Krispy Kreme

You just have to love a crisp ride through town that ends with a hot cup of coffee AND a hot gooey doughnut!  Now I'm at Highland Coffee Co. partaking of a soda and grabbing some free bandwidth.  I'm headed next to Jeffersonville in Indiana to see a friend's new BMW bike!  I can't wait.  She and I might do a IBA ride together sometime this year!

LSG "UK Rally-Style" Patches

Well, you learn something new every day.  I ordered a number of patches from this company in England.  They print them rather than embroidering them.  One of the benifits is you can have photograph-level detail on the patch.  The other thing is they are much less expensive than embroidered patches because they don't have to be digitized, converted or what-not.  So I ordered a sample amount of ten patches.  He said they are 'rally style patches' of 92mm width.  I was thinking that's ok.  Well not only is 92mm huge (for a patch) but there is another surprise...  They come as not what I would refer to as a patch, but more like just a small remnant of cloth...  I was originally thinking "Man, what a cheap-ass peice of junk!" but then I got to thinking...this is exactly what I thought of the Gasoline Rally patches.  They were printed exactly the same on a small swatch of cloth.  So that got me following the train of thought that "somewhere in the world, this is an acceptable patch".  Well wouldn't you know that it's the standard format across the pond, you know...where scooter rallies originated.

 

Next question (which I've put to some brit friend I know from yahoo groups and other lists--and also back to my manufacturer): if this is the traditional rally patch, how traditionally do you affix it?  I can't imagine a way to do it that would look decent, so I am seeking advice from them.  Hopefully I will turn up with patches on my riding jackets before too long...

Still Cold, But Warming (aka Scooter Weather is Coming!)

It is still hovering around 20 degrees F when I get out to head toward work in the mornings. Today its supposed to get up to 50, and I'm a little sad that it actually sounds warm to me. The Maj is starting just fine each morning. It took two hits of the starter this morning, but I hadn't started it since about Wednesday last week. I'm very forgiving! The ride is much more stable and smooth than the Roketa was. I know what you are thinking, but I just had to say it for the record. I have not done my first fill up yet, so I don't know the MPG. I'm down to about 1/3 of a tank (on the indicator) so I will know soon. I am hopeful for 50MPG, but we shall see. I need to see about any warranty that's left on the bike and see if it transfers to me. There is a 600 mile check and then the next is not for 4000 miles. After that it's every 4K. At 600, the FI is checked, brakes, steering, side stand switch, engine oil/filter change, transmission oil change, and brake and light switches. Not a real big deal. I need to call the shop and see how much they charge. The 4K is more intensive, but it's mainly just checking things.

I registered for the Cincinatti WKRP-XYL (Ten Year Lates Scooter Club) Scooter Rally. The kid's mother said she would trade me so I could be off that weekend from the kids. I also made hotel reservations on Priceline. This is the first time I did that. The room is cheap, clean, safe (from the google feedback), and 18 minutes from Metro Scooters. It's less than 2 hours away if I rocket up I-71, or almost 3 hours for a more leisurly pace up SR42 which would be the more normal scooter route. Its nice to have options though!

I have a friend who just got a cool new BMW bike, and we are talking about doing a Ironbutt Association ride later this year when weather is better. We want to do 1500 miles in 36 hours or 1000 miles in 24 hours. If it's still cooler, we could go south toward Louisiana or Alabama, but if it's warmer, I want to go up to Michigan, over into Canada, then down into New York and Pennsylvania then back to Louisville. I have thought a lot about it, and it's just something I want to be able to say I've done. I just read "Lois on the Loose" by Lois Pryce.

(Lois Pryce)

It's a book about her travel from Anchorage, AK across Canada, down through California along the west coast into Mexico, thru Central and South America all the way to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. It was a cool read. She used a Yamaha XT225 Serow trail bike. That is waaay more off-road than I would ever consider, but I want to see some cool places in the USA this year at least! She is so cool, and a redhead (!) so I think I'm gonna name my scooter, Lois!

Cold

It was pretty damn cold this morning. The ambient temperature gauge
on the Majesty said 19 degrees F. When I ran out at lunch, it was
closer to 40. Still not comfortable, but tollerable. I really hope
its a good 10-15 degrees warmer next weekend. I have got to put some
road down under those wheels before I go crazy. I have to figure out
some way to get juice for my GPS. I don't even know how to get to the
battery at this point! I'm reluctant to start wrenching on a 'brand
new' bike, but it's only a matter of time, so I might as well get it
out of the way.

New Bike

After putting 8000 miles on my poor little Honda Reflex Chinese Knockoff, I have come to the decision that with the amount of riding I have been doing, I just can't afford to keep it running. The Chinese Scooters are great for people who ride on the weekend for a couple hours, or back and forth to work, but I am completely and utterly hooked into this. I got in because it saves gas. That was the whole root of the thing at $4.00 a gallon you tell me that you WEREN'T looking at alternatives and dreaming of something Hybrid or Electric, the Bus Routes, Carpooling, Selling the SUV, etc. The whole Nation was! I had to do something. It was driving me into financial crisis man! Well anyways, my decision was a cheap Chinese Scoot. I had done ALL the research, knew the positives and negatives, etc. Well all that was mainly from people who didn't ride near as much as I did. When I came back from Gasoline Rally with Black Betty in a rented Uhaul truck, I knew it just wasn't working. I always had little issues which I was willing to work with, but eventually they drag you down. The seat lock wouldn't fasten. The brakes squeeked. The muffler guard rattled, I had to clean the carb, set the idle, it was neverending. I decided I would rather ride.

So this year, I searched and searched craigslist, ebay, cycletrader, high and low until I could find something in my meager price range, but still a good reliable machine, with a little more power than my old 250cc. I looked at the Kymco Xciting500, the Suzuki Burgman400, and the Yamaha Majesty (also 400cc). This Scarlett 2008 Yamaha Majesty with only 300 miles on her was what landed in my lap (and in my price range). She will do just fine. The pictures do not do her justice. I want to do some rides this year. There is the Iron Butt Association where you can ride 1000 miles in 24 hours (called a Saddle Sore 1000 - appropriately!) and I want to try that. I also have a couple rallies I want to attend in Cincinatti and again in Indianapolis.

I have come to realize this is just who I am.

2008 Yamaha Majesty Scooter

I am looking at upgrading my current bike with a 2008 Yamaha Majesty Scooter.

We shall see how thing work out with taxes and how everything allocates this year... But...Ain't she sweet????