The OTB old testament

[PiZdETS]

Is it just me.......
..Or does anybody else feel this way?

After weeks of snow, ice, freezing wind and sleet, days without power due to downed power lines; slush and ice, and then cold grey windy crappy sandy, salty roads....we had two days of HEAVY rain....enough to wash most of the crap off of the roads.....

...Friday and Saturday went up to 65 here in 'Balimer....and I snuck out of work early, bopped on home, shucked off the work clothes, snugged into my leathers (time for another diet), sprinted out to the garage and rolled my little tri-color wonder out into the glorious sunlight.

Fuel tap ON, ignition ON, rotate the throttle three times fast to activate the accelerator pumps, hit the starter button....and HEAVEN. The motor comes to life with that lumpy, snarly, rumbly-bumbly cadence reserved for performance V-Twins....shakin' and smooth at the same time.

Do a walk-around while she's warmin' up, check the chain, tire pressures, check to make certain the brakes are still attached...check all zippers, helmet on, gloves on and throw the leg over, snap up the sidestand, and...eeaase on down into the saddle while my hands fall to their places on the grips.

Just like sayin', "Hi" to an old friend.

Clutch in, snick it down into first, give a couple of slight blips...a little gas clutch out more gas clutchout more gas and.....ahhhhhhhhhh....that invisible hand in the back, launching you down the road as only a torquemonster motor on a superlight bike can do....

.....and all the daily living, the worries, the deadlines, the gotta do's just fall away like so much chaff in the wind; the feel of the bike and the road fill my senses and free me from the "surly bonds of earth"....and I'm right with the world again.....


Or is it just me?

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Sport-Touring
As I write this, the outside temp is hovering around 7 F, the wind is blowing at about 20 knots, and I haven't had power at home (no well, no heat, no septic, ect.) since Tuesday night. I'm writing this on my laptop, and I'll shoot it off at work when I'm done. Right now, I'm busy feeding the better part of a half-cord of well-aged oak and cherry into the maws of my fireplace; it's one of those hybrid fireplace/woodstove units, and it keeps the house around 68-70 as long as I keep it well fed with dry hardwood. The power company says I can expect restoration of electrical service sometime this evening or tommorrow. Bummer.

So what better way to be transported out of the bleakness of frozen creeks, blustery winds and salty, sanded icy roads, then to sit down by oil-lamplight with some area and regional maps, and start planning the First Spring Ride.

If any of you have read any of my previous posts, you'll know that I loooove to ride; can't get enough of two-wheeled travel as a matter of fact....and I prefer to do it scrunched up on whatever sporty piece of mechanical marvel happens to be ensconced in my garage. Two and three day weekend trips are the norm for me, with miles travelled in the 600-1000 range. Four or five hundred mile days are not out of the question. The little Bimota has proven as cramp-free as any sportbike I've ridden, even with my 50+year old surgically altered knees, so I'll expect it'll suffice as good as anything as an all-day mount.

That being said, riding sportsbike long distances over multiple days creates some challanges and forces some compromises that I wouldn't have if I were riding a bagger or even a well-equipped sport-touring bike, like a Concours, an ST or an FJR, with their plusher seats, more compliant suspensions, ample room and baggage. But, I also get to skip the high weights, wallowing suspenders, limited groundclearance and slower acceleration of the bigger bikes.

There is little more painful and boring than droning on down the superslab hour after hour on a stiffly suspended sportsbike, weight on wrists and a tiny contact patch on that tiny, thinly upholstered seat, as the forks meant to transmit the subtleties of road feel at the limits of adhesion now transmit every little bump and juddering square-edged superslab seam up through my sore and tired arms, wrists and elbows. I have ridden on stretches of frost-heaved freeway that were so bad, that fifteen minutes of rythmic slamming into the turned-up edges of the slabs had my guts hurting so bad that I had to pull off and find and alternate route.

And this, my friends, is the key to having a successful (read: fun) tour on a sportsbike; PLANNING.

Depending on what part of the country you live; you may have the kind of roads we all adore right out at the end of your driveway, or six hours away in the mountains. For me, it's somewhere in the middle. Decent roads without the urban traffic require that I ride at least an hour. Getting to some of my buddies in Penn or WV may require 4-6 hrs of inconvienient travel. So, some planning is required, if I'm not going to arrived burnt out on slabtravel and eighteenwheelers.

First, a couple of truths, gained through hard-won experience:

A. IT ALWAYS takes longer than I thought.

B. If I have to leave work at a precise time on Friday in order to hook up 6 hrs later with my buddies; a work emergency ALWAYS HAPPENS, delaying my departure by at least 2 hours.

C. If I have been delayed 2 hrs by that work emergency, and my buddies will be waiting for me, there is ALWAYS CONSTRUCTION OR A MAJOR ROAD CLOSING ACCIDENT ON MY ROUTE....ALWAYS

D. If none of the above happen, that marginal battery or marginal tire or sporadic carb glitch I've been "meaning to" replace or work on will chose NOW to put me on the side of the road....miles from nowhere.......in the dark.....with a dead cell battery.

E. Whatever piece of gear I've left at home in the interest of saving space; THAT is the gear I will need most. I once left my rainsuit out of my tankbag so I could stuff more "everday" clothing in; we were in the middle of a weeks long drought, the weatherman predicted more of the same for many more days....hot, humid and no rain. I got a hundred miles down the road, and that nasty jet stream took a dive down from Canada without consulting Accuweather......temps in the 50's and it poured for days......................

I plan my trips carefully now, giving myself ample time to adapt and take an altenate route(S) so i don't arrive stessed or beat-up. I have a standard "pack" in my tank bag and backpack that I take always. No exceptions.

I plan my routes so that, whenever possible, I stay off of the superslab. Sometimes, due to destination or time constraints, I have no choice; but when I can, which is usually, I keep to the secondaries. I enjoy the ride more, and I get to meet and talk to people, which , for me, is the whole point of the trip, anyway.

See ya out there.

OTB

[PiZdETS]

DB4 Mods
Before buying this little beast I had done enough research to know that most Bimotas needed some initial "tuning"; they often came with "issues". The Db4's in particular had some low-speed, small throttle opening roughness and the stock Mikunis were noted for not keeping synch. In addition, the stock "shotgun" exhaust was a major cork in knocking a large chunk of top end off the all-but-stock 904 Ducati mill. I had ordered some flatslide Keihins, as well as a Moto Corse full titainum system which not only increases drivabilty, but has the added benefit of knocking off almost 30 lbs of weight (over 20 lbs saved on the exhaust, plus the airbox, evap canister, and a couple other bits go bye-bye. I also chucked the heavy cast folding footpegs and saved a few more ounces with some billet items.) The old rubber hydraulic lines went in the can, replaced by stainless braided.

The new flatslides have no choke or enrichner circuit, so starting is accomplished by turning on the fuel petcock (yep), waiting a few seconds, and then cranking a few turns on the throttle to actuate the accelerator pumps. Turn the key and the motor fires right off, hot or cold.

The Corse system is mellow on the bottom and midrange, and, as the motor is still in break-in, I don't know how the top end will sound, but if a couple of half-throttle short bursts are any indication, it should howl. It's raspy, but the tone doesn't have the hard edge that my old ST2 with the Duc carbon cans had...that thing could be downright embarrassing in town. This has more of a mellow Harley chuff on light throttle.

The clutch feel is "relatively" light (for a Duc motor, Bimota changed the piston ratio on their master cylinder)) but has the characteristic "jangle" when disengaged. Shifting is very smooth, and requires barely a touch, a welcome change from the stiff shifter on the Ducati.

First gear is VERY tall, requiring a bit of throttle to get things moving, but once the tach is over three grand things get busy IN A HURRY; although, with 9 or 10 year old tires, the amount of playing around I was willing to do was minimal, putting this thing on its side with less than 50 miles on the clock was to be avoided. Stock, the 904 mill makes horsepower in the mid 80's...the carb and exhaust changes are worth about 8-10 hp...not much by todays hyperbike standards, but then, not many hyperbikes weigh-in in dirtbike range, either. The end result is a reasonable amount of horsepower in a very light package. The big bonus is the torque...gobs and gobs of it from right off the bottom.

Suspension is on the very firm side; the owners manual doesn't even address the 5 way adjustable forks or the 4 way shocks...Paoli supplies a separate manual for the forks and addresses service and rebuilding, but doesn't even mention the adjustments, so I'm going to have to do some research once I'm through break-in and put some decent tires on it.

Brakes are Brembos...and they stop right NOW. Its the same system used on my old 150lb heavier ST2, so there is more than enough power to stand it on its nose with two fingers....and on the other end is this teeeny 'lil 8 inch disk and two-pot setup, with just enough oomph to settle the suspension going into a turn, but very little slowing capability at all.

