Ninja 250 Update

I finally got around to fixing up the damage I did to the 250 at the end of September. As you may recall, the left front turn signal punched through the fairing on its way to an untimely demise. I actually have some pictures to post of it and the restoration process.

Here it is after the fix. Hard to see the crack from the outside.

Next is the inside of the fairing where my friend Steve mended the plastic.

Here is what an OEM signal looks like.

This is what the turn signal looked like after the crash.

I put these flush-mount signals on as replacements. The pair of these (direct from Taiwan) cost less than one stock replacement would from Kawasaki.


Finally, I've gotten around to taking a picture of the bike with the repairs.

The Gift Season

Around this time every year I start seeing Internet list of gifts to give for any and all demographics. A quick Google search shows that other people have compiled lists for motorcyclist gifts before me. I'm going to give it my best shot anyway. ;)

One idea would be the Crampbuster. It's kind of like a poor man's cruise control and a great way to relax your hand on the long haul. I haven't used one, but I have talked with riders who will swear by them for touring with and keeping your wrist from cramping up on high-mileage touring.

Another useful thing to have on your motorcycle is a bungee net, like Bikemaster's stretch net. It comes in colors to match your bike, too. I have used this to carry things like an extra helmet or a two-gallon fuel tank.

The next item I have for touring is another Bikemaster product, a mini-foot pump. It's compact and light so it packs well for touring. You never know when your tire might lose air and need to be re-filled. Normally this happens when you are in the middle of nowhere and can't get to a gas station to use their air-pump. Mini pump to the rescue!

In the same vein, a tire repair kit would make a great gift.

For the rider who is often found out in the rain, try finger squeegees. I don't want to think about the times last summer when I got caught by that little bit of rain or, worse yet, the wet roads and the mist that gets kicked up by the traffic around you. Every time that happened I told myself I would order these as soon as I got home. Still hasn't happened. If your biker is like me, these are for you.

The last useful item I will add to the list is a chin skirt for the helmet. Some manufacturers have things like this already built in, but more often you get to add your own. I found this little item to be one of the best ways to help keep my face warmer on the colder commutes. It really cuts down on wind and debris getting into your helmet.

Finally, if none of these sound right, find out what brand of gear they wear. Most makers have a line of non-motorcycling apparel as a way of showing your brand loyalty.

Note: I have no affiliation with any of the sites linked above. This post should not be construed as an endorsement of any specific retailer or manufacturer.

Ninja 250

As Matt said, we will both give a review of our respective sportbikes. Though we ride different machines, they are both good beginner rides. Mine is a 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 250, or EX250F19 (the EX designation for the non-race oriented sportbikes and the F19 for it being the 19th year of production.) The little Ninja is probably the most recommended beginner motorcycle in the sport classes. It gets these high praises by virtue of its low weight and low power. At around 350 pounds with roughly 25 horses it seems puny in comparison to its bigger brother the ZX-10, with four times the engine displacement, making 160 horses with a sub-400 pound weight.

The low power is part of the charm of the EX250 however. It has the power to comfortably cruise with highway traffic, and then some. At the same time, you have to learn proper shifting and transmission skill to keep it lively in traffic. It's not just a twist the wrist in any gear and go machine. The low weight is part of why it can get away with the small engine. The weight also is a plus when you accidentally horizontally park your bike.

Also, it has a less twitchy suspension than a full on race bike. While its handling is far more responsive than that of a cruiser like the Harley I had the opurtunity to ride a while back, it is not so responsive as to react to the minute inputs common to a rider still in the process of getting used to controlling a motorcycle. When a super-sport would swerve and turn, the little Ninja just gives a little lurch to remind you to keep your mind on the ride. This is not to say that it isn't a capable handler of the twists and turns or the times when a rider needs a quick response, but takes more awareness of what the rider is doing and, through that, is a wonderful way to learn how to ride and how to ride well.

Next up in the cross-hairs, the suspension and brakes. Both are less than stellar. The suspension is one of the things that long time owners often upgrade for heavier springs and more adjustability. The stock set-up has no adjustability and wonderfully soft front forks, lending the bike to extreme nose dives under heavy decelaration. This is not a totally bad thing though; it helps prevent the rear tire from coming up. However, the rear tire will still get light and lock up quickly without enough practice under extreme braking situations. (See my September 29th post.)

Last but not least, long term ownership: I know many people who consider the 250 to be a beginners bike that will go to the wayside as the rider's skill level progresses. I know more people who are highly experienced rider and looking for that used 250 to snap it up and use it as a commuter (65 miles to the gallon helps that midset) or to throw it around as a cheap track bike. I really enjoy being the owner of such a fine motorcycle and if I get told tomorrow that no one is allowed to buy or sell a motorcycle anymore than I will be pleased to be stuck with this one. In the picture below you can see that it even works well as a touring bike.

Motorcycle types: The Sportbike

In past posts, we've gone over standard motorcycles and cruisers. Now it's time to go over another common type, the sport bike. Sometimes you'll hear these called crotch rockets, but be careful what sort of riders you use that particular term around. Some sport bike riders will tell you that a crotch rocket is something you'd find at an adult bookstore instead of a Kawasaki dealership.

First, I'll need to define what separates a sport bike from a standard. The line isn't always obvious. Compare a Yamaha FZ6 to its close relative, the YZF-R6. The two look pretty similar, especially to a non-rider. So what's the difference?

The definition I'll use is that a sport bike is a performance oriented bike with a full fairing. That is, it has plastic or fiberglass bodywork to streamline it, and this bodywork extends from above the handlebars to below the engine. Standards like the FZ6 may have a bit of a fairing around the handlebars, but it doesn't cover the whole bike.

Now, you can divide sport bikes into two groups - race replica bikes and more street oriented ones that I'll call sport standards. A race replica bike is the roadgoing version of a bike built for track use, designed for setting the fastest lap times around a race track. The designer will sacrifice almost anything else - comfort, practicality, beginner friendliness - for a second off the lap times. Sport standards are more like a standard bike, just with extra streamlining.

Race replicas are not the easiest thing to learn on. They're usually the sort of bike that, to use a phrase I've heard often enough and long ago enough to forget who said it, will immediately do exactly what you accidentally tell it to. As a 600 cc race replica bike will often have more than 100 hp, you can accidentally tell it to do a lot. There are people who have learned to ride on these bikes, and there are also countless examples of race replica bikes sitting in used bike dealerships with less than 1,000 miles on the clock because the owner realized they had bought too much bike for them. These are the sort of bikes wise riders work their way up to by first learning on other bike.

Race replica bikes have a very leaned forward position. This makes it easy to tuck behind the windshield. Some riders put a bag on the tank and put something soft in it that they can lay flat on top of to make their race replica bikes more comfortabe. That would probably work well if you kept your rain gear in the tank bag. I would probably get in trouble if I tried that; I have a tank bag myself and find it just too handy a thing for hauling around a stash of banannas.

Sport standards are a good choice for that learning bike. They have their controls placed right where they'd naturally feel like they belong, they are meant to be ridden on the street, and the 500 cc and under class can make excellent first bikes. Like standards, a sport standard can do a surprising number of things well. They are at their best on twisty roads, but you can also take a sport standard on long trips, commute on one, or even ride one on gravel and graded dirt roads. The biggest disadvantage that a smaller sport bike will have over a similar standard or cruiser is that if you drop it, there's more bodywork to fix.

We've mentioned a couple of times that there are two typical red flags to warn a first time rider a bike is the wrong choice - a bike that is too powerful or too heavy. There's a couple different rules of thumb about too heavy for a first bike - some say 500 lbs, some say three times your body weight, or another rule of thumb is just don't pick one that will give you any trouble if it falls over. No matter which of these rules you pick, few sport bikes are too heavy. But they can easily be too powerful. Don't go over 50 hp if you're a beginning rider, at least not by more than a couple ponies. Learning to ride is a lot harder if you are also learning to control a machine that's twice as fast as anything you have ever driven.

Both Philip and I have sport bikes, so we will be posting reviews of them soon. And later, we're going to get into a couple other categories of bikes. Yes, there is more in the motorcycle world than cruisers and sport bikes.

The Harley 883

Since the last style of bike we talked about was the cruiser, I thought it appropriate to talk about riding one of the most well known names out there. I had the opportunity about a month ago to ride Harley-Davidson's Sportster 883 (actually, just hours before I crashed my Ninja.) For the 2009 production, Harley has two versions of the bike with their smallest engine. The 883 Low and the 883 Custom. The main differences are the seat height and foot control position, the Low has mid controls and a lower seat than the Custom with forward controls. I would have preferred the Low since I didn't like the idea of kicking my feet out in front of me, but it is pretty easy to get used to.

According to HD, the Sportster has a 28 inch seat height, 4.5 gallons in the tank, 55 ft lbs of torque, and weighs in at 590 lbs wet. It has a brutally simple instrument panel, speedometer and indicator lights only, and Harley's classic turn signal controls on both handlebars (rather than controlling them both with one thumb.) It also has the look that hasn't changed much in the fifty years that this model has been in production.

But, how does it ride, you eagerly ask. It's heavier than any production sportbike and it makes that fact known, but it also has a low center of gravity in comparison so it is still easy to stand up and hold. Twisting the throttle yields gobs of low end power, but even though it doesn't have the eyeball popping acceleration I found on Buell's 1125, it feels like you could use it to pull tree stumps out of the ground. The high handle bars and kicked out feet made for a very relaxed feeling on the straights but were less than confidence inspiring in turns. I suspect some one more used to the cruiser style would feel the same way if they got on a sportbike though.

Overall, the fit and finish of the motorcycle was impeccable and it was very comfortable, the throttle response was predictable and the clutch pull light and smooth. It would make a very nice second bike for someone interested in that style, but the weight and torque put it a little beyond what I would typically recommend that a new rider start on, even though I know several people who have gone this route.

Motorcycle types: The Cruiser

Perhaps one of the most thought of styles of motorcycles is the cruiser. What makes it a "cruiser" is the frame geometry. They typically have lower seats, longer front forks, a more pronounced rake, and a longer trail (wikipedia has a decent article about frame geometry here.) All of that adds up to greater stability at high speed and a greater resistance to turning. Also, many cruisers have foot pegs farther forward than on a standard motorcycle, leaving your legs much straighter and in a more relaxed, reclining position. There are many cruisers to choose from, it is one of the most prolific classes of motorcycle, but few of them are suitable for riders new to the sport. Matt's rule of thumb about "under 50 hp" is easy to follow, but it is more difficult to find bikes under 3 times your body weight.



One such bike is the Honda Rebel.



The Rebel is a very common motorcycle and extremely inexpensive. If this is the style that appeals to you, start your search with looking at the Rebel or Suzuki's GZ250 or even the Kawasaki Eliminator 125 or Virago 250 (which has the more "traditional" V-twin look.)

Crashing

So, I get to type this post one-handed. Saturday afternoon was a lovely day for a ride, a little hot for the jacket I was wearing but not too bad. I decided to take a road I'd never been on, just to see if it went where I thought it did. Mistake number one. Almost immediately, the road started into what looked like a nice sweeping turn. Once I got about halfway through, I realized it was tightening down. Here is where I made the second mistake. Just days after I had been talking about discovering just how much looking all the way through the turn helps with stability and cornering, I look at the edge of the road in front of me. While I look in the wrong direction, I panicked about not being able to make the curve. Enter third mistake, I locked up my rear brake. The back tire started to slide out and I went straight off the road toward a slope down into a field. As soon as the tires hit the grass, they slide the other way, dumping me down into the ground elbow first.

I can't say enough about the kindness of strangers. By the time I stood up and gathered my wits, a bicyclist and the lady driving behind me had stopped and the biker was starting to pick up my motorcycle. Three motorcyclists also stopped when they saw me and called the EMTs for me, since I couldn't move my arm to get to my phone.

Basically, one broken front fairing, smashed turn signal, a few bruises, and one dislocated shoulder later, I learned a few things I would like to share and hopefully help some one else avoid my mistakes. First, sometimes riding the speed limit is too fast, especially when you're on unfamiliar ground. Second, look where you want to go. Had I looked through the turn, I would have reacted better to conditions. Third, and this goes with the second, lean more in the turn. I had plenty of lean angle left, I just didn't trust my tires and bike like I should have. Besides, if I had been further leaned over, I wouldn't have had as far to fall. ;)

It really is a Blast!

As you might have guessed, I wanted to take the time to review a bike Matt mentioned in the post about the standard motorcycle category, the Buell Blast.

What can be said about the smallest motorcycle manufactured by an American company? First and foremost, it is definitely not just a beginner's bike. While it fills the role of a great motorcycle to learn on, due partially to it's relatively low weight and low powered engine, it can also be used for a variety of other things. But, more of that later.

First things first, a few details about the machine. With a MSRP of $4,795 it costs more than the smaller bikes such as the Nighthawk, or Ninja 250, but still is less than a new GS500F will set you back. Accordingly, it's horse power rating is also in the middle of the pack, generating 34 HP at 6500 rpm. Since it has a dry weight of 360 pounds, that still gives it one horse power per ten pounds. A respectable power to weight ratio for something never designed to win races.

What it is designed to do is help you learn to be a better, more capable motorcyclist. Here it shines. The clutch pull has been light and even on the Blasts I have ridden and the friction zone wide and easy to find, unlike other bikes such as most Yamahas and even my Ninja. The one thing that does put off some people about the Buell is it's engine. It has a single cylinder. This leads to a fair amount of vibration, especially at low rpms. Although, once the engine is revved higher it smooths out considerably.

As discussed in the previous post, it has the classic ergonomics of a standard. With a seat height of 27.5 inches (25.5, if you have the low-profile seat option from the factory) it is relatively easy for most riders to flat foot. The handlebars are set just above hip height and an easy reach while sitting upright. Finally, the foot pegs are located almost directly beneath the knee. All together, it has a relaxed riding position meant to inspire confidence in the rider.

Now, to the meat of the matter and what everyone wants to hear about. Performance and handling. True to form from Buell, it has more torque than a bike of its size and class has a right to expect. It will pull away from a stop light and any traffic without any problem and the five-speed gearbox will get you comfortably up to highway speeds (and enough beyond for you loose your license before the governor kicks in.) The Blast might not be the fastest kid on the block, but it definitely won't hold you back. As I said earlier, the single cylinder thump smooths out well at higher rpms and near the HP sweet spot.

That engine is all well and good for going in a straight line, but what about when you have to turn? This is where Buell prides themselves and the smallest member of their line up is no exception. With the signature under slung exhaust it has a very low center of gravity and with a rake of only 25 degrees it turns in well without being twitchy. Combine that with a suspension travel of over 4 inches front and back, you get a bike that stays planted in the turns without fighting you to fall in or stay upright.

Here is the Blast that resides in our garage.
As you can see it has an aftermarket windscreen on it, making it much more friendly for long distances or highway speeds for any length of time. What you don't see are the saddlebags that we had removed on the day this picture was taken. With just a little bit of effort, the Blast makes for a decent, albeit small, touring motorcycle. The small (2.8 gallon) fuel tank also hampers it a bit in that category. Although, it does actually achieve the factory claims of 65-70 miles per gallon, and we have even seen it reach 90 mpg on a day of back country highway riding.

All told, its a wonderful little bike to learn on and even keep as a daily commuter, if that's what you're looking for. But, the lack of easy storage and small tank will hold it back from being a true all around motorcycle.

Motorcycle types: The Standard

If you're looking to get into motorcycling, the first thing I'd recommend doing is taking a riding class. Once that's done and you have your license (or in some states, before you have your license), you'll need to pick out your gear and your bike. Many newcomers think of bikes in two kinds, cruisers and sport bikes. However, there's a lot of other styles to pick from, even if some of them are much less common.



I'm going to start this series on bike types with one of the less frequently seen types today, the standard motorcycle. The reason is that once you've got a good idea of what a standard is, it's easier to understand the differences between most of the other styles. Another reason I'm starting out with this type is that standard bikes are a pretty good choice for your first bike. As you might expect, they're called standards because for a long time this was what you got if you wanted a motorcycle. In the 1980s, bikes became a bit more specialized and the standard became something of a niche product by the mid '90s.


Here's a good example of a beginner friendly standard, the Buell Blast. The Honda Nighthawk 250 is another example of a good standard for a first time rider - in fact, both of these bikes put in a lot of workhorse duty in riding classes. Standard bikes can range in style from traditional to modern, but there's a few things they all have in common.

The biggest one is their riding position. On a standard bike, you sit upright on the seat and your feet are either beneath your hips or slightly in front of them. There's usually not much bodywork, although some of them have a small windshield or a bit of a fairing. A good standard can do a bit of everything - they're a bit sporty, reasonably comfortable, and can even do all right on a gravel road. This makes them a great choice if you're not sure exactly what sort of riding you'll be doing when you get started out.

If you're looking for a standard, it's hard to pin down an exact engine size for a beginner to avoid as manufacturers have put all sorts of different engine types in here from detuned racing engines to motors intended strictly for low maintenance street riding. A good rule of thumb is no more than 50 hp and no more than three times your body weight.

Another shot from Killboy.

This is why you should always check the mechanicals of your bike before a ride.

Looks like her speedometer cable came loose. I don't think I need to go into why that's a bad thing. Always check your bike before any major ride. Always check you bike at least twice a month if you ride often, like your friendly M4AM bloggers.

Remember the MSF's pre-ride check list:
T-Tires & wheels
C-Controls
L-Lights
O-Oil
C-Chassis
S-Stands

Godspeed and happy riding.

Firstgear Glove Review

On Sunday night, I picked up a pair of Firstgear Mesh-Tex 2.0 gloves from a friend. I've been looking for a pair of shorty gloves to replace my Harley-Davidson leather pair. The HD gloves are nice, high quality leather with a very good liner, but they aren't well suited to a sportbike due to the thick padding on the palm that makes it annoying to have any weight on your hands for any length of time. Another reason I've been looking for a new pair of gloves is the Harley ones have no armor or padding on the outside of the hand, leaving only a thin layer of leather to protect my knuckles in a fall.

