Sportbike Night on the Fun Coast

So this summer some folks in Daytona got together and put together a fun, meetup night for thoses of us around Daytona that don't ride Harley-Davidsons.  It happens on the 4th Thursday of the month and it's held at the Chrome Bar on Main St. In Daytona Beach.  I've been up to check it out a couple times, and its worth going.  The Helmet Shop which is one of the co-sponsors gives away a helmet each month as a raffle for all those who attended.  There are also giveaways of gloves and other swag for the winners of a MotoGP xBox tournement, and an ocasional trivia game.  So as long as its not raining this Thursday, i'll be checking out some of the other rides lined up along Main St. Before the Harleys of Biketober Fest take over in a couple weeks.  

Here are some photos from the past Sportbike Nights!

Faster than a rocket being shot into space

A few weeks ago I rode my CBR250R over to a local riverfront park to watch the launch of a rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.  I can almost always see the launched from my backyard, but its a better view from the river with a clear almost unobstructed view 25 miles to the south wthere the launch pads are.  So many bikers oround here seem to only be weekend warriors, and they forget about the short rides.  When I arrived I found my nephew swimming in the river with one of his friends. You can see the launch trail rising up from the docks looking due south from the park.  

6 Month Update and Modifications

Ok, so my life got a bit crazy and before I knew it I've have my bike for 6 months and havnt updated this blog, so lets try to get caught up.  

Right after I got my bike I immediatly ordered some satety mods to add on to my bike to improve visibility and functionality.  First up was a Kissan PathBlazer which is a headlight modulator, which is a fairly simple plug and play installation, it took a little bit of finnessing to get it to sit right with the rubber boot that is on the bach of the headlight housing.  I did not remove any of the plastics, just reached up under the front cowl to get to the back of the headlight where the harness connects.

Next instal was the Kissan SignalMinder, again this was mostly a plug&play installation, the stock turn-signal relay is in the front cowling to the rider's left side of the headlight.  Its a small black plastic box with a wire harness plug and held in place with a rubber mount.  The stock wire harness plugged in to the wire harness and then I ziptied and velcro'd the signal minder unit to the stock mount.  This give me self, cancelling turn signals and emergency, and escort flashers, and its fully compatible with LED bulbs which I replaced all 4 signals with bulbs from Http://www.superbrightleds.com (kept amber bulbs in front and switched to red in back). The signal minder unit also has a brake light signal input wire that just taps into the positive brake light wire and then gives you a slowdown warning by flashing all 4 signals 4 times then keeps them at full intensity while you hold the brakes on.

I then installed the P3 programmable tail lights.  The lights come with mounts that fit right on to the lisence plate bolts, the there is a control unit that can be installed under the rear seat, and taps right into the stock brake light wires.  I'll post a seperate post to shocase these lights, but I can tell you they are fantastic, and really keep cars off your back.  

Just for fun, and since I like there to be a bit of contrast with my headlight, i installed two green colored LED bulbs in the two marker lights on either side of the headlight.  I don't know if they are completly legal, but I havn't even been questioned about them yet, but I figured, either red or blue would have given the local cops a reason to stop me. (again got these from http://www.superbrightleds.com

Lastly I installed a WoLo BadBoy Airhorn, which worked great until I hit a bump with the front wheel, compressed the front shocks, and had the front wheel cover try to merge with the airhorn physically.  Apparently there really is just not enough clearence.  It cracked the back of the wheel cover, and sent the horn flying into a few dozen peices.  Took a look at the clearences and pulled the plug on the airhorn, and installed a single low-tone wolo horn, which fits, and while not quite as loud as the airhorn, its better than the stock mep-mep horn.

(green led marker lights)

P3 lights installed on eitherside of the tag.

Here a link to a video showing the lighting mods (P3, SignalMinder, and PathBlazer) http://instagram.com/p/l3LcQkO-b4/

-Pete

And We are FINALLY Rolling!

This has been a long time in the making, and got side tracked more than I had ever bargained for when I first started thinking about this back… a long time ago in a galaxy far far away… or something like that.  But alas I have news… yep good news, update and all.  SO the big new is that Yesterday, the stars aligned, and I walked into Champions Honda Kawasaki of Cocoa Beach, FL as a biker sans bike, and walked out the very proud new owner of a Brand New fresh off the Showroom floor 2013 Honda CBR 250R-ABS in the Red White and Blue Tri-color paint job.  Here's a video with some more info and of course the bike!

Welcome to the beginning

If you are here I would like to welcome you to the beginning of an idea.  I have been part of an unsuccessful job search that is pushing close to 3 years.  In May of 2008 I graduated from Appalachian State University with my Master's degree in Higher Education Administration.  I have been trying everything I know to get a full time job ever since, to no avail.  It is getting to the point that I feel like I may never be able to get a job in my field, and I am feeling completely disconnected from it.  The mental and physical stress is unimaginable, and I need to have something to work toward, something to look forward to.

About a week ago I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts 'The New Media Photographer' podcast.  There was a website that was mentioned Kickstarter.com that helps get creative projects funded from sponsors.

After looking at the website, I started to think about a creative project that has been kicking around in my head for a little while now.  I want to get a motorcycle, take my camera, and hit the road.  I want to see the back roads of America and document the trip.  This is the beginning of the plan to make this happen.