motorcycles

I made an off-hand comment about "not needing the expense of heated gear" for motorcycling in Dallas and within fifteen minutes had two e-mails recommending this new jacket liner from Tourmaster — both senders were quick to point out it was half the cost of everything I had previously looked at since it included all necessary temperature controls and wiring. I checked out their website and was impressed. I stopped at my local Cycle Gear store on the way home from work. They didn't have the jacket liner in stock, but they had vests. I was impressed with both the fit and the quality of the materials. So I ordered one. It arrived two days later, and I picked it up Saturday morning after breakfast at the Original Pancake House next door.

Some bicycle time was in order before I could try out my new toy, but that was OK. Since I'm still not sure which heated grips I want for my motorcycle, I'm only halfway toward bliss in sub-freezing temperatures...

Once I returned from the bicycle ride, it took less than 10 minutes to install the wiring harness, zip tie it appropriately and do a quick test-heat to make sure everything was working properly. I showered and geared up for a ride.

Based on others' recommendations, I set the control on medium and headed out. By the end of the alleyway, I could feel heat. The heat produced is very even with no hot spots. More impressively, even though it's a fairly tight fit with the liner under my Icon leather jacket, there are no hot spots. I feel like I have more freedom of motion with this heated liner than with a light wool sweater under the same jacket.

Shortly down the road, I noticed that heat had stopped. Odd. I pulled into a parking lot and discovered that the waterproof cover on the red "off" switch was, well... off. I maneuvered it around a bit and was able to turn the heat back on, but headed home. I was able to repair the cover, but found this problem disconcerting. I'm not sure what the cover could have caught on while I was riding, and it's worrisome to think the cover could be pulled loose so easily. I'll call their tech support later this week when I have a minute and see what they have to say.

In any event, with the heater working again, I headed back out again. This time everything remained quite functional for a two hour cruise through Collin County countryside as I headed northeast through New Hope to Blue Ridge and returned via Princeton and Lake Lavon. The only other problem was that the controller came loose from the leg strap on the return trip and I had to stop to clip it back on. I had been warned about this and had originally taken measures to prevent that problem, but had forgotten to wire it back together after the repair.

I was impressed by how comfortable I stayed even as the mercury dropped to an indicated 27° on the VFR's thermometer. My hands stopped being warm at about the 1:30 mark, but I don't think it'll take much from grip warmers to keep them comfortable. My legs and feet stayed fine throughout. I was wearing Olympia armored pants with a quilted liner and Sidi Touring boots with wool socks.

Hmmmm... Maybe some heated insoles would be nice... or maybe heated gloves instead of grip heaters... I think this is exactly why I was avoiding the heated gear road in the first place...

Disclosure: I bought this product with my own money from a retailer.

After years of convincing myself it wasn't a good idea, rational thought went to the wayside Memorial Day weeked of 2008 and I added a delightful little Suzuki SV650S to my garage. The bike and I ran about for 18,000 odd miles before it came to an abrupt and final end on November 12th when a large-ish commercial truck made a right turn from the left lane and I ran out of room before the way ahead ran out of truck. I was not happy. Then some helpful folks who stopped to help pointed out that I should probably sit down since I was bleeding. So I did.

A few hours in the emergency room at Medical Center of Plano later, I got to go home and sit on my couch. Several hours later, it took me 4 attempts to make it from the sofa to the bathroom. If you have not been hit by a truck, I'd strongly recommend continuing that streak. It just flat hurts. And once it stops hurting, it apparently hurts some more. Four weeks in, any impact on my foot sends a wave of pain that eventually manifests as a splitting headache. And heaven forbid I forget about the shoulders and try to pick something up that ways more than a barn swallow.

On to more important things... What, then should I do about the deceased motorcycle? Well, replace it, of course!

The Dallas Honda shop had a "new in box" '07 Interceptor that was clearly calling my name. My good friends Nick and Scott drug me down there so I could lick the proverbial door handle (I figured it was probably OK to leave a deposit in a Vicodin induced stupor, but probably not secure financing). A few days later after waiting for the world's slowest credit union, it was mine. I've never had a vehicle with 0 miles on it before.

As I've started healing up, I've gotten to go out for a few rides. This bike is so much more refined than the Suzuki. It's an absolute delight. At low RPM, it has a low growl that quickly grows to a Ferrari-esque scream as it climbs toward the 11,750 RPM redline.

I suspect I'll be adding a Two Brothers exhaust sometime soon. And I'll need to add a tail bag since I'm using it as my daily driver, but it's sure going to be a shame to ugly it up with the tail bag...