Winter Blues, Already...

[HFD190]

Is anyone else struggling this year with the winter season?

Oil changes, batteries, whatever else to come up with a good excuse to hang out with the bike while the snow is flying. This year has not been a bad year for winter riding in central NY State. We didn’t have snow on the ground until the 2nd week in January. And already I am itching to get back out. I was driving my pickup truck into work this AM following a plow with sand and salt flying… I have been depressed all day! This time last year I would get excited about the maintenance, or reading up on the forums. This year, I just want to ride!

Any suggestions that don’t involve counseling? Not that there is anything wrong with counseling, just rather save the $...

[PAULBACH]

Hello, there, my friend.
You say your old man dressed up as Santa Claus and can't get his belly through the fireplace?
And you hang up a purple bulb on the tree and three thousand volts go through ya?
And your brother made an animal cage out of your Erector set, and Grandma can't get out?
And someone opened a window while you're sortin' stamps and all your triangles are flying around the house?
And one of your gifts, a strange little shiny box, suddenly takes off and is now circling the earth at twelve-hundred miles-an-hour?
Is that what's troublin' you, bunky?!?

WELL, PUT YOUR HEAD DOWN LOW AND TAKE A RUN FOR IT!! YOU'LL NEVER GIVE UP...NEVER GIVE UP...NEVER GIVE UP...
THAT SHIPP!!!

You are in luck. The Big GIG helped to clear a lot of the cobwebs but very quickly, coming to a site near you is:

THE LARGEST MOTORCYCLE SHOWCASE
& SWAP MEET UNDER ONE ROOF IN THE NORTHEAST!

So hold your head up high and head for the Syracuse Super Swap (http://www.syracusesuperswap.com/defaultSYR.htm) <- Check it out

[hondarider]

I find it's easier to come to terms with the lack of riding when there is 5 feet of snow on the ground. At that point, there's just no possibility of going for a scoot and you have to find other ways to amuse yourself. It's easier to find happiness while tinkering in the garage if there's a Nor'easter howling just outside. A winter without snow just taunts you day in and day out. I recommend taking on a project of some sort. The more involved, the better. I just stripped the entire front end off of my GS to replace the front subframe, installed some luggage and handguards, and ordered some crashbars. Now I'll wax it and detail the entire engine with a toothbrush and some WD-40. If that doesn't work, I'm going to start sorting my extensive collection of nuts and bolts. :thumb

[wezul]

Doritos, breakfast of champions! I do not suggest Doritos with WD-40, however.

[hondarider]

Back together and waiting for further farkling...

[hondarider]

Doritos, breakfast of champions! I do not suggest Doritos with WD-40, however.


I bet you're great at Where's Waldo :thumb

[Mar]

Are those robots on the bed/chair???? They sure look like robots. :confused:

[rgvilla]

We have about 4 inches on the ground and it has been snowing off and on all day. The bike is in it's unheated shed, hooked up to the battery tender. No chance to work on it out there. I have added two inches to my waistline in the last year and even though I've started back to the gym the weight is slow in coming off. All I want to do is eat. The comute into work is 58 miles one way and in the snow that is sometimes more than i can take so I break out a cot and sleeping bag and sleep in my office. thankfully the health club is in the hotel that is connected to my office building so I can get right up and head to the workout in the mornings. Course then I hate not being with my DSW. I always get a little down in the winter anyway but the winter blahs hit pretty hard this year. Maybe turning 57 in a month has something to do with that. On the other hand I'm starting to think about planning my end of July ride to Albuquerque for a family reunion. In the end I'll probably just pack up, no particular route in mind and head west. Depends on how much time I will get to take off. I'm not even in the mood for winter sports as I didn't break out the cross country skis or toboggan (sp?) It gets harder and harder to get out. Man do I sound like a baby or what! Well we did get out and feed the horses today so all is not lost. Hope everyone is well and warm.:brad

[hondarider]

Are those robots on the bed/chair???? They sure look like robots. :confused:

Robots? Bed? Chair? I'm lost.

[PAULBACH]

Probably the welding mask and that cylindrical "thingy" in the corner.

[wezul]

Doritos, breakfast of champions! I do not suggest Doritos with WD-40, however.


