Way back in January, I had my first "big off" in nigh on 19 years. Up till then i'd been riding my Shoei Synchrotec helmet on the street and my Shoei RF1000 on the track. With the resulting decomissioning of the Synchrotec it was time to replace my street helmet !

 So coinciding with the purchase of "wee Billy" I went helmet shopping and chose a Shoei Hornet DS in Matt Black as the new replacement. I knew that with the Hornbet DS I'd get a lot more wind noise from the  visor. What i didn't expect was how well the visor shielded my eyes from the sun, allowing use of a non tinted face shiel;d for the first time in 4 years. I can also fit my Oakley perscription glasses under the Shoei, so they serve as my sunglasses as well as letting me actually see while riding :)  Good thing that the shield works so well, because a tinted face shielf for the hornet DS is a scary $82 USD on the shoei website !!! is that daylight robbery or what ?

Better not scratch it then !  Overall fit is good, but after a few hours the helmet is still pinching my ears, even after 1600 miles, which is kinda unusual for me in this size of a Shoei. I'm hoping it beds in quickly as the larger size was much too big off the getgo.

 Ventilation is something i havent really noticed working too well on this helmet, opening and closing the vents seems to make little effect, but i am biased , my last ride was on the hottest day of the year :) so i'll report back on that one. 

The helmet was also nigh on 500 bucks, so with hindsight i'd have to recomend to only buy one if you really want n Enduro styled helmet that makes you look like "Master Chief" ...especially when Shoei has other less expensive , very well made helmets that are lighter, less noisy and cheaper to buy face shields for.

 However, if like me being cool is all that matters, then certainly go and check out the Shoei Hornet DS, and dinnae forget your wallet !

The Shoei Hornet DS has a MSRP of $482.99 as reviewed. You can check out the Hornet DS from Shoei at the Shoei USA website. 

I've never liked soft luggage, but then i've always owned Sports Bikes over the last 15 years and soft luggage has a way off looking fairly "tatty" pretty darn fast. Same goes for tank bags, I have a tank bag for my 2001 Moto Guzzi V11 Sport (aka "Britney") and hated it! Havng a plastic gas tank meant that it strapped on, rubbed against the paintwork and was a pain every time i had to refuel.

  Well, this has all changed. I just got back from a 1000 mile roadtrip to Santa Monica and back to hang out with Demon Overlord Stoafo (aka "Kawasaki Riding Bastard") and his family, oh yeah and to do some work too. I knew that i'd need to put some luggage on "wee Billy" for the trip and didnt want to spend a bunch of cash because i've already ordered a set of Krauser aluminium luggage from Twisted Throttle. 

 Prior to the trip I called Honda/Suzuki of San Mateo on the off-chance that they could do a while you wait first service on "wee Billy" as i was already over the 600 mile point. Of course they could ! This dealership rocks! They're a bunch of more "mature" guys, just having fun running an "old skool" shop. I instantly felt at home and i will buy product from them in future. While they serviced my bike i decided to buy some soft luggage. First up the Cortec "Super 10 Liter" Tank Bag.

Ok I'm way impressed with this product. It mounts to the Vstrom's Gas tank magnetically. Easy on, easy off and doesn't move anywhere while underway. This eliminates my biggest gripe with tank bags about stoppping at the gas station. (even though with "wee billy" i only have to stop every 230 miles or so!) I also love the map pocket, although its a little on the small side, nae more stopping to pull my google-mapped location out of my pocket :)

The Zippers are also very sturdy, and i like the grab handle and the little pocket seperator that I use for my house keys and phone etc.

The first big thing that i've noticed with the tank bag is that now i carry a chain and padlock with me everywhere. They live in the tank bag, so i have nae excuses not to lock up "wee Billy" wherever i happen to be!

Here's one last shot of the Cortech Super 10 Litre tank bag in action, high up in the Santa Monica mountains on the hottest day of the year so far in Southern California.

