to get through the job without beer, and without bleeding. Yikes! I have cursed myself. No mechanical job in the garage is complete until blood is drawn.

I really had fun. I didn't realize how much I've missed getting my hands dirty, and getting intimate with my electro-mechanical fun machines. The key is to have the right tools, and to have plenty of time for the job. By taking one's time, one noticed little things about one's bike that need attention. These things are mostly hazed over by mechanics other than the one who rides the bike. The hardest part was getting the bike on the centerstand on those blocks; I needed Kate's help.

After I get the rear wheel with new tire back on, I'll do the front. Also on the maintenance schedule for this winter is new sparkplugs, change of coolant, check front brake pad wear, and change of oil. (Amsoil 10W-40)

I've found that the shifting action immediately became slicker after I changed to Amsoil synthetic. Also, Amsoil seems to be the only oil company with the guts to admit that you can double your oil change interval by using their oil compared to petroleum-based oils. The other companies are so anxious to sell us more oil that they don't admit it. Their loss. I prefer to support the little businesses whenever possible anyhow.

Earplug Usage

2007-10-24T22:49:00.000-05:00

Well, it's just about all been said on this thread at BurgmanUSA

You know the difference in the wind noise between wearing a helmet and not when riding? Well, when you wear earplugs, it is like making it that much quieter again.

The Ear Plug Superstore has some great deals. Try the Howard Leight -33 dB models. After about 10 minutes of riding with plugs, you'll not want to go back. Wind noise is attenuated, but after your ears adjust to the newfound quiet, you can still hear everything else just as clearly. As one poster pointed out in the thread linked above, I want to be able to hear my grandchildren.

If this is too much of a commitment, buy a smaller package of them from the local drugstore.

Sorry to seem bossy, but I have this odd vision that maybe one non earplug user will listen, be open-minded, give them a try, and not be deaf, all thanks to me.

It's my weird little way of trying to be a hero. ^_^

Latest Moto-Lust: talk me out of it!

2007-10-24T13:39:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago, the new Cycle World magazine arrived, with a review of the new Kawasaki KLR650. I am drooling. I have always been kind of fascinated by dual sport bikes. It seems like they do so many things so well:

Tall suspension soaks up potholes without rattling the rider's teeth
Modest torquey engine output makes lots of useful torque, but without so much horsepower that it's hard to stay out of trouble.
Ever been on a nice ride, then have the road suddenly change to dirt or gravel and have to either turn around or continue on scared? No more!
Tall seating position gives the rider a birds-eye view of traffic. Also, if you get hammered by a car, it is more likely to be at knee level instead of chest level. Better to have a wrecked leg than a wrecked ribcage, in my opinion.

The problem is that I just bought a new maxi-scooter, a Suzuki Burgman 400. (see previous posts) There aren't many dirty roads around here, but for some reason, I still lust after a new KLR. I love the scooter, and I also love the FJR. My wife also loves both of them, and we're still paying for both of them. What's a guy to do?

In the back of my mind, I'm considering selling the FJR in favor of the KLR. I'll be much less likely to get speeding tickets, for one thing. Much less likely to go 130 mph for another. (it is soooo tempting on the FJR, since it is so able to do it. Oddly, they seem to get about the same fuel economy. around 45 mpg. How is this possible, when the KLR's engine is half the size and less than half the power of the FJR's? I thought they did quite a bit better than that...

I'm having fantasies of riding on a pohole-stricken stretch of road and smiling the whole way. Of riding through the turn that would be perfect if not for the bumpiness, but not having the bumpiness ruin it for a change.

Sadly, I'm the kind of person who will sit here and stew about it all winter. Ready to jump and do something rash next spring. Talk me out of it fellas. That, or talk me into it such that I won't regret selling the FJR to make it happen. ;)

2007-10-24T12:36:00.000-05:00

Well, Burgertime has over 1500 miles on him now. I am still digging it quite a bit. The bike is just so relaxing to ride.

I figure a lot of people may read this blog having other riding experience, and they may wonder what it is like to ride a Burgman 400 compared to their current ride. Luckily, I have had riding experience on a lot of different bikes, so I can give you a good frame of reference here.

Compared to smaller scooters:
My first scooter was a 2006 Honda Metropolitan. It was a great little scooter for around town transportation and even grocery shopping. It handles as easily as a bicycle. Easier in some ways, since the seat is so low and it is a step through.

Compared to the Met, the Burgman is big & bulky. U-turns require much more skill & balance. Swerving the Burgman cannot be accomplished as quickly, so you're more apt to hit potholes on the Burgman. The Burgman's ride is much smoother, due to the larger diameter wheels and longer wheelbase. Comfort wise, the Burgman offers a bit of back support where the smaller scooters do not. Also, the Burgman gives real wind protection. It isn't such a big deal at speeds less than 30 mph, but above that, it is a godsend.

Economy is much worse on the Burgman. On my Metropolitan, I got about 105 mpg. On the Burgman, I get around 63 mpg.

Aside from handling, the main difference is in range. I have access to all roads on the Burgman. I can go out of town, on the expressway. Surprisingly, acceleration from 0-15 mph is similar between the Burgman and the Metro. You see, the Burgman's clutch is spinning up to 15 mph. After 15 mph, the variable pulley system engages on the Burgman and it becomes a LOT quicker.

Lean angle is better on the Burgman, but since the Met had such a short wheelbase, it turned quicker anyway.

Compared to Midsize Scooters:
After I got wanderlust and sold the Metropolitan, I bought a Genuine Scooter Co. Buddy 125. This bike was actually quicker than the Burgman 400 from 0-30 mph. The handling is much more nimble than the Burgman's, but not quite as nimble as the Metro's.

To be honest, I kind of miss this bike. It was a very good mix of around-town useful and fast enough to hit most roads. (all local roads) I still had the occasional car on my tail on the 45-55 mph local roads with this bike, and it was quite tiring to ride more than about 40 minutes on it. The wind just wears you out. Many midsize scooterists will alleviate this problem with a windshield.

The ride on the Burgman is much smoother, and the wind protection is better. In high speed turns, the Burgman is much more stable. When I was leaned over say 45° on the Buddy or Metro and hit a bump in the road, it got pretty scary. I started pogoing around. The Burgman's suspension just sucks it up.

Compared to Midsize Motorcycles
The Burgman is much more stable than midsize sporting motorcycles. The bulk of my experience on these bikes was from my 2000 Suzuki SV650, which I put 35,000 miles on. The wheelbase is shorter on the motorcycle, so it is more nimble in corners. This is mostly due to the longer wheelbase of the Burgman. However, even though the Burgman has a longer wheelbase and less aggressive steering geometry than the sporty midsize bikes, it transitions from side-to-side just as quickly. You see, the Burgman has a much lower center of gravity. The engine is just above the ground and is at about shin/knee level instead of thigh/hip level. On motorcycles, one has to balance stability against nimbleness. If you gain some of one, you lose some of the other. With the Burgman, you keep them both and just lose some power instead. BurgerTime weighs about as much as my SV650 did; right around 400 lbs. The SV was blisteringly quick in comparison. Once I got a windshield on it, it got about 55 mpg, so fuel economy is about the same, even though the bike is 250cc bigger. The brakes on the SV were a little better too. Fun-wise, they are about the same, but it takes a more mature rider to appreciate the Burgman fully. Nothing compares to throwing a light, quick motorcycle around in the twisties. Leaning my torso to bias the weight, going to the edges of the tires. Coming out of a turn and applying the throttle and accelerating past the speed limit...What fun! However, it is hard to stay out of trouble, I've found. On BurgerTime, I've found that it isn't so hard to stay out of trouble. I can lean almost as far on the Burgman as I could on the SV, but since acceleration is good instead of great, I didn't get up to "go to jail" speeds before I realized it. Also, on the Burgman, I don't feel the need to lean so far over in every corner. I'm satisfied with a moderate lean most of the time instead of a deep lean.

In the long run, the Burgman is more comfortable than midsize motorcycles, because of the variety of seating and foot positions that are available to the Burgman rider. I can stretch my legs out and keep them there with the Burgman. I can sit up straight or slouch. I can scoot back and forth on the seat to vary my arm positions.

