Some Background

If you are going to take the time to read through my blog, I guess that you should get a little background about where this is all starting from.

First: The Bike

It's a 2003 DL-1000 'V-Strom' from Suzuki. I am the third owner. The first owner only rode it about 10,000 miles, and apparently lives in Santa Barbara, CA. The second owner put on another 26,000 miles commuting between Lompoc and Santa Barbara.

I don't know who did what to the bike, but I do know the following from my mechanic:

• The oil filter was probably the original item installed from the factory. This is a bit troubling, should it be true, as the second owner has a bill of sale from a well known motorcycle dealer in Santa Barbara.
• The front indicator lights have been broken off. The previous owner swore that they were missing as a result of children playing around the motorcycle, but I have no way to corroborate the story. The funny part of the story starts with the square holes cut in to the upper fairing (photo or diagram to follow) in through little wires protrude, most likely in some fouled attempt to place flush-mounted turning lamps 'sport-bike style'.
• The knobby end of the clutch lever has been broken off cleanly.
• At least one valve has been sticking for quite a while. Apparently the oil has been changed once or twice, but no one is sure with what frequency.
• The seat is torn across the top of the ridge connecting what could probably best be described as the connection point between the front and rear passenger's cushion.
• The mufflers are LeoVance glass packs. Yes, my hog sounds like a Duc[ati]. The stock pipes came with the bike.

$800 bought me a full engine/radiator flush, tune-up, a new clutch lever, flush-mount head lamps, new LED Tail lamps, and some piece of mind.

Next: Me

I should tell you now: I am new to blogging. Up until now, I have had very little that I felt compelled to 'blog' about. Why motorcycles, then? Simple: I am passionate about motorcycle riding, and I want to share my own first experiences with anyone who may be interested. If you don't like motorcycles, please feel free watch YouTube some more, and save the google's bandwidth for people who might care about this stuff.

Yes, I know that google buys their own fiber networks, so they are at no shortage of available bandwidth, and that YouTube usurps more network resources than any other website. Up until recently, I worked in the Telecomm industry.

At the time of this posting, I have not ridden a motorcycle more than about 70 miles in my life. My log book consists of two Motorcycle Safety Foundation classes (probably 30 miles a piece), and the two or three miles it took to become familiar with my dad's ST-1100 and ride it home while he was in the hospital.