The Superbike Blog

Fiddling around with the Contour ROAM action cam

2012-01-03T16:37:00.002-06:00

I took a ride with a friendly group of motorcyclists called the Stonegators on New Year's Day, and took the opportunity to try out my new Contour ROAM (Model 1600) HD action camera, which I attached to my helmet. Over all, I'm generally pleased with this small, idiot-proof video device, which you can fasten to pretty much anything and record your adventures. I had the camera set to 720 in the video below, which was put together with the latest trial version of Media Edit. The camera, I recommend. The editing software, I do not. Anyhow, enjoy the video. More adventures to come.

Harley-Davidson gambles on younger bikers and wins

2011-12-29T23:07:00.008-06:00

This Reuter's article reports that Harley-Davidson's recent attempts to lure younger riders to their brand with stripped down bobbers at lower price points, a marketing plan which was scoffed at by some H-D traditionalists, is working:

For the past decade, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Harley-Davidson Inc had largely been stymied in its attempt to reach a younger audience.

As it poured resources into entirely new lines of bikes, often designed to lure the 20 and 30-something crowd, or used advocates like a Victoria Secret supermodel to encourage younger buyers to feel it's cool to own a bike - Harley's core customer base of well-heeled baby boomers only got older.

But the effort is finally gaining traction under Chief Executive Keith Wandell, who took Harley's helm in 2009. He immediately began modernizing the company, from the assembly line to the dealership floor, even if it meant offending loyalists.

The effort to get younger has consumed millions of dollars worth of investment in design changes, aggressive marketing of lower-priced bikes, and a massive effort to teach thousands of aspiring bikers to operate a motorcycle.

As expensive as new sportbikes have become in recent years (for example, a 2012 ZX-6R is almost $10,500), H-Ds in general seem more affordable comparatively. Plus, given the difference in insurance premiums between a Sportster 48 and a CBR600, the new bobber-style Harleys are appealing in more ways than one to young riders.

And predictably, some in the old guard of H-D loyalists don't like the change they see going on around them:

Some of the old timers already are pushing back on the company when they see new bare-bones retro bikes that make up the hot selling Dark Custom lineup and are aimed largely at youth, said Joe Fredo, sales manager of Harley-Davidson of New York City.

"They're like, ugh, that's not a real Harley," he said.

I've seen this elitism for myself at various moto-gatherings in my own neck of the woods, especially regarding attitudes toward the newer Sportster-based models. The boomer on the 30,000-dollar custom HD bagger doesn't like the idea of some young dude buying a used, stripped down Harley for 6,500 bucks and so easily getting to be "in the club", so to speak.

The funny thing is, the Sportster line are some of the most appealing motorcycles Harley's ever built. I'd much prefer one over any of the ginormous geezer bikes in the lineup.

Every time I hear one of the older Harley guys ragging on a 48 or Nightster or XR1200, I wanna wanna walk up and say, "What's the matter, man? Are you pissed off because that bike is cooler than yours?"

But I don't, because I'm a lover, not a fighter.

I'll openly admit that I really do like bikes such as the XR1200, Sportster 48, and Nightster. They have plenty of zip and look great. And for some inexplicable reason, I'm glad to see HD gaining ground again. In our current government-decimated economy, it's sort of nice to see.

On the other hand, a new Triumph Bonneville is $3,000 cheaper than the Sportster 48 and goes just as fast with better handling. It's also equally as beautiful. That's something those interested in traditional styles of motorcycle design should keep in mind. Harley could do more to bring down the price of their motorcycles, but maybe not without getting out from under the thumb of their unions and other internal dynamics.

At any rate, kudos to Harley-Davidson. Here's wishing them many more years of success and prosperity in the good old USA.

You know what? Screw this weather!

2011-12-25T17:18:00.007-06:00

The picture at right is the street I live on in arid Midland, Texas. At least it's supposed to be arid. For the past few weeks it has been sleeting and snowing intermittently, with obviously lower than average temperatures. And today, Christmas Day 2011, is a white Christmas.