Over the last few years i've started to move further and further away from a car as my primary form of transport. The problem has been that none of the bikes i own are at all practical as everyday transport/car repacements:

• The V11 is too much like hard work over distance with fairly extreme ergo's. I've done a few 500 mile days on "Britney" and always needed a chiropractor the day afterwards :)
• "Margaret" - my 1976 Convert is currently broken, but the main problem with her is that shes a vintage bike, she's comfy for distance but not the kind of bike that i'd want to sit at 80mph on the freeway anytime soon.
• "Steve, my Bonneville is raucuously obnoxious and geared too low for freeway riding, plus my hearing is something i covert, the non existant wind protection beats you up on the Bonnie at anything above 70 mph. Plus refueling every 120 miles gets old after a while.

....So what to do ?  Well, i'm in process of selling my truck, (anyone want a 2003 Hummer H2 wih 40,000 miles on the clock ?) and really needed something rock solid for daily transportation, something with a great fuel range, decent economy, room for luggage and good wind protection.

Aha time for a Moto Guzzi Stelvio !! no wait i cannae afford one of those this year as i'm recovering from financial disaster, ah must be time for a V-Strom 650 then !

The V-Strom 650 uses a detuned SV650 motor. It comes in a "half dark" model in 650 guise. Once i figured out it'd do over 200 on a tank of gas courtesy of the 5.8 gallon tank, that it'd cruise at 85 mph all day, has an adjustable screen and that I can attach tasty "Long way round" style aluminium luggage, I was pretty much sold. 

  So now the problem was finding a non-ABS model somewhere close to me. Turns out that Berts MegaMall in Covina had one. A wee bit of haggling later and a price was agreed upon. I hopped a flight the next morning to LAX, where I was picked up by Stoafo and off we went to the dealership.

 The first ride home was during breakin period so i was pretty gentle with the bike. Plus I hadnae named him/her yet! First impressions were all about the super neutral handling, the comfy seat and very linear power delivery. The adjustable screen was set in the lowest position though and i was getting quite a bit of buffetting on the ride home.

There followed a week of commuting on the  "wee strom". I quickly found that it's easily the best handling bike i own, lane splitting is nice and easy becasue of the high seat and upright riding position. Raising the windscreen, reduced the helmet buffetting above 80mph, but i still get noticeable buffetting at 70 :( Other than that the big thing for me was how well the stock OEM Bridgestone Trailwings work on this bike. I'm getting enough lean angle to scrape pegs and the bike always feels planted with a high level of grip. Initially i'd been worried about the relatively tall seat height (i'm a short ass), but it's not been a noticeable issue. 

  The first accessories that i've ordered have been the Suzuki handguard set and a carbon fibre tank pad (the dealer accidently put a scratch on the tank before i took delivery). I do however have a set of Krauser luggage on order and at some point in the next few months i'm goign to be adding engine guards, a sump protector and heated grips.

The Krauser luggage that i've chosen has a long delivery time though and lsat week i was jonesing to take a road trip so i swung by the Suzuki dealer in San Mateo and while they were 600 mile servicing the bike, I bought a tank bag and some coretech soft luggage. (to be reviewed seperately :)   )

So equipped it was time for a first ever road trip and two-up we headed off to Santa Monica as I had work at my companies LA location and it seemed like a good excuse to put some miles on "wee Billy" as he's now named. Riding down was "ok", basically a blast down the I5 in the evening. Riding home however, on the hottest day of the year, in fully lined textile black clothes and helmets, wasnae too much fun :)  Here's some pics of "wee Billy" as the heat started to set in. The heat up in topanga canyon was pretty intense so we headed down to Malibu and the alledgedly cooler climes by the ocean. 

On the way home the  Suzuki managed a respectable and comfortable 85mph for 3 hours at a time as I hauled ass to make sure i made it to San Jose in time for the George Michael concert ! Pulling up at the HP Pavillion Arena in San Jose with 5 minutes to spare, I barely had time to reflect on how well the Suzuki's performance is greater than the sum of it's parts. Suspension is a bit soft, i increased preload for the ride home, but the brakes and chassis work well, even two up. My only grouch is i'm used to more fire breathing motors, but hey, the vstrom can even power the gerbing heated vest i brought along for my pillion! 

Finally at the concert, we had barely enough time to change (mental note, motorcycles get rockstar front and center parking at the HP pavillion, great for parking not so great for changing in privacy), before heading on in to watch George Michael rock out. Seriously he did rock out, i was majorly shocked at how good he was live!