So, what we have is a small, light 900cc bike, with a wheelbase 1.5 in shorter than an R-6, double the torque, and weighing in twenty lbs less than an RD350 Yamaha....even with the hard tires, exiting ANY turn with more than 1/4 throttle nets you a little headshake as the front tire first patters over the road and then loses contact entirely as the front heads skyward. Interesting. Looks like a steering damper is in order......ohh and look, under the left fairing shroud is a bracket already in place for an Ohlins unit.

The bike flicks into a turn with no effort; steering is neutral and solid, not nervous feeling like you'd expect such a teeny bike to feel. Even on some of the choppy pavement up in wester Md, hitting bumps mid-turn never unsettled the bike. Very confidence inspiring even with the dicey tires.

A little more work with some good tires, maybe some titainiam or carbon bits, and maybe send the seat out to Sargent this winter for some real padding and I'll be there.

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It's the seller, silly.......
Motorcycles, riding habits and service, and what to expect from that used bike.

The fact of the matter is, is that odo milage is about the least reliable indicator of a bikes INTERNAL condition. Face it, according to latest industry figures, the AVERAGE motorcyclist rides less than 2000 miles per year. At that rate, most bikes should outlast their owners!

How many videos do we see on here with guys (and girls) clamping on the front brake while they hammer the throttle at redline smoking the tire in a big blue cloud? How many post vids of them and their buddies with the front tire in the air and the oil in the back of the sump while the motor screams at 10 grand? ....and then slam the front back down, and segue into a series of suspension-bottoming stoppies?

How many of your buddies start their bikes up and then zing the tach up to 10 grand to impress everybody with the sound of their new pipe, all while the oil is still cold?

How many of your buddies have NEVER cracked open the owner's manual to check what the service intervals should be, or what weight oil or what tire pressures should be used? Or even how to check the oil level!

I buy (and ride and resell) an average of three used motorcycles per year. I physically inspect and look at 20-30 bikes to get the two or three I'm interested in, after culling through literally hundreds and hundreds of newspaper and internet classifieds to arrive at the few I even want to look at.

And after all that, the number one indicator about what kind of reliable service I can expect from a given motorcycle, barring a design or manufacturing problem, is going to be the attitudes of seller.

I must admit that I fib a lot during the "interview"; I usually tell the seller that I'm kinda new to this game, and so I ask a lot of questions, like what kind of power does it have, why is the middle of the tire flattened with no tread, but the sides are like new; how much does a tuneup cost, and can I do it myself, and THEN I SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO WHAT THE SELLER TELLS ME.

If he tells me about the fantastic power and the 4th gear wheelies he's done for hundreds of yards, and how that dent up on the tank is when he rammed the family jewels on it during the HUGE stoppie he did,; well, I say "thanks for your time" and move on.

If he can't show me the sight glass and the oil fill and doesn't know the last time the plugs were changed, I say "see ya".

By the same token, if he opens up his garage and it's well stocked with tools and stuff, and he tells me that he's still got a 1/2 case of Golden Spectro Synthetic that goes with the bike, and he's just put a new filter in it, and apologises that the brake fluid is a little dark, but that he 's got a fresh can of DOT 4 that he want's to flush the system with before I pick it up; well, he and I will do some talkin'.

Over the last few years, I've bought, ridden and sold a lot of bikes, and I ride with a number of the guys I sold bikes to; a lot of them are up there in milage now ( for those of you still skeptical about longevity of THE NEW Brit bikes; I sold my best friend my used 955i Daytona last year with 5k on the clock.....he now has 40,000 + miles on it with nothing but standard service like oil, plugs, tires and a chain or two) and all of them still run GREAT.

Want to know how long that bike will last?

Look first to the seller, and then look in the mirror.

[PiZdETS]

Cold Ambient Air.....
....means longer warmups, colder tires, roadtemps and falling on yer arse if you are not careful.

I grew up riding in Minnesota, where riding conditions can vary by the hour....leave for work in the morning and watch out for black ice under bridges, come home in the afternoon in the seventies. If you've done any trackriding at all, you've also noticed (I hope) that 15 minutes worth of warmup laps can have a huge difference in available traction.

Todays sticky tires are especially compounded to operate best in a fairly narrow temperature range. Go outside of that temp range and traction can fall off drasticly. Riding at a spirited pace on cold tires on a cold road and what would normally be a little "twitch" during warm weather can become a lurid slide or a crash.

And just because it warmed up in the afternoon, doen't mean the road is much warmer....stop on the shoulder in the shade on a day that starts out in the thirties, and put your hand on the road surface. Now do it in the afternoon, in the shade. Even though the air temp may be 30-40 degrees warmer, the road temp will be in the forties. Something to think about before pitching it into that blind curve like you would in the summer.

Think while you ride.

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After The Fall...
There seem to be a lot of threads on here lately from folks who have either crashed, know somebody who has crashed, or come upon a recent crash. While I have sympathy for anybody who has gone down or been involved in a multi-vehicle accident, my response is always the same; what happened, how can another such incident be avoided, and what did you learn?

If my approach sounds a little cold, well, sorry; but if you screw up and don't LEARN anything, sympathy won't get you anything but killed.

My EXPERIENCE has shown me that ANYTIME I wreck......IT"S MY FAULT.

YEP! Me. The Rider. My Fault. YEP. Even if (or ESPECIALLY IF) the other guy did something stupid. MY JOB IS TO KEEP ME SAFE!!!

And therefore, if I do go down or get into an accident, or witness another accident; my job is to put aside the emotions and analyze WHAT WENT WRONG and what I can do as a rider to avoid doing it AGAIN, because the only guy lookin' out for me out there is ME.

My screwups have come in a couple basic catagories:

> The Doin' Somethin' Stupid Screwup. Like drinking and riding....or riding without gear....or doing a showoff move...in traffic. You know what I mean.

>The I Didn't Know How Screwup. Like braking in turns....target fixation.....locking up the rear brake.....dropping an unfamiliar bike. Those that could be taken care of with a little training and/or a little practice that I didn't do because I was in a hurry or too lazy.

>The I Had No Business Being There Screwup. Like riding at 2 am on a Friday or Saturday nite after the bars just closed....or just about any holiday weekend nite....or during or just after dusk on back roads in deer country

>The I Have The Right-Of-Way Screwup. Oh really? You gonna dent his car with your face to MAKE A POINT? (Sort of a subset of the Doin' Something Stupid Screwup)

>The Riding-Over-My-Head Screwup. See #2 above.

There are a few more generalizations I could make, but you get the idea.

In order for me to survive out there, I need to throw away the blame of others and accept the fact that the worlds' roads are full of lousy drivers, stupid, ignorant drivers, sand in corners, decreasing radius blind turns, nails in tires, cell phones, Buicks, deer, dogs; ad nuaseum and accept the fact that, as a rider, navigating all these hazards is my lot in life that I volunteered for!

Now, what do I do about it?

Not; Who do I blame?

OTB

[PiZdETS]

Acting My Age
One of my neighbors recently took note of the fact that I ride sportbikes, and asked me "Don't you think you are getting a little old for that?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You know" he replied, "sport bikes; crotch rockets. Don't you think a man your age ought to be riding a Harley, or mebbe a Gold wing, or something?"

Well, I was stunned. I've had dirt bikes, sport bikes, race bikes, touring bikes, old bikes, new bikes and just about anything else in between, and each one has filled a percieved "need" at the time; but I've never given much thought as to what a man of my age "ought" to be riding. Which led to me thinking about the choices in mounts I've made, and why, and the type of riding I enjoy and why.

Believe it or not, I don't sit around pondering my navel every day, seeking the answers to deep questions. It's just that, when somebody questions my behavior, I'll often find myself shaking my head while waiting for the traffic light to turn, or catch myself staring out the window for a couple of minutes, feeling a vague sense of unease untill I've had adaquate time to "mull over" the question, and either conclude that I need to change something, or that the basic premise of the inquiry was wrong and the questioner was full of horse hocky.

With the exception of a couple years of club racing a clapped out X-6 up at Brainerd, most of my initial 10 years of riding was spent in the saddle of "practical" bikes...UJM's more noted for their low cost of ownership and steadfast reliablity, than for the tendancy to get your blood to boil. I lusted after Guzzi Lemans', 900SS Ducs, and JPL Nortons, but my limited financial means, along with a deep sense of Minnesotan Practicality dictated bikes with a lot less financial burden, if less than stellar personality. My last bike of this period was a Windjammered Suzuki GS650G with shaft drive...the epitome of competent Japanese engineering, and the poster boy for UJM Boring.

A couple of major "life changing" upheavals occured at that time, of which I won't bore you with the details. But they did have the effect of tearing away the basic financial, familial, and spiritual roots of who I was. I had pretty much lost everything I had at that time, and began the laborious process of rebuilding my life. One of the things I did was go into debt for the most impractical of bikes I'd ever seen...a '82 Yamaha Turbo Seca; at that time, one of the most radical, nasty, snarliest bikes ever built by the Japanese Big Four. Skinny little 4.50/18 rear coupled to an honest to god 100 RWHP four cylinder 18psi turbocharged rocketship (for it's time) of a 90 ft/lb torque monster of an engine.It had zilch below 6 grand and a torque curve that looked like a siloutte of the Devil's Tower......nothing, then straight up, flat, then straight down. Made for interesting corner exits.

