noodlenoggin wrote:
So, it's March. Where I grew up, this'd be the start of spring. I'm used to seeing grass and playing outside in March. When I was in college, I got my motorcycle and rode it from home to college on my birthday (March 16) and didn't come close to freezing. Here? We have thigh-deep snow, and we won't really see grass until May. We moved up here to Michigan from Indiana in March, and when we loaded the truck in Indiana it was sunny and 70...I was wearing shorts and there was no snow on the ground anywhere. We arrived at our new home in Michigan to find knee-deep snow, drifts and ice...for the next two months. Gack.
I'm ready for spring. I want spring. I WANT SPRING, AND I WANT IT HERE NOW!!
Maybe I'm jumping the gun and all, but it has all the makings of spring out there. It hit 82 degrees today according to the $1.49 porch thermometer from Menards. The snow is gone...well, except for piles from snowplows, and north slopes, and a couple of other spots. Call it 99% gone. I raked the front yard in shorts and Teva's (yes, and a shirt) today and was too warm. I know, it's still March and I live in Michigan. That's why I haven't Sta-Bil'd the snowblower and shedded it with the showshovels. But dang it seems like spring out there, and the forecast looks promising for the next week.
So saying, the motorcycles are sprouting like mushrooms around here. Just on my street today, I saw the neighbor with the NIIIICE Harley (signed by Criss Angel, I hear) out. The neighbor across the road fired up his Honda XRWhatever and roared up and down the road a few times, and a decent-looking 1980's Ninja sailed past once. Oh, and I saw one other neighbor go by on an older Honda XL dual-purpose bike. I'm itching to get the old XS on the road. Foremost hasn't come through with an insurance estimate, and it's kind of moot for a while anyway, as we bought a minivan last weekend and we're completely, totally tapped out until a couple more paychecks come and go.
Yeah, want to ride a motorcycle, had to get a minivan. Are there two more diametrically opposed forms of transportation? Like, maybe a paddle-wheeled riverboat and the Space Shuttle? And what's up with insurance? I have a 28-year-old bike; I've been riding for 14 years; I've been ticket and accident free for at least ten years...but my credit score is in the tank, so I have to pay out the yang for insurance? It's wrong.
But, since my wife's now driving a red Dodge G.Caravan "Sport" I get to stop with the ancient Crown Vic and drive our Volvo. Maybe a Volvo is more diametrically opposed to a motorbike -- "Ovlov" I've seen them called, and spoken derogatorily about by the cycling community. But...I get to have a sunroof now, I guess, and a stick-shift.
Bah, I'm just marking my time until I can get the bike on the road. So far I've been the "biker who never rides a bike" around here, and it's making me uncomfortable and irritable. Grr, see? I'm irritated.
That's all. What'd you want? Go home!
1979 XS650F -- "Hi, My name's Nick, and I'm a Motorcyclist. I've been dry for four years." (Everybody: "Hi, Nick.")
Get it insured and start riding. Enough with the "I cant afford it" excuse already. You have a paid for bike. You will more than pay for insurance with the gas money you will save if you commute with it.
Kawi VN1600
I dont give a damn what the name on the bike is..........Just ride it.
AZRider wrote:Get it insured and start riding. Enough with the "I cant afford it" excuse already. You have a paid for bike. You will more than pay for insurance with the gas money you will save if you commute with it.
I hope you're smiling when you say that.
1979 XS650F -- "Hi, My name's Nick, and I'm a Motorcyclist. I've been dry for four years." (Everybody: "Hi, Nick.")
AZRider wrote:Get it insured and start riding. Enough with the "I cant afford it" excuse already. You have a paid for bike. You will more than pay for insurance with the gas money you will save if you commute with it.
I hope you're smiling when you say that.
Nope, completely serious. Figure it out. Ive got a 1600. Insurance is 42 dollars a month. (state farm) Youve got a 650. insurance should be 20, 25 a month. Youll save that in a week in gas commuting. plus the fun factor. Cmon already
Kawi VN1600
I dont give a damn what the name on the bike is..........Just ride it.
So yeah, the gas savings will be decent...58mpg instead of the 20-something of our Volvo, or the something-teen of my old Ford.
It remains to be seen how bad the insurance is gonna be, for a couple of reasons. One is that our Michigan governor tacked a $150 fee onto the insurance of every single motor vehicle in the state, so no matter what the insurance really is, add $150. The other reason is our credit...it's terrible, and we all know they look at credit when figuring out your insurance score. The first estimate my wife got was something outrageous like $500 for six months. The estimate I got online from Foremost is only $212 for the year, though.
So we'll see. "I can't afford it" is valid...no matter how much money we could "save" by riding, if we can't come up with the cash upfront for insurance, I'm spending another year weeping on the bike in the garage.
1979 XS650F -- "Hi, My name's Nick, and I'm a Motorcyclist. I've been dry for four years." (Everybody: "Hi, Nick.")
212 a year And 150 per year comes to 362 bucks a year. figure that as 362 bucks for 6 months,( the amount of time you will probably be able to ride) and it costs you 63$ a month. My insurance allows me to insure and uninsure a vehicle at will, and charges accordingly. So your insurance should only be 106$ for 6 months. That comes to 42$ a month. Cmon,lets go riding. I understand your financial concerns, but in the long run it is a financially sound idea.
Kawi VN1600
I dont give a damn what the name on the bike is..........Just ride it.
Whatever dude. I think I just lost my chance to ride this year. The van we just bought (11 days ago) is now leaking transmission fluid from where the dealership replaced an axle before we bought it. I see us getting stuck with the repair bill. Watch for the edited out cussin' now:
gosh mother "procreating" "O Ring" dealership sold us a piece of "poo poo" van that they "messed" up themselves and they scraped that "poo poo" off their heel on us and they "procreating" expect us to eat their "poo poo"? I don't "procreating" think so. Bunch of "messed" over no funs. My "O Ring" feels raw, like I've just been "messed" in it.
There. Not surprisingly, I don't feel any better. Maybe they'll reply to my voicemails with some attempt to make things right, but this is America in the 21st century, and "making things right" just isn't done anymore.
1979 XS650F -- "Hi, My name's Nick, and I'm a Motorcyclist. I've been dry for four years." (Everybody: "Hi, Nick.")
Dude, That blows, I honestly can feel your pain.
One of he problems we have in this country is a motorcycle is viewed as a toy. In other country's it is viewed as an intelligent choice for transportation. My wife told me last week that I was insane. She said the only 2 people she knows of who rode every single day were me and her boss. She said a bike is supposed to be a toy, and she cant figure out what is wrong with me. I put 6500 miles on my bike since I bought it in Aug. I used her words to keep me out of trouble when I bought my new bike Sat. "Well honey, like you said,Im one of the only people you know who ride their bike every single day." My bike is my daily driver.
Kawi VN1600
I dont give a damn what the name on the bike is..........Just ride it.
My bike is my daily driver.