Monthly Archives: December 2006
December 28, 2006
LD Shorts
LDComfort - Motorcycle Riding Shorts, Tops and Tights for Bikers. Carole got these for me for Christmas — they work great under my long tights.
December 25, 2006
Personlized license plate
A standard environmental personalized plate, with the characters 'TCFJR' - no spaces. Carole ordered it for me for Christmas!
December 17, 2006
Anit-fog shield
Pinlock USA, Inc. - The best fog resistant system for Shoei and HJC
December 15, 2006
Waterproof switches
Switch: Water-Proof in-line Light Switch (push-button) - BK-SWITCH
December 9, 2006
FJR Forum t-shirts - with my picture!
FJRForum fundraiser 5 t-shirt and apparel from Zazzle.com
That's me in the foreground. Carole got it for me for Christmas!
December 7, 2006
A day in the desert
When I get too close to use-it-or-lose-it on vacation time, nothing's better than a day on the bike. I planned out a ride that was about half interstate and half isolated two-lane roads, and arranged to meet Carole and Mandy for dinner in Palm Desert.
It was still cold when I left at 8:30am. As soon as I left the 210 for the 15, some nasty crosswinds started up that slowed me down considerably — and for the record, I do not like 40+ mph crosswinds. Just before Barstow I noticed that it was really cold — cold enough to pull off and put on the Widder's. I was way behind schedule when I pulled into Baker, but knew I could beat Streets & Trips speed estimates on the upcoming two-lane sections.
Kelbaker Rd. was fast, and began with good pavement, but after ten miles or so it degraded noticeably. At the Kelso train depot I turned northeast onto Kelso-Cima Rd for fifteen miles, then due east on Cedar Canyon Rd. The planned route called for 6 miles on Cedar Canyon followed by Black Canyon Rd. south to I-40, but after a couple of miles Cedar Canyon turns into a dirt road, and a fairly poor dirt road at that. I retraced back to Kelso-Cima and down to the Kelso depot, and turned south again on Kelbaker Rd.
There was a particularly nice section of Kelbaker Rd. just north of National Trails. Good pavement, smooth, no extreme dips or rises, perfectly straight, visibility for miles, and not a single car in site. I opened it up, WFO-style, and set a new personal land speed record - 148 indicated. Based on previous calibrations against my GPS, I think it's pretty accurate. I ran for a couple of miles with the throttle wide open, which was very fun.
Amboy is an old stop on Route 66 that's been semi-abandoned for years, except for the occasional film shoot. Amboy Rd. into Twentynine Palms is nothing special. When I stopped for gas in Twentynine Palms there was a LEO sitting in the parking lot of the station with his Ka radar on - the V1 screamed at me mercilessly.
I paid my $5 at the Joshua Tree NP entrance, and enjoyed a leisurely cruise through the park marred only by the low sun. The joshua's are not at their prettiest this time of year, but the view is still striking.
I made good time on I-10 until the SR-111 cutoff in Indio. I got stopped at literally every light along SR-111 throughout that fine city, which is such a pain. I got to the Ruth's Chris in Palm Desert at 4:20pm for our 5:00pm reservation. When I called Carole, I was not surprised to find out they were running late, but the restaurant did not appear busy so I hunkered down with my book to pass the time.
Dinner was very nice, although I think I would have preferred a steak over the swordfish I ordered. The sweet potato casserole is to die for.
We left the restaurant around 7:35pm, and the girls left while I suited up with full Widders in the parking lot. I made good time on the way home, but even though I knew better I followed a pack buddy onto SR-60. Carole beat me by about 15 minutes, so I think our driving time was about equal after you account for the suit-up time.
I pulled in just before 9:30pm, tired but happy.
The route:
The back-track:
December 2, 2006
Skyway's windshield spacers
This simple to install farkle will reduce the infamous buffeting that many riders complain about on their 03-05 FJR. By installing my supplied hardware, your windshield will be tilted back slightly, to allow more air to travel underneath the shield. This farkle will work with any windshield, factory or after market. I did bring some to WFO this year, and to my knowledge, everyone who installed them reported back to me that they noticed an improvement. As always YMMV.
Ordered and PayPal'ed on November 28, 2006. Installed December 2, 2006.
Here's a photo posted by my riding buddy Toecutter on the FJRForum site:
