Getting Another Triumph?

So the other night, Lady Luck suggested that we take the Vespa ET4 as well as the Vespa GTS over to Phoenix International Motorsports and trade them both in towards a Triumph Bonneville.

And I can't come up with a good reason for not doing it, apart from the cash difference setting us back in the plan to get her a newer car. Of course, setting us back from getting the car could be a good enough reason. Maybe P.I.M. has a used Bonneville that we could do a straight-across trade for.

Hm.

The Hummer is Dead. Long live the Hummer.

GM is eliminating the Hummer brand.

Ahem...

HOORAY!!!!

That is all.

An Amusing Feature on the Vespa GTS

I've been trying to rotate through the various motorcycles in my stable to keep them healthy and happy.

Yesterday I rode the Triumph in. The weather was darn cold, and I was happy to have the 600cc heater keeping my legs warm. Today I took the Vespa GTS.

I noticed something on the dashboard display that I had never really paid attention to before: an outdoor temperature thermometer. I mean, I've seen that there's a temperature display, I just never took the time to really check it out and contemplate it's value to the rider.

Today, it was 51 degrees Fahrenheit on my ride in, with a couple fluctuations. Neat.

But then I got to thinking about this thermometer on the Vespa. How silly is a thermometer telling me it is cold outside? Or hot, in the summer? I already know that! I am, in fact, experiencing the current temperature first hand.

OK, OK, I kind of see the value of it. For example, instead of telling my co-workers "Man, it was chilly out there!" I can say "It was 43 degrees out this morning. With windchill that's, uh... [pause to count on fingers] 20 below zero! Good thing for coffee, eh?"

These are the kinds of things I think about when I'm not dodging traffic...

Things I Learned This Weekend

My weekend was action-packed, to put it mildly. Here's some new knowledge I gained:

1. Orange Hostess Cupcakes are really, really good.
2. Nothing ever works right when I need to work from home.
3. If you're in Jerome, AZ, you should not ask to sample Caduceus wines at the Jerome Winery. Just don't do it. Seems like a missed opportunity to me, but what do I know about wine marketing? Do be sure to try the wines at both places.

Busy-ness

Here I was doing a great job, posting a little something for you every day...

And then real life had to intrude. Things are a little nuts, very temporarily, but I'll get back to posting ASAP.

A Pitfall of Helmets

Generally speaking, I love my helmet. I find I'm more comfortable wearing it than not, although I do have to live without the joys of wind in my hair. A small price to pay to avoid the sensation of pavement in my hair.

But there is a downside: itches. Somehow, there always seems to be a hair that ends up tickling my ear once I get on to the road. These itches are the itchiest itches that ever itched. It's enough to drive a biker to madness.

Yet Another Reason Why Full Face Helmets Rock

The headache I have today could make Chuck Norris say, "uncle," so this is going to be a short post. I'll make it up when my head doesn't feel like it's going to start rampaging through San Francisco any second.

So, full face helmets: Mine actually squeezes my head in exactly the right way to reduce the pain of a monster headache.

The sad part is, sitting in my cubicle wearing a helmet will do nothing good for my professional reputation. Though, I suppose it might do something for my blogging reputation... hmm.

Take a Look Around

Irondad has a brilliant post about how you ought to be scanning for threats while riding. If you haven't read it already, well, go read it.

That Part Wasn't Supposed to Break

So last night I was tightening a bolt on the Triumph's oil pan when all of a sudden it got... looser. I did a quick mental check (righty-tighty, lefty loosey), and realized something was horribly wrong.


I reached over and pulled a nice sized chunk of metal off the motor. Awesome.


After a minor heart attack, I collected my wits and realized the bit that came off was apparently there just to hold on a small wire bracket keeping a cable out of the way of... I don't know. It's a very well-secured cable.


I'm sure I'll find out why it was there at an inopportune moment.

Be My Moto-Valentine?

Love it or hate it, it's Valentine's day. Why not take your favorite person for a ride?

What?

Manly Beer Revisited, Now With More Manliness

So back in 2007 I did a bunch of reviews of good old American Macro-brew beer. It was a lot of fun, but I ran out of big name beers to try pretty quickly. In terms of an ongoing series, it might have been wiser to review micro-brews.

However, that wouldn't have been nearly as contrarian and fun.

