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My Motorcycle for Sale – Suzuki Bandit – SOLD

THIS POST IS NO LONGER VALID – BUT I’M KEEPING IT…BECAUSE

Well I have had Yvette, my motorcycle, for just about 3 years and it’s time to let her roam free to the next owner. In that time I haven’t received any major injuries and I’ve learned quite a bit about engines and myself. I can now mark this off my list of accomplishments/things I did in my life. I’m glad I did it. I absolutely loved it. I still truly love it.

You may wonder why I named my moto Yvette. Well, the movie Clue is one of my favorites and Colleen Camp’s character, Yvette,  is quite….awesome. Yeah, lets just say awesome again…Awesome!

I’m selling the bike for the sole reason that I’m just done with motorcycles all together. I wanted to end on a high note and just completed a 4 day 1,000 mile ride to the Great Smoky Mountains. It was incredible but I have taken as much of a chance as I want to take with it. Nothing is owed on the bike, it’s not a financial burden, it runs like a champ, and requires very little maintenance.

History/Description of the Bike:
The motorcycle is a 1996 Suzuki Bandit GSF600. It’s a very deep, dark green color that almost looks black. I purchased the bike on December 23, 2007 from a Student at the University of Southern Florida. He purchased it from a dealership in Tampa where the original owner traded it in.

When I purchased the bike it had it’s original tires, and just over 4,000 (original) miles on it. The previous owner only rode it around campus to class. He was an exchange student and didn’t want a scooter. I personally have done all the oil changes and maintenance myself except the most recent oil change. The bike currently has around 8,500 miles on it. When I first purchased the bike I took the carbs out and cleaned each one. I put on a pair of Metzeler Sportec tires and they now have close to 3, 000 miles on them. I also changed the spark plugs, and at that time checked each cylinders pressure with a pressure test gauge. Everything is nice and sealed.

Since I have owned the bike, 2007, it has been garage kept.

Cosmetic Changes
I took the front fairing off the bike and replaced it with a 7″ round chrome headlight.  I have also installed a fender eliminator on the rear end, as well as low-profile LED blinkers on the front and rear. This updated the look of the bike and (improved?) the ride.

Recent Work:
On October 16 of this year I took the bike to Beach Blvd. Motorsports. They made sure everything was in tip top shape, changed the oil, and did a full safety inspection.

Recent Trip:
On October 21-24 I drove the bike over 1,000 miles from Jacksonville, FL to Gatlinburg, TN with varying speeds of 20-96 mph through cold, mountains, heat and I didn’t have a single mechanical problem. I took the bike on the Tail of the Dragon and had a blast doing it. It’s not a sport racing bike, but it handles much better than a cruiser. It was the most fun I’ve ever had.

Cosmetic Issues:
There are some small scratches on the ends of the mirrors, bar ends, and the left rear passenger handle. All pieces are very functional, but the bike has fallen over 2 or 3 times while I have owned it. The bike is typically parked on its center stand. In my previous apartment my neighbor, who I shared a garage with, nudged the rear tire with his car. The bike fell off of the stand, and the neighbor just left it claiming he just saw it like that. I was at work at the time, and gasoline leaked from the gas cap down the side of the tank.  The gasoline sat on the clear coat for almost 6 hours causing a 3″ x 1″ weird spot (in the clear coat) on the right side of the tank. The color is still perfect, but the clear coat on the tank could be touched up. This happened 1.5 years ago and I have not had any mechanical issues from this, only the clear coat flaw.

For Sale Details:
I’m offering just the bike, but also offering a “Starter Kit” for anybody purchasing their first bike, in need of all the extras…this “Starter Kit” will include every single thing I have for the motorcycle.

Just bike:
1996 Suzuki Bandit GSF600 Unfaired with 8,500 miles. $1,800.

