Freedom! Oh, and T minus 6 days

I finished summer school last Thursday - looks promising for an "A" in both classes. With that all-consuming business out of the way for now, I can concentrate on the home stretch (that's horse racing lingo - I live in a horse racing town, don'cha know) of these trip preparations.

I got the Michelin Pilot Roads mounted today - thanks to some speedy service from Lanny's Cycle World. Lanny Plummer is an old veteran of the Hot Springs biking community, and general nice guy. The bike was looking mighty sad with no bodywork and no wheels. I got 5500 miles out of this Bridgestone BT020. I like them, and they're not at all expensive, but for this trip I don't want to have to put a tire on while I'm on the road. The Michelins come highly recommended for mileage - we'll see.

I've got nearly all the farkles installed and sorted out. There's still a problem with things shutting off when I hit a bump, and some alternator whine in the audio, but the first is probably a loose connection somewhere, and I have a fix for the other on the way. Here's a couple of shots of some of the modifications. First is a Blue Sea fuse bus with a relay only energizing it when the key is on. Next is the dash panel modified with Heat-Trollers for the steering stem powerlet (eventually for a heated vest or jacket liner) and the heated grips. The knob off to itself at right is a volume knob for the AmpliRider headphone amplifier. Lastly, the little clear button is a "Battery Monitor" LED - to keep an eye on charging with all these add-ons.

I'm headed out to shake this down see what still needs to be done.