Douchebag

I am, at times, a douchebag. Yes, you read that correctly. My "douchebaggery" showed itself last Sunday afternoon. Here's the story.

 

My dad has a 2002 Ural Tourist motorcycle with a sidecar. If any of you are familiar with Urals (especially Urals 10 or more years old), you'll know that they come with their fair share of problems. His Ural broke down near my house a couple of weeks ago. The ignition rotor cracked, causing the timing to get thrown off and the engine failed to fire. I ordered a new rotor for my dad shortly after (another thing about Urals is that parts are difficult to come by, but that's another story). On Sunday, he rode his Harley Road King to my house and we installed the new rotor on the Ural. He took the Ural home and I said that I'd ride his Harley back to his place sometime that afternoon. 30 minutes later it began to rain.

 

It rained for nearly three hours and I was pretty sure it wasn't going to stop any time soon. At this time my wife mentioned that we should head into town to do some grocery shopping and I agreed. When I went outside I noticed that the rain had stopped and the road wasn't too terribly wet. At that instant, I decided that I was going to ride my dad's bike back to his place since it was on the way to the store. I was hoping to make it there before it started to rain again. I ran over to the garage, hopped on the bike and took off. I was wearing shorts, a sweatshirt, and no helmet. If you've read some of my past blog posts, you'd know that one of the most idiotic things I think a rider can do is ride with shorts! With the fairly wet road conditions, not wearing a riding jacket or helmet was just as moronic. I'm actually kind of ashamed. I'm glad my son isn't old enough to realize how many of my own rules that I was breaking.

 

I completed the ride unscathed, but I had that terrible feeling that you get when you do something that goes against your moral compass. In my rush to beat the rain, I became one of the douchebags that I berate in this blog. At least I'm admitting it, right?

 

"A douchebag has an image to maintain. He is not real. He is the kind of guy who will change his last name into something cooler and more impressive." Cory Duchesne

YouTube Advice

I read the following article a couple of days ago. It has some pretty good tips on doing your own motorcycle maintenance. These especially good for beginners or people without much mechanical knowledge. There is one tip I'd like to add that I think would be applicable nowadays. It is to search YouTube for instructional videos on the motorcycle you're working on.

 

One of the only instances that this method won't apply is if/when you buy a brand new motorcycle in its first year of production. I ran into this problem when I first purchased my 2015 Ducati Monster 821. This was the first year that Ducati sold this bike, so there were no specific videos pertaining to it. However, with a little research, I discovered that the engine was nearly identical to the Hypermotard 821 which had already been manufactured for a number of years. Also, the Monster 1200 model is a year older than the 821 and its chassis is nearly the same. I was able to gather up a few videos from each of these models that would help immensely if I needed to repair anything.

 

I also know from an inside source that even professional technicians will utilize YouTube for instruction. A friend of a friend was a technician for a certain motorcycle company that he was specifically trained for. He took a new position with a smaller, less known manufacturer that didn't have any formal training for their motorcycle technicians. He found all he needed on YouTube. The videos along with his mechanical ability allowed him to thrive in his new position.

 

So, if you're nervous to touch a wrench to your bike, watch a video of someone else doing it first. I promise you'll be more confident after you do!

 

"You've got your Brain, Google, and most importantly, you've got YouTube. Use 'em!" - Olawale Daniel

Family Motorcycles

Last week I discussed the little dirt bike that I'm buying for my kids. Now, it would be wrong of me to not buy one for myself so I can ride with them, right? Well, that's the logic I'm using to justify my shopping for a dirt bike of my own.

Ten years ago I also went through a period that I thought I needed a dirt bike. However, at that time I figured that with my size and riding experience that anything under 400cc would be useless. I was an ego filled moron! First of all, I don't have that much riding experience in the dirt. During my first few years of riding I had a dirt bike, but I've been strictly riding street ever since. Next, I really don't need all that much power. A 200cc dirt bike would be more than enough. Finally, after shopping around I figured out that large displacement dirt bikes are really expensive! I never did purchase one.

Now, my only consideration is matching the amount I'm going to spend with the time I'll be riding. I don't want to spend $10,000 on a bike that I ride a couple times a month. I think $1000 would be a more acceptable price. Now, the only obstacle is convincing my wife that a dirt bike would be a smart purchase. I think I'll buy her a four wheeler (she loves riding them). That should soften her up!

"Love is the feeling you get when you like something as much as your motorcycle." - Hunter S. Thompson

Motorcycles and Kids

I bought my kids a motorcycle. Well, actually that's incorrect. I'm probably going to buy my kids a motorcycle in the next couple of days. A friend of mine contacted me last weekend and said he had a bike that he'd sell me for almost nothing. Let me say that I'm thrilled to introduce my kids my favorite hobby.

