I checked my odometer yesterday, and realized that I need to put 1200 miles on the Strom this month, so I can get the 7500mi service done before the warranty expires. I'd like it done while the bike is still warrantied just in case there is something wrong that I haven't noticed, and I might as well try to get some use out of the warranty.

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

I almost became statistic on the way to work this morning.

I was headed through town, moderate traffic moving about 30 mph. The road is five lanes at that point, two in each direction plus a suicide lane. I was in the south-bound slow lane, with two cars abreast of each other about 20 yards ahead of me. There was a car in the suicide lane, pointed north, waiting to turn into a gas station. He waited for the cars in front of me to pass, and then started to pull across, apparently not noticing me.

I didn't have a chance to do much but swear and roll on the throttle. I was unfortunately not in my powerband, so not much was accomplished. (I'm staying in 3rd gear through town from now on.)

The guy noticed me about 5 feet before he plowed through me, and slowed enough to go behind me, rather than over me.

It was certainly eye opening for me, and a reminder that they really don't see you.

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

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

Wow, it has been a little while since I paid any attention to this thing. My "real" blog fizzled some time ago, so I think I'll start posting here again on occasion.

Things that have happened in the last year or so:

Still running the Strom, now have a bit over 16,000 miles on the odometer.
My luggage has gone through a couple generations of change, now I have very nice Caribou boxes on the sides, mounted just last week.
My gear has also evolved some, now I have an Arai Profile lid and Aerostich Combat Touring Boots in addition to the Kili jacket and Cortech pants.
No longer living with my folks, and now I live a good 15-20 minute ride from work.
Tires on the Strom are now a matched set of Battlewings.

I'll make an effort (for awhile, at least) to check back with updates for this thread on a semi-regular basis.

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

Holy chit it's warm today! I just got back from tooling around for a couple or three hours and I am roasting. It was about 70*F when I left the house, now it's 84*. I also managed to forget about the rush hour bottleneck that I wound up right in the middle of. One of these days I'm going to have to pick up some mesh gear so that I don't end every ride soaked in sweat during those two months of hot weather that we get every year.

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

I cleaned my chain today (exciting, I know). It is significant to me, I'm pretty lackadaisical about chain maintenance - I might clean and tighten it every five thousand miles or so. I tend to squirt lube on the exposed section of chain two or three times a week, but I don't generally give it more thought than that.

In the past I have used a Grunge Brush and kerosene to really scrub the chain clean, but that always turned into a messy and time consuming process. Today I decided to halfass it by using just a kerosene soaked rag. I'll be damned if that rag didn't get the chain almost as clean, and in way less time than the brush. I suppose that it just goes to show that the simplest and lowest-tech method of doing things is often easier and just as effective.

As a side note, I have discovered a way to make using a rear "track" stand less hairy. Normally it seems like the bike wants to flop to one side or the other, right when you just barely have it balanced, on the way up and down. I take two tie-downs and run one from each grip back to a point on the frame, and lock them down so that the bars can't swivel at all. Hey Presto, the bike doesn't want to flop over when you're putting it on or off the stand. I'm sure that I'm not the only one doing it this way, but I almost dropped the bike a couple times before that particular light bulb went off.

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

The new 2009 BMW K1300GT = AWESOME.

160hp, 100+ ft-lbs. The spec sheet says it will do 124mph "plus".

This bike will haunt my dreams. If only I had $28,000 that I wasn't using...

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

Awesome motorcycle under me
Wonderful day unfolding around me
My commute would be so much better
If it didn't end at work.

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

Touched down a peg yesterday.

I was riding with a pillion, and neglected to bump up the preload on the rear suspension. I had been riding at a pretty mild pace, and I wasn't getting myself leaned into corners like I usually do. I came up on a familiar right-hand corner that is posted at 10mph and entered at 15mph or so. Right in the middle of the corner I'll be damned if the pavement didn't reach up and smack that right peg. I knew what it was, so I didn't jerk the bike up or anything, just continued on. I did stop down the way a bit to crank up the rear before entering the next bit of twisties.

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

The new girlfriend (the pillion in my last post) is working out so well that I just ordered her some gear! I found a sweet closeout on Honda logo touring gear, so I snagged a 3/4 length jacket and matching pants for $99/ea, which is a cumulative $350 below msrp.

I'm really looking forward to having her in full gear, to this point she has been wearing a borrowed Technic mesh jacket and jeans. I've been apprehensive about having her on the bike without riding pants, I'd hate to go down and have her end up covered in road rash.

Once I make sure I got the right size and color, I'll even post up where I found the gear for anyone who might be interested. I'd do it now, but I don't want a run on my stash before I'm sure I've got her all set up.

Next, I'll be looking for gloves, boots, and a lid. Right now she has gloves and a nice Shoei helmet borrowed from a very gracious friend, and has been wearing Converse sneakers, which aren't going to be ideal in a crash (or the rain, for that matter). I wish I could get everything at once, but my paycheck can only stretch so far...

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