The Cat Did It!

2 Cat incidents to report:

1) Blog Cat - That cat, while fun, had to go. She had fleas of the cyber sort - malware, so she has been put outside. She's been replaced by the google-approved fish tank. Click your mouse in the tank to feed them.

2) Real Cat - One of our cats, April, seen above, has been ridding our property of rodents recently. One late afternoon, my wife and I were out on the front porch, and April makes a beeline into the house. My wife notices something in her mouth and screams. April drops off an almost dead mouse in our dining room (reminded me of the Monty Python scene "I'm not dead yet"). More screams for me to get the mouse out, and I have to grab the poor fellow and toss him outside. We now have to watch her before she comes in. As an alternative, she leaves them right at the front door, as if to proudly proclaim her contribution to the family.

Mid-Life Crisis

Last year I turned 50. Many guys reaching this age will purchase something to remind them of (or reinvigorate) their youth. Something fast - sports cars, power boats, fast bikes, etc.

Me, I purchased a couple of mopeds.

Well, today I sold them - a 1978 Honda Express and 1981 Yamaha Yamahopper. They went to a guy not too far from me, who likes to tinker with these things. They were gathering dust here, since we live in the foothills of the Cascades, and there was no way they could make it up the hill with me on it! They were great mailbox rides though.

They were both pretty fun bikes, and I still may have a moped or two in me at some point in time. Maybe one of these:

A red Puch; or

A blue Garelli.

PAX 2009

For the last few years, my son, who is an avid gamer, and I have attended the Penny Arcade Expo (aka PAX), which has been held in the Seattle area the last few years. It's grown so much that it is one of the largest events held in the Seattle Convention Center. It's an annual 3 day event from Friday through Sunday, and is a showcase for all of the video and computer gaming companies, plus numerous board games which either were precursor to, or successor to, a particular computer game. There are seminars on various aspects of gaming, tackling such topics on the legal aspects of gaming, and how soccer moms actually make up one of the largest gaming demographics. This is the gathering place for geeks of all ages.

I'm not much of a gamer - we have a Wii, which is pretty fun, and I have had a Nintendo DS, but they don't really hold my interest. However, I am in the minority in this group, as many pay tribute to the games they play by coming to PAX dressed up as their favorite gaming characters; this is called Cosplay - here's a few examples:

Lots of interesting displays for the various games:

One of the most anticipated games coming out is the Rock Band version of the Beatles - for those who don't know about Rock Band, it's a game that can be played anywhere, from your living room to online. The game comes with various instruments, such as a guitar, drum, bass, or you can take the mike and sing vocals, and the game rates you on how well you play/sing. You don't need to play the "real" instruments to do well in Rock Band - there are various keys and buttons you press or hit and the game senses how accurate you are. In the Beatles version, the instruments even look like the Beatles instruments, down to Paul's violin style bass. The company that sells this had a stage set up where you could become one of the Fab Four.

You might think there is no similarity between a computer gaming show and a motorcycle show, but there is one similarity - models representing the various companies:

And, whether it's a motorcycle or a video game, a pretty model seems to help:

I didn't see any scooters at the convention, so this will have to do.

Preston, Washington

With the added power of my Bonneville America, and the favorable summer weather, I continue to commute regularly into my office in Seattle. My daughter is fine with this, as this means she gets the Honda Element for her extremely busy social schedule ever since she received her drivers licence.

It's a 35 mile trip each way, and can take me anywhere from 45 minutes to a little over an hour, depending on my route, and whether I stop for coffee, as in the picture below.

My usual morning route is to go through the Snoqualmie Valley, through North Bend, Snoqualmie, Fall City, Preston, and then onto I-90 for the rest of the trip into downtown Seattle. Preston is an interesting town - it was an old logging town, named after railway official William T. Preston. The Raging River runs through Preston and feeds into the Snoqualmie River at Fall City. As you can see below, there is truth in the name of this river - this was taken during the flood of 2007:

But in summer the river is calm, and meanders through Preston as it makes its way to Fall City. Once I reach Preston, my ride takes me past the community center (at the top of my post) and along a road running parallel to I-90, passing an industrial park, a strip mall with a gas station and some eateries, and some modest rural homes. One of the home sites has a barn that has definitely seen better days:

Bonneville America - Initial Riding Impressions

I've had my BA for about a week, and I am approaching the end of the break-in period (500 miles). Tomorrow I will bring her in for her 500 mile service. I've been able to put some good miles on the bike - the weather in the Seattle area has been mostly sunny (except for a mist today), and I have been commuting into the office all week, which is around 70 miles round trip.

(parked in my office building, with her stable mate)

Some initial impressions:

1) Power - It's great having the extra power vs. my GV250. The torque of the BA is impressive for a bike of this size. And the power to maintain highway speeds + more in the back pocket is good to help me stay out of harm's way on the freeway.

2) Sound - The aural experience is impressive. The stock pipes on the BA were nice but a little quiet, so I upgraded to the louder Triumph pipes, and the sound has a nice rumble to it, without being obnoxious.

