Clack

Harley-Davidson goes high tech

Harley releases chromed-out MP3 player that mounts to the handlebars on your motorcycle complete with the Bar and Shield logo, back-lit, oversized buttons (good for use while wearing gloves), and a 64MB SD card. All for the low price of $300.

Harley-Davidson link via Gizmodo

Adam's Arrangements

Jeff updated the group today with the following:

hey all, thank you all superbig hug to all i am glad adam no longer is in pain & can be at peace & not know what his mom pulled but i guess im getting the last laugh adam changed his burial to my name &
dropped his mom 2 weeks before i moved in i love him so much it hurts adam always belived in making be smile he always said i can go a million miles on your smile the burial he has is in my name & i can call the shots now his mom is begging to help its her son despite her hatred towards gay people im letting her do the leg work maybe she sees her errors in life & smile once in awhile but i cant hold a grudge its not in my nature. its for adam!!!
adam is whats inportant & thats what counts !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Updating Jeff and Adam's story

It is with a very sad heart that I post this update to Adam and Jeff's story and update

hello all, well today will be a very sad day in my life adam passed away at 6:40am he was 22 he passed away from internal bleeding & complications from his accident I will truly miss him & his smile I thank you all for you comments & concerns but hes out of pain & suffering

Jeff, my sincere condolences on your loss.

The Annoying Thing

This advertisement for TurboForce 3d (turboforce3d.com) shows you how to increase the annoying sounds your motorcycle makes. Download MPEG Video (8.5 MB)

Thanks Scott!

What a BEAUTIFUL day!

It's been a beautiful couple of days in Atlanta. Five days ago, it was in the low 30's. Today, low 80's, sunny, calm winds. It doesn't get much better for motorcycle riding. Scott and I rode about 150 miles in the last two days. Today's route is shown here. Yesterday's wasn't much different, but we returned home today the same way we came.

We decided to ride out Hiway 78 to Snellville, then take Scenic Hiway south toward Conyers. I had my trusty GPS with me, and "she" had mapped a route to one of our "stopping places", the dealership in Conyers where we bought the bikes. She had us turning off Scenic Hiway onto Norris Lake Road, which seemed to be a weird way of getting where we wanted to go (nobody ever said the route planning was perfect). But, we were being "adventurous," so we took her advice.

Man, am I ever glad we did. Little used backroads, almost no traffic, curvy (but not dangerously so) and hilly. Trees, houses set far away from the road, horse farms, and a lake! It was like being transported 100 miles from Atlanta!

Sunday Motorcycle Ride

Another beautiful day in Atlanta! Temps in the low 80's with blue skies, and very scattered clouds. Again, two motorcycles sitting in the garage just begging to be ridden!

Both Scott and I bought our motorcycles at Outdoor PowerSports in Conyers. The standard route between my house in Decatur and Conyers is I-285 South to I-20 East. Riding interstates just isn't our idea of fun, so again, armed with my trusty HP iPAQ 5555 Pocket PC and my Pharos Bluetooth GPS receiver (mounted on my 2004 Yamaha V-Star Silverado with a RAM Mounting Systems mount), off we go to find a "back-roads" route to the dealership. Both of us got a coupon when we bought our bikes for a free oil change at 600 miles, and we're about halfway there.

The ride to the dealership is about 20 miles one-way from my house and travels lesser-used roads, most of which are only two lanes. We made this same trip last weekend, but, I never got around to posting about it (I know, I'm a slacker). Armed with our confidence from yesterday's trek through Jimmy Carter Boulevard, we decided to take Turner Hill Road back. Turner Hill is one of those roads that seems out of place. It's a huge four-lane highway rambling over hills and curves that runs between I-20 to the south and Snellville, GA to the north. But, the speed limit is 45 mph. Right, like anybody in Atlanta has ever driven 45 mph on any road.

We stopped at the dealership (even though it's closed on Sunday), had a smoke in the parking lot, and I planned the GPS route back home via Turner Hill. That's me you see in the picture. My bike is the red and black one on the left, Scott's is the white one on the right. The trip back was just as enjoyable a ride as the trip out. Turner Hill is a great road, traffic was light, and only travelling about 15 miles per hour over the posted speed limit. For those of you who don't know, speed limits are apparently unenforcable in Atlanta. If you get a ticket for speeding in or around Atlanta, you should feel a serious sense of accomplishment.

Today's pictures can be found here. Scott's sending me the pictures from our "adventure" yesterday, and I'll post the link to those later.

Update: Yesterday's adventure pics can be found here

Saturday Motorcycle Ride

What a day in Atlanta yesterday! Beautiful sunshine, warm temperatures (made it up to 78 degrees)! Two motorcycles in the garage just begging to be ridden. There's a great Yamaha dealership up in Roswell, GA called Atlanta Motor World that has almost all of the Yamaha accessories in stock. Most of the Yami (and other) dealers around here only carry a few of the best-selling items but can order anything you want.

