08/28/2005
Well, we've got two more bikes... WTF?! :-) These are people powered so calm down.

A pal of mine gave me a 10 speed years ago when we got married so Maru could ride it as his back didn't allow him to ride it much. It was a Schwinn, and a VERY nice bike. Aluminum frame, very lightweight. Well, I rode it some last year practicing before I bought my Buell Blast.. and the tires were kinda sad at that point, but the tubes held air. When I started working on the Honda Rebel project, Maru wanted me to replace the tires on the bike... We did that today. Tires cost $5.00 each, and the tubes were also $5.00 each. The tubes are SLIME tubes, self sealing for flats, cuts, etc... I guess that's okay, but $2.00 tubes would have worked, they just didn't have any in stock. I installed the tires on the rims, and then Maru wanted to go riding. Problem, we only have ONE BIKE.

I've been trying to convince her to let me get a Mountain Bike, as I like riding like that better than being hunched over the handlebars on a ten speed. As such, we hit the Sports Authority, and I got a bike with an aluminum frame for $99.00, with shocks in the front. We went to a local park which has bike paths, and rode around for about two hours. It was alot of fun, different contrast between riding a motorcycle where you've got to gear up. It's already gotten an accessory installed, I bought a gel seat cover when I bought the bike and installed it before we went riding because whoever designs seat covers for bicycles is obviously a sadomasochist.

On the way through the park we had seen a turtle on the side of the road, with his head out, and figured he was crossing. When we parked and came back, he was alive.. but dying. Someone had hit the poor fellow, and he was bleeding to death. It made my heart sink. Some people are just cruel. We went by Burger King afterwards, and got some medium soft drinks and refreshed.. then went riding at the local university and around the campus and then went home.

Earlier in the day we did a bunch of yardwork, and I cut down one end of one of the wire spools I was given by the electrician at work so it looks more like a cafe table. We stained it with a stain that went on grey, and then mellowed to a dark brown. It looks pretty good. We just need to cut down the end of the other one, and stain it (maybe next weekend), and pick up some white plastic chairs on clearance to go with it. We're hoping to put down landscape timbers, and then some old carpet as a weed blocker, and cover it with pea gravel. Put some pavers down for the barbecue grill to sit on, the tables on bricks, and the chairs in the gravel and we'll have a beer garten and can actually have a party and have some friends over without having to sit in our driveway. I've also got to go and get some more barrels, as we're going to put a gutter along the back of the house and setup 4 barrels for watering plants in the front yard.

Being able to wash the garden tools with rainwater, wash my hands after working in the dirt, water plants, water the grass like Maru did today, and more... all from rain that came from the sky is really cool. It's also more convenient as the spigots are higher than the ones on the house, and easier to get to... and we don't get charged for sewer usage on water which goes to water our garden, etc... so it's really nice. Gonna have to go pick up three more tomorrow after work.

Anyway, other than almost getting run over yesterday afternoon this was a good weekend.

Pictures below:

Maru after we installed the new tires on the Schwinn, and aired them up.	Me on the mountain bike, looking normal.	The mountain bike after we peeled all the cheesy decals off of it.They came off pretty easy since the bike was new and they hadn't baked onto it for years in the sun. Used a little WD40 to remove what little residue was left behind.

Our little Sennie checking out the shifting on the mountain bike.	Maru with the table. Polarized lens filter on the camera was dirty, and loose, have to clean and check it out tonight (hence the weird green line).	Rain barrels. The red line is where the water level WAS before I planted the bamboo and watered it and some of the other plants. It rained for 30 minutes, and it got up to the red line, not bad considering the gutter feeding this is pretty small. The side gutter we'll install will be about 30 feet long, and collect half the rain that the roof gets, should be more than enough to fill four barrels like we are going to install.

08/27/2005
Today could have been a better day... it went pretty well, we got about 30 minutes of rain and the new rain 55 gallon barrels I installed filled up about 3/4 of the way. I drove to a friend's house, and picked up a drum composter, some green bamboo plants, and some small concrete blocks, and dropped off two barrels for him. Then I came home, planted the bamboo, cleaned and setup the composter, and watered the bamboo and washed my shovel using water from the rain barrels. I went across the street to get my neighbor so he could see the barrels, as he'd get alot of use out of these as he's an avid gardener.

