Ride With Tank

It looks like we finally have a little break in the weather.  Normally this would mean I would be taking the bike out for some riding, but the Vstrom is still being held hostage at Gollans.  It is starting to get a little frustrating for me.  I dropped it off a month ago to be sure I would be ready to go once riding season started and they still have not even looked at it.  I dropped it off so they could try to find the little problem I have been having with my idle and to put two new tires on it.  They told me it would be done next week, so I do hope that it is.

The Groundhog has spoken.  Early spring is on the way!  Of course, as I write this the temperature outside is 12.  Tomorrows high is only going to be 8.  If that overgrown rat is wrong I am taking up groundhog hunting.

Last year at Deals Gap I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Brown from EmpireGP.  He is a really great guy who just loves motorcycles.  He does plastic welding and can work wonders with busted up fairings.  I knew he was my kind of guy when he told me his company motto:  “Ride hard, take chances.  We need the work.”  He was riding a bike he had wrecked a few weeks earlier and I have to say he did a pretty good job putting it back together.  His pricing is very reasonable so if you have some damaged bodywork get in touch with him before you spend the big money replacing it.  Chances are he will be able to save you a lot of money.

Bob had a video camera mounted on the bike when he wrecked, and he just finished editing it.  You can see the wreck and the process of repairing the damage and repainting, as well as the final result.  It is pretty interesting and you can see it by clicking here.  While filming themselves on Deals Gap last spring they caught a guy crashing on film.  That video can be seen by clicking here.  Finally, there is a video of a crash and the repair and repainting of another motorcycle here. 

Since I was adding these videos I went ahead and updated the videos page on the website so it looks a little prettier now.  I have also updated the links page.  Check the links page often, there are a lot of really great sites there.  In fact, this would be a great time to click the links for free maps so you have some nice new maps when spring finally comes around.

We sure have had an unpleasant start to 2007.  Lets all hope there will be no more tragedy this year.

Winter sure has turned cold lately.  I guess it had to happen sometime.  At least January is about over.  Before we know it we will be out on the bikes again.

I have been down in the basement running the sewing machine.  I have taken apart the electric blanket I bought on the way home from the Gap in November and sewn it into an electric vest.  I have not tested it out yet, but I think it is going to work really well.  If it does work out I will post a little write-up on how to do it.  I have to admit, it is not a pretty thing to look at, but if it works well who cares what it looks like?  Instead of spending $200 with Gerbing you can spend $20 and a couple of hours of work