I bet you're great at Where's Waldo :thumb

WD-40!? What am I talking about . . . MOUNTAIN DEW!!

Where's Waldo was a little after my time. :)

[hondarider]

Sometimes I forget....you're ooooooooold! :nyah

[wezul]

Yup, too old for Where's Waldo.
Find Da Pope in the pizza, more like it.

Life, is a state of mind.

[BubbaZanetti]

i killed the pms by going for a short ride today, 35 degrees, jeans and leather jacket, it somehow felt warm.............

[rinty]

Got my head cleared out at Schweitzer Basin in the Idaho panhandle last week. One day was tree skiing in 9" of fresh on my Atomic Metron 11's, the R 1200 S of skis. Incredible. To celebrate, we had a few pints in Taps, a great pub. Sandpoint's hill has the best tree skiing I've seen.

I'm good til spring now. Just a few weeks to go. It was 32 F today and I heard a few Harleys roaring around.

Rinty

[scootrp125x]

Is anyone else struggling this year with the winter season?


Any suggestions that don’t involve counseling? Not that there is anything wrong with counseling, just rather save the $...


I just watched 2 hours of Feasting on Asphalt on the Food Channel. I'm also considering trying to ride to Bike Week from Pittsburgh. I'm sure it is optomistic to think about this far ahead of time but at least it is a good thing to keep my mind occupied while the snow is flying.

[Motor31]

When it gets cold up North we pack up the house and head South with it AND the bike. Later on when it gets hot down South, we head North. When we get to where we want to be we set it up and go riding, year round. :nyah

[wezul]

Holy cats!
That's your rig?
CDL license required I assume.
Schweet.

[Motor31]

No CDL required. The tow vehicle was converted a bit and is now registered as a motorhome. It even has an autoshift transmission. I just put it in D for drive. There is a clutch but you only use it for first starting up from a stop and coming to a stop. Otherwise it handles everything on it's own and never grinds the gears. Even Momma likes to drive it. :brad

[PAULBACH]

Thats not a truck. There must be another word for such superlative movement.

:thumb

:jawdrop

[bubbagazoo]

A little bit of over kill on the tow vehicle, dontcha think:thumb

A few years ago, we went to Ottawa to visit my daughter and then 4 month old grandson. We did a bit of a tour by going from Ottawa to Sudbury. From there we went to Sault Ste Marie and then to Parry Sound before heading back to Ottawa (had to see a bunch of relatives). Any ways, we were snickering at the general lack of size of the tow vehicles pulling 5th wheels like yours. You know the type -- smallest damn pickup they could afford pulling the biggest trailer on the lot. Well, you definitely do not fit that mold. Good on ya.

[GeneT]

Posted by bubbagazoo: A little bit of over kill on the tow vehicle, dontcha think

I can't completely agree with that statement, the tow vehicle is just right, its the trailer that needs to be larger. Other wise I think it is great.

:gerg

[Voni]

Two of my favorite things to do when I can't ride are to read trip reports of places I want to go and of places where I've been, AND to plan new trips like going to the Blitz to Branson.

Paul seems to like to take bikes apart. But he always puts them back together better than new, so I encourage this strange behavior.

Voni
sMiling

[hondarider]

I'm with Paul...nothing clears the mind of all your cares like a mechanical jigsaw puzzle in the shape of a bike:thumb

[Pat Carol]

I have to say this is the dog days of winter. Hunting season is done for me. The lakes have not froze to a sfae level yet. In fact two Saturday's ago we rescued a guy who fell through the ice on Hubbard Lake. He was in the water for appomiately 30 minutes and about a mile off shore.
God was on his side and ours. We were able to reach him and and get him out of the water. The outside temperature was around 15 degrees. He was slightly lethargic and definately hypothermic.
I did discover that my cold water rescue suit has a leak in a very inappropriate place.

Take Care
Pat Carol

[HFD190]

I do feel better now that I am confident that I am doing something correctly. When I got home from work, I confirmed that I have a half eaten bag of Doritos and a partially frozen Mt. Dew right there next to the bike in garage. So I have that working for me…

Motor31, where is that pic from? Certainly nowhere in the northeast, not enough sand and mud stuck on…

[rinty]

Mike:

I was wondering why you picked such a big tractor for such a light load?