Anyway, the other night, I finally found Miller High Life in 12oz cans (I don't always want a tallboy). So I bought a case.

It's still good, with just a hint of extra metal awesomeness, and it's less likely to break if I knock it over in the garage. Nice!

Playing Musical Motorcycles before Sunrise

So I rolled the Triumph out of the garage today, and when I went back in to lock up, I noticed a new puddle of oil where the bike had been sitting.

Awesome.

Now, I could have taken the ET4 to work, but honestly, three days of riding that thing and I remember why I like fast bikes so much. And besides the GTS needed a run this week, right?

Unfortunately, getting the GTS out of the garage required shuffling all the bikes around. A bit of a pain. Anyway, bikes shuffled and put back in their proper spots, I got the garage closed up and hopped on the big Vespa.

It needed gas. Argh.

None of this is actually an issue (apart from the oil leak...), except it was too early in the morning for all this tomfoolery. Hopefully, moving motorcycles around will be the biggest problem I encounter today.

The First Time I Crashed

I posted a while back about the time I crashed my uncle's motorcycle. That wasn't my first crash.

My first crash was when I was probably 6 or 7 years old. Another uncle of mine, who drove his stock Dodges in drag races, had a Honda Z50 he used to get around the pits.

One weekend, our whole family was gathered at his house for a dinner. I can't recall why, but for some reason the little Honda came out, and it was decided that I was going to get to ride it. Sweet, huh?

He lived on about an acre, which was plenty of room to buzz around on a little motorcycle at low speeds. My uncles and dad got me situated on the bike, and told me not to give it any gas when I was putting it in gear because it would lurch. I wasn't exactly sure what lurching involved, but I knew I didn't want anything to do with it.

Anyway, I survived putting the bike in first gear, and buzzed off around and around the yard. Around, and around and around, and gee riding is awesome. And, hey, I bet it would be even better if I was going faster.

So I whacked open the throttle and froze in terror as I hauled ass straight across the yard into a pine tree.

Seconds later my parents and uncles were helping me up, then getting the bike off the ground. My mom picked pine needles out of my face and calmed me down a bit. The minibike was parked for a while.

After dinner, my folks came up with some excuse for why I wasn't allowed to ride anymore that night. While I was busy trying to come up with a good reason why I should be allowed to ride some more, my other uncle decided to take the little bike for a spin. He crashed. And he had to go to the hospital.

I guess he made it lurch.

If I recall correctly, after falling off the back from an unintended wheelie, he landed on his feet and caught the handlebars in the gut, which cut him up and bruised him pretty badly.

Amusingly enough, my folks didn't tell me "see, motorcycles are dangerous!" They told me, "Don't feel bad, your uncle crashed too."

At least, that's how I interpreted it...

Spreading The Good Word

There is a woman who rides an older black and teal (with matching seats) Honda Shadow in to work just about every day. I've chatted with her a couple of times and she seems pretty cool.

The other night as I was getting my helmet secured, she looked over the ET4 (her expression said, "how many bikes does this guy have?"), and asked me if I have a car I use when it rains.

A car? For something minor like rain?

It took me a second to gather my thoughts. I mean, obviously I've got a car. I just don't use it for getting around unless I absolutely have to.

Now, I don't give smart-assed answers to honest questions. So I told her about my magical rain gear (prevents water from coming within two blocks of me!), and that I don't let a little water stop me.

I'd guess she thought I was only a little bit crazy.

Ask Lucky: How Big Should My Next Bike Be?

In the comments, Noam Sayin' asked a question with an answer too big to be left buried in the comments of some other post. So, I figured I'd bring it out in the open.

Noam says: I'm thinking of buying a motorcycle this year. One question I need to answer is whether or not I'll be happy on something around 900cc or should I jump to something in the 1100 - 1300 range. I'm thinking for a touring or sport-touring bike; something on which I can kick around Northern MN & WI and eventually maybe a trip out to the PCH.

Ah, the old dilemma: how much bike is enough?

The first part of this question is: Are you getting a Harley? If so, get the big motor. A Harley is still essentially a tractor from the early 1900's, so you might as well get one that can pull stumps and tow a hay baler..

Assuming you're not getting a Harley, it doesn't take much bike at all to do what you want. Dealers will tell you you need a liter bike. This is because they make more money if you buy a bigger bike.