Everything (Starter Kit): $2,000

  • 1996 Suzuki Bandit GSF600 Unfaired with 8,500 miles
  • Large Armored Icon Pursuit Jacket with no flaws and rain liner. (Retail: $200)
  • 2 large Airoh Helmets straight from Germany (Retail $300 each with shipping: flat black Mathisse RS and shiny black TR1)
  • Armored Icon Pursuit Summer Gloves (Retail: $50)
  • Armored Speed and Strength Hell N Back Winter Gauntlets (used these in the mountains in 40 degree weather, super warm!) (Retail: $70)
  • Balaclava (Face/Neck Cover for Winter)
  • lubricants, oil filter, cylinder pressure test gauge ($50)
  • GSF600 Mechanics E-Manual
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Recent Cartoons

So recently I’ve made a few cartoons. I’ve shared them with some people, but I wanted to post them:

(apologies to the vulgar ones, but I think when inanimate objects curse it’s quite funny)

It’s an Oyster saying Schucks!
A classic electric fan hazing the New Dyson Fan
Frylock from Aqua Team Hunger Force stating a fact.
Go French or Go Home
Ariba vs. BidQuote Non-Vulgar

 

Ones I wouldn’t love for my mom to see, but did it anyway: 

 

Ariba Vs. Bidquote Vulgar
An angry chair
Thanks for checking out.
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Personal Stories

My memory is not the greatest in the world, but I love telling stories…if I can remember them.

Over the next few weeks I’m going to unload all of my favorite stories into this blog with pictures…so I’m actually excited about this.

This will be really handy when I’m an old man telling some stories I’ll remember now to keep retelling the same story.

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This Just In: This Blog Has Been Updated

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated, but here we are.

September:

This was a great month for work. Adecco (Modis) has made me permanent at the company. Now I get benefits and healthcare….wooo! It has been a few years on the healthcare, but my mom is hyped about it.

I have cut my hours at Dos Gatos to only working ArtWalk. I love this job, but the late hours were killing me. J and Joy really have been some of the most understanding/awesome bosses I’ve ever worked with and J taught me quite a bit about the inner workings of a bar and I bet I barely scratched the surface. J if you happen to read this, thank you for giving me the chance to work for you and Joy. I truly appreciate it.

On another note, women think chivalry is dead, but I think a general respect for your fellow man/woman is just in the gutter now-a-days. Especially in respects to the bro code….read it….live by it. No one ever went wrong by giving somebody respect. It’s kind of like not drinking (J don’t read this): No one has ever said man I was so sober last night that me and my buddy got into a fight, spent a night in jail, and I have the worst headache!

October:


This week I might be going to Vampire Weekend with Beach House opening for them, but I will def. be seeing the Flaming Lips on Friday at the St. Augustine Amphitheater though with my very amazing woman. Please see picture above for an amazing shot of what’s to come.

From the evening of 20th until late the 24th will be my Smoky Trip Do Over. It’s going to be cold, but I can’t wait. I’m scared, nervous and excited all at once. I bought the “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” , the 1974 philosophical novel, to keep me company. If you don’t know anything about the book it’s not what it seems.

The next week for Halloween I will be visiting my little sister up in Brooklyn. I’m very excited to see my sister operating on her own and for her and I to get some time together. It’s been way too long. She has a speakeasy she wants to take me too…..way to go sis!

Upcoming November:
Movember starts Nov. 1 with the Shaving Party at Dos Gatos. Get your baby face on and let your upper lip know it won’t be cold for too long….there’s a stache on its way. This is the same event I did last year as well to help raise money for prostate and testicular cancer. Join me!

Later that month I will be running Thanksgiving Outback Classic Half Marathon and will be volunteering with Sam at a soup kitchen (not sure which one) later that day…..

It should all be a great time. I have to say this has easily been a great year and appreciate all my friends for helping make it happen.

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Oh Savannah

It’s been a long time since I’ve taken a real vacation and explored a new city. Besides my short 1.5 days to the Smokys this past April it has almost been a year since my trip to the wonderful Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH.

