Journeys of a South Floridian.

[cfkingfish]

I have decided to try this blog thing as a way of recording what I ride, how I ride, and most importantly, my adventures in riding the vast flat swamp we call South Florida. I should probably reintroduce myself, what I ride, and why I ride.

My name is Christian Faulkner, I am 24 years old, and I live in Southwest Florida. My interests in bikes started at 18 when I received my license up north and occasionally rode my friend's Nighthawk 250 back in 99-2000. I went to college came back and now here I lie - the owner of a small and struggling tropical plant nursery. My job was always a dream of mine, and I hope I never have to find another my entire life.

Anyways..enough with the rambling. I have three two-wheeled motorized vehicles.

2006 Yamaha Vino 125 Classic
1981 Honda CX500 Custom
2006 Suzuki SV650S

Off all things, gas prices primed the pump for me to get back into the saddle. I walked away from the Yamaha dealership on May 4th with $2748 less in my pocket, but a shiny blue new Vino 125 classic. I loved the fact that I could ride this all day long and spend about $5 in gas.....and I mean ALL day long.

It soon came to my attention that although the scooter was excellent, as I could commute to work and around neighboring towns, I couldn't jump on the highway. I had to find myself a real bike. Late June I plopped down $800 on the Honda - it seemed to ride like a dream....for a week. It needs carb and cooling work, and I realized the bike was generally unsafe - it was to be a project.

June 31st - yes, only 10 days later - I went to a high volume dealer and looked at middleweight "streetfighter" bikes. I had to pick between the SV, the Ninja 650R, or the Yamaha FZ6. All are great bikes, but have different qualities about them. The SVs were being sold out the door for $200 less than MSRP before taxes, so I jumped on a red one.

Now there are three vehicles. The Yamaha is for sale, but I am in no hurry to sell, as I enjoy getting the mileage, but can always use extra money.

This blog will consist of my journeys both commuting to my greenhouse, pleasure riding, and hopefully some long term trips in the future. Here are pictures of the three vehicles:







I think that is enough for an intro post, I shall now put up my first blog shortly.

[cfkingfish]

My sister is still around the house for another week until she goes back to college, so she enjoys taking my car, which I happened to need for some business shipping. I have strapped boxes with bungee cord to the back of the SV, but these were just too big.

So I decided to take the day off and go to Boca Grande. BG lies on Gasparilla Island, about 25 miles to the south of me. It has a laidback Florida Keys feeling about it, without the traffic, but with high real estate prices. This is where the Bush family takes vacation when W is in town. The ride is a fairly easy route with a few turns and over a toll bridge. This has been, so far, my longest ride on the SV, as it has only 1000 miles on it and most of that were break-in miles. It was here that I encountered city vs rural riding, and how comfortable the bike is over periods of half-hour riding.

One thing I have noticed around town is the use of the "wave". All sport bikers give each other the one hand salute, as do most cruisers. Harley guys don't seem too into it, and I have no problem with that. I find that Harley riders either love or hate sportbikes, and life goes on. I almost never get the wave from guys on Road Kings and they seem to hate the sport bikers the most. Oh well.

I have also noticed a few other habits I have taken for second nature. One is that if I am at a stoplight and in front, I take off from the pack of cages once it turns green. I also should work on my speed consistency when not in traffic - I tend to be turning the throttle, then letting off, and repeat.

Once I finally make it over the toll bridge and onto the island, I find myself in a different environment. As a winter resort town, this place has been deserted, and the only noticable residents seem to be the wild iguanas, coconut palms, and migrant workers tending to the lawns of multimillion dollar homes. The road is constantly sandy and in town, golf carts tend to be the method of transportation. The residents who are in town (those who can't afford 2nd, 3rd, 4th homes) tend to give me the look of an outsider who has lost his way. I realize this is not a place for bikes, so I take a few pictures, and head back on my way. I decide to concentrate on keeping weight on my lower body when I lean over the bike to turn and accelerate.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the island. Out of Time featuring Denzel Washington was filmed here as a Florida Keys lookalike town.







So anyways, that was a first small adventure of mine. On the way home, I am keeping speed in the fast lane, and a early 90s Honda Civic with an airplane wing and coffee can muffler comes up beside me and gives me the "lets race" look. I opt not to take the visual offer, and he zooms off weaving through traffic. I think to myself, "I pay higher car insurance because of that guy".

[cfkingfish]

Blog #2 - 1198 miles

I rode about 110 miles yesterday in the blaring heat with very little sleep. I hadn't expected to go anywhere - I was out late Friday night and was intending on sleeping in. 730AM comes around and I wake up not too hungover, and realize the temperature is actually reasonable (78F) and went for a cruise. The temperature rose quickly to 90F after 930AM and stays that way until 730PM....everyday. I rode from one town to the next doing an errand or visiting someone for one reason or another. I look down at my odometer, and 100 miles have turned without me thinking about it. The only way I had started to notice was that my back and arms were sore.

Now I have tried to keep my weight on the SV on my legs and lower body, and seem to be doing well at it. This is my first sportbike, so the weight-shifting is new to me, whereas on the CX500 or cruiser, it is a more comfortable riding position that does not create a sore body after 40-50 miles. I also realized that the more weight you have up on the handlebars, the more you are working yourself when you have to turn. I am not in marathon shape, but I do work outside in my nursery for a living and am surprised my body has not become accustomed to the position.

On another note, someone came by and put a deposit down on the Vino. It seems I will not be getting the 80MPG, but will have to deal with @42MPG for the time being. I have put the CX500 on its centerstand, and hope to tear into it this week to fix the oil/antifreeze issue. As gas prices go up, I imagine myself using the CX as a commuter vehicle, and the SV as my fun bike. $3+ a gallon is highway robbery and I hate it when I have to put $10 worth of gas even in the SV.

-Christian

[VermilionX]

i heard florida weather is a lot like philippines, my country of origin.

anyway... nice collection of rides you got there.

i'd like to try your CX500.