Big B's Something or Other

[intotherain]

u live in watertown eh? I used to be in madison. good old wisconsin

[Big B]

well, the first week at the dealership is over, and i'm happy as hell i made the move, things are going great. and to pile good on top of good (i'm not sure that makes sense, but oh well) i got off of work today around three, drove home, put the new hose on the vtx and voila! no more leaks! i twer so happy i said f the jacket and helmet (not recommended, but you make your own choices) and took off for a quick spin around town, that ended up being a 45 minute tour of greater watertown, damn i was having fun. it was almost 50 today and had it rained harder yesterday i might have taken a more rural ride, instead, there's still 3 foot high piles of snow along the roadside and as they melt they make little water and roadsalt and sand rivers on the road, not the best riding surface. hopefully by monday most of the white stuff is gone and i'll be looking for a longer route on my way to work, only a motorcyclist tries to make a commute longer!

[Big B]

It's been a bit, but maybe now I can get back to doing this on a semi-regular basis now that the pressures of the wedding are finally behind me.

A quick rundown of what's been going on, I've been working at the Yamaha dealership for three months now, everything's been going great, I love my job, the people here are cool, and it's a nice company to work for. I actually look forward to going to work in the morning.

Two weeks ago, I got married, and while it was the huge wedding and party we'd dreamed about, I'm glad it's over. Besides the commute, I had zero time to ride, and alot of my commuting was done in my truck because I had to keep picking up wedding supplies and gifts and booze and everything else under the sun that remotely had to do with that day.

And then the day came and it was all worth it. Beautiful blue skies, temps in the mid 70's, and I didn't have a hangover from the rehearsal dinner shenanigans. For my present from her, Brenda surprised me and arranged for a bagpiper to precede her down the aisle playing "Scotland The Brave" (I'm mostly Scottish) which was phenomonal (he also led us out after the service). Brenda was beautiful in her dress and the rest of the day was a blur.

We had decided to do a honeymoon on the (relative) cheap because we planned to go to the Mediterranean this fall. Brenda used to work for Disney World and our family has a condo in New Smyrna Beach so we went down for a few days, saw Mickey, didn't do much motorcycle wise, except I finally got Brenda on a scooter and we terrorized NSB on two badly smoking Kymcos (I understand they were two strokes, but these were ridiculous). Bren got target lockup around a corner and almost biffed, but everthing else went smooth. Instead of driving straight back (yes, we drove, yes, I'm insane) we made a side trip to the Great Smokies and spent a day hiking and jumping around in waterfalls and getting our culture on. I had kept my dismay of being a half hour from Deal's Gap sans VTX under control until Brenda had to remark that while these roads were nice, they would be much better on the bike.

After making a couple other side trips (the Jim Beam distillery, fireworks store) we made it back last Sunday and only now are starting to (finally) regain some normalcy in our new life together. So that's my non-motorcycle blog entry, next is the fun stuff I'm doing to my VTX.

[Big B]

So, anyways, I had gotten sick of riding around on the racing slicks my Metzlers had transformed into and had to get some new tires. Looking through the various catalogs at work had gotten my mind busy with ideas until I spotted something that made the hazy clear. Metzler makes a 200 series tire that's a direct replacement for my bike, in the same tread design (which I loved) that I had before, well, order me up the 200 rear and the matching front I says to the man (who is me) and I reply the affirmative to me asking myself this question and passing customers were probably as confused as you are now.

I got the tires in a day or so and immediately mounted and balanced them and I couldn't be happier with my decision. The Metzlers hold the road great, allow maximum lean angle with the bike, and even handle wet conditions well. I don't know for sure if it's the extra width (stock was a 180), the confidence of having a new tire, or my mind f'ing with me, but the bike seems so much more stable with the bigger rear tire on it. Whatever the reason, I'm a happy guy. Pictures to follow once I find my camera.

Today, since there's absolutely nothing going on at work, I changed the oil and washed the bike. Not because I'm bowing to popular theory, I used Amsoil (because we have it in bulk) and a K&N filter (because we had one in stock). I'm sure somewhere, MotoF150 is smiling.

We got a new product in, this S100 cleaner stuff that I figured I'd try out. Holy "poo poo" does that stuff work, all you do is spray it on and wash it off. I figured there's no way it would work that easy, but I've been wrong before. My bike went from filthy to squeaky clean in less than 10 minutes. I'm going to continue using the stuff because, well, I'm lazy.

That's what I've gotten accomplished so far, however, I do have cruiser bars, highway pegs, lowers, cruiser bar wind deflectors, and a light bar on order, and will be installing them as they come in. I'm toying with the idea of ditching the Cobra pipes and going with some Dooley pipes, buying some hard bags and a trunk and basically turning the VTX into one badass bagger. Of course, that could also be one of the dumbest ideas I've had. It's Memorial Day Weekend, I'm going to ride until I'm too tired, and then fish until I'm too drunk. Maybe things will become clear on Tuesday.

[Scoutmedic]

Congratulations on getting married! Hope you two are as happy together in the years to come as my wife and I have been.

Sounds like the job is Utopian. Can't beat loving what you do and where you do it. I'm sure I'm not the only one anxious for you to find the camera and take some pics of your mods.