This years trip was a little bit closer to home and little bit more chill, but still a whole lot of fun. In my 27 years of living in North Florida I’ve never made my way to Savannah, GA. I’m not really sure why it took me so long to visit. I love St. Augustine and the travelling distance to Orlando isn’t that far and Savannah is a pleasant combination of both. Now that this door has been flung open little trip are now probably going to happen quite often.

I enlisted the help of the beautiful Samantha (Sam) to help show me around and explore this little city. She has been here a couple times…so I used that as an excuse to rope her into joining me and showing me around:)

Day 1 – Friday:

  • Traveled to Savannah and checked into the Residence Inn in Downtown. It was nice, friendly, clean and well priced. The room had a full kitchen, lots of space and a rocking chair on the balcony….woo! Rocking Chair! Cabs were super cheap to get to River St. (in the range of $4 and easy to get).
  • Due to my extreme craving for Krystals, we split a Sack Full! I would like to think we split these evenly, but I dominated that bag and pretty much ate all fo them (i know…I know) , we were both weren’t that hungry for dinner till much later. We went out at about 11 and hit up the very nice Bohemian Hotel on the riverfront and went to their rooftop bar called Rocks on the River. Great Decor, decent service, but we were looking for something a little bit more quaint…and near food. The bartender we hit Sweet Melissa’s
  • Sweet Melissa’s =mmmmmmm’s: The bartender at the Bohemian said this was hangover food and not that good without a lot of drinks…HA…whatevs man. I would totes go this place daily. I couldn’t think of why it was so good, but Sam nailed it, “when your cheese is thicker than the main crust, but the end crust is still substantial that makes for a tornado of feelings….”
  • We then made our way across the street at a place called Circa 1875. Loved the layout, design and decor of this little gem. They have certain parts of the bar (the actual bar top) sectioned off with little walls making nooks and space for varying party sizes. It makes talking with somebody quietly while still ordering drinks extremely easily. My only problem with this place was the lack of knowledge of traditional drinks. I guess working at Dos Gatos here in Jax has really spoiled me for amazing drinks. I asked for a Sidecar which is pretty traditional and up there with the Manhattan and they didn’t really know how to make it. A bartender by the name of Catfish came through and even though didn’t make the drink they got close enough.
  • We left Circa 1875 and walked back across the street to the other side of Sweet Melissa’s to hook me up with a burger and fries. The best part was I could cruise the streets with a drink…and then get it “refreshed” at the next place….except that last refresher put me over the top. After the burger, fries and finished drink…i was asleep :0

Day 2 – Saturday:

  • We checked out of the Residence Inn and made our way to the second hotel “The Mansion on Forsyth Park”. It’s quite the little eclectic experience and has art everywhere and neat modern designs inside this traditional building making for a cool experience. Check out some pics! There are some great restaurants in the area of this hotel and the hotel offers a free Chauffer service. They will pick you up and drop you off pretty much where ever you want within historic Savannah. It was great. It also across the street from a very nice park where you can watch people play Ulitmate Frisbee all day.
  • We walked down to a cool Urban Gourmet Grocery Store called Parkers Market. We need one of these in Downtown Jacksonville….hardcore! It’s a gas station (3 one sided pumps), convenience store, and fantastic deli. It sounds weird, but it’s the coolest store that I’ve ever been in. We had an assortment of wonderful salads, a curry chicken salad wrap, homemade cookies, a 320z Stella Artois (Yeah…That’s right!…a 32!), and a Pomegranate Leachy Fruit Iced Tea thing. All of it delicious. We then continued to walk and just explore the city. It was warm out, but it was fun.
  • After asking around a bit we took the recommendation from our bell hop at the The Mansion and went to an awesome New York Style Italian restaurant called Leoci’s. They hand make their pasta to order! It was very nice (a little tiny/cramped), but the food was fantastic. You have to go….bring an appetite!

