I’ve ordered a new battery for my R1. Days are growing longer, and the weather seems to be growing better. High temperatures are in the mid-50s. I’m seeing more motorcycles on the road. Ah, riding season! 
(I need to get the Seca II into the shop, in case a friend wants to ride it. Time for a valve adjustment, I think.)
Damn you
:::shakes fist:::
It’s lightly snowing here. I’ve another two months at least before I uncover the Triumph.
Riding season ended? I stopped for a while when we got some snow in December, and next week looks like a washout, but this has been an extremely clement winter down here by the Chesapeake.
Mind you, I go less than 10 miles a day, just to work and back and maybe an errand or two on the weekend. When spring really gets here, I’ll go a bit farther afield
It’s a little cooler up here in the PNW than it was in L.A. Down South I could ride year-round. Up here it’s rather cold and wet for about half of the year. Another thing is that there are those damned maple leaves that fall on the curves. I was talking to the guy at the Triumph shop where I ordered a new battery, and he said that a friend of his hit some wet leaves and lost it in a curve. And the roads seem to have more debris on them than they do in SoCal. Puts a bit of a damper on my style.
Yay, a motorcycle thread! Now that I’ve completed the BRC and got my license, not to mention my scooter, I can finally participate! Of course, I only came in to brag that I’ve been riding (mostly in parking lots) for a few weeks in the pleasantly cool and not too wet weather we’ve been having.
Is this the first one for 2006?
We were doing pretty good here in Cleveland, with our warm pseudo-winter. I didn’t winterize my bike at all, aside from draining the redline water-wetter and replacing it with coolant. I even got a few rides in last month and rode to the bike show. Good times.
Unfortunately the weather has figured out it was off kilter, and winter is now here with a vengeance! I’ll do my best to keep my sanity until April rolls around, which is usualy when the weather is consistently warm enough (at least mid-40’s) to ride on a regular basis.
As for the bikes, my CBR 600 needs some TLC. I have some broken plastic and fairing “rash” from a track mishap and my mirrors need replacing. The stock CCT needs replacing w/ a hydraulic one, I can hear it rattling. I also picked up a Kerker Titanium pipe on Ebay for $88 (Retail price is $640!) and I’m looking forward to putting it on and finally getting rid of that heavy stock exhaust!
The cafe racer ('75 T-500 w/ clubman bars) will need its carbs removed and cleaned, and the stock seat needs to be replaced with the solo cowl seat I picked up at a swapmeet last summer during Vintage Motorcycle Days. Other than that it’s ready to go.
My wife’s SV-650s needs nothing done to it, as usual. It’s about as low-maintenance as a bike can get. She will be racing in the Canada Women’s Cup series this year, and we’re currently working out a sponsorship deal that includes a race-prepped bike. It’s not a done deal yet, so if it falls through the SV will have to undergo transformation into a race bike. This will mean extensive safety-wiring, a thinner seat, race bodywork and suspension adjustments. I’m hoping we wont have to resort to that, but we’ll see!
We have a really busy motorcycle season ahead of us. Racing school in April to brush up on our skills. We’ll both be racing this year, my wife in the women’s cup as I mentioned before and me in a local club series. We have one long roadtrip in the works, a ride out to Nova Scotia for the Cape Breton festival of Speed. There will be plenty of riding to work and with friends as usual.
Argh I can’t wait too much longer, is it April yet??
Caveman, congrats on getting your license!
I haven’t seen any about in a while. I searched and found one about Bad Bikers, which is more about riders than riding.
Oh, and thanks Dorjän! I’m still waiting for my new card to arrive (with my first new DL photo in 6 years…I look different now).
I’ve ventured out on the street a few times, mostly just around the neighborhood, but the other evening, I thought I’d try actually going somewhere. I went to the nearest comic book shop, looking for a copy of Transformers: Infiltration #2. On my way there, though, I fell, twisting my knee as I stupidly tried to put my left foot down as I faltered in a turn. Luckily, the driver behind me stopped in time, and I’m fine otherwise, as is my scooter. After pausing on the sidewalk for a few minutes, I continued to my destination, where I found they were sold out. Insult + injury, that. I made it home, and up the stairs, not without a fair amount of swearing and recriminations. After a visit to my doctor, I’m in a knee brace and crutches for 2 weeks. Ah, well. I’ll probably be back to riding in a few days, but not with any sort of destination, as I can’t figure out how I’d carry crutches on my scoot.
My Divvy’s covered and well outside, and has been since late October. Time, weather, it all plays a part.
It still freezes at night, and the days are wet and cold. No conditions for a fair weather nancy like myself.
Ah, late March is just a few weeks off. I’ll take her in for a bit of TLC, and the riding season for 2006 can commence!
I want a new bike, really. Badly. But without a garage, an FJR 1300 (or thereabouts) would be uninsurable. Grrrr. Oh well, it’s not like I have the talent for 150 BHP anyway. 
Oh, yeah, wet leaves are the Devil’s flaking skin.No one needs that nastiness.
Yeah, I was gloating. But we have had a very clement winter this year.
Riding seaseon! I need to start lunging Irish. I haven’t been on him since he dislocated my finger last Fall - it’s still sore. I need to have the farrier out, but can’t really afford to have him reshod right now. It’s good that the grass should be coming in soon. I need to mow the back pasture and the field by the road.
StG
I understand you had a beautiful summer in Bellingham last year, Johnny – it was on a Thursday, if I’m not mistaken, right?
:smack:
20 BELOW 0 fahrenheit here this morning. A very big snow year too. We are starting to worry that our 5 foot fence won’t contain the dogs much longer…
Picked up the new battery today.
The guy at the shop said it’s supposed to snow on Friday, and it’s my fault for buying the battery.
I’ve been out a few times since the first of the year. Can’t hardly wait until May 1 when we leave on a 30 day ride to DC.
The bikes were thick in California this weekend. Ms Hook had a three day weekend and we made a trip to the coast. The weather was just about perfect the whole time.