Just Call Me Shop Girl.

Well it's actually a Monday when I'm writing this!

Although in my defense I start writing it every Monday it just might not be posted that day.

The weekend goes so fast now and the week is fast enough between the commute Downtown and back everyday. Most of the time I'm just an invisible person in the hustle and bustle of the flow of people at 4:30 everyday, reading while I listen to music to pass the time on the Skytrain home.

The days fly by even more now that I have something else besides work and home...and now more work but that's ok because yesterday ( it's now Tuesday ) I got word that my bike is fixed! It came in the form of a video of the shop floor and I could hear her...the way she should be...and as the camera panned up it was her all back together and that low rumble minus the sputter that got her in there. They did it quick and I'll give her a quick clean up before bringing her home because I'm the Detail Girl now...apparently and I don't even care.

Spending a Sunday in the shop watching Hell Ride and conditioning leather that so desperately needed it was not work at all.

Who knew that I would love being around them so much! I always liked them but we're bordering on obsession now since I'm spending so much time around them.

Nope not bordering, I'm full on.

That's a good thing though, because this will be the 3rd riding season that I can be a part of and since I could only ride once last year and it was for maybe 15-20 mins when we figured out there was a serious problem, I almost feel like I've forgotten how to manage her.

She's a 1200 and a beast with her 4 plug Buell engine. At the same time being scared that I have forgotten something doesn't stop me from wanting to just get on her and go, just hoping and praying that I shift properly and see if I (bad habit) roll on the throttle while pulling in the front brake.

I had stopped doing that! Now I have shifted my bars, have thicker grips on her and changed my pegs so handling her will be a bit different but really I have no base of comparison because she's the only one I've ever rode.

Side note- I wanted her home yesterday if only to get her out of the shop because there is an 88' Heritage Softail that needs work and if you've seen my Instagram then you have seen the pics of that one. If not then here...

It sat under a Pine tree for a few years and her owner finally decided to get her fixed up. He said the last time he rode it, the Regulator caught on fire and it's been parked ever since. What I didn't like was that there are Pine needles all over it and in everything they could possibly slid into and that it was green when she got there. So I gave her a quick  rub down to get the dirt and...green stuff off before I went to work on seeing if any of  the leather was salvageable.

Some of it is and some, not so much but she's getting a makeover and after just cleaning her up a bit she looked pretty good but there is lots of Rust that will have to be dealt with.

So with all of that being said,

What would you have in a detail kit? Is there anything you would swear by?
Products that just don't work? I feel some reviewing that's going to happen.

Ok gotta go.

See Ya!
S

Mindset and Motivation

                   

Hello Lovelies!!!

Well I'm tired...the time change didn't do much to make it that way, I would have been tired anyway. The weekend was sunny and warm making it successful regardless of anything that happened. Porch weather is almost here and I can't wait!

So how was your week?

Mine was mellow and content, I did a little detailing and I could stay at the shop all day...and pretty much do until Choo wants to go home. Even if there's nothing for me to do around there ( like Sunday ) I can watch the guys work and talk about riding all day long even though I'm still new it's great to hear the stories...even the bad ones.

I met a guy who didn't ride for 33 years because his mother and father had gotten into an accident that scared them away from it and now he's doing what he wanted to do. Where for me, I didn't even know I wanted to do it until presented with the option.  I know women though that either only learn to ride because their partner wants them to and they either end up loving it or terrified of it.

Someone I know recently did just that. He bought his wife a Sportster and over the course of a couple of month convinced her to learn to ride. From what I understand he himself is a relatively new rider but he talked her into it. On Saturday he got into an accident that flipped his bike multiple times. He's OK, a bit limpy with some road rash. His bike however was on its maiden voyage with fresh paint will now have to be put back together again. He was lucky...

After the accident his wife was a solid "No" for riding.

