It is with heavy heart that I have to report that I’m selling my bike. :( Times are tough right now, and the money we could recoup from it far outweighs any psychological benefits I get from it. So, there it is. Know anyone who wants a GSX-R750? :) If so, point em over to me! :(

So, if you know us, or keep up with this Blog, you know we are broke as shit. One of the best things about being a grown up is also one of its biggest curses — you can do whatever you want… Well, I “wanted” a new computer system fully decked out, and I “wanted” a new motorcycle… One home equity loan later, and a few hundred smaller “wants” like cigarettes, eating out, and video games has run our debt up quite a bit. :) YAY! It’s the American Way, right?

Well, as with a lot of things truly American, we have a lot to learn. So, I’m stepping to the plate and trying to learn. I’ve since learned we need to get out of debt quick. To do so, we are making some sacrifices.

1. Selling my Motorcycle — That’s right. Selling my bike. I will miss Suzi (yeah, I named her… It’s funnier if you share the inside joke my wife an I have over this.. But you don’t so nevermind.) She’s in good shape, and I can get pretty good money for her I’m sure. I will get another bike down the road. Time to stop throwing a fit, and belly up to reality… Ahhh reality, how I hate thee sometimes.
2. Getting rid of Motorcycle Insurance — Obviously… That will save us some cash, not to mention money saved on maintenance, and registration.
3. Getting rid of Cable TV — This one doesn’t bother me much at all. Who cares about it, really? This is Heidi’s “Motorcycle”. She will have a hard time with this, I’m sure.
4. Getting rid of Netflix — I don’t think we will miss this as much as I think, but it will be missed for sure. We will be back on Netflix when we can afford it.

So, there it is in a nutshell. The latest round of sacrifices coming our way in the name of financial reorganization. Ain’t life grand? :)

PS: Anyone want a 2005 Blue & White Suzuki GSX-R750? ;)

Just a quicky, boys and girls. Found a nice collection of Motivational Posters for all you moto heads out there.

http://www.headgear.org/~cloyce/moto-motivation/

Who ever you are who made these, well done!! Stay up!

I think I can sum up my feelings by saying, “OMFG on a stick!” The new 2008 Hayabusa is here, folks!

For those who don’t realize the power of the ‘Busa, imagine 198 horses pushing a 495 lbs frame! That translates to something like, “OMFG THIS IS WAY TOO FAST I THINK MY FACE WAS RIPPED OFF!” I’ve never had the pleasure of twisting the throttle on one of these two-wheeled rockets, but I’ve been in the saddle a few times, and I must say I was amazed at how light these bikes are! They didn’t feel much heavier than my Gix750 — mostly because they aren’t! Then you think about how the ‘Busa has almost twice the power of my bike. That’s just ridiculousness wrapped in a box made of insanity!

Just looking at this bike gets my adrenaline pumping! I have to have one of these beasts before I hit 35 years old. Who knows, might be more comfortable for Heidi to ride with me. It’s adamn shame you usually can’t convince dealerships to let you go on a test ride… I’d love a sample of what that thing can do! And for only $12k, you can’t really beat that price! Another homerun by Suzuki perhaps? Can’t wait to read the reviews!

Thought I’d take a moment to share some Motorcycle Wisdom. I pulled this from the Motorcycle LJ. Post it up, and pass the knowledge on for all the newbies.

