More Chrome!!!

Tried to put the leather trunk on the bike. The current luggage rack (Kawasaki OEM) looks great, but sits way too high on the sissybar. So now, I have a choice. I could build something on the wooden rack that I built for it. That could be fun, a little bit of a challenge, and would be unique.

OR

I could buy a different rack. NO BRAINER! So I went searching for a Cobra rack made specifically for the Nomad. Searched high and low, and finally found a good price at CruiserCustomizing.

Found the Cobra rack on sale. Life is GREAT! Will fit right into the existing mounting points, looks good (but not as good as the Kawasaki), but more importantly it will do the job. And being a Cobra, I feel confident in the quality and longevity.

However, I was a few dollars short of the free shipping and handling minimum. So I had another choice to make. Pay for the S&H, or choose something low cost that gets me to shipping minimums. Geeze, that was hard.... Ordered a chrome choke knob cover. On the stock Nomad, the knob is black plastic with a white choke symble on it....YUK.

All excited about getting it. But they were closed on Sunday, and then on Presidents day. Finally touched base with them on Tuesday, and BOTH items are backordered....dang...oh well, it is still cold, snow and freezing fog (yeah, freezing fog...go figure), etc. so I guess I dont need it right away anyway.

Sweet Dreams are made of these

The weather broke a little today, creeping above freezing. Within 24 hours, we are supposed to be buried in 12" of snow and ice, followed by temperatures dropping to zero again. Every couple weeks, I start up the bike making sure the oil gets warm and everything feels right.

This time round, I had the boy come out to the garage, sit on the bike, and start her up. His feet barely reached the brake, and had to stretch a bit to hold the grips. I had him go through each switch, making sure the turn signals all worked, lights, horn, brakes, etc. I recognized that smile on his face - I have seen it in the mirror. His imagination racing with thoughts of being on the road.

He has a few more years to go before he can ride on the street, but I think he will be dreaming tonight of those upcoming days.

I AM AN AUTHOR! kinda....

One of my little Quips was published in the March issue of American Motorcyclist. Here is the cover, and a scan of the area my quip was. In case you cant read it, the question was
"What was the motorcycling highlight of 2006?"

My Answer was "My best day was picking up my 2006 Nomad. The worst day was selling my 1992 FJ1200. My wife's list is just the opposite!"

Finally, it is no longer a pain in the ass

I am now all set for spring. I have a trunk for the bike (see left). I can now pack more "stuff" safely and have it nice and dry and not torn apart by the wind or smashed and ripped by bungie cords. And it will velcro on and off the luggage rack and can be carried straight up to a hotel room or into a tent.

But what was really limiting my longer rides (rides of 300 or more miles per day) was something called "biker butt". That painful feeling on your backside that just gets worse until the legs get numb from the pain. And lets not get into the discussion of "monkey butt" which is basically heat rash where the sun don't shine.

To manage that, there are a couple options. A new seat from Corbin or Mustang (600 bucks give or take) - too expensive for me! A gel pad that tends to reduce the pain, but not so much for monkey butt. Less than $100. And then, there is the Airhawk. It is a airpad that was originally designed and manufactured for medical purposes (eg - wheel chairs, bed pads, etc) to prevent heat rash and bed sores. It is a little over $100 bucks but should take care of both the pain and rash. YEAH for long rides this summer!!! And it fits the Nomad seat perfectly, like it was custom manufactured for the seat.

The cloth cover is black, but because it is slightly reflictive, appears grey in this picture. In real life, it is basically the same color as the seat. The sides of the airhawk allow air to flow through the padding inside keeping things nice and cool.