But, you see, I'm the impatient type. Oh yes, I'm the person that would rather pay an additional 20% for something just so I can have it in my hands TODAY. Fortunately, though, Atlanta Motor World is the only dealership I know that sells the accessories for MSRP, not marked up 15% like most other places.

Scott and I decided "to be brave" Saturday, and hopped on the bikes to ride up to Roswell. I wanted a Leather Tank Panel (with studs, and a pocket for my GPS receiver and cell phone, of course).

I also wound up buying some chrome visors for my headlight, passing lamps, and front turn signals.

Anyway, back to the ride. Since most of the joy for me of owning a motorcycle is the ride, not just getting there and back, Scott and I shy away from the interstates. Especially I-285 around Atlanta. It's not called the "Atlanta Racetrack" for nothing! With GPS in hand, we plotted a course between my house, and Atlanta Motor World that would avoid the interstates. 30 miles later, we arrived. Back to the house the same route. It was a joy! Of course, for the rest of the day yesterday and most of the day today, the big joke between was "Hey, if we can ride Jimmy Carter Boulevard at noon on a Saturday, everything else is easy."

The new motorcycles are in!

I've been a little slow about posting these (since I just K-N-O-W you all are waiting impatiently), but Scott and I have both purchased new motorcycles. We both purchased used "starter" bikes last summer to learn on with the intention of moving up to something a little larger, more expensive, and prettier this year. Well, we did!

Scott sold his Suzuki GZ250 a couple of weeks ago and we picked up his new 2004 Yamaha Vstar Silverado last weekend.

I sold the Honda Rebel 450 last week, and delivered it for the buyer (for a price) yesterday. Last weekend, when Scott bought his Silverado, I put a deposit on mine. I also have a Yamaha Vstar Silverado!

Scott has decided to name his "The Yama-hog", but, I have no idea what to name mine. I've been kidding Scott that I was going to call it the "Vagina Star," but, my creativity seems to be shot. Anybody have any suggestions?

I guess this makes it official

Scott and I have decided to sell our motorcycles. Scott sold his GZ250 this past weekend, and I've placed my Honda Rebel in the Cycle Trader. The print ad hit the newstands today.

There it is, at the upper left hand corner of page 108. It makes me a little sad.

But, the sadness (hopefully) won't last too long. We're both buying slightly larger bikes and hope to do a little travelling on them this summer. No long trips, just to a couple of the neighboring states where we have friends.

I've had my heart dead-set on a new 2004 Honda Shadow Aero 750, but I made the mistake of sitting on a Honda Sabre 1100 last weekend. Wow! What a nice bike...and comfortable too.

I've also looked at lusted over the Yamaha V-Star 650 Silverado and the V-Star 1100 Silverado.

But, in order to have room to put the new beauty in the garage (whichever one I decide on), I've got to sell the old one first. Any takers?

Update: It appears the Rebel is sold. I received a call tonight from a guy in Jacksonville, Florida offering to buy the bike.

Janklow sentenced to 100 days in jail

This is outrageous! After blowing through a stop sign at 70 miles an hour (see my entry and pictures here), Judge Rodney Steele sentenced Janklow to 100 days in jail....BUT, Janklow will serve the first 30 days in jail, then begin a daytime work release program, in which Steele said he "hoped the former governor would use to teach."

Steele fined Janklow $5700 and ordered him to pay court costs.

So, this is what a motorcylist's life is worth? $5700 + court costs and 30 days in jail? Ridiculous!

Story on Yahoo!

Fold a motorcycle

OK, even thogh I couldn't get the link to work, I'm posting this for my future reference....this looks pretty slick! Basically, it's downloadable, printable templates that you cut out, fold, and glue to make a motorcycle.

Link to foldable motorcycles

Link via Boing Boing

U.S. Rep. Janklow Resigns after being convicted of manslaughter

Yahoo! has the story:

FLANDREAU, S.D. (Reuters) - U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow resigned from Congress on Monday following his conviction for manslaughter, stemming from an automobile accident in which he killed a motorcycle rider in a collision, his office said.

here's the car Janklow was driving when he blew through the stop sign at 70 miles per hour and hit Randy Scott

and this story:

FLANDREAU, S.D. - Rep. Bill Janklow, a dominating figure in South Dakota politics for nearly 30 years, was convicted of manslaughter Monday for speeding through a stop sign at a rural intersection and colliding with a motorcyclist. Janklow quickly announced that he will resign from Congress.

Earlier Monday, a jury in the congressman's boyhood hometown convicted Janklow of second-degree manslaughter, reckless driving, running a stop sign and speeding for the Aug. 16 crash that killed Randy Scott, 55, a farmer from Hardwick, Minn. Prosecutors said Janklow was traveling more than 70 mph in a white Cadillac when he crashed with Scott's Harley-Davidson.