Since then, I've pretty much run the gamut of, if not hot blooded, then at least moderately tepid sport bikes (twelve of 'em in the last 5 years, including but not limited to: a Triumph 955i, a Duc, a 929rr and culminating with the latest aquisition, a Bimota DB4 (what my neighbor saw that started this whole missive).

I still look in the mirror in the morning a shake my head, wondering what happened to the last 30 years. I seems like I was young just a finger snap ago, and here I am, well into my fifties........

But, after careful rumination, I've decided that my questioner's original premise: that a "man of my age" should ride something "more appropriate" is of the aforementioned horse-hockey classification. It is only now, after years of careful planning and wheeling and dealing, that I can both afford, and APPRECIATE this type of machinery and the outstanding feedback, agility and security, not to mention that I feel that these bikes are some of the most beautiful pieces of rolling art the world has ever seen.

A few years ago I suffered through a long a painful period of physical disablity, and thankfully, I'm in fairly decent shape today. I don't know what tomorrow shall bring, but today I will ride that which I am able; and today I am able to ride some of the very best, most exciting hardware available, so I shall, and screw what the neighbors think.
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Olde Dog, New Tricks
I sat on my work stool out on my garage the other night, nursing a cup of hot tea while I reveled in the fact that it was late evening on the last day of November, and it was a balmy 73 degrees. I wasn't out riding because I had a bugger of a sinus infection and was on some antibiotics and heavy duty prescription decongestants which all kept me from feeling a hundred percent; better to putz around getting the bike ready for storage and ready for the next warmup than to push my luck and end up chasing down parts over the winter. Nothing worse than ending the season with a crash.

So I spent most of the evening putting a permanent pigtail on the battery for my battery tender, draining carb bowls and changing the oil and cleaning the various screens and filters that the elves in the Ducati design center deemed necessary to keep my aluminum lump of rolling sculpture running for another season.

I figured as long as I was out here, I'd finish pulling al the plastics and clean, rub and remove as much roadgrime and schmutz as I could . (I should get a set of those "Pimpstix", but I've used pipecleaners and cotton swabs since before the invention of fire; and besides, I'm cheap). Doing this kind of stuff gives me a warm sense of accomplishment, under which I like to sit back and wax poetic.

After buttoning things back up, I sat back to admire the work of those craftsmen in Italy: The little Bimota sat on it's rear stand, looking for all the world like some feral animal, poised to strike. Off in the distance, I could hear a I-4 sportbiker do a series of well-executed high-speed upshifts; the motor wailing away in the upper RPM band, smoothly flowing from one gear to the next. Which got me thinking about what I'd like to add and subtract to my bike over the winter; what shiny bits of exotic metal or carbon fiber art would add to both the visual, aural, and riding experience.

Which is a big change for me. Seems the older I get, the more willing I am to experiment a bit.

When I first started riding, and for many years after, I would have nothing but a stock bike (unless I was racing). The limits of mods I made were of the functional type; a luggage rack, windscreen or Windjammer, maybe a set of aftermarket grips was about the depth of my adventurism. No engine or breathing mods, Oh, No!

Part of it was the times: A LOT of aftermarket stuff was just junk, and the good stuff wasn't all that good. Four strokes had their choice of one or two reputable pipe builders, like Kerker for the Jap crowd (loud, with a sharp bark) or Continental (louder, booming roar) for the European crowd; and if you favored two-strokes as I did, all the expansion chambers available were sure to have the neighbors dialing 911 as soon as you pulled out of the driveway. Not to mention the tedious process of getting the carbs dialed in for that new pipe....

The other part was, that I did A LOT of riding all over the country, and so, I met A LOT of bikers broken down on the side of the road. And invariably, that which caused their mounts to fail, was (usually) a poorly conceived, or poorly produced, or poorly installed aftermarket something. I, on the other hand, had been fortunate to ride many tens of thousands of miles (over 100K in my first 5 years of riding) with nary a hiccup (not counting a couple of flat tires). I thought I saw a certain correllation, so I stayed away from modifications.

And I stayed that way 'till just a couple of years ago, when I picked up a pristine, low milage Ducati ST2 for a pittance. Even though it had a bunch of aftermarket go-fast stuff (Carbon pipes, high perf chip, Yoyodyne clutch, high perf brakes, plus some comfort items). I figured that for the price, if this stuff wasn't good, I could convert back to stock and stilll make out.

Turned out that those items added to the pleasure of riding that bike, and since then, I've had a parade of bikes with stuff on 'em with labels from the likes of Yoshimura, Corse, M4, and Traxxion Dynamics.

And I find myself looking at catalogs for 944 kits, light weight flywheels, and laser-carved clutch baskets with matching anodized ventilated covers...Oh, MY!

[PiZdETS]

Dream Bikes
With the posting of the Bimota on another site, I got a couple of "Aren't you the lucky one?" comments. Actually, luck has had little to do with it; so rather than beat around the bush, I'll tell you how I got to purchase my dream bike.

First, some background:

I'm over fifty.
I've been riding since I was 17 (you do the math, it just depresses me).
I went almost broke about 6-8 years ago and lost almost everything, including my bike.
I make much less now than I did in the Eighties.
I am not rich.
If I can buy my "dream bike", you can, too.

The key words are; Time, Planning and Work.

Back in 2000, my wife and I had emerged from a period of self-employment (it's called "going broke" in many circles); we had our house, busted credit and a mound of debt, and a 10 year old minvan with 100k on it. After finding work, we started the process of repairing/rebuilding our lives. Not much fun.

I had sold the bike, boat and everything else 8 years earlier to fund the business, as well as remortgaging the house....

After about a year of working hard to fix the debt problem, I told my wife I'd like to ride again, and she agree to a bike, as long as the funds didn't come out of the household money, but we could spare $500 for short term if I wanted to start the process.

This is what I did; it can work for anyone, using any type of commodity or service, as long as you already know your market.

I had been dabbling with computers, and worked part time doing repairs for a local shop. They sold used systems, and this was right after the dot-com crash. I was working in an industrial park, and one of the other tenants was dealing in then-plentiful used high-end rack servers, bidding on lots from bankrupt business for pennies on the dollar. One of the downsides for them was not having an outlet for all the desktop pc's than always came sprinkled in the lots of rack systems as part of the deal. They had pallets of them, wrapped in plastic, sitting in a dusty corner of the warehouse.

I called the friend of mine with the repair shop and asked him if he could use a few pallets of cheap computers. He could but had no spare cash, so I asked him if he could take them on consignment. Long story short, I spent a day on the phone with a bunch of shops, and got enough committments to move most of the units, at the same time negotiating with the company that had them. I went over the next morning, had them loaded into a rental truck, and in two days time, delivered all the computers I had pre-sold. I took back any non-functioning units, stripped them of parts and sold the parts to the same used computer shops. In a week I had paid back our house fund and netted $1500 bucks; the beginning of the "bike fund".

Rule #1: Take an opportunity when you see it. Ask questions, make some calls...nothing ventured, nothing gained. BUT, by the same token:

Rule #2: Never risk your seed money...only commit when you have a sure thing.
If the deal falls through because you've moved too slow, you are out nothing but some time and effort. There will ALWAYS be other opportunities.

I then begn my search for the RIGHT BIKE. Now, with $1500 bucks, I shouldn't expect much, right?

Rule #3: Set your sights HIGH. If you expect poor results, that is what you will get. I spent pretty much that whole spring looking at Cycletrader, CL, the classifieds; you name it, looking for the right bike. I didn't have a particular model in mind, but I was looking in general for a medium to large displacement sport or sport-tourer; like FJ1100-1200's, 1100 Katanas, CBR1000's and the big Kawi's. I looked at a lot of junk, and kept my money in my pocket. Then one day I called on an ad for a '89 1100 Kat, and new I had found the bike. When I went to look at it, I was convinced: low miles (4600 on a ten-year old bike) perfect cosmetic shape, but it wasn't running. The owner was an Army doc who spent most of his time overseas; the bike spent its life covered in the back of the garage. It would crank, but no startee. Bad case of sit-itis. Flat tires, bad battery . We haggled for two weeks (he wanted $2200 and I didn't have it) After many calls, we made the deal and I rolled the bike into the truck with $200 bucks left to get it running; three weeks later and a lot of busted knuckles, it was ready to ride.

Rule#4 Sweat equity is still equity. If you pay somebody else to do the work, that's less money for you.

I rode that bike for a year, put 8,000 miles on it, and sold it for $3200.

Rule#5 Well bought is half-sold. It wasn't the bike I was interested in for the long term, but it looked good and I kept it looking and running good, so when it came time to sell, it was easy.If the doctor had kept it up, I'd never had been able to afford it. Which leads us to:

Rule #6 Value is in the eye of the beholder. You can quote Kelly Blue Book and NADA all you want, it really comes down to "what will somebody pay you for it?" One man's junk in the garage is another man's foothold on a dream.

