January start mileage: 64,466
Ride end @ 64,512 (46 miles)
Added about a pint (8 oz) of Valvoline 20W50 “racing” engine oil ($9.99/quart) before riding. Tires OK.
Time to get going on my goal of getting at least 5,000 miles on this bike in 2025!
Met up with my neighbor Steve at the Big Lots to and join him and some of his high school buddies on their traditional New Years Day ride. Steve has got to be in his 60s, and so are most of his friends. They’ve been doing this ride for over 30 years.
The host/ride leader lives in not far from me. It was a spirited ride through back rods, most of which were familiar. We ended up the really rural post office, crossed over the main US highway through town and stopped at the host’s home to socialize and enjoy a fantastic dinner of black-eyed peas (with big chunks of bacon, of course, because we’re not monsters) and corn bread.
The bike handled great. The suspension is a little twitchy up front—unsure if that’s compression or rebound. At one point, the sweeper went around me; I found out later it’s because my new Metzeler RoadTec 01 tires are so sticky they kept kicking up rocks in his face. The bike is smooth but so obviously not a modern motorcycle. There’s no such thing as relying on one gear for everything from 25 to 55 MPH. Lots of shifting needed to stay in the power band—above 3,000 RPM is good, above 4,000 is better. My ankle got tired! I’m still hitting a false neutral between third and fourth gears; I’m trying to remember to load the shift lever and be FIRM with my upshifts.
(FOOTNOTE: Dale, also a fixture at Gridlock Motors and a bonafide Airhead and earlier expert, says loading the shifter—putting pressure on the lever in anticipation of squeezing the clutch lever just before shifting up—is a myth. He reminded me that I’m essentially riding a tractor, and shifting it requires significantly more effort than the snik-snik-snik shifting I’m used to with my 2015 GS.)
My right hand went numb for a while. I’m not sure if it was my riding position or vibration through the handlebar.
There were probably 20 bikes; it was a good turnout on a sunny day with highs in the low 40s Fahrenheit. Several MOA members were there, including a middle-aged couple who recognized me from my work. They had nice things to say, and that’s always a great way to spend any part of a day.
We’re looking at super cold days ahead with at least rain and probably sleet, ice and snow over the next two weeks. I’m really glad I got in a good, spirited ride today. It really was awesome.
One Year Later: I’ve made my own black-eyed peas batches multiple times since then, it was inspirational! Also, the host turned out to be a semi-retired appliance repairman, who I was able to engage to fix my clothes dryer when it stopped doing its job in the spring. OK, I’m lying about that … it stopped doing its job some time in mid-2024 and we worked around it by going to the coin-op and using the dryer at my parents’ house. Don’t judge.
