The warmer weather has finally arrived. Spring has been unseasonably cool this year though. Second year in a row that I've gotten a late start on the riding season. Usually, I have a trip or two in by now. This year, the weather has been cold and rainy and I haven't even felt like doing any mod work to the bike :(
Waking up this morning, the sun was out and the house was hot. The first thing I did when I rolled out of bed was open up a window to get some fresh air in the house. A warm yet still cool spring breeze blew in as soon as I opened the window. It felt good, it was a subtle reminder that the warmer weather is here to stay now. I felt inspired.
I spent the afternoon tidying up the house and enjoying the cool spring breeze as it blew through the house. I then felt inspired enough to pull out the cameras and get a charge on them. I don't know why, but I put the cameras away last autumn and didn't record any video at all over the winter. It's time to get back to 3Speaks and Youtube.
I really haven't even felt motivated to do any modification work to the DR650 this season. However, I did order a fender removal kit from eBay. I ordered it several weeks ago and somehow it got routed to the wrong sorting station. To my surprise, it arrived today.... Finally! That only added to my inspiration.
For those that don't know, the DR 650 has a really ugly rear fender in my humble opinion. It's been nagging at me since I bought the bike. This license plate bracket replaces the big bulky rear fender and hopefully also shaves off a couple of ounces of weight.
All the black fender gets removed up to the gray fender with the Motorhead sticker. That's the only work I've done so far this season. I'll have to get some pictures of the different graphics I applied. The red rag is just covering the old license plate for a bit of privacy.
This weekend is Memorial Day weekend. It officially starts the warm weather season in the US. It's an extended weekend and I'll probably spend most of it in the garage working on the bike. I plan on doing the fender replacement, and I also have a USB power supply to charge phones, and cameras when I'm on the road. That definitely needs to get installed, it was supposed to get done last season but I kept spacing it.
So expect a couple of 3Speaks and Youtube mod videos over the next couple of weeks. One for the fender and another for the USB power supply install. In all fairness, most of the delay with the power supply was from Covid supply chain issues. Hopefully, that ceases to be a problem soon. I'm also considering some carburation mods and a new exhaust system if I can find a setup I like that doesn't break the bank. That probably won't be until the end of the season though. So mod videos coming soon.
The Bluetooth glasses were the inspiration for finally getting the power supply installed. These are perfect for night riding, unfortunately, they're not very useful for highway riding. Once you get up over 40 - 50 mph you can barely hear them. They are good for cruising around the city though because you can still hear everything that's going on around you. I may actually use these from time to time when I'm putting around the neighborhood. Which was the opposite of what I bought them for. I ended up ordering some Lenovo earbuds for highway riding. Hopefully, those will work out for me. My thinking was, they'd be too loud for the city when it's important to hear what's going on around you. On the highway, you're pretty much going straight and can see everything that's going on around you. Nothing wrong with a little highway music to keep you entertained IMHO.
I love this video. Steppen Wolf born to be wild with Easy Rider movie clips. A little highway music. 1969 a year after I was born. Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper, and Petar Fonda. I can't believe how young they are in this video! That must have been a really fun movie to film!
Ordered this amethyst pendant on Temu with the Bluetooth glasses. I thought the design looked a little too feminine around my neck so I decided to use it as a window ornament.
So that's where I'm at. I should have a bunch of 3Speak stuff in the next couple of weeks. I still need to get out for my annual fireworks run as well. Long story short, I should have some mod videos and travel videos coming soon! Thanks for being patient!
Bright blessings and thanks for reading!