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Endless Summer

FZ1inTX

FZ1inTX

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Florida. Saw a plate from this state today riding with Norm and it makes perfect sense... says on the bottom "Endless Summer" and I would tend to agree at this point. Riding today, I completely forgot this was January 31st. It could have been ANY summer day. The sun was bright, I was sweating in my gear and the riding was just great. I know, no curves... go on and say it. You all that live in the curves with your own endless summers are fortunate. But me? I'm even more fortunate today, tomorrow and until Feb. 11th when I have to leave. You see, I've had to forgo riding for 4 months up until Norm invited me into his home and gave me use of his bikes. For this, I am VERY fortunate and extremely thankful!

Winters in New England. While this year has been quite mild in NH and very little snow, it's never a "good enough" day to try and take the bikes out. The days that are exceptionally warm and typically because it is raining. And by the time I leave work, that rain is either snow or freezing to ice. Oct. was a wash last year being the coldest month since the previous winter. November and December teased us a bit but never was "that day" to ride.

Did it matter where we rode? No. After 4 months off, up on two wheels is peace of mind, a drop of Heaven.... With a great friend, Scala headsets connecting us and two bikes, we were free to roam and keep each other entertained or talk about the trials and tribulations in life, and that we did!

Did it matter where we went? Did we have any specific path or plan? Did we care what the time was? No, no and NO! What mattered was our conversations into the mic, through the air speeding between us and out of the speakers in each ear. (Well that and how much gas was left.... ;) )

Today wasn't Jan 31st, 2012..... today was just another day in paradise where you find an "Endless Summer"
 
A stop along the way...

A while back we had a new member sign up to help explain about the ECUnleashed product offering. Patrick from Superbike Toy Store here in Stuart Florida. Being that his account and posts were obviously from a vendor, we had to link to the vendor rules and explain that he must become a paying vendor to post items for sale, links to his business, etc. I'd PM'd him a few times explaining. I also told him I was coming to Florida and promised I'd stop in. Today, I kept that promise. :D

Patrick explained to me and Norm that his business used to support several forums but the group buys and sales generated didn't outweigh the costs of maintaining vendor status for s small shop like his. I can understand and certainly will not fault him for not becoming a vendor here given the reasons.

Patrick is a great guy in person and is knowledgeable about the ECUnleashed flashes and how they change the bike. He did a very good job of explaining it all to Norm as I listened in. Enough that Norm came back home to read through Pete's thread and even better understand how this all works.

There's a chance of a big surprise coming out of Florida soon. But that's another day and another story.

Today, here's Norm's FZ1 in front of Patrick's store.

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220 miles of great riding with Norm today. :D We headed southwest to circle Lake Okeechobee, or at least try. But that is a HUGE lake! We made it to Clewiston where we stopped to eat then head back. The GPS took us back on an alternate route for part of the way but it was very nice because we didn't have a lot of traffic so the ride was "spirited" to say the least, you know... 5 mph over, right? ;)

The first three shots are from the waterway that circles the lake. The remaining shots are from the Tiki Bar in Clewiston. That small yacht was parked at the Tiki Bar. Norm had the young waitress going when he asked "So it's OK to leave my boat parked there? No one will bother it, right?" It wasn't until I started laughing that she figured it out. Great little place to have some seafood.
 
Sounds like you guys are having a good time down in FL. It was over 60 degrees here today so not a bad riding day, but I was stuck at work :(
 
After leaving the Tiki Bar behind, we were crossing the Okeechobee waterway bridge when we looked out and finally saw the expanse of this lake. Big enough that you cannot see the other side! Here are some shots from the lookout at the locks that allow traffic to and from the lake via the waterway. The last shot is a panoramic view of 180 degrees.
 
Norm is looking great these days! :D We're having a great time thus far! We have a few good trips planned still. Hopefully a lot more pics to come! Norm's Mom is a very gracious and accepting woman. I need to give her thanks too! I'm so glad that I have Norm as a good friend and that he's offered this chance to me. Thanks again Norm!! :yes:
 
CrazyBiker said:
Great times! I am jealous not because you are in FL but you get to ride that C14 :D
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I see your point! It really is an amazing machine. That Kawasaki engine and smooth transmission is incredible. The acceleration is both linear and predictable and the traction control and ABS give you a lot of confidence both in the corners and emergency stopping. Norm is a lot better on this bike in the corners. I don't have enough seat time to push it hard (or the money to replace it if I push it too hard!) but each corner I hit was just that much more comfortable. Norm is a beast on this bike. He really lets the bike do a lot of the work for him and I think I tend to fight it a bit. We actually found some corners here! I got to push the Connie! :yes:

We've been swapping back and forth between the two bikes so I get the stretch the legs on the FZ1 as well. You go from luxury yet sporty riding to an aggressive animal of a bike. Love it!!
 
Hey, I'm in West Palm Beach. Really nice riding temps, isn't it? Let me know if you plan to be in town for a bit... I could ride with you... if you wait for me. lol
 
Marthy said:
Hey, I'm in West Palm Beach. Really nice riding temps, isn't it? Let me know if you plan to be in town for a bit... I could ride with you... if you wait for me. lol
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Norm lives here now in Port Saint Lucie. I'm here until Feb. 11th. Sunday is our next ride but not sure where. Mon through Wed is booked. Might be out again Thurs and Friday. :D

We haven't exceeded the sound barrier yet. ;)
 
After quite a bit of hassle and a few parts later, I was finally successful installing a cigarette lighter power socket on Norm's FZ1. The first one I bought wasn't a good one. All adapters we out in it were a sloppy fit and stuff wouldn't stay powered up. The next one was the ticket and had the same hole requirements as the first one so it was a simple replacement. I also extended his SAE plug for the Battery Tender up to the front of the bike. The socket is installed in the same place that Tony has his. We tested this new one with all the adapters and all is well. We may change the way this is used... right now, The socket has an SAE lead wired to it and Norm simply plugs in the SAE connector from the Battery Tender to power the socket, but this also means he isn't on a keyed connection so it would be easy to forget that the GPS is running when the bike is shut off. Maybe before I leave on the 11th, I'll wire the socket into the wiring at a point where it is keyed. :D
 
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