Riding Again
April 19, 2025
This has been a comparatively busy couple of weeks for the four bikes. Two weeks ago I had to have the entire fleet in for State Inspection and, as expected, they all passed. It is always interesting riding the four of them back to back. I started with the 250cc Honda just to shake off the Winter rust and get back to clutch and gearshift work. The Honda is pretty light and agreeable so that was a breeze. Next was the Kawasaki 750cc and it is the true test. It weighs almost two hundred pounds more than the Honda and has about three times the horsepower. It wasn't quite so disconcerting this year as in years past. Last Fall I finally got the differences between the two motorcycles clutch engagement worked out in my head and I wasn't so clumsy shift this year.
Following the two motorcycles I rode the scooters there. The little scooter is so easy it's almost like autopilot. It shifts itself so all I have to do is twist the throttle and it's off and running. One thing I noticed was that it felt quicker than I remembered. I was buzzing along keeping up with local traffic with ease. Either the winter warmups loosened it up more or my memory is fading. Lastly came the longest owned vehicle, my 250cc scooter. It has the lowest seat in the group and it feels like a two wheeled sports car. Running as well as ever it did quick work of the trip to town and back.
After taking care of that I gave the front tire on the Kawasaki a good looking over and felt it was time to replace it. After buying a new one online replacement was taken care of by Valley Moto, a local shop, in a few hours. While it was in I had the owner check out my front and rear brake pads. He recommended I replace all of them with the words, "They should be done sooner than later." The new pads are coming in the mail and will be done soon.
There are rides coming up soon and I will have several adventures to report soon. Spring is here and the weather forecast is encouraging.
Following the two motorcycles I rode the scooters there. The little scooter is so easy it's almost like autopilot. It shifts itself so all I have to do is twist the throttle and it's off and running. One thing I noticed was that it felt quicker than I remembered. I was buzzing along keeping up with local traffic with ease. Either the winter warmups loosened it up more or my memory is fading. Lastly came the longest owned vehicle, my 250cc scooter. It has the lowest seat in the group and it feels like a two wheeled sports car. Running as well as ever it did quick work of the trip to town and back.
After taking care of that I gave the front tire on the Kawasaki a good looking over and felt it was time to replace it. After buying a new one online replacement was taken care of by Valley Moto, a local shop, in a few hours. While it was in I had the owner check out my front and rear brake pads. He recommended I replace all of them with the words, "They should be done sooner than later." The new pads are coming in the mail and will be done soon.
There are rides coming up soon and I will have several adventures to report soon. Spring is here and the weather forecast is encouraging.
Posted by Jim Zeiser.
If you wish to comment my e-mail address is h1500e@hotmail.com. I'd like to hear anything-good or bad-that anyone would like to say. As they said in college, we're all lifelong learners.
