Spring and Riding Season

 

My dreams of an early riding season have been dashed. The earliest I have ever ridden was mid February, which may be a once in a lifetime thing (unless I move). The next best was early March, which has come and gone. My new hope was to be riding by early April.

 

Actually, the way this spring has been going, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility to ride sometime in the near future. Lake Superior is essentially covered in ice and, when it is, we no longer get lake effect snow. The bulk of our snow accumulation comes in the form of lake effect, so if and when the lake freezes the snow all but stops. We’ve been almost snow free for weeks and the temperatures have been above freezing (barely above, but still above freezing), so a nice rain shower could bring the beginning of motorcycle season.

 

This morning, I took a look at the weather forecast. 4-8 inches of snow is predicted to accumulate in a few days. So much for riding anytime in the next week....Oh well, let’s hope for mid April riding!

 

“Remember, Red, hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies.” - Andy Dufresne from the Motion Picture, The Shawshank Redemption

Spring Lemons

 

 

It’s spring! That means riding season is just around the corner. Well, it might actually be riding season if you live somewhere that doesn’t have snow more than five months out of the year, but for me it is approaching. One thing that’s looming for me that I’m dreading prior to riding is needing a valve adjustment on my Ducati.

With my previous Ducati, I was able to do the adjustment myself (okay...with some help from a friend who happens to be a motorcycle mechanic), but with this one being relatively new I want to bring it to the Ducati dealership to take care of the initial service. From my research I’ve discovered that this will cost $1000 or more. That is a tough pill to swallow!

As much as this price bothers me, I think I can make a weekend trip down to the dealership (it is 200 miles away). This will be a nice ride and I'll spend the night and relax as my bike is being serviced. I know this will cost more money, but if I make it like a vacation I can at least have some fun. Next adjustment I’ll do on my own (probably with some help again).

“When life gives you lemons. . . You might as well shove 'em where the sun don't shine, because you sure as hell aren't ever going to see any lemonade.” - Rob Thurman

Moto Taxis

I’ve read a few online articles detailing the possibility of a service that is similar to Uber or Lyft, but with motorcycles instead of cars. If you aren’t familiar with these companies, Uber and Lyft are companies that allow people to become taxi drivers with their own vehicles. A smartphone app allows people to contact drivers who are working, which streamlines the driver/passenger exchange. I believe that anyone can apply to be a driver (I’m sure there’s a background check) and they can make their own hours. Personally, I think the motorcycle version is a great idea! It has the possibility of getting people more interested in motorcycles.

 

I believe that Uber is starting to implement this in heavily populated cities in Asia. Its motorcycle service is called UberMoto. I can definitely see this being way more in demand there than in the U.S. as many cities utilize scooters and motorcycles much more.

 

Things that I can see as problematic with this service are sharing helmets, lack of knowledge on how to be a motorcycle passenger, the need for physical contact, and weight restrictions. Something will definitely need to be implemented to sanitize helmets between passengers (no one wants head lice). Anyone who’s ridden with a first time passenger knows how difficult and dangerous it can be (see here for my post on being a good passenger). The physical contact thing wouldn’t necessarily be an issue for me, but it could if a passenger’s hygiene wasn’t the greatest. Lastly, someone who drastically outweighs the rider should not be a passenger. This is not negotiable. Turning away someone for their weight could lead to some hurt feelings for sure, but it’d be necessary.

 

Once I gave my friend a ride on my old Ducati. His motorcycle was left at someone else’s house overnight and he needed a ride to pick it up. Both of us weighed well over 200 lbs. It took all of my effort to control my bike with all of that weight on it...Not safe! Allowing a passenger who is very heavy would be a severe liability!

 

Even with the drawbacks, I think this could be an awesome service. Imagine getting paid for cruising around on your motorcycle! That’s my kinda job!

 

“There's a misconception that Lyft is just a better version of the taxi. You know, I think that's just scratching the surface of what we're doing.” - Logan Green