Well, in this day and time, Christmas is the season of wish lists, right. So it only makes sense to share my wish list; anything my little hawk could want.......

1. VFR rear wheel conversion w/5-spoke wheel
2. Honda CBR600RR front end
3. Modified Buell XB12R seat and subframe
4. J.D. Horde 663 cc engine kit w/megacycle 153x1 cam and Falicon super crank mod
5. Custom underseat exhaust, stage 3 jet kit, unipod filters
6. 15/46 tooth gearing
7. Stainless steel brakelines
8. Penske rear shock
9. Ohlins internals for the forks
10. CRG bar-end mirrors
11. modified headlight (a dual PIAA headlight setup, maybe offset somehow)
12. CBR600F2 gas tank conversion
13. Frame, tripletrees, clip-ons, wheels, engine cases, and any other possible thing powdercoated black.
14. Fork tubes/sliders anodized black
15. Pazzo clutch and brake levers
16. Gunmetal paint

That will make a bad ass hawk. Definitely. Merry Christas everyone. Have a great holiday!!

The word of the day is......withdrawal. Yes, I haven't ridden for a few weeks now and the idea of a track day in Florida sounds like an absolutely fantastic idea. Of course, my bike isn't up to that and neither am I, but........OH WELL! Guess I'd have to catch on quick and I would love to be put to the test.

It is with these thoughts that I give you this. It is my "vacations to-do" list for 2006. Of course most of these can't happen. That being, we will just assume that I hit the jackpot in the MegaMillions lottery. Taking home more than 16 million dollars can buy you a couple vacations, and plenty of track tires.

January
We have to start the year off good. Something to keep us up and keep the feeling fresh. A quick weekend trip to anywhere you can fly to and rent a bike for a track day.

February
Jason Pridmore's Star Motorcycle school at Spring Mountain Motorsports Park, in Pahrump, NV. and of course it isn't that far from Vegas.

www.starmotorcycle.com

March
How about a trip to Tennessee. See some family and then conquer the Dragon. That's right everyone. Deal's Gap!

www.tailofthedragon.com

April
Weather is finally breaking. We will focus on street riding and commuting this month. Freshen up on the day to day skills.

www.msf-usa.org

May
This month we will explore the at least one of the Great Lakes. We could explore Lake Huron in its entirety. Also, we will throw in a track weekend at Grattan or Gingerman, a couple local tracks I can't wait to check out.

www.wmr-scca.org/jz10grattan.htm
www.gingermanraceway.com

June - August
More track days with a trip to Copper Harbor kicker. More specifically a trip around the entire Lake Superior, with a stop in Copper Harbor. That would be incredible.

September
We will finish the Michigan riding season with another trip south to Deal's Gap. Of course, at least one more weekend at the track, too.

November
We can take November off to take care of things I'm sure the bike would need. Gotta keep the girl happy, ya know. Beside's, November really gets busy.

December
I will have to get away for at least one weekend this month to keep from going too crazy. So in the early part of the month, how about a week vacation in anywhere warm. I'd like to ride in many places so every December we can go somewhere different. Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and especially Hawaii are all very good options.

This is a good list to get started. There would be modifications each year to fulfill some dreams. Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca, Sears Point and Watkins Glen would be sweet. And internationally, Isle of Man is a must. MotoGP races and AMA races including Daytona and Mid-Ohio to see the AMA guys and some of the international tracks for the MotoGP races.

I can only imagine that this list will continue to grow the longer I love riding. But since I haven't matched more than two numbers in said lottery, I guess I'll have to chip away at that list a little at a time. Here's to a ray of sunshine.

Even in my limited experience, there have been many things that have been opened to me since beginning to ride. Of those, the camaraderie I have witnessed and experienced has been pretty amazing. There aren't many things in life that will bring two strangers together like a motorcycle.

If you are out on the road driving in any automobile, you meet fellow drivers all day long. With you Jeepsters bing the exception, you pass without a second thought. It is different on a motorcycle.