And so it began: over the next 5 years, I bought and sold 11 more bikes; some I made a lot of money on, some a little, and I even lost a few bucks on 2 (Rule #7...nobody bats a 1000).

Rule #8 Develop patience as a skill. I had found the bike I wanted over a year ago; but didn't have the bucks. So I just kept at it, buying and selling . Then this summer, I spoke again with the guy who was selling the little Bimota, and he volunteered to drop the price. I was in.

And you can be, too.


OTB

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Fear and Loathing in The Rain
I've read numerous posts here, and with one or two exceptions, RAIN riding seems to be both feared and hated. It's time to demystify RAIN RIDING!

To be honest with you, I actually like riding in the rain, most times. I say most times, because there are certain times when as rider I should take the cage, or pull over and stop:

A. During severe storms: high winds, tornado threats, severe lightning, and torrential downpours. I'm at a disadvantage during these, because of my mounts instability in high winds and deep water, and while lightning strikes on cars are almost unheard of, motorcycles are not so fortunate.

B. When you have mechanical "issues": didn't get that new tire like you should have?; put off finding that strange "miss" or hesitation? When the raindrops are falling fast and heavy, now's not the time to be dealing with those issues...pull over under the next underpass and wait it out.

The problem with not riding in the rain is that (especially in the Northwest) it eliminates a LOT of riding time, and if you stick around and ride long enough, eventually that Accuweather Forecast is gonna be just plain WRONG, and you'll HAVE to ride in the wet. Do you REALLY want to be uncomfortable, unsafe and terrified?

Four things happen to most riders unfamiliar with riding in the rain need to address: Loss of traction, loss of vision (both yours and other drivers), body heat loss (even in the middle of the summer) and, most importantly, loss of confidence.

All that being said, the following is my formula for dealing with the rain, and learning to love it as just another rider's challenge and mastery of new techniques. They fall under three catagories: The Bike; The Body, The Brain


The Bike

Bike in top notch shape...always. I never put off tire and service issues; I ride a lot, so I never know when I may need all the performance and traction my bike has to offer, in the rain or dry.

Most folks that fear the rain have the idea that the bike will snap out from under them at any moment. Having good tires on virtually guarantees that the bike will have more traction than I've got courage. I MEAN it! Todays tires have PHENOMENAL wet traction, as long as they aren't worn out. Those little slots on the tires tread (sipes) give the water a place to go as your big donut rolls through it, and the very small profile and contact patch of your tire compared to a car, which limits your traction in the dry, makes your bike's tires far less likely to hydroplane than automobile tires.

The other big issue on your bike is the brakes....if you haven't checked there condition in a while, take a peek... check the condition of the pads, to insure adaquate amount of material, and check the disks for chatter marks and grooving. The issue isn't brake fade so much in the rain, as it is brake feel and progressiveness. Having brake pads down to the backing plate is not just bad for the disks, it makes the brakes feel "wooden", and they lose there progressive (the harder I squeeze, the quicker I stop) feel, which can lead to accidental (and disasterous) lockup.

While you're at it, if you've been putting off adjusting the clutch or brake levers to make them fall to a more natural plane, now's the time. Having your controls fall comfortably to hand is another key to smooth, controlled riding. AND you did check ALL your lights; brake, running, turn signal and high and low beams, right?

If you riding a faired sport or sport touring bike, you will have little vision advantage over an unfaired bike, unless you're riding something like 'Wing or dresser.


The Body

When I ride, I ALWAYS have a rain suit available. I have my bulky-but-rugged and comfortable Tourmaster packed in my tailpack for long trips, and I have a lightweight Frogtogs suit which folds up to the size of about 4 packs of cigarettes, which stays in my tankbag, which is on the bike ALWAYS. As far as cheap rainsuits; don't waste your money....buying one of those cheap vinyl jobs is like throwing money away, it'll be in tatters in a matter of minutes. Suck it up and buy the good stuff designed for proper fit and holding up under the rigors of riding.

My boots are waterproof Gore-tex; much less stylish than the full-race versions, but my feet are never soggy or too cold, and I'm never distracted by the cold trickle of water down the back of my ankles.

I also carry a pair of gauntleted waterproof gloves in my tailpack for long trips. If my fingers are cold, clammy and stiff, it could make the difference between a close call and a call home.

Full face helmet; if you're still debating the advantages of full face vs half vs beanies, vs none at all, you either haven't been paying attention or you just plain choose to be ignorant and deserve what you get. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Along with that full face helmet is a clean, CLEAR faceshield......still listening? Why? Because those tinted and cool "reflective" face shields block up to 90% of AVAILABLE light, and if it's raining during the day, I lose between 25 and 75% of available light when those big, black clouds blot out the sun....plus, all that rain is going to block available light even further and when it starts pouring and I'm passing eighteen wheelers' "bow waves" on that uphill stretch in the mountains, I'm gonna need all the advantages I can get my hands on.

But, you say, "how can I see ANYTHING in the rain, I don't have windshield wipers?" The answer is, "Quite well, thank you." If you've ever driven in a car in the rain, you know how difficult it is to see out the windshield once it begins to be covered in raindrops. Not so on a motorcycle, looking through a faceshield. The difference is that your eyes are within a scant inch or so of the wetted surface, so each eye ends up looking around different drops of water, rather than through the whole spotted area. It's called paralax, and it's one of the few things working in your favor in the rain. Plus, turning your head from side to side in the windblast removes 90% of the rain from your shield. As far as fogging, most of the premium manufacturers are making fog-free sheilds...if yours isn't, try a Fog City insert....nothing short of riding in a cloud bank fogs 'em up.

Taking care of these items gets you ready to ride safely and comfortably in the rain. My next post will tell you how I've come to enjoy the challenge of riding in the wet, taking care of the head and building skills and confidence in the rain.

Now would be a good time for all you folks with happy wet weather experiences to post up with more gear and bike prep tips.

[PiZdETS]

F and L in the Rain: Part Deux
Well, let's see now; we've got our bikes and our bodies ready for riding in the rain. It's time to get our heads right.

The reason I spent the first post on seemingly trivial things (like the condition of the bike, and keeping warm and dry) is because in order to not fear, nay even LIKE riding in the rain, we need to remove distractions (wet, cold feet, hands and bodies), worries (is that bald tire gonna put me on me arse?) and irritations (not being able to see).

First, lets talk about what happens when it rains; (sounds kinda stupid, but trust me, you need to know this stuff).

A.The absolute most dangerous conditions for a motorcyclist are the first few minutes of a rainstorm, especially after a prolonged dry spell.

Why? Next time you ride, take a look at the center of your lane, especially at intersections and stoplights, (you do ride to the right or left of the center of your lane, right?). That black, slippery looking goo (you know, the stuff you put your foot down in at the last light and nearly dropped it) is the accumulation of cars' leaking antifreeze, oil and tranny fluid, with a little a/c condensate, gasoline, power steering and brake fluid thrown in for good measure. When it rains, those petrochemicals rise to the surface, and the mechanical action of cars' tires that have come down the road before you actually EMULSIFY that mix into some of the slipperiest stuff known to mankind. Its like riding through petrochemical mayonnaise. The good news is, that in a heavy rain, it washes away quickly.

I once fractured my hip when the car in front of me spun out, and I grabbed a handful of brake. We had gone weeks without rain, and it had just started a heavy mist/light rain. I was on an offramp that was so greasy with this mix, that I fell back down when I picked myself back up from the fall.

Soooo, if I find myself in the beginning stages of a rain, in a position where I'm going to be doing a lot of stops and starts; like in downtown traffic; I may wait a couple of minute for it to rain harder. Sounds silly, and I know it runs contrary to "common sense" to resist the urge to "beat the rain", but if I'm going to be wet anyway, why not wait till I can have the most traction?

B.Different road surfaces offer differing amounts of traction...learn to "read the road".

This is as true in the dry as in the rain, but doubly so. Brand new asphalt leaches oils in the rain, (you can see that in the oily "rainbows" sitting on the top of standing water)...and offers a challenging surface in the rain, as does old concrete that has been polished by thousands of tires, and which can become heavily rutted and worn, leaving a deep water track with up to a half inch or so of standing water right where you are used to riding. You may have to ride out of the usual right or left of center where you normally do in the dry, to prevent hydroplaning. Be observant, and be flexible, changing with the changing conditions.


Tactics for learning to love the rain.

Have your gear with you. Do I need to belabor this?

Next time it rains, and you have some free time, go suit up (yep, helmet, too). Go on out on your bike, put it up on the centerstand (if you have one) and sit on the bike. In the rain. Feel silly? Don't . Now is the time to work out the kinks in your gear. Get that collar adjusted so you don't have an annoying trickle going down your neck. Gloves not as waterproof as you thought? Do you get better coverage from tucking your pantlegs into your boots, or over the tops? Answering these questions now, in the driveway, is easier and safer than 300 miles from home on a dark, unfamiliar road, with stiff fingers, cold feet and a fogged up shield.