We live on a street where the speed limit is 30 mph, and for good reason. The houses are close to the street as it's an older neighborhood, children wander the neighborhood, and the street is hilly so you could come across the top of a rise and hit someone pulling out very easily if you were speeding. There has actually been a fatality on the corner where we live, with an elderly couple running a stop sign as a teenage driver doing 55 hit them.

As I was crossing the street, a guy in his 20's to 30's was coming down the street, he must have been doing 50 or 60. He had come across the top of the hill, and squealed his tires as he sped up as I was crossing the lane. It was if he was planning to hit me. I got onto my neighbors property and the wind from his Green Jeep Wrangler with Brown Leather Top was pretty bad as he passed within inches of me. I yelled at him: "SLOW DOWN", he yelled back: "F*CK YOU". This was in the space of seconds as he was traveling very rapidly, way to fast for our street. After telling me what he thought e slammed his brakes on and his jeep went a little sideways and he left a big patch of rubber and a cloud of smoke. Then he actually put it in reverse and started to back up. I wish I had gotten his license plate number for the police report.. He almost backed into a car while in reverse.. Then he put it in drive and went up and started to circle back around.. I kept walking, figured he would be on the side street and my neighbor would be with me by the time he drove up. I guess he went by, my neighbor asked me to come in and I saw no reason to stay outside.

The guy had money, white male, sun glasses, baseball cap. The jeep looked new. He was obviously doing well for himself. He probably thinks of himself as a good Christian, and I sincerely doubt he drives like this through his neighborhood where his kids are playing. But he feels like he can drive through my neighborhood like that. Somehow I don't think Jesus would approve.

There needs to be a speedhump on our street, the drivers coming through here are a menace. The police patrol regularly, and setup speed traps to no avail. To turn off on a side street you have to literally slow down almost all the way, and I have had times where drivers have thrown a fit, honking their horn, etc... whether I'm on my bike, or in the car or truck. Road ragers act so menacing, so stupidly without regard to what their actions might bring... jail time, prison, the end of their life... all because they want to lead foot it and burn the almost $3.00 per gallon gas as fast as they can, be a jerk to their fellow man, etc...

Will post pix of the rain barrels later tonight.

08/20/2005
It's been a couple of weeks since the last update...

Regarding Maru's Firebolt... well she passed her break in period for the bike the other day, and there are about 450 miles until the first service.

Maru's accessories for her Firebolt came in, and last night I installed them. She got an airbox mask, saddlebags, tailbag, and tank bag. All of the luggage is matched and very nice. All of the luggage expands, the tank bags let 2 inches wider, the tank bag grows 4 inches, and the tail bag gets 2 inches taller if you unzip the right zippers. The tank bag came with a strap so you can carry it as a small take along bag, and also a rain cover. It had a map pocket, CD/MP3 player pouch with a rubber gasket type headphone port on it so you can plug in and the pouch stays somewhat protected. We ordered some black license plate frames from CHRIS products at Rodney's Cycle House. They're $5.99 each, but shipping and handling from Dennis Kirk is like $6.00, and taxes are alot less so we're getting them locally. Our sportbike rear wheel stand came in, but the bolts were too short to attach the wheels by half an inch, so I had to go to the hardware store and pickup some bolts of the right size. It lifts the back end of the bike pretty easy, but it still makes me nervous to use it. Wouldn't wrench on the bike with it unless someone else was around to help out.

As I said before, my friend Fred helped me install the LeatherLyke Saddlebags on my bike. Today I got a vinyl fork bag from Rodney's when we were ordering the license plate frames.. it had leather ties (pretty thin) ones to attach it, so I got out some zip ties, and threaded those through the holes.. secured it with those, and then tied the ties so it still looks like they are doing the job. It looks pretty good, don't know if I'll put anything in it.. maybe an empty plastic bottle so it won't sag! It's more for looks than anything. I liked that it had conchos and studs.. the tassel on the concho though was a bit long, so I had to trim one of the sides so it doesn't touch the front fender.

