I got the mod bug!!

Every winter I like to do a modification to my motorcycle. It's something that keeps me sane while waiting out the long, cold, not-able-to-ride winter months.

The first winter I had my bike I stripped the paint off the rims edges and polished the lips. For under $50 in materials and several nights in the garage inhaling paint stripper fumes along with a space heater, I added a cool detail to the bike.

The following winter I got back a nice tax return and purchased a Stage II jet kit. The carbs were removed and the new jets were installed. The stock air box was also ditched and it now utilizes free-flowing K&N pod filters.

Another winter I chopped the rear fender, removed the stock turn signals from the back and custom installed some flush-mount ones next to the tail light. I also converted the front ones to running lights by replacing the bulb socket.

I've also replaced the chain and sprockets during one winter.

Some of these things really don't take that long to do, but it still minimizes the down time during the riding season.

So the bike is pretty much where I want it - and I don't know what to do next. There are a few things that I wouldn't mind doing, but all require a little thing called cash. Right now I barely have two nickels to rub together....so the bike will have to remain as-is for this winter.

My friend is supposed to bring his cycle over so we can take care of a transmission problem...so at least I'll be able to get my hands dirty.

55 degrees yesterday, snow today

Gotta love this wacky weather. It was 55 degrees and sunny yesterday - had the windows down in the car on the way home from work.

Tonight the snow is coming down pretty hard. I thought I'd get a head start and shovel the driveway so it wouldn't be that bad tomorrow. Cleared off the whole driveway - went to the store and when I got back about an hour later it looked like I hadn't even touched a shovel...ARGH! I need to invest in a snow blower.

The of course the damn plow guy does the street and the last 6 feet of my driveway is super deep. It took 3 tries to get the car in...that was fun.

Just snapped a quick pic - the car doesn't look too covered because I just got home about 10 mins earlier.

Here's to you dad!

Friday the 13th.... some people think of it as an unlucky day. My dad's lucky number was 13 and his lucky day of the year was when it fell on a Friday, like today. I honestly can't recall anything "lucky" that ever happened to him on one of those days - but he always seemed to be more optimistic than most people on this day.

As of January 11th - it's been 9 years since he passed.

I think I'll make today a great day......thanks dad.

Do you like to ride motorcycles - or do you RIDE?

A couple posts back I mentioned that I got the bike ready for a trip to South Dakota. In case you weren't paying attention I do live in a suburb of Chicago (is Round Lake too far to be considered a suburb?). So that isn't exactly your ride around the block...

Above, that's me leaning against my faithful steed, a 1999 Suzuki Bandit 1200S. and the background is The Badlands National Park in SD. The other bike is a 2002 CBR600F4i which my friend rode from Seattle, WA. Yes, he's crazier than I am.

I'm by no means someone who can ride like the Iron Butt riders, but I like take at least one decent length trip per season if I have the time.

Since that photo I've added even more gear to make long distance travel even easier. I have two large side cases, some forward mounted foot pegs and a GPS. What's so nice about this particular bike is that even when it's loaded up, I always have plenty of power on tap to get this sucker into the triple digits with ease. Maybe a radar detector should be next.

And here it is.....

Did some quick clean up to the garage area to take pic for the blog. I picked up a 100 foot long air hose for my air compressor BUT I don't have a hose reel. Lemme tell ya - that thing is a pain to deal with when it's all over the floor.

After getting the floor cleared off I remembered I purchased myself a new shop light for above my workbench. Instead of hanging it by the chains, I just directly attached it to the underside of my cabinets so it'd be higher up and out of the way. Works great except it has noticeable hum from the ballast. That's what I get for a light that's less than $20.

Other things I've added in addition to the cabinets include the shelves on either side (6 ft long), the other fluorescent lamp above my bike, and a coat hook to hold my motorcycle gear. Not visible is a Craftsman wall mounted wet/dry vac that I got for Christmas. The workbench fits perfectly between the tool chest and air compressor - the bonus was that it was a freebie from a friend from work.

Before Matt's Garage...

The picture you see above is what I had to work with before I had my own place - a cramped one car garage at my mom's place to do all of my work. Needless to say it was a pain.. I can't complain too much because I know lots of people who have nice motorcycles and they don't even have a place to do work or even store them.

My pride and joy is a 1999 Suzuki Bandit 1200. I snapped that photo above in the summer of 2003 if I remember correctly. I was in the middle of adjusting the valves and getting a new front tire put on. Believe it or not - I had the bike back together and on the road for South Dakota two days later! Thankfully because of my stupendous expertise (insert sarcastic remark here), the bike ran flawlessly during the 1800+ mile trip.

And being a car guy I should note that neither of the cars in the photo are mine. The Camry is my mom's and the New Beetle was my sister's (no longer owns, it was a POS).

Welcome!

What's up people?

Ahh - the first post of many (?) on my blog. Why call it Matt's Garage? Well first off, I'm Matt (duh) and I figure a lot of my posts will be car or motorcycle related. I have this kind of stuff on the brain all the time it seems.

I'm also in the process of setting up the ultimate garage* for various household projects and so I can work on my motorcycle and do some maintenance on my car when needed.

* When I say "ultimate" I'm not talking about one of those 3 car jobs with the cool checkerboard floor tiles or a $10k tool chest. I'm a new home owner and I've always wanted a place to call my own. This place has a two car garage (one car wide, two cars deep) and I've managed to dedicate the back portion to my work area. More on this stuff in the future...

I'd like to consider myself a funny guy. I like comedians like Denis Leary and George Carlin who aren't afraid to say it like it is. I have a feeling this blog will be my outlet for various rants when I encounter some dumbass people I'm forced to share this planet with.

Reminds me of that line in Clerks "I hate people, but I love gatherings - isn't that ironic?"