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Mileage: 12,430.9

Besides having to wait under a bridge for 15 minutes while a storm passed, the ride to Detroit was rather uneventful. Amy just purred right along the entire way. I have been contemplating a ride to my hometown of Clarksville, TN, and I still don't know what to make of it. I think amy could definitely make it the 550 miles one-way. I didn't feel fatigued after the 90 miles as I thought I would with such a small bike. I guess I'll have to build up to it and see how it goes.

Mileage: 12,588.9

I love this little motorcycle. The only thing I can possibly complain about is the weight. Being a venerated car guy, I try to find every way possible to lighten my vehicles (i.e. lighter wheels, tires, aluminum goodies top replace steel, etc.). I never thought I'd say this, but the bike is too light! Where this really becomes a factor is when I go to turn left at a stop light with a weight sensor. This feat is impossible unless there is another car behind me that inches its way into the sensor zone. I now know every stoplight in town that has a weight sensor, and I find myself doing meaningless right turns only to turn around in a driveway. Oh well, at least I'm riding![/b]

Mileage: 12,990.6

Amy is still running fantastically. I guess I've ridden often in the last five days. I took her to Detroit again this past Saturday. I've never ridden at 3am in the country before (on the way home), but it was amazing. Being the only vehicle on the road with no visible or ambient lights and a starry sky, I had an entirely new feeling of motorcycling. With literally nothing else to concentrate on, you find yourself falling into a deep concentration of the sounds and feel of your motorcycle. The vision was though I could actually see the sequence of combustion going on. Strange, I know, but it felt wonderful. I've never been so refreshed after a ride--or at 3:30am.

Maintenance Log:
- B8ES spark plug replacement (2)

And the biggest news for today is that all that hard work I've been doing on the job front has finally started to pay off. I have a phone interview with the company I am most interested in tomorrow!

Mileage: 13,240.4

Another trip to Detroit as a success. The only problem was yesterday (Saturday) evening. I went out to start Amy, and there was some sort of electrical short somewhere in the system. There was a slight tick when I would hit the electric starter, and the headlight wouldn't come on. I turned the key from the "OFF" to "red dot" position a couple of times, and then she started. Since the horn would honk in the "red dot" position, I don't really know where the short could be. I would say it's at the key, since I wiggled the key and she started, but then nothing would work, right? Oh well, Amy's running fine otherwise, so I guess I'll check it out some other time--or wait until she will not start to make myself figure it out.


"Why does this idiot keep going back to Detroit weekend after weekend?" you ask? I don't rightly know. I have reasons, but I can never decide whether the reasons justify the trip. The fact that I never enjoy myself is, I guess, beside the point. I'll try to explain if you feel like listening....

This last trip was spurred on my my interest in Super 8mm film making. My best friend from high school, Glenn, and I discovered this stuff a few years ago when I bought an old Bell & Howell projector (in case you're wondering--I'm 23). I've been watching old Stooges reels on that projector ever since.

Fast forward 6 years (and about 2 weeks ago). I've been thinking about my very best friend/ex-girlfriend (whom I still talk to often....). She is obsessed with tv, movies, anything screen related. I notice the other 8mm projector in the corner that has her favorite reel stuffed in the storage cubby. I watch it, and remember why I love 8mm--it's the lack of sound that makes you build events in your head, but to the constant tick of the film in the projector. The film is a color reel (the only one I own) of an unknown family in Detroit in the 50s going to the zoo, barbequing, etc. Beautiful.