Compared to Small Motorcycles
I had a Ninja 250 and a Nighthawk 250 in the past. Fun little bikes. The Ninja was more fun than the Burgman. It is so light, and I could use all the engine all the time. Shifting up through the gears, leaning way over, and not even speeding! (much) it got about 65-70 mpg. I plan to have another one of these some day. The Nighthawk was more upright, and more fuel efficient, but not as much fun. Plus, the damn thing took forEVER to warm up, so for cross-town type trips, it wasn't even worth the trouble. It was hesitating all the time when I gave it gas.

For cross town trips, the Burgman excels vs. the small motorcycles. The motorcycles seemed to take longer to warm up. Maybe it was just that the Burgman is fuel-injected, so the warm-up is computer-managed. Also, the Burgman has a huge, locking, inherent storage space, where the small motorcycles need to be adapted. When I arrive somewhere on BurgerTime, I put my helmet, jacket, and gloves in the trunk under the seat. I arrive as if I came by car. No dirty or wrinkled pant legs, and no drama. There is no need to wear a backpack, which is good. You see, if you carry a backpack, you need to be careful what you put in it, because there is an outside chance that you'll be landing on that, and right against your spine. Wouldn't it suck to break your back because you landed on a can of Coke when that old lady left-turned into you? I actually use a backpack quite a lot, but it goes in the trunk when I'm riding.

Compared to Large Motorcycles
In the past, I have ridden an 1800cc Honda Goldwing and a 1200cc Harley Sportster. My current big bike is a Yamaha FJR 1300 ABS. The Burgman seems about as stable as any of them, with two exceptions: A) With a passenger, the big motorcycles are more stable. B) in a high speed turn, the big motorcycles are slightly more stable. Since the Burgman has a low center of gravity and a stepped saddle, adding a passenger drastically changes the center of gravity, and a lot of the stability is lost. Big motorcycles already have a higher center of gravity and are already over 600 lbs, so adding another 200 lbs. does not make as big of a change to the handling characteristics.

Economy: The Burgman is more efficient. I get 63 mpg on the Burgman in all around riding. I get 47 mpg on the FJR.

Carrying Capacity: About the same, for tour-oriented bikes. On my FJR, I believe the included saddlebags carry about the same amount of luggage as the Burgman's trunk. But the luggage is better integrated into the Burgman, as it doesn't have all that useful room taken up by the mechanics of the bigger engine. Touring bikes have saddlebags sticking out into the wind, whereas the Burgman retains is smooth profile. The idea of ruining aerodynamics for luggage is a compromise I was never really comfortable with, so I wound up buying a Givi topcase for the FJR, which I use 90% of the time instead of the saddlebags. I can put this same topcase on the Burgman and have double the luggage capacity without ruining the aerodynamics of the bike.

Wind Protection: The bigger touring bikes tend to have better wind protection than the Burgman, but a big cruiser's will be far inferior. The FJRs wind protection is probably 20% better than the Burgman's.

Hot Weather Riding: The Burgman winds against all comers. The engine is under your butt and behind you, not between your legs and in front of you. Whatever heat the engine makes never gets to the rider. On the FJR, on an 80°+ day, it is sweaty and uncomfortable, as that 1300cc engine makes a lot of heat that comes right back to the rider. The new FJRs have addressed this to a large extent, but I bet they are still much hotter than BurgerTime. For summertime riding, nothing beats a scooter.

Conclusion:
I'll take one each of the big touring bike and touring scooter. They compliment each other so well! The scooter's better in the summer, for shopping, and for commuting. For outright cornering fun and long distance touring, even two-up, the big touring motorcycle wins. If I could also have a small scooter, it would be ideal. But that is always the case, isn't it? It always seems like more is better. For all-around "grab and go" riding, nothing beats a scooter's convenience & versatility.

Last Saturday's ride (Oct. 6th)

2007-10-12T16:43:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, I went on a group ride with some of my homies from STn. It was a good time. (click the link for pix, towards the end of the thread)

Kate and I did 361 miles Saturday on that ride. Kyle really knows how to pick the roads.

Sunday, I did the Slimey Crud Run on BurgerTime. It was also a good time, and it was 367 miles. The saddle pad from Wal*Mart is brilliant.

Tomorrow is a "Pizza Meat".

This Sunday is the Reina Scooter Rally in Milwaukee. Should be a good time!

Keep the shiny side up!

-Jeremy

2007-10-08T06:58:00.000-05:00

Honda has developed a new automatic transmission; it is hydraulic. Of course, Honda has given it a buzz name instead of just calling it a hydraulic automatic. HFT --> Human Friendly Transmission. Because apparently, previous transmissions were human-hostile...

Anyway, here's the article: http://www.motorcycledaily.com/04october07_electric.htm

This could change the face of motorcycling & scootering, but it could also fail, if Honda charges too much initially. (as they are prone to do)

Airy accessory seat cushion

2007-10-02T17:57:00.000-05:00

... this should completely cure Monkey Butt. What's Monkey Butt? That's when you're riding for more than about half an hour, and your butt starts to go numb. It isn't caused because your seat is too hard. It is caused because the skin on your butt isn't getting any air. You're sweating and it has nowhere to go, so somehow, it just makes your ass numb. It's caused mostly by the fact that factory saddles are covered with vinyl, which doesn't breathe at all, but is waterproof.

So, I saw this post over at BurgmanUSA and my hopes were up. After all, a simple sheepskin saddle pad at aerostich costs $67. The AirHawk saddle cushions that everyone raves about cost $167!!! So $19 sounded like it was worth a risk. It seems very good so far.

Here's a shot from the thread over at Burgman USA, so you know what to look for, if you're so inclined to try one out for those longer trips:

I'm sure I'll report more on it later. I wouldn't want my readers to go and waste $19, hehehe.

A Foggy Ride to Work Today

2007-10-02T09:09:00.001-05:00

Normally, I take the train to work. Today, I wanted to bring a Spektrum DX7 RC transmitter to a coworker who is buying it off of me. Also, I was up at 3 AM for some reason, and I figured I may as well get to work, so I can get out early and maybe take a nap.

Anyhow, the forecast was for dense fog. Boy, they weren't kidding! It was so thick that I actually was wet in some areas by the time I got to work. (30 miles)

At first, I was worried; if an animal was in the road, there's no way I would see it in time to avoid it if I was going 45-55 mph. I figured the smartest thing to do was to catch up to the guy in front of me and just go however fast he's going, keeping relatively close behind. This way, if an animal was there, the car or SUV would plow through it and it wouldn't be so bad for me. Unless the animal was a deer, and it went flying over the car and landed on me. But let's not think of that grim possibility. Hopefully, I've met my deer quota for this year already.

Below is a snapshot of my cubicle at work. Can you spot the evidence that I rode to work in a super-dense fog? ^_^

BurgerTime is Mysteriously quicker after first oil change...

2007-10-01T20:32:00.000-05:00

I changed the oil on BurgerTime Sunday. (701 miles) I noticed that there was much more oil in it than is prescribed by The Powers That Be at Suzuki. It was well above the 'F' line on the sight glass.

That got me to thinking:

Did Suzuki do that at the factory to somehow help with break-in routine, or did some ham-fisted mechanic at the dealer do it?

Anyway, after the oil change, I noticed that BurgerTime didn't have to spin so much before (finally) taking off. I used Castrol GTX 10W-40.

Anyone Burgomeisters experience this phenomenon?

450 Miles on BurgerTime - My thoughts so far

2007-09-26T20:26:00.000-05:00

This is an average of over 100 miles per day, and 3 of the 4 days have been work days. I think I have put BurgerTime through his paces. I have not observed the recommended 4000 RPM limit that is supposed to be in effect through the 600 mile mark. It is ridiculous, and I could only ever go about 35 mph if I observed it. I believe that varying engine speed and changing the oil & filter at 600 miles are much more important.

On the way home from the dealer, being used to the sound of Bud, I found myself going over 85 mph on the expressway. Its funny how one gets used to the sound of one vehicle and associates that sound with a certain speed. We don't even realize we're doing it, but we sure do. I can tell you, because on the second day I owned the FJR, I got ticketed because of it. Ditto in the first week of ownership of our Toyota Matrix. For the Burgman, I was just lucky there were no cops that day.