For most, that's something to look forward to, or so I've read and heard in song. The problem for me is that I'm never dreaming of a white Christmas, but rather a warm, sunny Christmas season when some of my time off can be spent having fun on two wheels. One of the advantages of living in the desert southwest, after all, is that we don't mothball our bikes for four months out of the year. We ride all the time, and the holiday season is usually no exception. Well, except this year.

But that said, after a year of the worst drought conditions on record in Texas (along with massive fires that destroyed millions of acres), I'm trying not to complain too much about the sogginess and cold we've been experiencing as of late. We need precipitation, and I'm glad it has returned. It just sucks to get all mentally prepared for the magic of winter riding in West Texas, and have your schedule reduced considerably.

All that whiney bitching aside, I will say that there've been a few bright spots this winter. We've managed a few really good day rides in very cool conditions where the use of full winter gear made for enjoyable journeys around West Texas. The picture below, from November, is a good example. It's me (pictured right) and one of my best friends, drummer Britt Parker from Dingo Sanctuary, standing on some railroad tracks between Crane, Texas and Rankin, Texas. It was a good riding day, that one, and I'll be staring at the pic fondly until another day comes when we can make it happen again. Stay warm everybody.

The end of the proper Japanese motorcycle in America

2011-10-11T23:59:00.001-05:00

I was looking through the new motorcycle offerings this week which are being brought to America for 2012 by the Big Four®, and I think I can now safely say that the availability of a proper Japanese motorcycle is largely a thing of the past here in the USA. That's right, standards and big street naked are nowhere to be found. Unless your idea of traditional design is a cruiserbike (yawn), your only choice now is a sea of passionless, computer-designed, cartoonishly angular, fully fared sport and sport-touring scalpels with less collective soul than a gaggle of Ed Wood zombies.

Gone from the American lineup are virtually all the traditional hooligan bikes. The naked Suzuki Bandit, for example, has been fully clothed for 2012 and revamped once again into a machine barely separable in general appearance and style from its repli-racer counterparts. The ZRX1200R, several years gone now from Kawasaki's lineup in America, has no 2012 counterpart or grandchild. In fact, it's latest incarnation, the ZRX1200DAEG, is -- sadly -- available only in Japan. Save for Yamaha's barely naked 2012 FZR1000, which has lost most of its original design cues at this point, everything else Japan is offering looks like it came right out of a late-night Anime marathon on Adult Swim.

And if you think a big naked Japanese streetfighter is hard to find these days, you can forget about buying anything new even remotely resembling an old-school UJM. Even more racy naked bikes based on the UJM idea like Yamaha's XJR1300, Honda's CB1300, and Suzuki's GSX1400 are nowhere to be found.

These are sad times. I never thought I'd see the day when I could go into a Japanese motorcycle dealership at the beginning of a model year to kick tires, and lay eyes upon absolutely nothing I wanted. I mean nothing. Shame on you, Japan, for giving us nothing but a generic sea of plastic bodywork. And shame on you, America, for not supplying enough demand for anything else.

On the bright side, there is yet hope for those of us interested in riding something that actually resembles a motorcycle. Triumph, God love 'em (as just one example), are still offering modern incarnations of ravishing beauties such as the Bonneville, Thruxton, and Scrambler. These bikes are better performing than ever, prettier than ever, and more reliable than ever by all accounts. Triumph, much like Harley-Davidson, know when they have a winning, timeless design, and are preserving it for those with a keen enough eye to seek it out.

So maybe I'm looking at the wrong dealerships these days. Perhaps it's time to start seriously looking, for the first time ever, at what Europe has to offer. After all, at an average price of nine to ten grand for a new Japanese bike this year, the Euroscene of offerings doesn't seem as expensive as it used to.

