the goods.
The bike scored pretty well as far as xmas presents this year. Peter's parents got me a 126-piece set of Craftsman tools, which made me extremely happy and also extremely anxious to start working on replacing my front bearings. It really needs to start raining so that I don't miss any riding time by tearing the bike apart. Grrr. This toolset is awesome. It has ratchet wrenches (I love ratchet wrenches, oh yes I do) and socket wrenches and screwdrivers and allen wrenches, all in overly abundant quantities. I will never again want for a ratchet wrench. *happy sigh*.

Peter's parents also got me a Brookstone dial pressure gauge, which I've yet to really use. Well, I did try it out once, but I was lazy and didn't unlock the disc brake lock, so I couldn't really roll the tire around to an optimal location. In other words, the air nozzle was like behind the chain, so I couldn't really fit the gauge in right and it told me the tires were only at 20psi. I suppose this could be the case, but I'd be more willing to believe it after I'd rolled the tire to be able to get to the nozzle correctly. Hrm. It's a nice gauge, though.

Peter got me a pair of Throttle Rockers, which I'd been wanting to try out because my thumb kept cramping up. I put one on the other day and tried it out -- it works really well on the freeway (I rode about 15 miles to wherever it was I was going, and my thumb wasn't cramped when I got there), but it does take some getting used to. Since I was accelerating by pressing down with my palm instead of rotating my wrist, it was easy to start speeding up unintentionally (for example, if I hit a big bump in the road, my wrist would sink a little, which would cause the bike to accelerate). This caused some concern when I was in traffic on side streets, so I took it off for my rides to work. I think it's just one of those things that I'll need to get used to. The fact that my brake lever is still bent into a U isn't helping either (I ordered that lever finally, by the way, I just need to wait until after New Year's when the shop is open to go pick it up).

My sweetie also found me a 2001 calendar from the American Motorcycle Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame. This was especially cool, since Peter and his parents and I ended up going to the museum while we were in Ohio, but I'll talk about that later. It's a neat calendar; it shows all different kinds of old bikes and little tidbits about each one. It's really fun since we personally saw most of the bikes shown on the calendar. :)

Peter got a little red bungee net (from me!), which I hope he likes. He has a big tank bag, but I'm a real bungee net lover, and he'd mentioned that he wanted a nice red one to match the bike. ;) 'Course, first thing he does with it once we get home? He puts it in the tankbag. "I don't want it to get stolen!" he said. I suppose that makes sense, but it just seems odd to me, since my bungee net is always strapped over the pillion seat of my Nighthawk. I don't like having a lot of crap in my tankbag though (funny, since there always seems to be a lot of crap in there anyways...). *shrug* :)

Peter's kickass bike present this year, though, was from his parents -- they got him a brand new Fieldsheer jacket! It's the jacket shown in the picture at that link (er, the guy's jacket, not the women's. Though that woman's outfit *does* look pretty damn nice....), and it looks really great on him. It's leather, with armored shoulders, elbows, and a padded back, and has a few vents. It also has a nice lining, which is good for the colder weather we've had at nights around here (he'd been riding in just a long-sleeved T-shirt and his leather jacket -- I don't know how he kept warm enough). It'll be awesome for when we ride this summer; I know that I loved my vented jacket last summer. :) Yay! I'm very excited for him. When we left his house this afternoon, he took his bike back to work (I had the cage since I had brought boxes of crap to his house), and I can personally verify that the jacket looks damn good. Mmmm. Cute boy in armored leather on a sportsbike, mmrrow. :)

pictures, in case anyone cares.
Here's a couple of random pictures from xmas.

• Peter's dad checking out the helmets while Peter was trying on jackets
• Me scoping out the solar eclipse (OK, it's not bike-related, but it's relatively nerdy)
• The kickass electronics kit that Peter got me. (Again, not bike-related, but since I got into electronics by learning how the electrical system on the Nighthawk works, I think it counts)
• Me and Peter and his kickass new jacket
• Me and the awesome toolkit
  
• Me inspecting the toolkit and all its glory

• Kawasaki Drag-Racing Bike. This bike was pretty damn cool. Notice it has *3* engines! I think I remember reading (one of these times I'll remember to take notes) that it had a top speed of around 200mph and some insanely high diplacement (3000cc or something).
• Sportsters. I think both these bikes are Sportsters, though the blue one may not be (you're welcome. I really need to start taking notes.). I'm pretty impressed that the blue bike doesn't even have a seat! I think these are just really cool-looking bikes, though.
• A gorgeous red BSA. Damn. This bike is gorgeous. If anyone has one laying around, y'know, like, collecting dust or anything, and you need something to do with it, I'm there for you. Vinatge bikes aren't normally my asthetic, but, hot damn. Mrow.
• Peter and the wooden bike. This bike isn't for riding; they used the frame to stress-test engines and see how it would feel. That's pretty hardcore.
• A collection of racing bikes. I'll be honest; I took this picture because I love that Triumph right there in the middle. The rest of the bikes were pretty neat too, but I still have a soft spot for those Triumphs. *sigh*. And it's the color I like, too.
• 1926 Harley-Davidson Peashooter. These bikes are pretty neat. The wooden planks above it showed the angle at which racetracks used to be at (can you imagine riding at that incline on those planks? Yikes!). Note the silver hand-operated gearshift (like a car's) next to the gas tank.
• Pioneer. This bike is so amazing. That's a leather belt for a drive chain, and you'll notice that there's no apparent shifting mechanism. Check out the handlebars: it has four seperate handgrips (two per side) -- *that's* how you brake and shift. Yikes.
• Peter and I on a Harley. This was a fun little bike -- the springs in the sidecar were pretty out of control. When you sat in it, it felt like your butt was going to hit the ground. :)
• ...and again.. Only this time, I got to drive. ;)
• Peter's family on the bike. I think we managed to convince his parents to try biking. ;) They agreed to take the MSF class this summer, how cool is that? :)

OK, that's it. :) Have a happy new year!

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