abnormalwon

Hey Andrew, did you happen to see Peter Eagan from Cycle World there? This is supposed to be his home crew that puts this together. I would love to get up and do this one someday. Hope you had a blast, Norm

Hey Joe, Though I agree that round is a shape and one I am extremely familiar with, it is also a shape of bad things to come as we get older. Having been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes a number of years ago I had to finally get serious about losing some weight and losing some of the roundness of my shape. I hate paying for gym access so have reverted back to some basics; walking and then jogging as my endurance increased, hiking has also been added to my regimen and finally I have taken up bicycle riding and though the cost of a bike can jack up quickly I figure since my last bike lasted 35 plus years this newest expense should last a good while. I will add that I am always looking out for new and exciting ways to add to the exercise routine. Getting older presents its challenges and exercise is certainly one of those area's. I might add that the flip side of that coin is caloric intake so if you can balance the two it will fast work in your favor. Thanks for posting! Norm

Hey, Just wanted to give a call out to any of our family here who find themselves in the midst of the flooding in the NE. I grew up in Binghamton myself and have seen some of the pictures and I know its not a pretty sight. Having served in the fire service for over the past 26 years I have seen my share of trouble however find that flooding and the aftermath that goes with it still is fairly close to the top of things I hate the most. Our prayers are with any and all who find themselves in a low spot at the moment. Keep us in the loop and let us know if there are any needs we can address. All the best, Norm

Ok, so I am one week back from an awesome 10 days on the road for my annual Atlanta to the Dak's back road twister. Almost perfect conditions bar a day off to weather Irene (in a cozy cabin mind you). Mentioned to my riding buddy that there is nothing sweeter than the sound of wind and rain on the roof of a cabin verses the top of your tiny tent, and he agreed. May have only been 2400 miles over those glorious days but never a better divorce from my reality back at work. And now 7 days later all I can think about is when is the next road trip, even am spying toy hauler sites to consider for extended times away. All I can say is I am a winning lottery ticket away from a vagabond lifestyle. Anyone want to contribute to the fund? All the best, Norm

Being inquisitive I have to ask, does the hardware along the top edge annoy or interfere with your vision at all? Other wise it looks like a cool concept. Also, is there any sort of protection to keep the two shields from developing wear spots or rub spots when they are in the lowered position and back to back? Thanks.

I concur, but will add that if you are mechanically inclined at all AND the price is right these are one fine bike and generally very dependable. Plus you get the added benefit of having a whole slew of help right at your fingertips. Good luck and All the best

As stated before there are many options out there regarding seats and many are pricey. I have a similar situation with my 1st gen and needed leg room, the option I fell into has been extremely good and less than $200. I first had the chance to test an Aqua-Air cushion, my experience has been that this thing has been medically tested and extremely effective on look hauls plus it will raise you up anywhere from 1 - 2". Next I came across a sweet deal on an Alaska Leathers XL long shear pad. This nicely covers the other cushion, kind of puts the final touches on the "Barca-lounger" effect and gave an overall rise of close to 3 or so inches which helped tremendously with the leg situation. All the best with your modifications, Norm

Thanks for the photos, I had to totally clean up the slobber off my desk after salivating over them. Looks like a great time by all and I need to make time to get out and smell the roses more often. Here's hoping! All the best, Norm

Hey, may want to recheck your pressure. I had a set of shinkos on my v-strom and had issues with the rear which I had set at 40 or 42 (from the suzuki manual)psi. When I spoke with the Shinko rep about warranty he inquired about pressure and told me I was way high, that there was pressure limits posted on the tire (which were like 33 rear) and that I should use their recommendations. They still honored the war. and sent me a new tire but I reduced the pressure as they recommended and all has been well since. Shinko was the first manufacturer of MC tires that I know of to have pressure settings on the tire (like car's). All the best, Norm

Can someone please define "conventional". Not sure you can pick up that specific model down at your local Suzuki shop. I guess now in our day of enlightenment and liberal viewpoint you can define conventional any way you like.