The Firstgear gloves have not only a carbon fiber knuckle guard but they also have double layered leather on the palms over areas most likely to suffer abrasion from sudden contact with concrete. The leather used over the fingers and palm is thick but very soft to the touch. It's more like suede than the drum dyed leather of my Joe Rocket gauntlets. The back of the glove is a mesh material, but, between the liner of the glove and the knuckle guard, it doesn't do much in the way of letting air across the back of your hand. Fortunately, the vents on the fingers are quite effective at forcing air through the glove.

Today was my first chance to wear them on the bike. I was impressed with how well I could feel the controls in spite of the thickness of the palms. As I said earlier, I was happy to have the finger vents to cool my hands some on the ride home. It hit 100 degrees on the roads. The thick gloves could use better ventilation, but it's all a trade off for the added protection of the carbon fiber. Speaking of the armor brings me to my only complaints so far. One, the armor sits a little too far back on one of my knuckles putting a little bit of pressure on the finger, but not enough to be obnoxious. Two, I wish the seams were stitched differently. I've been spoiled by the gauntlets that have all the seams on the outside of the fingers. The Firstgear gloves have normal ones which leave a ridge of leather along the inside of your grip, rubbing uncomfortably.

All in all, though, my initial take on them is quite favorable.


On a different note, one more reason to wear full gear. This morning, as I rode in, the car in front of me hit a cardboard box in the roadway. The box got kicked up by the rear tire and smacked right into my arm at the front end of the elbow armor and then into my knee. As it wasn't all that heavy it didn't have much of an effect on me and I really didn't even feel it hit. However, I have a feeling that without my jacket on I could have had a little bit of trouble with it.

Smooth looking bike.

Saw a Honda Pacific Coast while riding home yesterday. I've heard it described as ahead of it's time in design. After actually seeing one on the road, I have to agree and add that if you like spaceships this is the bike for you. (Picture from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Pacific_Coast)

Now I want to test ride one...

Finger on the trigger.

Something I've noticed about my riding style has changed in recent weeks. I've gotten a little horn-happy. I've used my horn as many times in the past seven days as in the first six months of riding. I don't think it's that there are more drivers who need to be alerted to my presence, I think it's that I notice more drivers who might need a reminder.

This is part riding. As you get more experience and build more muscle memory, your brain can process more of what's going on around you. Now, does this mean I should be using my horn more? No, but it does mean that I'm more aware of possible avenues of trouble. It means I have the time to both react and draw attention to myself, rather than just react.

This is also why we practice, read articles and books on technique, and critique our own riding. The earlier we can catch problems or mistakes, the earlier we can commit good motorcycling practices to our memory and improve our riding just that little bit more.

I guess my point to this whole rambling post is this:
Never assume you can't get better and learn more, and never assume that you don't need to learn more.

Cortech Mod Jeans review

Both Philip and I have been using Joe Rocket Alter Ego overpants for hot weather riding. They're OK, but I normally wear them over my jeans and that can get a bit warm in 90 degree heat. So I decided to try and order something a bit better for hot weather. I thought about getting some all-mesh pants, but then I ran across a set of Cortech Mod Jeans on New Enough and thought I'd give them a try.

They manage to look like a pair of designer jeans, but my impression is that they're at least as crashworthy as wearing the Alter Ego pants without jeans under them. (The Alter Egos have some heavy fabric parts, but they're mostly polyester like a windbreaker.) These have some rather nice CE approved knee pads, and there's a patch of leather across the butt to ward off road rash there, too. Overall, they do cool off my legs better than overpants over jeans.

There are a few complaints I have about them. One, they're either stonewashed, or acid washed, or something-washed to give a distressed look, and it's clear this took a bit of the material's lifespan out of it. They show a bit of fraying at some seams. When you're spending nearly $100 on your jeans, I don't like to see this. Two, the extra layers mean they absorb more sweat and take a bit more drying time.

Overall, I'll give Cortech credit for coming out with a set of pants that are good at two things. One, they're a fairly safe solution for hot weather riding. Two, they're motorcycle gear that looks like normal street (or should that be sidewalk?) clothes. This seems to be a common problem with motorcycle gear - a lot of it has a "costume-like" look that I think may discourage riders from putting on safety gear. A lot of motorcycle gear either looks like the sort of thing track put on to be human sponsor billboards, or like something out of a 1950s biker movie. There isn't very much motorcycle gear that looks like normal, everyday clothing, other than that old fashioned biker jackets have become fashion articles on their own.

Of course, some of this is understandable given motorcycle gear's specialized use. After all, normal clothes shoppers are not going to be interested in a jacket that's designed to not keep the wearer warm. And if you put on a head to toe leather suit before jumping in your car to go to a night on the town, you've probably got a very... interesting sort of destination in mind.

It is nice to have choices in real motorcycle gear that doesn't look weird off the motorcycle. But even when there isn't an option that looks normal, it's better to have funny looking clothes than funny looking skin.

Just becuase it doesn't need to be registered...

Doesn't mean it shouldn't be ridden properly.

Yesterday, on my ride home from work, I saw a rider with a slightly different interpretation of traffic laws. A man on a tiny red scooter, I'm guessing under 50cc, wearing a bicycle helmet. I suppose I should be happy it was some kind of helmet, but that's not what bothered me about his grasp of proper conduct.

The story here: I was at a light waiting to turn left. When the light turned yellow, rather than rush through, I decided to wait for the next green arrow. As I decided all of this, I watched a little red scooter coming the opposite way down the street. Since he was a decent distance away from the light as it changed I assumed he would be stopping opposite me and I'd get a chance to see what the guy was riding. To my surprise, after the light turned red well before he got to the stop line, he continued on through the intersection, without even looking or slowing down. All of this as cars started turning from the other street.

I can understand the mistake of treating a scooter like a bicycle if you don't have to register it. So I get the bike helmet, but I can't advise it. I definitely can't advise completely disregarding traffic laws, which are there to keep all of us safe and that do apply to all forms of vehicular transit.

Rather amusing photo on Killboy...

This one was just so funny I had to share it here. Killboy takes a lot of photos at Deal's Gap, a popular road for motorcyclists. Imagine this: You and your significant other had some time off and decided to take your Harley out for a run down the twisty roads on the Dragon. But, as usual, a group of guys and girls brought their race bikes for an all-out blast down the curves, and Killboy caught a shot of one of these racers just flying past the Harley.

Well, it's probably not quite what you imagined happening.

Dubious Legality

So as I was driving home from grabbing a sandwich from the Publix deli this evening, I was admiring the two Gixxers in the lane next to me. They had followed me out of the parking lot and looked to be pretty competent at low speeds and hadn't been doing anything stupid as they cruised to the light with me.

As I admired, one of the riders explained to the other that he needed to practice holding his license plate so that traffic cameras couldn't get a picture of it. Then they learned back a bit and flipped the plates down onto the wheel guard. Yes, the plates were on hinges.

Now, I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure there can be no good or legal reason for that particular mod.

I forgot to mention..

.. that on the ride down on Sunday, I got some first hand experience with bugs. Not the ones that hit you face shield. I've had bumble bees do that at highway speeds before. Which is in and of itself disconcerting, having your head rocked back by something smaller than a quarter. This time I had a bug hit my neck while traveling 55 on a state highway. I thought to myself, "well, that stung a little." A few seconds later I felt another sting like I'd hit something, but this time under my shoulder armor. So I rearranged my jacket, and felt another. Imagine this, you're driving down a four lane divided highway at 55 mph and you see a biker trying to move his jacket enough to allow a yellow jacket out of it. Not a pretty site. We finally got to a stop light where I could lift my shirt and jacket and allow the bug to fall onto my pants.

Score: Yellow Jacket - 5, Philip - 1

Touring

Last weekend my wife and I decided to ride our bikes to our friends' wedding in Tennessee. Rather than take the interstate system, which she had never ridden on, we decided to go for the scenic and leisurely route. So most of our roads were two lane, sometimes three or four and never had a speed limit higher than 55. Total distance was 200 miles each way. If you ever have the time to plan a trip not using interstates, do it. Either on a bike or in the car it's by far the prettiest way to go.

On the way up, we watched rain clouds gather to either side of us and we stopped at one point to put on our rain gear for the remainder of the ride. I think that had we not stopped we would have actually been rained on rather than riding over the freshly watered roads. As it was, we road between the storms. This trip was a good reminder that while the bike does still have most of it's traction with wet roads, you still need to be much smoother and more cautious under adverse conditions. For instance, I felt my back tire begin to slip during the exit of one turn. I slowed down even further for the next one and was fine after that.

On the way back home on Sunday, we left early to give ourselves plenty of time to get home, as my wife had to be back for work in the afternoon. It's a good thing we decided to take the extra time. First we had to jump start her bike to get going in the morning. Then we decided to take an easier road back down to Atlanta, but it swung wider out of the way than the roads up had and had a lower speed limit since it went through more small towns along the way. We discovered that every time we stopped and turned off the bikes, we had to get her bike jumped. So after eating in Chattanooga I had to run across the street to AutoZone to borrow their jumper kit, and after getting gas in Dalton I had to run over to the Wendy's next door to find someone with cables. Many thanks to both AutoZone and the Wendy's manager for their help. (Really, who's ever heard of a gas station that doesn't have jumper cable?)

