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So we finally finished the Hawk!  Very stoked, the ride back was really awesome.  Adding the extra tank was pretty easy as far as things go but the SV650 tail section was the hard part!  Warren had to create raised mounts along the subfram in order for us to hang the fairings. 

In the end, it all got done and it’s pretty sweet!  Just have to wait until its warm enough to get it painted.

There are a few more things i’d like to do: change out the blinkers, add the F3 handlebars that i’ve got, change out the rearsets, and weld a plat scross the bottom of the subframe to get rid of the stock fender, but a lot of that might have to wait…

Rode the 150 miles up to San Jose this morning and found out that my stock tank does about 105 miles at approximately fast speeds before having to switch to reserve.  Found this out when the engine died just south of Salinas…  Warren helped me with the disassembly of the bike, and its currently in pieces in his garage and back yard.  Once the tank goes on it should look something similar to this, and here’s to hoping that everything goes well!

Ordering some pod filters because we had to remove the stock airbox for the tank to fit on right, and Warren has done some welding on the tank mounts in order to get it seated correctly.  Once we get the pods in, we can figure out the rear bracket for mounting and then how the seat will fit to that.

Luckily for me, Warren knows what he’s doing AND has all the tools!  And once the tank is fitted, the Hawk is going to get a new paint job which will spiff it out.  Sweet!

Picked up this book the other day – its got a corresponding BBC TV series that has 10 episodes (i think).  This has been an excellent book so far, i’m about 20% through – and I can’t stop reading it!  I have to save some for this weekend though, since we’ll be camping.

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone that enjoys motorcycles and/or adventure. 

Here’s the Amazon.com synopsis:

It started as a daydream. Poring over a map of the world at home one quiet Saturday afternoon, Ewan McGregor — acclaimed actor and self-confessed bike nut — noticed that it was possible to ride all the way round the world, with just one short hop across the Bering Strait from Russia to Alaska. It was a revelation he couldn’t get out of his head. So he picked up the phone and called his fellow actor-slash-biker friend Charley Boorman and told him it was time to hit the road….

Beginning in London, Ewan and Charley chased their shadows through Europe, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia; across the Pacific to Alaska; then down through Canada all the way to New York. Long Way Round is the result of their four-month, 20,000-mile joyride. Featuring original diary entries, travel maps, mileage charts, and dozens of photographs, this is a freewheeling, fully charged, and uproariously entertaining book about two world-famous individuals who chose the road not taken…and made the journey worthwhile.

Writen in diary-entry type style you get to read from both Ewan’s and Charley’s point of view.  Some parts have already had me sitting there with a big shit-eating grin on my face with people around me wondering what was wrong with me… and i’m barely into it! 

Only a little over $10 from Amazon, its totally worth it.

Tonight was the same as any night… sort of – I went on a ride with the SLO Riders Motorcycle Group (not sure its really a “club”).  It was a ton of fun.  They’re not picky about who goes on the rides (hence me being able to go) and they’re really safe and even have a lead/trail biker to make sure no one gets lost.  Pretty nice. 

I’m definitely not as fast as a lot of those guys, especially the guys on the super crotch rockets – not only can i barely keep up on my little Honda Hawk GT, but they’re super quick in the twisties and i’m definitely not there. 

 Tonight’s ride was up 101 from SLO to Hwy 58 through Santa Margarita, and out to Hwy 229 N, cutting over Hwy 41W to Atascadero, where we stopped for some dinner.  A quick bite to eat and we made our way back down Hwy 101 to SLO to meet up at McCarthy’s for the weekly Bike Night. 

 Met Fleezus, Julie, Matt, and Alex there – had a Guinness with them and hung out for a little while, then took off for the trek back up to Paso.  Definitely fun, wish I had a bike that could more easily keep up – that’s not complaining, i’m grateful to even HAVE a motorcycle!