Day 213: Hot Grips

Having warm hands one a cold ride makes a very big difference to the overall experience, I found the cheapo Chinese Hot Hands that I installed (with help from Pete) on the R1 invaluable on the long ride I took early last month. They stopped working shortly after returning from the 5 day ride which was fine, I figure that as I had paid $15 for them, it only cost me $3 per day to keep my hands warm... money well spent.

When I was negotiating the purchase of my slightly more touring oriented bike last week I made sure that they threw in a set and told them I'd like to fit them myself. Tonight, after the kids had gone to bed, I spent quite a long time in the garage fitting the Hot Grips in preparation for my birthday ride down to Melbourne. I wanted to complete the fitting tonight to ensure I still had time to call in reinforcements if I managed to stuff something up, fortunately reinforcements were not required. The grips went on and functioned as they should with minimal fuss... except for the time I spent googling the workshop manual so I could find the battery.

Todays photo is much more advanced switch for my new Hot Grips, compare this to the one on the R1 pictured at Day 184, there's a clear difference between the $15 set and the $150 dollar set.

Day 209: Big, Red and Hopefully Comfy

I picked my R1 replacement up at lunch time today and whilst I've never really been a huge fan of Kawasaki motorcycles I have to say this one is growing on me (just as well hey?). It's effortlessly quick and has a big cushiony seat on it that will make it a much more comfortable experience for the longer rides that I've been enjoying of late. The real test will be next week when I ride it to Melbourne.

I've already started thinking about some modifications: first I think I'd like a Power Commander on it to try and tune out the dip in the power curve that's noticeable in the lower rev range, then I'd like to do something to shorten the exhausts... they're enormous. I'm looking forward to starting to play with my new toy.

Day 206: Birthday Plans

I'll be heading to Melbourne on my Birthday with Pete & Andy for my first ever game of Aussie Rules, it'll also be my very first trip to the MCG. Pete emailed me the tickets today so I could print them up for us because almost unlimited printing is one of the perks of working where I do.

Pete and Andy are quite into the Hawks, I first got a taste of this one time on our way back from Philip Island when they took me to the 'Hawks Nest' where I witnessed two grown men getting very excited by a large room full to the ceiling of Brown & Yellow paraphernalia. Obviously we'll be backing the Hawks to win.

I'm really looking forward to the trip, as long as the weather's not horrible we're planning on riding down so I'll get to test out the new bike as a tourer for the first time as well. So I'll be having a birthday of firsts this year:
- First ever game of AFL
- First time ever at the MCG
- First long ride on the ZX14R ever
- First time I've ever turned 37

Should be the best trip ever!

Day 205: Press Hard, Three Copies

I mentioned that my helmet was no longer stinky a couple of days ago and that I celebrated by test riding some bikes at one of the bike shops in Fyshwick.

That bike shop was Canberra Motorcycle Centre and today I dropped in there during my lunch break for a quick chat with Seb, the salesman I'd been talking to. The result of that chat was me trading my R1 in on one of the bikes I test rode on Saturday. It should be ready for me to pick up later this week.

It's not a bike I ever imagined I'd own. It's also not a brand that, for no real reason at all, I've ever been particularly fond of. It's not that I've disliked this manufacturer, more that I've always preferred its competitors. I guess I should get used to the fact that by the end of the week I will own a Kawasaki. What kind of Kawasaki? It's a big, red, '06 model ZX14R. Photos to follow when I pick it up.