Didja Miss ME?

I thought not.

One thing that does not instill confidence when traveling on airplanes — a pilot who comes on board whistling the chorus from Ring of Fire.

At least I got the a seat in the emergency exit row…

I spent the weekend in Ft. Myers, Florida, doing some consulting work for a new club-jazz band down there. Mainly, I was there to help them get their PA designed, get their temporary practice space designed and configured, help work out the logistics of their live performance, and measure and design their permanent practice space and demo studio, as well as discuss various business aspects involved in funding and operating a band.

The way the band is going to work is pretty interesting — or different, anyway. Basically, there will be three live performers with well-executed and produced backing tracks. The live performers will be a bassist/keyboardist/vocalist (who will also handle the arranging and pre-production duties), a guitarist/vocalist and a female lead vocalist. Their goal is to be up, running and on the circuit in the southwest Florida area in early November. During mid-November, I’ll be going back down for the build-out and setup of the permanent practice/demo space.

A little later on today, I’ll be going out to look at a motorcycle — a 1992 Suzuki VS800 Intruder. At 800cc’s, it’s a bit bigger bike than I had originally wanted to go for, and will need certain accessories added (saddlebags and windscreen) or changed out (I don’t think I like the highway bars that are on it, and the seat is not designed for a passenger). Otherwise, this machine looks to be a pretty decent deal, even if it’s more than a couple of years old. It’s already Maryland state inspected, has supposedly low mileage (the odometer shows around 12,000 miles), the price is right in the ballpark for identical models being sold around the country, and there’s still excellent support in the way of aftermarket accessories made specifically for this model.

I had originally envisioned something in the 500cc size range. However, it seems that, over the years, the size of the “beginners’ bike has changed radically! In the “cruiser” style category, about the smallest bike available is a 650cc. The next step “down” is a 250cc, and I just plain don’t fit well on any of the Japanese 250s.

Speaking of the 250cc bikes, I’ve learned that the one up at Scootertronics isn’t really that great a deal. New ones are selling, on average, for only about $300 more than the used one.

The bike that my friend Thom mentioned to me looks to be a wonderful machine, and will be an excellent deal for somebody. It’s a gorgeous 2005 Honda Shadow Aero 750 with under 1000 miles on it. But, at $5500, it’s a bit more than I want to spend for a used bike, for two reasons. First and foremost, it would dramatically interfere with the overall goal to get the maxi-scooter. And second, I can get a newer, similarly used Yamaha V-Star Classic for $900 less, state inspected, from a dealer.

I’ve decided that, when the time comes to get the maxi-scooter, I will be buying the Kymco Xciting 500 that I mentioned last week from MotoStrada. It’s not so much for the machine, but for the dealer: Mark at MotoStrada has been the only one who was willing or able to give me an exact out-the-door price on a vehicle, including all shipping, prep, tax and registration costs. In fact, he’s got it marked right on the scooter! While the Kymco is not quite as well appointed or quite as powerful as the big Suzuki, it’s still a very nice machine, and gets great reviews in all the related magazines, forums and web sites. About the only gripe people seem to have with it [in the U.S.] is the speedometer.