View a Pic or Pick Your Nose

This pic is from 1986, and the bike is a 1986 Yamaha TT-225S.

Not all of the bikes I've owned have been classified as firebreathers, that's for sure.
I've owned, ridden, and enjoyed a lot of bikes that were, in all honesty, pretty slow and rather low-tech, some even intended for kids.
The bike in the above pic is one of the low-tech, slow ones.

The TT-225S was, basically, a trail bike, play bike, foo-foo bike, or whatever name you call a bike made for general off-road riding when racing or riding like you're racing isn't required.
It had a 223cc (going by memory) 4-stroke, air-cooled, 2-valve engine that got it's design from the 1981 SR-185H Exciter street bike.
Yes, there was a 185cc street bike.
Everyone seems to have heard of the Honda XR-200R, and this was basically the Yamaha version of that, and it was fun to play on.
The engine design still lives on in today's TW-200 and TT-R230, by the way.

One of the smallest-displacing bikes I've owned and spend a considerable amount of time on was a Yamaha BW-80S, a dirt bike with fat tires made for kids, and this was at least 14 years before the trend of adults or near-adults riding dirt bikes made for kids became the cool thing to do.
I'm actually criticized these days for not giving a big thumbs-up to the idea of buying a Honda CR-F50F or Kawasaki KLX-110 and riding the shit out of it.

That's not really true.

While the fact that I'm a generation older (and more) than most of the riders out there that are into this stuff has much to do with my viewpoint - and back when I was that age, you'd basically have been given a funny look if you went around telling everybody how great it was to play at motocross on your Honda Z-50R - what seems silly to me with this trend is buying one of those bikes, and then spending more than it took to buy the bike in the first place in order to make it good enough to ride on a homemade motocross track without either being bored or breaking the bike.
That's the part that seems silly to me:
Pouring money into a tiny bike to make it seem like something that ain't so tiny, and when I owned and rode my BW-80S (a whole lot, for a couple of years, too), it was stock, other than a one-tooth-smaller front sprocket.
Yup, I sure had a lot of money tied-up in that one. :)

But, on the other hand, there's the old saying of different strokes for different folks.
I just hope I don't have a stroke before tomorrow's over with so that I can go for a ride on my WR-250FY.
Then, bring on the seizures. :)

Off to jerk,
-John

202, and Nothing New

Another old timer of a pic, shot with real, genuine, honest-to-gosh 35mm film from a camera that actually used film.
Does anybody still use a camera that shoots film?
The year this pic was taken is 1984.

Writing this from my desk at jerk this morning as I spent more time going through my old pics while at home.
My collection of old photos is pretty big, and although I've never counted them, there must be a couple hundred of them, at least.
Probably more, and that's not even counting the duplicates.
I can only imagine how much we spent on old-fashioned 35mm color film. :)

Weather feels good this morning, being on the warm side (for mid-November), with fog in the air and condensation on the ground.
Looking toward having Thursday (Thanksgiving) off and doing some riding on the ol' warhorse WR-250FY.

At jerk,
-John

Where the Hell Did the Hippies Come From?

What's your immediate impression when you first see this pic?
Be honest.
Myself, I see some guy who needs a shower and a bar of soap and some underarm deodorant and a good shave and a haircut.
I see some irresponsible bum who wants to get nothing important done or anything worth getting out of bed for accomplished - just wanting to get stoned, drunk, and basically meander through the day with no clear plan or even a vague idea on what will take-up his waking hours.
Basically, just wanting to do nothing more than hang-out with like-minded people who all want to do nothing other than what you see in this pic:
Look silly, smelly, and repulsive, and basically wander thought the day with his brain and self-preservation instincts unplugged via drugs and being brainwashed with this "hip" lifestyle, not even caring where he lays his head down to sleep.

