it was four degrees celsius out there when i came to work. that's around 39 degrees fahrenheit. yeah, it's getting kind of chilly. none of our days are forecasted for above 20 degrees celsius this week and i can see my morning commutes getting colder. i don't mind the cold. when i'm on bike, it's the farthest thing from my mind. it's the winter that bothers me. the colourless skies and colourless ground. everything so muted and dead looking.
people say that fall is their favorite time of the year, but all i can think about is the impending doom just a few months away. i like the colours of fall and the brisk mornings are kind of nice, but it's still the death knell for summer. the most beautiful and lively part of the year. so bright...so alive.
i've always had problems with winter. i don't deal with cold very well and i really really hate being cooped up inside with fake (read: electric) heat.
the last part to all this and the part that ties it to my motorcycle blog is the fact that i'll soon have to put Selene away. riding through the winter here is not an option. the over night temperatures would kill a battery in heart beat and i have no garage to store her in. it will have to be in the underground garage (pending owner approval) or a storage shed at a local lot. my only solace will be the fact that i have work planned for her over the winter and i'll be ordering new accessories as well.
i do hope i handle this winter better then i did last winter...
6 comments:
what do you do to winterize your bike? All I do is put some fuel conditioner in the tank and start it up once in a while (with a battery charger nearby). My wife think I'm nuts when I sit on it in the shed and make vroooom noises.
mine is a little more involved and i don't start the bike at all over the winter. not much of a point for me really. i don't have a garage, so i won't have easy access to the bike or a warm area to do it. my next post will cover what i intend to do with Selene over the winter.
Countersteer - I'd suggest against starting the bike every once in awhile in winter. The engine most likely won't make it up to operating temperature, which could cause condensation within the engine case (and rust). There are plenty of FAQ's online about winterizing; but when in doubt check what your bike's manual suggests. If you're wondering how to winterize yourself - check out this entry from my blog:
http://luckyll.blogspot.com/2006/01/winter-tips-for-motorcyclists.html
giest - I've had one morning so far when my fingertips started to get numb; even the heated grips aren't always enough to keep the digits toasty. Ain't winter a pain? I've yet to be able to do a "12-month" year; although I probably could've done it last year as we didn't get much snow fall. Just too lazy, I guess!
Cheers,
Lucky
yeah,it's the condenstation from a semi-warm engine that can do bad things to your engine. corrosion is a real monster that you don't want hanging around in there.
if i had your style bike, lucky...i would have tried for the 12 month season. especially with the mild winter we had.
yeah, can't believe its almost that time of year already. I'm hoping for a good two more months of riding. I usually put some stabil in the tank and put the battery on a tender. This winter however, I might be doing some upgrades to the bike- new pipes, rejet the carb. etc.
Ughghghg. That's sad news... a whole winter! We are surely spoiled here in California. But I do love winters..as you know, I would rather be cold than hot. But your geographics are very cold. Hope you get through winter swiftly and if you can make it, get out here for a winter vacation, bring your flip-flops along with your riding gear!
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