I Found It

Ok, maybe I should say "we found it." My bike-to-be that is.

I went out this Saturday with my good friend Ollie, the one who's taking (and proceeding well through) motorcycle courses down on the south-side of Okinawa. We had been talking about this day for a while and it only took a few phone calls and such to agree on the day.

We met up at our first shop around 11:00. Also in company was an ALT named Chris, who has ridden bikes for around 10 years. Not only that, but his hobby is auto mechanics, as in, he'll do work on someone's car simply for the experience...no cost. Having him along was invaluable.

So our first stop, a place in Naha, was very helpful and very uninteresting. Three of the four bikes from that shop I was interested in had been sold (so much for "updated" internet listings). The fourth bike wasn't even street worthy and wouldn't be until I bought it. So much for test rides. Given that the bike was in pretty poor condition according to Chris (this was the helpful part - he pointed out all the problems), we moved on.

Second shop of the day, a place called Goya Motors. Ollie said it had to be good, because the location I had on my phone matched up with an "x" on his atlas. Much like finding treasure, right? It turns out to be true.

The bike I had on my list, a Yamaha SRX 400, was sitting pretty when we got there. We gave it a brief look, talked to one of the employees (whose first question was, "Marines?"), and the owner of the shop came over and fired it up. It's got an aftermarket exhaust and it sounds burly. Chris looked it over and said, "It's good." So I gave it a test ride.

The front shocks are soft (and are in the midst of being reworked). Everything else was solid. Minor adjustments, to things like the clutch lever, headlight, rear-brake lever, and mirrors, are being taken care of. Should the work they're doing on the front fork suspension not completely solve the problem, the shop offered to obtain new forks and install them for around 4man, $400 US, which would still put the total cost within budget.

So I'm going to pick it up next Saturday with the help of Cliff. And after getting it back to Higashi and riding it arond a bit, I'll have a very nimble and light bike on my hands. One I hope to enjoy, won't mourn over if I happen to lean it at a stoplight, and plan to ride every chance I get.

*cough*

Second day off from school, as predicted. The coughing is starting to really kick in and the lozenges aren't doing anything. Think about it. The coughing comes from the bronchial tube, not the esophagus. How is eating a piece of candy going to help me stop coughing? Whatever. I'm taking it easy again, hoping to get some study in, too.

Ugh...

I am sick. I've had runny/stuffy nose the past few days and today the coughing started. I'm doing my best to fight it, mainly by sticking up for my belief that "working through it" is bullshit (there are some parts of Japanese work ethic that don't mesh with my perspective, especially as a non-vital employee). Took today off and got some much needed sleeping down-time. Most likely going to take tomorrow off, too. There's a small chance I could stand through a JHS class or two, though I'd hardly be effective and definitely wouldn't want to be there. There is zero chance I'd be able to make it through an elementary class: I'd either come off worse for the effort, or the class would be boring as I'd be substituting energy with something very much down tempo. Besides, last time I was sick at school, over ten people contracted the cold I had. What happened? They all took sick days.

List of things to do relating to the bike

1. purchase helmet
2. purchase jacket
3. purchase pants
4. purchase boots
5. purchase (better) gloves
6. purchase other protective gear as necessary
7. transfer old license to new license (awesome 25-minute window twice a week)
8. narrow list of bikes under 25man to 5-7 (so many to choose from)
9. visit shops and inspect each bike (bring snacks) - Saturday, 10/18
10. pay for bike (inc. insurance, registration, etc.) - Sunday, 10/19
11. enjoy

Woo...

Today, I passed my 400cc bike test on the first try.

Though I was a little nervous heading down to Nago this morning, by the time it was my turn to get on the bike, I had breathed the tension out and was ready to rock.

I was the fourth out of five test-takers. The course went very well, with me losing some points by forgetting to check over my shoulder at two points on the course. Here are some details of what I remember during the test.

Slalom: TIME Goal, under 8.0 sec; MY Time, 6.7 sec
Balance Beam: TIME Goal, over 7.0 sec; MY Time, 7.3 sec
Emergency Stop: 40km/h to stop in 11 meters; MY Speed 45km/h to stop in 11 meters

In practice, I was getting around 10.0 seconds on the balance beam. But as my last instructor reminded me, it's better to ride the beam too fast than to fall off. Since falling off is failing, and going to fast is only a loss of 5 points per second (and passing is 70 / 100), I went fast today.

It just went really well.

I'm heading back around 4:00 to get my new license. And this weekend, I'm thinking of taking my first look at the bikes Okinawa shops have to offer.

UPDATE: Well, poo. I took at nap yesterday afternoon and didn't wake up until 4:00. So even though I got to the driving school to pick up my graduation certificate, I missed the 25 minute window (4:00 - 4:25) on one of the two days per week (Monday and Thursday) that the police do license transfers. *sigh* So while I'm done with classes, there's still a little more wait until it's 100% official.