More power to you Rusty. Being 54 with a couple of grown ones myself I am not sure I would be up to this kind of change in my schedule. My hat is off to you and your wife, as well as my prayers. All the best, Norm

When I got my 89 last year it had cruise issues. Lights all came on but nothing happened. Found out that there is a cruise switch on the end of your clutch cable assembly. Pulled off the electrical connection cleaned it up with dielectric cleaner, added some dielectric grease and made sure it was hooked on properly, everything worked fine after that. Good luck. Norm

BP, Exxon, Citgo, Texaco, just to name a few storeage facilities. Like I said, sorry but I couldn't help myself on this one. On a serious note I do know they make specific add on tanks for bikes but have never looked them up. Did you run a search engine on them yet? All the best with the search. Norm

I agree that cutback on non essential services is needed. It seems to me that this could generally be accomplished by simply removing the personal deemed required to 'man' these rest stops, this does not seem to require locking them down. I realize this is probably elderly logic however by leaving the facilities unlocked, 'unmanned', but powered up with water running travelers could stop by and utilize the facilities. This would require putting up signs notifying everyone that the facilities need to be "SELF" maintained so leave it as clean or cleaner than when you got it, plus the state simply adds or maintains the plethora of over priced vending machines and I am fairly sure enough dough will roll in to cover the cost of water and electric. Now I realize there will be a break in period where you will have a good number of slobs out there who will not make the effort to 'self' maintain however this might be a good test of our "American" spirit and ingenuity. Trust me I feel that there are enough of us out there who are willing to step up and be heard if they see lazy bums simply not being responsible. Just my two cents.

Hey, I have the same issue with my speakers however a couple of years back I ordered one of those custom molded earplugs with speakers and must say they are the best. At first I wasn't sure but once I wore them a few times I must say they are better than anything I have found otherwise. Even if I don't plug them into the system they work great at just keeping road noise down. I did have to special order a couple of adapters to go from the micro 7 pin on the bike to the 1/8th " stereo jack (Radio Shack couldn't help) but was well worth it. Just an idea. Norm

Sounds like a great trip for all. Vogel is a good place to base out of however there are other options. I know of Moccasin Creek which I have been by a number of times and looks good from the road. I also know it stays fairly busy. MC is closer to the NE corner of the state which gives you better access to all of N Georgia, as well as NC and some Tenn. Enjoy your time in the area. All the best, Norm

Now that is some funny stuff right there!

OK, I too enjoy the 'rest of the story' as Paul Harvey would remind us and I truly believe it is important to give grace more often than not as more often than not we "need" grace given back. However, at the risk of being shunned out of the family I would like to also offer a few observations to the story: Lessons learned while riding my bike (and living life): I was just making a quick run to the store to pick up a couple things. Three blocks from my house a stupid cager suddenly turned left in front of me and I had to slam on the brakes. I was really angry. Come to find out this was a 19 year old single mother who had just got off a 9 hour shift at her minimum wage job and was rushing home to fix dinner, throw in a load of laundry, and try to spend a few precious minutes with her children before leaving again for her second job.(Had she hit someone or otherwise been in an accident would her 'rush' have been worth the hurry. We all have our priorities but need to keep our head in the game, everyone has priorities of their own) I needed to top off the tank before heading to a friend’s house. Total was $8.22. After having to speak up twice to get the clerks attention, I handed him a $20. It took him three tries to get my change correct. I stomped out wondering about the younger generation and what this world is coming to. Angry again. Come to find out this clerk is a 25 year old college graduate who is still living with his parents because, after two years of looking, he still can’t find a better job. Seems like he is in the same place as when he was 16 years old, except now he has $45,000 in student loans coming due and no idea how to pay.(This may be way too obvious but "really" 25 years old, 12 plus years of primary education and a college degree to boot? Still unable to make change, and lets please remember that unless there was an antiquated register in use practically ALL registers tell you the change when you ring it up) Not going anywhere in particular, when this idiot takes my lane on the freeway. Hard braking, swing to the right, almost too far nearly hitting the guard rail. Was that a damn cell phone in his hand? There’s no excuse for that you dumb, ignorant,…..! Furious this time! Come to find out the driver is a 60 something year old gentleman who was really looking forward to retirement next year. The phone call was from his broker who called to let him know that his savings he had worked and sacrificed for all those years was just gone. No one’s fault, just gone!(In general most of us have a difficult time rubbing tummies and patting our heads at the same time which is exactly why multi-tasking while operating a motor vehicle is at least frowned upon if not out right against the law. Very bad news yes, worth endangering both yourself as well as those innocents around you????) I pulled up to a stop light when a bum comes rushing over begging for some spare change. Just whatever you can spare to help a guy out. Hell no! Get away from me! Why don’t you get a job like the “rest of us”? When is this light ever going to change? Come to find out this man is a son, a brother, a husband and father of three. All who love him dearly, but he just can’t get past the addiction that makes his life something out of your worst nightmare. He’s tried, he really has. But real help is always just out of his reach.(This one sounds really tough however addictions and habits are treatable they just require either incredible discipline or hard core intervention and from the sounds of it there is a wealth of potential intervener's available) A beautiful country lane on a sunny day, looks like a Norman Rockwell painting. I would be enjoying it a lot more if it wasn’t for the old fart and his wife in front of me driving 20 mile per hour. He’s taking up most of the road, pointing out sights to each other. Why can’t they get off the road if he ain’t going to drive that thing! Really irritated! I have places to go! Come to find out they are childhood sweethearts who have been married for almost 50 years and are looking at the places where they grew up. Remembering their youth. They are taking their time because her biopsy report says they will never get the chance to take this trip again.(I will admit, this one pulls the heart strings hardest. Grace, grace, grace however I seem to always find myself looking out for others [i know this sounds hard to believe] so would not really want a bunch of other motorists breathing down my back while touring around. Just pull over periodically, really enjoy the sites and make room for everyone else. Yes I get angry when I ride, especially when someone does something stupid and puts my life in danger. But I chose to be there. I put myself in that situation. And my “problems” aren’t worth mentioning. Alright, so please don't hate me too much I just couldn't help myself

