I’ve had no new adventures over the past two weeks since I last posted here. But I have made some improvements around here, and so has Melissa.
The small air conditioner I picked up to run in the van simply wasn’t cutting it. It ran full tilt at pretty much all times, and while it did take the edge off the heat and humidity, it still got uncomfortably hot in the van. Its temperature regulation was pretty bad, too. At night, it would still run at full blast, making it at least 10º below the temperature I set it to and uncomfortably cold for me. I finally had to admit that it wasn’t working out, so I got this larger Toshiba AC instead. (Ironically, this is the one I passed up at Home Depot the first time I tried to buy an air conditioner.) Installation was super easy because it uses the same size vent hose as the first one, so I just connected the old hose to the new AC and didn’t have to fabricate a new panel to install the exhaust port into the driver’s window. It’s been working great. We’ve only had one really hot day since I installed it, with a welcome two weeks with highs in the 80s, but that’s about to change this week. I’m ready for it. This more powerful unit doesn’t have to work nearly as hard to keep up and keep it comfortable inside.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with my Alpicool refrigerator/freezer. It’s been running just about constantly for over three years with only one problem, a microprocessor glitch caused by a massive lightning storm I got caught in the middle of. A factory reset fixed that. However, Melissa has this Iceco refrigerator/freezer that’s just a little bit bigger than my Alpicool. The fridge is usually full, and I’m often complaining about having to completely unpack and repack the fridge to get to the one thing I want, which is usually on the bottom. So we decided to give hers a try.
It’s working out so much better than mine. It’s wider and shorter, which pretty much eliminates me having to go digging for things inside. One feature I really like is that it has separate doors for the fridge and freezer, so even if I do have to dig for something, the other side won’t warm up while it’s open. It also has this nice insulated bag. That will not only help it stay cool but also catch condensation in the more humid environment I’m in now. When we took out the Alpicool fridge, we noticed some dampness on the wood platform under it and the very beginning of mold. I’m glad we caught this when we did so we could address it immediately. I’m allergic to mold and can’t have it in my living space. Eventually, the Iceco fridge will go into the tiny house Melissa wants to build, and I’ll put the Alpicool back in the van.
I’ve taken another step toward converting my V-Strom to all-LED lighting. I replaced the turn signal bulbs with LEDs, as well as the flasher module with one that will work with LED bulbs. They blink more slowly than before, but the new bulbs are brighter and more eye-catching. I switched the rear bulbs from amber to red because this project is not yet complete. I also have a trailer light wiring converter that I’ll use to turn the rear signals into additional brake lights as well. When I hit the brakes, all three lights on the back of the bike will light up, and since the turn signals are now red, it will be legal. The wiring converter will also make sure they still work as turn signals. It’ll look different enough to be pretty eye-catching by the time I’m done, which is the intention.
I’ve seen similar rear light conversion kits for high-end motorcycles that cost hundreds of dollars to install, but I’m getting it done this way for a fraction of the price. It’s all about thinking outside the box. Trailers have two red tail lights and vehicles that have separate brake lights and turn signals need converters like these to run the trailer lights. Effectively, I’m doing exactly the same thing, just without the trailer. There’s no point reinventing the wheel when a converter for a different purpose already exists and will work here as well.
The biggest news, however, is a new addition to the fleet, a 2024 Kawasaki KLR650S. This is not my motorcycle — it’s Melissa’s! I’m keeping my V-Strom, and now she has this. She’s been pondering getting a bike for a while, so we’ve visited a few dealers so she can sit on as many as possible to see what she’s comfortable on and likes. A Honda Rebel 500 was high on the list for a while, but a cruiser won’t be so great on the dirt road she lives on. The standard KLR650 was too tall for her, so despite my love for that bike, I wasn’t even considering it. But a couple of years ago, Kawasaki introduced the KLR650S, which is a shorter version of that bike. As soon as she sat on it, she knew it was the bike for her. After taking a couple of weeks to think about it, she decided to go for it, and I rode it home for her this past Saturday. Despite being 19 years newer than my old KLR, it felt extremely familiar to me and will be an excellent bike for her to learn on. It doesn’t hurt that I’m already an expert on these bikes after owning one for three years.
Melissa will be taking the MSF course, but she also wanted to get a feel for the bike and what riding is like first. I can’t say I blame her. The MSF would prefer you to show up for the class with no experience at all so they can train you their way from the start. But when I got my first bike, I couldn’t resist venturing out on my own to get a feel for it, either. I can’t blame Melissa for feeling the same way, especially since she just got this shiny new motorcycle for herself. Fortunately, the quiet dirt roads around here are the perfect environment for learning, and the KLR is the perfect motorcycle for these roads (I feel much more comfortable on dirt on her KLR than my V-Strom). While I enjoy having her on the back of my bike, it will also be fun to go riding together with each of us on our own bikes. At some point, I’ll have to figure out how to modify my trailer to carry both a V-Strom and a KLR.
Smokey Da Van 