HANDLING
The way BurgerTime handles is something new to me. I have had several different types of motorcycles, and two scooters prior to getting this Suzuki. I thought I pretty much knew what to expect. I expected it to be not quite as smooth of a ride as our FJR, and not quite as stable, but much more stable than the Buddy 125. The thing I didn't take into account was the effect of the huge wheelbase of the Burgman. Even though its wheels are smaller than the FJRs (15" front, 14" rear vs. 17" front & rear on the FJR), the Burgman gives a smoother ride due to the longer wheelbase. It is also partly due to the relatively soft stock seat on the Burgman compared to the hard Corbin saddle on the FJR. The Burgman doesn't flick back & forth as easily as the Buddy 125, but it is surprisingly close, and much quicker than the FJR. With the Buddy, it is light weight and has a short wheelbase and aggressive steering geometry, although it has a high center of gravity for a scooter. So although BurgerTime is a couple hundred pounds heavier, it does very well in transitions because its center of gravity is so low. To flick the FJR back & forth as quick as either of these two smaller bikes, one really has to work at it. One has to throw one's body back and forth. It has more aggressive steering geometry than the Burgman, but it is also another 200 lbs. heavier and has a higher center of gravity.

With the rear shock preload on the Burgman, it is perfect for a person of my weight. (175 lbs.) Add a passenger and go faster than 40 mph, and the ride pogoes around a bit. We did an expressway run yesterday. I went to Chicago (55 miles) to pick up my wife on BurgerTime. We came back the same way, via Interstate 94. To be fair, I should firm up the rear shock before making a judgement, but my first impression is that the Burgman is plenty stable with a passenger up to about 60 mph. After that, the passenger becomes a sail and starts pushing the bike around in the lane twice as much as usual. This is at speeds of 70-80 mph with the stock, suspension setting. At high speed, the FJR is much more stable, and the wind protection is also better. For those thinking of a Burgman for two, that will be used frequently over 55 mph, I would suggest the 650. The 400 is perfect for one, the 650 is perfect for two and overkill for one.

Ground clearance on the Burgman also surprised me. I expected it to drag things like a cruiser, but it doesn't. It leans far enough over that I haven't dragged anything on it yet. It leans further than Bud and at least as far as the FJR.

One nice thing I noticed about the Burgman's handling that I can't explain is how well it holds a line. When I lean into a corner on it, it stays leaned right where I put it with no wandering. Even the FJR wanders a bit, so this was quite a shock. It translates into extra cornering confidence.

BRAKING
The Burgman has dual front disc brakes and a single rear disc brake. Braking is adequate under all situations, even two up. Furthermore, it tends not to dive as much as the smaller, taller scooters and motorcycles. I attribute this to the low center of gravity and the fact that when braking, the rider's weight shifts forward behind the front wheel, instead of down on the front wheel. This was a welcome surprise. I have a feeling stopping distances are similar between the Burgman 2-up vs. the Buddy 1-up, but the Burgman stops with much less drama and it feels more in control when stopping from speeds over 45 mph. The FJR easily out brakes both of them and would probably out-brake the Burgman even if two were on the FJR. The FJR also has ABS, which I wish Suzuki would have offered on the Burgman for the '07 model year. This bike will go 90 mph, why wouldn't it be a good idea?

RIDE QUALITY
The ride of the Burgman was one of the best surprises. Over teeth-chattering railroad crossings and the usual frost heaves of the road, the Burgman's ride is smoother than the FJR by probably 10% and better than smaller scooters by probably 50%. It is amazing, what the long wheelbase does for the ride. To me, this is what cruising is all about. Not about heavy steel & chrome that weighs 900 lbs. No hassle with shifting. Not that I mind shifting, but having a bike that is always in the right gear is liberating. I find that my mind is more clear when riding the Burgman than it is when riding the FJR. The ride is just more relaxing.

One thing worth noting is that although the ride on the Burgman is smoother, I am more tired when dismounting after a long ride than I am from the FJR. Reason? Posture. On the Burgman or any other scooter or cruiser, you're either sitting straight up or in a slight slouch. Every bump that goes under the rear wheel goes right up your spine. With the FJR and many other motorcycles, one has a slightly forward posture. When one hits a bump on these bikes, the shock is split between your spine and your wrists & shoulders. I've found that a slightly forward-leaning position is the most comfortable. Next would be straight posture, and after that, a tie between slouching as one would on a cruiser and leaning way forward like one would do on a sportbike. The difference is that on a sportbike, the faster you go, the more weight the wind takes off of your wrists. With a cruiser, the wind forces you into more of a slouch and your back really takes a pounding. With a windshield on a cruiser, one maintains one's original crouch.

ACCELERATION
The Burgman loses out here. Having a CVT, it can't be expected to be in the same league as a motorcycle, especially not one with an engine three times as big, and equally high-tech. The Burgman 400, in my opinion, takes a bit too much time spinning up. The clutch slips until 25 mph. After this point, acceleration is VERY good. It is surprising, because it is so gentle, but when you look down at that speedo, you're gaining speed much faster than it feels like. From a stop, all the cars shoot away from you, as the centrifugal clutch is spinning and you're only very slowly gaining speed up to 15 mph. I would say from 0-40 mph, my Buddy 125 is quicker than the Burgman. The FJR is easily 10X quicker than either of them. Then again, the engine is 3X bigger, the price is 3X bigger, and the amount of skill needed to handle it is 3X higher.

CREATURE COMFORTS
BurgerTime trumps everything short of a full-dress tourer in this regard. Not only does it have a 62L trunk, which can hold two full face helmets and a jacket, but it also has a quite useful locking glove compartment, and two more non-locking compartment, each big enough for a wallet & set of keys. There are no toys to play with that one might find on a high-end Goldwing, such as a CB, CD changer or heated grips. The driver backrest is a mixed blessing. On smooth roads, it is quite nice to have that extra support. But when one hits more than a small bump in the road, that backrest hits you in the back. Lots of Burgman riders have removed this. One thing that maxi-scooters have in the way of comfort that motorcycles don't is different leg positions. With the Burgman, there are a staggering array of places to put one's feet. (for the driver) There is straight down, as on a conventional scooter. This is OK as a change of pace, but the most comfortable position for most is extended to the angled front floorboards. After an hour in the saddle, when your butt starts to go to sleep, one can just move foot position, and it changes the area of your backside that the weight goes on. When one's knees get stiff, one can put one's feet slightly behind to bend one's knees.

ECONOMY
The Burgman does pretty well. Two up, at 75 mph, the economy readout indicates 58 mpg. One-up, at 80 mph, it gets 59 mpg. At 75 one- up, it gets to about 61 mpg. Others have reported getting over 70 mpg, which was probably obtained at 45-55 mph speeds. I believe this is in line with what one might find on a modern 400 cc motorcycle. Around town, the motorcycle would probably do much better, since there wouldn't be as much power wasted slipping the clutch. For reference, my Ninja 250 got about 73 mpg, and my Honda Nighthawk 250 motorcycle got about 82 mpg in the suburbs, and my FJR gets 47 mpg one-up and 42 mpg two up. Others have reported getting fuel economy as low as 50-55 mpg. With a fuel tank capacity of 3.6 gallons, this means the range is between 180 - 250 miles. 180 is pretty safe bet unless you're gridlocked the whole time. It helps a lot that the Burgman 400 only needs 87 octane gas to be happy. I found that my Buddy 125 ran better on premium fuel, which cuts into the benefit of the 90+ mpg economy.

There are several other little things that goe through my mind about BurgerTime when I'm riding him, but I can't remember them now. More later.

What's "BurgerTime?"

2007-09-26T17:44:00.001-05:00

BurgerTime was an arcade game from the 1980s. It featured Peter Pepper, who was a chef. (Naturally. One HAS to be a chef to make burgers...) He ran around assembling burgers. As he walked across each burger component, it fell onto the component below it. Eventually, several whole hamburgers were made.

"Too simple!" you might claim. Oh no, it wasn't. You see, Peter had hot dogs and eggs chasing him. For some reason, they were lethal to Peter. All he could do was either avoid them, or throw out a blast of pepper to hold them off temporarily.

Aside from being a video game from the 1980s, it is the nickname I've given to my new Suzuki Burgman 400. I thought it was quite witty. Cheesy too, but also witty. No?

