Well, I did it. After I took the BRC and got my license, I went out and bought a motorcycle. It’s been almost a month now and I’m loving it. Today I put an engine guard on that I got off ebay so that’s why I finally got around to taking pictures. I got myself a Craftsman mechanics tool set on sale, plus a few additional tools I’ll need for general maintenance. I have all the HD manuals for my bike, also the Clymer manual and a basic motorcycle maintenance book, and the Fix My Hog Sportster DVDs, so I plan on doing almost everything myself.

I’m so proud of myself for putting this on. Not that it was particularly hard but I’ve never really done anything like it before. I picked up a spanner wrench today to work on the rear shocks next. I need to fix the preload for my weight. I also have some saddlebags coming and I might need to relocate my rear turn signals to get them on. I’d have to look into the electrical system more before tackling that one.

After a little wash. I need to pick up some cleaner my neighbor told me about and then I’ll polish all the chrome too.

I passed my BRC this weekend. The class was a lot of fun, and had about 1/3 women which was pretty cool. Went to the DMV today to trade in my paperwork for the M on my license but the system was down (statewide, awesome) so I have to go back tomorrow. I have my eye on a 2003 Sportster 1200C at a dealership nearby and will probably get it this weekend. There’s a Garage Party happening Thursday that I’m going to check out first.

I finally got the DVDs for Long Way Round, Ewan MacGregor and Charley Boorman’s 2004 round the world motorcycle trip. They had filmed it and turned it into a show, which apparently aired on Bravo but I never saw it. I had to order the DVDs from amazon.ca because I wasn’t finding them still available in the US for some reason (at least not the special edition with 10 episodes, as opposed to the original 7). The whole series was fantastic. I would recommend watching it even if you’re not particularly interested in motorcycles. Just the whole traveling into remote parts of the world and meeting the people there angle is really interesting. They had a cameraman, Claudio von Planta, on a third motorcycle with them, and two support vehicles traveling a few days behind them to meet up at borders and help with the documentation needed there for crossings. The roads for probably 2/3 of their trip were pretty much non-existent so you get to see some pretty rough off-roading as well.

They actually ran into Ted Simon in Mongolia – he’s the author of Jupiter’s Travels, about his riding round the world for 4 years on a Triumph back in the 1970s. They worked with UNICEF for the trip and met up with children in different cities to spread awareness of UNICEF’s cause. My favorite parts were when they stayed with Igor in Ukraine (episode 3) and when they traveled the Road of Bones in Siberia (episode 7).

Last year they did another trip, Long Way Down, where they traveled from the tip of Scotland to the tip of South Africa. I’ll probably pick up that DVD set soon to check out.

I love the look on the husband’s face.

I’m signed up to take the Basic Rider Course on the last weekend of March. My plan is to start getting gear ahead of time and then find a good used bike in April. I’m thinking a HD Sportster 1200. I was planning on the 883 but I’ve been told that when riding with others it’s hard to keep up. Also I just got a book called Breaking the Limit about a woman who rides from Jersey to Alaska and back on her Sporty 1200. And I’m easy to convince. Plus I can see the value of getting a bike that I’ll be happy with much longer as opposed to buying something as a starter and then having to get another one in a year or two. Of course I’m still open to other non-Harleys as well but it would have to be a great deal to win me over.

I spoke to my landlord yesterday and he is in the process of getting bids for reroofing the house and shed, and also plans to add another door to the shed so we (myself and the downstairs tenants) can use it. He said he’ll make my side big enough for a bike. I had been looking at enclosures like the Bike Barn and Cycle Shell (mainly for winter storage) but then it’s still very obvious that you have a motorcycle. Much better to have it in the shed and out of sight completely.

I’ve probably mentioned this before but a website with great information on it for women riders is VTwin Mama. Check it out.

I just found out today that my grandfather had a 1965 Honda Dream. He still has it in pieces laying around the garage. My uncle started to restore it about 20 years ago before he got sick. I would love to be involved in restoring something like that. 1960s bike styles are my favorite.

I recently ran across some motorcycle video blogs by a Canadian guy living in Taiwan. He’s got a helmet cam he uses to record different rides, also does some funny stuff.

Some videos:
Bikers like to Wave
A True Biker – ATGATT
Ride through mountains / techno

more here: http://livevideo.com/mordeth13

I’ve been looking at bikes again. With the gorgeous weather we’ve been having lately, there’s been tons of them out. Also my one friend and her boyfriend just got some (Ninja 250s). I have to buy a car this summer but I’m thinking I’ll get a bike next summer. I’ve been looking at the Vulcan 500 for a starter. I wouldn’t outgrow it quite as fast as a 250. I’ll probably break down and actually pay for the Basic Rider Course too since the free ones are so hard to get into.

As for the car, I’m most likely just getting another Corolla (except not 16 years old). Nothing exciting there. I like how they last forever though. Great mileage too.

I’ve decided that for my “You made it through Drexel without killing yourself and got a job afterwards” present to myself, I need a bike. Well first I need to make it to June and get a job. Hopefully one where I make a decent amount of money.

Triumph Bonneville T100
Honda Shadow Spirit
HD Sportster 883
HD Heritage Softtail Classic

Probably an older, used version of the Bonneville. That would be fantastic.

Any way I’m going to try to sign up for the BRC again this fall. Hopefully I can make it into one.