sample from some shooting I did today for a new website. #camera+ #motorcycle (Taken with instagram)
Well my street gear is finally complete for my bike. Just got the CE rated back armor for my jacket. Has been backordered for about a month. Now I just need those parts for my fuel petcock and I will be up and running again.
Well, I went through the process of removing the gas tank on my bike this afternoon. My parts to replace the petcock shipped on Friday so with any luck they will arrive on Monday or Tuesday, I can get this thing back together early in the week and I can still get a ride in with the good weather. Tank removal was surprisingly easy. Took only about twenty minutes. Pulled a few hoses (gently) removed the fuel indicator and viola. Getting the remaining fuel out of the tank proved to be a little more tricky. In short i got it everywhere, but most went in the fuel can.
After my disasterous ride on Saturday trying to drive the Lincoln Highway, I was invited down by some of the fire fighters I work with to a pancake breakfast in Kankakee. I had to get up early to meet everyone and the tempurature was a cold 42 degrees. Three layers on and I still was numb. I had blast riding down on 57 in a group of seven though. Three guys from public works; including myself, three fire fighters and a police officer. Most of the guys riding were in decked out Harley Crusiers, but we had a Honda Shadow, a Buell of some sort and of course my Kawasaki in the mix as well. The countryside down in this area was quite pretty. Once you get outside most of Chicagoland the roads open up to some real scenic areas. After breakfast, in what can only be described as a “quaint” little down, we make a quick stop at one of the fire fighter’s house to check out his garage that he converted to a Harley shrine. I would have gotten some pictures, but being the new rider in the group I was of course plagued by some embarassing mishaps. I had a couple of instances where my bike wouldn’t start (It was in neutral) and then while stopped for breakfast my seat wouldn’t pop off to allow me access to my camera. A fellow I work with told me a few weeks ago that one of his favorite things about riding a bike are the smells. I can totally agree to that. On the way back we caught some hints of burning leaves. Saw some apples laying in the road from some side apple trees. Just felt like fall and it was a really great ride. My bike still hurts my rear end though, but I suppose I can’t ask for too much from a first bike.
View Ride Log: 10-02-11 in a larger map
Attempted to make a run today on the Historic Lincoln Highway in Illinois. The initial plan was to head out towards the DeKalb area. Unfortunately I ran into problems unable to find the historic placemarkers to get me in the right direction. You can see from the trail below that I had several instances where I had to backtrack. Overall not a bad ride, but not productive either.
View Ride Log: 10-01-11 in a larger map
A good ride this afternoon on some back country roads. As is probably the case with a lot of riders I got lost in the moment and got a little bit cocky. Several of the turns along the route had gravel on them, in one case I hit a straight up gravel road. That definitely humbled me.I attempted to get some good photos of myself and the bike near Brook Road, but found my camera does not have a timer feature on it. Regardless though the trip was a good one, but I can see already that my bike begins to hurt my butt and back. Most likely the angle at which it sits.On a side note I noticed that I was covered in bugs after the ride. I had to clean off my jacket and my helmet. From the photo you can see what I am talking about. This got me thinking though that apart from the safety of a helmet, wouldn’t a person want to wear one just so they don’t get a face full of that?
View Ride Log: 09-23-11 in a larger map
Amazing how motorcycle ownership is a bit of a secret society. People who I never knew owned bikes or who I did and never really had a conversation with suddenly seem all the more interested to hold a conversation with you. This is not even mentioning the ritualistic wave you get while riding.
So I have owned my motorcycle for all of about three weeks at this point and I am already getting wrapped up into the world of gear, accessories and other bikes. I was surprised to learn about how many people own more than one bike. I can see why now. With the riding ranging from touring to dual sport there is so much to do. Even before I got this motor ycle I was I treated in touring. Something about heading out west appealed to me. Not a huge fan of the giant bikes though. After reading the Fuzzy Galore blog though I now have an interest pique in dual sporting. Have I mentioned I have only owned this motorcycle for three weeks?