My ex had always laughed at me for this film obsession until she watched this reel last autumn. From that point on she only asked for more 8mm. I had picked up a camera last year and never used it. Now I'm running through my head this idea:

8mm camera + available film and my interest + projector whirr = ex-girlfriend's birthday present..........so I bought 2 reels of Plus-X black and white Reversal film. (By the way, it's June 25, and her b-day is July 25. That give me only one month to shoot, process, edit, and get the film to her....ugh)

I don't know if I'm doing this for me or her though....which is really starting to get to me. I have always wanted to make this film (maybe 4-5 minutes of things in life I think beautiful), but yet my motive is to make it for her. That motive makes me sick at times. I want to make it for me (my ideals, my thoughts my need), but like almost everything else in my life, my end result is for someone else. For those of you thinking that the notion of doing everything for someone else seems noble--try it, you'll understand. I, however, have much trouble doing things for myself only--I guess it's a strange curse. So, I spent my weekend in my friend's house, while he was out of town, riding out to film some of the shots I deem beautiful. I'm bidding on a Bolex splicer on Ebay right now, so I can edit the film after processing. Whatever my motive, I must make this film. Here are a couple picture I took wile shooting:


The beauty of Detroit--to know that one man originally had an idea, and built an empire singlehandedly out of his concept. This happens to be Detroit/Edison's coal manufacturing:



And this isn't making it into the film, but I had to show it. Ok, please do not judge Detroit on this picture. No one can judge Detroit, unless they live in the city limits, as I well know. An abandoned High School:


I find it beautiful in a way.

You are crazy. We are going in that school... Crazy.

Mileage: 13,406.7

This morning and afternoon were devoted to the making of my 8mm short. After taking all that footage in Detroit last weekend, I wanted to get started on the ideas I had for around Lansing. I was most enthused about the concept of mounting the camera to Amy for a swift ride through a wooded section of VanAtta road (I wanted the blurry speed effect). So:

- Canon 518 zoom -- check
- Capitol F4 exposure meter -- check
- tripod -- check
- extra PlusX film -- check
- duct tape -- check

amateur filmmaking at its best:



Whenever I'm feeling stressed, I take my lunch-break and head directly north on Abbott road. The road is straight for 12 miles where it then T's into another road, but it's worth every minute of country-no cops-all out--80mph-riding. I feel so much better every time I get back to E. Lansing. What teases me about this ride is the T in the the road where I turn around. A sign stands there that says "Jambalaya's Authentic Louisiana Cuisine -->". I'm just a tad bit obsessed with Creole food. Today I decided I was going to go to that restaurant. After turning right at that sign, I found the most pleasing Michigan road I have ridden thus far (read: multiple curves). What I did not find is Creole food. The cashier at a local bait shop told me "Jambalaya's" was turned into a banquet hall a couple years ago. Oh well.

On the way out to the ill fated Jambalaya's, I did come across a golf course and mini-golf center that had died. I have a fascination for abandoned/bankrupt structures. It's a little harder to tell from the picture, but you're looking at the tee-off for what I assume to be hole one:



Try to make out the rise and fall of the terrain after the tee (which is at the bottom of the frame). Cool, huh?

Oh, my tach also stopped working. I looked down to see the needle sitting at 0. I was like, "Oh well, who needs a tach anyway? Only for syncing carbs....". I found out later that the cable had come out of the back of the gauge! I threaded it back in and all is kosher.

Mileage: 13,568

I have new tires! I have been waiting for this moment since I first took custody of Amy. The previous owner gave me a Cheng-sing (read: cheap and awful) rear tire upon purchase. I took my time having it installed. I went back and forth between "I can do this by myself with just a little bit of time" and "I can't bear to have Amy out of service! She's my only vehicle, and I become agitated when I cannot ride her!".

Well, yesteday morning I took her in to the local "College Bike Shop" in Lansing. They really are great people. Brent at the parts deck is a great guy. I must admit that there are times when it is nice to know what you're talking about, but can you blame him when he has to deal with 60 years of hundreds of manufacturers? I didn't think so.

Anyway, Brent has a CL also. What we didn't realize (as we should have) was that the CL has a 19" front rim (due to the "dual sport" aspect, while the CB (which is the same bike, but with a different "street" exhaust) has an 18" front rim. Wouldn't you know that the 19" rim in 90/90 size is super hard to obtain! "Cheng-sing", the cheap company, doesn't even make that size! Brent is awesome, and over-nighted me a Maxxis front tire for free (ok, I had to pay the difference of the tire, but nothing else).

