Needing Patience and a Schedule

I've been on vacation for this past week. My wife is a teacher and it's spring break at her school, so I scheduled a vacation to coincide with her time off. It also seems to be getting dangerously close to riding season and that makes me happy, but I'm not spending my vacation riding. All of the corners are covered in sand and salt that was poured onto the roads all winter.

 

I know I've made this clear in other blog posts, but I like being patient when it comes to taking my motorcycle out in the spring. I've had too many close calls when trying to corner or stop on the sand and salt. A dual sport with some knobby tires would probably be great to ride this time of year, but I don't have one. My advice is to wait until a good rain washes the roads before taking your first ride of the year.

 

Another thing I wanted to discuss is that I almost forgot to write this blog post. It's funny how the structure of my normal weekly schedule keeps me consistently writing, but give me one week of vacation and that consistency nearly goes away. I don't think I'd do well in retirement, I need a schedule to keep order in my life!

 

"A schedule defends from chaos and whim." - Annie Dillard

Moto Invention Thinking

I believe I've mentioned it before, but if I didn't, my real job is in engineering. My company is a pretty good one and today they rolled out a new program. The basics of the program are that if an employee has a great idea or concept, he or she can submit it to a committee. If the idea is accepted by the committee, the company will develop the concept and bring it to market. Obviously, the company retains the rights to the product, but the person who came up with the idea will receive royalties.

 

I instantly questioned what products the motorcycle industry needed. I thought that a stand that supported handlebars would be a good idea. It is challenging to pull the front wheel off a motorcycle without a frame running under the engine (this frame is what is utilized when using a standard motorcycle lift). However, there already is front fork stands on the market that fill this need.

 

So, if any of you readers have a motorcycle problem or need that a new product could solve, please comment on this blog post or on any of KLK Cycles social media. I may be able to come up with a concept that could solve these issues. Together, maybe we can make motorcycling a little better.

 

"If I had 60 minutes to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes defining it and 5 minutes solving it." - Albert Einstein

Healthier Ride

For the past few years, I've taken the months of March and April to lose a few pounds. I usually have a doctors appointment near the end of April and I use this as motivation to get a little healthier. I've noticed that my health markers (blood pressure, cholesterol, etc) decline after I reach a certain weight. I am currently hovering very close to that weight, so it's definitely time to get skinnier.

Another motivation I have is that motorcycling can be more fun at a lighter weight. When I was in my late teens and early twenties I was overweight. That's actually putting it nicely, I was fat! A good friend of mine was nearly half my size and I made an observation when we rode together. Although between the two of us, I had the more powerful motorcycle, he could perform a power wheelie by just snapping his throttle. I would either have to use my clutch or forcibly shift my weight back to wheelie my bike even with the more powerful engine.

I remember being quite jealous of this because I didn't realize that a lot of it had to do with my weight (he was also an extremely skilled rider with perfect throttle control, so his size was not the only reason). Fast forward ten years and I lost a bunch of weight over the winter of 2011-12. I took my first ride of the following spring and quickly noticed that my front wheel was coming off the ground when I snapped the throttle!

The lesson I'm trying to convey here is that if you're planning on spending a lot of money on lighter components for your bike, or buying a new, more powerful bike, spend some time losing weight instead. This could end up giving you the same result for free and you will become healthier in the process!

"I believe that the greatest gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you." - Joyce Meyer

Time to Charge

 

 

Indian Motorcycles is now in the process of developing an electric motorcycle. I discovered this news from this article. If you've read any of my past blog posts regarding the advancement in electric motorcycle technology, you know that I'm pretty happy when new stuff like this comes out. The great thing that this concept is that it has 120-140 mile range while riding aggressively.

Other electric motorcycles claim a similar range, but when you read the fine print it'll state that you can only reach that distance when traveling at less than 50 mph. Being able to ride "fast" (I'm not sure what they actually define as aggressive) for 120 miles would put this bike on par with its gasoline powered counterparts. The issue would be the amount of time it would take to recharge the electric motorcycle.

There is no available information on Indian's charge time, but I would suspect it will be on par with other electric motorcycles as they have not advertised any improvements in this particular area. I believe that a newer electric bike can charge in 1.1-1.4 hours. This is not terrible, but if you were traveling across the country it would get annoying to have to stop for an hour after every 120 miles. So, if you're an electrical engineer trying to make your fortune, I'd recommend researching methods of rapid battery charging.

Until the charging time issue is resolved, I imagine most of us will stick to our internal combustion engines. I am, however, quite intrigued with electric dirt bikes as I wouldn't want to ride long distance with them.

"If you want a product that's thicker with a bigger battery, it's also heavier, more costly, takes longer to charge." - Phil Schiller

Winter Makes Better Bikers

 

I had a conversation with someone from California who commented on being able to ride motorcycles all year. I said that not being able to ride all winter just makes me enjoy it more. I was joking when I made this statement, but there is a bit of truth to it. I sure enjoy motorcycles a whole lot when spring rolls around.

At the end of July when the temperature is in the high 90s and the humidity is near 100%, the easiest thing to do would be to chill out inside with the air conditioning on. All I think of in these instances is that I'd kill for the opportunity to ride in the middle of February. Usually this thought will convince me to get outside and go riding. I never regret going for a ride on these days.

If circumstances changed and I had the ability to move to a warmer place without affecting my family, career, and friendships, would I? Absolutely! Do I plan on living part of the year in a place without winter sometime in the future? For sure! I am, however, definitely curious if I will enjoy motorcycling as much without the winter break.

"Sometimes, you need to step outside, get some air, and remember yourself of who you are and who you want to be." - Unknown