Rather than waste my energy explaning it here, I'll refer you to a couple of good Burgertime links I found through Google:

From Killer List of Video Games:

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7238&letter=B

Here's a TV commercial on YouTube from the 80s for Burger time. Nice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rnRRph4bcE

Grocery Shopping on Burgertime

2007-09-26T17:41:00.001-05:00

The other day, I had to do some grocery shopping. To make the experience a little better, I took BurgerTime.

I'm still in shock how much I can get in the trunk of this baby: everything you see in the photo below, plus an armored motorcycle jacket.

I bought a new scooter today

2007-09-22T21:27:00.000-05:00

For the past few weeks, I have been thinking hard about getting a Burgman 400. Kate vetoed that movement, but yesterday, had a moment of weakness and said I could get it. I also had to get rid of one of our present bikes, I was informed.

We both decided that it could NOT be the FJR, as we just like it too much. It is fast, smooth, comfortable, and sharp-looking. And fast.

Sadly, that left Bud. My Genuine Buddy 125 has been a great little scooter. Completely reliable, and starts right up every time. But since I have really taken a liking to scootering, and since I live in the far north suburbs where the speed limits are 45-55. I rode it like crazy for the past couple weeks, and the miles kept going on. But I would often get back-aches, as the small wheels make for a harsh ride if it is going to be a longer one. No biggie, it's just not tour-worthy. So it's going on the block. I'll really miss it.

This morning, we arranged financing at a local credit union (whose rates were 2.25% lower than Suzuki's, and the differenc adds up to about $500 over the life of the loan. While we were there, we also re-financed our Matrix though them, as they had 6.75% APR as opposed to the 8.3% that we had through Toyota. This will save us about $1200 over the life of the loan. Nice.

After getting a cashier's check, we headed up to Midwest Action Cycle, in Lake Geneva, WI to buy the bike. Retail on Burgman 400s is $5,900. Since this was the last of the '07s, they were offering it for $5,072; dealer cost, they told me.

Long story short, we bought it and put nearly 100 miles on it already. Kate said I was speeding like crazy on the way home. I had forgotten the license plate from Bud, so that would have been hard to explain to the cop, had I gotten caught.

Here are my first impressions of it, compared to the FJR and the Buddy 125:

It's much more stable than Bud at speed. Due to the long, raked out geometry, it holds a line like nothing I've experienced. For example, if I was riding through a long, sweeping turn on Bud at about 50 mph, then hit a decnet sized bump, the front wheel would start wobbling back and forth. Not so with the Burger.

The build quality is slightly better than Bud; on par with the FJR. In other words, more thought has been put into the little details. Comparing the controls and compartments in the showroom, the Burgman 400 seems even nicer than the Honda Silverwing.

I just love this storage. If you ride bikes long enough, storage space becomes your nicotine. The more you have, the better. The more you have, the more you want.

The Burgman 400 has much more passenger room than both the Buddy 125 and the FJR.

Much lower speed maneuverability is lost for that smooth stable ride. The Buddy 125 is clearly the better choice for city or more dense suburbs.

Without further ado, I'm just going to post my initial photos. I'm too tired to think any more, so I'll post more about it later.

Tire Shopping for the FJR

2007-09-19T21:53:00.000-05:00

So, it is that time. Most years, I go through a rear tire for the FJR. We do about 85% of our miles on the bike two-up, and I've been getting about 8,000 to a rear tire. That is damned good on a 120 RWhp bike with 380 lbs on it! The front tires goes for about two rears.

But this is the thing that makes riding a nice motorcycle expensive. I get all excited when I'm at the pump and figure that I get 42 mpg two-up or 47 mpg one-up. That all goes right down the toilet when it's Tire Time. What's the bill going to be? $271.29, shipped, for a pair of nice Avon AV55/56 tires.

Here's a shot of the rear Avon AV56 tire:

My best local price for installing a pair of tires is $100. (assuming I just bring the bike in) If I take the wheels off and bring them in, installing the tires is only $50. However, I don't have the tools to remove the wheels, so that will take an investment. I haven't decided if I want to start getting tools together to do *everything* myself, removing the wheels myself, or just keep letting my local mechanic do it. I'm leaning toward removing the wheels myself, but letting the mechanic do the tire mounting & balancing. This way, I can save $50 every year and ensure that the final drive splines have fresh moly grease on them. This is also an outstanding time to check the brakes, which are probably getting a bit thin...

For the hell of it, I checked prices for a set of tires for my scooter: $79.30, shipped. I don't think I'll get 7500 miles out of a set of them, but who knows? That is for the continental Zippy 1 BW, size 3.5x10.

Here's a shot of the scooter tire I'll probably go with:

Where have I found to have the best prices for motorcycle/scooter tires? www.tiresunlimited.com Most tire places charge about the same for shipping, or the jack up their prices and offer "free shipping."

The FJR is also going to be due for a serious lube at the end of this season, which I may also leave to the mechanic or dealer. It is the 16,000 mile lube of the linkages for the rear suspension. Seeing as how I don't ride much in the rain or dusty environments, I'm considering putting this off, as I'm sure they'll charge about $500 for it. I'm going to look into the service manual and see what's involved. It can't be that hard...

More tire babble
I've tried several different brands of tires for my sport-touring bikes: Metzeler, Michelin, Dunlop, and Avon. My favorite by a mile is Avon. They outlast the others, and also grip tighter too. The only penalty is in the price, which is slightly higher than the others. Let me tell you, when you're leaned over, scraping pegs, you are glad you spent the money. Ditto when you need to swerve or stop suddenly, and the tires are at the edge of adhesion. If you haven't tried Avons yet, give them a go, and I bet you'll thank me later. ;)

Had a brisk ride this morning

2007-09-16T12:59:00.001-05:00

My buddy Mike and I went for a ride this morning. We went up north to Fox Lake, IL, and had breakfast at the Mega Pancake house, and warmed up a bit. It was already "up to" 50°F. My apologies, but I didn't bring my camera, so I can't show you this nice little place. It is one of those places that kind of blends in with all the rest of the strip mall stores, but once discovered, becomes a favorite greasy spoon.

After warming up a bit there, (neither of us has a fairing or windshield, and Mike doesn't even have a leg shield on his Honda Big Ruckus) we headed up north to hit some twisties in and around Twin Lakes, WI. It was a blast. Roads ranged from 20 mph in Chain O' Lakes State Park to 55 mph on country highways. The scenery isn't as nice as other folks have, but there are some decent twisties up this way, for those who are willing to explore a bit.

So as not to completely starve you of photos, I took one self-timer shot of Mike and I upon our triumphant return.

A few late shots from the Slaughterhouse XIII Rally

2007-09-16T12:51:00.000-05:00

These are some shots I found at scoot.net from the rally that I thought were worth saving.

Here's one of me riding the teeter-totter at the gymkhana:

The last part of the gymkhana was "The Gauntlet." In the gauntlet, one was supposed to ride between the boards on the ground without hitting them. "Not too hard." you might think, but you'd be wrong, because there is a line of people throwing wet sponges at you to make it more... interesting. Here are a couple shots of people getting pelted by wet sponges and being forced off-course:

Last, but not least, here's a video of me doing the gymkhana:

I had a short ride home in the rain today

2007-09-10T21:14:00.000-05:00

A little history first:

Kate got an externship a couple weeks ago. This is where she follows around an anesthesiologist and watches, and asks questions. For a doctor trying to land her first job, it is quite important to get clinical experience for her resume. Externships are very hard to get, as no one wants to take the risk of having someone follow them that might screw something up. But Kate lucked out. Her gynecologist had a friend in the right field who was willing to help.

So Kate's taking the Matrix to "work" just about every day now, probably 25 miles round trip. I have been riding Bud just about everywhere, and our poor old '98 Honda Civic has been gathering rust, sitting in the driveway.

So I got the insurance bill, which I choose to pay monthly to spread it out a bit, and noticed that we're paying about $55 a month for the old Civic just to sit in the driveway. Unacceptable! So I took it off insurance, except for comprehensive. (on the odd chance that someone breaks into it or steals it)

Part of doing this was accepting that I would eventually have to ride Bud in less-than-ideal conditions. Such as today.

This morning, when I took Bud on the 1.7 mile ride to the train station, it was just starting to drizzle. A quick look up at the clouds told me that it was probably going to rain more seriously later in the day.

