Yes, More Motorcycle Thoughts

I ran out yesterday to 1) get the bike's 1,000-mile maintenance done, and 2) have lunch with reader GregL. Great time all around, and two aspects worth recounting on the motorcycle end. In reverse order:

While waiting outside Sam's Club before that lunch, I got into a discussion with a young lady who's a mechanic, who probably weighs 100 pounds soaking wet, and who currently rides, IIRC, a 750cc Kawasaki.  We discussed good bikes and she highly recommended her previous bike, a model I've never heard a bad thing about from an owner/rider: The Honda Shadow. So I'm going to put that on my list of possible future bikes.

I talked with the guy at the scooter shop about improvements to the Italica Bulldog 150, and at the labor rates he charges I'm inclined to have him do the work instead of doing it myself. He knows what he's doing, and can do it more quickly and without needing a "real mechanic" standing over his shoulder, like I would. I suspect I'm looking at about a thousand bucks to get the bike right were I want it.

My first goal, as I explained to him, is less about top speed than about reducing engine strain. That is, I'd like to not be at 8,000 RPMs when going 55 miles per hour. He advised me that I'd be better off upgrading my continuous variable transmission first, rather than going the "performance air filter, performance exhaust, tune and possibly upgrade or replace the carb" route.

Guesstimate on a good variator upgrade, parts and labor, $250 (I just texted him for a real estimate).

Guesstimate on the air/exhaust replacement, just tuning the existing carb rather than up-jetting or replacing it: $400. I'm not looking for "high end" on the performance exhaust, just less restriction at both ends of the system so that I can burn more fuel in, and unlock more power from, the engine.

That's not bad.

I'm guessing another $200 for the second set of tires, which I will probably wait for until the factory tires are more worn -- but I'll be going a little wider, as the rims can handle that and I'll get better road grip and traction.

All in all, if I'm going to keep the bike for at least another two years, I don't think spending up to a thousand bucks on improving it is money poorly spent.

And as a "daily local and sub-100-mile rider," I think keeping it for a couple of years before going bigger would be the right move. While I would really, really, really like to ride a motorcycle to New Orleans or DC next year, I suppose I can wait and just travel by car/plane for such things.

Anyway, that's my thinking at the moment. I really enjoy riding this small bike. Putting a little money into it now, and waiting before putting quite a bit more money into something else, is probably the sensible middle path.