Zarakand's Chicago Escapades

[zarakand]

Congrats. Is that honda shadow aero 750 buzzy like the shadow 600 at speeds above 50 mph ? Hopefully, that buzziness is toned down with a bigger engine. I like that paint scheme.

No not at all. I found myself doing 80 several times without realising it since it felt so smooth at that speed in comparison to the 600. Only when I started wondering why all the @#@holes were going so slow, did I realize I was speeding.

[zarakand]

Sadly, I have yet to receive a single e-mail or phone call regarding my jacket for sale. Woe is me! Looks like getting a new jacket is something that's not on the agenda for a while then, maybe come November I can start dropping hints and some generous soul will purchase it for a bday gift.

Couple notes about the new bike, course I woke up early this morning to hit a quick ride before Easter gatherings began. I'm feeling very comfortable on it, and enjoying it tremendously. I keep forgetting I have a 5th gear, and notice the engine getting louder around 60mph and go OOO! I'm going to have to get acclimated to that rather quickly!

There's definitely a difference in engine breaking and switching with the shaft drive. What that difference is? Hell I can't articulate it, for once I'm stumped. All I can say is that it feels slightly different. Not enough to affect anything, but enough for me to notice. Maybe I'm on crack? Feel free to update me for those of you, who've switched from a chain to a shaft. (Kinky jokes are welcome too..)

I stopped by Ali's house bright and early and was pleased by his stunned reaction to the bike. We cruised down to Lake Shore Drive to hit some of the curves on Lower Whacker Drive (the underground road that links the lake front with the major expressways in the middle of downtown). I let him take the lead, which is always a big mistake since he has no sense of direction and he promptly led us off Whacker Drive...It was starting to get late, and I'm late now! So we headed back to the expressway and rode home.

I'm enjoying taking it easy on the curves for now, rather ease into everything than get to cocky and take it in the O-Ring! I keep forgetting about pictures of LSD and Lower Whacker Drive, maybe I'll remember the camera next time.

[blues2cruise]

Your new bike is a beauty.
On the subject of your jacket, maybe you coud get it altered, or come down on the price a bit.

[zarakand]

It's been a very hectic week or so since I've updated. Three important things to note: 1. No ones ever going to buy my jacket at $300 And I don't want a new jacket badly enough to spend more than $50 on one. Oh well, it fits, offers good protection, and I can get used to blue! 2. Video editing is FANATSTIC. I've actually become obsessed with this, and purchased a program called Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0. If you have old home movies, or want to make movies out of pictures, the program's a lot of fun. I've started a series of short 3-7 minute movies called Saif's Secrets, which has landed me in a lot of trouble with friends Eh it's beeen worth it, and its so addicting that I've skipped out on riding to continue playing around with it. 3. I've been spending a lot of hours in different CPS schools around the city, observing student/teacher dynamics. It's great to see what you've been studying in action, and realize that it's more enticing now than ever.

All right, so motorcycling talk! I finally made the decision to purchase prescription sunglasses, and man does it make a difference! No more avoiding traveling west during sunset if I can help it. I'm not up early enough for sunrise, so east is never a problem! It's really neat, the last pair of prescription sunglasses I had was about 8 years ago, and don't help me see anymore. Ah well.

The weather's been fluctuating wildly around here, so we'll go from 70's one day to 40's the next making it a frustrating experience. I'm sure that's the same for most of you in the Midwest, and especially our neighbors to the North. Over all I've only been able to put on 300 miles on the new bike, much less than I would have liked. Though I'm on my way out right now, and I have all day tomorrow so hopefully that number will skyrocket in the next few days.

Recently I took a longer bike ride up Route 41 to a restaurant called Half Moon. It's a 24 hour diner, down about an hour from Chicago were we've gone the last couple of years. Not sure if they've changed cooks or not, but the food there was such a let down. Normally, it's worth the ride out there. So I've made a new plan! Now, the trouble is getting my friends to agree. The plan is to ride into Wisconsin and visit a Perkins instead, since that should only be 1.5 hrs away.

I'll let you'll know how that goes, in the mean time take care.

[zarakand]

It's been quite a while since I've written here. At times I feel silly just recounting a ride, and saying well I went down xyz street turned left on abc street only to find that I really should have gone lxy street. Perhaps if it was a website only for Chicago riders (thank god that it's not!) I'd feel more comfortable recounting rides in that manner.

In any case, since there have been quite a few exciting changes in my motorcycling world, not to mention that it's been about a month since my last update, I figured its time to update!

Lately, I've been noticing that something was very wrong with the way my helmet fit my melon shaped head. Every time I ride into any kind of headwind over 60mph, it hops around attempting take-off. Mind you, the strap sign is on, and it has been securely fastened. It's entirely possible that the problem has always existed, and I've only begun to notice it this year due to my increased comfort and confidence on the bike. On the other hand, if the problem's existed for the last several years what kind of attention have I been paying to the road!?

After reading all I could online about helmet fit, safety, etc. I decided it was time to purchase a new one. Sadly, I opted to follow the quite un-sage advice for my wallet regarding try on everything prior to looking at the price. Sigh, what motorcycle dealer came up with that one!?