Now go for a short spin, just a couple of blocks, to make certain your adjustments work in the wind, too. If you have a large school or empty parking lot close by, now would be a good time to pop on over and practice how the brakes and acceleration feel at low speeds. Practice just like you did when taking the MSF course (you DID take the MSF course, right?), but at lower speeds, trying for smoothness overall, NOT speed. Just do 15 minutes or so, don't make a big deal out of it.

Now go home, strip your gear and hang it to dry (don't wad it up or pack it away wet, it will mildew, eechh!), have beer or whatever, and savor the experience.

Next time the weatherman says it's going to rain, take your bike and gear to work; on purpose. Adjust your speed about 10-15% down; add 50-100% distance between you and the other traffic, depending on amout of rain, visability and traffic. Somebody wants to cut in on you, let'em. You're driving for you, today. Relax, let the traffic flow, and you flow with it. Safely, confidently, and be relaxed.

If you stiff arm it, your going to do two things; you'll miss the subtle signals your bike is trying to tell you about road conditions, and traction, and, you'll feed back all that tension and stiffness into the bike, making you feel like you're riding on "knifes edge"; which makes you more tense, which causes more bad feed back....on and on. ....Relax.....take deep, slow breaths. I find when I'm riding "behind the curve", feeling slightly out of control and tense; that nine times out of ten, I'm holding my breath. This does two things; it adds to the tension, and it deprives my poor, sad old brain of much needed oxygen.

BREATHE, and BREATHE some more.

Look down the road.

If it's true in the dry, it's truer in the rain. Looking down the road futher does a couple things for me. Obviously , it "opens up" my perspective...I get to see more of what is around me, earlier. It also has the added benefit of allowing me to plan the "what If's". What if that car runs the red light? What if that van changes lanes? What if there is a branch lying in the road around that next curve? Playing the what if game allows me to start planning for, rather than reacting to, the little "surprises"that get thrown our way, giving me more time to evade under less than ideal conditions.

Looking down the road also gives me the added benefit of "slowing things down". Staring at a point in front of the front wheel makes things feel like everything is flying at me; looking down the road slows that feeling down, giving me a greater sense of control and making my riding smoother.



Practicing these simple techniques will make you not just better, more relaxed rain rider; they'll make you a better everyday rider, adding to your confidence, and smoothing out your style.

See ya out there.

OTB

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Surviving Misinformation
If you're new to riding, and new to this and other forums, you're gonna be bombarded with opinions on everything from which brand of (tire, bike, aftermarket pipes, helmets...ad nauseum) to; are wheelies ok, what size bike is best for beginners, should you wear gear, and on and on. Seems like everybody (including me) has an opinion and is willing to voice it loudly. If you hang around with riders, you're gonna hear some pretty, uhm..., AMAZING stuff.

So how does a new person sort through all the competing voices to find the few nuggets of "truth" through all the chaff?

I'd like to say that everybodies "truth" is valid, but physics has some immutable laws, and the punishment for violating them can be, if not fatal, down right painful and/or permanent.

I'd like to be able to say to you that you should go read a bunch of books on motorcycling, and that will answer all your questions. Unfortunately, that approach is just like basic computer programming ; Garbage in, Garbage out. Just because somebody got published, doesn't make it good. I once bought and read a book on motorcycling and touring on the recommendations of a reviewer in a motorcyle magazine; one of the "tips" the author gave was that in the event of not being able to avoid a crash, that you "lay 'er down" and ride out the slide on top of the bike! He even gave drawings and diagrams to show how it should be PRACTICED, (he did not, however, provide photographs of himself "practicing"). HMMM...just didn't seem to ring true to me.

When I first started riding, an experienced rider friend of mine told me he never uses the front brake...."that thing'll throw you over the handlebars, man". Hmmm...who is right.

By the same token, when I was riding a short while, I read an article by Kevin Cameron about "countersteering". Didn't sound right to me, but I went out and tried his techniques, and THEY WORKED!

Depending on where you are as a practitioner of this sport, there are a couple sources you can count on:

Most of the stuff the MSF courses teach you, although there is some variation from different instructors on detail items like rear brake usage and the like, but overall; good solid info and techniques.

ANYTHING by Kevin Cameron. He's an engineer by trade, so he gets a little dry and throws some heavy math in once in a while, but he also has the talent for explaining difficult physics concepts to the non-engineer. If you are going to have a successful riding career, it helps to know the "why" so you can sort through the, uhm....., crap you're gonna hear. Motorcycling is ALL ABOUT harnessing the physical laws to work for you harmoniously...that's why it FEELS so good when it's done right.

Anything by Nick Ienatsch, including this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/189...73564?n=283155

Anything Reg Pridmore has to say: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/188...73564?n=283155

I did not include Keith Code's books, in that some of the info is a bit dated, a few things are just wrong, and they are not easy to understand for a newcomer.

As well, you may want to check out these links:
http://www.sportrider.com/ride/RSS/1..._braking_tips/
http://www.datacraftsystems.co.uk/te...chniques_left/

It's up to YOU, the rider, to become knowledgable. You'll have more fun if you know not just the how but the why; you'll make fewer mistakes, and be able to judge and analyze your own riding better......which makes it "click" for you faster and more frequently....and makes it fun, faster and safer.

I've seen the question over and over again...."when is this gonna feel natural for me?". I don't know; how much effort do you want to put into it?

Welcome to a whole new world.

Ride with you soon.

[PiZdETS]

Stayin' Alive.........
I have lifted this posting from another board and copied it en toto. It was written by a friend and riding companion of mine from western NY state, after he watched a young, inexperienced rider die right in from of him a couple weeks ago up on 144 on the way to Renovo, Pa . Apparently, the rider froze up going into a sharp, decreasing radius turn; rather than lean the bike over more, he went straight off the road over an embankement and fell to his death.

I submit this to you unedited; the bold and emphasized areas are his. He has distilled the How-To's down to their essentials. He is a long-time rider (thirty-plus years), an accomplished racer and one of the senior engineers for Saab-USA. He currently flogs a BMW Boxer Cup on the track and on the street smoother and faster than I could ever dream and racks up 20-30,000 miles per year on the back roads.

I learn something from this guy all the time. Read it and live it. The life you save may be your own.

From PFFOG:

"I promised this a couple of weeks ago, sorry for the delay. I was thinking about this as I was on the ride to Renovo two weeks ago when the young man I met three hours earlier lost his life. He never got the chance to become experienced.

I needed to stand back and look at what might have happened, as it was the antithesis of what I was going to write.

I will keep it in bullet points, as it is easier to digest.

-Pre-flight the bike, pilots do it, why? Because a failure can be fatal, it is no different on the bike. Tire pressure, front and rear axel, pinch bolts, throttle and brake condition, foot peg mounts (how would you like to stand up to stretch at 55 and have the foot peg fall off), Fenders, shocks. I even give my tires a kick with the heel of my boot frequently when I stop, after lunch etc. There is a distinct sound difference on an under inflated tire.

-Preflight yourself. NEVER ride if you are preoccupied, angry, tired, extremely cold, bored, or have any type of intoxicant in your system. Expressway BORES me silly in about 20 minutes, so I bought a trailer to get to the fun and interesting roads. I did not like the stupor my brain went into after a few miles of ca-chunk, ca-chunk as I motored down the road. I can ride 600-mile days on narrow, twisting and interesting roads, I feel tired at the end of the day, but feel alert the entire time.

-Pay attention to the bike, if something feels different, it probably is. Stop and check (see preflight). Last year at Renovo, I went up the hill and turned at the overlook, we stopped for 5 minutes or so and I headed back down. I started slow and about the 3rd turn, the bike felt different, I stopped and checked the bike and sure enough the rear tire was loosing air rapidly. I did not make it back down without adding air. Same awareness in the car, I can tell I have a tire going soft just by the feel, long before it is tearing itself to shreds.

-Practice, Practice, Practice. The first place I take any new rider is to a back road and I give a braking demo. Front only, rear only and both. Then I make them do the same thing for 15-20 minutes before continuing. Even though I have had ABS for the last 6 years I still practice panic stops. I play “what is the latest I can apply the brakes and stop before” game. It goes like this; I will pick a landmark ahead, a pole, pavement marking sign etc. As I approach, I will wait until the last second I think I can apply the brakes and stop in the panic mode. It is an eye opener and commits some of this skill to muscle memory. I make my sons and wife practice this as well. Start at slower speed and then once comfortable speed it up.

-Read, Read, Read. Get you hands on magazines, books, surf the web. Read about techniques and strategies, then go practice them. One of my signature lines reads “Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes”. This is so true, but easily forgotten.