Day 3 – Sunday:

  • It was a little bit of a late start, but we checked out of The Mansion and went hunting for brunch. We ended up at J. Christophers (recommendation of the front desk guy at the hotel). So glad we did. I had the billy goat omelet…it had everything and goat cheese….what’s not to love. Sam had one their skillets with a sunny side up egg on top….which kicked booty as well. We then split the Blueberry Crunchy Pancakes (blueberries + granola + Pancakes = a little place not of this Earth)
  • We made our way to Tybee Island to enjoy the beach for a bit and hit this little random shop called Fish Art to try and find some cool antiques (We both LOVE antiques 😉 ), but no go. We also had a little mexican at this place called MexiCali. It was ok…we didn’t die.
  • We then made our way back to the J-ville with little traffic, a little rain, but big smiles.

It was a great weekend and can’t wait to revisit. Hopefully it will be less than a year before I get to do a trip like this again…and little miss Sam is around to join me.

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Smokies Do Over

That’s right, its going to happen again and this time I’m doing it my way.

  • Motorcycle – Check
  • Windshield – soon to be checked
  • Camping Gear – Check
  • Rain Gear – Check
  • Straps to keep all attached to motorcycle – Check

I’m going to the smokies again, but can’t decide on when to do it. I’m thinking late September or early October. I still have 90% of my supplies from the last trip so that makes things easy.

My last trip was pretty ambitious.  It covered 4,500 feet of elevation over a 30 mile period and is a major reason for the previous trip not being completed. This time will be better and I also get to ride the “Tail of the Dragon” on the bike instead of in a car. Woo!

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A Wrong View

I have a friend who’s sole purpose to keep everybody on the same level as him…high or low.

This is not a joke. When he is having a crappy time and your day is going well and he is supposed to be helping you do something he becomes an anchor instead of sail.

He prides himself on this fact.

The funny part is he hasn’t figured out that your day can personally change by helping others grow or move easier. I don’t know why, but watching others suceed because I helped makes me feel better 98% of the time…sometimes more than accomplishing my own goals.

So, I say thanks man!…..I now know what I don’t want to be…

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Hard Work

I want to work hard….really hard and kick the ever living shit out of something.

Not physically beat something up, but I’m searching for a goal.

I want to feel accomplished, but in something I’m totally uncomfortable in. This means something involving my brain.

Goals that I keep getting distracted from:

  • Learn Spanish – I have Rosetta Stone, but I get bored and distracted
  • Relearn Guitar – I took lessons as a kid and I remember some, but  I busted a string and I just haven’t been to a guitar store yet.
  • Learn the violin – I was given a violin for my birthday this year because I always wanted to play. I’m actually pretty intimidated by it.
  • Masters – I would like to get my Masters. The only thing that’s hold me back from doing this is my lack of interest of what I’m doing. I have a degree in Marketing, but I can’t say that I get HYPED about what I do, but who does.
  • Read a book – I’ve only read a few ever. I was in the habit, but I have fallen out of it and I’ve been stuck on the same book now for almost 3 months. I’m currently on page 30. (update: I changed books and now I’ve almost read half of it in 2 days. What sucks is I really wanted to like the other book.)
  • Go back to school – My friend Karen talked me into looking into going back to school to learn something I enjoy. I looked into this for a few months…I requested information from schools, but nothing ever came and then I was distracted….and here we are

I’m so bored, but I’ve never been so busy in my life. I’m making the most money I’ve ever made. I have more toys than anybody could ask for. I have a group of new friends that all live in the same building as me and we go and party…but there is a big hole

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Returning

I return texts, emails, and phone calls immediately. I don’t know why, but it’s what I do. I feel a little OCD about it. I try to ignore it, but the more I try the more my fingers itch to write back. This is the reason I leave my phone at home sometimes and love not having the internet (which is no longer the case).

What sucks is not everyone feels the same as me about returning messages….so I’m left starring at my email and phone like a dog waiting for somebody to come home.

Side Note: Saw Despicable Me last night….Hilarious!