Other than that, he's OK. :)

Some people who have done research into hippies claim this way of life was concocted and promoted by people who had connections to power and money, even though these same people promoting this shit would rather punch this guy in the face instead of be like him.
Also, the start of this hippy-dippy movement supposedly started right alongside the start of the psychadelic rock-n'-roll movement of the mid-1960s in a sleepy little neighborhood out in the LA suburbs called Laurel Canyon, a place that had, tucked away in the hills, a secret military base that was involved in film-making and propaganda (AKA fabricating brainwashing and misleading bullshit to feed to the public).
As a coincidence, a lot of the rock stars that came out of this town and time period came from families with military backgrounds, including Frank Zappa and Jim Morrison.
There are many others.
Supposedly, more than a few big names that went on to what is now called classic rock stardom couldn't even play a guitar or sing before they moved to Laurel Canyon.
Yet, they all magically came together in that spot as if by some coincidence, and shortly after getting there, started playing at local clubs, and then went on to rock superstardom.
Supposedly, these people went to the top of rock and roll purely on their own abilities and their appeal to the public, the younger people with the softer heads.
Where, in reality, they were heavily financed and promoted, even though they couldn't play or sing well enough to record an album without seasoned session musicians standing in for them while the recording process was being done.

Something to think about.



Oh, look.
It's a new 470lb. "Enduro/Adventure" bike, set to go on sale for the 2011 model year.
Truly disgusting to me that the marketing hype manufactured with these bikes wants you to think this is an off-road-worthy motorcycle.
I'll bet you a million dollars the guy riding the bike in this pic is on the verge of shitting his pants, praying he doesn't hit any unseen bumps or run over a patch of loose dirt he didn't notice.


Tons of fun would have been nice this past weekend, but, alas, it wasn't a good one for me.
No edit to yesterday's post about the Pachaug rock pile ride because I decided not to go.
When the moment of truth came and it was time to get my stuff loaded into the truck, I looked in the mirror and asked the guy I saw there how he felt and if he REALLY wanted to ride.
If I were to go, would it be because I wanted to ride, or would it be because I wanted to keep the streak alive?
The guy in the mirror said it would have been more because of the latter, so, I used my head and stood home to rest-up.

Apparently, I still didn't feel my usual self, and wondering if I should even be on the bike at all is typically not a good sign.
With Thanksgiving coming up this Thursday, though, I hope to make up for missing Sunday with a ride.
The current weather forecast is for rain showers, but, there's always a chance the prediction will be wrong, even in 2010.
We'll see.
Maybe, before Thursday comes, I'll feel like installing a new set of chain and sprockets that my WR-250FY could use by now, as well as a brandy-new rear Bridgestone M-22 tire. :)

Off to jerk,
-John

I'm 200, Today

This is the 200th post in my little bloggy world.

My, my, how time has passed.

I hope you people are paying attention and actually learning something. :)

....................More dots required..........................

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I feel noticeably better this morning, and getting out there for a Pachaug rock pile ride seems like a doable thing, today.

The bike is ready, only requiring the usual last-minute tire pressure check and air bleeding of the front fork.

The way I feel right now, I think I'll have the energy to do the longer version of my loop, although that could change when the moment of truth comes.

I'll post back later tonight and update with an edit.

........................................

........................................

I should drain my clammy Ranger's radiator and put in some new coolant/anti-freeze, something I think it's a bit overdue for.

I'll probably do that in a bit.

...................................

.................................

-John

199; On the Brink of a Double Century

Turns out I didn't go for a Pachaug rock pile ride today, Saturday, as I'd been doing a lot lately these past couple of months.
Oh, I had the time to do so, but, as luck would have it, after I came home from jerk and grocery shopping, I ate lunch and then commenced on feeling funny, as if I were trying to fight off the flu or a cold.
You know - that feeling of suddenly being a bit weak, down on energy, and even a bit dizzy in the head.
Well, some might say being dizzy in the head is normal, but, it was more noticeable. :)
I wonder if it was something I ate, or if somebody who got close to me coughed in my face and gave me something nasty.

