Now B3 is Perfect (for me)

When I purchased B3 last year, I knew she needed some attention before she could become a long-term ride. Like houses, motorcycles sometimes need a little renovation before they become what you really want to live in. 

B3 is so named because she is my third motorcycle. When I decided to start riding one of my own, I named my Suzuki Boulevard 650 Bernice after my maternal grandmother who never seemed to have any fun in her life.  Her path was determined by her faith and her fate.  Bernice was followed by B2, a Honda Shadow 750 that fit me perfectly but didn’t quite have enough throttle response for my liking. B3 is a Yamaha V-Star 1100 and she has all of the power I want and she’s a beautiful, black bike with some grey paint detailing. She’s a big one, too, stable and steady.

When I took possession of B3 she sounded absolutely horrible. There is no question that if I rode past you, you’d ask yourself, “What kind of a–hole wants a bike that loud?” Fortunately, there are after-market baffles that sit inside the loud pipes and bring the sound down to an acceptable dull roar. After following manufacturer’s installation directions last year, one of the baffles flew out not 1 km into their first ride, never to be seen again. This year I bought a second pair and manufacturer’s directions weren’t followed! They will literally have to be cut out to come out, so I have no worries about them riding with me, wherever I go.

The other issue was the windshield.  It looked like a bear clawed it for a couple of inches all around the edges. The grooves were deep and couldn’t be removed without damaging the plexiglass, believe me – I tried every product and method known to bikers. My choices were: live with it or replace the deep grooves with opaque splotches that you can’t see through. I didn’t like the windshield anyway. It was too tall for my taste and every time I looked at it all I could think was, “motorcycle cop”.  And the scratches bugged me.  So I found a smaller one that went from clear on top to black on the bottom where you never look. It’s called “gradient black”. It’s sort of shaped like Darth Vader’s helmet. Its mounting kit finally came into the shop and although it was tricky and took Derek 2 hours to install it, it’s so much better than the cop shield I had. It still sends the wind over my head but it doesn’t look like I’m riding in a motorcade, protecting the Prime Minister.

B3 and I are going to ride up north later this summer. All I need now is cargo netting to hold any purchases on the passenger seat. Not that I’m planning to buy anything but one needs to prepare for any eventuality, especially when riding without a fixed schedule, in beautiful cottage country.