When one rider happens across a fellow motorcyclist, 9 times out of 10, they will have an interaction with each other. Whether it is the simple wave of acknowledgement or stopping together for a bite to eat after pacing each other down your favorite twisty back roads, there is a kinship. Two complete strangers will spend an entire day together without a thought of political opinions, social views or personal agendas. Friendships are formed because of one simple fact; you both love to ride.

Of course there is always a guy or group of guys that won't mesh well with others. Some of the Harley guys don't like the sportbike riders. Some of the sportbike riders don't like the "stunters". I guess life can't be perfect, but that is the minority. I have ridden to work and ended up cruising along side a Harley-Davidson for 5 miles, stopping at each red light for a little conversation. A week later I ended up riding along side a guy on a Yamaha YZF600R, watching him do a couple of wheelies and, again, making small talk at the stoplights.

I know that on just about any nice riding day, I can spend a few minutes online and set up a ride with somebody. We won't know anything about each other, other than what bike we ride. With a quick hello and a handshake, we'll be off for a great day in the sun. We will explore roads, both familiar and unfamiliar. We will see small towns and big cities. We will experience that small town diner where the atmosphere and food will catch you off guard; making a return visit a must. In the end, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and screen names are exchanged. The chain continues, adding another link, continuing a tradition that pre-dates even world wars.

Yes, my world has expanded exponentially since I started riding. I can only say that it was a most unexpected surprise.

Well, I'm bored and was messing around and figured out a good way to get multiple pics posted so I thought I'd share. Thanks www.photobucket.com for making this so freakin easy. :-) This is my 1998 Hawk GT from day one to pretty much now with some before and after pics of the minor mods I have done up to this point.

--Ride safe, but have fun doin' it!

The weather is really changing now. It is pretty much staying below 40 degrees everyday now. The snow is falling, if only moderately and mixed with rain.

I don't have a problem riding in cold weather. I did get a nice pair of gloves for my big 30th birthday that work quite well. I put layers on underneath my clothes. And I'm not kidding when I say layers. I put regular underwear, long johns and sweat pants all underneath my jeans. Covering my torso consists of a couple of t-shirts, long sleeved shirt and of course my leather jacket. Over all that is a San Francisco 49ers parka that is about two sizes too big for me. That thing really breaks the wind too. My face gets cold under my helmet, but it is tolerable.

With all that said, it is pretty much time to stop riding for the year. Yeah, my last ride will be taking it to the garage to park it for winter hibernation. Yeah, I don't want to run it on dangerous roads or salty roads. I have some maintenance plans for her too.

If things go well this winter, these are the projects planned.

- Improved rear suspension in the form of a shock from a 1995 Honda CBR900RR. It will add more adjustability and really improve the handling. No it isn't the preferred aftermarket replacement - the Penske unit - but it isn't $750.00 either.

- I have clip-ons (handle bars) from a Honda CBR600F2 and new grips. These clip-ons mount lower then stock giving a more aggressive riding position for the twisty roads and if I'm lucky enough, the track. I am having them and the clutch/brake levers powdercoated. This should look real nice. It will look especially sweet of I can manage to swing a set of CRG bar end mirrors. But those are expensive, as in $75.00 each, so I better be saving some pop bottles, eh.

- Since I am lowering the bars and levers, I have to shorten all my cables. That means this will be a great oppurtunity to put on stainless steel brake lines. That way when I get better brakes put on, they will be their most effective. Yeah, you guessed it. They look pretty sweet too.

- If I can come up with another couple of hundred dollars (please profit sharing, help me out here), I need to rebuild my forks, also. If I do, then it will call for seals of course, but also some stiffer springs from racetech, heavier oil and some racetech gold valve emulators. Not sure exactly how those emulators work, but they will allow me to set pre-load so the bike doesn't sag as bad when I sit my heavy ass on it.

This should make for some good winter time fun. Heck, if you can't ride your bike, you might as well be working on it. Of course, getting dad and my schedules working together could be difficult, so I might be doing some of this myself. Yikes, I'm supposed to trust this bike to ride on the street. I will do my best to get some pictures of the work before, during and after. If I slip, you will at least get some before and after. Now it is just time to make sure we still have a good kerosene space heater available to use. Otherwise, I ain't even getting started.

--Ride safe, but have fun doin' it!