Bike X

I can't say much about this bike at this time  If you know who is building it you'll recognize the style.  It's designed to tackle a little race going down next June in the USA.  Laugh at the front fender all you want but I am over having water thrown in my face.

Cleaning up a bit....

Drilled the bars, ran the wires internal, changed out from the ugly stock brake line, removed the stock mirrors and added a cool lollipop version, and re-located the turn signals.  Small stuff but it makes the bike look so much better.  Biltwell risers are awesome, I recommend them to everyone!  Also got a kick ass side mount tag holder that tucks in a bit tighter than before.  Thanks Black Chrome san!

3日間休み

It was a 3 day weekend in Japan, we rode out with some friends and went camping on Saturady night.  Sunday morning woke up and rode toYamanashi to see Dan san.  Shot the breeze with him for a bit and installed the new plate mount he made for me.  Apparently Tomo san (心ガラジの友さん）did the welding.  Dan of course being a stubborn American wouldn't take a dime for it.  タンさん、友さん、ありがとうね！

Afterwards Maiko and I had famous Yamanashi fat noodle, namely 豚ほうとお and then made the 100km trip back to 新百合ヶ丘。

On the way to camping, letting my friend Said take his first stab at a Harley...don't worry Said, you'll get it!

Dan Woosley and the midget garage

Good to see you Dan, now get that Kunck of yours fixed and let's go for a put!

New plate holder not only looks good, but cleans up the fender a bit and would allow for a bag to be set there if need be.

Sunday ride to nowhere

Maiko san wanted to go to the onsen today and I had every intention of making that happen....it's just that on the weekend we don't exactly have the proper "wake up early skills".

We left around 1PM and rode down to Ebina, up through Hakone, and then past Fuji ending the night with some shopping in Gotenba since she HAD to go to the outlet center.  All around a good, destination free day with no pressure to be anywhere or do anything in particular...only to clutch, gas, and go.

This is a picture at the end of daylight in front of Fuji.  He attracts every cloud in the sky so to see the whole mountain is quite rare....just like today.

Fuck the system!

Rules are rules....blah blah blah....I'm so sick of traffic lights, tickets, and safety safety safety......Riding a motorcycle is supposed to be about freedom but I'm just not feeling it.  It's my blog so I can gripe if I want.  To all traffic police around the world.....FUCK YOU.  It's hard to put coherent words on.  I can see ticketing me for going stupid fast, but tickets for going the wrong way on a one way street or for spitting lanes when traffic is at a standstill for MILES is just riduculous.  Go eat a fucking donut you pig motherfuckers.  Everytime I get a ticket can only hear the words of Tyler Durden in my head "I want to kill every panda who won't fuck to save it's own species....... I want to blow smoke in the face of an infant".  A life lived in absolutely security and safety is crap.  We need a bit of danger.  I'll stop with this:

- FUCK THE COPS!

- FUCK THE SYSTEM!

- FUCK CONTROL!

- FUCK PEOPLE WHO DRIVE CARS AND PUSH HELMET LAWS!

Getting some saddle time in...

Forecast calls for rain all week, but last week I did go for a ride on power saving day at work.

Right around a 200K ride.  Lot's of scenery, and lots of curves.  What there wasn't alot of (once you get out of the city is cars and stop signals).  Totally worth the hassle to get the bike legal.

Japanese Motorcycle Culture

If I had to choose a picture that describes Japanese vintage Harley culture it'd be this one.  You've seen a million shovels but you hadn't seen one like this!  Just the same the Japapnese builders take ordinary Harleys and build them in such a unique way that each one looks like nothing you have seen before.

The Harley is finally legal to ride in Japan

Jumped through a bunch more hoops yesterday and finally got through shaken.  Yesterday I arrived to the pot of gold at the end of an 11 month rainbow.....my license plate.  Freedom at last!

Special Mufflers

I hear you saying, Nick, what are special mufflers?  Well don't fret, I will tell you.  Special mufflers are not those that come on USA Harleys, but rather those bikes imported into other countries that have strict emissions regulations.  They must say "E4" on the side to make the bike quiet enough and smog free enough so that the rear fender is then made stronger for the license plate you are eventually given.  In my case I will be installing these not so shiny babies tonight and going out to try for my　排出ガス tomorrow.  Once I have that little magic paper I can proceed to 車検.  Oh yeah, I also got　自賠責保険 (compulsary insurance) so I can get a temp plate tomorrow (which means I actually get to ride, WOOHOO!).

Moon Eyes Swap Meet Photos

http://www.network54.com/Forum/13357/message/1312713505/Moon+Eyes+Japan+Swap+meet+pictures....

Special Papers from HD

So back in May I found out I needed brake and emissions statements from HD to give to the Shakken office in order to get the Steet Bob Legal.  So in the middle of May I submitted my paperwork to HD and FINALLY yesterday I received them.  These guys should be my keey to riding freedom.  We'll see shortly what the Japanese Trasportation "Ministry" has to say about that.....

Tally it up...