3) Handling - This quality of Triumph bikes is well-known, and the handling on the BA belies the fact that it is a cruiser. It's no sport bike, but for a mid-size cruiser, it is very good.

4) Comfort - The seat is pretty comfortable for a stock seat. I had to have my GV250 seat worked on to add a gel insert to alleviate the pressure on my tailbone area. I don't think I will have to do this with the BA seat, although it wouldn't hurt (no pun intended), especially for longer rides.

5) Beauty - I think she has ton's of it! Up till now, I've been a "classic" cruiser fan, represented by bikes with heavily valanced, retro looking fenders, but recently started to like the more "custom" look, which the America falls into.

Now, some little oddities:

1) The forward controls took a bit to get used to for me - I am short in the legs, so at first I thought they would be too forward, but actually they are quite comfortable now.

2) The kickstand, like the controls, is placed more forward than on other bikes. I have to stretch a little to get at it, and luckily there's a tab on the kickstand which helps my boot to catch it when putting it up (putting it down is no problem). I think for someone shorter in the leg than me (I'm 5'8" with a 29" inseam), it could be a problem, although I have heard of shorter people being able to get at the kickstand. I had issues with the HD kickstands as well, so it could be my bodily configuration.

3) Fueling - this has been a challenge for me. The GV250 has a fairly large opening for the tank, and I could usually tell when I was getting close to the top of the tank. The BA's opening is smaller, so it's hard to tell how full the bike is, plus depending on the pump nozzle I tend to get more spray on this tank. The pumps with the vapor sleeve nozzles present the most difficulty for me. The older style of pump is no problem, especially if I fill slowly.

4) Tachometer - I think I have a faulty one. The BA doesn't come with a tach standard, but there is a space on the tank console to place either a clock or tach. I like having a tach, which I have on my GV250, so I had the dealer install this. One day, however, I seemed to be showing much higher rpm's than the sound of the engine would dictate. When I turned off the engine, it stayed at 2000 rpm instead of zero. Luckily for me, this issue in known in the Triumph forum, with an easy fix until I replace it tomorrow.

My overall impression is that this is a fantastic bike, and I am glad I made the decision to get some British iron!

Triumph Bonneville America

My Hyosung GV250 has introduced me to a wonderful world of freedom, and great friends (in cyberspace and on the road), and I made the next step in that journey. I picked up my 2009 Triumph Bonneville America today. For some time, I have been browsing for that "next" bike, and got real close to getting a Harley (either a 1200 Sportster or a Dyna (the latter being a bit too expensive for me at this time) ). There's a place close by to my house where I have bought parts/accessories, and they sell Triumph, Honda and Yamaha. I decided to give this dealership a shot at my business, and really felt comfortable there.

I test rode the Bonneville America, and that's all she wrote. Triumph was offering great deals (priced under list, and $1000 of accessories thrown in) plus financing was very attractive. So I decided to get her.

Some specs about the Bonneville America:

Engine Type - Air-cooled, DOHC, parallel-twin, 270 degree firing interval
Capacity - 865cc
Fuel System - Multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection with SAI
Final Drive - X ring chain
Clutch - Wet, multi-plate
Gearbox - 5-speed
Front Brakes - Single 310mm disc, 2 piston calipers
Rear Brakes - Single 285mm disc, 2 piston caliper
Dimensions - Length 95.2 in Width (Handlebars) 37.8 in Height 46.1 in
Seat Height - 28.3 in
Wheelbase - 65.2 in
Weight (Dry) - 497 lbs
Fuel Tank Capacity - 5.1 Gallons
Performance (Measured at crankshaft to DIN 70020)
Maximum Power - 54bhp at 6,750 rpm
Maximum Torque - 51ft.lbf at 4,800 rpm

She's a beauty, feels very stable at speed, and I can actually keep up with traffic, with power to get out of the way if needed. I like the fact that she is alternative, being the only cruiser out there with a parallel twin engine, instead of the usual V-twin.

Now, a decision has to be made - can I keep my GV250? I may need the funds to help pay down the loan for the Bonneville. If I could keep her, I will, and may end up bobbing her. Decisions, decisions.

Milkshakes

I went into the dentist on Friday to get a tooth pulled. So for Friday and today I was told to keep to soft foods, which luckily included milkshakes. With today being another warm day, I took the Elite out for a ride into town, and pulled into the local shake shack, Scott's Dairy Freeze.

The Dairy Freeze is well-known among the locals and out of towners. They have great burgers and do a wide variety of ice cream desserts. What's also very cool about this place is that it's owned by the Mayor of North Bend (his name is not Scott - that was the original owner), so you will often see him flipping burgers. He's a great guy and does a fine job of running the town.

After my chocolate-banana shake, I set off for a ride around the valley, and came upon this small herd of elk grazing. Sorry, I just have a point and shoot so I couldn't zoom in, but if you click on the picture you'll get a larger image.

A nice picture of Mt. Si, in the early evening: