Dinner

I figured since I was in Mississippi I should try the crawfish, but I have no clue how to eat em! I ended up at the Buffet and im positive its not much different from Golden Corral or Ryans at home. Add that to the chicken sandwich from Wendys and its a total strike out on trying food different from home...

Ballys Casino

Who knew the cheapest place to stay in Mississippi would be a casino hotel??? I think I could have gotten my meal a little cheaper by joining some club or another but I couldnt understand the ladys accent! I just said "uh, thats fine." To Logan: im officially in Mississippi, so mark the map, buddy! I love you and Lexie! (and KAT OF COURSE!)

Mississippi

Behind me the big dude is doiing gangsign for "welcome to Mississippi!". Now im gonna look for a place to sleep and some grub.

Check your cooling fluids !!! 

Memphis...almost to Mississippi

Getting gas in Memphis. Mississippi in less than half hour! The warning light is for oil AND temp! I looked closely and the temp indicator (a little thermometer) is on, not the oil indicator (a little oil can!). Geeze I feel stupid!

Wildersville, TN

I had to stop for gas. I got 143 miles on this last tank. I did what the mechanic said and the last time I saw the oil light, just gritted my teeth and rode on. After less than a minute which seemed more like an hour, the light went off by itself without my slowing down. I hope it really is a faulty sensor.

I called the tech guy at Suzuki of Louisville. He told me the Boulevard has no real oil pressure guage, only a level. He said he's seen a few of them go bad. I told him I am positive that it has plenty of oil. I asked him if I should be concerned and turn around. He said "if you know its got oil and you're not hearing any noises, I would ride on...". Well, the engine sounds the same as always, so I'll continue on down the road. I got off here in Tennessee on the Minnie Pearl Memorial,Hwy. 137 miles to Memphis. I have a good friend I also asked about the oil thing. Hoping they get back with me on some googling...

Nasty weather coming

Weather channel says nasty weather coming from west. May pass thru where ill be at overnight...hopefully!

Adding oil

due to the kindness of strangers I was able to check the oil. A young lady on the way in said it was "about a quarter" so I added half a quart of oil. When I was done, this tough looking dude with a shaved head and tattoos checked it again. He said "you're good." I have decided to continue on down the road toward Memphis, keeping an eye on it as I go. I will have to ask the Suzuki shop about it when I get home. To my son Logan who is tracking my progress: the blog reads from bottom to top, so the oldest will be at the bottom and the newest at the top. Also, I am still in Kentucky. Its a town called Franklin. Since I had to stop for gas, and there is a Wendys attached, I got a chicken sandwich and a soda for lunch. My ETA says 5pm at which point I will start looking for a place to sleep for the night.

Oil light

The oil light has come on three times. Each time I was doing a little over 75-76mph. To play it safe, every time I slipped over into the breakdown lane and prepared to limp to the next exit. When I slow down, about 10-20 seconds at slower speed, the oil light goes off. Could it be that its just a little low on oil? Oil changed by Suzuki of Louisville about 900 miles ago... It has never shown signs of oil loss. No leaks. The bike IS 4 years old now. I'm concerned. Maybe I should turn around and come home, but I'm going to try adding a little oil and see if that fixes it. Very difficult to keep the bike upright level AND see the oil gauge window at the very bottom on the right side... I needed to stop for gas anyway at 116 miles on the clock.

First stop

forgot to get gas, so I stopped in Brooks KY. Gas is $3.81 in Louisville. $3.79 here...

Bad omens?

Well, I went to my sister's concert and didnt get home until late. This left me no time to pack so I have to get up earlier tomorrow. I planned to leave by 8am. We shall see... On top of this, I had a hair trimming accident. Bad omens for travel?

Working on the bike

Today is my last day before heading out. I had to figure out a way to (mostly) permenently attach the wiring for power to my Garmin. Its a little tough because there's not a whole lot of room between the underside of the tank and the hot engine parts. I decided to run it along with some other wiring and put in some extra insulation. We'll see how that goes. I'm using my battery tender pigtail off the battery for power and I fashioned a cap for the GPS cable out of another SAE trailer pigtail. This way if I get in a pinch and have to charge my ipod, phone, or camera, I can throw on the 12volt "lighter" adaptor and charge my other devices. I plan to charge everything up at an electrical outlet each night anyway. That brings up a major concern...I hope my abused 44 year old back holds up on non-space-tech mattresses.

Molly, the Suzuki GS850

I sold my 1981 Suzuki GS850G (named Molly).  I was never able to get it street legal because the idiot I bought it from couldn't seem to get the title straightened out.  Regardless, the seat was amazingly comfortable, and I would have loved to have kept it.  All hail Craigslist.

Garmin Co. and my Bricked Nuvi 550

This week, I wanted to install Garmin MapSource to my laptop, so I could use it on my trip if necessary.  I installed, and it didn't pull the maps from my Garmin Nuvi 550.  I've had that GPS for a couple years and I love it.  It doesn't cost the price of a Zumo but is still waterproof.  I plugged it up and it sort of man-handled me through a firmware update.

