This morning I realized that there are not nearly as many two wheel commuters at my work this year as there were last. Fuel prices are running significantly lower this year, so I guess everybody lost the motivation to ride. Lately it has been myself, a Pacific Coast, a 250 cruiser, and a few scooters. This time last year, I could barely find room for my bike in the MC parking area, now it's usually me and one or two other bikes.

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'07 Suzuki V-Strom DL650
An armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man is a subject.
Molon Labe!!!

I got the gf out for a nice ride on the Strom yesterday. We went around the Hood Canal, it was about 130 miles for the trip. I picked up a pair of the JVC marshmallow headphones for her, so she just spent the whole trip listening to tunes and watching the scenery go by. I didn't get any complaints, except that she was kind of saddlesore by the end of the day.

The gear that I picked up for her is working out pretty well. It is the Nirvana Touring jacket and pants from Motorcycle Superstore. The quality is a notch or two below my Kili and Cortech, but it's decent for a fair-weather pillion. My only real gripe is that the pants have a 33" inseam in every size, which is a little long for my 5'3" gf.

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'07 Suzuki V-Strom DL650
An armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man is a subject.
Molon Labe!!!

Once again I've made a liar of myself, saying that I'm going to make an effort to keep this updated regularly.

My pillion decided we weren't working out, so she split. Now I'm kicking myself for dropping so much cash on riding gear for her. I had picked up a helmet, gloves, and boots in addition to the suit. Live and learn, I guess. In the future I'll stay a solo rider unless the next ex-gf buys her own damn gear.

I haven't hardly been out on the bike in a month, which sucks. I've been having trouble getting motivated to ride.

I have a corrected speedometer face on the way from raceratb. It sounds like he only has a couple more left, and doesn't really have plans for another production run, so get one now if you want one. I'm really looking forward to having an accurate speedo, I'll run it against the gps and post up results after I install it.

That's all for now, folks...

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'07 Suzuki V-Strom DL650
An armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man is a subject.
Molon Labe!!!

My speedometer face showed up in the mail yesterday. On brief inspection, it looks pretty good. I might install it Monday, or later during the week if I don't get around to it then. I'm really looking forward to not having to guess at what my real speed is.

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'07 Suzuki V-Strom DL650
An armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man is a subject.
Molon Labe!!!

I got my new speedometer face installed this morning. I'm happy to report that it went pretty smoothly. There was one heart stopping moment when I thought I'd broken the speedometer needle as I was prying it off, but it turns out that I'd just popped off a cosmetic cover that snapped back in place. The hardest part was prying that needle off, hoping the whole time that I wouldn't break any off the small plastic parts it was attached to. Reinstalling the needle in the proper alignment was also somewhat of a PITA, but I got it pretty well where it needed to go on the fourth or fifth try.

Cosmetically, the gauge looks pretty much factory - better than factory in my case, as my original gauge face had started to bubble somewhat. It's raining hard enough that I haven't been out to check the accuracy of the new piece yet, but all reports say that I should not be disappointed. This is probably the best $45 I have spent on my bike, and I find myself wishing that I hadn't waited two years to follow through on the purchase and installation.

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'07 Suzuki V-Strom DL650
An armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man is a subject.
Molon Labe!!!

I caught a break in the rain, so I went out for a quick run against the GPS. It seems like the new face reads 1 mph low around town, although it was hard to keep my speed steady enough for the GPS to settle on a number. On the highway at 60 mph I'm now dead on, which is much nicer than having to guesstimate. I'm a happy customer, and I'd encourage all Strom riders to contact raceratb about his product.

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'07 Suzuki V-Strom DL650
An armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man is a subject.
Molon Labe!!!

We relish those "breaks" in the rain on the west coast, don't we?

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1st motorcycle 2004 Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic.

Yeah, I'm not scared of melting, but I just don't have as much fun when I'm dealing with the weather.

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'07 Suzuki V-Strom DL650
An armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man is a subject.
Molon Labe!!!

I went out for a ride today, nothing special just cruising down the highway. The weather here right now is 36*F and overcast, so I was having to do the zen breathing to keep my face shield more-or-less clear of fog.

On the way home I stopped at the local dealer and bought a pin-lock shield, pretty much as a spur of the moment thing.

Wow! I am blown away by how big a difference it makes. I've tried various anti-fog stuff in the past, but nothing can touch this pin-lock setup. I literally tried and failed to make it mist over while sitting at a light. It was a little pricey at $90, but it's definitely going to be well worth it to me.

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'07 Suzuki V-Strom DL650
An armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man is a subject.
Molon Labe!!!

I might get myself a x-mas present this year. I've been looking around for inexpensive dual sports that are more dirt oriented than the Strom for awhile, now I have a pretty good idea of what I want. I have a line now on an old DR350 that I might pick up for cheap. Stay tuned...

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'07 Suzuki V-Strom DL650
An armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man is a subject.
Molon Labe!!!