After dropping my mother-in-law off at the airport and driving the 30 miles home for 2.5 hours, I had to ride Bud back home at about 8:00 PM. But this time, it was seriously raining. I haven't quite adapted as fully as I should have by now. I don't have the rain suit under the seat, and I somehow forgot to put the clear face shield under there too. For weekday commuting, I should just leave the clear shield on and put a pair of cheap sunglasses under the seat. Back on topic: I rode home in the rain, in the dark, with my dark smoke face shield on. The temperature is about 56°F, so it wasn't very pleasant. Not the end of the world, but not pleasant either.

Tomorrow is my last visit to the physical therapist for my thumb. I have hardly done any exercising at all that I was supposed to be doing. I promised myself that I would, but it is damned hard for me to remember to do it. Without doing this, I will not regain my lost flexibility. I'm taking Bud tomorrow too, and the forecast is better. 10-20 mph winds, which is a lot, but no rain and a high of 70°F.

Scoot to Lake Genvea & Williams Bay

2007-09-09T19:10:00.001-05:00

Today, before my mom came up for her birthday party, I decided to go for a nice long scoot; probably about 100 miles or so.

I went up to Lake Geneva, where I spent many summers visiting my grandparents, and Williams Bay, where Yerkes Observatory is located. When my brother and I were little kids, my grandpa took us to Yerkes. He was always trying to take us somewhere interesting, but we didn't appreciate it. All we wanted to do was shoot BB guns in the garage, and burn things in the burning barrel. Oh, and go to the beach.

Now that I'm a little older, I appreciate the things he was trying to show us. Without going into too much detail, here are some photos of Yerkes, and of the beach in Williams Bay.

At the start of the rustic road. Twisty, hilly, and heavily wooded, for about 2.4 miles.

Front entrance to Yerkes Observatory.

Check out how big this refractor telescope is! (you can see Bud by the doorway at its base)

Bud, happily wearing his new sticker.

Busting a pose at the beach.

Here's a video of the Rustic Road ride:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XoaQVRYki4

Will you join me on my commute?

2007-09-04T19:15:00.000-05:00

Once in while, I take Bud to work. Today was such a day. I had occupational therapy on my thumb after work, so I couldn't take the train.

Thus, I donned my armor and loaded up Bud for the journey. Google Maps tells me the trip is 26.5 miles one way.

The first step was to load up Bud. I had to bring a 4 lb. tub of sugar to work for my tea, but the underseat storage was already full of my lunch, a cable lock, first aid kit, dark face shield, etc. So it went in the basket. The bungee net is to keep it from bouncing out when I hit a particularly nasty bump. (I lost my umbrella last week in this manner)

At 6 AM I took off. It took an hour to get there, so the average speed was just under 30 mph. I was supposed to leave at 5:30 AM, so I hit this log jam after only 10 minutes of riding. Shitbag.

Finally thrugh that and getting nearer to work, the sun was shining across the tree tops, and it was a pretty nice view.

About 20 minutes later, I arrived work, and parked among the other bikes. A brand new Kawasaki Ninja 500, a Harley, and two Yamaha cruisers. Can you find the bike that doesn't fit?

After work, I went to therapy to have Jennifer work on my thumb, which still doesn't have its old flexibility after the crash in late May. Curses. I should be exercising it more. I left at about 5:15, right into the worst part of rush hour. It wasn't long before I hit another log jam:

Bored out of my mind, I was looking for a shot that would tell a story. Waiting for the light & trains in the photo above, I noticed the shadows were getting long. So here's the shot of me (not) enjoying the sunset from my vantage point within the huge traffic jam.

Finally, about another hour later, I got home. My wife snapped this shot of me to finish the story. Your favorite crossing guard is now off duty, complete with lumpy hair from his Shoei.

Although this is kind of an adventure when I do it, I am damn glad I take the train most days and avoid all the traffic. I feel sorry for the poor chumps who have to do this every day.

Slaughterhouse XIII Rally - Sunday

2007-09-02T21:56:00.001-05:00

My favorite bike of the day was the Genuine Blur. This coming year, they're gray, but the orange/silver scheme looks great to me.

Here's Design Within Reach, the upscale furniture store that hosted us today.

A creative idea for a kickstand ornament. (from the roast pig)

A couple glamor shots.

Here's the Sachs Madass. Looks like a little motorcycle, but really, it is a scooter. Seems very impractical.

Here's the mod bike, which won two awards.

Here's one of the fine beers I sampled today. Very good. (read the fine print on the label)

Here's the Kymco People S200, which started me raving about them yesterday.

Roast pig, soon to be in my belly.

Check out the seat cover on THIS baby! Pretty cool.

I had more fun today than yesterday, even though the gymkhana was yesterday. I was late today, and didn't make the group ride. I got caught in traffic in Wrigleyville, as there was a Cubs game today. Also had to stop for gas. By the time I got to Pick Me Up Cafe, the scooterists had left already. (on time too!)

So I took my time and had a breakfast burrito, then took LSD (Lake Shore Drive) up to Sheridan, eventually into Evanston. Once there, I got myself wrapped around a beer, tried out some sweet designer furniture, and just chilled out until I had to go at about 3:15.

I think every scooterist should attend at least one rally. The people are nice and usually pretty outgoing, and it is fun to draw an admiring crowd. They seem to be mostly vintage buffs, but they didn't seem to hold anything against us folks who like the mod cons.

Slaughterhouse XIII Scooter Rally

2007-09-02T01:43:00.000-05:00

Today, I went to my first scooter rally, in Chicago. It was quite an experience. There is nothing quite like riding through a big city in a pack of about 75 scooters, while everyone stops, points, smiles, honks, waves, and laughs. Scooters are disarming and they don't have a negative image like motorcycles often do.

<-- This photo is one of my favorites from the day. It shows the variety of bikes that can be seen at a scooter rally. Everything is represented: Clapped-out 80s Jap scooters, beautiful restored Italian bikes, ratty Italian bikes, Korean bikes, and even a modern motorcycle there for a visit. I started out this morning at about 7:30 AM heading for Chicago, to make sure I'd be at Motoworks by 10. Little did I know that city scooterists seem to be late. Probably, they were drinking until 3 AM last night, as the rally unofficially started Thursday night. When I got there, there were about 4 other scooters there, and a bunch of BMW motorcycles, mostly older ones. As more scooterists showed up, the bimmer guys started to disappear? Coincidence?

<-- Lined up in front of Motoworks. There were a ton of vintage Vespas, a few Lambrettas, a couple of old Honda Elites, and an old Yamaha. It's worth noting that although the Japanese bikes were neglected, they were tons more reliable than the old Italian bikes. However, they were only 20 years old, and not 40 or 50.

<-- Rear view of bikes at Motoworks.

<-- A couple of nice-looking old Italian bikes. A Lambretta on the left, a Vespa Rally on the right. Lambrettas had the engine mounted in front of the rear wheel, like today's scooters. Pop off a panel on either side and one can reach either side of the engine. With the Vespa, one can pop off the right panel and get to the outside of the engine only. Vespas are easier to find parts for, at least in the USA.

<-- Here are a few Genuine Stellas lined up. One of them is set to bump tunes. The Stellas proved to be reliable. All the bikes that crapped out during the rides were old Vespas.
<-- One of the mechanics at Motoworks built this mini-bike for his son. It has a 5 hp Honda engine. The kid was there and says it has too much power; it wheelies too easily! The mechanic is considering the addition of wheelie bars.
<-- Here's a well-restored Lambretta. The pipe has a bit of a leak, but it is cherry otherwise.

<-- A nice pair of Vespas, one with a sidecar! The husband/wife pair rode together on it for the group ride. There were also a lot of couples who rode together in more conventional fashion.

<-- check out the sticker I found on a Stella. Can't read it?

<-- Here's a detail shot. Excellent. Motoworks has an classy old industrial building. The hardwood floors look like they're about 100 years old, and in one spot, they even conform to the shape of the pipe underneath. Beautiful vintage bikes are all over the place, with about 70% of them being BMWs. There were some old British bikes, like left-shift Triumphs and a Douglas Dragonfly. Finally, to actually make money, they have scooters. Used ones and new Kymcos.

<-- Motoworks has this leaky (boiler?) coupling. Put a cooler underneath it to collect the drips, and problem solved. (kind of)

<-- Here's a Douglas Dragonfly. Don't ask me, I've never heard of the company either. Seems like either an old British or American marque.

