Learnin' the trade

The bags look great! I have been hanging out with the guys at Moto Milano, the Ducati Dealership in Windham, ME. They have been great with working on my bike. They did the first two oil changes, and lubed my rear splines. I was having trouble with other shops not letting me watch them work on my bike. The guys at Milano not only let me watch, they teach me how to do stuff myself. Today for instance, they were around when I needed help lubing the clutch cable, but talked me through the lubrication of the throttle cables from across the room. And when I put on the saddlebag supports, the owner showed me how to remove the helmet locks which were stuck on with a product to keep them from EVER coming off. He loosened up both of them and then cut the screw off the first one with a hacksaw blade. I did the second one exactly the same way! I installed the bags on my own and then (with just a little talking through) I changed my coolant. They let me use their tools and I only had to pay for the supplies I used. I really love working on my bike, but they even let me help them with the ones they are working on. There is not much cooler than working on a 30K dollar bike!

More later...

So I don't know how they will look or if they will fit, but I ordered a new set of bags today. They are FirstGear saddlebags. I hope they do as this will be the last set I try to fit on my bike. I bought the Nelson-Rigg set that melted down, and then I got another set on e-bay, but they weren't what I was looking for, and the supports they said were for my bike didn't come close to fitting. So this is the third set and I am damned if I am going to try again after this. Hopefully the great guys at Moto Milano will be able to get them on my bike with a minimum of work. I am not going to do it myself, seeing as how my last attempt totally went "pear shaped" as they say in Britian... They should be in by the end of the week...I hope!

Take care.

Catch up time!

Well, I haven't been keeping up on my blog, and I have been hearing about it, so here's the update.

Today was my road test for my motorcycle endorsement and I passed with no errors. I am so relieved. I was totally stressed out, but the examiner was really nice and gave me all the tips I needed to pass right up front. I am now legal to go through New Hampshire, which happens to be the only way to leave the state unless you go through Canada. I am planning a trip to New Hampshire soon.

Also the MC pant saga continued until late last week. I finally got sick of waiting for the pants I wanted to become available, so ordered a different pair. They are too long, but great for winter riding as they fit over my regular jeans. I paid less for them than the originals I had ordered.

On my first ride of any distance, ( I was going up to Bar Harbor to look for a cup holder for my bike- just to hold it while I went short distances, not so I could sip along the way) I was toolin' along and looked down at my speedometer and it said I was going zero miles an hour. This was on Saturday, in the early afternoon. As I had the road test today at two pm I thought I was doomed. Everything has to be working on the bike or you can't take a test on it. I stopped at a MC dealer in Ellsworth, ME and he helped me call around looking for a new cable. I found one twenty-five miles away in Bangor, but the shop closed in thirty minutes. The road to Bangor is not kind to people in a hurry - too many leaf-peepers- so I called the Bangor store back with a cc number and they left it outside for me. I got home, replaced the broken cable and HA! I was back in business. David was a real trooper during my frantic phone call he calmed me down and gave me the idea of the Bangor store. He also called around to different places nearer home, and would have been willing to drive to pick it up. But all turned out well and he didn't need to.

Also, it's official, I am the consumer consultant for the State in the process of writing the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the managed care system they are trying to implement. I have also been appointed to the steering committee for the grant the State received for people who have Psychiatric Disorders and Substance Abuse issues. As an alcoholic with almost 20 years of sobriety, I thought it was time to give something back to that community as well.

Vera is doing much better after her surgery (12 screws and 1 plate added to her shoulder). And they will be going to visit their son in Germany in October.

That is about it for now... drop me an email if you have the time.