Starting to go back and remember it all now.  Starting with the stats..... when I left Fallon, NV after the belt drive was sorted, it was 6 at night.  24 hours after that I was in Hutchinson, KS.  That is 1375 miles averaging 57 miles/hr which at that point was still hardass time if I didn't have a 30 hrs delay for the gawdamn belt drive....

within 48 hours I was standing at a gas station in Athens, OH which put me another 980 miles down the line.  This was a total of 2355 miles in 2 days and now the average speed was down to 49 MPH.  Loosing ground on a hardass speed.  To be honest this was Missouri that killed me.  Deer everywhere, tired as shit, windy roads, TONs of small towns, and about 30 minute nap in a ditch.  Stupid body and it's need for sleep.....

Over the next 22 hours until the end of my 70 hour transit to Pinbluff starting back in Fallon, I went the remaining 849 miles.  In the end I ran an averae of 45 mph from Fallon.  There is about 80 miles missing there from Tahoe, but since I had the belt drive issue, I wasn't really running against anyone but myself, if you can understand.....

There has been some discussion about it, but the normal hardass time of 55 mph average is not impossible but due to the nature of this course, highly unattainable.  The 2 lane road thing, small towns, twisties, deer, constuction, etc. just kill you.  I got nearly 1400 the first 24 hours because the roads were generaally wide open and flat up until Kansas.  Past that the towns become more frequent and the road more winding.

Shit, I'm just happy I have the time and resources that I can do this shit.  Just getting out and running is all I care about, the other details are just unimportant footnotes overshadowed by the amazing event that is the stampede.

Stampede Photos

Here are some of the pictures from Stampede vacation:

Photobucket Link to Stampede Photos

Stampede Videos

I have a bunch of thoughts I need to get down on paper as well as many pictures to share....but I just wanted to get something up about the recently completed hell ride accross the states.  I tried to keep videos of myself every couple of gas stops so I could observe my own state of being degrade as I moved accross the states.  I ran out of camera memory and effort around St. Louis, Missouri....but I think these do a very good job of illustrating exactly what happens to you after a few thousand miles on the stampede....

Broken belt drive outside of Fallon, NV....what a great way to start the morning...

Broken belt drive outside Fallon, NV

Gas stop in Grand Junction, CO....you can tell my the locations I state....I am really tweaking on shovelhead crack at 5 in the morning...

Stopped in Grand Junction

On the other side of Monarch pass in Colorado after a 45 minute nap

Monarch Pass Stop

In the middle of the shittiest state in the union.....known as "Fucking shitty ass Kansas"

Kansas Stop

Just west of St. Louis Missouri....last video I made but I should have made more....might have made some money in hollywood for a new zombie film.

Felling Shitty

Crossing the Chesapeake bay Bridge tunnel

More to come on the epic adventure in the coming days.  Nick.

Japan rides...今のところ

While not being able to have my own bike on the road yet is a bummer, having a motorcycle license sure helps.  I have been able to make 2 rides so far, first was to Kanazawa for Golden week.  We rented a little teeny tiny Suzuki 125 and rode it from Kanazawa to Wajima and back.  Also got to ride it on the beach by 日本海 (nihon kai, Japan sea).  This ride made me realize that once you get past the paper work, Japan has some really nice things to see and actually its very unrestricted once you move out of Tokyo and metropolitan areas.

Second ride was yesterday to Izu Penninsula "伊豆" where we rode the Hakone skyline.  My friend John was nice enough to borrow my his kick ass KTM for the day.  This bike really opened by eyes about what I like in a motorcycle.  This thing has power like no harley ever will (by a long shot)...you flick the throttle and you are gone!  It handles the curves well, it's comfy、tells you what gear its in, shifts tight and clean, brakes are awesome, and has accomodations to take 2 up on a long Journey no issue.  To me it was like the quick revving 4 stroke of  an MX bike multiplied many times.  I guess this is just one more reason to have multiple bikes! 

Of course none of these rides can compare with the magnitude and scale of the next ride I will take....a little jaunt called the Stampede.  Say a pray for the shovels mechanical well being and the safety of all the other maniacs who do this kind of stupid stuff....

Curent Shaken Affairs

So, first of all, why Freeno?  Well when I was in high school I wasinto BMX bikes. Naturally I hung out with some stoner guys from time to time.  These were guys that some were scared off (some tough guys) but for some reason they liked me.  They smoked pot, I did not.  I was good in school, they were not.  At the time on the 'WB' television network there was a show called 'Nick Freeno Licensed Teacher'.  It was a terrible show and was taken off air quicly.  Naturally enough to them, my new name was Freeno.  To this day, ask anyone from high school what my nick name is and they will know.

Why the blog, aren't there enough already?  I am American, my girlfriend is Japanese.  We both speak some of the others language (her far better than I) but sometime we have disagreements caused by language.  Also, she want's to know my 'gaijin' opinion on matters because it's not normal for her to think like me.

Main posts here will be about travel but mainly about my adventures with motorcycles in Japan and the overall love of motorcycles.  When I moved here in September 2010, I thought I'd be on a bike quickly.  Well, through getting a license, buying the bike, fixing the import issues....its been quite a challenge.  All I have left (I think) is to get "high gas" or smog check and finish the actual Shaken.  We'll see how it pans out.  Here is the bike in question and the import document which Maiko san used her awesome negotiation skills to finagle with the Yokohama customs house yesterday.　Now that I have this little piece of paper I am unstoppable!

麻衣子チャン　ほんとにありがとうね！