All the ones I tried on were two sizes smaller than my original HJC, doh! Out of the three (Shoei, Icon, and Arai) that fit well, I choose the Arai even though it was more than the others-a whopping $489. The ventilation system on the Arai seemed a lot better, it offered a quick release for the face shield (blunder! blunder most foul!), a five-year warranty (though I'm not so sure on this), and I liked the matte black finish. Hopefully, I'll get some pictures up in a day or so of the helmet.

The temperatures have been inched up towards the 80's the last few days, and the Arai has been fantastic. I never noticed how poor the ventilation was in my HJC, or how loud it was. In all fairness, the fact that it was two sizes too large probably contributed quite a bit to the loudness factor. Though, in this sort of heat, I often had the face-shield open a crack.

I haven't had a chance to ride into any real headwinds yet, but puttzing around 70-80mph doesn't move it all. While I could have purchased an Icon for $200, and it would have been Snell certified, I finally understand why someone would pay the extra $280 for a higher end helmet. If only I could master this stupid quick release system, then I'd be in motorcycling heaven for this summer!

Sadly, this purchase was combined with finally getting saddlebags, as I'd lost my old saddlebags with the trade-in. God, has that been awful! No saddle-bags the last month has meant no where to keep my disc lock, carrying a 35-40lb backpack every time I commute to school, not having the option to take of a layer of clothing as it warms up, or having anywhere to store a bottle of water. All in all with the saddlebags, brackets, helmet, and visor this visit cost me just short of a $1000.

June and July are going to be very tight months. Ramen noodles here I come!

[SilveradoGirl]

June and July are going to be very tight months. Ramen noodles here I come!

Hey, at least you have your priorities straight!!

I'm in the same boat...this spring I bought a new jacket, a new helmet, new gloves, and 2 tinted shields for the helmet. Bill needed a new back tire too. WOW...we spent the money. Sucks when its too cold to ride up here....then all you do is think about the neat stuff you could buy, then buy it!!

[zarakand]

Two beautiful days with little to no riding Gina, my gf, had her wisdom teeth extracted mid-afternoon on Friday, and with the heavy doze of painkillers needed someone to chauffer her. Unfortunately, she didn't take too kindly to the idea of riding over there. Ever since she burned her leg last year on the VLX, she hates the idea of getting on the bike. It's such a shame, since we'd just come back from her first ride and she'd really enjoyed it. In hindsight I should have mentioned that she should dismount from the left, and by no means touch the exhaust. On the bright side, she didn't kick the bike over!

Anyway, the last two days have been spent taking care of her, preparing food that she can eat, and gazing longingly outdoors. After witnessing the constant flow of blood from her mouth for a full day, I'm not looking forward to having my wisdom teeth extracted once I have dental. Ew, no thanks. Stupid dentist just wants to dumb me down, and have me hand over my wallet. Long live wisdom teeth I say!

Gina decided to spend the night at her folks, since I had to go to a variety show and I went for a short ride around the city afterwards. The original plan to zip to the grocery store for bread and coffee slipped my mind as soon as I turned out of the driveway. Regardless of the crawling traffic, blistering heat, and lack of music there's something incredibly soothing about being on a bike. All my stress over the last two days and anxiety about my looming finals melted away, as I steered my way through the traffic.

Without realizing it I'd wandered onto I-90 East towards downtown. Normally, I avoid downtown on Saturday nights like I'd try to avoid the Plague, but during the week it offers some of the best riding scenery around. Cruising around downtown on a cruiser definitely puts one in the minority, and every couple lights I notice groups 3-7 sports bike riders. They're all headed to the Rock and Roll McDonalds, that's right smack in the center of downtown. It seems to be the congregating spot for hundreds of riders, mostly sports.

Once in a great while, a few cop cars will pull in the lot to do random checks, and the scene greatly resembles rats fleeing from a burning ship. The majority of them are squids, popping wheelies after every stop light, riding around the clubs trying to impress the girls. The cops never seem to enclose the lot, prior to entering, and only seem interested in dispersing the crowd. Though I'm sure McDonald's loves the $$ they bring in.

In any case, a quick cruise to ogle at the big buildings from I-90/94 to Lake Shore Drive takes roughly 15 minutes, and then I'm high tailing it down North Lake Shore Drive. Before I know it I've put close to a hundred miles on the bike, and not yet picked up the much needed bread for dinner. Ah, turned out to be a good night after all.

Since I've been neglecting the pictures lately. Here's a picture of Gina and myself in Hong Kong a while back, and two pictures of the new helmet. On the bright side I'm finally getting the hang for changing the face shield.

[KarateChick]

Good reading. And good luck on your finals!

[sv-wolf]

Good choice on the Arai, Zarakand. Be aware that Arai models do vary. I have an Astro-J. It is very comfortable, like all Arais - but BLOODY noisy!!!! You picked a good 'un.

Keep posting, I enjoy reading your stuff.

[zarakand]

I'm glad people enjoy reading the blogs, and that it's not just an exercise in vanity for me.