[madjak30]

It is snowing outside right now…all the grass is turning white, and my truck is two tone now…blah…I was hoping to get a couple more rides in…it’s supposed to snow all night and tomorrow…

Maybe it will warm up a little and melt…who know around here lately, but I’m not going to hold my breath…

Later.

[madjak30]

Most motorcycle cops are…um…”husky” men…but we do have some hot female patrol car cops in town…had one follow me today…kinda made me nervous…wasn’t sure if she was following me to make sure I didn’t do anything stupid on my bike, or if it was just a case of heading the same direction….??

Later.

[madjak30]

How goes the battle?? It’s been a couple of months, and I noticed that you aren’t posting as often…everyone likes to hear good news once in a while…

Later.

[madjak30]

I’m only 40 this year, so I have some time to plan…but yup…follow the moderate temps, no one really likes cold and I don’t like heat…70F would be perfect…even up to 80 as a max…no cooler than 50F…lol

Have RV, will travel…

Later.

[madjak30]

I think you just described the V-Strom DL650…I think it would be the perfect bike for what you are describing…excellent on pavement and can be used for touring because of the comfort and range of the large fuel tank…and it is good on dirt and gravel roads, not great on trails but it can do it (can do it well if you change the tires to mild knobbies)…seat height isn’t too bad considering what type of bike you are looking at, I think it is 31.5″…you may not be able to put both feet flat, but you should be able to get the balls of both feet down…

As for changing your mind about the type of bike you want….well, have you seen my posts on my next bike?? I still haven’t decided, so I will keep my GS500 until I figure it out.

Later.

Good luck!!

[madjak30]

My hands got cold (need gloves that completely stop the wind), but other than that…not too bad…the ride home was nice though…9C (48F)…this morning started out at -4C (25F)…

I think some snowmobile gloves should make the riding season longer, at least until there is snow on the ground…hopefully more than a week…lol

Later.

[madjak30]

I had them on a vehicle once, and didn’t see wildlife…that doesn’t prove they work, but they can’t hurt can they?

[madjak30]

I am hoping to get in a ride this Saturday…it’s below freezing in the mornings, so no more commuting (kind of a wus…) and it stays below freezing until the sun comes up around 8am. The temps are good during the day, but as soon as the sun goes down they drop like a rock…and that is around 6pm…of course I leave for work around 7:30am and arrive home about 5:30pm…weekends only for me now…and we usually get our first snow (that stays) on Halloween evening while the kids are out trick-or-treating…they come up to the door like flashers in trench coats…open their coats to show their costume and yell TRICK-OR-TREAT!!…it’s kinda funny really…three or four kids on your door step with their coats wide, waiting for you to open the door…lol

Anyway, only one or two rides left…blah…

Maybe I should have taken the transfer to New Mexico (Farmington)…

[madjak30]

It always amazes me when dealing with the general public, just how uneducated they are about everyday items…cars especially, but really it applys to everything.

I’m an electrician, and I used to work in service for the company I work for…some of the calls that we used to get (probably still do)…

1) Customer: the plugs and lights don’t turn on….show up to service…reset the breaker…amazing…everything works…cleaning people turned on all the lights and plugged in the vacuum….breaker tripped…

2) Customer: the lights aren’t on…over the phone: have you checked the switch?…customer: there’s a switch?….

why would a company wait until winter to check the car plug ins in their staff parking lot? don’t they know that the labour will be more in the winter?

I don’t think common sense is common anymore!!!

I used to work as an auto parts guy…we used to call the other lines when we were busy and ask for stupid things…wind for the windshield…roof racks for a convertible…radiator hoses for a carmen ghia…just to see if the other guys were actually paying attention…if you were paying attention…there was a “special on”…

Life is serious enough…I alway try to have a little fun at work…

Later.

[madjak30]

When riding in a group, it makes it harder to stop when ever you decide you want to take a picture or even just to take a break.

Later.

[madjak30]

I’m still going with the tires on my bike…

but try this pic…your bike near what ever is the prime income for your state/province, in Alberta it is the oil and gas industry…so…

Maybe we can get a better response from these.

Later.

[madjak30]

Like Munch said…it’s like learning over again…different riding situation…best to take small steps, plus I have heard that the Honda is better on the freeway due to the gearing being taller…don’t know if it is true, but hey, it works in your favor so roll with it…lol

Sounds like a pretty good deal too, and Hondas are dead reliable…so they say…who ever “they” are…

Later.

[madjak30]

The wife has absolutely no interest in even sitting on the bike. I brought it home during the test ride to show her…I think she liked it, but wouldn’t even touch the bike (maybe eventually, but not now). My daughter, on the other hand, is dying to go for a ride on Dad’s bike…she hasn’t seen this one yet, but I’m sure she will be just as excited to go for a ride (and being 12, she will be flexible enough for the pegs). As for the “primary shake”, well yeah, it shakes like it has the DT’s at idle (part of what I like about the bike, it seems to be alive…unlike the sewing machine feel of the four cylinder bikes…not that that is bad, just different), but is surprisingly smooth on song. I wouldn’t say this is a high performance bike, but muscle bike is a definate fit. I don’t even know if it is that quick, but the torque hits at about 2000rpm and stays until you let off (I didn’t take it over 4500rpm on my test ride), inducing a “special Fred” type of grin (along with giggling like when you were a kid). It has very tall gears and there are only 5 of them. But the sound of the bike and the comfort of the seat make it the ideal bike for me, since I don’t speed (5-10kph over, so I don’t speed a lot?) but like to accellerate quickly.

Actually it is a bit of over kill, my biggest issue with my GS500 is it’s lack of torque. In a strong head wind, or a steep hill you have to gear down to maintain speed and if you want to pass, your down to fourth…nature of the bike I guess, but with this thing…you almost don’t need a shifter…you just twist and go…over 120kph the nakedness shows through and I don’t know if I would want to ride at high speed for a long period, but it would do what ever speed you want and hold it.

I do have a couple of concerns about the bike…15L tank (range anxiety), parts availability (discontinued bike) and no where to put luggage (this one is minor, since I will have the pillion space to tie down a bag when needed). I think most of the bike is parts bin from Warrior and R1…so I am hoping for parts availability that way…the 15L tank will get you over 200kms between fills, so a little more planning may be required…I just have to look into the heat shields on the mufflers to see if they are safe for some soft saddle bags??

I don’t know if any of it will matter…I am pretty sold on the bike, as I’m sure you can tell.

Sorry for the long response, but the excitement is killing me…

Later.

[madjak30]

Get through Christmas and into the New Year before buying…it will drive me nuts to have a new toy in the garage and not be able to play with it…

Feb or March…I should still get a pretty decent deal at that time…

Later.

[madjak30]

Ninja 650R, as you have stated…

the SV650S is more toward the sporty…

Suzuki GSX650F…

Suzuki Bandit 650S…(a little older)

Honda CBF600…(this one may be Canada only…)

Yamaha FZ6R, or FZ6 (FZ6R is more of a standard with a full faring, but the FZ6 has more performance and a half faring…both are comfortable and standard position)

I’m sure there are others, but I can’t think of them…

Good luck!!

Later.

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