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20 years of waiting paid off!
I got a 2002 Suzuki Savage LS650PK2.

I am so pumped!

No, I do not think this motorcycle thing is a strange form of suicide. I took the Department of Public Safety Course. I successfully got my license, so I am legal.
I purchased a new helmet first, before I even went looking for the bike.
I went conservative and bought a new machine so I do not have to guess about maintenance. I researched the purchase options for a 5'1 3/4" female rider. When I purchased the bike I did not skimp on the safety equipment. I have the nylon mesh pants and jacket, with the same durability as leather. The plus is living in Texas, these are way more comfortable on a hot day. I have a bright red full face helmet for high visibility. Full finger leather gloves with the gel palms for comfort. All of this safety equipment completes my ensamble that started years ago with my miniature Frye's motorcycle boots!

A definate benefit of living clean & sober.

Join The Clean and Sober Bikers Web Ring

Joined my club Fall 2002:  Leather & Lace WMC, Tejas Riders

In the Spring I became a patched member of Leather & Lace MC, and a charter member of the forming Tejas Riders chapter. At the National Meeting in 2003 we were granted chapter status and I recieved my bottom rocker. As I update the site I am preparing for Nationals 2005 in Dayton Florida during Bike week with my Sisters! Times being what they are and having merely a week to have all the fun we can pack into five days and still travel there and back again, we are trailering out then riding to the Keys and back as a chapter. I am so very pumped! Mean while I have updated the photos, ride free!

Whoo Hoo! I got my Center Patch! That is a really big deal! Nationals brought many changes to the dynamics of our chapter. I love my Sisters!

July 2005 Leather & Lace MC was invited not to fly a patch in the state of Texas by the Bandidos MC.  Our chapter however was granted permission to reform as a Texas based MC.

August 2005 Silk~N~Steel MC   We have our patches, our site is up, our welcome party is August 28, 2005 Frizels Biker Bar Wichita Falls, TX.

February 2006 Resigned my office as Sgt at Arms and stepped down. I support my Sisters in the wind and will ride in the back of the pack as an independent due to some personal business. It takes a lot of commitment to hold that space and lead the way. Think about it long and hard if riding with a club is an idea that attracts you. I would not trade the experience.

Ready to take the class and join us in the wind?

Most Recent Experience:
Went to my first Bike Week in Daytona Beach Florida! Met and got to know my Lace Sisters at the National meetings there. My Texas chapter Lace Sisters trailered our bikes out so I even got to ride. Whoo Hoo! This was everything I wanted this experience to be! It is awesome being part of the great nation of Lace.

Suzi Savage Big Single 650
Perfect mid-size cruiser for novice and smaller riders
4-stroke, SOHC, single cylinder engine with TSCC cylinder head
Electric starter system with automatic decompression system
Front disc brake
Low seat height - only 27.6 inches
Tear-drop-shaped fuel tank with flush-mounted speedometer
Restyled rider and passenger seats for extra comfort
New engine detailing - black cylinder head with polished fins
Many optional accessories including a headlight visor, windshield,
saddlebags, tank divider and more

Recent Experience with my Savage:

OooWee there are politics and pecking order in every world. My full member status with the Lace Nation lasted months due to changes at the top.  My loyalty remains with the girls closest to me. We are now a Texas based club: Silk~N~Steel MC.

I recieved my center patch. You really are treated differently with full colors.

Went to my second Bike Week in Daytona Beach Florida! Met new Sisters and got to know my Lace Sisters better at the National meetings there. My Texas chapter Lace Sisters trailered our bikes out so got to ride alot this year. We rode from Daytona Beach down to the Keys stayed over night then rode back to Daytona Beach. After navagating Miami during rush hour, the storm that blew in that kept us at a perpetual slant and coping with the complete absence of lights and billboards due to the earlier hurricanes, I know we can right together as a tight pack anywhere ~ anytime. The TEJAS RIDERS rock!

August 26, 2004 Just rolled 19,000 on my loyal little skoot. I have changed out the handle bars for a set from a Victory Vegas. Added a highway bar from a Yamaha Virago and restored the original tail lights and chrome with the sissy bar. Nice and sparkly!

Went to my first Bike Week in Daytona Beach Florida! Met and got to know my Lace Sisters at the National meetings there. My Texas chapter Lace Sisters trailered our bikes out so I even got to ride. Whoo Hoo! This was everything I wanted this experience to be! It is awesome being part of the great nation of Lace.

I am becoming an old hand at changing the oil and recently learned how to do the valve adjustment that the book recommends we do every 3,000 miles. My inexpensive megaphone muffler finally threw the baffle, my friend helped me create a new one using an old Harley baffle chopped down to fit and making a new cap to hold it in. Wow! What a huge difference, sounds nice and rummbly. Very pleasing!

I have been riding enough that I finally got to have the big tire experience. I replaced the front with a Baracuda I got off of ebay for $20. And found an overstock from Canada to replace the rear for $30. Beats the crap outa the $230-310 the dealership loves to charge me for anything they do.

September 2003: Rode my first Charity Run with my club Tejas Riders, Leather & Lace WMC. We raised around 700 for the Muskat Shrine Children's Transportation Fund.

Whew! My brother Mike and I rode 150+ miles there, 150 for the run, then home. It was a long day but so very worth it!

It was also the Annual International Sister Spirit Ride. Where every Sister in our great Lace Nation fired up her skoot an shared the wind all on the same day for a hundred fifty miles or so.

It was so cool knowing my Sisters everywhere were riding too.

Summer 2003: Cruz'd the Black Hills yesterday. I dont think I quite made a 500 mile day but I do know that I exceeded 400 easy. Was perfect weather, nice road company and the place just outside the growing gathering further up in the hills at Sturgis. Riding Nomad I found it just right, roaming from He-Dog just out of Parmalee, SD to the site of Ft. Collier just outside Edgemont on 18 back thru Custer, up the Needles highway till they wanted a toll, (Note to self, buy a park pass on the internet before embracing the SD experience, gives you unlimited access to all state parks), then past Rushmore to Keystone where I caught 40 away from Rapid. BTW state highway 40 ceases to exist, somewhere out there in the backside of the Badlands, I found myself a good 10 miles of barely improved track before the road renamed itself to BIA41 coming into Oglala on the Pineridge Rez, then back to He-Dog on the Rosebud.

March 2003 At 10 months on the road I just rolled 8000 miles on my little beast. She is spirited and willing. As my experience grows I find my choice of the Savage perfect for me. She is simple enough that I can perform maintenance myself. She is light enought to be nimble even as a cruiser. She does top out at about 87 on the flat, 81 uphill against heavy winds. I worked extensively on the ergo positoning of the seat and finally got it right. I still get a solid 52mpg. I love my Savage! I have found a group of diehard Savage owners and we swap maintenance solutions. Keeping the shiney side up.
bobcat

August 7th - I just rolled 2300 miles on my bike on my way into work today. After 2000 miles I took a chance and modified a HD Softail Saddle for my bike. Wow! What an improvement! Increased the comfort, changed the handling of the ride so you feel like the bike is heavier, which is good, and it looks stunning!!

The perfect compliment for the saddlebags, toolbag, and sissy bar bag that I moved to the front forks. That square bag is perfect for my rain gear, its always there when I need it and does not take up valuable saddle bag room.

Got my first flat on my way home August 6th, bummer. Fortunately, it was the rear tire, no blow out or accident. Just a trip to the shop for a new tube, for the labor, sure grateful to my friend with her big truck and the perfect skoot trailer.

I still get a solid 50 miles to the gallon. My only minor annoyances are that the front brakes squeak, and I have an angry bee noise right before I change gears. I have had the shop put some rubber washers around the offending speedometer cable that is resonating off the gas tank. This did improve the riding experience, most of the buzz is gone.

Other history about my progress:

(Home page composed Day 1 with the bike)
(About page composed 168 miles later about 3 weeks after)
(What's New page will be the most recent information.) 
Tejas Riders Chapter of the Leather and Lace MC. 03-28-03
Full Patch Leather & Lace MC 3-04
Tejas Riders disbanded 7-4-04
Reformed as Silk~N~Steel MC
Rolled 24,000 miles really retro with a high back chrome sissy Bar, Vegas Handlebars, 4" Savage chopper risers, Virago highway pegs, Harley Heritage seat. Today I believe she is SuzuYamaVicArley all MINE!

On Wings and Wheels October 1st 2005
Benefiting the Shriners Children's Transportation Fund
Supporting the kids in rural areas in North Texas
Already making plans to double our success
In supporting the Shriner's in 2005!

Thank you for your support!

Silk~N~Steel MC