Stay Safe Out There!

[Big B]

wow, it's been a while. being married and owning a house can really cut down on the things you used to do. many things have changed since my last entry. the dealership i worked for decided to close down in early october, which really sucked. at least they gave us a month's advance warning time which gave me two days to make the decision to go back to school. my entire fall was spent in class, doing side jobs, trying to get on the bike as much as possible with a decreased income, and lots of bow hunting. apparantly it was time well spent, as i shot several deer, and made it on the dean's list for the fall semester with a 4.0 GPA. i'm still looking for consistant work that i can do around my scholastic schedule, although that's moderately easier this semester as i'm only taking ten credits. thank god i married someone who makes a good living and is very supportive of my continuing education.

as far as what's going on with my bike, man did i do a 180 and did absolutely nothing with the VTX besides tires and preventative maintainance. i had planned (and had ordered) a bunch of stuff for it, but i put it all off with the intention of buying the boss' royal star venture in september or october. the end of my employment changed that, with me not wanting to take on added financial burden without certain employment in the near future. instead i went into the buying/fixing/selling business which at the end nettted me a 2004 Zuma. i modded the hell out of that thing, putting a big bore kit, pipe, carb, clutch kit, hell everything i could think to do with it it did. the head tech and i (another Zuma geek) even went so far as to drill out the clutch weights and mill the sheaves on our scoots. however, as is common with me, i got bored of it by the end of summer and traded it for a four wheeler, which i then sold. i do have the scooter itch again, and with the ridiculous snow we've been getting this year it would be nice to have a Zuma again, as i haven't been able to get the VTX out since Thanksgiving.
well, that's all for now, i do have some pictures i took of a little trip last fall, but i'll post those later

[Big B]

this constant snow and subzero temps is making me a bit stir crazy, so i'll post some pics from my last decent ride in the fall.

after 50 miles of boring flat balls out riding i arrived at the entrance to the lower narrows





for those of you unfamiliar with wisconsin geography (anyone who's never been to wisconsin) the state is mostly rolling hills, with the exception of the driftless areas (where the glaciers didn't go) and around the wisconsin and mississippi river basins, where there are some nice bluffs and twisty roads. this is the latter, an area west of wisconsin dells, near baraboo, where the wisconsin river winds through.





this is devil's lake, a favorite state park of mine to both ride to and through, and to hike in as well. many people come to this park to enjoy what passes for rock climbing in wisconsin. not many vertical climbs, but a bunch of fun boulder jumping.



nice artsy fartsy picture of my filthy vtx. after leaving the park and heading south through the hills, one can take a ferry across the wisconsin river, the last one in the state (ferry, not river), unfortunately for me, the ferry was closed that day, detouring me twenty miles to the nearest bridge, and because i had left my camera on anticipating a nice ferry shot, killing my battery (something was pressuring one of the menu buttons, and it wouldn't go into power save mode). needless to say the rest of the trip (visiting a winery, some nice twisty hilly roads) went unphotographed.

so that's it! i need all of this damn snow to melt so's i can head off in search of non-boring scenery on the proper transportation. until then i'm left with this





and that's after 90% of it had already melted!

[Big B]

hey! i's gots me a job again! (not that anyone who mistakenly reads this will care, but...)

back in the automotive business again. there's a bunch of movie cliche's that describe my ongoing struggle to leave the automotive service industry (i can't quit you... just when i thought i was out, they pulled me back in) and i was going to take the high road and not get into that, but i already did and i'm not deleting. so there.

anyhoo, i'm at a dodge dealership now, not nearly as fun as a yamaha dealership, but i'm consoling myself with the fact that with the economy in the shitter, i'm lucky to have a job that pays so well while i'm going to school. also, i'm expanding my horizons, or something to that effect. while i don't get to play on R1's and grizzlys anymore, at least i get to take the challenger out when ours comes in in a month or two. i may even trade the expedition in on a ram diesel.

[Big B]

winter! why won't you release us from your cold embrace! and why was i too lazy last fall to install my brand new woodburner in the garage, leaving me to freeze!

well, you say, don't go in the damn garage. 'scuse me, i say, i must go in the garage for there is a 72 CL350 (figured out what it was!) in various states of rebuilding. but kind sir, you inquire, won't that wait until it warms. "pee" off, i respond, i must have it completed by April 28th!


and it may never warm up


the point of all that nonsense (point, i have no point) is that my father, who rode old bsa's in his twenties, turns sixty this april, and my gift to him is going to be the freshly rebuilt 350. so far the teardown has gone real well, the engine looks great, and as soon as the new gaskets and piston rings come in it'll get thrown back together. i've taken lots of pics, and will update here on my progress.

snow! why will you not melt! why, then, when you melt, you revert to your evil twin (not johnj) ice! why must i be tempted by almost clear roads and zero degree air temperatures! why can i not wait until wednesday when allegedly it will be in the forties! why am i punctuating with exclamation points instead of question marks!



i need a nice long therepeautic ride, i fear my mind is leaving me

[blues2cruise]

Glad to hear you're working again.

Two things....
Always carry extra batteries.
Move to Florida.