Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Okay,

Where to start? I've never done one of these new-fangled Blog thingies before.

I guess I should ruminate a bit...My biking history:

I've always loved bikes, but my mother was very anti-"murdercycle", so I bought my first bike as an adult, after moving out of parents house.

I was 21 years old, and had been married a few months. My wife (wonderful woman that she is ) was very supportive of my decision to get a bike. So I began looking in the classifieds of the local paper, and found a 1980 Honda CX 500 Custom in good condition for $600.00.

I went about learning to ride in entirely the wrong way. My only experience was a few short rides on dirt bikes which belonged to friends. But I didn't know anything about the training courses like MSF at the time, so I just had a friend help me get the thing out of the pickup and proceded to wobble my way around the parking lot for about 30 minutes, then I took it to the gas station, filled it up and rode 45 miles of freeways and twisting mountain roads to work, then back again after dark.

I only had a permit at the time, so I broke two of the conditions the first day. What can I say - I was young and stupid back then. Now I'm just stupid.

That first ride got me hooked big time, though. By some miracle I got the hang of the thing without any major mishaps. I dropped it once after dismounting and discovering I hadn't got the kickstand down all the way. It started to fall, and I over-reacted, pushing it over the other way. I have yet to drop a bike while riding.Edit - Well scratch that last claim. I crashed. Details here. I've always been pretty cautious, and pretty lucky. I've had a few close calls.

After riding the CX all year to and from work, including winter, I decided I wanted to get a bigger bike. I sold the CX and found a 1980 Yamaha XS 1100 Special for $1500.00. Talk about a big step up! That thing was a torque monster, and bigger, heavier, faster by a long shot. I loved that bike. My wife and I rode all over on it. We used to take an evening ride after I got off work, just for the fun of it. We took a few trips over to the coast, too to visit some friends. I think I rode it about 5K miles before second gear went away. (A common problem with the bigger Yamahas back then) I still rode the thing a few thousand more miles, though skipfrom 1st to 3rd.

My next bike was a 1976 Honda GL1000 standard. I had a 74 El Camino at the time with a healthy 327 that was very thirsty, so I traded it for the GL so I would have something more economical. It unfortunately turned out to be a lemon, and soon after that we found out child #1 was on the way. So I got rid of the bike, and haven't ridden since until about 6 weeks ago.

During summer last year when gas prices started sky-rocketing, I got to thinking about getting a bike again. I started doing some internet research, found TMW and I was hooked. I posted feverishly (for me) and spent countless hours searching cycletrader, ebay, craigslist and other classifieds sites.

I now have a 1984 Yamaha FJ 600, and I have my M1 endorsement. I still plan to take the MSF basic rider course when funds are available. I've ridden the little FJ about 2000 miles so far, and I'm loving every second of it. I don't know how I survived those 6 bikeless years.

So that's the life biking story of Toyuzu, the rest is yet to be written.

Had a minor issue with the clutch last night. I was riding home at about 9:00 p.m., and just before pulling into town, I noticed it started shifting hard. This made me a bit nervous of course, since I'm planning a ride with a few friends on Friday. I checked it out today, and it turned out to be nothing more than a loose bolt in the clutch lever bracket. The nut had fallen off the bottom.

So I went to True Value and for $.32 I bought a new nut and a lock-washer. I think that may be the cheapest repair in history. I also adjusted the cable a bit, and I'm ready for the ride Friday.

Anyone want to join me?

No ride tomorrow after all. Wife is very sick in the hospital.

Okay, wife is okay now. *whew!* She had a bad case of bronchitis, then passed it on to the kids, and me. But it kind of put a damper on my riding plans for this last weekend. I did go to work today though, even though I'm still sick. My commute is only a mile, but it's funny how I treasure that mile each day going too and from work.

With the weather steadily improving, I may start waking up a bit early each day so I can get in a short ride before going to work. Riding is good medicine.

I got in a short ride today, about 120 miles all told. Some alone, and some with a friend I passed on the way to a short twisty road. Had a good time, and took a few pictures. The pics are posted in the total motorcycle talk forum here: http://totalmotorcycle.com/BBS/viewtopic.php?t=1701

I love when the weatherman is wrong. It was supposed to be raining today, but the sun shone brightly all day, and not a drop fell. It was a great day to ride.