By the time we were in Dalton, we realized that US-41 was going to take up way too long to get home in time for her to get to work and we were about a block away from I-75. So we decided to hop on the interstate system for the last 100 miles home. We discovered her one-cylinder Buell Blast can easily keep up with highway traffic, and even pass when required.

Finally, we also discovered her bike gets far better gas mileage than mine in a touring situation. I got about 70-75 mpg the duration of the trip. She was managing about 90 mpg. All in all, even with taking two vehicles, we came out ahead in the gas game for the trip.

The Importance of Paying Attention

For a long time, ever since I first became interested in motorcycling, I've been told that motorcycles are invisible. Having grown up around bikes, friends and family's, I never really understood that. The fact is bikes are small and fit very well into blind spots. Why do I point out the obvious? No matter how often it gets repeated, it can always be said again: drivers need to look for bikers.

You know I wouldn't have this on my mind for no good reason, so here comes one more commute write up.

Friday's ride in to work was the usual, mostly harmless with one tailgater as I stayed pretty close to the speed of traffic. But it was the ride home that got interesting for a moment. Part of my evening commute is a stretch of interstate with a long, convoluted entrance ramp with multiple entrances/exits in the same access road. As I rode down the roadway, I watched a man in a sedan in the lane to my right, which was both an entrance and an exit only a few blocks down. He wasn't signaling and stayed in the lane so I began to pull past him. When I was even with his door, he started into my lane, still not signaling. Fortunately, I was watching for such an action and had my finger on the horn. When I pressed the noise making button, he jumped in his seat and pulled back into his lane.

That was an instance of driver inattention, not due to any major error, merely because he didn't expect a motorcycle right next to him. Even checking your mirrors is no substitute for looking. Also, as a motorcyclist it was my task to SEE everything that was going on around me. Had I really been being careful, I would never had pulled into his blind spot, no matter that it seemed like he was going to exit.

As If I'm not Enough

One of the guys on beginnerbikers.org found a web page I found interesting.
http://ridetowork.googlepages.com/home It sounds like something I can get behind. So, in the spirit of encouragement, I'm passing it along to those who followed us for the month of April. I may not be doing a detailed write up, but I will be riding to work still. (Weather permitting, as I'm still a bit of a fair-weather biker.)

Motorcycle Awareness Month

Not that I think drivers should only be aware of motorcyclists for one month of the year, I think this is a step in the right direction. Drivers need to be better educated about motorcycles and I would like to see more about them included in our, now mandatory for teens, drivers ed courses.

But this is what started me on that:
http://www.gahighwaysafety.org/motosafety2008/

I Test Rode a Buell Today

I went in to ask if I could test ride the XB12Ss Lightning, but they didn't roll that out. I got a brand spanking new 1125R. I secretly wanted to test that one, but was afraid to ask for it. I mean really, go from a 30 hp Ninja 250 onto a 146 hp BEAST....

So, after I got over my shock, I swung a leg over and discovered that I can tip toe it, but not flat foot. Ok, a little worried about that but when I pulled it upright I found out another fun little fact: this bike weighs in under 400 pounds and is incredibly well balanced. Once we got out onto the road I found the throttle to be very predictable and the clutch pull smooth and not terribly grabby, good for someone who's a bit worried about keeping the front wheel down. I didn't get a lot of practice on the transmission, since I only once got up the third but it had some of the expected Buell/HD "clunk" when it shifted.

On the open straightaways I took the chance to open the throttle a bit and was rewarded with gut-wrenching, socket-pulling acceleration and the brakes were more than equal to the task of pulling the speed back down. The bike just begs you to tuck in and when you give in it's almost relaxing. On a hot day I wouldn't be able to do it since I was completely protected from any wind. Even when I sat upright, I had a great wind pocket.

The controls were all a little stiff, but I think that may be due to it being new and unfamiliar. The rear brake lever felt small and tucked away, but once I figured out where it was I managed it.

Oh, and the handling, oh my, the handling. The best way to describe it is: think where you want to go and it happens. I never took it on any good turns, but even low speed parking lot maneuvering was easy. At stops I almost never had to put my feet down to keep it balanced, either.

All in all, my complaints are as follows. It was almost impossible to find the kickstand at the end of the ride and I don't have the money or skill it requires.

Here is my disclaimer. The 1125R is an amazing machine. It is also too much machine for me right now. I have not developed the skills required by a bike built to race. The Buell is built to be as user friendly as possible, but it is not beginner friendly.

Q&A Session

Comment:

Hi, nice blog. I'm on the verge of moving to a new job which I'll have to drive
to - about 40 miles each way, so I'm debating the idea of buying a bike to cut
my fuel consumption. What do you think after commuting for a month? Is this
something you'd be happy to do long term or are you sick/afraid of it?

Response:

First of all, thank you for reading! Now to the meat of it, and I'm sure Matt will also have a response, but here is my take on it. I think that the best way to answer is taking the last point first. Motorcycle commuting is definitely something I will continue to do. Not only does it conserve fuel consumption, it has a variety of other helpful effects.

One, if I have had a stressful day at work, the ride home is rather relaxing. I think that comes from the fact that to concentrate on the commute I must focus completely on it, no distractions left over from the day can continue to eat at me on the way home.

Two, I can concentrate better on my work when I get there. Again, motorcycling is as much a mental exercise as a physical one. It wakes you up and focuses your mind before you even sit down behind the desk.

Three, I drink less coffee over the course of the day. See reason two for an explanation.

That being said, it is more nervous to ride to work versus drive to work. Commuting any sort of distance over congested roads is not something to be taken lightly. Rush hour traffic is the worst for aggressive drivers and inattentive drivers, all focused on something other than the task at hand. If I had it to do over again, knowing what I have learned over the past month, I think I would have waited until I had a few more miles in the saddle before actually committing to a lengthy daily commute. On the flip side of that, you'll notice that I did not actually commit to the full month and cherry picked the days that I drove a car due to the problematic lack of experience.

As a final note to anyone interested in a motorcycle as an alternate form of transportation. Over the past month, my fuel consumption has averaged 65 miles per gallon. Obviously, motorcycles are very effective gas savers and a very fun form of rapid transit. They are also not for everyone, they are more exposed and less noticeable than a car and they require a huge commitment on the part of the rider to learn, practice, and care for the motorcycle. However, my advice to anyone curious about the sport, look into it, whether you know people you can ask, have a dealership you can visit (although, as with auto dealers, take what they say with a grain of salt) or a motorcycle safety school you can enroll in or sit in on, do it. Learn everything you can and make an informed decision on if it's a hobby that you can enjoy.

Final tally

So, the month long challenge is finally over - I completed my last "make-up day" today. For those who have just started following the blog, I assigned myself three extra days of commuting to make up for one day I had to bring a truck home from work to cart off a broken water heater and two days the bike was not running. I also stayed home one day of April and attempted to work from home while waiting for the replacement water heater to show up. I didn't assign myself a make-up day for that one, since working from home is even better from a gas conservation standpoint and still a bit of a challenge.

This post, I'm just going to put up what I accomplished by the numbers. I'm going to spend some more posts over the next few days drawing conclusions.


Final odometer reading: 10,165.5
Number of miles ridden: 1,919.2
Gallons of gas bought for the bike: 35.6
Total fuel costs: $123.17
Average miles per gallon: 54

The actual miles per gallon may be a little higher as I had a fairly empty tank at the start and right now the tank is nearly full, and I used so few gallons that an extra 1 or 2 gallons in the tank could mean another 1-2 mpg.

Now for some extrapolating - how much gas did I save by doing this? Here's a little more math from the above numbers.

Number of gallons a 20 mpg car would have used commuting: 96.0
Average cost of a gallon of gas for April: $3.459 (normally, I'd round to the nearest cent, but the price of gas must have a 9 at the end)
Cost to buy gas for a month of commuting: $331.93
Amount of gallons saved: 60.4
Difference in gas spending: $208.76

End of April

So, with the end of the "official" ride for a month time frame, I have been wondering where we will go with this site. I don't feel like ending the blog with the end of the month. However, I think I will tend away from the daily ride report and go more into the realm of general motorcycling advice and reviews. After this last commute write up, that is.

Yesterday was a fairly standard commute. I left before the traffic began to build into the city. My only mistake was to not put the liner in my new mesh jacket. I did not quite anticipate just how effective it would be at letting air flow through. It was good for the warmer afternoon ride, though.

Ok, so it wasn't my only mistake, I was also following some one a little too closely on the way home and had a chance to practice hard breaking when a car further up the line realized it was time to turn, stopping traffic momentarily. If I had been slightly further back I would have had a little more time to react and may have been able to avoid stopping altogether. Oh well, at least I was still far enough away to avoid hitting anyone.

"Could you pick me up a..."

My wife was at home yesterday, but she's getting better. Before I left work yesterday, she called and asked if I could pick up a couple things at a local soul food restaurant. This isn't necessarily easy on a bike, although I was able to pull this off without much advance planning this time. Normally I carry a soft-sided lunch box in a magnetic tank bag. I was able to stuff the lunch box in my saddlebags, and walked into the restaurant carrying the tank bag so I could check if everything fit inside. Got the take-out dinner home without any trouble.