Perhaps I'll consider this possibility a bit more over high tea.

Indubitably.

We're discussing this article at Two Wheeled Texans.

The romance of classic-era moto touring crystalized on a single web page

2011-10-10T21:57:00.000-05:00

This webpage absolutely made my day.

In fact, I just ripped the entire thing onto my hard drive in case bandwidth issues shut it down, as it has gone viral. The owner of the site grossly underestimated the affect its content would have on motorcyclists. The pics are like a million dreams I've had of riding through heavenly settings during a perfect, storybook age.

Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Classic eye candy for miles

2011-09-23T17:05:00.002-05:00

I thought this was interesting. Strange music selection, but a fun time-waste to be sure:

What are the mathematical odds of this even happening?

2011-07-29T20:08:00.003-05:00

By the way, don't worry. Johhny's apparently okay.

"Dry Run 2011" Ride Report With Pics

2011-07-02T19:54:00.003-05:00

Those of you who remember this ride report from 2009 will recall that the last time we made a Trail of Tears run, we were having a very wet year in West Texas. 2010 was even wetter; near record-breaking precipitation-wise, as a matter of fact. But in 2011, not so much. Ravaged by drought and wildfires after 300 days without measurable precipitation, all of West Texas (and the American Southwest in general) is suffering terribly.

So, two years after getting soaked on this ride, we returned to see what the dry conditions had wrought upon the land and lakes between Midland and Colorado City, Texas. Following was our route, both coming and going. It's the classic run through the ghost towns Otis Chalk and Hyman along the West Texas Trail of Tears:

View Larger Map

Our first stop was an obligatory break at the Big Spring State Park:

Right now, all the salt lakes in the region are completely dry except for the big one in the distance:

From the park, we headed to Otis Chalk and Hyman, enjoying the closest thing we have to twisty roads in the area. As usual, we stopped at the old church on 2183, and were pleasantly surprised to see that it's still standing:

Once we'd made it into Colorado City, we made a stop at the Sportsman's Club for lunch. It was a bit sad to see that most of the water in Lake Colorado City is gone:

Compare to this picture from two years ago:

A few blocks down from the Sportsman's Club is the lake cabin of my buddy Leslie, who made the ride with Britt and I:

We stopped in to take a look at the condition of his floating dock, which -- as you might imagine -- ain't exactly floating right now:

In fact, nobody's dock is floating:

By that time, the heat was upon us and we decided to head back home. We made a return stop in Big Spring for water and to soak down our shirts:

Total Mileage: 236
Total Trip Time: 6.25 hours

And this, boys and girls, is how baby superbikes come into the world

2011-06-22T15:54:00.001-05:00

Failed anti-sportbike bill offers important lessons to both sides of the fight

2011-05-26T01:45:00.011-05:00

Those of you who saw this post and followed this Facebook page throughout the entire Texas HB 2470 ordeal are well aware of what we Texas motorcyclists recently put ourselves through to defeat a highly discriminatory and poorly drafted bill aimed solely at sportbikes –– the proposed law based on nothing more than prejudiced and ignorant public perceptions. I'll spare you the details, as I have a bad case of tired head right now from the whole experience. If you need to catch up on everything that happened, make yourself a pot of coffee and click the links. To summarize in a single sentence, HB 2470, a.k.a. "Malorie's Law", was a proposed law that would've made it illegal for certain riders of certain types of bikes ("sportbikes" specifically, which the bill defined extremely poorly) to carry passengers, resulting from the death of 19-year-old Malorie Bullock, who was killed while riding pillion on the back of a sportbike piloted by 18-year-old Tanner Burnett.

Anyhow, I'm happy to report that as of this week, we've officially received word from the Texas Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee that HB 2470 is dead, at least partly due to our actions and opposing involvement as an organized group of Texas motorcyclists. Along the way, we pulled the American Motorcyclist Association, the Motorcycle Industry Council, and even Cycle World Magazine into the melee, all of whom fought on our side to kill the bill. To those entities, I say thank you sincerely for your assistance and involvement.

