I want this bike!!!

I haven't really been motivated too much to post as much as I'd like. Dealing with what I did on my trip, my bike left me with a bad taste in my mouth. There are things I need to address this winter and for now, I don't feel like even starting.

If money was no object, this would be the bike I'd purchasing next spring... being released in 2007, it's the 2008 Kawasaki GTR1400 (called the Concours 14 in the United States). It's basically a ZX-14 sportbike with a more comfort and adjustable windscreen and included luggage. The ZX-14 has about 185 horsepower and this will most likely be detuned to some extent, but it will still rip your head off if you aren't careful. No pricing has been announced, but I'm assuming it'll be in the $12-14k range. This ad is essentially just a teaser, but it sure got my mouth watering.

Stop Piracy - don't be a douche!

Jack Black rules!!

I made it! The bike is another story....

Overall the trip went well. I met a great group of guys and the roads in the area were awesome. The trip got off to a cold and rainy start and I often questioned myself if I should continue even only an hour or two into it.

Because of the cold morning it was almost impossible to warm back up as the day progressed. We made it down there in one day - about 650 miles. Most people there thought we were crazy and I don't doubt them. If it hadn't been for the weather it wouldn't have been as big a deal. I'm pretty sure we traveled the furthest compared to anyone else - and at least 6-10 of these guys trailered their bikes... WIMPS!!

The roads were unreal. Not only were there some sweet twists and turns over countless miles, but the roads themselves were in awesome shape. No tar snakes or gravel. Another great thing is that there was hardly any traffic. But because of the constant tight turns, if you did approach another vehicle - it was tough to get around them safely unless they pulled over for you. People that have ridden these roads several times claim that it's more enjoyable than Deal's Gap. Deal's Gap has become so popular, that the roads are pretty busy with regular traffic just trying to use it as a highway when traveling. Hopefully Northwestern Arkansas will remain a little known secret for a while.

We decided to make the trip home in two days. We got talking and decided to take a different route entirely. We headed east through Missouri into Illinois and stopped in Carbondale. We had both attended SIU at one point and had a huge craving for Quatro's pizza. This was the pizza that was "expensive" while at college. Both of us agree it would give any Chicago pizza a good run for it's money, and that holds true today. They have the best sauce and pan crust... my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

The next day was Monday - and it was raining...HARD. We geared up with all of our layers and hit the road. It was about 15 miles until the interstate, where we planned on gassing up. Problem was, my bike was taking so much water in the intake, it was running like hell and I literally coasted into the gas station...yikes. The tank holds 5 gallons and I put in 5.04..uh, it was EMPTY. Filled up and hit the interstate.

Problem - bike was NOT happy running above 65mph. It was a real struggle to get it any higher. All I could hear myself saying was "this sucks....this sucks." The miles weren't going by nearly as fast as they should. I signaled my buddy to pull over to the next gas station.

Not good - we had travelled 43 miles and I was able to put in just about 3 gallons of gas. This means I was getting less than 15 mpg whereas I normally get 35 (which still sucks). At this point I was soaked through, cold, and just plain pissed off because my bike was running like ass. I hated to do it, but I decided to call it day because rain was in the forecast ALL day and I knew I couldn't run the bike like this. Turns out it rained all day and night - over 2 inches accumulated in the area.

We got a room in Mt. Vernon, IL at the Super 8 and spent most of the day drying out our clothes and gear. My buddy spotted an Italian Restaurant out the window of the room and said "I could go for that" He didn't have to twist my arm. I ate a larger than average lunch, went back to the room and we both took a 2-3 hr nap... good stuff. Later that night we watched the Bears game and were both stunned to see them pull it off.

Tuesday it had finally dried off outside and the ride home went fairly smooth. It was overcast all day and probably didn't get much above 53 degrees or so.

So what have I learned?

- Bike with pod air filters + heavy rain = problems
- Waterproof gloves are only water proof for 30 mins
- Heated clothing doesn't sound like a bad idea anymore
- Make sure MP3 player is charged - music cutting out between gas stops sucks
- A motel hair dryer can be used to dry your boots and gloves
- Washing a waterproof motorcycle jacket deminishes it's water resistance
and finally
- Plan road trips between May & September only!

Eureka Springs or bust!

In 10 hours I'll be on the road.. probably wondering why I would take such a journey in this cold weather. I was hoping that as the week progressed, the weather outlook might change for the better. Nope... it looks like it'll be somewhat cold and I'll most likely be pretty wet before lunch.

