Home Again and the Heat's Turned On ...

Easter at our house isn't the same without the big three: ham, my Mom's scalloped potatoes and my favorite (perhaps the reason I ride alone) baked beans. Good food, great company … yesterday’s feast was topped only by finally getting the VStar back home again today. Yes, today was the day. Thanks to everyone who had their fingers crossed, the weather defied the weatherman. I had warm temperatures and clear skies for this year’s first ride. 

Toggle switch discretely
 (can you even see it?)
 installed
above instruments on
the tank.



It’s the day I’ve been anticipating, talking about for months but, when the time actually came I have to admit sheer anxiety took over. There I stood, face to face with 650ccs of Japanese technology (aka a motorcycle) that I hadn’t ridden in months. It looked so much larger and far more dangerous than I remembered. My gear weighed a ton and I was pretty certain I wouldn’t be able to get my short little leg over the seat let alone maneuver through city streets long enough to make it home alive. The traffic in town was, to say the least, horrendous (what is it about a holiday weekend?) I was as close to terrified as I could be. My hands were literally shaking. I couldn’t remember where the choke was, I couldn’t get it started … my confidence level was about to bottom out when the mechanic came out to help. Of course he gallantly explained the work he’d done, pointed out that he had installed the toggle switch for the heated grips backwards on purpose because high (left), low (right) made more sense to him (and for some strange reason it did to me too). I muttered under my breath that I didn’t like the first ride and he assured me that he and everybody felt the same way. I could have cooked an entire Easter feast in the time it took me to put on my jacket, put in the big ears, adjust my helmet, put on the gloves, reposition the mirrors, adjust the helmet again…from the parking lot to the street was the longest 50 foot ride I think I’ve ever taken.
By the time I got to the gas station 10 km away I was feeling comfortable and at home, back in the saddle again. I think a little fear and paranoia is a good thing – it makes you respect the machine you’re riding. It makes you think about what the rest of the world is going to throw at you, like the woman in the SUV who pulled out around another vehicle in front of me today - she couldn’t have possibly seen me, luckily, I was watching for her.

My 25 kilometer ride home took me 116 km. There was a tiny bit of a chill in the air by 3 so I flicked the perfectly positioned toggle switch for the heated grips and headed for home.

All cleaned and polished, dressed in stunning new saddle bags and wearing the latest in heated grips the VStar is home again ready for this year's adventure.

Call Me Wussy!

Right now,  as I speak (well not really because it is actually well past any self respecting mechanic's bedtime), but in the last day or so, hopefully today maybe even sometime, the VStar will have been deemed fit and ready to ride. The unfortunate thing is, this is Canada and it's ... well, let's just say, "It's not warm!" The weather has taken a turn toward the nasty. In the last couple days we've seen sheets of driving rain, pelting hail and blowing snow all topped off with nose-freezing temperatures - again! All thoughts of  JoeRocket  were sloughed aside when I sadly hauled the winter coat out once more.

Okay, call me wussy but I didn't like having to peel frost bitten and frozen fingers, one by one, from the glacial grips last October and with this spring looking just as cold I decided to have one more tiny accessory added to the VStar. I want heated grips. I know, I've been told by many, "They're easy to install yourself."  I even read a handy woman's guide to doing your own bike accessory stuff ... but the idea of doing surgery on my VStar sounded just as appealing to me as trying to take out my own appendix so it's being done at KTec and I was told, "Don't call before Wednesday." (In two hours it will be Wednesday, should I call?)

I bought the VStar from a terrific dealership (The Performance Shed, Harrowsmith, ON) and they did stellar work adding the windscreen, saddlebag brackets, back rest and luggage rack but the folks at KTec (Kingston) have looked after both my Suzuki's and even though I'm now a proud Yamaha owner, I am still a loyal customer. Last year they installed the 12 volt power socket and wired the Garmin mount on the VStar. The job was nothing less than "slick." I have high expectations and I know that this job will be just as complete. If you're ever touring through the Limestone City area and need any assistance I highly recommend either/both for motorcycle related work.

I'm afraid to even look at tomorrow's forecast - I really am a wussy!