Hey everyone -  This is Michelle here! As the seasons change, so does our personal riding schedule and based on your local riding terrain - that can mean coming into or coming out of weather conditions that present challenges while traveling on 2 wheels (or three even!) . Here in Florida, we are just coming to the end of "Rainy Season". For us, that means safer riding weather and more motorcycles out and about on the roads here. Vroom Vroom!

Today, I want to talk to you about the importance of knowing (and more importantly) respecting your own personal limitations when riding. We hear all the time, well known motorcycle phrases like "Dress for the Slide...Not the Ride",  " Loud Pipes Save Lives" and my all time fav. "It's about the Ride not the Destination". As riders, we're taught (or learn the hard way) to ride defensively - being sure to be mindful of every movement around us and prepare for unexpected lane shifts or quick stops from the cars & trucks nearby.  

But rarely have I come across an article or post related to trusting your own self, recognizing limiting riding conditions and slowing down, or dare I say it...Even pulling over and getting off the road for a minute. I know some of you might be thinking at this very moment - I don't have to worry about that - I'm an experienced rider!

I also consider myself a safe and experienced rider, but this is not about experience so much as it is about accepting that no matter how much experience you have, your body just might not be able to handle the riding challenges that are ahead and it just might be time to stop.

A couple of weeks ago, Dave and I rode to Myrtle Beach's Fall Bike Rally. It was our very first long distance ride and we planned accordingly by mapping out our route, planning to take the scenic route, checking weather forecasts, etc.

We thought we had it all covered and honestly could not have planned for Hurricane Michael's arrival. The storm moved in (and intensified) so quickly that the Florida Pan Handle barely had enough time to prepare. On a side note, my thoughts and prayers are with those folks. Now, we were obviously not traveling through the Panhandle when the storm hit, but we were traveling along Florida's East Coast when it was in the Gulf. We spent all day dodging rain drops and navigating through 47 mph winds, as well as sideways rain that was impossible to see through.

We stopped a lot along the way, making our what would have been an easy breezy 6 hour trip turn into 12 grueling hours. The decision to finally accept our limitations and pull over to stop while the rain bands came through came after I skid into an intersection into oncoming traffic. Fortunately, I was able to stop the bike (while looking into the whites of the oncoming drivers eyes)and did not dump. It shook me up enough however and led me on a 12 hour evaluation of my riding decisions!
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So, of course I've been telling everybody that will listen to me, about my experience. Most riders change the subject quickly. Maybe they don't want to think about it. I've had a few make (joking around) comments like "You just gotta ride through that!". When I shared my story with our new mechanic Jeff, he said "Well I used to be like that, but not anymore since my accident".

He then went on to tell a story about a rainy ride with friends. He was riding along the North Carolina Mountains and it began to rain hard. While most of the people who were riding with him, pulled off the road to wait for the storm to stop, he and another rider decided to push through it. 

With mountain on one side and a steep drop off on the other, off he went all the while thinking I've got this. Mother Nature had another plan altogether, though. you see the rain had washed away a large mud bank into the road, and as he turned the next blind curve he drove right into it. Taking him and his bike into the mud slide. Eventually his bike caught ground and flipped up over him, breaking his Jaw and causing many other injuries.

It's just not worth it folks...

My 12 hour thinking session, helped me to come up with some tips to use when it comes to knowing our limits, accepting them and doing the right thing for safety

We are all settled in to our newest and (finally!) final destination. It sure was quite a journey getting here! Michelle and I both agree that it would be insane for us to try and plan YET ANOTHER - Grand Opening Celebration. Instead, we'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for all of your continued support - right from day one.

Let us count the many ways that we'd like to appreciate you on the 23rd
- FREE Bikini Bike Wash (tips for the girls are welcome)-
- **Receive a mystery percentage off (up to 75%) on your ENTIRE STORE PURCHASE - 
- Complimentary BURGERS & WATER (tipping is welcome) -
- $60.00 Alarm Chirp Installs (Includes parts & labor!) - 
- And as always...Good Friends with Awesome Bikes! - 
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We're all Yankees in one way or another...
Yan·kee
ˈyaNGkē/
noun
informal
noun: Yankee; plural noun: Yankees; noun: Yankee jib; plural noun: Yankee jibs

1. derogatory - a person who lives in, or is from, the US.
2. US - an inhabitant of New England or one of the northern states.
3. historical - a Union soldier in the Civil War.
4. a code word representing the letter Y, used in radio communication.
5. SAILING - a large jib set forward of a staysail in light winds.
6. a bet on four or more horses to win (or be placed) in different races.

For the Fourth of July, the wife and I took a nice ride across Florida to spend some much needed down-time with family. If you haven't taken a ride from the east coast of Florida over to the Gulf coast yet...I highly recommend it! It's an easy 3-4 hour trip with nice scenic views and (the best part) hardly any traffic lights! 

