The Beginning.

 That's me riding my older brother's Honda 50.  Mind you, it's back in the 70's when I had hair.  That Honda was the first "motorcycle" that I ever rode and once I was old enough, and my parents found a helmet that would fit around my hair, I rode that thing into the ground.  I loved it.  Motorized exploration.  I have no idea why I look like my Aunt Bobbie in the picture, though.  Very strange indeed.

Now, this is MY first motorcycle.  It's a Kawasaki KD 80.  Apparently me and Huckleberry Fin, better known as Josh, were taking it apart just to take it apart.  It's the only picture I could find of the bike.  I have told my wife this, so I guess I can tell you too, I have never had more fun doing anything in my life as I had riding with Huckleberry.  We would get off the school bus, get home as quickly as possible, and meet to go riding.  We rode like some mix between hardcore explorers and motocross stars ...it was amazingly fun.  When the sun was at the top of the pine trees we knew we had to head home to get there by dinner.  No one would want to miss my mom's dinner, not even for motorcycling.  Apparently, she also ironed creases in my blue jeans ...how uncool is that!

Cold ...just plain cold.

It's been almost three weeks ...three weeks!  I haven't ridden my motorcycle since my slip on the ice  ...'cus I don't want to die.  It's been in the 20's every day since then.  When will this snow and ice melt?!  And, we're supposed to get more snow this afternoon.

OK, I know, a white Christmas will be nice.   I totally agree.  It's just that I feel like a kid who got the coolest gift in the world for Christmas, but he isn't allowed to play with it.  Look at it, sure.  Put a new fender on it, OK.  But ride it, NOPE.

Helmet, in the closet.  Tourmaster jacket, closet.  Motorcycle boots, closet.  Insulated coveralls, closet.  Motorcycle, shivering out in the snow.

Me, feeling like a kid who can't play with his favorite toy.

...Oh, and Merry Christmas to ya!

I New-Coked my fender!

Ginger and I were listening to NPR.  It was some sort of word show.  A guy called in as asked what he should call an upgrade that actually made things worse.  They came up with several, but "New-Coked" was my favorite.

I New-Coked my fender.  The KLR fender gets a bad rap because while it's good at catching mud and water, it's also good at catching wind ...especially on the highway.  So, folks tend to get new fenders.  But a few brave (cheap) folks try to modify their existing fender.  That's me ...brave (cheap).

So, below is my fender in original condition:

...and belower is my New-Coked fender:

OK, so the good part is that it made a huge difference on the highway ...didn't get blown around nearly as much.  It was actually quite nice.  And I took it out in the woods through some major mud/water holes ...huge.  I got virtually no water/mud on me from the front wheel.  That was my fear, that while it was good on the highway it would would not longer be good at ...well ...being a fender.  It passed the test!

Yesterday though, I had the privilege of riding through a couple of wet spots on the road going about 40mph ...muddy droplets covered my visor ...a lot ...a whole lot  ...hard to see.  Like, somehow the water/mud took a very direct route to my face ...not a good thing.  Apparently, my New-Coked fender works well as a fender at really low speeds ...but not so  much at faster speeds. 

Yep, I New-Coked my fender.  Time for a new one.  I think I'll buy one this time.

Ice 2, Ken 0

I think it was Josh's idea.  There we were in front of the Safeway.  In front of us a sheet of ice where the parking lot had frozen.  A rare find in Rocky Mount, NC.  I figure we were about 14.  Our goal: to see if it was possible to ride a bike on a sheet of ice.  Verdict: Nope.

At 14 I pretty much could do anything I tried.  I was a skinny kid, but fast, strong, and bullet proof.  I think I lasted about 2 seconds ...and I went down hard!  I figured that would be the last time I tried to ride on ice with only two wheels.  Turns out I was wrong.  But I did wait 29 years ...that's pretty good, huh?

I wanted to test my cold weather gear today.  I had my new boots (which I am slowly getting used to.), a new pair of insulated coveralls (the kind people work in), and my new jacket (a rock'n Tourmaster Transition 2).  They worked beautifully, never got cold at all.  I figured I would ride out to the forest service road behind Pondapas Pond and practice shifting with my new boots.  I read online that everyone struggles when they first start riding with stiffer boots.   It definitely is not easy for me.

What I did not expect was to find sheets of ice on the forest service road ...but, none-the-less there they were.  At first I was in denial about it.  I figure there was enough gravel for me to get traction on.  But, the further I went the more icy the road became.  So, I decided to bail.

Turned my 350 pound motorcycle around (not so easy on a one lane icy road).  I headed back out the way I came in.  I was just putt putting and SHAMOWZY! my bike did a 180 degree turn in an instant ending up on it's side.  I picked it up fast, like someone would see me or something.  The picture above it right after the slide and fall.My bike had been laying on it's side on the darker path beside my bike in the picture ...completely ice ...slick as something really slick.

Of course now I had to turn around again ...on ice ...in one lane ...without dropping the bike again.  I succeeded and drove white knuckled out to the paved road.  Whew.  Every ride is an adventure and a learning experience ...I love it!

Me rock'n my new jacket!

