Shop's Open!

Howdy! I'm Eddy. I've been riding motorcycles off and on for twenty years and I'm an addict.

In 1986, I was living in San Luis Obispo, attending the local junior college (just trying to get away from a crazy girlfriend, up in the Bay Area). For some reason, I purchased a Motorcyclist magazine and started reading about inertia, countersteering and frame design. There was an article in there talking about front swingarm steering designs. I was fascinated! From that moment on, I was hooked!

About a month later, I just happened to stop by the local Husqvarna dealership. I would often drop by just to sit on the new Suzuki GSX-R models. On this one particular day, there was a used Yamaha RD400 sitting out front on consignment. I used to see one of these parked at my high school and I always liked the way they looked. I really didn't know much about the bikes, but they sure did look cool! The price tag said $500. I asked the salesman if they could go any lower. He called the owner and told me that I could have it for $400. In order to take a test ride, all I needed was 1) a permit or license 2) long pants and 3) a helmet, which they could provide. I was in shorts, so I told the salesman that I'd be back the next day. Immediately, I made my way across the street to the DMV and without even opening a manual, I took the motorcycle permit test. I missed five questions, but that was a passing score!

The next day, I returned to the dealership, went for a quick test drive and purchased my first motorcycle on a Mastercard.

The years went by and eventually, after not having ridden a bike for about five years. I was living in Castro Valley and working in Menlo Park, just across the Dumbarton Bridge- a solid twenty-four mile commute. It was the height of Silicon Valley's dotcom era. I could count on seeing two fender-benders on the way to work everyday. In a car, that commute sometimes took almost three hours! Too many days spent waiting in traffic. That's when I bought a 2001 Suzuki SV650S. It's such a versatile bike! An excellent commuter as well as a fun bike for the local canyons. Suddenly, heading to work was so much less of a chore- I could count on a twenty-four minute commute no matter what.

Since then, I've been honing my bike, Sonja, toward the track. Basically, as soon as the warranty expired, I started doing more radical mods, like changing out the suspension, refitting the brakes and engine mods. I'm hopeful that next year, I'll finally get to see my first track day. I have aspirations of one day doing some amateur racing in the superstock class, so my mods can't be all that crazy- that'll help keep my budget in line!

So I thought I would start up this here blog, hopefully attracting other SV (or really any other) motorcycle enthusiasts. I'll just post miscellaneous ramblings of motorcycle related events happening in my life, from rides to wrenching. Please chime in and share some of your thoughts and experiences with me. Ride safe and maybe I'll see you out there!