The firmware update bricked my GPS!  I was pretty irate and wondering what I would do.  I need this GPS.  Everyone knows how I suck at directions (for the most part) and don't deal well with maps.  I called Garmin.  It went something like this...

Me:  Your update bricked my unit.
Rep:  Sorry.  If you want to send it in, we can fix it for $99.
Me: No, you don't get it.  Your firmware update bricked the GPS.  It's not my fault.
Rep: Sorry sir, it's out of warranty.
Me: I know, but your company did this.  They should fix it at no charge.
Rep:  That would require supervisor authorization.
Me:  Good call.  Let me speak to your supervisor.

The supervisor was a uniquely helpful individual named Mootz.  Yeah, like who can make THAT up?  Anyway, he apologized for the 'misunderstanding'.  I told him I was going on a trip asap, and needed the unit.  He offered to ship me a refurb, send me an email with a UPS label prepaid, and gave me his direct number to call the next day (yes, he shipped the refurb next day air) so I could set up the new unit properly.  It all went like clockwork.  He did take my credit card info in case I decided not to send back the bricked GPS.  I dropped it off at the UPS Store same day of the call/emailed label.

Two notes:

1. They are replacing the awesome MapSource software with BaseCamp.  It has a bit of a learning curve but I promised Mootz to give it a try in the future.  FYI, it's a free download!
2. They no longer carry the Nuvi 550, but have a $400 Zumo 220, which is similar but has bluetooth.

Been commuting

The most I have been riding in the past three months is commuting back and forth to school. Every once in a while I got a good friend who would let me accompany him on a job run to Bardstown. Weather has gotten nice and I am finished with finals. Kat got me a nice present for finishing my associates of IT. I get to take a road trip alone and just ride next week while she takes care of the kids. I'm out on between quarters break before I start the Bachelors degree.

The route in general will be something like this: http://tinyurl.com/87nbsw5

View Larger Map

I will try to post frequently via my phone if I am able.

Adding a windshield bag

I bought a nice but inexpensive windshield bag from jafrum.com to add to my bike.

It came in looking as good as their stock photo.  The only problem was that it didn't fit Alice's windshield strap.  I had to end up making a bracket to fit it out of aluminum bar stock.

For some reason, I wasn't liking the look of the aluminum.  I'm not much on shiny, and if I'd have my druthers, every piece of chrome on the bike would instead be flat black.  That's just me...  So I got some paint.  I found Rustoleum undercoating and thought that would be perfect.  The only problem is that it took forever to dry!

I couldn't bring myself to cover the chrome bolt I got at H&S for about $4, so I left it shiny.  Here's a picture from a few feet away.

I feel like it looks a lot less obtrusive.  No compliments either way on it so far.  Here's the before picture, along with my awesome helper:

Here's the after picture.  It works just fine (and I've always been more about functionality anyhow).

Does this count as cosmetic damage?

I am hating on some careless woman right now. Stopped at Heine Bros. for a cup of coffee and ran over this in the lot with my back wheel. Pink nail polish! I removed one large shard by hand then got down on the ground and looked at it closely. I couldnt hear any air escaping so I dabbed some water on the area to see if I could see or hear anything escaping. So far so good but im gonna have to get it checked soon. Damnit.

Perfect ending...riding the storm out

Today after school, I had to run an errand downtown. It had been mostly hot, muggy and miserable. Now you might ask yourself "then why does he ride?" and the answer is truthfully it is a matter of personal pride. If I can't say that I ride in almost all conditions, then I can't count myself as a Rider. Anyways, I got done around 3pm and jumped up on I-65 to beat it home real quick. About the Watterson Expressway exit the temperature dropped almost 30 degrees and I started seeing black clouds. I knew that the only thing to be done here was to ride straight into the storm and let Ma Nature go right ahead and unleash hell on me. I passed my Okolona exit and headed Alice for I-265... I rode into the spray of rain which felt awesome, and even enjoyed the lightshow sparking around me. Good tunes were on the radio and I didn't hardly notice the static from lightning. I felt at one with Alice and my surroundings there on the Snyder. It was a perfect end to a day.

Uneventful!?!?!!!???

My friend Vince did his Saddlesore ride for the Iron Butt Association and I was lucky enough to be his witness. Sadly he said his ride was almost completely uneventful. I mean I dont wish anything bad would have happened, but at least something to talk about would have been good!. Better 'luck' next time buddy!

Parking at school

I feel the time draws near I will be irritated at the poser people who take up m/c parking spaces. You know the type...only ride when its between 70 and 88 degrees and sunny. They should have seperate parking for Riders and piddlers.

Hillbilly Hotdogs, Huntington, WV

These people are singing the weenie song. If they do it right they get free food. This place is nuts!

My first cruiser breakdown!

and now for something surprising...

