Every fall I winterize my bikes, and every spring I dread that first start. There's always something wrong that needs correcting, a battery that needs additional charging...something that always ruins the plan for that first ride of the year. With all of the tires checked, chains lubed and adjusted, oil changed - I was ready to ride.

This Saturday was the first real riding day we had in NJ. The county roads were clear of salt/sand (township roads...not so much) and with the temperature rising well into the '80's I had no excuse not to ride.

First out was the FZ6. I undertook a remake on that bike this winter and wanted to see if my efforts produced the results I was hoping for. After a 2 hour trip I declared that bike a success. I got to try out my Sena bluetooth thing. It played music like I had hoped...no one called me so I couldn't experience the quality of the phone...but I was happy that no one called. I installed the Sena in a new Scorpion EXO AT-950 helmet and I have to say, I love my new helmet.

Next up was the DRZ-Tracker. After lunch I did a hooligan run through town, brought the bike home and put it on my bike stand. It's ready to be torn down and completed. Fun bike, and now my summer project.

Last but not least was the LS650 Cafe. I'll be honest, this bike wasn't properly prepped for winter. I rode it late into the season and by the time I remembered that it wasn't winterized it was late January. I dumped some Seafoam into the tank and hoped for the best. To my surprise, Saturday afternoon the bike woke right up and presented me with a smooth idle and its usual great throttle response.

During my sunset cruise it occurred to me that I saved the best for last. This bike is just a pleasure to ride. It's a relaxed bike that begs to be ridden aggressively through the turns. It gets what it wants, and so do I.

The 2018 riding season is off to a great start.

Spring was here on Friday and we got up into the high 70's, and I rode 100 miles on the new BMW.

Saturday threatened rain and it did come in the afternoon - I added a washer to the Ninja slide needles and squeezed in some yard work before the rain.

Sunday was a frog choker as it rained endlessly.

It is now 37 degrees and has been snowing all day - the good news is the ground is warm and nothing is sticking.

The Savage Cafe' and Ninja are still hibernating - but I am confident they will fire right up as I drained the float bowls when last rode them.

The forecast for the rest of the week bounces around a bit - 68 on Wed, 49 on Thursday, 60 for the weekend.

It appears the end of April may be in the 60's on a regular basis.

Road last Friday and I think it's been raining ever since.  I think we are getting snow tonight and tomorrow.  :'(

We've already been up to 98' here in Tucson.
The ice breaks at 100'...

My summer riding becomes limited... :'(

OK....I am dragging this thread back up to the top - as I believe the riding season has officially begun in northern Kentucky.

Two weeks ago was a weather fluke and I was able to "sneak" in a ride on Friday when the temperatures got up into the 70's.....the only downside was the strong winds.  The following Monday the temps dropped into the low 30's and we got snow!

The last few days I was able to get an evening ride to visit my uncle who is trying to recover from surgery - the temps were in the high 50's and the ride is only 12 miles long so I could tolerate 15 minutes of shivering.  Yesterday the afternoon temps were in the low 60's and it was the first day I was able to take my Saturday morning ride on Route 10 down to the Lennexburg store for my "Hot Momma" Jalepeno hamburger, then continue the ride on Rt22 and Rt 158 past.  I wore a long sleeve shirt and had the liner in my textile jacket - the wind was able to leak through the zippers or fabric on the arm/shoulders and I got cold.....I needed another layer!

The forecast for today is 66 degrees - and the coming week shows overnight temps in the 40/50s and daytime temps all very near 60 degrees.

The lawn mowing and motorcycle riding are going to resume with vigor!

What we need is a riding 2 wheeled lawn mower , must be able to wheelie !

Stew:

It appears that mower would take nearly all of my yard just to turn it around!

Out for about a 35 mile run today. Mid 60s .. very pleasant  

Bike ran like a million bucks