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It's official. I have informed the company I am retiring the end of April.

Congratulations! I plan to inform my company next Friday. Tomorrow I'm going to look at a potential retirement gift for myself.

Took the wheels off the Versys. Went to IP for a pair of Roadsmarts 3 to replace the knobbies. Bought new helmet. Expensive trip over $600 for everything.

I informed my company on Friday that I am leaving effective 3/14. I did give them an option to pay to retain me as a (very) part time consultant for 90 days to ease the transition. 50/50 if I want to stay on as a consultant or just be done. Wheels are in motion.

For its 25th season, I finally gave it a name.

I bet you hear that a lot.

After having the camera fail on two iPhones attached to my handlebars I went with a 5” CarPlay unit. It survived my three months trip through the Yukon NWT and Alaska without issue, and that included all three “D’s” (Dempster, Dalton and Denali highways). It was a Carpuride model. Less than $100. Now my iPhone is safe and sound, plugged in and in my tankbag. And I also am running Fobo2 TPS sensors that are linked to my phone and CarPlay compatible, so I get my tire pressure on screen. Works fine with my Klim Dakar gloves

Congratulations, wish I could have retired at your age. Have fun picking out a new bike. I retired last year and bought a retirement bike too, it's been a blast.

Got the FJR out for a test ride today to see how the changes to the bike worked. So much smoother throttle after the fueling adjustment. New tinted visor on the shoei worked great too. Now we just need a good hard rain to wash away the remaining cinders.

Definitely the red FJR. I know the current owner of it, but it’s all the way in Ukraine. I sold it to a guy in PA, he hit a deer with it. I tried to buy it from his insurance company but it went to a copart auction and it was sold before I even knew. Then months later the guy in Ukraine who won it on copart contacted me because my name was written on the bottom of the custom seat. I know it was nothing fancy, but that bike means more to me because of where all I’ve been on it.

I installed a Chigee on the RT. I wish it was a little bigger, but it looks like OEM kit and functions alright.

I got the bike out of hibernation and worked on a few things. Got my wiring a little better for my CarPlay unit, checked the air filter, and worked on a fueling adjustment to make the throttle a little better. Ready for more sunny days..

Congratulations Fellas!!!!

When I retired last summer, one of the things that I took into serious consideration is that insolvency of Social Security may cause benefits to be reduced in the not too distant future. In the past, I was one of the I'll wait until 70 to collect guys, but a 20% reduction in benefits in say 2033 would extend the "break even" point out to absurdity. I'm definitely in agreement with Tony & his Fidelity guy. Get it while you can.

OK, some other forums I am on have a thread like this, and it seems to be interesting(250+ pages). You can simply just say what you did to your bike for the that day.

Took my first ride on my 2013 Versys. Really like it. That parallel twins revs to 10 grand. Just a fun basic motorcycle.

I rode every style of bike from Harley’s with tall bars to sport bikes, I still have fun regardless. I am spoiled with the good roads, makes short after work rides nice.

Got out for a short ride to see how the roads are looking. Southern section of 555 is closed for a repair. 550 from 339 towards Athens is getting pretty rough. Overall though, it was great to get out and hit the twistys.

"Great list of AC maintenance tips! Many homeowners forget about simple tasks like leveling the condenser unit or proactively replacing contactors, which can save a lot in the long run. Regular maintenance not only extends the AC’s lifespan but also improves efficiency. If anyone needs AC maintenance, our expert team at Electra Fix is here to help. We offer reliable servicing to keep your AC running smoothly year-round. Have you noticed any specific maintenance step that drastically improved your AC’s performance?"

Not sure what you boys did all wInter but here is my project. As all of you know I’m cheap and I didn’t want to spend $10,000 plus to have the Trans Am repainted so I did some bodywork myself and wrapped the whole car in high gloss black 3M. It turned out pretty well. The bumpers no longer have spider cracks, the passenger door no longer has a key mark in it, or bubbles, and the hood no longer has bubbles in it. It’s not quite perfect but it looks dang good in the sunlight.

I had the same issues with a wireless CarPlay adapter for my truck. What I found out was if my phone was connected to more than one Bluetooth device, it would cause the disconnect issue.

Engine stand and hardware purchased to facilitate the internals swap for the Bonneville. Also received the 90amp alternator for the Goldwing. Left me stranded last fall. F'ing Hondas.

Z1000

Wish I still had my old RD400.

If dirt bikes count my 1996 kx500

Ohio Retired Motorsports Group?

I love being retired. Some people have trouble with it and go back to work. Not me, don’t miss working.

@Tpoppa - That tax calculator is nice.. .thxz

Maybe I'll jump in this conversation. So I'm at the point where I "could" retire early. Way different circumstances from most of you all. My situation is I am debt free, have almost five times my annual salary in my 401k, almost 29 years of pension build up, and I have a sugar mama that is about to get promoted. That last one is the key for me. I've worked my entire life at a bullshit corporate industrial job to raise my family and put food on the table. Many you probably remember me posting in the past about working all weekends and barely be able to get away and do things. Years ago my wife wanted to go back to school and so I worked so much overtime and weekends to make that happen. The agreement was that I could retire early and she would take care of me in the future. So then last year she went back to school again to get her master's degree in healthcare administration. And in the very near future the manager of her office is retiring and my wife should be a shoe end to take her place which also comes with a substantial pay increase and benefits. And while the thought of retiring early is enticing I'm just happy that I'm at a point to where I could just walk away and say fuck it at any time. I mean that peace of mind is paying dividends as we My work is so slow right now and they're actually talks of layoffs. and it doesn't bother me in the least a little bit. I'll stick around as long as I can or as long as I feel like. I mean let's face it, every year I work is more pension dollars and 401K savings(which I'm currently stashing 30% of my paychecks into my 401k) At this point my income is the play money, and we like to play. So that's where I'm at, debt free, a nice nest egg, empty nesters and a spouse that loves what she does and doesn't mind doing it. Now when I actually do pull the trigger and retire, I don't think I would retire completely either. Would absolutely want to pick up a gig that I like or love. Maybe bounce around different jobs like motorcycle shop or parts counter or even just turn wrenches in my own garage.

Congrats on being able to retire. I’ve been planning on and looking forward to retirement and I’m only 33 😂. I’m trying to get my ducks in a row to retire earlier than normal. The wife and I love to travel, so that’s our retirement goal, I already have too many hobbies between golf, guns, bikes, RC cars, and hunting.

Lightweight ADV bikes are actually pretty good on trips. I put about 15k on a CB500x including a trip to Deals Gap. It did surprisingly well, including some fast passes on the Dragon. I've heard the Versys is also quite good at racking up miles.

Congrats, those are great bikes.

@Howabusa and @theroamr are the two Bandit experts in my circle of friends.

https://ohioriders.net/calendar/2-track-days/

https://www.n2td.org/calendar/

Had to go and call my stuff a heap. Took it out Friday night for the 1st drive, stopped to get gas about 15 miles from home, went to start it and no crank. Fiddled a bit with it at the gas station and no go. Had to have it hauled home on a rollback. Dug into it today and found the ground wire on the starter was separated. Repaired the ground, through it back in and she fired right up.