<-- Some old Beemers, very nice & simple design. Too bad BMW has decided to complicate the hell out of everything in recent years...

<-- This was my favorite vintage Beemer. The saddle looks comfy. Can you see the kick-start lever?

<-- Here's a closer shot of the engine, with the sideways kick-starter. (since the engine is mounted front-rear instead of transverse) Very cool.
<-- After breakfast and ogling each others' bikes for a while, it was time for the gymkhana. This is a small obstacle course. One starts by riding one's scooter over the teeter-totter, doing a couple of tight turns, collecting a flag on a piece of conduit from one of the judges, trying to throw it through a hole in a rack, then a slalom around (full) 16 oz. beer cans, and finally a run through the gauntlet while people throw wet sponges at the contestant. The Kymco People series are much better looking in person than they are in internet photos. The big wheels don't look so goofy in person. The first thing that struck me about them was how little foot room they have. Don't get me wrong, there is enough room for normal size feet, but not a lot of room to move them around, like I can on my Buddy. There are two options: putting them in the cut-out areas on the floorboard, or putting them back on the passenger pegs. Another thing I noticed was that the seats are better shaped than 95% of all other scooter seats. Instead of having a convex curve, they are flat or a bit concave-shaped, to avoid pressure points on one's butt. In photos, I like the Bet & Win scooters the best; in person, the People series. My opinion is that if they fuel inject these, fit LED lighting, and make ABS an option, they will be the hot sellers they deserve to be. The fit & finish on the 50 and 150 Bet and Win doesn't seem to be up to the standard of their People series and the higher end bikes. The photo above is of the Kymco People 150 dash.

<--- After a continental breakfast at Motoworks, we went for the group ride of the day. We went all the way west out of the City into Berwyn. We stopped in this parking lot for a smoke break and to ogle this... sculpture. It reminds me of the old-style restaurants in which the cashier impales the paid receipts on a nail.

<-- After the group ride, we wound up at Scooterworks. This is a shot from inside their parking lot. Behind me was the barbecue tent. They had scooters on display. A TV cameraman was on scene as we arrived.

Later, at about 9 PM, the party started at a bar. I didn't go. Was too tired from getting up at 4:30. Don't ask me why I woke up that early & spoiled myself, I went to be late enough where I should have had to TRY to get up earlier than 7. It is over a 2 hour ride home by scooter from the city. As soon as I got home, I went to bed for a 3-1/2 hour nap, which is why I'm up at 3 AM blogging this now. ;)

Tomorrow is the last day of the rally. They'll be meeting at the Pick Me Up Cafe for a cup of joe, then riding up to the pig roast at Design Within Reach in Evanston. Then judging & awards, and recovery on Monday. I haven't decided if I'll do this yet. I may just scoot down to Evanston for the pig roast. I don't think I'll be up in time to catch any of the rest of it.

I got Bud Back today!

2007-08-26T07:06:00.000-05:00

I finally picked up Bud, my 125cc Genuine Buddy, from the shop yesterday. There was no time to post about it yesterday, as I was too busy riding. :)

He's still missing the 'Buddy 125' badges, but I don't really care about them. The dealer can mail them to me.

I'm going to go to the Slaughterhouse XIII rally this coming weekend on Saturday for the group city ride. It's gonna be AWESOME.

Deer gets some major air

2007-08-07T19:31:00.000-05:00

Check out this deer, which decided to run out in front of a Can Am car. The damn thing must have flown 20 ft. straight up, and I didn't even see it come down. Did it get stuck in the tree? Holy balls.

http://www.metacafe.com/w/685376

Stuntaz

2007-07-27T22:35:00.001-05:00

Usually, I have no respect for stuntaz. But check out this guy on the sportbike. I can't even imagine how many times he had to have crashed in order to build up this kind of coordination.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPXqXrJzzb4&mode=related&search=

2007-07-27T21:55:00.001-05:00

Having just bought a folding bike a few weeks ago, I've been surfing around over at bikeforums.net. Very cool forum.

A guy got a BikeFriday, which is a high-end folding bike. Here's a youtube video of a guy folding it. Five seconds is a long time, to fold a bike...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQscBxx7wLE

My Current Bike

2007-07-09T21:03:00.000-05:00

I just talked about my folding bike, which should be coming July 11.

Here's my old Schwinn Searcher. (old meaning 1997 vintage) I've ridden this thing quite a lot, but hardly ever for fun, just practical things. Recently, I've started biking again to try to get into some kind of shape. (aside from round) 21 speed, 27.5" wheels, sexy curvy black frame.

I tuned it up yesterday, pumped up the tires, which only had 27 psi in them. (they should have at least 50) Cleaned the chain, and mounted a trip computer. I hit 27.8 mph downhill in a forest preserve the other day. Almost wound up flying into the woods at 20 mph once too. You see, it has road tires, and it doesn't corner that well on pea gravel at 20+ mph. Kate's biking too. Getting a little frustrated that she can't keep up. To be fair, she's got a mountain bike, and those silly knobby tires only allow one to go about 25 mph, no matter how hard one pedals.

I just bought a folding bicycle

2007-07-07T19:40:00.000-05:00

Check it out: https://shop.sunrisecyclery.com/item/14785/

For those who remember my "phases", I had a folding bike phase before. I bought a couple of cheap folders. One was a nicer aluminum 5 speed with 20" wheels. The other was for Kate, it was a 16" 3 speed, a cheapy. The seats wouldn't go high enough to get any leverage on the pedals, so I sold them back on ebay.

This one is a name brand, with the smaller wheels for easier carrying onto public transit.

I also signed up for a bicycle forum: http://www.bikeforums.net/ Lots of good info there, as on other fora I belong to.

Kate is in a fitness phase, she wants to lose that extra 50 lbs. She's lost about 10-12 so far over the last month. Along that line of thinking, we threw our (clunky non-folding) mountain bikes in the trunk of our old Civic and went to the local forest preserve. We rode for about an hour in the 87° heat. Quite fun, but loading & unloading those bikes will get old in a hurry. The Curve D3 should be here Wednesday or Thursday.

In other news, Aero PA motorcycle shop doesn't seem to be in any hurry to get my god-damned scooter fixed and back in my hands. I have a feeling they will blow a whole summer of scooting for me. Shitbag!

The Buddy's Getting Fixed!

2007-06-25T19:20:00.001-05:00

God, I'm so stoked. I've been scooterless for a while now.

I just talked to the lady at the shop, and the insurance company has approved their repair estimate. Apparently, if the dealer does the work, it costs about $1022 to fix a Buddy that's been laid-down (as opposed to hitting something) at 45 mph.

Hopefully, I'll have my Buddy back before August.

Stupid Dealer Rant

2007-06-17T09:53:00.000-05:00

While we were out riding yesterday, we stopped in a Yamaha shop in a town we were passing through.

I was half ready to buy a mesh jacket there. It was so damn hot (90°+ and on the hot FJR)

I looked at some bikes, and was looking with great interest at a Yamaha Royal Star Venture, which is their V4 retro styled touring bike. Full fairing, comfortable passenger perch, hard luggage, the works. I was about to swing a leg over it, and the sales guy yells: "SIR! I'd prefer you didn't sit on that one. It'd be expensive if it went down." I told him: "Not to worry, I'm a motorcyclist. Besides, how is it going to go down when it's on its kickstand?" He replied: "The other guy was a motorcyclist too."

We left that shop immediately. I would NEVER buy ANYTHING from a motorcycle showroom/shop that wouldn't let me sit on their motorcycles. I wouldn't buy from one that would give test rides either.

Had a nice 312 mile ride yesterday

2007-06-17T07:58:00.000-05:00

My wife and I had a nice ride yesterday.

We took the FJR up to Madison, WI by way of Rt. 12 and the Kettle Moraine drive. She's going to apply for a residency there, and she suggested that as long as we're going up that way, we may as well have a look at the city to see if it is "acceptable" to her. I already knew that I love the town. It has two lakes right in the middle of it, and one just to the southeast. It has a lot of big, green parks. It's not as hot there in the summer as Chicago is. They have good snowboarding nearby, and it's not too far to Canada, where they have REALLY good snowboarding. They also have a TON of bike lanes, and they allow mopeds to park with bicycles, free of charge. I could bring my scooter up there and have an easy time of getting around.

