Thursday, March 10, 2011

Thaw Arrival

The spring thaw has finally started to happen. I have had the bike out a few times in the past couple weeks. Last Sunday I went for a little south shore ride with a couple friends from the Yankee Beemers. We got wet, but it wasn't too bad. I am still dusting off the cobwebs so I am a cautioned rider right now. I took the day off yesterday and went for a ride until I burned through a tank of gas and flipped the aux fuel cell switch for the first time. It worked. I love having more gas on the bike. It is so annoying to get gas. With the 4.5 gallons on the pillion seat, it is about an added 30 pounds. I did not notice any handling problems with the extra weight which is good. Acceleration is compromised though. It is noticeably less peppy. I also got my SPOT tracker and satellite radio working yesterday. The sat radio is great. I can listen to Howard Stern as I ride which is very cool. With the SPOT tracker, people can follow the adventure online. I'm down to just a few little things before the big ride. I bought a new kickstand base to attach to my kickstand to widen the base. I still have to attach the sat radio antenna and the SPOT tracker to the shelf. I am planning to use some tough velcro for that. I am in the market for a new phone. I would like to get a mount for a new phone as well and perhaps broadcast online for a couple hours/day. The thought there is to set it up as a webcam so people can see what I see for a couple scheduled hours during the day. Vibration may be an issue, but I'll give it a try and see what it looks like. I took care of the MA inspection for 2011 yesterday at Greater Boston Motorsports in Arlington MA. I haven't been in that shop for a couple years since they screwed-up a parts order I made. They have reorganized a bit. They have a nice gear shop now above the showroom. Planning a Berkshires ride this weekend. Giddyup.