 

Don't get me wrong, I won't force this on them. If they don't want to ride the motorcycle, they won't have to. I'm pretty positive that my son will be willing, but I'm not quite sure he's ready yet ( he's only three). My daughter, on the other hand, can be quite tentative so we'll gauge her attitude toward riding when we get the bike. Both kids will have some time to get used to the idea because neither will be allowed to operate the bike until I get them some proper riding gear.

 

Yesterday, I showed my son a picture of a motorcycle similar to the one that I am going to buy. His comment was that it wasn't green (his favorite color...he may be team Kawasaki). This wasn't really a good start. Then, right after our conversation, he leaped off of our couch doing his best superhero impression. He barely missed cracking his head on the coffee table and slammed on the floor. Maybe this is a terrible idea! This kid lives dangerously enough without adding motorcycles to the equation!

After my panic subsided, I came to the conclusion that teaching him to ride safely at an early age is probably the best course of action, no matter how adventurous he may be. My hair may turn gray a little early, but his joy would be worth it.

 

"It is a wise father that knows his own child." - William Shakespeare

Choke Advice

 

Recently, while I was at a gas station refueling my car, I heard a familiar sound. It was the sound of someone trying to start a two-stroke dirt bike. When I looked in the sound's direction, I noticed a kid in his early teens trying to start a early nineties Honda CR 80. The engine would fire, then the kid would crack the throttle and the it would die. He was doing this repeatedly for quite some time. The temperature outside was in the low 40s and I was pretty sure I knew exactly what this kid was doing wrong. I wanted to scream, "stay off the throttle!"

 

When an engine is cold, the fuel to air ratio entering the combustion chamber needs to be increased to compensate for thermal efficiency being low (there are also other reasons, but this is the main one). In older carbureted engines, a common way to increase this ratio is with a choke. Activating a choke will lower a plate that will block air from entering the carburetor.

 

When the kid was twisting the throttle, he was allowing more air to enter the carburetor. This was negating the choke, which caused the engine to stall. If he had not touched the throttle and allowed the choke to do its job, he'd have been on his way much sooner.

 

I'm telling this story because I used to do the same thing as a young rider. It took some older, more experienced people to tell me my error (I'm sure it took multiple times as I had a habit of ignoring good advice). Hopefully this will help someone remember to let the choke do its job.

 

"The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself." - Oscar Wilde

Moto Journalist

I was going to link and discuss another motorcycle safety article in this blog post, but as I was about to copy the web address I noticed something. Nearly every article that I've linked was written by the same man, Ken Condon. This writer has great advice and gives a common sense approach to riding which I value and promote.

I really don't fancy myself as a motorcycle journalist. As much as I'd like to be, I have too many other things happening in my life that get in the way (I also fear that I don't have the talent for it). For now I'm happy to be a blogger (and there's nothing wrong with that), but if I ever do follow the path of an actual journalist, I'd definitely use Ken as inspiration.

Please read through the linked list of articles (especially those related to safety). I think that if you can retain 5% of his information and advice the riding world will be a safer place. Riding safer means that you will also be riding longer!

"When asked, the majority of motorcyclists consider themselves "good" riders. The problem is that we suck at measuring our own abilities." - Ken Condon

Motorcycle Character

A couple weeks ago marked the two year anniversary of my purchase of a new motorcycle. My bike is a Ducati Monster 821. Overall, I'm thrilled with this bike. It's surprisingly comfortable to ride, really fast (possibly too fast), and hasn't had a single mechanical issue.

 

I'm definitely happy with my decision to get it. However, when I look back at photos of my old bikes, I find myself missing them. These weren't as technologically advanced and didn't come even close to having the performance that the new one has. With that being said, the thing these bikes had was character. The scrapes, scratches, and dents all told a story of the history of the motorcycles.

 

The imperfections of these motorcycles used to embarrass me a bit, but now I remember them with fondness. I can remember when I rode my old Ducati to South Dakota and the cheap tank bag I was using scratched the paint. I also recall when I was replacing the battery in my Harley and acid dropped on the mufflers and removed the chrome. These defects were what gave the bikes character.

 

So, don't fix every scratch or ding in your bike. Embrace them! Obviously, if damage is sufficient enough to compromise the performance or safety you should fix it, but otherwise enjoy the imperfections. After writing this I'm definitely looking forward to adding some character to my new bike. Don't worry, I won't be doing anything crazy like deliberately scraping it, but I also will not go entirely out of my way to keep it pristine.

 

"Sports do not build character. They reveal it." - Heywood Broun