It's been well over two weeks since my last post. Why? I hate to say it, but with the change in weather, the bike has been parked for the most of it. I did manage to sneak away from work early last Thursday for a short ride. I was to be off on Friday and planned to do some riding, but Mr. Weatherman said it was going to rain. And, boy, did it! I'm glad I did get in what little riding I did. Had I waited till Friday, I would have either been really upset or really wet.

Eighty miles...

It finally happened. The weather took a turn for the worse and, as part of the benefits package that comes with managing my store, I have the use of the company truck. I decided to park the bike and drive the truck until the weather warms again. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'll still ride here and there when the weather is good, but my riding season is pretty much drawing to a close.

Having said all that, the sun made a showing today. I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and...

This was as close as we got to the Oyster Run this year. My wife and I were waiting to cross Highway 20 at La Conner-Whitney Road. Bike engines were roaring all around us. So much so that it made the hair on my arms stand up. Awesome! It was like being in the middle of a hornet's nest, only louder. While waiting in line I pulled my camera out of my pocket and snapped the above picture...

What did you do for the holiday weekend? I know the wet weather kept a lot of people in. And for us bike riders? I suspect most skipped taking them out for rides. In our travels over the weekend, motorcycle sightings were few and far between.

My wife and I had made plans awhile back with her sister and brother-in-law to meet up for a ride weekend. In fact, now that I think about it, we discussed it way back in June when we went down to Coos Bay, Oregon, for our nephew's graduation....

My wife and I are spending the holiday weekend at her sister and brother-in-law's place in Odessa. Today, we rode our bikes from Ellensburg to Yakima by way of the Canyon Road. I'll post more on our trip when I return to my own computer but wanted to share a photo with you I took on the way back to their place.


April says she's certain we brought the crappy wet-side weather...

A few weeks ago I had to tow the bike home when it refused to start.. then the starter circuit failed, that took the ignition too so I couldn't kick it..

Finally this weekend I got the carbs cleaned, starter and ignition fixed.. It was running great!
Took it to work this morning.. I'm half way across the 240 from Kennewick to Richland when suddenly the the back of the bike drops.. The she starts to wiggle.. aww crap!! rear tire is flat!!!!
Pull in clutch, ease it down...

SWS asked the above question in the Ask a LEO section and got me thinking again about the hot-button question of whether motorcyclists should be required to carry insurance in Washington. I had read somewhere a "sense of Congress" stating that motorcyclists weren't required because, in many cases, the value of their bikes...

Do you suffer from missing and stumbling? When you roll on the throttle, does it feel like one of your cylinders has gone out to lunch? Well, my friends, read on. I may have a solution for you.

Yesterday, in preparation for the big XJ Bikes meet up in Tumwater, Washington, I decided to show my wife's bike some love by giving the engine a good cleaning with some foaming engine degreaser. After reading the instructions on the can, I proceeded to make the engine ready for the grime-cutting...

An eternity ago, I sanded down and repainted my wife's gas tank and side covers. Part of the project was to change the stock Yamaha badges from gold to chrome to better match her new paint color. After several attempts, I finally found a chrome sticky-back tape that worked well for adhering to the badges.

Well, today, I finally finished the last badge and get 'em all put back on the bike. I took a step back and admired the new look it gave her bike. The chrome really looks much better...

Back in May, I wrote:
I'm happy to report that we made the return trip on Sunday. The weather was great; not too hot, not to cold. There were a few clouds about, but for the most...