I can see why it would change her mind especially if it wasn't what she wanted to do in the first place. Even with me being presented with it I wasn't going to do it for anyone other than myself because I wanted to do it and even though I haven't rode much I can't imagine not doing it now. In fact all I do is think about when I can do it again and go further.

Everyone is very encouraging and I'm being introduced to more and more female riders along way, with so many riders in general. On top of that I follow some great women on various platforms that inspire me all the time.

You know what else motivates me?

That I'm not only doing it for me but for them too, the people that believe I can do it even when I don't think I can or that I'll forget what I've learned and not only when it comes to gaining my riding experience although some of them have no problems sending me crash videos because you know... they're assholes but I have no illusions when it comes to that either.

Where was I?...oh ya... Motivation to learn which is why I could stay at the shop all day and just watch the guys work, taking in everything they do...except wiring...wiring looks frustrating and difficult but they're pros at it. Still working on mine at the same time and hoping we can get a plan together so that I can get back out there.

So many took the beautiful weekend to put Insurance or Permits on their bikes and go. They were everywhere taking advantage of the sunshine and dry roads. Just remember that there are things you should do to ensure you have a safe riding experience that first trek out after Winter weather. so I've attached a link to Motoress and Bike Bandit who have a great articles about getting ready to ride.

Motorcycle ride ready tips for the new riding season.

How to Prepare your Motorcycle for Spring

Kenny's Road is growing on it's own now as word of mouth circulates about something we wanted to do to remember those we've lost as we try to raise awareness about drugs, the fentanyl crisis and overdoses.

We finally picked a date (Aug 12, 2018) and even though our primary ride will be a small thing another group in Ontario would like to get on board with it as well and ride there on the same day.

I'm still working on that post but I'll admit it's a tough one to write and I have to keep stopping.

If you want to learn more about it as it builds you can check in here or follow me on Instagram 

OK Guys, Have a great week!

See Ya
S

Working On Kenny's Road

Work, work, work...

As usual I have created my own sweet hell!

Besides my Monday-Friday job I have the shop on weekends now and wow...is this a job that's going to cause me to rethink my life because it's just as disorganized as mine is.

There is so...much...stuff. I totally understand why they need the help because there is so...much...stuff...

So much it was tough to know where to begin with it all so I started simply with the inventory. Everything labelled with Parts #'s and Prices and I still didn't get it all. On top of the inventory there is the general overhaul that has to happen to make it more functional, not so much on the bay side but the office and sales side. I might have to document this transition but you know me, as much as I'll want to it might not happen lol. Again I have so much on my plate right now that I don't know how I'll do it all still trying to build up my own Brand and take care of so many things.

You'd figure that things would calm down but on no...that is not the case. Still though I do function better amid chaos so we'll see what happens. I had said to Lo that I'll have no days off anymore with the second job ans she said...

"If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life."

After the weekend I found she was right. It didn't feel like I was working and I can't see being there feeling like that, especially when stuff like this is going on.

That's my bike undergoing some work. She ran like crap last year so the guys have decided to give her a serious look.

It turns out that since I have a Buell engine in my Sportster I need 4 spark plugs to run her.

When the plugs got changed last year one didn't go in right but now the head needs to be re-threaded. ( Still partial gibberish to me but I'm getting it ) I can see the $$. They seem pretty eager to get me riding though this year and have runs planned that they want me to be a part of including the ones I want to do myself.

I kind of touched on that a little bit in a Blog Post I've been working on and will explain there more but it's called Kenny's Road. It will be an annual run for us and we hope to build it into something bigger one day. I've gotten good feedback from people I've talked to already and even gotten offers of support for it to happen.

A run for those we've lost to Drug Overdoses especially those that are Fentanyl related as we've lost another satellite kid just last week to it. We're hoping to raise money for Addiction Centers.

There will be more to come on that one later as it won't be until August and the date isn't set yet but it gives me hope and a sense that Kenny's death will mean something good instead of breaking my heart endlessly.

Ok enough of the heavy.

Have a great week!

See Ya
S