"Florida is not the south, it's Florida." And true regarding Atlanta too. It is now just like NY and NYC, two completely different beasts, one is incredibly awesome while ...... NYC is just that.

The Canucks may have woken a sleeping giant? And not just Chara, following two extremely tight games in Vancouver did the real team just stay home and send some lesser copies to Boston to fill in? RL looked shell shocked when finally pulled last night. Watch out VC, Boston could sweep it out from here.

Sounds like your well on your way, great. Yea I have contemplated the Americade thing just haven't put it on my schedule yet, maybe when I retire in the next few years I can wedge some trips like this in. As far as weather? Dude I grew up my first 21 years in Binghamton! Nuff said, in upstate weather is a crap shoot each and every day. The bright side of the coin is that good or bad weather that is some of the BEST country side I know of. All the best on your coming trip, maybe we hook up one day.

Hey, I make a trek from Atlanta to the Adirondaks every summer and have traveled this route multiple times. To begin with your choice of Skyline and the BRP are tops! As well as the roads you mentioned. The best advice I can pass on is that the campgrounds on the BRP and Skyline are very good for campers. The amenities vary however the basics are covered well, they generally are not too crowded and the absolute best pricing. If off the BRP I would suggest searching out State Parks as these tend to follow the same conditions. Have triesd some private sampgrounds with varied results however most times the private sites (meaning commercial) are high on features however with the trade off of crowded sites as well as significantly higher prices. You can do a lot of research via the internet prior to your trip and that is time well invested. I always carry a GPS as well that can assist me with finding something if I find myself well into the day with out something already in hand. At times many of the campgrounds (public and private) will offer small rustic cabins as well, they are higher cost but offer better accomodations. Camping wise my best thoughts are to not bargain hunt here. With tents and sleeping gear you really do get what you pay for coupled with the fact that when your on the road NOTHING is more important than a good nights sleep. I found a wonderfull XL self inflating pad (2.5 inches thick inflated) and it works great. As far as tents go I have always like Eureka but they can get pricy. If online though be sure to check out their A and B production models. These are the regular tents however with some type of minor flaw. Though not structurally an issue it is usually cosmetic and thus of little importance. I try not to skimp on this part since I value the down time as much as the ride time. I also like to throw on a good collapsible chair for camp as well. All right, nuff rambling for now. If you have any questions PM me and we can always trade numbers and talk on the phone as well. Look forward to hearing how your trip goes. I am already jealos as I have to wait for the end of August to make my trek. All the best, Norm

I think they define it as a 'sport touring' rig. There is quite a bit of lee-way with in that definition, still could be an interesting ride.

Read the write up in Cycle World recently and looks to be an interesting new ride. Hope they do well, competition is never a bad thing. Also looking like Eric Buell is getting back on his feet again. Hope to see some of his ideas back on the road.

If you make them, I WILL buy! Thank you, I hope Hallmark is hiring. Norm