Riding on the range...

Yesterday I took the bike out for a ride, and I must say, other than the hard start, it's running like a gem. I still had to use the starter spray to get it going (even tried hooking it up to my car battery as Hap suggested to see if it might be a battery problem) but no luck. I am going to start it again this morning just to test it, and see how much difficulty it has in starting.

I have a bit of a cold which is making me a little sluggish. Or, perhaps its that flu shot I received the other day. I don't know. They say you can't get the flu from the shot, but you do get mildly sick (usually low grade fever, possibly other symptoms).

I joined the Total Motorcycle World, a forum of motorcycle enthusiasts with reams of information about bikes in general. It's not bike specific like the XJ list, but I've already corresponded with someone about 2 hours away that might hook up for a ride. Their forums are massive, and it is going to take me forever to work my way through them.

I waxed the bike yesterday, cleaned it up a bit. The tank really needs attention. There are spots that have the potential to generate rust, so until I get the thing painted, I am going to have to keep an eye on it. (as if I wouldn't...) I plan to run up to College Bike Shop and see if they have the caps I need and the plugs I want to get. Those iridium plugs are the shizznit, or so I've heard. Perhaps that's part of the problem. Even though I fixed the bad conduction issue with the caps, it's still starting hard. Then, I'll have 3 sets of plugs.

I painted my horns yesterday, but in retrospect, I don't know if I like the color or not. It's cherry red. Here's a pic:
Time will tell, I suppose. Maybe when the tank is the same color? I don't know. Perhaps I'll just paint them black. While the color is fine, I've always wanted a black motorcycle.

I tried starting the bike and of course, it wouldn't start. I had to use starter spray on it. It fired right up after that, which leads me to believe it might be related to the fuel or the air mixture. I haven't yet tried it without the choke... maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

I plan on taking the bike to work tonight, if it doesn't rain. Not too many days of good riding left, I think, although the RIDE Motorcycle club plans rides through November. I wrote the chapter coordinator about joining them for the next ride, which is this Thursday. I don't know why he would say no, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.