But now that it's all over (for the moment, anyway, as the bill can be easily re-introduced during the next legislative session), I'm left with more of a bad taste in my mouth than anything else. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy the bill failed and everything, but I fear that HB 2470 was simply a harbinger of things to come. And for both sides of the fight, I fear there were important lessons which will go unlearned and misunderstood for years to come by many.

What supporters of HB 2470 should've learned from the situation, but likely didn't:

1.) When existing laws aren't enforced (or aren't even enforceable at all), more laws heaped on top of them certainly won't help. In fact, in the case of "Malorie's Law", it would've made things worse. HB 2470 essentially attempted to rewrite federal regulations already on the books which mandate motorcycle passenger safety equipment. It also attempted to effectively usurp the motorcycle licensing system in Texas for the sole purpose of demonizing one type of motorcycle. As I said in forum discussions, people screaming "There ought to be a law!" every time something bad happens is the road to societal collapse and eventual total government. That's not good for anyone's happiness or well-being.

2.) It doesn't have to be about race or religion for discrimination to be immoral. The intent of HB 2470 was to paint sportbikes as something they aren't, based on prejudices and ignorance. Sportbikes are not inherently the most dangerous motorcycle type, nor are all sportbike riders squidly teens who stunt on the freeway and block traffic. There are many of us in Texas and America at large who ride sportbikes skillfully and responsibly, and do not deserve to have our liberties aggressed upon.

3.) It's counterproductive to honor the memory of the deceased by naming a law after him or her which will generally be disliked. My friend Kurt Brown said it perfectly: "I hope they find a more positive way to memorialize their daughter. A scholarship, rider education program or other similar type program seems more appropriate than 'I got a ticket because of Malorie'." I couldn't agree more.

What opposers of HB 2470 should've learned from the situation, but likely didn't:

1.) When the rights of all motorcyclists are threatened, we should never turn on our own. The first thing that started happening in motorcycle circles after HB 2470 passed the Texas House was cruiser guys pointing their collective finger toward the sportbike crowd and generalizing them all as being irresponsible hot-rodders who are losing motorcycledom its rights at the pen of ignorant, non-motorcyclist legislators and citizens. Likewise, the sportbike crowd pointed squarely at the cruiser crowd and accused them all of being bar-hopping, helmetless drunks who swerve headlong into telephone poles by the dozens. All sides were wrong, both in accusation and principle. A house divided cannot stand, and we need solidarity more than ever.

2.) The best way to protect our rights as riders is to be good representatives and ambassadors of motorcycling every day. Think about the damage we do to motorcycling every day by doing things like riding wheelies in heavy traffic and running baffleless straight pipes on big-bore V-twins. We have an opportunity every time we ride to do things which endear others to our lifestyle. Yet so many of us are content to simply shoot the general public a figurative finger and leave them startled, rattled, and with their ears ringing.

3.) Sputnik is gone now, and we don't have the luxury of relying upon someone else to be the watchdog anymore. If you don't know who Sputnik was, Google him. Suffice it to say that, despite being a sometimes controversial character, he was a champion of motorcycle rights in Texas. He passed away not long ago at 70 from a heart attack, and I think we all kinda forgot that no one was minding the store. That is, until we discovered that HB 2470 had made it through the Texas House almost unopposed. That event should be our wake-up call. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Sputnik understood that fact, and I hope someone of his caliber will step up to fill the void.

Finally, I realize now some of the mistakes I made personally along the way, specific to this fight.

