I'm legal

I got my tags and insurance renewed. Now I just need some warm/dry weather.

it's ALIVE!

got the Roadie out today and fired it up. Did a quick 2 mile ride with no insurance and expired tags. It was just enough to spark my jones to go for a ride!

Well... I don't have my usuall excitement brewing

I don't know what's wrong with me. It's April. I don't have my tags renewed or my insurance for this year. And I'm not even all that excited about the impending riding season.

I have even contemplated selling my bike in order to put a new deck on my house.

I have also decided to NOT do a big bike trip this year. I was planning a trip up into Canada... But the wife is insisting on going to Disney, which will require several thousand dollars.

Maybe I just need a couple of warm days to get my spring mojo pumpin.

My Bikes part 2

In July of '06 I attended Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH

I spent quite awhile walking through row after row of vintage motorcycle swap meet. I left there with every intention of coming back next year with a truck and bringing home a project. I couldn't wait that long. In August I bought a 1975 Honda CB360T off a guy near my place of employment. The bike was complete, fired right up, and ran great. $400 and we loaded it into the back of my old Toyota Previa mini van!



The bike has since been disassembled and is undergoing a tranformation. Hopefully, someday, it will be a cool looking little cafe racer.

I went back to Vintage in '07 and purchased a fiberglass cafe racer seat. I have also purchased a cool gas tank that looks very cafe racerish.

My Bikes

My everyday ride is a 2000 Yamaha RoadStar 1600. Base model, black. I bought the bike used off a guy in Indianapolis in March of 2004. It had 27k miles on it and I gave $6k for it.

I rode it bone stock for the 2004 season. No bags, no shield, showroom stock. I only put about 1500 miles on it that summer.

In 2005 I put pipes on it. Samson Big Gun Slashers. 2.25" straights. Loud. I reluctantly purchased saddle bags in June of that year for a trip to Deals Gap. Hated the look, but damn, were they handy. They became permanent. Probably did 2500 miles that summer.

In 2006, the day before I left for Thunder in the Valley in Johnstown, PA, I bought a wind shield. Weather man was calling for rain. He got it right that weekend. 300 miles in the rain. I hated the look of the shield, but damn, was it handy. It became permanent.

At some point, I think in '06, I lowered the rear of the bike about 2.75" via the "grind and flip" method. I upgraded the rear spring to 1000 lb. I also installed some ISO Grips with the cool Stilleto bar ends.

In 2007 I finally installed a back rest.

In late 2007 I purchased an inner and outter fairing off a 2006 Harley Davidson Street Glide. I'm hoping to do the "Ultra" conversion at some point, but I won't get it done for this summer.

I HAVE to install a new front tire and rear brake rotor wouldn't hurt.

Second Annual Blue's Bash

I have posted the date for the 2nd Annual Blue's Bash. It will always be the 2nd Saturday in August, so there's no excuse for not having it on your calendar.

The site is at http://www.billbluesbash.com

I'm open to suggestions for the group ride. I'm thinking about heading up toward Grand Lake St. Mary's. Or maybe down toward Fort Ancient.

The Blue's Blog

In an attempt to better document my two wheeled (mis)adventures, I present to you my blog.

It's the middle of March and I am just starting to come out of hibernation. I always have fantasies of pulling off some killer bike project over the winter. But this year, like those before, I sat on my ass and did f*@k all.

Here's what I did NOT do this winter

1. 2000 Yamaha RoadStar - fabricate mounting brackets for Harley Davidson batwing fairing off a 2006 Street Glide. Mount said fairing with installed electronics for CD Player. Purchase, mount HD hard bags. Polish fork tins. Custom paint said RoadStar

2. 1975 Honda CB360T - Cafe Racer project - modify frame, create rear sets, have frame powder coated. Replace gaskets on engine. Polish engine. Replace phillips head screws with allen head. Reassemble bike.

Lazy.