Fortunately as I head south the weather is supposed to be better. The rain should be behind us by late morning hopefully. I'd much rather ride in 70-80 degree weather, but I'll settle for 60s.

At this point I'm just waiting for a few clothing items to finish in the dryer so I can pack all my stuff up and have it ready for the morning.

Route is all planned out, more MP3s have been loaded to my player, air pressure in the tires has been checked, and the chain has been given another coat of lubricant. I know I probably overpacked, but it absolutely sucks when you don't have the right tool or item when you're on the road.

At least I'll miss the rain/snow that's being predicted for Thursday! Get out your snow shovels suckers!!

The bike is ready - but am I?

After work yesterday I was able to pull off the gas tank and give the carbs a once over. I removed them but not entirely. The throttle cables are always a pain to deal with so they were left alone. All the jets were checked and were pretty much fine. Next was the carb sync.

In order to synchronize the carbs, you need to make the adjustments while the engine is running. This means you need to rig up your fuel supply up out of the way so you can get to the carbs. Auxillary gas tanks that hang from above can be purchased.. but they're like $40-50 and I just can't see how a plastic bottle should be that much. Instead, I just use a 5 ft length of fuel tubing and connect my main gas tank. The only thing you need to do is to have it located above the carbs so the fuel is gravity fed since the vacuum lines won't be connected. It turns out the carbs weren't too out of whack. A little adjusting and it was good to go.

I finished up putting everything back together this morning and was able to take the bike for a spin. I wanted to make sure it was running ok even though what I did shouldn't really have any negative effects. I also wanted to start scrubbing in the new tire. After reading on the Sport-Touring forums how a guy dumped his 2006 Triumph sport bike because of a new tire - I was a little nervous even though this is the 3rd new tire I've had.

While I was out I stopped and filled up with gas. Mid-grade was only $2.27 a gallon! It was great being able to top off the tank for under $10! The lower gas prices will be very welcome for this trip.

I also was able to install the racks for my side cases. Looks like the bike is ready to go.. nothing else should need to be done. I've already started a collection of tools I'll be bringing along. I know I probably bring way too much, but if something happens to me (or a friend) it's sooo much better being able to work with normal tools instead of the garbage in the included tool kit that the bike has.

I checked the weather outlook and at this point it looks like we'll be getting wet. I checked various cities along the way and all of them have rain or scattered storms in the forecast. Kind of a bummer... but I expect to get rained on during every trip - might as well get it out of the way.

New tire installed

Awaiting the new tire

The new tire arrived yesterday - right on schedule. A big thumbs up for Dennis Kirk. Since they're located in Minnesota, standard delivery to IL is only 2 days..bonus! And they price match other sites so I was able to get the tire I need for about $40 less than their price...double bonus!

As you may or may not know, new tires have a slick coating on them from the factory. I'm pretty sure it's there to help the tire from drying out while being stored or something. Either way, it's pretty dangerous to ride on so you want to make sure it's worn off before pushing the bike into a corner. It can be done while riding carefully at first, or if you're impatient like me, you can do it the quicker method. A little burnout never hurt anyone right?

The flash was on for the photo and it made the license

plate appear as if I blanked it out intentionally.

Leaving for the trip in less than a week, hopefully I can get everything done on the bike I want to. I should have time to give the carbs a quick clean up as well synchronize them.

10 days...

I tell ya - I can't win. Thinking I'm pretty much all set for my trip another expense reared it's ugly head. I took a closer look at my back tire and it's worn much more than I realized... frick. I might be able to get away with using up the tire for the upcoming road trip, but do I really want to be worrying about it? Simple answer - NO! If something did happen and it was all because I didn't want to spend another $150 I would never forgive myself, not to mention the wife would probably make me sell the bike.

Plenty of tread left on the sides but the center is pretty much toast:




RANT
While out for a ride today I think I've come across the ultimate retard turd who shouldn't be on the road. Light turns green and they seriously have to think about it before going. "hmm.. green means go I think, now where did the gas pedal go??" Meanwhile in my head I'm thinking of multiple ways this person can be exerminated. This guy has three strikes against him - 1. Drives a Saturn. 2. Wisconsin plates 3. Most likely a Packer fan. At least they weren't on their cell phone...not sure if that technology has reached cheeseland yet though.
/RANT