Olive

Since when do the ladies not look great as well?! You, especially, should know better. :) MaxSwell, Axel_7 does have a good point. Quite often a man's T-shirt can look like a burlap sack on a woman - it's all about the sizing and the cut.

@ Polar Bear - it's easy to choose. One of the twins has hard luggage installed, the other doesn't. I take whichever suits my needs for that particular day.

I'm in for the event this summer - looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and meeting a few riders that I only know from the form.

Olive checking in - thanks to digitallyhip for pointing me the way to this discussion. Haven't been online in a while, but both of my silver beasts are in good shape. No chance that I would ever give up riding - and I still think that the 6th Gen is the best fit for my riding style. Mark me down as a rider interested in the event. It's been quite a while since I've seen people from the board. Had made plans to meet up with Superfunkomatic this summer for a day ride, but weather got in the way. It's been far too long! Either date will work for me.

Best areas for viewing the Northern Lights are far north - think Alaska, Nunavut, Northwest Territories or Yukon. Places like Whitehorse, Yukon have an entire tourism industry built around the Aurora Borealis. Best viewing is in small communities or outside of towns where light pollution doesn't pose a problem. Many of the towns in the north have tourism companies that offer Aurora tours where they check the forecast and viewing conditions ahead of time and will take you out to prime viewing locations (away from light pollution, near lakes, etc) by car, bus or even dogsled (now THAT's premium bucket list material right there!). Certainly it is possible to see them a lot further south - I've seen them from just outside Calgary, but only a few times in my life. When they are forecast to be strong I have ventured out of the city but most of the time I have been disappointed. The best viewing is definitely much further north! The best times to see the displays are during the winter which boasts long nights and clear skies. The Aurora occur year round, however in the summer the night skies are not dark enough for optimum viewing. Keep in mind that viewing the Northern Lights is very dependent on weather (cloud cover), solar activity, etc. Riding to the "Great White North" is purely a summer activity - unless you are talking about riding a snowmobile. (Sorry to put a damper on your idea of riding out to meet them - but it's not realistic during the winter. Remember those of us who live to the north have a very different understanding of winter - for me it's motorcycle parking season... although it is possible to go ice racing on dirt bikes with studded tires on frozen lakes. Not the type of weather that is conducive to riding.). Good luck with it - and if you're planning a winter trip that far north make sure you purchase a down filled Parka rated to minus 40 - you will need it!

Just before a trip I changed the oil and overfilled it a little. Since I didn't have anything appropriate to siphon the oil out of the bike I decided to drain a little out of the bottom. I figured if I drained too much I could pour it back in as long as I was using a clean container. And I was going to be careful, so there was no need to change out of my work clothing for a quick 30 second job. I positioned a clean Yogurt container under the drain plug and carefully removed it. It slipped out of my hands and fell in the yogurt container which was rapidly filling with oil. I plunged my hand into the container and withdrew my prize... which squirted out of my fingers bouncing just out of reach on the driveway. I stuck my thumb in the drain hole in an effort to plug the hole to keep from losing any more oil. That worked. However the street was empty and there was no one to give me a hand. It was an impasse between myself and the oil. Keeping my thumb in place I stretched out reaching with my foot and tried to snag the drain plug, but only managed to kick it off the driveway into the grass. Part of this classic move involved knocking over the full Yogurt container and spilling fresh oil all over the driveway. I looked at the regular oil drain container that was sitting a few feet away. I pulled my thumb out of the drain hole and sprinted for the oil drain container, and sprinted back. To add insult to injury I was able to throw it under the bike to catch the last dribble of oil as it drained out of the bike. Back to the store to pick up more oil. I topped up the bike again... and overfilled it a second time. (At least I was consistent). I threw up my hands and decided to leave good enough alone. Both myself and my driveway were coated in oil - but on the bright side my bike had received a complete oil flush using new oil. Lots of oil on my hands, my work clothes and my face (it went well with the egg). Moral(s) of the Story: There is no such thing as carefully draining a few tablespoons of oil out of the bike. Always drain into a full oil catch basin.There is no such thing as a quick job where you can keep clean. Murphy will have a good laugh at your expense whenever possible.

Of course - many people just attach a trickle charger to the bike when it is parked in the garage. You can even pick up a set of leads that are built to remain attached to the battery to plug in the charger. However, the BEST way to charge that battery is to give the bike an "Italian Tune-up" - take it out on the road for a decent ride. Both you and the bike will feel much better!

A throttle rocker can make a huge difference - instead of holding onto the grip you can rest your hand on it. It's an inexpensive investment - try one out before making any permanent changes to the bike.

Really glad to hear that you are OK, but I think you should read the fine print on your deer hunting licence. You have exceeded your quota with two deer in one year. Now, we can certainly understand that you might want to exact revenge on four legged forest rats, but it is a little hard on the VFR (not to mention your finger) to be abused in this fashion. Take care of yourself!