Let me say that these tires are a completely different experience than the original tires. After taking a few corners softly to wear off the outer coating, I ended up taking corners faster than I ever have before! This is my first pair of aftermarket tires on a rather small motorcycle, but anything is better than where I came from (baldness). Like I said I wanted too--I'm almost sparking pegs now. I'm going to go out riding to learn to do just that tomorrow. I can't wait!

Pictures of new tires (Maxxis:90/90/19 front)


(Cheng-sing: 100/90/18 rear)


In the mean time, I changed the oil, cleaned the centrifugal filter (haha! no money for filers on this bike!), and plugs. Oh! And I was having trouble with the stock NGK B8ES spark plugs. They were only lasting 800 miles before sputtering, where the manual said I should be 2,000 miles between plug changes. I'm a member of http://www.scooterbbs.com/cgi-bin/board ... =DCConfID8, which is a cafe racer forum. A knowledgeable intellectual there told me that if I changed to the gold or iridium plugs (instead of the steel--"S" means steel), I would have a much longer plug life due to the decreased size of the terminal.

BR8EIX (new):


B8ES (used):


See the large diameter of the steel terminal in comparison to the iridium? Yeah, the iridium, were x2.5 as much in cost, but I had to try.


Maintenance Log:

10w40 Honda oil: $7.24 (2 quarts)
NGK BR8EIX plugs (x2): $19.90
Front tire: $64.60
Tire(s) Installation: $81.60
TOTAL: $173.34

Ok, that was more that I expected....but the ability to ride endlessly for months to come on 50-55+ mpg, is enough for me. Thank you Honda!

Mileage: 14,004.1

Amy's front end was destroyed on Saturday. I went to visit my friends in Detroit, and I was hit about 2 miles from their house! Well, actually I hit the car.

So, I'm riding on Lafayette and I see a whole bunch of people going into a church. A ways up the road there is a guy in a 90s Mustang with his blinker on to turn left. He turns. I keep coming. When his entire car is in the lane of oncoming traffic, he decides we wants to turn right and blocks my entire lane. I had no where to go, hit the brakes, locked the rear tire, and slammed into the right rear quarter of the car. The bike stopped, I flew over the handlebars into his passenger door, and fell to the ground. He then proceeded to get out of the car and start yelling obscenities for at least 5 minutes. He didn't even notice or ask if I was ok.

Amazingly I wasn't hurt except for what I think to be a slightly bruised sternum and a bruised leg. Being the person in the rear of the accident, I knew I'd get screwed no matter what. He didn't want to call the cops, and I knew his repair bill would be way larger than mine. The front end is pretty much toast, but she still runs fine. I actually did ride it down the street today to make sure it would be ok. Now I have to go down to the local salvage yard and see if they have a front end I can buy. It sucks, but I'm happy that I'm fine. People suck.

LOOK IN YOUR MIRRORS!

Maintenance cost: unknown

That sucks, but glad to hear that you are ok. A collision with a car is not fun regardless of how fast you were going. Good luck at the salvage yard.

Mileage: the same as last time.

It's almost been a week since the accident. I now have the feeling that I cracked a rib in the upper portion of my cage. Sneezing is not a good time. I haven't been to the doctor, but there really isn't anything you can do for a cracked rib, so what's the point? The only thing they might tell me would be to stay home from work, but that's not an option.

I found a set of forks on ebay for Amy for only $30 + shipping. Not bad, huh? I still need to find a wheel, but I'm torn. You see, I happened to find this at the local salvage yard for sale:



CB450 twin. Just what I had been wanting, really. Yes, I know it's brown metallic , but I don't really care about the color. Remember that my ultimate goal is to end up with a cool cafe bike....plus I kinda like brown metallic. Amy had been giving me a need for more power as of late. I have yet to ride the 450, but I can't imagine that it is much different. My original plan was to trade Amy+cash for the 450, but my Dad has become very interested in motorcycling as of late, so I might keep Amy, buy the 450, and fix Amy to give to him. I can't really make any decisions for another week and a half, so we'll see what happens.