I just wanted to let everyone know I have not abandoned my blog.  I have been very busy at work and have not done anything motorcycle related in several weeks until yesterday–I rode my bike to work.  I know–­a fascinating, insightful piece of information that I’m sure you could not live with out.  On the upside I have plans for the weekend. 

My college alma mater is holding it’s first annual fundraising ride.  This should be an interesting experience.  KT wants to ride it and it’s for a good cause so if everything works out Sunday evening I should pictures to share.  The proceeds are going to support an orphanage in South America.

I just want to take a moment to encourage everyone riding this holiday weekend to be careful and have a great time.  I hope to get a few miles in, but I’m afraid most of them will be in a car.

Over the weekend I had an opportunity to put a few bugs on my new Shoei RF-1000.  Here are some of my observations and opinions. 

What I like…

The RF-1000 is very comfortable.  It is soft and light weight.  The cheek pads are removable for changing and washing.  The quality of the assembly seems to be very good with a lot of attention paid to the details.

While riding the RF-1000 is quite quiet.  I normally ride with earplugs, but around town I don’t feel the same need for earplugs with this helmet.  On the freeway I still prefer the earplugs because wind noise becomes much louder at higher speeds.  I think the noise level of this helmet is largely due to the tight seal that is made when the visor is in the down position. 

The visor is simple to remove and replace.  Shoei sells several visors to fit this helmet.  I’m particular to the silver mirrored visor, but for now I’ll stick with the clear visor.

The chinstrap is padded, a nice feature, but I find that the padding eventually moves to the side of the strap.  I may remove the chinstrap padding if I continue to find that it is always to the side.  I have not experienced any discomfort as a result of the chinstrap padding being off to the side.

The chin curtain and breath guard were both easy to install and latched in nicely.  Once installed, they share a similar fit and finish to the rest of the helmet. 

The bad…

For speeds up to 65 mph this helmet is just fine.  While I was riding at freeway speeds, 70+ mph, I found that this helmet buffeted around allot when I turning my head to the side.  It was even bad enough that I felt I needed to tighten my chinstrap to make sure this helmet was not going to come off.  I could feel lifting of the helmet when I was looking behind and to the side.  While facing forward this helmet was as smooth as I would expect from a good helmet. 

For the most par this helmet is very nice.  I think that buying helmets is a lot like buying a new pair of shoes.  Just as you get them to the perfect fit and comfort it will be time for a new pair.

Last weekend, while sitting around talking bikes with the family, my aunt was surprised to learn that KT had and rode her own motorcycle.  It reminded me of a salesman at a bike shop we encountered last fall.

One afternoon I dragged KT along to look at motorcycles.  We were looking at a Yamaha FZ6 or similar when a salesman came up and started asking questions.  One of the first questions he asked when seeing KT and I together was “are you looking for a bike you can ride together?”  I replied “no” and continued to study the motorcycle I was looking at.  He turns to KT and starts making small talk with “you just don’t like to ride?”  Wow there is a generalization.  It was fun to see his expression when he found out that KT had her own motorcycle and preferred to drive.

Today I cam across this license plate holder that expresses the mental attitude adjustment the salesman received when his stereotype was wrong.  I’m glad that KT rides her own bike.  Having your own machine is always more fun.  And fun is what riding is all about.  The next question is: will KT put the plate frame on her bike?

The other day I stopped in at Freedom Cycle, a local Harley Davidson dealer.  I went in thinking I would continue my quest for the perfect tank bag but got distracted with a sign on the wall:  “Busted Knuckles Garage.”  The sign reminded me of my first motorcycle.

I had (still have sitting in the garage) a 1979 Kawasaki KZ 650.  The carburetors on this bike are held on with rubber boots and clamps.  After loosening the clamps and a lot of pulling the boots finally broke free and slit off scraping my hand against the frame. 

Another crushing memory happened as I pulled into the driveway, lowered the kickstand and started to get off.  At the most awkward point the stand failed taking the bike over with my leg under it.  It is difficult to get a motorcycle off you and upright when you are pinned under it. 

I’m sure there were countless other smashes and scrapes over the three years I road the KZ.  Any time I’m around wrenches I seem to pinch, scrape or hit something.  

Feel free to leave your “Busted Knuckle” stories.

Have you ever had someone compliment you on the look of your bike?  Today was such a nice day I rode my motorcycle to work today.  I had two people complement me on how “sharp” my bike looked.  As much as I would like to take credit for these complements they really need to go to the designers at Suzuki.  The first time I saw an SV650 I thought that it was striking.