"The state of South Dakota brought charges against a man we believed to be responsible for Randy's death," the victim's mother, Marcella Scott, said in a statement. "We are satisfied that the correct verdict was reached."

Janklow, 64, appeared stunned as the verdict was read. He walked steadily out of the courtroom, got in a vehicle driven by his son and left the courthouse. He refused to respond to questions shouted by a horde of reporters.

"The defendant's driving is like a deadly game of Russian roulette," Ellyson said in closing arguments. "On August 16, Randy Scott took the bullet."

"He couldn't say, 'I was driving so fast I couldn't stop.' Or he couldn't say, 'I always ignore these rural stop signs.' That would be admitting to manslaughter. He knows the trouble he's in," Ellyson said.

Janklow has long been an unapologetic speeder, as witnessed during a 1999 speech to the Legislature.

"Bill Janklow speeds when he drives — shouldn't, but he does," Janklow said then. "When he gets the ticket he pays it, but if someone told me I was going to jail for two days for speeding, my driving habits would change."

In one notorious instance, two reporters were riding with Janklow when he made a 99-mph mad dash, through heavy smoke, down a mountain highway in the Black Hills to escape a raging forest fire in 2002. Janklow had tried to go faster, but the computer in his sport utility vehicle kept the engine from going past 99 mph.

Janklow received 12 speeding tickets from 1990 to October 1994. He was elected to a third term as governor a month later and never received another ticket in the state.

Motorcycle ride yesterday

Scott and went for a short ride yesterday (12/07/2003) just to get the bikes out. It's been cold in ATL for the past couple of weekends, and even yesterday at 3pm, the temperature was hovering around 50 degrees.

Just a short ride this time, but a new "circle." Since both of us are contemplating a new (bigger) bike in the spring, my thinking was that if we're gonna get bigger bikes, we better get used to riding in traffic :-) Up to this point, we've stayed off any major roads. So, yesterday, leaving my house, we headed up Valley Brook to E. Ponce, then road into downtown Decatur. Took a right on Church street, followed it back to Scott Blvd, then back to the house. All told, about 7 miles.

I bought this bitchin' new leather jacket a couple of weeks ago at Horsetown in Marrietta. Zip out liner, vented, the whole nine yards. Cheap, considering the quality and thickness of the leather at $230.00. The downside is, it's HEAVY! I mean, REALLY heavy!

Anyway, here's a map of the route from yesterday:

New turn signals are on!

well, they're on at least in the front. Jack misunderstood me last week when I ordered them. He thought I only wanted front turn signals when in reality, I need right and left, front and back. Well, anyhoo, got the front ones on and the back ones are on the way.

Here's a pic...

You can see more pictures on my home page.

Another ride today

Scott and went riding again this morning...same route as last weekend (see it here). Uneventful (thank goodness). Ran over a set of needle-nosed pliers when making the turn off Rockbridge back onto E. Ponce with my back wheel, but other than a little wiggly, nothing to speak of.

Today's motorcycle ride(s)

It's really beginning to get chilly out in Atlanta. Well, it is the middle of November, after all!

After dressing warmly (jeans, chaps, long sleeve shirt, denim shirt, leather jacket, gloves, leather boots and full-face helmet with visor), Scott and I took off on the new "circle" route we discovered last week. Here's a map of the trip:

we made the loop, then came back to my house for a break, then decided to make the loop again. This time, just for fun, we did the circle in the opposite direction. You'd be surprised at how different "the other side" of the road is! Of course, all the turns you make have to be done in reverse, so changing up the route when you're a newbie like us keeps you from falling into a rut of only being able to turn in one direction :-)

I'd checked the fuel level in my tank before we left the house, but obviously had overestimated what was in there. Coming up one of the longest hills of the ride, my Rebel began to stumble! First thought? Fuck! I may get to use that Honda Roadside Assistance I paid for with my Honda Riders Club of America membership! I basically sputtered up to the next street and turned off. By the time I made the turn, I was coasting. Flipped the petcock over to Reserve, ground on the starter for about 5 seconds, and up she started! Woohoo! Next gas station, here I come!

We rode on up to Starbucks (eggnog latte, yumm!) then back to the house. All told, around 40 miles in about 2 hours. Great riding this morning!

I've got new turn signals on the way from Jack's Rebel Warehouse. Margie had put these dinky little flush mount things on, and, frankly, I hate them. They're too small, too hard to see, and just look stupid IMHO.

I'll probably keep 'em on the bike as running lights (which is what they're supposed to be anyway), but I'm going back with stock turn signals. I like it when people around me can actually see what me and what my intentions are.

No update on the rust removal from the exhaust pipes. Haven't really had a chance to work on it, but I will take pictures before and after when I do!

Harley vs. God

It's just a joke folks, please, no hate mail....