In reality, though, most of the modern motorcycle manufacturers can make 100 horsepower with a rubber band and two paperclips. The Triumph Speed Four, for example, has a 600cc motor making 98 horsepower. I can cruise at 90mph for 6 hours carrying enough gear for a couple days. So don't let anyone tell you that you "need" a bigger motor.

A smaller bike is lighter, which means it will be easier to maneuver and handle. Coming from a scooter you're going to be kind of shocked at how much work it is to handle a bigger bike.

Smaller bikes get better gas mileage and cheaper insurance too.

So, why get a liter bike? Because you want to go really fast in a straight line. If you're going to carry a passenger every single time you get on the bike you might also want a liter bike for the extra room. Otherwise, you're never even going to touch the capabilities of the machine during normal use.

Now, I am a little biased towards small bikes, because I think it's far more fun to push a machine to it's limits than to never really dig in to a bigger machine.

OK. So, what do I think you should look at?

Well, first off, BMW is right out because of their tendency to break in expensive ways at 12,000 miles.

The Suzuki SV-650 is a very capable and friendly machine. It's also cheap. There is a big aftermarket full of performance and touring bits for this bike. I'd totally add one to my garage.

The Suzuki V-Strom is the fire-road-capable version of the SV. Totally decent from what I hear.

The Yamaha FZ6 is comfy and capable.

Don't get a Honda. You'll meet nice people on it.

Don't get a Kawasaki because it's generally agreed that they're for assholes.

You can't go wrong with a Triumph, though I'm very biased.

A few more things to consider:

How are you going to ride 90% of the time? I want to ride the PCH too, but most of the time I'm here in Phoenix battling traffic. My stripped-down machine suits me perfectly 90% of the time. The three hours of nothing between here and California does kind of suck, but I don't do that ride very often.

What's your budget? European bikes are more expensive to own than Japanese bikes. Of course, when you get the Euro bug, you don't care.

Finally, which bike gives you the biggest, dumbest grin? Get that one. Motorcycles are not appliances like, ugh, cars. Reason has very very little to do with what bike you get.* The Big Dumb Grin is reason enough. So if a 1300cc Sport-Touring bike makes you jump up and down clapping your hands and giggling, then you've got your answer already.

So, that wraps up this edition of Ask Lucky. You keep sending me questions, and I'll keep providing responses which might or might not actually answer your question.


*A note to newbie riders: You really ought to get something small and used for your first bike. We want you to survive long enough to get your dream bike.

Cagers are Obnoxious and Rude. Right?

So this morning I rode the ET4 to work and I noticed a higher percentage of people driving like complete twits than when I'm on the Triumph.

And I wondered - are people extra rude around scooters, or is it just easier to notice them being rude when I'm not watching light bend on the Triumph?*



*I do have it on good authority that cagers just can't manage basic road etiquette around scooters.

Buzzing About On the Vespa ET4

So I've got this Vespa ET4 for sale...

It just kind of sits there, sulking, in my garage. It's pissed off because it's not getting ridden.

Today, it got to go outside and play. Nothing major, just running a few errands. But a run is a run.

I can't get over how much fun the little bike is to ride. For some reason the 150cc motor sounds tough. It's not nearly as quick off the line as the GTS, but it feels like it'll roll at 50mph all day without complaining.

I think I might ride it to work a couple days this week...

Fatigue Can Kill You. Avoid It!

Here is a useful article about recognizing fatigue, and tips on avoiding it, as applied to the fine art of motorcycle riding.

You can't have fun if you fall asleep and ride into a truck.

Fatigue and Motorcycle Touring

(Thanks Nate!)

Fast Motorcycles Will Save Your Soul

I can't think of another activity quite as good for one's overall mental and spiritual health as regular motorcycle rides.

Maybe it's the inherent risk. Maybe it's the need to be aware and living in the moment. Maybe it's the thrill of being a part of the scene instead of watching it through a window.

Maybe it's just fun. Fun is underrated in our society. Everybody claims to be looking for it, or is attempting to sell it, but no one seems to be having any. We go to work every day at jobs that, on the whole, suck. Then we go home and stress out about whatever it is we're stressed about. Our jobs. Taxes. Bills. Death. We feel guilty about taking our vacation time, to the point that a ridiculous number of people allow their employers to call and demand their time while on vacation! And that's if they take a vacation in the first place. I know a bunch of my co-workers have so much vacation time saved up that they lose it at the end of the year. What's that about?