We stopped for lunch in this huge field near the hospitals and watched people playing soccer while we had sandwiches.

Then, we headed south, to the twisty roads that were MY destination. Oh my God, the roads in SW Wisconsin are just brilliant. However, watch for farmers in their tractors and a lot of blind turns with no speed suggestions. On some of these, if you're going 60, then come up over a blind hill to find that the road suddently veers left, you're done. Going for a tumble in the trees & grass.

One time, a farmer had pulled out in the road with his tractor and trailer. I gave two quick polite beeps to let him know I was behind him and going to pass. I got in the oncoming lane and was going about 50 and he puts out his left arm and swerves right in front of me! Full brakes kept us from hitting him. Apparently, he had decided to turn at the exact moment I wanted to pass. It would have been just great, if he could bother to do a head check before swerving after hearing a double beep. x-(

After doing a lot of kickass roads, we stopped in New Glarus, home to the... Wisconsin-famous New Glarus Brewing Company. They make some excellent micro brew beers, the most famous of which is Spotted Cow. Very good. I had taken a tour there last time I passed through in search of good roads, so we didn't stop there this time.

New Glarus is very proud of their Swiss ancestry. They have all their big buildings painted up like old alpine Swiss buildings. Brown & wood on top, clean white on the bottom, and with pointy roofs. They even offer Swiss tours. I am highly skeptical that there is any real Swiss heritage there any more. More likely, they use that as a tourist trap to bring in revenue for the town. It didn't work. We stopped for another sandwich, some fruit and water, and moved on down through Monroe, WI. Monroe is home to another, more famous brewery; Huber Brewery. They make Berghoff beer and their own brand, as well as Hooch. My brother and I had a tour there a few years ago, so my wife (not a beer lover) and I didn't stop there. By this time, we had been riding for about 7 hours, so we were ready to be home.

We then took country roads home, which was nice. In Northern IL, they sometimes don't bother to label country roads, so bring your GPS. If roads are not labeled, maps are all but useless.

We got home, had showers and went out to dinner. It was nice to have air conditioning again after sweating all day on the FJR in the 90° heat.

After we were settled in and I had a couple of beers, I thought it would be nice to go for a nice, cool scooter ride, but alas, the bike is not here. I miss the little bikes.

Crashed the Buddy a couple weeks ago

2007-06-17T07:32:00.000-05:00

I've been bad about updating lately, so here goes.

A few weeks ago, I was out for a nice summer evening ride on Bud. It was shaping up to be a great ride; hardly any traffic, the right temperature, clear roads.

But on the way home (probably 10 miles away) a deer walked out in front of me. The headlight on the '06 and earlier Buddy 125s is kind of lacking at speeds of more than 35 mph. So I didn't see her in enough time to stop properly.

Instead, adreneline kicked in and I locked up the front brake. The bike washed out from under me and I went flying. I was in shorts, sandals, gloves, helmet, and fleece jacket and reflective vest. The jacket & vest actually saved my arms & torso from getting beaten up too badly. All I got was a rugburn on my left elbow and a jammed right thumb.

Instead of taking up room here, I'll just post links to the pix. The scrapes were worse than they appear here. Here, they look like bloody scrapes from a B horror movie. In reality, the right knee one was almost down to the bone.

http://home.comcast.net/~jzorns/buddy1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jzorns/buddy2.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jzorns/buddy3.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jzorns/bar_end.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jzorns/helmet1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jzorns/helmet2.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jzorns/helmet3.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jzorns/right_knee.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jzorns/left_knee.jpg

The shorts, with wallet in the cargo pocket acting as armor, saved my outer left thigh from getting scraped.

The sandals.... didn't do anything for me. Both of my ankles had all the skin scraped off where the bones protrude on the outside. One of them even flew off while I was flipping through the air.

The gloves were cheaper, Olympia summer riding gloves. No armor on the back side. So two of my knuckles are scraped up. The leather on the palms and thumb saved me from losing skin in more important areas.

The helmet probably saved my life. I was going 45 mph when I crashed, and it is scraped in three different places: 1) middle top, 2) right front area of the chin bar, 3) left ear. If not for that helmet, I could have had my brains knocked out, my left ear ground off, and my jaw badly broken. I highly encourage scooterists & motorcyclists to wear a full face helmet. A study shows that the highest percentage of head hits during accidents are on the chin. If you think about this, it makes sense. So why do so many scooterists & motorcyclists wear open face helmets? Their brains are worth protecting, but their faces aren't?

I bought that helmet, a Shoei RF-800 seven years ago, when I bought my first bike, a 2000 Suzuki SV650. It has been comfortable and has served me well. I just received my new Shoei RF-1000 in the mail on Friday, and it is brilliant. As comfortable as the RF-800, but with much better ventilation, lighter and smaller. (and more expensive) The deductible for my crash ($250) will be sucked up just in the helmet.

I also ordered some replacement gloves, Icon Super Duty in natural colored deerskin. ^_^ These have perforated leather on the back sides, so they should hold up better than my cheapies did. These were $45 instead of $20. It has been my experience that in safety gear, you get what you pay for. (with helmets, you get more comfort but not necessarily more protection, assuming you buy a DOT/Snell model)

Now, three weeks later, all my scabs except one are healed up, and I'm left with that tender red skin where they once were. The bike is still in the shop and I'm still awaiting an estimate and availability of parts. I have this sinking feeling that since the Buddy is a Taiwanese scooter, (made by PGO) they're going to tell me it'll take over a month for parts. If that's the case, I'll probably buy something else. Maybe a Yamaha Vino 125, Honda Helix, or a Ninja 250. I just hope I can talk the insurance company into making the check out to ME, not to me AND the estimating bike dealer.

So in the meantime, I've been sweating my butt off riding the FJR. I love that bike, but it sure is a hot one to ride in the summertime. It's much better in spring, fall, and early winter. My wife and I did 312 miles on it yesterday. More on that in another post.

Had a nice ride today - 295 miles!

2007-05-28T21:14:00.000-05:00

My wife and I decided to go for a ride. We did the Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive in Wisconsin. (again) We went all the way north to Elkhart Lake, home of Road America race track.

I'm not going to babble too much more, I'll just post some commentated pix instead.

<-- A little moped I spotted.

<-- The BTM

<-- Free coffee with fill-up? We don't do that in Illinois...

<--Mechanic in Motion. Nice!

<-- An interesting old piece of.... machinery we spotted

<-- On the ride home

<-- There were some killer twisties

Scooter vids on YouTube

2007-05-27T01:40:00.001-05:00

Can't sleep. Decided to search for 'scooter' on YouTube. I'll save you a lot of trouble and just post a few good ones.

Stunts, mostly wheelies:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_ArFRDfQU74

Not the type of scooter I was looking for, but interesting nonetheless. It's a one-wheeled, electric-powered skateboard:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HGbbag9dklU

I'd seen this one before. I can't tell whose fault it was, but since the man has a lot more to say than the woman, I'd guess it was here fault:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tth9krDtxII

Japanese scooter race. Unbelievable lean angles:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jkIF_XIvZ6Q

Here's how Lambrettas were made, hehehe:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HLBogthhmjQ

A few recipes from Tsing Tao

2007-05-27T00:40:00.001-05:00

http://www.tsingtaobeer.com/food_lager.php

Ever had this beer? It is fantastic. Kind of like a smoother Heineken.

Why is this in my riding blog? Because a large part of scooter culture involves beer-drinking. :)

Just had the 500 mile check-up done on the Buddy 125 today

2007-05-27T00:09:00.000-05:00

Part of the warranty requirements for the Buddy is that in order for the two-year warranty to be valid, a Genuine dealer has to do a check up on it within 500 miles. I had that done today at around 440 miles.

The dealer I bought it from quoted me two hours of labor to do this, about $160, even after I'd told him I'd already changed the engine oil & gear oil. WTF?!

So I called the dealer in Lake Geneva, Midwest Action Cycle, and they quoted me 1/2 hour --> $46. That's more like it.

So today, I took a nice ride up there and had it done. I wanted to ride around town more, as that has been a dream of mine ever since I was a little kid. It is a perfect scooter town, and I was so jealous, as the local teens were cruising around on their Honda Sprees when I was too young & broke to have one.

I only got to ride around for a few minutes before I had to head back to crappy Illinois; thunderstorms were coming.

