|
Categories: all aviation bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater Sun, 30 Jan 2005
I've been in kind of a weird emotional state lately, for a variety This afternoon, I was in just such a state, and eventually decided that a ride was called for. I hopped on the Le Mans and took off for Redmond and points beyond. It was already dark when I left, so I knew it wouldn't be a long ride. I rode out Union Hill Rd, which winds down into the Snoqualmie Valley. It was quite dark, and on the cold side -- I wasn't quite wearing enough clothing. I turned the wrong way on Carnation-Ames Lake Rd, and headed back to Redmond, when I'd meant to head for Carnation. I just rolled with it, since I didn't want to be out too late, and was getting a bit cold. I was a tiny bit dissappointed, though, because I was looking forward to a ride up High Bridge Rd, and possibly finding a spot to stop, look out over the valley, and reflect on life for a bit. Even though I didn't get my stopping-and-reflecting time, the ride was still quite helpful. I'm not sure what it is about riding that helps, but I think it has to do with focusing my mind. When I'm riding, I have to be focused on the task at hand, there's just no other way to be. I can't be mopey or distracted or discombobulated, or I'm dead. I come back from such a ride feeling better, every time. It's not that the emotional weirdness has passed, but it's put back into perspective. There's other stuff out there. Life offers more than the opportunity for self-introspection and endless looping in a logic chain that doesn't ever complete. Somehow, riding forces things to be right again, in proportion. I'm really glad I remember to do it every once in a while. Posted at 22:19 permanent link category: /motorcycle Thu, 27 Jan 2005I started thinking today, about what it would be like to put a sidecar on a Ninja 250. This quickly blossomed into a post on the board, followed by a bunch of web research, followed by a call to Dauntless Motors. The final result seems to be this: Jay (chief mover-n-shaker at Dauntless) said that it sounds like a fun project, both to build, and to ride. He also agreed with my supposition that it's probably never been done before. He said I'd be looking at about $1000ish (very very very rough estimate) to do the work to attach the rig to the bike, and $1800 to build a set of leading-link forks. The new forks aren't strictly necessary, and that would be a logical thing to leave off and do later. This would probably go on a $2000-2500 used Ninja 250. The ideal car is apparently a Velorex 562, which can be had new for about $2000, or used for about $1000. If you've been following along, that puts a nice real-world price on the completed rig of less than $5000. For a sidecar rig, particularly one that's built for you, that's pretty dang good. Price with the new forks would be under $7000. I'm not necessarily considering this as a serious thing, though. I do know that I'd like to get a sidecar rig after I get rid of the truck. I've looked into a Moto Guzzi Stone or Aluminum ($12-15 thousand by the time it's done). I've thought about a Ural Tourist or Patrol (fully built and set up, $8700 or $9700 respectively, but incapable of serious freeway travel). One of the guys at Moto International is selling a Goldwing with an EML sidecar, that's apparently quite the nice rig, for about $5000 (that's a pretty serious option, assuming it's still available when I get in the market). Then there's the Ninja 250 for about $5000. So, there are some interesting options out there. Posted at 16:35 permanent link category: /motorcycle Tue, 25 Jan 2005
I was randomly reminded today that getting the Ninja 250 to have Since I just lubed up the choke cable (which requires removing the left switch pod) not three days ago, I had it fresh in my mind how easy that is to do. For $19, why the heck not? It'll mean taking the tank off, but I can handle that, and anyway I need to clean and re-oil the air filter (which needs the tank off). So, hooray for increased safety! Yet another reason to ride the Ninja instead of the Le Mans... Posted at 22:05 permanent link category: /motorcycle Thu, 20 Jan 2005
It's been freakishly warm the last few days (like, 60° F -- in I finally rode in today, with the temperature at around 50-55°. It was pretty nice. I also rode in really early (like, 6:45 vs. my normal 8:45) so I could leave work early. The reason I'm leaving work early is actually cool all on its own: my Ninja 250 will be in a film workshop as the protagonist's bike. They wanted to use the Moto Guzzi, but they also wanted to have a "riding" shot with someone else doing the riding, and I'm not happy about lending out the Moto Guzzi even to people I really like and trust. So, the Ninja 250 it is. It doesn't fit the bill as well (it's supposed to be a motorcycle our hero is working a crappy job to afford), but it's fine for a workshop. When they get to the real movie, "we can talk." Anyway, it's nice to get back on a bike after a few days of driving around in trucks and doing no driving at all. Posted at 12:19 permanent link category: /motorcycle Fri, 14 Jan 2005
I rode in to work today, despite a temperature of about 26° F Motorcycling has been reduced to a mere transportation means for me right now. Except for notable exceptions like a few nights ago (previous journal entry), I'm just using a motorcycle to get from one place to the other. It's not very glamorous, and isn't ultimately that fun. It's better than it would be in a car or in that gas-guzzling truck, but it's still not great. I guess for that reason, I'm looking forward to better (read: warmer) weather. I certainly don't have any friends willing to ride with me right now, and usually don't feel like braving the cold for long enough to make a fun ride. The vest is nice, but it still doesn't make the ride warm. Just more bearable. I was thinking about it on the way into work today, and I think I need to install brush guards on the handlebars of the Ninja. Just to deflect the wind; it would make a huge difference in how cold my hands got. I'll have to look into it, and see how much of a pain that would be. Posted at 13:04 permanent link category: /motorcycle Wed, 12 Jan 2005
I was in a grumpy, bad mood last night, so I decided to take a ride This last weekend, it apparently snowed (I was in Chicago, so I didn't get to see it falling), and the weather has been cold and clear since then. Last night, some clouds had rolled in, and the temperature was actually up in the mid 30s to very low 40s. Seeing that there wouldn't be any ice to worry about, I suited up and headed out. (Loving this heated vest concept, I must say.) The ride itself was relatively uneventful, in storytelling terms. A few people tried to run into me on the freeway, but no more so than normal, and nothing untoward happened. What was nice was to get on the Le Mans (which I rarely ride these days, since the Ninja 250 is so often the obvious choice for the riding I'm doing), tuck in and just ride. I didn't have a goal or a timeline. It was after 9 pm, so the traffic had thinned out to the point that it was flowing freely, at least. I went up I-5 to 405, turned south on that road, and came across I-90. Probably 40ish miles all told, all on the freeway. Nothing like a stunning ride, but it really improved my mood and reminded me that I still like the Le Mans. Sometimes I forget that, riding through the city on the Ninja. It's discouraging to think I'm paying over $200 a month, between insurance and loan payment, just to have the Le Mans sit in the garage. It was also nice to realize that riding a motorcycle can still improve my mood. I forget that sometimes too, since I almost always ride on an errand lately. It's been ages since I rode with no purpose other than riding. A nice change of pace from just riding to/from work or trying to get to some store before it closes. Posted at 10:00 permanent link category: /motorcycle Categories: all aviation gadgets misc motorcycle theater Written by Ian Johnston. Software is Blosxom. Questions? Please mail me at reaper at obairlann dot net. |