Working on Mistress, My Yamaha V-Star 1100 Classic

Made some progress today fixing Mistress, my 2003 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Classic. Ordered a new Light bar kit to get the hollow bolt to remount the left side driving lamp.

Remounted the windscreen, tightened the handle bars & reinstalled the clock & temp gauges.

Removed the saddlebags and left rear turn signal & straightened the mounting bar.

Still need to order new clear turn signal lenses & Star eyebrows.

Donate Your Scrap Bike to Charity in the UK

I was contacted by the nice folks at Giveacar in the UK  and asked if I would spread the word that you can now donate your scrap bike and the funds will go to good charities. Here is the blurb from there website:

At Giveacar we’re not just about cars. We arrange the donation of all types of vehicles to charity. From mobile recording studios to campervans, we can turn your unwanted vehicle into much needed funding for your favourite cause. This includes Motorbikes, which despite their small stature can still raise a hefty sum for charity.

So if your bike has seen better days or, perhaps, you just don’t have the time to ride it anymore, Giveacar can offer you a simple, free and ethical way of getting rid of it.

Just like with our cars, no matter what state your bike may be in it will be collected free of charge and at a time to suit you. Once you have arranged to donate your bike with us we will pass you details on to our partners in your area, who will organise the collection with you. They will take your bike to their nearest site, dismantle it, and sell on the working parts. A donation will then be made to the charity of your choice based on the price of your old bikes parts.

When donating a bike with Giveacar, you are not only helping to support your favourite charity, but you are also helping others to keep their beloved bikes on the road. As well as helping out fellow bike enthusiasts, this also has an environmental benefit. By keeping old bikes on the road you are reducing the demand for new bikes, thus reducing the significant environmental damage caused by their production.

Motorbike donation is a relatively new initiative here at Giveacar, but it is something we are sure will raise a great deal of money for charity while helping us to fulfil our green objectives.
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So, if you are in the UK and looking to upgrade your motorcycle, or have an unused one lying around please donate it to a worthy cause.

Ride on, 

Torch

Two Wheeled Riding Withdrawals

Two Wheeled Riding Withdrawals

Anyone who has been addicted for any length of time to riding on two wheels, specifically motorcycles, and has been denied access to that mount, may come down with Midlife Motorcycle Madness. (Click the link to go to the definition.) With Mistress down for repairs I have been acutely aware of the symptoms and peculiarities of this disease.

Riding on two wheels is akin to an alcoholic or drug high. You just can’t seem to get enough of it. Several things start to happen when not being able to ride, mostly just substitution. One is that you be spending a lot of time working on your bike performing upgrades, maintenance or repairs. You will probably spend every other free moment reading everything you can find about motorcycles in hard or electronic copy. You may also be spending a lot of time on forums & social media discussing everything two wheeled related.

When not doing these things you may develop some other peculiar symptoms of the disease. You will find yourself being a lot more sensitive to the sound of a v-twin or sport bike revving, even in the distance and it will draw your attention directly to it. Your right hand occasionally will twist like it is time to accelerate, usually right after a left foot shift twitch. You might find yourself driving along the far left lane of the freeway hugging the left stripe to see around the traffic in front of you. You may also find yourself wandering around the house leaning yourself around the corners.  Don't ask me how I know.

Truthfully there is only one cure and that is riding a motorcycle on the open road and the open road is optional! The acceleration, adrenalin, twisties and wind take away all the bad side effects. See you on the road soon.

Ride on,

Torch

The Carnage to Mistress

Here are some photos of the damage to Mistress, my 2003 V-Star 1100 Classic, after we went down. I've already started putting her back together. I've got the handlebars back on. This weekend I plan on removing the windscreen to straighten out the left side bracket. Then install the left rear turn signal housing. I have not ordered the lenses yet. Thanks to some of the folks over on my favorite forum the V-Star 1100 Riders forum for helping acquire some used parts inexpensively. If you ride a V-Star 1100, you need to hang out there.

You can read about the accident here:http://midlifemotorcyclemadness.blogspot.com/2010/10/ride-gone-bad-part-1.html

Gonna need a new light bar.

Windscreen has some character marks.

Left saddle bag was bad already & now is a total loss. Oh well, I wanted hard bags anyway.

There is where the handlebar controls dinged the tank.

The left handlebar mount was bent back and was extremely hard to get out.

My sons helped me pry it off using a large pry bar!

Ride on,

Torch

International Motorcycle Show Dallas 2010 Part 7

International Motorcycle Show Dallas 2010 Part 7

Ducati

And now presenting the 2011 Ducati Diavel

I'll take the Diavel Carbon, Thank You!!!

This is the last post in this series.

Ride on,

Torch