Not nearly as hard as the challenges some people in other countries face... check out Lords of the Logistic for some astounding photos of motorcycles, bicycles, and people carrying things that sometimes would be tough to carry in a small car.

First Ride This Week

Yeah, I know I'm being a bad M4AM contributor, but I have excuses!
Enough of that though. I finally got to ride in to work today and I love it! Especially with the great weather we had today. As far as the ride went, I got a lot of practice playing the guess what the car is going to do game. One guy weaved back and forth between his lane and mine. It made me a little nervous passing him.

My announcement of the day though: I got a mesh jacket today. Which means I can ride tomorrow and stay comfortable as the temperature rises.

3 more rides to go...

Today I am not riding to work as I am staying home to care for my wife, who is not feeling well.

Temperature swings

Today started near 40 degrees and had climbed to the 70s by the time I rode home. Dealing with this requires a couple layers. I wore my winter suit today, and removed my sweatshirt and liner for the ride home. I also opened up a lot of vents on the jacket. My torso was fairly comfortable, but the pants aren't vented and my legs were not nearly so comfortable. I need to find a better solution for my legs for these sorts of temperature swings. I've discovered that the comfort level of the bike's seat goes down a lot when I can't cool down my legs on a hot day. Perhaps the wrong seat is the problem.

Rain suit leak

Another rainy day ride this morning. My Frogg Toggs have developed a leak at one of the seams. Tonight I've put some clear silicone sealant on the spot where it was leaking - hopefully that will fix it.

It's like 1998 all over again...

Today I'm balancing my checkbook, and there's a lot of little receipts in there for between $11 and $14 worth of gas instead of the usual entries for around $50 or more (although there's been a few of those too; I sometimes have been using the car on nights or weekends). Most of the times I'd filled up, I had got about 200 miles on that much worth of gas, at today's prices. A lot of the notes here have been on dealing with various perils in riding; today I thought I'd make a brief mention of the payoff. I'm going to total up my mileage, the amount I spent, and how many gallons I used once the riding month is over, and post a more detailed analysis of how much gas I've been saving.

Delayed post

I would have posted yesterday, but I needed to rewire part of the wall and that left our internet out until I finished it today. So you get two commutes for the price of one. Yes, you read that correctly, two: I worked today, too. What a deal!

After reading Matt's post about tuner cars, I realized that I deal with a different type of drivers than he does. His commute takes him through a more suburban area while mine is dominated by professionals going to and from work. While he will encounter more young drivers out for a spin or running errands, I get stuck with the people annoyed by a long day at the office and annoyed that it will take them that much longer to get home.

While neither commute was what I would call eventful, I did notice that today's ride was much more relaxed and the drivers around me were more forgiving. The comparison of the days made me realize it is not that I don't normally see odd driver antics on my way home from work, it's that I see enough of them that they become expected.

Today's story: Tuner cars and driver stereotypes

I've been riding all week, just been busy too. I've got a few little stories from previous days, but today was an interesting lesson in automotive people-watching.

Stereotypes certainly have a lot of bad applications, but on the road there are times when stereotypes about car owners can help you predict something ugly will happen, or at least help you focus on the cars that are more likely to cause trouble. They're usually only helpful if there's a very large set of people with a certain mentality who are drawn to a particular sort of car or have good reasons for owning one. For example, one warning that gets passed around on motorcycle forums is to beware of tuner cars, because they typically belong to young, aggressive drivers.

Well, today I come upon a white Honda Civic Si, one of the "breadvan" 2002-2005 models. It's got a loud exhaust, custom wheels, and it's being driven a bit on the aggressive side. One thing that I really chuckled at was that the owner had replaced the Civic badges with Odyssey emblems. I keep an eye on it, but figure that anyone who'd joke about his car that way may not feel too much like he has something to prove. That wasn't a particularly well loved Civic, and he wouldn't be the first to think it looks like a minivan with the center two doors removed.

He does drive a bit aggressively, but the real trouble starts when someone in a shiny new Nissan 350Z with sparkly blue paint pulls up behind him. As it turns out, this Civic / Odyssey has attracted a tuner car driver who evidently sees it as a challenge, passes the Civic and cuts it off. I stay back a little ways in the other lane, a couple car lengths behind the Civic. I don't see a real need to drop back too far, but I want to give myself a little distance in case the Nissan driver does anything crazy (and I definitely don't want to do anything that puts me alongside him).

Suddenly a different sort of stereotypical bad driver appears, and I didn't see him coming: A red Hyundai, its front fenders clearly painted with a rattle can, whips past me, does a "thread the needle" swerve between me and the Civic, and takes off at maybe 70 in a 45 zone.

The lessons you can draw from this about car stereotypes are a bit ambiguous. After all, the Hyundai is a perfect example of another sort of stereotypical bad driver's car, a cheap car with visible body damage. The perfect sort of car to own if you were prone to wrecking cars and were trying to keep the habbit from putting you in the poorhouse.

But the real lesson is to stay aware of all the cars in your area. The one you think may be the biggest threat often isn't.

Smith System

I apparently forgot to hit the Publish Post button on Thursday.

I had my Smith System driving class today. It's very similar to the segment of the MSF class dealing with traffic avoidance and strategies. The Smith class is geared toward commercial trucks that are much heavier than a motorcycle and so the time/distance allowances are larger than in the MSF. The major difference is the driving test is not a controlled course. We had to drive the truck with our instructor sitting in the passenger seat and give a running commentary of approach times, following times, potential threats, and traffic patterns. It was all quite fun, actually.



As far as the commute goes, the traffic this afternoon tried to make up for the light traffic of the past few days. I did get a chance to watch a lot of people merge into a solid line of traffic, of which I was a part. Fortunately for me, all of the drivers saw me and none tried to share the spot I was occupying. It goes to show that two of the most important aspects to tackling commuting on a bike are as follows: see and be seen. I need to not only do all I can to insure that other drivers notice me, I need to proactively avoid the drivers around me and assume that they don't see me.

While today's ride was absolutely beautiful, I really have nothing to say about it. But, I will be taking a driving course tomorrow for work. Its one of those defensive driving type courses. I'll let everyone know how it goes and what sort of tips I get out of it, commercial truck or otherwise.

Happy Earth Day!

Well, I didn't chose April because it happened to contain Earth Day, but it is kind of a nice side effect since this blog is, in its own way, about conservation. Today's and yesterday's commute were fairly uneventful, although yesterday I did have to deal with a temperature swing of around 30 degrees. Had to bundle up in the morning, wear mesh in the afternoon.

So I thought I'd post a few thoughts about Earth Day and environmentalism. A lot of Earth Day stuff seems to be about boosting awareness of environmental causes. But do we really need more awareness? At this point, it's safe to say that nobody is for pollution or extinction (except when it comes to germs), and everybody is either against global warming or doesn't believe it exists. So it's easy to say, "Yeah, we get the message. Wildlife good. Pollution bad. Conservation good." And does it really take an official day to boost awareness that we ought to conserve gasoline? I get my awareness boosted every time I drive past a gas station and see their prices.

There are a few more environmental causes where I would say we need more awareness, cases where people genuinely don't realize they're doing environmental harm. How many people who keep their cats outdoors, for example, realize that their kitty is out eating native songbirds?

There are a few sorts of awareness I would like to encourage, though. One is an awareness that claims that something's environmentally friendly aren't always to be taken at face value. Sometimes they're more motivated by corporate greed (the corn-based E85 ethanol industry comes to mind) or sometimes brought about by putting the wrong principle too high (there's some cases of organic farming causing more environmental damage than using chenical fertilizers and pesticides; just because a treatment for a farm is natural doesn't mean that artificial treatments may get the job done with less environmental damage). So study issues a bit more deeply. Am I benefiting the environment by using less gas, or making things worse for the environment by driving a vehicle that is built to less stringent emissions standards? That's something you'll have to research for yourself. My main aim was to conserve gas. And it's working - I'll have to crunch the numbers later, but compared to using a car for everything, I estimate I've cut my gas consumption in half.

The other kind of awareness is an awareness of proportion. If you make a change to benefit the environment, it may be a drop in the bucket compared to what society is doing, but a good test is how big that drop looks in your own bucket. For example, if riding a bike cuts your fuel consumption by one half to one third, if everybody adopted that strategy, society could cut its gas consumption by the same level. Or another example criticized in The Skeptical Environmentalist: the recycleable toothbrush. If you throw out four toothbrushes a year, just how much is that compared to a week's worth of garbage? If it's a tiny drop in your own bucket, it's not going to make much of a difference in the world if it catches on in society as a whole.

If you're planning to take an action to conserve natural resources or help the environment, see if you can measure its influence by how much it changes your own life. Because, when you get down to it, your own life is the one you're best able to change.

5'10" and Invisible?

At the outset of today's ride, I filled the tank with 3.3 gallons at 218 miles. 66 miles per gallon, not bad for wringing out the engine on Sunday.