And how do you unload the bike?

Rinty

[manicmechanic]

Lessee, a week ago was New Glarus (ya shoulda been there), less than two weeks until the Chicago show, indoor archery league twice a week (3D and 5-spot), work at the bike shop on the occasional bike, 4-wheeler or sled. Not to forget about the regular bill-paying job, or twice-weekly trip to the cigar shop for a smoke and conversation. Gotta sleep in there sometime. Ride when I can. Have I forgotten anything?

[sfarson]

Not much sympathy here :). Ten feet this season so far. And here's the upcoming forecast for balmy Denver 3500 feet lower. Yee Ha!

http://www.farson.com/images/012907fc.jpg

[RandallIsland]

It just occurred to me while reading, that in the past three years I've moved five times, spent three months overseas, been across the country three times, down south once and back and finally ... finally, made a dent in my boxes of books with a long overdue furniture acquisition: a bookcase obtained from a good friend. On a roll, I actually put my random kitchen utensils in an actual drawer, God help me, out-of-sight. My knives are still staying visible!

My academic round of seminars started last week. So back to the thesis I go.
What I don't know, is why on the East coast, there is just never enough time. On the West, in the Mid-West, down South and overseas there was always time to go to the gym, eat, sleep, etc.
What is it about NY?!?!
:banghead
Right then. Back to the books.
Winter blues? Yeah. I haven't had time to ride this week, not to mention it being below 22 (usually far) every night, the only possible opportunity.

[PAULBACH]

I'm good til spring now. Just a few weeks to go. It was 32 F today and I heard a few Harleys roaring around.

Rinty

Are you sure you were not hearing a few snow blowers? :laugh

[Motor31]

Motor31, where is that pic from? Certainly nowhere in the northeast, not enough sand and mud stuck on…

That picture was taken in August 05 right after we took delivery of the trailer. We were in Indianna about an hour East of Indianapolis. It was a little town called New Castle. We've hit about 32 different states and are looking forward to seeing all of the 49 on this continent. Hawaii's just too far and humid to drive.........


Rinty,

We use that vehicle because the load is not as light as you might think. That's 18,500 lbs of trailer there. There isn't a one ton made that really has the brakes, weight, power to handle that kind of load anywhere near as well as that Volvo does. There are "baby" semi's out there that will handle the load but they are usually far more expensive than that Volvo was. I spent under $35k for that 01 in Feb of 04. A "baby freightliner" would have cost me over $65k with the same age and it wouldn't have had a 10 spd autoshift, full airseats, 450 HP and 1650 lbs of torque, massive brakes, great sound proofing and 300 gallon tanks. That Volvo cost me less than a new 3/4 ton PU without a hitch. I don't thinjk I'll wear it out anytine soon either. Oh and it gets better mileage than my old F350 dually diesel did pulling a smaller trailer.

The ramp is a Rampage electric ramp. The ramp drops down on an angle to the ground. A trolley slides down the ramp to the ground. You put the front wheel into the trolley and winch the bike up onto the ramp then the ramp goes back on the truck. It's about 15 to 20 minutes loading for one person and that includes getting all the straps and stuff out and strapping the bike securely. It has a single 2 button controller.

[hondarider]

That is one sweet set-up.

[rinty]

Mike:

I wouldn't have guessed that the trailer was that heavy, or that a big duallie wouldn't handle it. What's the power unit in the Volvo?

It looks like a very comfortable rig.

Rinty

[Motor31]

Mike:

I wouldn't have guessed that the trailer was that heavy, or that a big duallie wouldn't handle it. What's the power unit in the Volvo?

It looks like a very comfortable rig.

Rinty


It has a Cummins N14ISX. It's 14 liters with a single turbo charger.

RV's, especially for full timing aren't light. They are getting heavier all the time. Mine puts over 4300 lbs of weight just on the pin. It's 38' long and has 3 slides. Two of the slides are about 17' long each. It's not the longest 5th wheel trailer, by a long stretch. There's a company making them out of 53' semi trailers.