-Ride like you are invisible, because to many you ARE. Even if people see you they do not feel threatened and would pull a move they would not it you were an 18-wheeler. The vast majority of people behind the steering wheel are passengers in the drivers seat, not drivers. My son use to drive an ambulance in Buffalo and he would constantly tell stories of drivers that did not see him, with all the lights flashing and siren wailing, what chance to you have on a motorcycle.

- Do you have close calls?? If so have you figured out what YOU are doing wrong, even if it is not your fault? You were not anticipating what the other driver, road condition, wildlife, Mother Nature etc. might do. This applies to driving a car, walking, bumping your head and a multitude of other things. Are you constantly “Situationaly Aware” do you always know what is going on around you? If not, learn the skill. The best indicator of your skill is to ask yourself this question. Look in your rear view mirror, do you know where the guy behind you came from???? Did the slowly catch you, did they pull out of a side road or driveway, if so which one??? Strive to be Yoda!!!

-Scan constantly and play “what if”. What if the road turns to gravel over that hill? What if that car parked on the side of the road, pulled over to make a U-turn and they decide to do it NOW? What if that motorcycle coming the other way goes wide? Always have an escape route.

-Do you use riding as a way to feed an adrenaline rush?
If you feel you must always ride WFO to have fun, sell the bike. You can get an adrenalin rush safer ways, skiing, roller coasters, bungee jumping, snowmobiling (only safer than motorcycles if you avoid the bars). You can substitute some of the fun with a good car driven hard.

-Tell yourself LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. I have repeated this mantra to myself a million + times, and still do on a regular basis. It is FUNDAMENTAL to riding safely, and failure to do so is probably the #1 cause of accidents. In my opinion, thinking that you can stop if you are in a corner too fast is a guaranteed accident. There is no way you can stop. Now if you are still going straight and have a few seconds by all means scrub off a few MPH, then look where you WANT to go, release the brakes and head for the apex. My bet would be 99% chance you will make it, vs. 99% chance you will crash if you try to stop. Even if you feel you are 20mph to fast, about 2 seconds on the brakes will drop the speed and now you are going the speed you want, so just turn!!

-All the gear, all the time. Never leave home without it.

-Be aware of closing speeds. When I pass an Amish buggy I am usually going no more than 20 mph, same if I am passing a vehicle going 60, I get behind them, spend some time so they can see me, and I can observe them, then squirt around. I avoid passing multiple vehicles at once, and never pass on “the fly”, it is just too risky.


Now for more specific skills to improve you ability.

SMOOTH, SMOOTH, SMOOTH. So you want to be fast? The best way to get fast is not to try to be fast, but try to be smooth! Smooth adds confidence, concentration, and gray matter application to your riding.

Set up your turns. Look 1-2 turns ahead all the time, it is too late to do anything about the space 50 feet in front of you, you should have mentally passed that a long time ago. Coming out of one corner should position you for the entrance to the next.

Late apex. I wait until I can see the exit of the turn, if possible, before initiating a turn. If you find yourself going wide at the exit of a turn, chances are you are turning in too soon. Remember Look where you want to go and lock on it like a sidewinder missile.

If your chicken strips are less than ¼” wide, get to the track!!! Wait, if your chicken strips are more that ¼” wide, get to the track!!!! Just get to the track, Period, end of discussion. Best place for a novice to learn, and best place to let it all hang out. The more track days I do, the less I have the urge to push hard on the street.

Learn to read the road. There are multiple clues in any given corner. Are there skid marks? Is the guardrail dented? What are the clues that are visible going into a corner? At track days, I ride with some guys that race on a regular basis, but I find I am much faster in the 2nd or 3rd session than them, but by the end of the day they are faster then me. I can’t explain it except to say I analyze everything, after the first session at a new track, I play its layout over and over in my mind, and work on one corner at a time. Once that is committed to memory, I work on the next.

It is getting late, I am sure most have seen this before. But I will continue my thoughts another day, and comment on what not to do."
__________________
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Hot Weather Riding
It's 102 here in Baltimore right now, and not even I like to ride in this weather. But, some of you use your bikes as primary transportation, and HAVE to ride. With that in mind; I offer the following, based on my own experiences, research and the experiences of others before me.

Heat is not the enemy:

I know this sounds funny, but it's true. Heat is not the real problem when riding; loss of fluid is.

If you are healthy, your body is well-equipped to handle heat well up into the 120 degree range.

http://www.whybike.com/motorcycle85.htm

Dressing properly is very important. A T-shirt and shorts are not it; exposed skin is not only dangerous in a crash, it’s a major source of dehydration and sunburn. The desert dwellers learned that covering all exposed skin reduced dehydration. In high heat and humidity, even Kevlar mesh garments are a poor choice.

When you are riding in hot weather, you are in a 60 mile-per-hour convection oven; the wind carrying away both the heat and your sweat. Many riders use the old biker’s trick of soaking the body of a heavy cotton sweatshirt in water, leaving as much water in the shirt as possible and wearing it under a riding jacket. The sleeves are left dry from the elbows down, as well as from the waist down, to allow for moisture wicking down. The wet shirt becomes an evaporative cooler that leaves the rider in blissful comfort for at least an hour. Opening or closing the front (and side zippers, if so equipped) controls the amout of evaporative cooling; which can be in the 20-30 degree range on an unfaired bike.

Start the ride well-hydrated, drinking at least a quart of liquid before departure. Drink at least a quart of liquid such as water or sports drinks every hour. If the temperature or heat index is very high, double or triple it, since fluid loss can top a gallon an hour. Riders who do not need to make a pit stop every couple of hours are dehydrating and should sharply increase their fluid intake. If you are not peeing it means there is not enough fluid in your system and your kidneys have gone on strike....and heatstroke and death are not far away.

After graduating many years ago, I became an apprentice cook in a hotel. As part of my training, I worked many hours in the restaurant kitchens, "on the line"; on the cooking battery, with open broilers, fryers, hot-top stoves (cast iron stoves with 10 sixty-thousand BTU burners, 10 foot open bain-maries (steamtables) and 100 gallon steam jacketed kettles. The thermometer on the wall frequently read in the 120 degree range, with temps next to equipment in the 140-150 range. Stand next to some equipment long enough, and the hair on your arms would start to melt (true!!! those of you in the food business know what I'm talkin' about.)

We dressed in highly starched heavy cotton double breasted cooks jackets buttoned to the neck; highly starched heavy cotton pants, a double-starched DOUBLE cotton apron, and a starched cotton chef's hat.

All that starch in the cotton prevented sweat from soaking in...the many layers of heavy cotton acting as an insulator from the extreme heat. It was possible to work eight, ten or twelve hour shifts that way in relative comfort and safety.

Soooooo.....

The key to riding safely in hot weather is to stay hydrated and INSULATE yourself from the heat, and CONTROL your waterloss through "wetting down" inside garments and controlling airflow. Done right, it can be nearly as comfortable as an airconditioner.


Ride safe.

[PiZdETS]

On Buying A Motorcycle
I've read many threads on here from folks bitten by the riding bug, and they are unsure how to go about it or think they are unable to. Some folks have the money, and just want to know how to go about it; others have tight finances or no credit or bad credit; and are unsure how to proceed.

Like everybody else, I agonized over my first "real" motorcycle purchase. The first bike I bought was a 1969 Yamaha twin two-stroke trail bike basket case...literally, the engine was in pieces in a bushel basket. My buddies brother was sick of trying to make it run right, so I got it for $50 bucks and worked on it in his garage so my folks wouldn't find out. It was a junker, so it wasn't a "real" motorcycle in my mind. Nevermind the fact that it got me hooked, and 35 years and twenty-something bikes later I'm still riding.

Everybodies' circumstances are different; if your of the "I want to buy another toy" set, skip this thread; I'm talkin' to the workin' folks who have to pinch pennies and figure out if they can afford this way of life.

Growing up, I came from, uhm, what my folks would call "difficult circumstances"; we didn't have a lot of money, and we lived in a very economically depressed area. On top of that, my father was an alcoholic, and he spent most of the money that came in on what HE wanted to spend it on. More than once, we were "escorted" from our apartment with all our belongings by the Sherriff. Needless to say, trying to attain some financial security has been important in my life. I have never been one to run after wealth, but I've learned the value of money.

After modest success in the business world, in my later thirties, I lost nearly everything. No job, no money; had to sell ALL the toys: boats, motorcycles, even my car, just to keep a roof over our head. We managed to climb back out of that hole, but the recovery was (and is) slow; I was saddled with ongoing debt and damaged credit; but at least our income was growing and we had some breathing room. To this day, I make much less than I did back in the late eighties, yet we LIVE much better than we did.

As You Read This; Remember My Background, Because It Colors How I View The Whole Process: IT MAY NOT BE FOR YOU.

These are the things I have learned:

Consumer Debt is "BAD DEBT".

Investment Debt is "GOOD DEBT".

Motorcycles make Lousy Investments. Even Harleys.

Most people lie about how much they paid.

It ALWAYS costs more than you think.