Anyway, I found out today that some people are willing to do pretty much anything to save a few seconds in their commute, even with very light traffic this morning. I was the first in line in a left turn lane to get onto I-85, with a few vehicles behind me. Directly behind me was a large SUV with a Xterra behind it. I watched the Xterra pull out of the turn lane and try to whip around the SUV behind me. She realized I was there as her front tire entered the turn lane right next to me and then she rolled down the window and motioned that she wanted in front of me. In my childish act of the day, I looked at her and then deliberately ignored her. The final act of, umm, interesting driving was for her to pull all the way into the middle of the intersection (on a red light) just to be sure she would get ahead of all two people in front of her.


After that bit of fun, the rest of the day was downright tame. Also, with the temperature on the return ride reaching a mere 76, I noticed my gear gets a little warm. It becomes rather uncomfortably warm when I'm not moving. The vents help a lot, but I think I will need a mesh jacket by the time the ambient temp reach the mid-80's.

A couple of "Oops" moments

So I had a great commute. Lovely weather and polite drivers made it nice and easy. Despite the "easy" part of it, I managed to make a couple of mistakes that make me kick myself. Not literally.

First, I got a little distracted at a light and forgot to roll on the throttle before easing off the clutch lever. Pop. Stall. Restart engine hopefully before the people behind me realize what's going on.

The other one was another clutch issue. Note to new riders (yes, this includes me) roll off the throttle when you up shift. When you don't (like me) you can give it a little too much gas and make the front tire a little light when you re-engage the clutch. I haven't done as badly as I did the first day I had the bike, when I lifted the wheel momentarily, but it's still unnerving when you do it.

Lastly, I will mention a bit of advice that served me well today: always do a head-check before changing lanes, the mirror can only tell you "no." When I wanted to change lanes on the way home, I checked my mirror: clear. I turned my head: Ford Explorer. I stayed where I was.

As weather continues to get nicer, I am willing to bet I'll see more and more biker out. To the riders: ride safe. To the motorists: look for the motorcycles, please.

Testing, 1, 2..

So, yesterday, I installed an in-line fuel filter on the Ninja. The stock filter is about one inch long and maybe a quarter inch in diameter. I replaced it with a lawn mower filter about two inches long and one and a half in diameter. Today, I took the bike out for a spin just to make sure I didn't mess anything up. It works perfectly, with absolutely no loss of flow. I did see a lot of other bikers out, but I saw very little gear.

Co-worker reactions

My Friday commute report has been delayed a bit because of the 2008 Megasquirt Meet. Friday I didn't get home until 11, and yes, I was back on the bike that day. Philip recently blogged about his co-workers' reactions to his riding. For some reason, my co-workers haven't been quite as worried, although I did get some good-natured teasing when I rode in on a rather stormy day. It may be that I don't have to deal with downtown Atlanta traffic, or it may be the difference in working at a shop that builds race car parts instead of selling construction supplies. Maybe different industries attract people with different feelings about risks.

An Interrupted Commute

Another day of temperature change, just not quite as drastic as yesterday.
The commute itself was a little disjointed. I had to go get my car on the way home. Which meant I dropped my bike off at my parents' house and got a ride to the mechanic. From there, my father followed me home and drove me back to my bike. We got to see a decent number of people on two wheels. The ones who looked like they had been commuting were on scooters. Fun machines, those. I just don't feel as stable on them.
I also found out one more thing today about being in a full tuck on the highway: the wind deflection is so effective that I didn't even get air through my jacket vents. Making a warm day a hot ride in my current gear.

Now, what do I do with this leftover acid?

Picked up the battery this afternoon - as I've been working a little late, I haven't been able to go to bike shops that might have one on the shelf. So I went to an O'Reilly Auto Parts and they were able to special order the battery. Well, sort of - the correct battery is a size like a 10-B2, and they were only able to get a 10-A2. But the only difference is the side the vent is on, and the "wrong" battery will drop in if you move the vent hose over. It's long enough to reach either side.

One thing I found out about motorcycle batteries: They're stored without the acid so they don't lose their charge from sitting on a warehouse shelf. So you have to pour the acid, which is in a bottle with markings like "Danger! Pellegro! There's bad stuff in here and we're not just saying that because our lawyers said we have to!" into the battery before installing it. Once that's in the battery is ready to go, more or less. They say for best results you can give it a bit of time on a trickle charger.

So I'll be back riding tomorrow. The battery company did, however, include more acid than is needed to fill the battery, and it's not something I'd want to throw in the trash can.

Finally Back in the Saddle.

Its almost like withdrawal having to drive the past few days. With a change of almost 40 degrees today I got a chance to practice layering. Unfortunately, I also got a chance to practice stashing my extra clothes in my desk at work, as I didn't remember to bring any luggage to pack it home in. I only saw one other bike out this morning, but there were enough out this afternoon to not bother counting.

The new thing for the day was I had to put my foot down on I-85 because traffic was stopped at the point I get on. I think the minor traffic jam was due to a motorcyclist running out of gas and having to move over. He was getting back on his bike and started it moving right before I was about to pull over and see if he needed any help. I think he ran dry because there was a guy walking back onto the interstate with a can of gas.

I also found out management's opinion of my riding to work. My boss has called me a "dead man walking" since I started riding to work. But, lately he's backed off on that one a bit. I ran into his boss this afternoon and he told me that he used to ride a lot, but would never come downtown. Then, a little later, I ran into one of the company's owners and when he commented on the nice weather I responded by telling him that's one of the best reasons to ride. After a little pause he said, "Yeah, I kind of worry when I think about you on that thing. Stay safe." It reminded me why I ride with all the gear on, even in rising temperatures: my safety is important to a lot of people (especially my family and, gasp, myself) and taking care of that is just the responsible thing to do.

I haven't been so good about riding this week

For a variety of reasons, I have not ridden to work so far this week.
Monday, I overslept a little and I'd rather not be trying to ride when I'm in a hurry.
Tuesday, I had a meeting and needed to drive.
Today, I just needed to drop the car off at the shop.
A good list of excuses if I do say so myself.

So, I've been thinking a little more about how to select a bike. Selecting a bike seems to follow a two basic rules each time, only the criteria used as guidelines change as you as a biker develop.

First, and most importantly, the motorcycle's capabilities need to be a match to your own. That's why I have a bike that performs predictably and smoothly. If I had a R1 or CBR1000RR or anything of the like, it would respond to inputs I don't have the skills yet to control or even know that I'm giving it.

Second, you should also ask yourself what function you want out of your motorcycle. Do you want to cruise the highway? The city streets and commute? The twisting hills and canyons? Do you want the ride to go on when the pavement ends? Ask yourself these questions and the answers will guide what style of bike you will look for.

I thought of this because I've been thinking about why I like my bike, and what I don't like about it. I think after a few more miles and a few more uses of my Ninja, I will have a better idea of what I want out a primary bike and will have developed the skills necessary to open a wider range of motorcycles to choose from.

Mechanical DNF

Today the bike wouldn't start. I checked the battery and was getting about 3.5 volts; looks like I need a new one and will have to add another day to this.

Don't let me catch you riding dirty

Philip recently posted about when he caught a whiff of a driver smoking drugs earlier. Today it was my turn. On the way home today, a car in the oncoming lane left behind a distinct smell that somebody - everybody - in the car was definitely stoned. Like with Philip's story, nothing came of this today, but that is an extra road hazard.

I've heard several motorcycle riders comment that riding a motorcycle makes them better car drivers. One reason is that you always have to practice your defensive driving skills on a motorcycle, because you're more vulnerable and less visible. But possibly another one is that with no radio, no windshield frame, and no ventilation system to distract you from what's going on out there, riding a motorcycle can make you more aware of the dangers on the road. If you're sitting in a car breathing through a filtered ventilation system, Cheech and Chong could be in the car next to you sending their money up in smoke and you might not notice. On a bike, such things are less likely to escape your nose.

Cold today!

Today was surprisingly cold for April, below 40 degrees out when I headed out. They're talking about it freezing Tuesday night. There wasn't much I could do besides bundle up and ride on. Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful and safe commute.

Maintenance - tires and oil change

I did a bit of maintenance on the GS500F today. Motorcycles take a bit more maintenance than cars. They've got oil changes like cars, but chain driven bikes like mine also need the chain lubricated every 600 miles (which isn't a huge deal but it is messy), and they go through tires very often. It's rare for sportbike tires to last 10,000 miles, at least not on the back - front tires wear a bit slower. The reason is that motorcycle tires are sticky like R-compound DOT race tires, and trade lifetime for grip. Losing traction on a bike is a lot worse than in a car.

One tip I've often heard and got to experience for the first time today is that a bike will behave differently with new tires on it. My tire was pretty squared off as I don't have enough curves in my commute. The new tire makes the bike want to turn more - that's the best way I have to describe it. It also takes a while for the mold release compound and other stuff to rub off the tire.

One other thing - it seems that a lot of parts stores don't know what oil filter to sell you for a Suzuki GS500F. Mountain Adventures sold me a spin-on filter, and they're a Suzuki dealer. I had only changed the oil in it once before, and forgot that it takes catridge type filters. So when I went to ValueCycle to have the new rear tire put on, I bought a filter from them. They first grabbed a spin-on filter too. I explained this was the wrong filter and another worker there found the correct one.