First off, I offer an apology to the family of Malorie Bullock for how I initially entered the fray. My first act of opposition to HB 2470 was to post a guns-blazing piece of editorial onto the the pro-HB 2470 Facebook page, not realizing (or even stopping to consider) that it was being run and administrated by the family of the young woman whose death was the catalyst for the bill. Though I made no insults or personal attacks by any stretch of the imagination, it was an angry, frustration-filled manifesto based largely on the ire I'd developed though similar past experiences. I should've presented my position in a different way, and I'm sorry for being such a dick at the get-go. I also regret the rather contentious email exchange I subsequently shared with Malorie's sister, Natalie.

Lastly, I regret that I conversely employed some of the same stereotyping in which I accused the other side of engaging. It's easy to get mad when you feel your individual sovereignty is been aggressed upon and, by the same token, difficult to remember that everyone involved is a human being working for what they think is right. I know I have some polishing to do in how I disagree with others at times, and I'm always working on improving. Unfortunately, I feel pretty confident that I'll have many more opportunities regarding motorcycle-rights threats throughout which to practice.

Bad facts lead to bad laws #4598

2011-05-10T16:26:00.013-05:00

Behold the perfect example of a discriminatory Texas motorcycle bill:

HB 2470
Author: Phillips
Last Action: 05/05/2011 S Received from the House
Caption: Relating to the regulation of sport bikes and certain other motorcycles.

1) Definition of a sportbike Section 541.201, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (18-a) to read as follows: (18-a) "Sport bike" means a motorcycle: (A) that is optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and maneuverability on paved roads; (B) that has a light weight frame; (C) on which the rider leans forward over the gas tank; and (D) is not a touring, cruiser, standard, or dual-sport motorcycle.

2) The passenger on a sportbike is defined as one who is 18 or older with an "M" endorsement SECTION 4. Subchapter I, Chapter 545, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 545.4161 to read as follows: Sec. 545.4161. OPERATION OF SPORT BIKE. (a) In addition to the requirements and prohibitions under Section 545.416, an operator may not carry another person on a sport bike unless the sport bike is designed to carry more than one person, and unless: (1) the operator: (A) is at least 18 years of age; and (B) has had a Class M license for at least two years; or (2) the other person: (A) is at least 18 years of age and holds a Class M license; or (B) is a motorcycle operator training and safety course instructor certified under Chapter 662. (b) An operator of a sport bike shall ensure that a passenger on the sport bike complies with all department regulations relating to motorcycle safety.

3) The addition of requisite 'safety' equipment to include: Sec. 547.803. SPORT BIKE SAFETY EQUIPMENT. If a sport bike is designed to carry more than one person, the sport bike must be equipped with foot pegs and handholds for use by a passenger on the sport bike.

4) Defining Motorcycle to include Sportbike SECTION 7. Section 661.001(1), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows: (1) "Motorcycle" means a motor vehicle designed to propel itself with not more than three wheels in contact The term includes a sport bike, as defined by Section 541.201.

Did you follow all that? In a nutshell, this bill would effectively make it illegal to carry a passenger on a sportbike only (not a cruiser, touring bike, enduro, etc.), without at least two years as a licensed motorcyclist over the age of 18. Can you say discrimination against sportbikes?

This bill, also known as "Malorie's Law" (named after a young woman who, you guessed it, died while riding pillion behind an 18-year-old sportbiker) is now creating attention and controversy amongst Texas motorcyclists, but perhaps too late. It quickly made it through committee and already passed the Texas House almost unanimously. It's now on its way to the Texas Senate, where it could be passed for the governor to sign into law.

Needless to say, this is just another stupid, unenforceable law that'll only serve to hinder and hassle law-abiding riders.

Late in the game, many of us in Texas are sending letters to our senators. Here's mine:

Dear Senator Seliger:

Please vote against HB 2470, the discriminatory bill known as "Malorie's Law", which recently passed the Texas House.

HB 2470 attempts to discriminate against a specific type of motorcycle genre ("sportbike") in reaction to the death of a young woman who was unfortunately killed in a crash while riding pillion on one.

