Personal

Marauder out, Volusia in

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I’ve been pretty much settled for buying a Suzuki Marauder 800 when I get my motorcycle driver’s license (final exam – again – in 11 days).

However, after reading a bunch of reviews, particularly one at Motorcycle Cruiser, I’ve decided to  change my goals to a Suzuki Volusia 800 instead, with the Honda A.C.E Shadow 750 as a secondary choice.

The Volusia does not only have a much better comfort, both for driver and passenger, it also handles better, is stronger and has less vibrations. The fact that it has a shaft drive instead of a chain also means that I’ll save about 1500SEK a year in maintenance cost. It is however more expensive to buy, but in the long run you will gain on it.

I am now up to about twice the price of a bike since what I planned this spring, and I’m not sure if I can afford a Volusia at the moment. A third option is to buy a smaller Kawasaki EN 500 for about 20’000 SEK less this season, and aim for a Volusia or similar next year instead. That would also give me time to get more comfortable with the Stockholm traffic, and damaging the bike wouldn’t cost as much.

Anyway, first I have to pass the exam. :p

Suzuki Volusia 800

Personal

Nervous

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Tomorrow I have the final exam for my motorcycle driver’s license. Would gladly have done it much earlier, but the schedule both for my driving school and the transport agency has been full, so few slots for both practice and examination.

I think (and hope) that I’ll pass, I’m fairly confident in handling the bike, but I’m really afraid I will miss something simple and fail due to that. Like missing a speed limit sign or forgetting to check the blind spot when changing lanes.

Today I went shopping for almost 9k SEK – Motorcycle gear is expensive!

At first I was going to get Condura/Gore Tex or some other water resistant fabric, but none of the clothes fit well due to my build. Or actually, one jacket fit really well, but it wasn’t water resistant and I couldn’t find any matching pants. So I decided to step up in price a bit and go for leather. Even though it’s not very water resistant and can be really warm in the summer, it’s both safe and very good looking. Plus, it matches the kind of bike I’m going to ride much better!

When I got home I called on the bike I’ve been setting my mind on, a Suzuki VZ800 Marauder from 1998. It was still available, and if I pass the license exam I will go and hopefully pick it up tomorrow.

So two outcomes are possible:

1. I fail the exam and have to wait another month or so for a new try.

2. I come home in the afternoon, riding my new bike in my brand new clothes.

I’ll let you know.

Personal

Good day, Bad morning

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Yesterday I had a very good day, for a number of reasons:

  • A big project I’ve been working on for the last month or so took a huge step forward, and this will mean a lot for the company if everything goes according to plan.
  • We had a very nice (free) lunch with wine on the company, plus a cake for dessert.
  • My vacation application for this summer was finally approved, this will be my longest vacation ever. And hopefully I will have taken the MC driver’s license and bought a bike by then.
  • After several years of hinting, asking and convincing I finally got to  order the latest version of the Adobe Web Suite (CS5), to replace the ancient Photoshop v5.5 (from 1999) that I’ve been using up until now at work. I’ve been using Photoshop CS4 at home, and am constantly reminded of a lot of missing features when I use v5.5 at work.
  • I managed to write a nice little script that automates a common procedure at work. It only saves a few minutes, but it will give a consistent result and after a year or so those minutes will have added up to much more than just a few minutes. Those are my favorite scripts.
  • I went out with some friends after work and had an excellent dinner, good drinks and a very nice time, followed by a cab ride home.

Today, not so good.

I woke up with an intense cramp in my right calf, and it felt like the muscles/tendons would snap. At first I could hardly breathe, and then I started hyperventilating instead – which also made me nauseous. After two minutes or so the cramp started to go away, but as soon as I touched the leg it came back. It’s been about three hours now, and I still cannot support myself on the leg without getting the cramps back. The calf feels tense all the time, and massaging the leg doesn’t help.