As I was a couple miles from home, it started drizzling. 5 minutes after the Buddy was in the garage, it came down in sheets for a half hour or so; a real frog-choker.

Anyhow, I'm glad to have this first service behind me. Now I don't have to let the dealer do anything I don't want to.

More Japanese Market Honda Stuff

2007-05-26T23:59:00.000-05:00

Japan market scooters:
http://www.honda.co.jp/motor-lineup/category/scooter/index.html

A cute little 50cc minibike:
http://www.honda.co.jp/motor-lineup/gorilla/

Business models, including the SuperCub & Gyro!
http://www.honda.co.jp/motor-lineup/category/business/index.html

Another Classic Honda...

2007-05-26T23:40:00.000-05:00

...only available in Japan. The Honda Benly.

50cc only? I guess they can keep it, hehehe.

I Want an Ape!

2007-05-26T23:34:00.000-05:00

Take a look at the bike in the link above. Just a fun little motorcycle. 50 or 100cc engine. (45-55 mph)

No one, in this country at least, can bring themselves to make something simple, of high quality. I'd like to say that if Honda brought these stateside, they'd sell like hotcakes. I know they would in the cities, but not in the suburbs and countryside.

Click the links at the top of the window to see other views of it.

Also, if you're good at surfing, you can find a "No Same Way" video featuring the ape. (hint: oftentimes on this site, if you hover the cursor over the links in Japanese, an english URL will show up at the bottom of your window)

My "Small Bike" History

2007-05-26T20:14:00.000-05:00

After getting the 1982 Suzuki GS850G, I realized that any proper big bike was going to have lots of engine heat. For riding around town, it is just not comfortable, and it was cooler to take my un-air-conditioned car. Unacceptable!

Thus began the search for a supplementary smaller bike:

1994 Kawasaki Ninja 250 - I bought this used for $1200. I didn't notice until after I made the purchase that it's aftermarket Yoshimura exhaust blocked the oil filter. Dammit! I also bought this thinking that my wife would learn on it. She changed her mind. Kawasaki's Positive Neutral Finder is a nice touch for newbs, but I would have traded it for a smoother shifting gearbox. This was the only 250 that was fast enough to get out of its own way. It would go about 100 mph on the top, but it needed the revs to get there. It didn't make any power until 8000 RPM, and needs frequent shifts. It is styled like a sportbike, but the seating position is actually more like a standard.

1994 Honda Nighthawk 250 - I got this the summer after I sold the Ninja, for $1200. Nice bike, but it had lean carburation. It was better than the Suzuki GS, as it ran fine when warm, but it took at least 10 minutes of riding to warm up. For cross-town stuff, this is not acceptable. My wife actually signed up for the MSF course and practiced in the parking lot on this bike. She liked it too. But on the first day of the MSF course, they scared her away from motorcycling. She has not permanently decided that she doesn't feel safe or comfortable enough riding. I finally sold this because of the long warm-up issue, though it could've been fixed by shimming the needles.

2006 Honda Metropolitan - After being discouraged by the Nighthawk for around town riding, I figured I may as well get the ultimate around-town bike, a nice 50cc scooter. I really liked this bike too, but with my wife unwilling to ride her own vehicle, and with it not being fast enough to leave town it didn't keep its excitement for long.

2006 Genuine Buddy 125. - I believe this is the culmination of my search for a small bike. Fast enough for inter-town travel. Efficient enough (90+ mpg) & cool enough, temperature-wise. Fun, doesn't give a burning clutch arm. Just perfect. it has a good reputation among afficionados, but I'm afraid it is going to take a few thousand trouble-free miles before I'm convinced. (too many years on Jap bikes has made me skeptical of anything else.)

1st Post - My "Big Motorcycle" History

2007-05-26T19:42:00.000-05:00

I'll start things off here with my riding history.

July, 2000 - On impulse, I bought my first bike, the 2000 Suzuki SV650, in cobalt blue. (my favorite color) I charged it, because the bike dealer's interest rate was higher than my credit card's! Awesome bike. I put 36,000 miles on it over the next few years, including two trips to Tennessee. Without being too big or fuel-thirsty, it had the torque from about 2500 RPM and up. Top speed: 125 mph. 0-60 in 3.2 sec. Light weight, good weight distribution, handled very well. Upon returning from the second Tennessee trip, the chain broke and cracked the crankcase. I didn't have the money to fix it, so I sold it for parts on ebay. I have fond memories of this bike, and have promised myself that I will have another one some day. It was that good.

I went through the next summer somehow with no bike. It sucked.

The next summer, I bought a used Suzuki GS850G off of a dishonest piece of crap guy on ebay. He was not forthcoming about its carburation issues. He claimed all it needed was a carb clean, which I was prepared to do. I learned how to wrench on carbs on this bike. Completely dismantled them & cleaned them out by the book. Still ran like crap. (needed the choke on, and didn't make much power) I then bought "mercury sticks" and learned how to balance carbs. Still ran like crap. One time, while out for a ride, I decided I was going to try to ride it without choke, and it nearly stranded the wife & I. Air-cooled Japanese bikes from the early 80s are dicey, unless the carburation has been richened up. Don't buy one unless you know how to do this. They're just too lean, which means they take forever to warm up, they run hot, and sometimes, they even need choke to run normally. Anyhow, nearly stranding us was the last nail in the coffin for this bike. My wife said she would not ride with me on it any more, as she didn't want to have to walk 30 miles home or help push it.

We sold this and bought a 2001 Kawasaki Concours, just out of warranty. This was a great bike, it was stone-reliable. The stock saddle is the best I've felt, and the hard luggage was fantastic. Two fatal flaws:
1) Its a buzzy engine, even after adjusting the special engine balancer, and with the huge bar-end weights.
2) Not enough torque for two-up touring. After struggling to smoke a couple of V6-powered minivans at a couple of stoplights, we were less satisfied. You see, by this point, my wife had become a proficient passenger. She likes to lean with me, and she likes it when I twist the quick-stick and we move. One day, we were out riding and got caught in the rain in Woodstock, IL. So naturally, we decided to take shelter in the local Yamaha shop. (bad idea for our checkbook) It was there that we saw the FJR, close-up, for the first time. Kate asked me: "Could we afford this, if we traded in the Concours?" Who am I to say no when the wife wants a faster bike!!??

So we bought the FJR in the late summer of 2005. Traded in the faithful Concours, which saddened us. (it had more luggage room!) However, all of this was forgotten the first time I pulled away from a stoplight. This thing has massive torque from 2000 RPM all the way to 8000 RPM. (the Concours didn't make any power until 5500 RPM, as it had an old Ninja engine from 1986) Not only that, but the Yamaha engineers knew that it would be worth it to sacrifice some horsepower to get that torque, and went with a low-revving, long-stroke engine design. So I "settled" for 120 rear-wheel horsepower on this instead of the 160 of the Suzuki Hayabusa. It was a smart decision. I have never lacked for power or speed on this bike, neither one-up nor with passenger & luggage. Not only is it twice as quick as the Concours, but it is also 7 mpg more fuel efficient! (42 mpg, with passenger, 45 solo) Gotta love the modern fuel-injection. We installed a Corbin saddle and Givi V46 topcase, and it is nearly perfect. We don't use the saddlebags except on road trips now, we just use the Givi topcase, as it doesn't spoil the aerodynamics. It also makes a fine backrest for my wife. The bike does heat you up though. The first versions of this bike were not cooled well enough, so the tank would make one's legs sweat, and engine heat blew onto one's legs all the time. From 2006, this was fixed by Yamaha. My take is that it isn't bad unless it is warmer than 80°F and you're not going at least 50 mph. Also, it is still a tad buzzy in the handlebars, though much much better than the Concours. It is not bad enough that I have addressed it yet, and I think it could be fixed with bar-end weights. We spent an extra $1000 or so for the ABS option. Since my wife riding with me over 85% of the time, I consider it worth it. All in all, this bike was over $15k. We don't even flinch when making the payment every month. We come off of every ride with huge smiles. The bike is like mental therapy. We thought about a Honda ST1300, but it cost $1000 more with the same equipment, and isn't as quick. It is said to be difficult to view the instruments when the sunlight from behind is wrong, but I bet the engine vibes are not there. (Honda uses a 90° longitudally-mounted V4, with perfect primary & secondary balance)