I want a luggage rack for it, but am debating a Jardine Rack, or a Kawasaki Rack for it.. and then of course a bag to go on the luggage rack with a concho and studs.. and then later on the Corbin Seat with Conchos and Studs.. and then an engine guard.. but not the one from Kawasaki as it doesn't look right to me. Anyway, check out the pictures. Gotta go put my bike up, and take the Doegible for his wings to be clipped.. He's gotten his flight feathers back from the last time, and is acting a combination of fearless (hey, I can fly anywhere) and frightened (hey, what's that, fly away). Before I guess he just sat in terror on his playpen when we were in the other room, or hopped down and walked to us.. or when he was scared, just sat there and toughed it out.

Buell Firebolt - XB9R with Saddlebags, Tailbag, Airbox Mask, and Tailbag. All decked out for a trip.	Vulcan 750 with Leatherlyke Saddlebags / Hardbags, Memphis Shades Windshield, and Fork Bag.

08/08/2005
Two days, and Maru has 140 miles on her bike so far. On Sunday we took it to a new parking lot at the local University and she rode around getting used to the basics of the bike. Then we headed out to Home Depot as I needed to pick up some Damp Rid for the toolshed, and the bike shed. I drove the truck, and had the digital camera. I took some pictures in the parking lot, when we were at home getting ready to go, and when we were on the road.

After we got back we rode up to Vilonia to visit my friend Fred, and he rode back on his Honda Shadow Aero with us. He helped me mount the LeatherLyke Saddlebags on my bike, and relocate the turn signals. In the process we found that the taillight was missing one of the three bolts that is supposed to hold it on so I wrote Kawasaki Sport Center about it (asking if I can come in and get a bolt since it should have three), and also to ask about scheduling the first maintenance for my Vulcan (it's got less than 50 miles now on the break-in period before it needs to be serviced). I've put miles on it pretty quick, but that's what a year's experience does to you. Last year I rode the Buell and was happy to put 20 miles on it and come home safe. Now I'm more comfortable on the road (still always on the defensive) but I am more likely to go riding and wander around alot and then come home when I feel like it rather than set a time and go out for a timed ride like I used to.

Today after work we headed out to go by a UPS drop off location to drop a package off. I strapped it to the seat on the Vulcan, and Maru went to the bank to deposit a check. I was supposed to meet her at the bank, but I went to the wrong one, and had to go to the other one to meet her. By the time we made it to the UPS store they were closed, but a truck was outside. The UPS store employees told us to just leave the package in the truck. We waited 30 minutes, and the driver NEVER showed up. Rather than have the package potentially stolen I strapped it back to the bike and we headed to Office Depot and dropped it off there for the UPS guy to pick up tomorrow. Then we headed home. On the way back two guys on sportbikes (A Suzuki and a Kawasaki) pulled up behind us, they had jeans and t-shirts with tennis shoes on. At least they had some coverage, and they had helmets on.

When they pulled up behind us, they got close and tried to angle in so they could check out the Firebolt. One of them said to the other: "Wow, check that out. That's a Buell, those are real sportbikes". That was pretty cool. My saddlebags are coming in handy, as I can leave my rainsuit, first aid kit, riding goggles, gloves, and other items in the bags and I still have tons of room. It's like having to really large backpacks mounted on the bike. Well, I'm starting to ramble (as if I don't normally), so here are the rest of the pictures.

Maru ready to go for a ride on Sunday on her XB9R.	Would you believe that a First Aid Kit can hold this bike back? Naw, probably not..	Parking Lot Practice. This is always key to learning about your new bike, no matter how long you've been riding.

Parking Lot Posing. Key to developing your image as a rider.	What's that in my rearview mirror, my god, it's a Buell XB9R, the Firebolt! Wow, those are so cool!	Wow, it's passing me. Those white wheels sure are sweet, the yellow and white is like a banana cream pie. Yum!