It’s a pretty bad experience waking up almost screaming of pain, and at the same time desperately needing to go to the bathroom. :p

Update: It’s now been 16 hours, and I can still not walk without limping, and get that tense pre-cramp feeling as soon as I put some weight on the leg or stretch it out to much. 🙁

Gadgets, Photography

Wishful thinking: Canon EOS 550D

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Me and M has applied for testing my current dream camera, Canon EOS 550D. We have been talking for quite some time now to buy a new one, preferably one with more manual settings and better at taking pictures in low-light situations without using flash, and the EOS series has always been my favorite. This camera has an incredible 12’800 ISO, and it would be very interesting to see how dark you can go without having too much noise. Hopefully this would mean more night photography! Back in school when I studied photography, we used the Canon EOS 500 (analog), and it would be fun to see how much of the functionality that has remained or improved since then.

Other highlights from the spec that I find myself smiling for when I read:

  • Sensor: CMOS, 18 Megapixel (APS-C)
  • File format: JPG, RAW
  • Movie:  1080p

Judging from how much you get from the camera the prize of around 7000 SEK is not that high, but unfortunately that is more that I can afford right now. Smartson does however have the possibility for four test teams to evaluate the camera for a month, and where you then get to keep it afterwards. The chances of being selected are quite slim, but here’s to hoping! Sign up here if you are also interested in applying. 🙂

Movies

Movie mini review: Defendor

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I just watched the movie Defendor, which is a drama comedy starring Woody Harrelson. He plays a slightly mentally challenged person who roams the streets at night dressed up as a superhero. The movie follows his struggle to reach what in his mind is his arch-enemy, Captain Industry, using quite unorthodox methods. It is a very funny film, but has it’s dark (and quite gripping) moments. Woody Harrelson does a wonderful job of portraying the protagonist, and not once do you see him as an actor playing a role, but as the character he plays. While some of the supporting actors does seem a little flat, Michael Kellys performance stands out and his character feels genuinely caring.

All in all, I would strongly recommend this film.

Personal

One step closer

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Today I took the practical safety education course, which is since this year a mandatory step before you can take the written or practical exam for the motorcycle driving license. This was held at Gillingebanan.

We started with some introduction in a classroom, talking about our previous experiences and what we hoped to learn today. Shortly thereafter, we changed into driving clothes provided by them. Since this is a new education, everything was brand spanking new, from clothes to the bikes. A nice change from the clothes at Slussens trafikskola, where most of the gear have seen better day (and it’s not uncommon that when you take on the jacket it is still moist and sweaty from the previous driver – even if you have the first pass of the day.

The bikes we drove were Honda CB600FA Hornet, a 600cc bike with over 100 horsepower, about 10 hp more than the Suzuki GSX 750 that I’m used to from driving school – but with less weight. Fun bike! It also has ABS brakes which was a new experience for me. Just a few days ago I locked the front wheel brake when going in 70 km/h (about 45mph). This was at the end of the brake path, but it was still quite scary to feel it slide without being able to fully control it. Today I hit the brakes hard when going in 110 km/h (70mph), and with full control. ABS can add a bit to the length of the brake path, but it is so much nicer to use, not having to worry about locking the brakes!

We also learned about different turning techniques, most of which I knew from before. But it was surprising how much you could turn just by pressing your feet down on the foot pegs while letting go of the handlebar completely with your hands. My favorite is however still using counter-steering; pushing the handlebar forward on the right side if you want to turn to the right and vice versa. It’s also most effective if you want to turn quickly to avoid an obstacle.

Reaction time, line of sight and other things were also demonstrated and discussed, and the general feeling was very good. The teachers were very happy and enthusiastic, which is also contagious in a good way.
It was however very warm, and a lot of discussions were between driving sessions where we just turned off the bikes and opened the helmets (flip-up type). So in the heat from the sun in black, warm clothes you got soaking wet.

At the end of the day there were some more discussions in the classroom, and a few of us also got to drive a virtual motorcycle. It was a mock-up bike with a seat, a fully equipped handlebar and foot pegs with brake and gear pedals. This was in turn hooked up to a computer connected to a projector and speakers, and you got to drive around in a 3D environment with a lot of common dangers. I almost hit a door that was flung open right in front of me, but managed to brake in time. One of the other students crashed several times, and it was a good lessons of common hidden dangers.

All in all, it was a very good experience. I learned some new stuff, and I had fun.

Tomorrow I’m taking the written exam, and after that I have only the practical exam left.

Can’t hardly wait.