So, I decided to make the somewhat sad decision to skip a ride today, rest-up by taking an afternoon nap, and hit the trails tomorrow, hopefully feeling in better shape.
I guess I shouldn't gripe about it, since I've been riding both weekend days out there fairly regularly lately, and I can't even remember the last time i didn't ride on at least one day of the weekend.
Sheesh, that must have been sometime back in the summer months.
If I'm correct, I haven't missed more than three weekends all year long since mid-March, which is a pretty good record, I say.
I think I missed two for poor weather, and one where I didn't feel well.

Well, as I'm writing this on Saturday evening at 6:05pm, I do feel considerably better, so, odds are, it'll be a go for tomorrow.

-John

198, and a New Forum to Join Might be Great

You all have read that hanging around motorcycling forums on the Internet is a hobby of mine.
I'm naturally interested in the motorcycles that I like, and that not only means riding them, but maintaining them and talking about them to like-minded people when I'm not riding or maintaining.

The forums/message boards I've hung around on a daily basis has changed over the years, and this has to do with what motorcycle I'm riding at the time.
Since I'm riding my WR-250FY firebreather these days, I'll be on forums that have to do with riding dirt bikes.
The one called ThumperTalk is one of these, and I'm also on another one called WR-250R/X Forum, even though I sold my WR-250R in September.
Gee, that was already two months ago.
I hope this coming winter passes as quickly. :)

One thing about cruising around the message boards on a daily basis is that there are times when things seem a bit slow and there is little or no interesting stuff being written that I can really sink my teeth into.
I mean, somebody posting a question asking what way you turn the wrench to remove the rear axle nut on his 1998 KX-250K5 is hardly enough to make me feel a shot of adrenaline rush through my body.
These are the days I wish I might have yet another message board to peruse, so, I've decided to join yet another one.

This morning, I've sent in my registration request to join what seems like a pretty big one:
ADV Rider.
While there seems to be a lot of space devoted to those huuuuuge "adventure bikes" that seem so much like street bikes to me, there is also a lot of real dirt bike gossip going on, and there are even a lot of threads with riders from my very neck of the woods on there, chatting about the very same Pachaug rock pile loop that I ride every weekend.
So, I have decided it's time for me to hook-up with some of these guys and to get to know them to some degree.

Hopefully, by the time I get home from jerk tonight, my membership request will have been approved, and I can start making my presence there known.

Off to jerk,
-John

It's Better to Sleep in Bed

It's the 1982 Yamaha IT-175J.
An off-road bike based on the 1982 YZ-100J motocross bike, and it was a whole lot of fun to ride.




Oh-oh.
Looks like ol' Peter Pinewood fell asleep on the couch, again.
He should have gone to bed before that happened.
Is that real leopard skin?



Usually, when I fall asleep on the couch, I conk-out for an hour or two or three, and when I finally wake up and stumble into bed, I can't get back to sleep right away.
This ruins what otherwise would have been a good sleep, turning it into an up-half-the-night insomnia-fest.



The reason I still sometime do this is because it's so easy to do - just plop your butt down on the couch after supper following a day's work, and before you know it, your eyelids are too heavy to hold up.
The key, then, is not to sit down on the couch to begin with. :)



What I think I need is more motorcycle projects to be involved with after jerk, like I often did when I was younger, meaning either riding them or wrenching on them.
Lots of times, I bought a piece of crap basket case to fix-up, and then have fun riding the finished project.
The top pic is one of these bikes.
Part of the problem with this is that there are no places to ride a dirt bike around my house in the immediate area anymore, unless you want a guaranteed fine for trespassing.
Back in the olden daze, I could hop on one of my bikes and be on a trail in literally 30 seconds.
I could also ride down the road two minutes and be at another spot, where the above pic was taken.
Aaahh, those were the days because there's nothing like a convenient spot to have fun on a motorcycle.

Off to jerk,
-John