The bill would prohibit riders of sportbikes (a term which is effectively impossible to accurately define legally) who have been licensed for less than two years to carry a passenger. This law would not apply to the riders of so-called "cruiser", "touring", "standard" or "enduro" motorcycles, and is therefore highly discriminatory.

Furthermore, all licensed riders in Texas are already required to complete and pass a safety course which includes a classroom module on carrying passengers. In its discrimination, "Malorie's Law" would also be somewhat redundant.

Bad facts lead to bad laws, and emotional legislation instigated by grieving parents is often to blame. Please oppose HB 2470.

I oppose this proposed law primarily because it infringes my rights as a sportbiker. It singles me out as a bad apple simply because of the bike-type I ride, and it makes me subject to closer police scrutiny for no reason. It is discrimination. It's the same thing as saying, "My mom was killed by a red-headed guy, so I now want a law to put restrictions on red-headed guys being allowed out of their homes."

These coercive, aggressive actions do motorcycling, and the intent of law, a huge disservice. Perhaps somewhat ironically, the bike type associated with the most injuries and fatalities is *not* sportbikes, it is cruisers. This bill chases phantoms, and in the process it does nothing more than muddying the waters for law enforcement, while making motorcycle licensing more expensive and complicated for those of us who bother with doing it right.

Most importantly, I believe this law would result in more pursuits, more singling-out and discrimination against an already demonized motorcycle type, and impossible enforcement from a practical standpoint. I talked to a retired cop about this bill, and he said he wouldn't even allow his squads to use the law as it's now drafted, because there's no reliable way in the field to determine when a motorcycle endorsement was issued.

If you're a Texas motorcyclist, please stand up against this bill by contacting your senator immediately.

To read a lively and well-informed online forum thread concerning this bill, visit Two Wheeled Texans.

Mother Kawasaki, I beseech thee

2011-04-13T17:01:00.004-05:00

Please, for the love of all that is good and holy and true and right, I beg you to bring the W800 to the United States. I will buy one the day they show up on showroom floors. I'll even pay MSRP. Just get it here, and get it here quickly.

Tour of the West Texas range fire aftermath by motorcycle

2011-04-10T18:12:00.006-05:00

I've lived in West Texas my whole life and have never seen anything quite like the range fires of 2011, nor their aftermath. Eight months without precipitation, unseasonable high temperatures, extremely low humidity, and very high winds have combined to create a "perfect storm" scenario which has scorched tens of thousands of acres and left scores of families homeless.

Fires raged again in south Midland County last night, overwhelming firefighters and rescue teams. This afternoon, after the burned areas had been declared safe, I took these pictures near County Road 118 west of Cottonflat.

This area was consumed in a wide swath, taking with it buildings, ranch equipment, and vehicles:

I prefer to show the homes that survived, rather than the ones destroyed. The house in the distance was somehow spared, though the flames had crept up to its back door:

These vehicles were completely melted, yet the fire spread no further than their perimeter:

More destroyed cars and scorched earth:

Fire appeared to selectively target this barn and burn it to the ground:

I hope we've seen the last of these fires, but some are still burning all over the area and weather conditions call for more of the same over the next week or so. One thing's for sure, West Texas needs lots and lots of rain in a major way, and the sooner the better.

By the way, please keep those affected by these fires in your thoughts and prayers.

Just watch...

2011-02-11T14:14:00.003-06:00

Say what you want about the evils of marketing and advertising. The fact remains that this spot is brilliant. If you're a motorcyclist and what you've just seen didn't touch you in some way, you should probably sell your bike.

Stop calling each other posers and get your heads in the game

2011-02-08T23:23:00.005-06:00

Even though motorcyclists are just about my favorite people on the earth, there are times when they totally piss me off. That's right, I'm talking to you.