Fun is important. It's widely accepted that laughter is good for us. That's because laughing is fun. If you can't bring yourself to have fun, it is a sign that something is very wrong. Fun is food for your spirit. I'm not advocating an irresponsible, hedonistic lifestyle*, just a regular time out from drudgery to do something fun.

And a fast motorcycle** is fun.

I know a lot of you folks are ice-bound right now. If you're not inclined to install spikes on your tires and get out riding, I can respect that. You're welcome to haul your bike down here, by the way. I know some great roads. I won't even tease you about trailering your bike.

Anyway, if you're grounded for the time being, I hope you've got something fun going on. Because life is too important to waste it without a little fun.


*I am, however, firmly in favor of responsible hedonism.
**Slow motorcycles are also fun.

Better Tires for Better Riding

I gotta say, I absolutely love my Pilot Road 2 tires.

Tire quality makes a huge difference in the overall motorcycle riding experience. My experience with the previous incarnation of Pilot Roads was that they had no grip (leading to a lot of scary moments) and they caused sluggish handling.

Not so with the Pilot Road 2 tires. I feel like I could drag my knee all day with these tires. I'm going to have to see how tight I can get my figure-eights one of these days...

In the parking garage at my office, there is a turn where the floor is painted all the way through. I have NO idea why they did that, but it resulted in a slick, low-visibility nightmare. On the old tires, that turn was usually the scariest part of my ride.

But the new tires stick like velcro. I no longer feel like I'm suddenly going to lose traction and eat pavement in every curve. It's nice. In fact, it's made a huge difference in how much I enjoy riding.

So, if you're buying tires, spring for the good ones. It's completely worth it.

Maybe I Won't Ride Today.

Yes, when you hear those words out of my mouth, you know I'm either sick, or concerned about the mechanical state of the bike.

Today, I'm sick. I woke up in the middle of the night with chills - under my comfy warm blanket - and decided perhaps riding in the cold would not be a good plan. I hear uncontrollable shivering makes it hard to pilot a motorcycle, and I"m not eager to test the idea.

So I stayed home.

I hope your ride today, however, is lovely. Back to bed for me.

Mafia Mike's Pizza - Unofficial Review

This is an unofficial review, because I didn't actually ride to the restaurant. For what it's worth, I had the windows in the Mustang wide open and I was listening to Swashbuckle.

There are two criteria finding a good pizza joint. One: Is it a large chain with a big budget? If so, it's not good. It might be OK. Probably not. Two: How long have they been in business?

A non-chain that has been been in business a long time is a very safe bet. Sometimes they still aren't very good, but usually they're totally decent. A new restaurant from a big chain with a fancy building and festive crap all over the walls is guaranteed to suck. Old chains, well, you already know how they are...

That leaves new, non-chain/local chain restaurants. A gamble. A dangerous one, actually. One might find a wonderful new pizza joint, only to have them go out of business within six months. It happens more than you want to know.

Mafia Mike's Pizza is a local chain. The one I tried was in the former location of Italian Joe's, which was wonderful, but shot themselves in the foot by having unpredictable hours. Anyway, I had high hopes for Mafia Mike's.

Their cheesy breadsticks are awesome. Their sauce is also killer.

The pizza, sad to say, was not cooked at a high enough temperature. The crust tasted fine, like bread, but it wasn't a pizza crust. And the cheese was melted but not really cooked. They're pretty new, so I'm hoping they'll get that sorted.

Cold, the next morning, the pizza was pretty darn good. So if you're looking for a pizza to stick straight in the fridge and enjoy the next day, this is a good one.

But get their cheesy breadsticks.

Here's hoping they'll stick around a while.

Scare Yourself Silly in Three Easy Steps

1. Inflate flat bicycle tire to recommended pressure before noticing tire was not 100% in place on rim.

2. Frantically try to deflate the tire and watch with growing horror while the inner tube forces its way out the gap between tire and rim, pushing more and more of the tire aside.

3. Fall over backwards on to garage floor when BANG!! the inner tube pops.


My ears hurt for half an hour after that.