The Boots

For Christmas, I got some "dual sport" boots (Yes, I know it's not Christmas yet ...that's just how we roll around here.)  Dual Sport boots are basically motocross boots with a lug sole ...then they are called ATV or dual sport boots.  Anyway, I got me some.

I was very excited about them.  I wore them to bed the first night I had them  ...or I wanted to anyway, Ginger put her foot down on that one.  Silly girl.  She gets like that sometimes.

I did wear them around the house.  Felt like Herman Munster (too young to know Herman Munster?  ...grrr).  These things are big ole clod-hoppers.  Clunk, Clunk, Clunk, Clunk ...you are NOT wearing those to bed!

So, today was my first chance to ride with my new motorcycle boots.  Until this point I have been wearing hiking boots  ...comfy, but I had already twisted my ankle catching my heavy bike.  These new boots are very supportive and protective - they are very cool.

Out to my bike.  Clunk, Clunk, Clunk, Clunk ...listen ...listen ...hmm, nobody here to give me a hard time!  Not that she would have.  This is their purpose after all ...apparently they are NOT sleeping boots.  Who knew.

First thing I noticed was that it was sort of different shifting gears with these clod-hoppers - especially up shifting.  But, hey, they're new ...got to be broken in ya know.  Down the driveway and I'm off to Ellet Valley.  It does not take me long - 10 seconds maybe, that's not long - to notice that shifting was going to be an issue ...and I have cars around me.  Not full on traffic, but still - cars.

I did feel much safer and supported in the boots.  But, I felt like I was learning how to ride a motorcycle again.   Click ...ptrrrr, Click ...ptrrrrr, Click ....WHEEEEEE,  minor freak out, Click ...ptrrrrrr,  whew.

...and so it went.  I know I will get used to them.  Thousands of people ride in boots like this.  I emailed one of my friends in Atlanta that rides motocross and asked his advice.   Haven't heard back yet.  He will probably be nice, but inside he'll be thinking "Advice?  Yeah, don't be a baby!  Suck it up."  ...or maybe not, it's hard to tell.

The Dream ...The Plan

The tingling we feel when we contemplate waking up and living 

our dreams we can label either "fear" or "excitement". 

If we call it fear, we tend to find reasons not to go any farther.  

If we call it excitement, we turn it into the energy to move forward.

John-Roger

That dotted red line.  Excitement.  5000 miles.  95% of it on dirt.  My dream.  My plan.

I'm 43.  In all reality I am about halfway done with my life.  Time to get off my ass and do the kind of things that I have always wanted to do, but somehow "doing the right thing" has always gotten in the way.  In May of 2011 I will not be doing the "right" thing ...nope, I'll be on my motorcycle heading west on the Trans America Trail (TAT).  My dream.  My plan.

From Tennessee to Oregon ...on my KLR ...on the dirt  ...living the dream.  I wish I could leave today, but I would freeze to death.  It's in the 20's today here in the mountains of Virginia.  That's OK, I really do need some time to plan and save up some cashola. 

Everyone needs a "thing".  This is my thing for now.  After this, hopefully I will have a new thing.  Having a thing makes everything else in life feel easier.  I know what I am working for. 

That's all for now.  I just wanted to go public with my dream, my plan.  I hope today, if you feel that tingling, I hope it feels like excitement.

Ken and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ...and blogging.

This started out as simply Ken and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. ...and it was going swimmingly.  Typed a good bit.  Read it over.  Sounded OK.  Wouldn't save.  Crapola.  Continued to not save.  Had to bail and start again.  Makes me so happy  ...so happy.

My headlight and tail light were out per my previous post.  I wasn't getting far on my own, so I enlisted the help of my peeps at KLRforum.net  I must say, they are quite helpful, and pretty polite, even if you ask dumb questions.

Anyway, today it was in the 20's ...and no, I do not have a garage (damn it!).  So, there I stood drinking hot chocolate trying to maintain some semblance of warmth as I took various parts of my motorcycle off. Side panels ...off.   Seat ...off.  Fairing ...off.  Thing around the headlight ...off.  Thing under the instrument panel ...off.  Bright light switch ...off.

I was informed under the seat I would find two fuses.  Checked them ...fine.  I was advised to check the connections ...fine.  I was advised to check the switches ...fine, ...I think.  I was advised to trace the wiring from battery to the lights ...what?  Use the diagram from Bigcee ...don't know if things are fine because to me it looked like colored spaghetti.

(wife just called me to dinner ...fine)

OK, just finished dinner and a movie.  Back to the story.  It started snowing.

So, I packed up all my stuff, put the cover on and came inside.  I figured I'd call Greg, the guy I bought the bike from.  Maybe he would have a clue for me ...he did ...a big clue.  Turns out the two fuses that I checked were not THE two fuses that one is supposed to find under the seat (who knew?).  Apparently the two fuses that I checked were added by Greg for other stuff ...GPS and whatnot.

So, out in the snow, I found THE two fuses ...one blown of course.  Mystery solved.  As a bonus I learned a little about my bike, how to take it somewhat apart, and where the stinking fuses are. A good day all in all.  Oh yeah, we got out Christmas tree today.