In an era when our right to pursue happiness through motorcycling is arguably under greater threat than ever before, there remain some in the lifestyle who are determined to waste all their energies antagonizing other riders instead of standing up to the various groups and government agencies who hinder us every day. Over the past 24 months or so, Colorado, New York, New Jersey, and California have all passed various and sundry anti-motorcycling laws; most of them highly discriminatory, some of them downright draconian. We're under attack from all directions, yet some of us still choose to attack each other, making us appear much less organized and credible in our efforts to keep our way of life legal and sovereign.

What I refer to is the "You're not a real biker, you're a poser" accusation, which motorcyclists from all walks of life seem to be incessantly leveling at each other. Take a look around. It's all over the Internet. It's at every bike night. It's in bike shops and at racetracks. It permeates seemingly every interaction we have with one another, and it makes us all look like douchebags. The issue includes, but is not limited to, the following flawed arguments:

1. "You're a poser because you don't ride at least [insert number here] miles per year."
2. "You're a poser because you don't ride a(n) [insert brand name here] motorcycle."
3. "You're a poser because you trailer your bike."
4. "You're a poser because you don't wear full protective gear."
5. "You're a poser because you *do* wear full protective gear."
6. "You're a poser because you only ride to the coffee house and hang out."
7. "You're a poser because you own an adventure bike, but never take it off-road."
8. "You're a poser because you dress like a pirate and ride a Harley."

And the lis goes on. Blah, blah, blah, blah.

Long ago out here in West Texas, the definition of a poser was very specific. Posers were the weekend-warrior types who dressed up and acted in such a way as to present themselves as one-percenter bike club members, especially at motorcycle gatherings. It seemed they were always around, acting hard, whenever the real outlaw MCs were not on the scene. But when the actual one-percenters *were* on the scene, the posers would slow down, take a look, and then keep on riding. Likewise, posers would always leave promptly whenever a real outlaw club showed up.

These days, in the spirit of the true definition as I've always understood it, there really aren't many posers to be found, if any. With the mainstreaming of H-D culture in the 1990s, coupled later with the chopper fashion of the 2000s and the rise of the sportbike to prominence, there's really no reason to "pose" anymore. There's now a group of motorcycle enthusiasts for every riding or social preference in the lifestyle. Resultantly, the term 'poser' has simply come to mean "anybody who doesn't do motorcycling exactly the way I do it".

And that's total bullsh. Because meanwhile, the 'outside' world is quickly closing in on us and our rights are slipping away one by one, all as we make fun of each other for being different from one another as bikers.

So what's a poser? Chances are that, if you ride at all, you're probably not one. Some days I make a 400-plus-mile ride alone or with a small group. Some days I go to a Starbucks Motorcycle Day, look at bikes, hang out, and socialize. Some days I ride my Japanese sporbike to the H-D shop and say hello to all the guys I know there. Some days I just commute six miles 'round trip to work and back. Some days I ride 200 miles just to eat my favorite barbecue for lunch. Some days I ride to another state. The permutations are virtually endless. Am I a poser some days but not others? The argument is stupid.

The important thing, regardless of how each of us enjoys motorcycling, is that we all actively participate in the lifestyle in some way. And the more motorcyclists, the better. We need unity right now more than ever, and when you bag on your fellow motorcyclist, you become part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Join the AMA. Call your representatives when threatening legislation is authored. Be a good steward and representative of the lifestyle. Stop calling each other posers and get your heads in the game.

Historic, never-before-seen photos of Burt Munroe's 'World's Fastest Indian'

2010-12-30T21:58:00.004-06:00

I swear, you just can't make this stuff up. I got these pics and link from a guy who found them on a site called Yellow Bullet Forums. Prepare to yell, "Kick ass!" at the top of your lungs:

