No, not the Yamahas.

I haven’t been posting much here lately because, well, I haven’t been riding much.  My personal life has taken an unexpected turn for the better, and I’ve been devoting time to that.  But mostly I’ve been getting the VFR ready for a four-week trip this fall.  Rather than be redundant, I’ll just refer you to my other site: MotoTour2010.com.

Or, “Laziness Is Expensive.”

A whole winter went by, and I didn’t work on the Bandit.  It had been acting up last September, as if it were running on three cylinders between 4k and 8k rpms.  I had spent a few days then trying to track down the problem, but ended up just putting the big Suzuki away in the garage when my work sent me out of town for a few weeks.  This winter was cold, and so was my garage, so I was not motivated to get any work done until the chill subsides.  It has yet to warm up, but with our annual Deal’s Gap trip coming up in April, I was getting antsy about having a reliable bike for the trip.  So, in lieu of working on the Bandit in a cold garage, I just bought another bike.

After a quick loan approval from my credit union and a trip to East Coast Honda in Bensalem, PA, I was pumped to pick up something very different than the Bandit.  After enjoying a few long leisurely days touring around PA last summer, I had been considering a Suzuki DL650 V-Strom for its fuel efficiency and ability to handle broken asphalt and gravel roads.  Apparently, V-Strom owners really love their bikes, because there are no used ones to be had in these parts.  My decision came down to a 2002 Suzuki SV650 or a 1999 Honda VFR800i.

The SV was the naked kind, with upright handlebars and no excessive plastic, much like the Bandit.  The idea was to make the SV a canyon carver and track bike, while the old Bandit could be set up more for touring.  The VFR is a beautiful bike, with more soul than any other modern Honda (which isn’t saying much, really), and like V-Strom owners, VFR owners tend to keep them forever, which does say a lot.

I really had to decide what role I wanted the Bandit to play in order to decide what type of “new” bike to get.  The Bandit fits every role very well with just a few modifications, but I’ve been leery about it’s long-distance reliability, especially since it’s a rebuild from two totaled bikes.  For a touring bike, I prefer at least an upper fairing, to keep the wind and occasional rain at bay.  Fitting the S-fairing back onto the Bandit would require not only the front sub-frame, but also a new wiring harness (or some creative splicing) to affix the S-model lights/gauges to the N-model frame’s electrical system.  The VFR, on the other hand, has been touted as the best sport-touring bike ever made, and the Bandit is just fine as it is for day-tripping and local hooliganism.  I was leaning towards the VFR, but several of my riding buddies are really into the track days, and I was inclined to find the right track tool, like an SV650, with which to join them this year.

After two days of deliberating, I returned to East Coast Honda, planning on starting up both the SV and VFR and see which one speaks to me more.  Well, someone else made things easier for me by buying the SV earlier that day.  I had the salesman, Aaron, roll the VFR outside and crank it up for me.  That characteristic cam gear whine, and the slight V-4 rumble sang to me like a chorus of angels.  It was enough for me to overlook some slight damage to the upper fairing, obviously from a low-speed tip-over.  The next day, I was riding my “new” VFR home to the stable, where my Bandit is still in need of some TLC.

Or, “I need my heated seats!”

Well, it’s officially winter time here in southeast Pennsylvania.  Usually, winter is a dreary, lonely time for avid motorcyclists, as we grow too intolerant of discomfort, and avoid riding in the bitter cold.  Ever since I picked up my Subaru Forester in 2006, winter time has given me something else to look forward to: four-wheeling off-road and in the snow!

One particular event I went to last year has me looking forward to this coming January 15-18th (2009), during the height of winter’s chill.  The 48 Hours of Tri-State was started seven years ago by a few guys from NASIOC, as a weekend Subaru drive.  It quickly evolved into a charity fund-raising event, complete with a raffle dinner and corporate support - Subaru of America invited us to breakfast last year, and also matched all individual contributions.