It's been a while, I guess having a new child come into the world can do that. But I did finally get a chance to ride again, and although I was only out for a couple of hours, it was an awesome ride. The ride report and pictures are in the Travel and events forum here.

Wow.... Talk about winged time. It has been far too long since I've posted here. I thought an update to the old blog might be appropriate. Funny how life throws changes at you and when you finally get a chance to take a peek backwards, you realize you have neglected something important.

So now that I've cleared the cobwebs away from the blog so you can see the words on the faded page again, here's what's been happening:

Some of you regulars here might actually remember me, like Buzz, Highside, Mike, Sev, Scan, Poppy, among others. I guess even a few of those are no longer here anymore. But those of you you who are might remember that the last time I was really active here was when I was going through the decision-making process of enlisting in the United States Army.

Many of you offered advice, opinions, support, warnings, etc. For that, all of it, I am still gratefull. The water has passed under the proverbial bridge however, and I have already survived a 14 month tour in Iraq. I will be getting my second promotion, to Sergeant on April 1st. I have no regrets about joining the Army, and plan to stay in as long as my family can handle it.

My wife and I are expecting our fourth child, due in late August. I am now Stationed in Alaska, at Fort Richardson (Near Anchorage). I have absolutely fallen head-over-heels in love with Alaska and I don't ever intend to leave.

Now for some more moto-related news. I sold my beloved Yamaha FJ 600 that you see in the avatar down in California before moving here to Alaska. I was unable to handle the lack of a motorcycle for long though, so I bought a basket case 84 Suzuki GS 550E for $200 just to have something to look at and tinker with. It now sits beside my garage, almost as derelict as the day I bought it. I did get it fired up and running though! I also got a big surprise from my wife upon returning from Iraq - A pristine 1973 Honda CB 350! It is complete, though not running. It does have good compression though, and I plan to fix it up and get it running this summer.

Alaska tends to be rather unfriendly to motorcyclists for most of the year I've found. There is an alternative though. ATV's! (Alaskans call them "fourwheelers".) So to assuage my need to ride, I have bought four of them. (!) Yes, FOUR. In January 2007, I was permitted two weeks of "R&R leave" from Iraq. It was then that I bought the first two; an 07 Yamaha Big Bear 400 4X4 with a winch and snowplow for my wife and an 07 Yamaha Grizzly 80 for my son.

I knew I would want to take the whole family out riding, but that requires another ATV, so I religiously checked Craigslist, and found an 01 Yamaha Warrior 350 that my wife picked up for me after I returned to Iraq. Since getting back home I've realized that the trails here in Alaska are much more suited to the utility 4X4 style ATV than the sport wheelers, like my Warrior. So I pinched pennies, trimmed my monthly budget every way possible and dumped a boatload of cash on a 2008 Yamaha Grizzly 700 Special Edition with heated grips and throttle, and a Warn winch. Here is is, in all it's glory:






ATV's are ridable year-round in Alaska, and mine have taken me to places with breath-taking beauty far from anything resembling civilization. I love Alaska. That is my life in a nut-shell since my last update.

Awesome! Congrats on *looks back at post*
-The new little ones
-Survival
-Promotions
-The ATVs
-Having fun!

You haven't seen much of me (I started posting here about the same time you stopped... lol) But I'm down at Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Phoenix right now and intend to head up to AK when I'm done. How's the demand for bike/atv/snowmobile/side-by-side mechanics up there from what you've seen?
Wrider

Awesome, you are making me miss my sportsman 700.

ATVs are a helluva a lot of fun!

Wrider wrote:Awesome! Congrats on *looks back at post*
-The new little ones
-Survival
-Promotions
-The ATVs
-Having fun!

You haven't seen much of me (I started posting here about the same time you stopped... lol) But I'm down at Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Phoenix right now and intend to head up to AK when I'm done. How's the demand for bike/atv/snowmobile/side-by-side mechanics up there from what you've seen?
Wrider

Alaskans love their toys! I would say that the number of complaints I've heard about long waits for dealer service indicate a pretty strong demand. Come on up, you will love it!