Another oil change this afternoon. This time I managed to avoid spilling oil all over the damn place, too. I tend to change oil and oil filters a bit more frequently than the manual suggests; I don't know whether it does any good or not, but I figure it can't hurt. Tried another oil in an attempt to save a few bucks; last time I used Mobil-1 MX4T, at $11.95 a quart from the motorcycle dealership. Unarguably it's great stuff, but almost $50 just for the oil doesn't thrill me. At the recommendation of a Bandit-riding tech at another motorcycle store, I picked up 4L of Castrol ActEvo 10w40 for $18.95 total. According to the service folks, it's great stuff; I'm moderatly skeptical as it's not a fully synthetic oil, but what do I know?

I was due for a chain lubing today also, and of course you can't lube a cold chain effectively, so that meant a ride. It was severely cold today, just a bit above freezing when I headed out, but clear and dry. I headed back down the route I used to take to work before feeling comfortable on the freeway, along Locust Way, to see if the twisties were more fun now that I've got a vague idea of how to corner properly.

They were.

I saw a surprising amount of bikes on that little route. I guess I'm not the only one who knows about it. It's not exactly a "hidden gem" of a road, but it's a whole lot more fun than I-5 and it runs straight down to Lake City Way, so it is a good way to get into town. I spent most of the ride focusing on the cornering drills from Hough's book, and going back to the Basic Riders' Course instructions (slow, look, lean, roll), trying to smooth out my turns and pick appropriate lines. As usual, I feel better now than I did before, but I've still got a long way to go...

Hopefully one of these weekends I can get away for a longer ride again. I miss the warm (or at least not-freezing) fall days. This spring I'm going to really rack up the miles, I think.