08/06/2005
We're baaaaaaack. Friday we both left work early so we could load up and head to Stillwater, Oklahoma. We were going to Forman Harley-Davidson/Buell to pick up Marie's new XB9R. She HAD to have the XB9R in yellow. It's almost 1000 cc's, which is frightening to me... We spent the night at the Motel-6 as it was the only place with any rooms available (ugh) due to a big event going on in Stillwater over the weekend. The drive up was uneventful most of the way, until we missed an exit on one of the Turnpikes for OSU in a driving rainstorm. We had to double back (going through two turnpike turnstiles and costing $1.00 total) and then turn around at the Island in the middle with the McDonald's and gas station to go back and hit the right exit. Everyone in Oklahoma was EXTREMELY nice and friendly.

Up until about Stillwater the place was mainly rolling hills, beautiful creeks and unspoiled land beside most of the highways and roads.. Stillwater and on it was flatter, but still beautiful. Makes you want to consider moving there. At the island (sorry, got used to these being called this in Europe in Austria, Czech, and Croatia) there was a biker who pointed us to the rest rooms. He was riding a Triumph Bonneville which had clip on racing bars, and had been modified somewhat to be like a Thruxton. He was waiting out the storm, but I bet he was there a while as it rained ALL night.

We went to breakfast the next morning, and then to the dealership to pick it up. They gave us each a T-shirt, and had the cases of oil, trans-fluid, oil filters, and other things I had requested since we don't have a Buell dealer in our state anymore. As I rode it in the parking lot, and the low Harley sounding rumble in such a light and high-tech frame felt like there was a dragon hiding in this beast just waiting to fly. She rode it up the block and came back (with her helmet, and gear on). They helped us load the bike up and we headed home. They went out of their way to tell us everything about the bike, and to make sure we were getting what we wanted. We each got two free shirts, and then also another free shirt for Maru with a VIP card in addition to the bike and ordering all the additions we wanted. I'd highly recommend shopping with Forman, if I hadn't already bought the Vulcan I'd probably trade my little Buell in on the Harley-Davidson Night-Rod they had on display (it was BEAUTIFUL, long, lean, and with a blacked out engine.. Like a HD Nighttrain, but with up to date technology!) Oh well, the 750 only costs a little over $200.00 a year to insure, with comprehensive coverage!

Then we headed home. That took about 5 hours or so for us to get back, and we hit the same storm from the night before the whole way and we were in and out of light drizzle to heavy rain the whole time. Closer to home we called our friend (our dear friend, wonderful guy) Henry and he came over and helped us unload the bike (thanks man, you are a true friend!). We then played musical bikes to get them all parked. I will need to cleanup the old toolshed and get things reorganized so my bikes can park comfortably (it's tight at the moment) but her's are in relative luxury in the beehive. :-) Hey, they're both yellow. Hoping to install the saddlebags on the Vulcan tomorrow, we'll see. I've got ALOT of work to do. She wants to take the XB9R for some parking lot orientation to get used to it so I'll probably go and watch. It's a beautiful bike, makes me a bit jealous in a way.. But Buell doesn't make anything with an upright seating position for guys like me who prefer sitting up to laying on the tank of a bike. They used to, I wish they would again. Maybe someday. Oh, Henry brought by a black zip tie and we secured Maru's second Lady Rider bell to her new bike.. So she's armed against Gremlins now...

More pictures below:

Maru at Forman Harley-Davidson, Beauty Shot with their Sign. :-) This is a REALLY nice dealership, they treated us like we were members of the family and made sure we were satisfied.	A truck hauling howies. We were directly behind this at one point and it was disconcerting to have such big cannons pointed at us. :-) But kinda neat too.	Black and Yellow biker rally in progress? Or just some crazy enthusiasts! Maybe a little of both.

Maru in front of the Prague Historical Museum. Prague, Oklahoma. We took an alternate route home to avoid the toll roads, and it took us through Prague. Unfortunately the ONLY shop advertising Kolache's was closed. I guess they only serve them for breakfast whereas in Czech you can get them all day! Maru was disappointed!	Me with Downtown Prague, Oklahoma. They have a Czech festival here every May. So does Prague, Texas (not in May). Down near Galveston, TX there are Kolache shops all over the place, but they too only open for the breakfast crowd.