This year, the 8th annual 48Hrs event is again benefitting the American Cancer Society, and the goal is to raise $8,000.  Subaru of America is hosting breakfast and showing off some of their custom-built models from the recent SEMA show; Subaru Distributors Corp is hosting lunch; a tour of Vermont Sports Car is planned, where SOA has their world rally cars built and prepped; and we have thousands of dollars’ worth of sponsored goodies to give away at the raffle dinner in Lake George, NY.  No off-roading is planned, as this event is more of a road-trip than a rally, but we’re sure to see some snowy conditions in Vermont and upstate New York.

It’s not the same as dragging your toes through a corner with your buddies, but there’s something exciting about taking a competent all-wheel-drive vehicle into unexpected weather conditions, and sometimes (intentionally and controllably) getting it sideways on an icy back road.  Doing that with 35 other folks, and raising money to fight cancer at the same time, just makes it worth waiting for.  And the electrically-heated seats make it quite comfortable.

If you want to join us in your Subaru, check out the 48 Hrs registration page and sign up.  If you wish to support our cause and make a contribution to the American Cancer Society, you can do so in two ways.  You can buy raffle tickets at $10/each (to win Subaru-related parts, services and other products) by donating through our main team page on the ACS website.  Or, you can donate through my individual page; your donation here buys my raffle tickets, for those that don’t want them for themselves.  100% of all donations go to the American Cancer society.

Or, “Luck Favors Fools.”

Last Wednesday, I headed out after work to meet up with some folks from SportBikes.net in the Allentown area.  The plan was to ride as a group to Bike Night at the Dairy Queen in Morgantown, PA.  Well, I didn’t quite make it, and my adventure made for a very late night.

As I neared the Allentown interchange of the PA Turnpike Northeast Extension, I was running low on fuel and decided to stop at the Allentown Service Area on the turnpike.  I quickly pulled my magnetic tank bag from the tank, placed it on the passenger seat of my Bandit, filled the tank, replaced the pump’s nozzle, reset my trip meter, threw my leg over, and drove off.  When I arrived at the Allentown interchange, a mile up the road, I realized I didn’t have my turnpike ticket - it was in my tank bag, along with a $10 bill to cover the toll.  Also in the tank bag was my glasses (I was wearing my prescription sunglasses), cell phone, digital camera, mp3 player, and various much-less-expensive items.

After doubling back to the service area, I spent the next two hours wearing a blister on my left foot by walking the entire ramp (and the surrounding area) at least three times.  I finally decided my bag had been picked up and used a pay phone to call my cell phone a few times.  I eventually reached the man who saved my bag from certain destruction in the middle of the service area ramp.  He had taken it home with him to Scranton for safe-keeping, and had been calling numbers in my phone hoping to get in touch with someone who could get in touch with me.

I made the hour-long journey farther north to Scranton, where the kind man and his wife were holding my bag and its contents.  He adamantly refused any monetary reward for his thoughtful action.  I was glad to have my regular glasses back, as the sun had already set, and even more glad that I didn’t have to replace anything I thought I had lost forever.

I blasted home, arriving shortly after midnight, leaving me a full 5 hours to sleep before getting up for work.  At a fuel stop on the way, I made sure to put the tank bag on the driver’s seat,…on top of my glove.  I’m thinking of making some kind of tether so I can’t leave the bag behind again.

Living in a city that’s recently known mostly for handgun slayings and cop-killings, its experiences like this that renew my belief that people are genuinely good, and the “bad guys” are the abnormality of society.  My hearty thanks again to the man who saved my bag, and a sincere promise to pay it forward.

If you look to the right, you will see a link to the new Video page on the sidebar (under “Pages”).  No real new videos yet, but I put up most of my old ones that are worth watching.  Brand new videos, when added, will first appear here on the main page as an article, as well as being added to the Video page.  I may also add the high-res versions of my videos, if I can find the files.  Also, I may soon make the Bandits at Deal’s Gap 2003 and Spring Fling 2004 DVDs available again for purchase, if there is enough interest.