On the way back, we stopped like we usually do, to fuel up and rest for a minute. More times than I can count, we meet fellow bikers out and about on our journeys. This is one of the many great perks that comes with the love of Motorcycles and riding. On this particular journey - we met Sunny. An old school biker straight out of North Carolina. Sunny was heading out on his own adventure to the Florida Keys, when he happened across us at the gas station. At first, he was just looking for tips on a more scenic route.

We told him about the beauty of riding along the A1A coastline and how much we enjoy the ride. Since we were heading in that direction anyway - we invited him to ride along and off we went! Before pulling out of the gas station, he asked us if we knew of a motorcycle repair shop in the area - apparently he was having some minor issues and wanted to take care of them before heading further south.

Well, YEAH - Yankee Dave's Motorsports of course! 

Here at Yankee Dave's, we go out of our way to insure customer satisfaction and quality service. We are bike lovers ourselves and treat your bike as good, if not better than our own while it is in our care!

Don't just take our word for it - you can see it for yourself on these smiling faces of our past and present customers!

With this holiday weekend approaching quickly, and every one thinking and daydreaming about beer, bbqs, and partying with friends and family.

Be safe this weekend as you ride from place to place. I'm sure you've heard it a million times by now, and I'm also sure the road texters will be out in full force.keep a watchful eye open so you all can enjoy the festivities safely.

But lets not forget about the reasons behind this holiday. All those brave men and women who have given their all so we can continue to enjoy the freedoms that we all have. We here at Yankee Dave's are proud of and salute our veterans, ALL OF THEM, and wish to thank them for their service!! Have a great weekend folks, and keep the shiny side up!

With another rainy week ahead we have been working at the shop and at the house trying to clear up some of those projects that have been kicked to the curb for too long, in theory this should open up some time for much needed wind therepy in the near future. I have also been checking our scoots over and making any needed adjustments or repairs that are due in prep for some clear sailing weather. We had a plan of riding up to myrtle beach bike week for the past weekend in order to catch up with some good friends, however we've put that off until early october so that we would'nt drown while heading up and back. So a few jobs got finished instead, and a better plan has been hatched for our fall run up the coast. Until then we will just have to plan some summer runs here....maybe the keys. hmmm

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Hey there! We hope you are having a wonderful springtime! To our Northern friends - hopefully it won't be much longer before you are back on your bikes and enjoying the beautiful landscape that us "flatlanders" don't get to see as much!

Well, sort of...Well, not really actually! 
Wipe your tears (and the winter riding blues) and let Yankee Dave tell you a story of a fellow rider who's winter lasted wayyyy to long!

I scheduled a time to come look at it, plugged his address into my GPS and headed out right away. I pulled up next to a pretty good looking Ninja that was parked next to what seemed to be another bike, covered with a brown tarp...I'm thinking to myself, he said he had a ZX600 and the bike I'm looking at here is a 250.
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So I begin to peek under the tarp and as I'm snooping (yep - ZX600 in there!) Dan comes out and we pull the tarp all the way off - it was the great unveiling! I'm not gonna lie here - the bike was in dire need of more than just a carb rebuild and as Dan is telling me his story....from 3 years ago to now. His not willing to give up on it and his determination to get her back on the road...After hauling it 1500 miles, from yankee-ville (just made that up...it means new England!) to his new home in FL, I decided to help him bring his dream to fruition and made arrangements to come back with a trailer and get started!

(Below are some before pictures from Dan - to help you get a better understanding of my starting point)

As I said before, this bike needed wayyy more than just a carb rebuild. So I got the bike to the shop and put her up on the lift to get a closer look...21 point inspection time!

What I discovered was:

• The bike had been put together (by someone other than Dan btw), with a mish mash of odd parts - coming from various different models.
• The Carbs did in fact require rebuilding of....
• Many critical parts were also missing.
• There were some wiring problems (no directionals/tail light)
• The brake fluid looked more like mud than brake fluid. 
• It needed a new chain and sprockets.

But the bare bones were there and

It took some time to completely get through the bike and we did quite a bit of "on the fly" repairs, dealing with each challenge as it presented itself.

As we head out on the road, wether it is a short hop , or a long day trip being prepared for what mother nature has in store for you can be vital to your health and saftey. For instance what happened to my wife and i last weekend.. Hmmm. Let me reflect on a few of the details, well, it starteout os a beautiful sunny day with a few puffy clouds in the sky. After finishing some morning chores and picking up some much neede supplies for the shop we decided to hop on our bikes and take a short jaunt to the local watering hole for lunch. Well the ride out was great!! Just what we needed to get our heads functioning properly, and lunch hit the spot nicely.but once we left mother nature unleashed her wrath upon us!! And being ill prepared for the deluge of rain that followed, and nowhere to hide we wede forced to ride thru it till we could find safe harbor. Now if we only had some assemblance of rain gear, some gloves, and some other essentials it might not have been as uncomfortable. I think we will be keeping extra gear in the bags for the next time.