1. Don’t armor-all your seat. Ever. You’ll slide off.
2. Don’t tire-foam or armor-all your tires. This negates their grip.
3. An old toothbrush (or a new toilet brush) works really well to get wax/filth out of fiddly bits.
4. A patient friend is a priceless commodity when you need to bleed your brakes.
5. Wrench first, then manicure.
6. Armor-all does work well to get wax off of things like leather, naugahyde and plastic. So does “Pledge.”
7. Either gloves while you work or dark nail polish after… sometimes both. ;)
8. Nitrile gloves will not melt when exposed to gasoline, motor oil and other petroleum products like latex will. Latex lets gas through, onto your hands.
9. When the owner’s manual says to load the weight in your saddlebags evenly, believe it.
10. “Simple Green Automotive” is an excellent engine de-greaser and wheel cleaner.
11. “3-in-1″ oil is what you want to use to lube your kickstand, center stand, cables, pegs etc. — NOT wd-40.
12. A nice soft steel wool and some WD-40 will take rust off of chrome quite nicely.
13. Speed and wind on an open visor often work best to evict unbidden helmet-visitors. Sometimes stopping just gives them time to keep stinging.
14. Gauntleted gloves over the ends of your sleeves, and boots over your pants, keeps bugs out. The opposite setup keeps rain out.
15. Roadkill is slippery — it does not matter if it’s fresh or old. Beware wet guts. Rain rehydrates old roadkill and makes it slippery all over again.
16. Avoid soda bottles, even small ones. They might be full or capped.
17. Potholes hide in puddles.
18. If you find yourself freezing, underdressed and unprepared, layer newspapers inside your jacket. They make a startlingly good insulatory layer; better than nothing.
19. When sporting sunblock, try to wipe it off your face before you put a helmet on. In the hot sun, it can vaporize inside your helmet and the vapors are instantly in your eyes, BURNING AND BLINDING!
20. As much as you may want to, and as often as you’ve done it when you’re not traveling 50mph, resist the urge to kick anything when you’re on a bike and moving. It hurts. A lot. The boots won’t help.
21. Keep your visor closed as often as possible. Imagine being hit in the face with: a bird, a very big beetle, an acorn, a lit cigarette…
22. Riding at night, for some, is sheer pleasure. Keep the “small meal” rule in mind, though, and keep your eyes peeled for that little pair of reflective retinae. Hit things as square and upright as you can.
23. Know thyself — listen when your body tells you in needs food, water, if you feel yourself getting stupid. Don’t try to ride through these things; at best they’re a distraction you don’t need.
24. If you ever need to remove your kickstand, put it down and fill the gaps in the spring(s) with pennies — this will make removal & reinstallation a cinch.
25. Take care never to cross-thread your sparkplugs. Remove and replace sparkplugs only on a completely cold engine.
26. Believe and obey the torque values in your owner’s manual. (from catraprez: Unless otherwise specified, the torque values listed in a manual are for clean, dry threads. The torque value also takes into account the finish on a fastner, i.e. plain, black oxide, cadmium plated, etc. If there is any dirt or grime in the threads it will affect the torque value. Using the wrong type of fastener can also affect the torque value. Purchasing a tap and die set, even a cheap one from Harbor Freight, for cleaning threads will pay for itself and save you the aggravation of removing broken fasteners. Using (clean) oil, anti-seize or a thread-locking agent will require a 15% to 20% reduction in the torque value applied to a fastener. Using a socket extension will also affect final torque value.)
27. Avoid garbage trucks. They leak and spew. Same goes for lawn-care trucks with trailers, though not so much with the leaking and more with the spewing — leaves, branches and sometimes rakes and lawnmower blades. Same goes for RVs… you don’t want to think about what they’re spewing.
28. Pay attention to smells — the smell of unburnt diesel might mean a slippery spill. Burning rubber is sometimes a tractor-trailer messily losing a retread at 70mph up ahead. Burning brakes might mean traffic ahead has just stomped on theirs. (from bikergeek: The smell of pot means that the driver ahead of you is stoned. The smell of manure means that you might find a road apple right in the middle of the perfect line through that turn up ahead. In places where open range is common, you might find a cow. Or a cattle guard.)
29. The universal “rider in distress” signal is: put your helmet on the side of the road, closer to traffic than your bike is. Stop for bikers in distress; you may need to draw from the kharma bank yourself someday and it’s always better to be in the black!
30. Try not to use the brake on the wheel with the tire that has just gone flat. Brake with your good tire.
31. New tires are slippery. Be very careful until your new tires are “scrubbed in.”
32. It is not uncommon to have aching wrists and hands when you first start riding, tension and concentration tend to make you grip harder than you need to. As you get more comfortable on the bike you’ll stop getting the aches.
33. Soda cans can grab your tire if you roll over them. After 180 degrees of rotation, this is a nasty surprise when they hit your forks .
34. Ride your own ride. If you’re straightening out rural twisties for fun, decent friends would much rather wait for you at the next intersection than call a meat wagon to separate your body parts from your bike parts.
    From mistrtoad:
35. Judgment is more important than skill. In fact, it’s your most important skill.
36. Know the people you’re riding with. If you don’t, you’d better carry a bail bondsman’s number.
37. Friends, even new ones, won’t ride off and leave you. They’ll always wait at the turns. They won’t make fun of you for riding slowly. They will berate you for riding over your head.
38. Work on smooth first. Speed will come. The bike isn’t the reason you’re slow.
39. Expert riders use expert judgement to avoid using their expert skills.
40. Any time, any situation you are sharing the road with other traffic, you need a survival strategy. Assume nothing of other vehicles.
41. Ride in the rain so you know what to expect. You’ll never get “caught” in the rain again.
42. Learn exactly how little distance you can stop your bike in.
43. Quit looking at the scary guardrail coming at you. Look through the turn. Keep your head up.
44. The bike will lean a lot farther than you think it will. Keep pushing it down and pucker on through.
45. There is nothing more useless than road rage on a motorcycle. You knew that cage was going to do something stupid. Why get pissed when they do?
46. Don’t follow so close. Give me some space.
47. Never trust a bungee net to keep your gear from winding up jammed between your wheel and rear fender.

Just a nice article I stumbled on to today. Not all cagers are out to get us riders…

Motorcycle Accident