08/04/2005
Well, last night I painted the turn signal relocation bracket so it's a gloss black instead of a flat black for my saddlebag installation.

Then I removed the bell I bought Marie from her bike at Rodney's, and replaced it with a Lady Rider bell from Foxhill Farms Leather.. The bells they sell are chromed, but they are cast bells with a bit more weight, and have designs on them. You can get one that looks like a hawk, or a gladiator, or dozen's of other designs. The Lady Rider bell is has the words Lady Rider on a scroll, and a rose on it. It's really quite nice. The clapper inside is also a cast clapper, and chromed. I installed it on her bike where the old bell was.

Then I took her old bell and spray painted it black, and then buffed the paint off so that the indentions and tooling on it had a coat of gloss black in it but the bell surface was clean chrome. I then painted the inside of the bell and the clapper and let them dry.. Still rings good.. but it isn't rusty. Turns out the bell's Rodney has have a clapper made from iron that rusts, so if you paint the inside that eliminates the problem.. or maybe it's the Gremlins... Only thing better would be a teflon coated bell inside so when the Gremlin's run up into it they can't stick and they fall out quicker. Then once it was dry I washed it, and then dried it and stuck it in a velvet bag and put it on her desk.. When she came home she then 'gifted' it to me for my Vulcan... Have a second Lady Rider bell for her new bike as well.. (more about this another time).

So check out your bells, and do some clapper maintenance cause chances are you've got some rust in there.. If the wire that holds the clapper to the bell rusts completely you might have a silent bell.. I'm going to relocate the one Henry bought me when I got my Buell to a more visible spot, as it's kind of a Stealth Bell at the moment and that isn't in keeping with the legend.. Considering figuring out a way to hang it from the rear license plate bracket somehow so that the Gremlin's get a little kick of the tire when they fall out... maybe that way they'll crack the windshield of the cager behind me who is following too close rather than making a pothole.

BTW. My friend Robert's bell came in for his Nighthawk 750.. It's called Astro. I found Foxhill Farms Leather on: http://ridemyown.com/ It's a site for female motorcyclists, and very good for finding resources for things. Women are VERY methodical about digging up the good stuff it seems... I also recommend http://www.vtwinmama.com/

Both of these sites were one's I came across while looking into learning to ride, the experiences of the female riders was invaluable as they documented it, asked questions, etc... Because of this I am planning to actually get a Yahoo ID and sign up for the Vulcan 750 Owners Group on Yahoo Groups because those guys and gals are really good at supporting each other online.

That's about it, I painted a bracket, installed a bell, and polished a bell... Oh, the Heat Sink for the Oil Filter came in, when I cracked the box open.. Well.. It's a bit too big. I've got to chop 2 inches off the height, and I'm going to have to shorten it so it will fit the smaller diameter of my little oil filter (I did check the size, it just turned out bigger than I thought - the instructions actually say to do this though if the cover is too big). Also, the edges of the fins are pretty sharp, so in the process I'll probably round them down and make them look a bit nicer. It's aluminum. Don't know if I'll get to it on Sunday, got alot of bike work to do.. But I checked the Buell's oil, and despite it being 6 months since it's oil change, and 2500 miles on the oil (supposed to change it every 5000 miles, but I want to do it as it's been 6 months) the oil is sweet and clean looking.. Not dirty and black. So I may have to wait on that until I can drag my butt out and get the workbench, hacksaw, and files out to modify the oil filter cooler. Hah, I actually am considering buying a tube of thermal paste (for heat transfer on processors) to put on the oil filter before putting the heatsink on.. Hah, that's insane.