The inventor of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Arthur Davidson, died and went to heaven.

At the gates, St. Peter told Arthur, "Since your motorcycles have changed the world, your reward is, you can hang out with anyone you want in Heaven."

Arthur thought about it for a minute and then said, I want to hang out with God."

St. Peter took Arthur to the Throne Room, and introduced him to God. God recognized Arthur and commented, "Okay, so you were the one who invented the Harley-Davidson motorcycles, eh?!"

Arthur said, "Yeah, that's me..."

God commented: "Well, what's the big deal in inventing something that's makes noise and pollution, and can't run without a road?!"

Arthur was apparently embarrassed, but finally spoke, "Excuse me, but aren't you the inventor of woman???"

God said, "Ah, yes."

"Well," said Arthur, "professional to professional, you have some major design flaws in your invention:
1. There's too much inconsistency in the front-end protrusion;
2. It chatters constantly at high speeds;
3. Most of the rear ends are too soft and wobble too much;
4. The intake is placed way too close to the exhaust;
5. And the maintenance costs are outrageous!!"

"Hmmmm, you may have some good points there," replied God, "hold on." God went to his celestial super-computer, typed in a few words and waited for the results. The computer then printed out a slip of paper.

"Well, it may be true that my invention is flawed," God said to Arthur, "but according to these numbers, more men are riding my invention than yours".

Metzler recalling motorcycle tires

Metzeler is recalling some motorcycle tires:

from SafetyAlerts.com

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced.

Make : METZELER Model : SPORTEC M-1 P Build Dates : JAN 26, 2003 - FEB 08, 2003

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 03T003000

Component: TIRES:TREAD/BELT

Potential Number Of Units Affected : 53

Summary:
METZELER SPORTEC 120/17 ZR17 M-1 P MOTORCYCLE TIRE. DURING PRODUCTION, AN EXCESSIVE BELT TENSION WAS USED CAUSING HIGH COMPRESSION BETWEEN THE BELT AND CARCASS.

Consequence:
AS A RESULT, THE TIRE MAY CHANGE SHAPE AND A BUBBLE MAY APPEAR IN THE TREAD AREA CAUSING THE FRONT TIRE OF THE MOTORCYCLE TO VIBRATE. SUDDEN VIBRATION OF THE FRONT END COULD CAUSE THE DRIVER TO LOSE CONTROL, POSSIBLE RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.

Remedy:
METZELER WILL NOTIFY ITS CUSTOMERS AND REPLACE THE TIRES FREE OF CHARGE. OWNER NOTIFICATION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING NOVEMBER 2003. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR MOTORCYCLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT METZELER AT 706-368-5426.

Today's motorcycle ride

Yesterday, Scott and I both had the same thought of looking for some new places to ride. Since both of us are still "newbies" at street riding, I-285 is out. Hell, I hate I-285 even in my truck!

We've been riding E. Ponce De Leon from Valley Brook Road out to Stone Mountain, turning around, and coming back. That's about an eight mile trip. Good for learning and gaining confidence, but kinda leaves you feeling like you're really not going anywhere.

Yesterday, we took the truck and instead of turning left off Valley Brook Road onto E. Ponce, we turned right, and turned left almost immediately onto North Decatur Road. Following North Decatur about 10 miles led us...guess where....E. Ponce De Leon about a mile from where we normally turn around and come back!

North Decatur Road is good, it's four-laned in some spots, two-laned in others. It crosses several large roads (such as Memorial Drive), is woodsy and a little hilly. There's no real "twisties", but there's enough curves to keep it interesting.

Today when we road our motorcycles, we went that way. North Decatur Road to Stone Mountain, E. Ponce back to Valley Brook, then back to my house off North Druid. We rode up to the Starbucks on North Druid and LaVista and had coffee as we've been doing for the past few times we ride our motorcycles. While we were sitting there, a yound lady walked by carrying a helmet. She had ridden up on a Honda Shadow VLX.

Also worth noting that a guy stopped by and suggested we join him and his friends every Wednesday morning to ride the mountains in Dahlonega. Hmm, would be nice, but, uh, some of us have to work!

Back to home, after finishing our lattes.

Side note: I've gotten hooked on a new show on the Discovery Channel called Mythbusters. A couple of weeks ago, they were dispelling all the myths having to do with "cola." You've heard them...use it to clean your toilet, use it to take rust off chrome, cola will dissove a steak, etc. etc. etc.

The only cola myth they said actually worked was removing rust off chrome. Now, why am I telling you this? Because the exhaust pipes that come out of the cylinders on my 1986 Rebel are rusted. What do you expect? The bike's 17 years old! (Runs like a dream, though).

You pour the cola on a piece of aluminum foil and rub the chrome where it's rusted. Low and behold, it actually works! I'll post before and after pics when I clean the things completely!