Trip Report: Savannah Trip Day Five

20 March 2010 -- Going Home

I chose to go a different way home than the way we came so we could see some other stuff.  With all the GPS problems on the way down, I let the iGo8 make the route instead of using the one I'd created before we left using Street Atlas.

Trip Report: Savannah Trip Day Four

19 March 2010 -- Sightseeing

After another late night, Dad and I slept late.  We didn't have a plan for the day so we decided to do a little sight seeing.  We didn't want to take one of the tours so I searched online for a driving tour.  I didn't have much luck but I thought we might be able to find something if we went downtown.  Dad remembered a sushi restaurant we passed on St. Patrick's Day and suggested Sushi for our first meal.  That was fine with me.

Trip Report: Savannah Trip Day Three

18 March 2010 -- Going for Broke

For Thursday, we decided to do a little recon on the Diamond Casino Cruise that Dad heard about from co-workers.  We asked about it at the Savannah Info Center on River ST the day before, but the lady there, who was a little irritated by all the revelers seeking shelter from the rain, said the only casino cruise she knew was in Brunswick.

Trip Report: Savannah Trip Day Two

17 March 2010 -- St. Patrick's Day

The whole point of the trip was to find out what the hype was about SPD in Savannah.  After the late night before, we woke around 10 to discover the parade was about to start.  We hurried to get dressed and decided to find food in the area of the festivities, either on the famous River ST or at the City Market.

Trip Report: Savannah Trip Day One

16 March 2010 -- Departure

Dad and I decided to go to Savannah for St. Patrick's Day a couple of months ago.  He would be riding his 2002 Yamaha Road Star Midnight and me on my 2005 Yamaha FZ1.  This was something we'd talked about since we both got bikes but nothing ever happened until this year.  We booked our hotel using priceline.com for arrival on 16 March and departure on 20 March.  I plotted our route using Street Atlas 2008 to avoid the interstate.

Ride Report: theWolf gets wet and dirty

14 March 2010 We must be crazy!!

I'd spent the Saturday washing clothes, probably for the first time since it got cold by the amount of loads I washed and getting ready to leave on Tuesday for the Savannah Trip with Dad.  I hadn't given riding this weekend any thought until around 9 or 10 when I got a text from Bobby asking if I was riding with them tomorrow.  Heck Yeah!!  The only thing I had planned was watching the first Formula One race of the year, riding would be so much more fun.

FZ1 Mod Update: Seat Mounted Top Case

The top case has been ordered and is on its way.  Instead of going with a top case/trunk from Ebay, I chose to order one from Sears.  Yes, Sears.  I didn't know they had motorcycle accessories until earlier in the week when I saw a couple of posts on a forum.  I decided on a medium matte black travel trunk.  It appears to be the same case that JCWhitney offers but it was on sale for $32.49 - 10% because it is an automotive product.  That is about $42 delivered.

After deciding on the case, I took some preliminary measurements to see if I needed to go to the extent of cutting up the rear seat foam and building a full mounting platform like the Ninette guy.  On the Gen 1 FZ1, the passenger grab rails do not extend above the seat.  The mount plate for the travel trunk is 1" high, that should be high enough to clear the rails once the case is mounted.

Ride Report: The Extended Suches Loop

7 March 2010
The plan for the next ride began almost immediately after the last one.  We all had such a good time together (like I guessed we would) that I suppose it was inevitable.  I suggested we take Wolf Pen Gap road because how can I be theWolfTamer never having ridden that road?

Long Term Review: Bridgestone Battleax 021 Tires

My impressions after riding with a set of Battleax 021 tires for about 12,200 miles.

Background:
I bought the first set the week after I bought the bike at the end of August 2007. When I purchased the bike, he had a bt020 on the front and some kind of Metzler on the back. They had a decent amount of rubber on them and didn't need replacing right away. The ride from the dealer to the house was a little over 40 miles. I knew before I even pulled into my neighborhood from the bike dealer that the tires would have to go.

Safety Project: Tire Kit

A few years ago I got a flat rear tire on a solo ride.  I was in Dahlonega, GA at mid day during the week.  Everyone I knew was at work and I had to wait until long after the sunset before anyone could come rescue me.  The experience stayed in my head, tucked away as something that needed rectifying.  As prepared as I try to be, buying gear or carrying water and snacks, beyond my factory tool kit stowed beneath the seat on both bikes, I had done nothing to be prepared for a flat tire.

FZ1 Mod Seat Mounted Top Case

While visiting some of my favorite motorcycle forums, I discovered a mod I wished I could do.  It was something I thought about when adding hard luggage to Sam (my Suzuki VX800).  There are currently two generations of my current bike, the FZ1.  The 2nd Generation, or Gen2, has a two part seat the 1st has a one part seat.  I own the first gen (on the right).

DIY Heated Gear: Update

I had to make a few changes to my controller for the heated gear.  Partly due to inattention, I connected the fan controller board wrong.  When the lights didn't light, I turned it on again until I smelled something funny.  Only then did I realized I'd connected the yellow (hot) to the black (ground/earth) and the black to the yellow.  Oops.  I quickly turned it off and corrected the mistake.  The result was that not all of the knobs generate the spec amount of power.