When you bought something to increase your enjoyment in life and it's causing more problems than joy; it's time to sell it.

Don't believe the Salesman (or the "Business Manager", another name for the F and I guy) they are there to get the money out of your pocket. Read EVERYTHING BEFORE you sign.

Just because you can't TODAY, doesn't mean you can't TOMORROW.

You appreciate something you had to sweat for more than something you were given.

I'd rather have a motorcycle than not, but not having one won't kill me if it means having a place to live and food on the table for my family (but it still hurts having to give up what I love).

Insurance is a major expense. But don't go without it...it's even more expensive.

A one year old lightly used bike goes just as fast as a brand-spanky new one, and if you shop right , costs 25-50% less (true...I once bought a 955i from a young man who was about to lose his freedom for repeated DWI's....I bought that pristine year-old bike for half of the list price).

Where there is a will there is a way.

If I can do it, I'd rather ride than not.




Soooo...what have you learned. This is not a "rant" thread but a personal lesson thread about the "hard won wisdom" of buying a bike.

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Learners' Bikes
I understand that everyone wants the BEST they can afford, and that between the marketing hype and pressure from "buddies"; everybody thinks they "need" that 160 hp roadburner as a first bike just to keep up.

Many, many on this board like RaeRR, Marko, Dlit, Backmarker, Chuck, Pippi, Jeeps (I could and should go on and on) have repeatedly made the point that hardware is the LAST factor in making a good ride..... that skills and experience come before horsepower and handling.

Perhaps what the new folks need is some "perspective". This is where you yawn and say "there he goes again!"

After riding in the dirt for a couple years, I took the plunge and got my M endorsement in '73; my first roadbike was a 28 Hp Suzuki T20....the fastest 250 available at that time. http://www.t20suzuki.com/ Stock, it weighed about 290 lbs with a half tank of gas with top speed of about 85-90 mph with the wind at your back.

As a contrast, today's "bottom end" starter bike would probably be the Ninja 500 (380 lbs dry, 62 Hp stock....top speed somewhere in the 110-120mph range.)

At the time I started riding, the true HP king was the 900cc Kawasaki Z-1: A gawd-awful 85 hp, and 564 lbs with a half tank of gas. In experienced hands, it would run low twelves. It was considered an animal, for expert hands only.

Today's average 600's produce somewhere in the vacinity of 130 Hp, with a wet weight in the neighborhood of 400 lbs ('06 R-6: 131 hp, 354 lb DRY wt.) top speeds in excess of 150 mph. For most new riders egos, this is considered the FLOOR of where they would like to start. Many folks that hop on this board and wonder if they should just skip over the 600's and jump right on that 180 hp, 1000cc roadburner, with the 189 mph top speed and save themselves time and money.

Make certain your collision, health and life policies are all paid up.

In 1974, I turned my 250 into a race bike, and bought a new 380 Suzuki triple (36hp, 360 lbs). Over the next two years, that bike took me over 26,000 miles, through half of the 50 states and a couple of Canadian Provinces. I NEVER "NEEDED" more power (I could have used some better brakes than the single piston, single disk and drum rear provided). That bike got used as a commuter, a touring bike, my weekend backroad strafer, and made several excursions to the track in the box-stock class. It smoked bigger bikes on the track and on the back roads regularly, and turned times within 1.5 seconds of the open class bikes on the track.

Last fall, I was invited to ride with a group of riders from West Virginia; we went up from Seneca Rocks to Snowshoe for the bikefest. A fellow a little younger (40's) and his wife were mounted on an '05 GS500 with tankbag and soft luggage; he was a fellow about my size (about 6', 200 lbs, wife about 5'4", 120 lbs) the rest of us on Gixxer 750's, 1000's and myself on a 955i Triumph.

He left the parking lot first, and as I pulled out into line behind the rest of the group, I thought "GREAT, now we've gotta follow this Slo Mo Joe through some of the best roads around". Within a mile or so, I found myself railing through the countryside to keep up....that bugger on the 500 (with his wife on the back) WAS LEADING THE GROUP......most of us could maintain the pace, but only one guy on a Gixxer 1K got around him.

I remember that, every time I think I NEED that newest 180hp monstrosity.

[PiZdETS]

Why I Don't Care...
...If Someone Thinks I'm Stuck Up.

Last winter I posted a thread something to the effect of "I won't ride with you if..." and a few folks took offense. Sort of the "Well, I won't ride with you either...Nah Nah!"

I've written constantly about thinking and riding and acting with concern for others. A member of another board I frequent was killed a short while ago, doing stupid stuff at high speeds (lane splitting at high differential speeds on the freeway in heavy traffic). Nobody hit him, he just had a momentary lapse of concentration, lost control, and slammed into a guard rail. He's dead. Never gonna ride again. Period. End of story.

He was one of those guy's who always had to poo-poo folks that warned of the dangers of riding on the edge, on the road. Gear or no gear, making solid contact with an immovable object with your body will leave you permanently crippled or dead. That's the reality.

I've ridden by myself for most of my riding career. Not because I'm stuck up, but because I liked the solitude and the time to chill out and think. A few years ago, I discovered a whole new community through the old, now defunct KatanaPlanet. I went on some group rides, some poker runs, and became a regular and a volunteer for the Ride Across Maryland. Over the last 6 years, I've developed a small group of people that I feel comfortable riding with. The single thing we share besides a love for riding; is mutual respect.

Not because we're all "old hands"; we're not. We're a mixed bag of riders of all ages, all skill levels. What we share is mutual respect for each other as people, and through that, a desire to insure that every ride is a good ride, unmarred by tragedy. The first rule is "Everybody gets home in one piece".

I was perusing the "Crash Video" thread a bit ago, and a two stood out; I'll repost the links below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC6M3uBjc9I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjQvb419Lh0

They both share a common thread; the riders involved (with the exception of the girl on the dirtbike) were all showing off,pushing it, and with two exceptions (the two dirt guys); managed to take out other riders and/ or their bikes.

I don't know about you, but when I go on a ride, I don't PLAN on coming home in a wheelchair or a coffin because somebody else couldn't keep their ego in check. I'll take my lumps for my own mistakes, but don't push YOURS on me.

Sorry if I'm a little pushy on the subject (no, not really sorry), but I've sat on the side of the road waiting for the truck to show up when the hot dog of the group wadded up his new GSXR; and watched a buddy quit riding when some butthead forgot the street is not the track and tried to stuff his bike under my friend's in the middle of a turn and didn't have the chops to pull it off. I've been to funerals of guys that didn't know that beer (even one) and bikes don't mix.

So, go ahead and tell me I don't know what I'm talkin' about; that I'm "old school" and out of it.

I'll still ride my ride.



For Jason

----------------------------------------------------------
Engineers
1. Two engineering students were walking across a university campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?"
The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday, minding my own business, when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike, threw it to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want."
The first engineer nodded approvingly and said, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fit you anyway."
__________________________________________________ ____________________

2. To the optimist, the glass is half-full. To the pessimist, the glass is half-empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
__________________________________________________ ___________________

3. A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers.
The engineer fumed, "What's with those guys? We must have been waiting for fifteen minutes!"
The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such inept golf!"
The priest said, "Here comes the green-keeper. Let's have a word with him."
He said, "Hello George, what's wrong with that group ahead of us?
They're rather slow, aren't they?"
The green-keeper replied, "Oh, yes. That's a group of blind firemen. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime."
The group fell silent for a moment. The priest said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight."
The doctor said, "Good idea. I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist colleague and see if there's anything he can do for them."
The engineer said, "Why can't they play at night?"
__________________________________________________ _________________

4. What is the difference between mechanical engineers and civil engineers?
Mechanical engineers build weapons and civil engineers build targets.
__________________________________________________ __________________

5. The graduate with a science degree asks, "Why does it work?"
The graduate with an engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"
The graduate with an accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?"
The graduate with an arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"
__________________________________________________ ___________________

6. Three engineering students were gathered together discussing who must have designed the human body.
One said, "It was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints."
Another said, "No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous system has many thousands of electrical connections."
The last one said, "No, actually it had to have been a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?"
__________________________________________________ ___________

7. Normal people believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet.

[PiZdETS]

In Your Wake.....
I read indignant posts on this forum and others, when a local radio personality, or an editorial, advocates taking "some kind of action" against bikers. The rant usually starts with some anecdotal evidence about mad bikers making high speed runs through traffic, others doing stand up wheelies on the freeway, and 100 mph lane splitting, and ends with a comment about wanting to "take out" some of these hooligans.

The folks on these forums then respond with indignation; "how could someone in their position advocate vigilantiism? I'm outraged, and I'm gonna e-mail the (newspaper, radio station, TV station; pick which applies)......

.....and then a couple days later, some nit-wit (sorry if you don't like the label, but if that's how you ride, that's what you are) posts a "cool vid" of him and his "boyz" doing the same damn thing....160 mph runs, weaving in and out of cars, endangering everyone around them....(and don't try friggin' lyin' to us that you are only endangering yourself...you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that a 500lb bike travelling a 130mph or so has the same energy a bundle of dynamite).