Now tonight I finished up my cheap chuck (barrel bag, seat mount). I went to Fuller and Son hardware downtown during lunch and got some d-ring mounts and holders.. and cord for a drawstring. Then I went to Arkansas Flag and Banner and bought 20 yards (hah) of nylon web strapping to go with some nylon buckles I have for the bag. While I was there I picked up an American Flag soft keyring for Marie's coming new motorcycle (more about this later when it arrives). Well, when I got home I went ahead and drilled holes in the barrel bag, then installed the d-rings, and spent about an hour figuring out how to make the straps work, and mount to the bike. The rear helmet locks are where they mount. These are covered by the Saddlebags, so when I install the saddlebags I may have to find another way to mount the barrel bag. Anyway, it's slighly too small for me to lean against as a backrest. I now need to get a pad like they have for athletic events, or make one and attach it with Velcro. Ironic, I named the bike T'Pol.. and on Enterprise T'Pol sold the invention of Velcro to a guy for money (or so my brother-in-law tells me, he watched the show alot more than I did and he told me about this episode). Well, I guess I'll sign off for now. Lotta work to do this weekend as I may get the saddlebags installed on Sunday.. and I need to cut down the oil filter heat sink and change the Buellies oil.

08/01/2005
Well, I went to Rodney's Cycle House over the weekend and picked up a windshield for the Vulcan 750. I didn't want to relocate the front turn signals on the bike, which a Memphis Shades Fats or Slim windshield would require. So I had little choice but to get a handlebar mount windshield. Memphis Shades makes 3 types of handlebar mount that would fit my bike without relocating the turn signals. Demon, Shooter, and Hellcat. Well, I opted for the Shooter as the Hellcat had a weird chopped appearance, and the Demon had side panels which are supposed to shield the handlebars but I didn't think would lineup quite right on my bike as tall as it is.

I opted for the Clear to Black tint after Donna at Rodney's helped me figure out how the shield would look with the Memphis Shades windshield fitting template. We went inside and I expected to pay and then be on my way and in a week or so I'd get a call that it was in. Well, Donna went back into the stock area and pulled the box off the shelf for me. Wow, nice to have a place which keeps things like this in stock! Rodney's is good about keeping popular or common items in stock (unlike our local HD dealership).

I didn't want to mount it in the parking lot as I wanted to ride up to Little Italy and Roland and get some miles on the bike to get the break in period a little further along. I had to come back later with Marie and pick it up as there was no way the box and I were going to fit on the bike, even with a bungee cord. I ended up stopping at the Crossroads country store for a Diet. Dr. Pepper and some peanuts. There was a Suzuki GSXR 750 sitting there, and at least three cars pulled in and looked at it and drove off when they saw me standing by my bike in the shade drinking my softdrink. Each of the cars looked like they were up to no good, like they were planning to steal the GSXR.

Kinda stupid if you ask me as the State Highway Patrol was at the place when I pulled up, and had left only a few minutes earlier than when the first car came up. The Crossroads Country Store is a good place for a break, and the Roland and Little Italy area are beautiful riding with nice curvy roads and hilly roads all within quick reach of Little Rock. Mario Caruso would do well to add them to his book.

Once I got home Marie and I both went riding some together, and then when we got home it took about an hour to get the windshield mounted. I still need to get a piece of rubber trim to go along the bottom as Memphis Shades didn't include anything like that in the box, just the mounting hardware and the windshield. I was supposed to go visit my friend Fred in Vilonia but didn't make it. Anyway, here are some photos of the bike with the windshield. It gives some good protection for my chest on the highway, don't feel like I'm going to be blown off the bike.. but today it was REALLY windy, and the wind plus the air around the shield sounded strange as I'm not used to it just yet. When the air was calm it didn't seem or sound weird at all. I'm pretty pleased with the Memphis Shades windshield and handlebar mounts.. but I am going to keep my eye on the screws and make sure they all stay in tight.

Vulcan 750 from Side with Left Side with Memphis Shades "Shooter" Windshield mounted.	Vulcan 750 from Front with Memphis Shades "Shooter" windshield.	Vulcan 750 from 3/4 view with Memphis Shades "Shooter" windshield.
Vulcan 750, Instruments with Windshield mounted.	Vulcan 750 from Front with Memphis Shades "Shooter" windshield, closeup.	Vulcan 750 from 3/4 view of rear of bike, check out that fat back tire.