Kat and I went out to Thai Orchid for dinner (I had a groupon...). It was pretty good. I got this pad thai stuff and she got some hotter than hell chicken stuff. After that I deciced to take the long way home so started out south on Taylorsville road. I got a couple miles outside of downtown Jtown and all of a sudden I could not seem to shift! I was thinking "oh hell, not again!" remembering about how the jackass I had bought the bike from never gotten any done (in 2700 miles) thus causing me over $800 of clutch repair, and also passing that first 600 mile service on as well. Then I pulled off and saw the whole damn left footboard was pivoting around! It was being held on by only one bolt that swiveled. Instead of the clutch lever moving everything ELSE did!. I saw there was a frame bolt that seemed to be holding on a coolant line bracket so using the wrench included in my handy dandy Suzuki tool kit, I removed that and put it where the missing bolt was so we could get home. Now I know a lot of people would go look for the bolt but frankly they aint got my luck...I had forgotten that Kat was with me! We walked back and there it was...laying in the road! I switched the bolts back, tightened the hell out of it (Suzuki brand 14mm wrench) and came on home. Where before shifting from 1st gear position seemed like a bit of work with about six inches of travel to get into 5th, now a minute little tap up or down changes gears. It will take some getting used to but I think I shall indeed love it!

Riding the Storm

Sometimes I ride in a group. They don't like to call it a club--it's mainly made up of folks that I don't really have too much in common with. Lately much has been said about riding in the rain, riding at night, riding on the interstate and riding long distances. It's the general opinion that riding is supposed to be done between 7am and 5pm, in good weather on slow back country roads of perfect condition. You should never take your bike out in the rain on purpose, never travel where you may run into gravel or get into a situation where you'd be required to exceed 50-55 miles per hour, stop every couple hours and trailer your bike if it would be over a couple hundred miles.

I've come to learn that riding is also about risk management. I have come to know that if you manage your risk by limiting the experience, you shortchange yourself. I gear up, always wear a helmet, and I am perpetually alert and aware of my surroundings when I ride, but on the other hand, I don't let "what could happen" or "what might happen" dissuade me from this two-wheeled mode of transport I love so dearly.

So I say: "You ride the storm, you become the storm." Once you truly own the experience, it is forever part of who you are.

Marcy's...

The little round things began life as cheddar cheese cubes. They are tasty, but the breaded pork tenderloin is rockin'!

Stephenson's General Store

This little general store is in Leavenworth Indiana. They sell handmade wood and pottery items, plus old-time and odd candy. They also have a deli counter in the back. The fellow who runs the place was familiar with Louisville and used to live in the Shively area so I doubt he's a Stevenson. They have a fair amount of touristy crap so it doesn't feel real authentic but I'd bet the building and business name are.

Derby Cycle in Louisville???

A few of us in the LSG met up last week for lunch.  It was pretty cold so we didn't do a whole lot of riding.  Joan suggested we go check out the new Louisville location of Derby Cycles.

It took like four tries to find the place. All it was--a hand made posterboard sign on what looked like an office suite.  Inside (it was unlocked) nothing much was there for sale.  There was a couple people there who showed us the shop, but that was all they had and that wasn't really set up yet.  Funny thing is I got this email back several weeks ago:

"We have opened our Louisville Store. It's located in the Bluegrass Industrial Park and the address is 11214 Bluegrass Parkway, Louisville, KY 40299. The phone number is (502) 267-7770     . Stop by and see us if you're in the area."

Hah, we stopped by...WEEKS AFTER THE OPENING...and nothing was there.

Airhawk durability

I purchased my Airhawk last season and the end of the season so it didn't do much besides sit on a broken bike for months (which was inside out of the weather).  I just looked at it the other day and I noticed how miserably faded the Airhawk has gotten.  I am going to write to the company and ask them to replace it.  It is now medium gray instead of black.

Cover for my Boulevard

I bought this cover a while back and have been doing everything to keep it up off the ground.  Its a really heavy cover of good quality made for a full dress bike.  My bike is not a full dress touring (I'm working on it!) but it does have a windshield and bags.  After I put the Givi top case on the rear, the cover fits a lot better!

Storage capacity

The three things I look for in a bike are fuel economy, riding comfort for distance, and storage.  since I was used Yamaha Majesty, my new bike falls short on all three categories.  It came with saddle bags which help, but you can't really put something in a leather bag with no lock and expect it to be 100% safe....not even 80%.  I had the Givi trunk from the scooter and since Kat and I put the rack on the back, I figured I would see if the Givi mount would work on that rack.  It fits perfectly and now I have my storage back (or at least some of it).  The saddle bags expand somewhat (which the underseat storage and the Givi never did) but they are not completely waterproof or secure.  The Givi case has a lock, and I used it extensively on the scoot.  Now I have engine guards and pegs to buy (for comfort) and then I will be comparable to the scooter.  Shifting doesn't bother me, and on the highway where the scoot would get worse mpg (down to mid 40's) the bike gains mpg (up to almost 50).