AND THEN WE"RE PUZZLED WHEN THEM DAMN CAGERS DON"T LIKE US; WANT TO REGULATE US, OR BAN US FROM THIS OR THAT PARKWAY....

....or some pissed off dad in his Explorer gets tired of having the wits scared out of him by thoughtless a-holes doing 140mph strafing runs, and takes it upon himself to give some biker a 2500lb nudge.

I don't condone it.

But I understand it.

Frighten people enough times, long enough and bad enough, and they WILL strike back, in ways that even surprise them! Simple human nature.

So before you start pointing fingers next time somebody in a "cage" does something outragous; take a good long look at your own behavior before you start your condemnations.

The life you save may be your own. Or mine. Or your buddies.

---------------------------------------------------------

Long but worth it.
By Jeff Hughes

Why is it that he seems content to just roll along, playing those curves in the road like so many riffs drifting easily from a well-worn guitar?

You slide in behind him-or maybe he glides smoothly around in front of you-and within a handful of corners you know there's something special here. It's not his hardware, which might be anything from an ancient BMW Airhead to a years-old Japanese Standard to the latest race-replica tackle. Nor is it his clothing, which, if anything, probably carries a patina of age-the leather or nylon faded from long miles in the sun and spotted from uncounted bug-cleanings. Nor is it just that he's fast, though he probably carries a pretty crisp pace. No, what instantly gets your attention is the utter casualness-the sheer effortlessness-with which he rides along the road, dispatching the curves like so many pieces of candy. There's a relaxed assurance in his demeanor, a perfect confidence in his swift cadence, which gives rise to a certainty of what the next miles will bring. His speed is just-so. We watch for a while-assuming we're able to stay with him-and in our heart of hearts, where our desires stir and our egos live, we couch what we're seeing in the same way we always do. We know some guy, maybe we know lots of guys, buddies who are surely faster than Mr. Smooth and Effortless. Hell, maybe we're faster. But even as we think these things, salve for the ego, we can't escape the growing suspicion that this rider in front of us is just playing. Not with us, but with the road-probably the merest touch of a smile tugging at his lips as he glides through the corners-even as our own heart hammers a staccato beat as we're carried along in the rush behind him. Maybe it dawns on us, in a moment of honesty, that he could just walk away if he wanted. One of those things you just know. So why doesn't he? Why is it that he seems content to just roll along, playing those curves in the road like so many riffs drifting easily from a well-worn guitar? We all talk about being good, about being smooth. Well, there he is, right in front of you. The poster child.In a sport whose very appeal is built around the merits of speed-a sport where our greatest heroes are those who go the fastest, a sport where even the most mundane machinery comes dripping with performance, where even the clothes we wear are based upon the need to attenuate the risk we perceive attendant to that speed-it's hard not to get caught up in the notion that speed is the thing. It's both the yardstick by which we measure ourselves and the mantle in which we wish to be draped. Hell, who doesn't want to be fast?

The corollary, an article of faith repeated so often that it seems to beg any argument, is that speed-too much of it at least -is a bad thing. It's the bogeyman waiting to catch us out any time we cross the imaginary line of too much. Most of us nod our heads when we hear that.

The thing is, that doesn't always jive with our experience. We see guys all the time who manage to crash at quite modest speeds. And we know some-admittedly a much smaller number-who ride really fast, and have for a long time, but who never seem to crash. Not as in they don't crash very often. As in they never crash.

We all undertake a modicum of risk every time we thumb the starter-it's just inherent to the sport. But those of us who choose to adopt a faster pace deliberately assume more of that danger. We knowingly engage the laws of probability in a game of chicken. You play it long enough and you lose. That's what we've always been told, right?

Why is it, then, that such a select group of riders manages to ride at an elevated pace over many miles, weekend after weekend, trip after trip, year after year, with little in the way of mishap? Why are these riders seemingly held apart, aloof, from the carnage which too-often otherwise afflicts our sport? And how is it that so many other riders, traveling at much lesser speeds, still manage to toss away their bikes with such depressing frequency?

Well, maybe we've been looking in the wrong place all along. Maybe, just maybe, it's not about speed after all-at least not in the way we usually think of it. Maybe it's about something else, something as simple as the degree of control we exercise over a span of road.

It might happen on any ride, on any Sunday. We head out with some buddies, or maybe we hook up with that group of guys we were talking to down at the gas station, or maybe that devil on our shoulder is simply a little more vigorous in his exhortations this day. However it happens, we soon get to the road. The good one. The one that brought us out here in the first place. And there, in that mix of camaraderie and good tarmac and adrenaline-laced delight, we find ourselves giving away that which we had sworn to hold tight to-our judgment. It doesn't happen all at once. We give it away a little click here, a little click there, like a ratcheting cord. Soon, rolling through the curves faster and faster and laughing under our helmets all the while, we enter a new realm.

We've all been there. We instantly know we're in a new place because it's suddenly different. Our lines are no longer quite so clean. We're on the brakes more, and we're making little mistakes in our timing. And instead of that Zen-like rush through the corners we enjoyed just moments ago-the state of grace that is the prize of this sport-we're now caught up in the brief slivers of time between corners trying to fix those mistakes. They seem to be coming faster now-both the corners and the mistakes-and there doesn't seem to be quite enough time to do what we need to do, the errors piling up in an increasingly dissonant heap. Our normally smooth riding is suddenly ragged, with an edgy and anxious quality. Inside our helmets the laughter mutes and then is gone altogether, replaced by a grim determination to stay on pace. We start to mutter little self-reproaches with each newborn error.

Soon enough we'll blow it. We'll get into one particular corner too hot-realization and regret crystallizing in a single hot moment-and from that instant until whatever's going to happen does, we're just along for the ride. It will be what it will be. With a touch of luck we'll come away with nothing more than a nervous laugh and a promise to ourselves not to do that again. That and maybe one more little debt to pay. You know, the one we just made to God-if he would please just get us out of this mess we'd gotten ourselves into. Just this one last time, promise.

Just one of those moments, huh?

It has to do with choices. When we ride a challenging road-at whatever speed-there is an observable, knowable degree of control that we exhibit. Not just over one corner. Not even over just one section. But over the entire road. On some days our mastery is complete-we've chosen to stay well within our own personal skill envelope. On other days-well, on other days maybe we choose to push toward the edge of that envelope. To a place where our mastery begins to diminish. To a place where the degree of control we exhibit gradually decreases. Ultimately, to the tipping point-where all our skills seem to go to hell and gone in one big hurry.

There's a predictability to it. A good rider, riding within his proper envelope, will have none of those moments. There will be no spikes in his heart rate. No sudden bursts of adrenaline. Nothing but a smooth, flowing movement across the road. He will be this side of the tipping point-the tipping point for him. It'll be different for each of us. And it'll vary from day to day, maybe even hour to hour, depending upon how we feel. Sometimes we're in the groove and sometimes we're not. But I think the key is that as long as the rider stays this side of the tipping point, he can probably ride a surprisingly long time without ill effect.

And that's the message. The predictor of bad stuff, the closest thing we have to a crystal ball, are those moments. They are part of the landscape, part of the sport. And they happen to all of us. But for any given rider, they need to be very rare. If they happen with any frequency at all, I'd say the tipping point is at hand. And if that's a place you choose to hang around much, there's probably something very ugly waiting for you not too far down the road.

Think about all those riders who've ever impressed us, like our rider at the beginning of this story. They all seem to have a smooth, fluid, easy quality about them, an assurance which belies any stress or fear. They're always balanced, always in control. I suspect somewhere along the line they've acquired a germ of wisdom, hard-won over many miles, which has given them an appreciation of their own limits. They know where that tipping point is-where their mastery of their bike, the road and the environment begins to slip away-and they long ago made the decision to stay this side of it.

When you do find them testing their limits-surely there's an argument to be made for exploring the edges of one's ability-it's likely to be at a time and place of very careful choosing, and it probably involves a racetrack. Much of wisdom involves simply knowing when and where to lose those impulses that we all carry.

So maybe it's never been about speed after all. Maybe that's why such a small, select group of people are able to ride for years and years without crashing-the fact that they ride fast is secondary to the fact that they're always in control. They know their own limits.

And that's the lesson for the rest of us-at least for those of us who wish to enjoy this sport for a long, long time. There's a choice to be made, every time we thumb the starter.

Not that it's easy. If it were, we wouldn't see the carnage among our ranks that we do every weekend. But for those who manage it, for those who bring restraint and discipline to mix with their skill and daring, there's an upside, even beyond the satisfaction of bringing one's bike and body back unscathed after an afternoon's ride. There's something to be said for gathering up one's powers, like the magician that motorcycle makes us feel like, and wielding them well along a good road. There's art to be found there.

Art and magic.

This article originally appeared in the October, 2003 issue of Sport Rider