Still, these two did somewhat better than Cycle Gear. I once tried to buy an oil filter from them, and they asked if I had the chain driven or shaft driven version of the GS500F. I wonder what would have happened if I'd tried to order a replacement drive shaft for the bike from them.

When smart traffic lights know just enough to be dangerous

Today's commute was a pretty uneventful one. That's usually a good thing. The only scare was a Jeep driver who signaled he was turning into my lane when I was maybe two feet behind his bumper. But I saw him and slowed, and he saw me and didn't turn, so that it wasn't even much of a close call.

There was one point where I narrowly avoided being caught by the traffic light at the south end of Lenora Church Road, so I thought I'd put in a few notes about "smart" traffic lights that know just enough to be dangerous. This is a traffic light that uses a sensor in the pavement to know when to change, and won't change unless it detects a car there. At all. They're often found when you're on a T intersection or a lightly traveled street crossing a heavier one. These have a magnetic sensor that looks like two long rectangles cut into the pavement and sealed in with tar.

The trouble is, like I said, they won't change unless they detect a car. Or a truck or something else big. They usually can't detect motorcycles. I've heard of various ways you can supposedly get their magnetic sensors to detect a bike, from putting your sidestand down on the sensor lines, hitting the starter, etc. I once was stuck at the Lenora Church Road light for ten minutes, with none of these helping.

If you're in a car and you come across a motorcyclist stuck at one of these lights, do the rider a favor: Don't stop your car two car lengths behind the bike to give the rider space. Edge up a little until your tires are over the back of the sensor's rectangle so the sensor can detect something.

For riders, if you find a light like this, there aren't many ways to deal with it if you find you may be the first in line at a red light. I slipped through behind the last car just before it turned red. If you do get stuck, you've got only two options: Run the red light or make a left turn.

An observation

I didn't ride today, but I do want to point out something I've observed here in the city. It seems like there is only a marginally higher than 50% chance that I will see some one using their turn signals properly. That is all.

Infamous Left Turners

This afternoon I got my first look at the infamous left-turner. I was on a two lane road that narrows back down to one lane and. As I was looking to merge, a white duelly truck turned left across both lanes and slowed almost to a stop, with two lanes of traffic coming at him. I'm fine and there was enough room for me to slow down without an emergency stop. I still don't understand why you would turn and stop in the road, with or without oncoming vehicles.
Other than that little blip, today was good. I saw a lot of other bikes out on the roads, even another little Ninja. I also got a chance to think about a couple of things. First, one of the most challenging aspects of riding (after learning how to turn at low speeds, brake effectively, get a feel for counter-steering, ok so low on the list) is selecting the correct gear for the situation. Fortunately, my bike is good for helping a rider get a feel for that and also to forgive any noob mistakes I can make. I'm getting a better feel for when to shift down to keep up the right amount of power for a situation, but when I forget or make the wrong decision it has the ability to pull steadily and predictably from 3000 rpm to 13500 rpm. This in and of itself is a good reason to keep in mind one needs to match the bike to one's level of expertise and no higher.

Today's ride: trying out a Respiro Bandit mask

Dropped off the water heater at the dump this morning and dropped off the truck at work, so I'm back on the bike now. It's impossible to miss all the pollen in the air these days. It's all over the roads, on the bike, and I've got pretty bad allergies to it. So I tried a Respiro Bandit mask that I ordered from Aerostich.

It hasn't turned out too well. There's a couple things I don't like about it. Probably my biggest complaint is that it doesn't make my allergies go away, although it may be helping. It's hard to tell. I suspect it would help more if it fit better. The mask uses a knot at the back to tie it around my face. That might work well with a half-helmet, but my full face helmet pushes it down and the knot digs into my neck when I turn my head. Not the right tool for the job, though it might be useful for other things that don't involve wearing a full helmet.

A lesson in luggage

This was to have been Monday's lesson, but the water heater drama kept me from posting it then. I've got a few bits of advice about luggage, learned the hard way.

First, if you're riding in the rain, it doesn't make sense to put the cover over the bike when you get home - it will keep the moisture inside, so let the bike dry out. But it is a good idea to empty your saddlebags if they're not sealed hard luggage. This Monday the gloves in my saddlebags were soaking wet. Those rain covers are not completely effective, and I should have known that.

Second, some comments on carrying a laptop on a motorcycle. On Monday, I realized I'd need to work from home on Tuesday. My saddlebags don't really have enough room to close the zipper when you put a laptop in them. I made it home without incident, but I was worried that I'd have stuff blow out of the bag. It didn't, but if it had been raining I wouldn't have much choice. And don't even think about putting a laptop in a magnetic tank bag. (Jerry, I didn't learn that lesson the hard way, especially not with your laptop. That's one I already knew about. I know my boss reads this occasionally.)

So today I packed up the laptop in one of the safest ways to carry it on a motorcycle if you don't have giant-sized saddlebags: I put it in a messanger bag. This is kind of like a padded briefcase with a shoulder strap and a second strap that goes around your torso. It's big enough to carry a laptop. Another good option is, of course, a backpack.

How does a water heater affect a commute?

Wondering where I've been? I've had to spend my spare time taking care of a bit of drama caused by the water heater. It died on Monday, so Monday night I was out arranging for a contractor to install a new one. Tuesday I worked from home while I was waiting for the contractor to show up. He showed up at 3:00 and refused to install the heater because something in his contract said not to work with the type of plumbing in the house. He also refused to give any information on where I could find a plumber who would. I had him leave the water heater there and I installed it myself.

So today I had an old water heater to haul off. I rode my bike to work, but decided the best course of action would be to drive a work truck home and use it to haul off the old water heater. So I'm assigning myself an extra day of riding to make up for the day with the truck.

Why Smell is a Good Thing

I don't mean as in personal smell, but the sense of smell. One of the things we were taught in the Basic Rider Course is to use all of your senses to alert yourself to danger. This morning, yes, before 6 AM, I distinctly smelled the aroma of one of the slightly more common illicit substances being smoked in one of the cars ahead of me. While there were no ill effects on the actual commute, it was a good sign to be even more alert than usual when watching the cars today.
Why someone would be so inconsiderate as to drive while under the influence I don't know. I just hope they snap out of it before they have a bad wake up call.

Today's lesson

My lesson for the day is: check your tire pressure regularly. I check the electronics and oil fairly regularly, but I kept putting off the tire check until yesterday evening. Here is another place knowing your bike is handy. The steering felt a little sluggish and squishy on the ride yesterday, so I determined to check the first thing that came to mind. Sure enough, the front tire was way down on pressure, and fully inflating it made a world of difference for this morning. There was also a bumper lying in the middle of my lane this morning, so steering was quite useful today.
Second lesson today, crouching into a full tuck behind my fairing on the highway means I can drop 500 rpm and maintain the same speed. Something to keep in mind for gas mileage.

One Reason to Ride

Its similar to driving with the windows down, but so much more involved in what's around you. I thought about this while riding through wisteria strewn lanes on the way home, the smells of the purple flower and honey and wild onion filling the helmet. The down side of that was the guy in front of me burning more oil than gas.
So, that's my revelation of the day. I love riding in spring. I'm sure I'll like summer and fall too, but winter just is unpleasant.

Yes, I rode when there was a tornado watch in effect...

Although, when you get down to it, cars aren't much safer in a tornado than a motorcycle. Your best defense against those if you're faced with one while out on the road is to jump into the nearest ditch if there isn't a solid building to take shelter in.

Normally I would have stayed home with a very high chance of thunderstorms in the forecast, but for this month I'm pressing on anyway. They didn't declare the tornado watch until I was at work. However, I didn't actually encounter any high winds on the road. The storm hit before I left work. Four hours later, it still hasn't completely blown over.

The morning started out cold and foggy. Misty mornings can be good for folk song and blues lyrics, but they're not so great for riding a motorcycle. The roads are as slick as if it's raining, sometimes slicker because the various slimy things that rise to the surface in the rain don't get washed away. And you get tiny droplets on your visor that are harder to shake off than big raindrops. I found myself pondering whether it's worse to ride in a cold, foggy morning or in a thunderstorm.

Well, this afternoon I got to make a comparison. It was one of the worst storms I've ridden through at times. For a short ride, I'd rather take the thunderstorm than the mist as visiblity is, believe it or not, better, and the right gear can keep you dry. But on a long ride, my gloves and boots started to soak through. Alpinestar Drystar gloves proved that they are not, as the name implies, rain gloves. They will keep water out for maybe 15 to 20 minutes, but they don't shed water, they absorb it. About halfway through the ride I found I could wring some of the water out just by balling my hands into fists. I need some truly waterproof gloves. The Frogg Toggs held up just fine, though.

One other rain riding tip: Tuck your gloves into the sleeves of your rainsuit. If you go the other way around and tuck the sleeves into your gloves' cuffs, you'll get a lot wetter. It seems more rain trickles down the sleeves and into the gloves than blows back up the sleeves at speed.

