First ride - no problems

[Drew Blanchard]

Finally dug Barry, my blue '96, out of the garage.  He's been buried back
there  since fall, made even more difficult to get at by all the moving
boxes we've been putting in the garage (house is for sale, lots of lookers,
planning to move a bit further north this summer).  Every year, I kind of
dread the process and hassle of getting the bike started - made much worse
by ethanol and time.  For the last 6 years, my wife's '84 Shadow fires up
with bulletproof reliability, and every year she waits patiently for me to
get the Kawi running (and STAY running) so we can go for our first ride.
 Not this year.  Pulled the tender off the battery, put the battery back in
the bike, hit "prime" for 4 seconds, pulled the choke and WHAM!  Fired
right up.   I was so surprised I almost thumbed the starter again out of
pure reflex.

We headed out for a short shakedown, pulled over, rechecked everything,
then out for about 125 stunningly beautiful miles through Vermont's Green
Mountains.  Gorgeous day, and the bike ran so smoothly it was almost eerie.
 Barry still pulls like a freight train, and never missed a beat.

I can't say enough good things about the guys at Roadside Marine in
Williston, VT (http://www.roadsidemotorsports.com).  I sent Barry to them
last summer, sick and tried of things running like crap - especially if the
bike sat for more than a few days.  They did a complete carb overhaul, went
up one size on both pilot and main jets (making the bike a little cold
blooded on those really crisp days) and generally worked miracles.  These
guys did similar magic for my '96 Triumph Daytona Super 111 a few years ago
(MAN that bike sounded good!).

I realized I'd actually begun to dread this year's riding season, because I
simply don't have the time or energy to deal with ANOTHER year of
runs-like-crap.  Feels like a weight's been lifted - and I'm no longer
consumed with thoughts of trying to trade the GPZ for a newer, fuel
injected ride.

Woo hoo!

Here's a pic, taken by my wife.  She, too, was surprised Barry started so
easily.  And that puff of smoke?  That's just the sweet smell of success
(and a tiny bit of oil burning off the top of the cylinders).

http://s838.photobucket.com/user/drewinvt/media/Barryisalive.jpg.html?filters[user]=96022902&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0

Drew in VT