 
As I write this I have 1500 miles on the bike in just under 10 days. Next blog will be a review of the soft luggage that I bought as a makedo for the trip.

As of this morning Amazon.com was down here in Northern California. "Amazon.com and you're done ?" :)

1987 Honda MT5

My unsilenced 2 stroke engine screaming its way through the wall of rain, I can smell the mix of gas and 2 stroke oil, mingled in with the smell of my sodden ski gloves and wax Belstaff jacket. I am wet, more than that, i'm soaked through. It's going to take a week to dry out from this and i lost the feeling in my fingers in toes about 10 miles ago. I have the throttle wound tightly to the stop, in fact its been like that since leaving Dalgety Bay on my way back home to Dunfermline. I'm fully wide open at 43mphI'm 16 years old, with my first ever Motorcycle. complete freedom on a Honda MT5

 The Mt5 was prety "crash proof". I laid it down maybe 5 times in my 3 year long ownership. Twice on ice or in the snow, once under a bus in the wet, when the bus made an illegal right hand turn right in front of me, but for a 50cc bike, i did over 2000 miles and went everywhere in a cloud of Blue smoke!

The MT5 weighed 180 pounds, with this super feeble front drum brake, better suited to a bicycle. I'd get around 70 miles to the gallon and over 100 miles from it's 2 gallon gas tank. The little MT was finally sold when i bought my first car. What an idiot !

1988 Honda XBR500 

I bought my Honda in 1991 with 12 thousand miles on the clock. The day i picked her up , it started to blizzard in Yorkshire, where the bike was located and i had to ride her home to  Dunfermline. Not FUN !!  When i got to the Forth Road bridge it was closed to bikes and trucks, i dont think i've ever been so tired !

  The XBR was a single cylinder "thumper". One single disk up front, 500 CC carb-fueled engine, with both electric start and kickstart.  NB i never was successful in kickstarting the beast !

 :)

I rode her for 4 years in all kinds of weather conditions as my only transport to and from University whicch was a 100 mile roundtrip. The big single never let me down and was a great "first big bike". She also got  70 mpg , it pretty much rocked. I even liked the metallic burgundy colour ! I sold her after the bike was knocked over and vandalised. the  respray on the tank never did quite match the same luster as the original.

2001 Moto Guzzi V11 Sport

 I bought my V11 Sport, withotu a testride, the instant I saw the bike in a photograph i knew i "had" to have it :) I've owned "britney" for 7 years now, withonly 15 thousand miles in that time. I've xtensively modified the bikes fueling. She has a power commander, titanium Mistral end cans, hi comp pistons by Ferracci, Velocity stacks and uni filters and i upgraded the brakes because the OEM ones really suck :) i've also had the front end resprung, and am in the process of buying a new rear shock.

One of the funniest things i've done with "Brit" is to rally her round the race track. At smaller tracks, like Buttonwillow, where there's not straightaway to speak of, i can hold my own easily with the fastest Group B riders, not really anything to boast about, but i think it  does deflate the myth that an old air cooled twin , thats 100 pounds overweight,cant hang with a sports 600 or litre bike on the race track. With Dunlop DOT Race tires on the bike, my two hero moments involved outbraking a Honda "Fireblade", passing an Aprilia RSVR and GSXR 600 simulatenously on the brakes (pictured) and going around the outside of an R1 at "taladega" , a fast right hand sweeper. Again to put it into perspective, the instructors could pass me at will, like i was standing still, but it was still nice to see i wasnae holding anyone up.

Laguna Seca however was a different kettle of fish. My soft rear shock wasnt up to the higher speeds and it was nigh impossible to hold full throttle on the bumpy long straightaway. I also got black flagged for noise which was kinda lame.

1976 Moto Guzzi Convert

  aka "Margaret Thatcher". I love this bike. Too bad that i broke her, with my first crash in 19 years :(  Margaret is a fully automatic bike with linked brakes, which ultimately led to my demise ! (well that and rider error, see previous blog "zen and the art of not crashing") I have about 5 thousand miles on her and shes currently sitting broken in my garage :(