Glad I didn't ride

The intermittent but torrential downpours outside and on the drive home made me glad I didn't ride. Even if I had a rain suit, I think that I would have wanted to pull over and wait it out. Waiting it out wouldn't have been feasible as, according to the radar, it would have been about another 4 hours before it all past. The other option in a rain storm, taking cover, also would have been difficult for me, since I take back roads through residential neighborhoods.

Colder today...

As Philip noted, today was one of those surprising days where the temperature fell as the day went on instead of following its usual pattern of climbing. I'd rather unwisely worn my mesh jacket. It has a liner, but the liner's not perfect, leaving my wrists and neck rather cold. I carry a cheap fleece pullover in my saddlebags in case of surprise cold. That let me get home without freezing. Usually my next line of defense if that's not enough is to put on my rainsuit, which also keeps out the wind. Occasionally I've had to do even more to warm up, which usually means ducking into the nearest fast food restaurant or coffee shop and drinking something hot. I didn't have to resort to that one today. One particularly chilly morning, about a year and a half ago, I had to walk into a discount store and buy a cheap T-shirt, which I then wrapped around my neck like a scarf.

I promised I'd write about the Alaska Leather pad, and here it is. About a month ago, I had a customer call me at work asking for some advice on a Microsquirt for a Rotax thumper. When I got his address, I recognized the company name and mentioned that I'd been looking to get something to make the saddle on my bike more comfortable. He ended up sending me a Sheepskin Buttpad, their bluntly named seat cover. (In case you're wondering what size fits a Suzuki GS500F, it's a Pillion 4. For the driver's seat.)

The sheepskin doesn't sound like it would do that much: It's just a piece of sheepskin with about 1" of wool on it, dyed black, and attached to the bike with a strap. It makes a pretty surprising improvement for what it is, though - after an hour in the saddle, I no longer have to fight off the urge to ride the bike from the passenger seat or standing up. The seat isn't as comfortable as, say, the seat in my Corvette, but it's a real improvement and aftermarket seats for a GS500F are hard to find. It also seems to feel a bit cooler than the stock seat because air circulates through the wool.

There are a couple downsides to it. I wouldn't recommend leaving it on in a downpour - not because it would be damaged by it, but because it would feel sodden. And it's nowhere near as grippy as the stock rubber upholstery. So it wouldn't be the best thing to bring to a track day. It's good for a low buck improvement to the saddle, though.

"Reserve" tank

I broke 3000 miles on the bike today. I've been riding for almost 2000 miles. That is all.
Well, not really... I still need to write up the ride. I know it's boring to say that it was uneventful, but boring is very good when talking about motorcycle commuting. I suppose it wasn't actually uneventful, just safe and ordinary. The weather took a down turn over the course of the day, dropping the temperature 10 degrees by the time I was headed home from when I left this morning.
One bit of advice for people learning to ride, learn to find the petcock while moving and be able to switch the fuel tank to the "reserve" without having to hunt for it. I was merging with traffic on the way home, when I felt the bike shudder a little under me. Since I have run myself out of gas on it several times, I know what it feels like when the carbs are sucking on air. If I hadn't practiced flipping the valve under the tank, I would have been "that guy" holding up traffic as I restarted my bike.

Day 2

Today was a rather uneventful commute, if something of a full day. I stayed a bit late at work to wrench on my Dodge Dart, and then went running when I got home. I was going to post a bit about the sheepskin the people at Alaska Leather sent me (I'd helped a guy there out with a Microsquirt) but that will have to wait.

Despite the weather man...

today's commute was beautiful. With the day starting out overcast, it quickly turned sunny and warm.
On the way in, I was somewhat annoyed by the full dump truck in the middle lane and the drivers on either side matching its speed. I found out the hard way a few months ago not to be anywhere behind dump trucks when one hit a bump on GA-400 and dusted me with red clay. It was a rather unpleasant experience when clay blew into my helmet and then my eyes. In order to avoid that, I resigned myself to fall way back and watch the bed for any debris. Then someone else dumped styrofooam beads on the highway. While I wasn't worried about hitting those, I found out another neat little fact: styrofoam beads sting when they hit you at 65 mph.
On the way home, not only did a box truck start to back up at me (he stopped with about 8" to spare,) I got the chance to observe some bad habits. First, I was behind a lady reading a magazine while she drove. Second, I was behind another lady who, upon starting moving (and only from a dead stop and not from rolling stops,) she would take both the hands off the wheel and patted and parted her hair. She did it each and every time. I just found that a little odd.

Rain or shine

Now it's my turn to start my month of commuting. As luck would have it, today had a light rain in the morning followed by some pretty decent weather in the afternoon. I had a couple good-natured questions about my sanity when I arrived at the office on a dripping wet bike.

However, riding in rain isn't quite as crazy as it sounds. You just need the right equipment and the right caution. Your gloves and boots should be waterproof. My boots do pretty well (they're actually construction boots instead of "official" riding boots, the only part of my riding gear that didn't come from a motorcycle gear shop). The rain gloves I have (Alpinestar Drystars) keep my hands dry but their outside doesn't shed moisture too well, so there's some room for improvement there. Getting a soaked outside can mean cold hands even if they are dry.

There's a variety of rain suits meant to keep a rider dry. I wear Frogg Toggs over my riding suit. They're kind of all purpose rain gear; I think they were originally designed for fishing. They seem papery but work pretty well. There's really only two difficulties with them: they billow instead of fitting tightly (which can be a bit annoying at 60 mph), and you must keep them away from hot exhaust pipes. I picked a set in bright orange; you can't have too much visibility when it's raining and foggy. Loud jackets save lives.

I'll post some comments about techniques later, probably on the next rainy commuting day.

I recorded the GS500's odometer reading at the start of the commutel it was 8,246.3 miles.

Today's Ride

I realized two things on today's ride. First, I need a rain suit. I don't say this because I was rained on, but because it threatened to do so. Second, I need to find some way to wipe off my face shield. When I rode in to work, it was chilly and damp, but not too bad. Then the face shield seemed to be fogging up, despite the anti-fog coating. When I stopped at a light and opened my helmet to let it air out, I realized it was fog/mist/drizzle/bleh collecting on the outside. So, I need to find a way to wipe it off as my jacket doesn't seem to work well.
Surprisingly, Atlanta's traffic was light and flowed well all day, despite the inclement weather that usually brings out the worst in our drivers. The end of the day was a rather pleasant overcast. Still chilly at speed due to the humidity, but quite nice. The only drivers of note today were import sports cars wanting to prove that they were faster than a sport bike at the stop line. Suite yourself, buddy, I'm not going past the limit to prove a point.

My solid month of commuting begins tomorrow...

...Rain or shine. And the forecast is saying rain. Well, the point of my stretch is to find out just how practical this is in all (spring) weather, and in Atlanta sometimes that means thunderstorms. I've ridden in rain before, although normally I try to avoid it. You'll see me share tips on what to do when you're caught in the rain on your bike.

That's not a good headline.

So I'm two days away from kicking off my month of commuting on a motorcycle, and the front page headline in the local paper is "Man dies after losing control of motorcycle." The article doesn't go into much detail about the accident. But it did mention two key mistakes. One, he wasn't wearing a helmet. It's never a safe move to go riding without one, even in states where the law allows you to ride with a helmet. And Georgia had one of the first helmet laws in the nation. While I have seen valid objections to laws requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets, there are far fewer valid reasons out there to go riding without a helmet. While I can't say with so few details whether he'd be living if he wore a helmet, that would have greatly improved his chances of survival. Particularly since the article implied this was a fairly low speed crash.

Second, the article states "Investigators do believe alchohol may have been a contributing factor." Alchohol and motorcycles aren't a good combination. I've driven my car after having a beer or two. But I wouldn't ride a motorcycle in the same condition. One reason is that alchohol affects my balance, and I don't have to keep a car upright. Riding a motorcycle also takes more concentration. So my rule is that I don't ride when there's alchohol in my system - period. There's a very interesting article on the effects of alchohol on motorcycle riding going around the Internet.



(For more about where I got that poster, check out the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's campaign against drinking and riding. They've got a whole series with various themes. Some of them are quite funny, but I though it would be too tasteless to post one of the humorous ones in response to a real death.)

Preparation: Experience

I see Philip's already covered the basics of gear to get when you start riding. So now I'm going to cover one point I've alluded to a couple times, but never really gone over in detail. This one is about building up experience. I wouldn't recommend going straight from an MSF class to riding 40 miles to work for a straight month. In the MSF class, you've been riding around in an empty parking lot in broad daylight, and usually in dry weather (although the classes are held rain or shine). On your commute, you'll have to deal with darkness, bad weather, bad drivers, and more.

So after the class, you'll want to build up experience. At first you'll want to just practice what you've done in the MSF class, either on side streets or parking lots. Then you can start adding more challenges - riding in somewhat heavier traffic, then maybe in the rain or night. Eventually you'll work your way up to longer rides, heavy traffic, the Interstate, and more. But don't bite off more of a challenge then you're comfortable with, and just try a little at a time - for example, you might want to make your first Interstate ride between two exits a few miles apart.

If you're wondering how much experience I have, it's about two years and 10,000 miles at this point.