Riding and bloging

Well, the weather has broken and the temps are rising. I have been doing a good bit of riding, and completely neglecting my yard work… and my blog. I want to say that I’m sorry for not posting in a wile.

A couple of weeks ago I hooked up with Scratch from the FZ1OA and DCSportbikes.com for a ride up into PA for some sausage in Amish country. It was a good ride, and a great route up there. Some very small and tight back roads in disrepair that the two guys on V-Storms where loving, but the rest of us… not so much. I would love to give you the route and report here, but I wanted to talk about something else about the ride.

When I left my house it was 36 degrees… and the FZ1 offers very little in the way of wind protection. The forecast was for it to reach 50, and I was feeling optimistic that we would get to that point early. I opted not to carry my tank or tail bag and to gear up for a nice 50 degree ride… well, it never did reach 50, and I was cold, down to my bones for the entire 340 miles.

It kind of got me to thinking that maybe it was time to upgrade the FZ. Something with a little more touring capability. The FZ1 is great, but on a cold and windy day, it’s not the best bike for a 340 mile ride. I would like to add a heated vest, and grips. I want XM radio and a GPS unit, but the FZ1 is a little weak on the electrical output, and offers no factory installed power outputs.

Another thing is that I hate making any modifications that can’t be undone. Having to ‘adjust’ the mounting tabs on my swingarm in order to install my rear hugger about drove me nuts. No lie, I sat there for almost an hour with a hammer in my hand trying to find another way to adjust the fit of the hugger.

So, I was thinking about a new bike. I quickly narrowed my choices down to three bikes.

First, was the BMW R1200ST
Great bike with long range riding capability. Heater grips and ABS with hard bags for gear, without being too heavy. Seems to offer everything I would like in a bike. But, damn is it ugly! I’m sorry, I just can’t get passed it. I looked at the thing for almost an hour yester at Bob’s BMW and I just couldn’t fall in love with it.

Next, was the Triumph Sprint ST
Great performance and the Triumph name. The triple has always been a great configuration for a motor. It offers hard bags and heated grips and ABS, should fit me nicely. I love the look and sound of Bill’s Sprint, but I haven’t seen a ’06 yet. I’m hoping to check it out this weekend.

Last is the Ducati ST3s
Everything about this bike is top shelf. I feel in lust with it as soon as I laid my eyes on it at Speed’s Cycle! Hard bags, heated grips, ABS… 16,000 dollars! I even began to justify the price in my head… couple of grand for top shelf suspension, a grand for weather protection, a grand for hard bags and it’s not to far out of line with what a ’06 FZ1 would run.

But in the couple of weeks since that ride to PA, the weather has turned warm, and the strong winds out of the North have died down. With the mods I made over the winter, the FZ1 fits me really well. It’s comfortable, and I enjoy it.

I’ll see how my riding goes this year. If I’m doing a lot more 600 mile days (like I hope to) maybe a ST bike will be in the cards, but if I’m spending more time closer to home… the FZ1 is perfect for me.