Great Advice

 

This post is similar to last week's. However, the article that I've come across is so awesome that I needed to share it. Motorcycle Cruiser magazine posted an article which originally appeared in its sister publication, Motorcyclist. The article is titled, 50 Ways to Save Your Life (see article here). Please read this as it is a great and comprehensive list. I'm going to discuss a few of these that resonate with me because I have personal experience with them.

Learn to use both brakes.
A huge reason that I crashed my motorcycle (see more about that story here) was that I locked up my front brake when I tried to stop for a deer in the road. The problem with only using the front brake is that it squats the front shocks and takes weight away from the rear, causing the rear of the motorcycle to lose traction. When I aggressively clamped on the front brake, the rear of the bike slid out, causing me to drop it. After that, I've always used both brakes simultaneously, even when I was riding around a parking lot at slow speeds.

Look where you want to go.
This one brings me back to my Motorcycle Safety course. After the first day of the riding portion of the course the instructors gave us a practice riding exam. I passed, but I did miss a couple of cones in the cornering and cone weaving portions of the test. One instructor pulled me aside and told me that I was a competent rider, but I really needed to focus on looking where I wanted to go, not at the ground directly in front of me. For some reason, this resonated with me and I completed the real riding exam on the final day of the class flawlessly.

Drops on the faceshield?
If you remember my opinion on riding in the rain, you'll know that I believe you should get as much practice as you possibly can. This assures that you'll be a better rider if you are suddenly surprised by a torrential downpour.

I'm going to repeat my statement from last week for this week's quote as it resonates well for the tone of this one.

"Ride smart, ride often, ride safe." - Josh Karvakko

Is it weird or narcissistic that I quoted myself?...Oh well, let's go with it.

 

Accident Causes

Here is a great article that discusses a study on why motorcycle riders crash. Many crashes happen at slow speeds, which may be embarrassing, but hardly are catastrophic. Other crashes are due to lack of riding experience/skill or a rider being too aggressive for his or her own ability. These crashes can be avoided through more experience and using controlled recklessness like I detail here.

 

The accidents that worry me are the ones where other people are at fault. This is the most nerve racking part of motorcycling and something every rider must concern themselves with. The article does detail some methods of avoiding these accidents. The main idea is to always make yourself visible. Never stay in blind spots, strategically place yourself in intersections as to be seen, and wear bright or reflective clothing.

 

One way I help myself to avoid accidents is to ride as if everyone else on the road is an idiot. Assume that no one knows what they're doing and you'll never be surprised when they do something wrong. I'm exaggerating a little here, but I want to emphasize that you shouldn't assume that other motorists will do exactly what you expect them to. The best advice is to get riding experience and to always be aware of your surroundings. Ride smart, ride often, ride safe.

 

"I don't believe in accidents. There are only encounters in history. There are no accidents." - Pablo Picasso

Spring Snow

If you ask my wife, this is the worst time of the year to live with me. I thought I was doing pretty well while I patiently awaited the upcoming riding season, but I guess I was wrong. Over the past weekend, my wife pointed out my crabbiness and bad attitude. I initially denied it, saying that I was feeling just fine. However, after some introspection, I realized that I was being quite an ass.

 

I was well on my way to adjusting my attitude, looking at the bright side of things. We had a decent rain on Sunday evening, which washed the roads pretty nicely. I was going to ride this week! Then, I looked at the forecast. It called for fucking snow!!!!! What?!!! My crabbiness has returned and I am a handful to deal with again.

 

But, as I try to look at the bright side (again), the snow that is currently falling is not sticking to the roads or ground, so it should have little or no impact on road conditions. I should still be riding in the very near future. Until then, I guess I'll have to deal with the 30,000th person asking the question, "Did you get out and ride your bike yet?" Sigh...

 

"I'm not really wise. But I can be cranky." - Andy Griffith

Don't be a Dick

Riding season is upon us! I haven't ridden yet, but the street sweepers are out cleaning debris from the roads and we are bound to get a decent rain sometime soon to wash what the sweeper misses. I'll definitely be riding by next week. Now comes the negotiation with my wife on which days of the week I will ride to work and which days I'll drive my kids to daycare and school.

My wife is extremely supportive of me riding as much as I possibly can and usually will take on some of my responsibility for transporting our kids to school/daycare, but it comes at a price to her. Currently, during our morning commutes, I'll take our son to daycare while she drops our daughter off at school. If I ride my motorcycle to work, she'll need to drive both kids, which will force her to wake up earlier in the morning thereby throwing a monkey wrench in her daily routine. All this just so her motorcycle loving husband can enjoy his morning commute.

If your in a similar situation to me, or will be in the future, my advice is to not be a dick. Your significant other is making sacrifices for your hobby...appreciate that! Don't whine when you can only ride your motorcycle for a couple of days a week. You'd better at least offer to drive your kids on Tuesdays and Thursdays and any rainy days in between.

This is going to be my offer to her:

 1. I will drop both kids off every Tuesday and Thursday morning.

 2. I will also drop both kids off if it is raining in the morning.

 3 If my wife has a meeting or needs to get to work early, I will drop both kids off.

 4. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I will ride to work, barring rain.

 5. I reserve the right to swap out days if the weather is going to be outstanding on a Tuesday or Thursday.

This will be my initial offer to her. She may make a counter offer which I will consider. That's how negotiations work!

Hold on...She's definitely going to read this...Shit!

Hi, honey.

"Wil Wheaton says: Don't be a dick." - Wil Wheaton

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