Ugh.  We just got the bike out of the shop today, and we’re already preparing to do more work to it tomorrow.  It went in last Thursday for a service, and it didn’t come out of the shop until today.  Technically it’s not even out of the shop yet.  The dealership called Hubby today 15 minutes before closing to let him know the bike is finally ready.  Of course he works out of state, and it takes him an hour to get to the dealership.

I’m not as pissed as I thought I would be that a simple servicing took a week.  When Kyle, the only mechanic I’ll let touch it, when to service it he had to order a seal to take care of an oil leak.  Even though the part was ordered last Friday, it didn’t come in until today (technically yesterday now since it’s 4am).

We won’t pay the rather high fees the service department charges to change our chain and sprocket, so we will be doing that this morning ourselves…after Hubby picks the bike up that is.  He’ll be at the dealership at 9am waiting for the doors to open.

As much as I hate the 600r’s outdated technology, it’s still our bike, and I miss riding it.

Why is it so hard to get me a bike right now?

I originally put a deposit down on a 2008 Ninja 250r at the local dealership. While they had my deposit in hand they sold my bike out from under me. The dealership tried to bullshit me and tell me they would have another black one in by the end of the month, and I didn’t need to worry. I know that dealership is full of shit, so I demanded my deposit back. If they didn’t come through on their end, I sure as hell wasn’t purchasing from them.

The finance manager spoke with Hubby and assured me he would have me another one ordered and delivered by May 16, and my deposit wouldn’t be required on this one because the screw up with the first one was on their end.

It’s bullshit.

I called two other dealerships today to do some snooping. Both dealerships told me they have 1 2008 Ninja 250r coming in, but they can’t order anymore. All orders are on hold, and dealerships can only receive them as they are shipped. They do have a green one coming in, but they have deposits down already on a blue one, red one, and a green one. If I put a deposit down on a black one I’ll be the first to receive it, but it could be the end of the summer before I get one. The good news is the GA dealership well sell it to me for $400 less because I don’t have to pay sales tax or shipping fees in that state.

The GA dealership does have one coming in this month, but it’s a green one. He’s going to call me back, so I might just settle for the green one since I’ll eventually have it painted anyway. UGH. I hate Kawasaki green though!

Ugh. I’d have better luck dropping my $1500 on all new kick ass faucets for my house, but I’m just not the type of person to do that. I want to drop my cash on toys!

Someone contacted me this morning, and she gave me permission to share this with you although I promised not to use any names.

Hi! My husband and I purchased a Honda Shadow last summer. I noticed after wearing my helmet a few times I developed pimples on my cheeks. They went away this winter but came back this month after wearing my helmet. Does your helmet do this to you?

Yes, this does happen to me, and any women who ride a lot have learned to either deal with it or take precautions to prevent having to spend a ton of cash on the next acne treatment.

It’s easier than you think to prevent your cheeks and chin from breaking out.

The number 1 rule is clean your helmet!

A lot of people really don’t even consider the amount of dirt and oil they can leave inside them.  Girls, remember anything that’s on your cheeks can rub off inside your helmet.  If you’re wearing makeup, it will cake up in your pads.  If you’re sweating whatever is on your skin will transfer to your cheek pads.

There are a ton of great helmet cleaners out there to choose from.  I personally use Motorex Helmet Care once a week, and I love it.  It can be used on the inside and outside of your helmet, and it deodorizes while it cleans.  I agree with webBikeWorld that I don’t really use it to clean the outside of my helmet because it doesn’t work that great, but as far as cleaning the inside goes, it’s great!  All you do is spray the inside of the helmet really well (cover everything with the foam), let the foam soak into the pads, then wipe it out with a dry cloth.  1 can will cost you about $8 at a dealership, but it lasts for about 6 months with weekly use on both of our helmets.

I also remove my pads and wash them every couple weeks.  I have a Shoei helmet, and not only are the pads easy to snap out, but they’re machine washable.  Shoei also gives you a free replacement pair of cheek pads once a year, so if you didn’t know that hit up your local dealership to ask for them!  I’m not sure about any of the other helmet makers as I’ve only owned Shoei helmets.

They do this because the more you wear your helmet, the more you wear down those pads.  That’s why once a helmet becomes “worn in” it will loosen on your head.  I’ll never forget the day I got my first helmet.  I thought it was going to squeeze my face off, but of course after a couple weeks it loosened up.  If your helmet becomes loose enough to slide around on your head, it’s definitely time to replace those pads!

You need to be careful though.  If you have a helmet that makes it harder to remove the pads (Arai helmets are damn near impossible to remove without breaking something), you might not want to do that.

No matter what product you use or how you choose to clean your helmet just remember that dirt and oil do build up inside it.  A cleaner helmet won’t prevent acne, but it will help prevent those seasonal breakouts that are associated with sweating in that helmet for hours at a time!

This was a great weekend for riding where weather was concerned, but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to enjoy the riding very long. There have been road checks all over the place this weekend. We went through 4 on Friday night, 2 yesterday, and another 2 today. Going through in the Blazer wasn’t bad, but both times we went through on the bike we were pulled over, and they made us take our helmets off after we showed our licenses/permits.  Once they searched under the seat on the 600r, since it’s the only bike that actually had storage space big enough to fit more than a credit card or pack of cigs.

We all eventually headed back to the house where Hubby setup shop with the boys for a video game marathon party. They’ve been driving me crazy since last night shooting people in 3 different rooms of my house. I’m seriously thinking if they do this again I’m going to need to sign up for one of those wine clubs. Drinking might be the only way to cope with them.