The first day of spring is finally here!  It has been a long cold winter.  I have had the bike out only a couple of times.  But today I plan on riding.  But I wanted to post some of the additions to the bike since my last few posts.  I still have Mod fever!  I keep adding thing to the bike to make it more comfortable to ride and have fun.

Wind Guards

About the ride.  I took off down the parkway to exit 100.  I rode to Bradley Beach NJ.  For those of you not from the area, this place was hit hard but Hurricane Sandy.  The entire boardwalk is gone!  The good news is that the state and town are replacing it as we write this.  I am sure that it will be open for the summer.  The clean up from the storm is something that is an ongoing project.  On a personal note I still have clean up to do.  My fence is still torn up but with the very long and cold winter I have had to live with it.  Any how back to the ride....  After opening the bike up to 90+ on the parkway I settled into the side streets as a more moderate pace.  3 of my new purchases made this ride fun and WARM.  I recently added wind guards to the handle bar.  These little beauties cut the wind to the hands very nicely.  When I left the house it was 45 degrees so the wind would have made my hands quite cold if I did not have these installed.  I got them from here: http://www.nationalcycle.com/catalogue/CoolWeather.shtml

I also added some new clothing to keep me warm and dry this season.  Weeks ago I went to the motorcycle show in NYC.  I saw a new textile jacket that I liked from Scorpion.  The Commander II  jacket.  I really like this jacket.  It has 3 layers for comfort and warmth.  Lots of pockets and is a little longer than my other one.  I got it here... http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/scorpion-commander-ii-jacket  I also added some new "over pants"  Like the name implies these fit over my jeans.  The extra layer was really great on this cold day to ride.  I did not have long underwear on under the jeans and I was perfectly warm.  I also got them from these guys.  Great price too. http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/icon-overlord-textile-overpants

The ride was 2 hours long and man o man did I need it!

As for other items that I have added this winter.  I added a trunk a little while ago from viking bags.

Now that I have added a Reda can to the one saddlebag and rain gear the bags are getting full.  So for running around shopping (beer runs)  I needed a a little extra room.  this fits the bill nicely.  http://www.vikingbags.com/Motorcycle-leather-trunk-Bags-1285-prd1.htm

For longer trips that I have planned for this year I bought a new bag also from Viking.  This tail bag fits over the back seat or can fit on the luggage rack.  http://www.vikingbags.com/Viking-Expandable-Cruiser-Large-Tail-and-Tunnel-Bag-8161-prd1.htm  This is a very roomy bag for overnights and it has a detachable backpack for daytime excursions.  And like other stuff from them very well priced.

Needless to say I am looking forward to this season.  I hope to put on 10,000 plus miles on the bike and  see lots of new places.  I have been in contact with my meet up group about planned rides this summer and we have some exciting places planed.  Stay tuned!