It's the last day of 2008, and 2009 looks to be an improvement in all ways.  I have already signed up for another WMRRA season, and I am much more familiar with the SV650 starting out than I was last season with the GSXR.  The suspension is down at KFG waiting for me to pick it up and reassemble the bike.  It was badly in need of refreshing, and with the temperatures the way they are in the Northwest most of the year, putting somewhat lighter fork oil in the forks made sense.  The forks have been built to the extent allowed by Supersport regulations.  Before the season starts, I plan to rebuild the front brakes and replace the brake lines.

Jason Talley offered the use of his bike as the endurance bike for the season, and I am pretty happy about it.  His was just rebuilt, so it's a whole lot less likely to go bang than an unrebuilt motor.  I had some transmission issues at Thunder Hill, but those might have been caused by overfilling the crankcase.  Panolin makes great oil, but great oil doesn't solve bonehead moves.

The Husqvarna is still out of commission with a backordered magneto.  The oddball exhaust is going to become a wall ornament, since I found a good replacement on eBay.  If the replacement fits OK, it's going on the bike permanently.  So, for the time being, everything is on hold with it.

The battery is out of the Triumph and is charged up.  I plan to put it back in and start riding the Triumph daily again.  Riding to work gets me there awake and happy.  Driving the van gets me there, and that's about it.

The IMS a couple weeks ago was a whole lot of fun.  I enjoy catching up with motorcycle friends even more than looking at bikes.  The More Power Racing t-shirt I wore got some amusing reactions.  I haven't had people reading my t-shirt in a very long time!  Bony old guys like me aren't ususally the kind of person anybody stares at.

Not much else except signing and sending off paperwork.  Thanks again, Panolin and Vortex.  CYA and EvoMX are new for the season.  I am really looking forward to trying the anti-slosh foam in the SV's fuel tank.  The Husqvarna's fuel tank is so small it hardly matters, but I will use some in it as well.  I have to reapply for Lockhart Phillips sponsorship.  Aurora Suzuki is, as usual, a great resource.  Power Stands gave me a two year deal, and I am very pleased to continue on with them.  More Power Racing will once again be my primary sponsor.  I can't thank them enough for everything they do.

It took a few tries to find the right puller to get the flywheel off the Husqvarna, but I finally had to get one made.  Once it was all apart, it was pretty obvious why the bike wouldn't run right.  The magneto's stator was rusted all to bits.  There's a new one coming and with any luck, I can have it back together by January and start learning how to flattrack.  I will get smoked!  It's a big bike, so it's going to be a little like learning to ride on a ZX10 or something, but it's what I have.  So, it's what I'll be riding.  With its odd looking exhaust and ratty looking plastic, it's a memorable bike.

Forks and shock out of the SV went down to GP Supension North. Barry Wressell does excellent work on them, and unlike me, he's set up to do it well and do it efficiently.  The suspension felt pretty good, but I never raced the SV, so it never got tested.  It's going to be interesting to find out what's inside the forks.  The shock is a Penske, and there's no mystery to it, but the forks could have almost anything in them.  I suspect they are well set up, since next season will be the tenth year the bike has been a race bike, but I really don't know for sure.  As always, it's an adventure.

Next weekend is the IMS in Seattle.  I signed up to work in the WMRRA booth on Sunday morning.  The plan is to go over for a look around on Saturday afternoon, then work the booth Sunday morning.  I will be signing up for a 2009 WMRRA membership and putting in my license application on Saturday.