"I work with a older engineer who has always had some interesting stories to tell. He always seems to be hanging around someones cubicle telling tall tales about things that he has done or seen. One day he came by mine and wanted to hear about one of my MC trips to a far off place. Before long Alan's tales about motorcycles back in the day had taken over the discussion. We have all heard the classic line about the Triumph that someone used to have, so I was ready for it. What he said that day seemed unbelievable and I doubted it until the goods showed up today. Alan told me about the summer of 1969. He was in the Air Force and stationed in Wendover Utah. When ever he could he got off base and went out to the Salt Flats to watch the time trials and lend a hand if he could. He began telling me about this crazy old guy from Australia or somewhere near there who rode an old Indian. In disbelief I asked if his name was Burt and Alan said yes. I told Alan about the movie and what I knew and Alan had never heard of it. He said that he had some old 35mm slides and he would bring them in for me to look at. That was about a year ago and after pestering him at every chance he delivered three carosels today. See images below. These are a few of them and perhaps the most important. When I get these propperly scanned, I'll post them again.

Please sit down, you are about to see something that few have ever seen. This is like finding the holy grail."

Wow. Just –– wow. No further commentary necessary.

The last road trip of the year always seems to be the sweetest

2010-11-16T15:04:00.004-06:00

We took our annual autumn ride to the Davis Mountains of West Texas a few weeks ago, and I can't seem to get the trip out of my mind. This picture I took as we rested by the side of State Highway 17 pretty much crystallizes the essence of the trip for me:

The weather here is now becoming more erratic as we move into the holiday season, with calm nighttime lows near freezing and windy daytime highs in the mid-60s. In another week or two, it'll be the time of year when all you can do is just grab the odd, sporadic day-ride when the weather cooperates. Though we do technically ride all year 'round down here in Texas, it gets cold in December, January, and February, and as of right now the sweet spot has passed. Riding Season 2010 is essentially over.

I guess that's why I can't get the last roadtrip out of my head. In my mind the weather was perfect, the roads were perfect, the smells in the air were perfect, and my bike was running perfectly. Yes, it was all flawless in memory. Of course, you never dwell on how bad the bugs were or on how cold the morning started off or on getting held up in Pecos because somebody's fuel card wouldn't work. This time of year, as you stare Old Man Winter® in the face, all you remember is how great it all was.

Channeling the 1970s

2010-11-07T22:48:00.003-06:00

Have you ever had one of those moments where you sort of jokingly wished for something silly, and then it surprisingly came true, giving you a nice chuckle? Well, it happened to me recently.

Coming back from Austin a few weeks ago, I stopped in for a visit with my aunt and uncle in Georgetown, Texas. My uncle followed my 1978 KZ1000 restoration project from beginning to end, and had been saving a little surprise for me; one of his old leather riding jackets from the late '70s which he had used during his years as an avid rider in California. Can you say "Freakin' sweet!"? Oh yes, I knew you could. I took these pics a little while ago:

As you can see, it's a very 1970s Wilsons leather jacket with a heavy liner. As you can also see, before everything was made in China, it was all made in Korea. In any case, it goes perfectly with my KZ in theme alone, and despite the fact that it's a little big for me, I'll wear it with pride.

But none of that is the point of the story, it's just the setup.

My wife and I were talking about the jacket last week, and I mentioned that it would've been too cool if there had been something interesting left forgotten in one of the pockets; perhaps directions to an old bike night or the like.

"Well?" she asked. "Did you check all the pockets thoroughly?"

Typical me, I just responded with a yes and we went on about our conversation. Then, at about 3 o'clock last Saturday morning after the getting home from the night's Dingo Sanctuary show, I sat in front of my computer cruising Facebook and trying to wind down for bed. Out of the corner of my left eye, I saw the jacket hanging on the door, stared over at it for a good minute or so, and decided perhaps one more search was in order.

Here's what I found in the arm pocket:

It's not exactly directions to a bike night, but is perhaps just as cool. It's the registration card to my uncle's 1979 Yamaha XS650E, which was then less than a year old. He had that bike for a long time, finally selling it during the '90s with who-knows-how-many miles on the clock.

I don't really have a rational explanation for why, but finding that old registration card filled my heart with joy. I guess it's just nice to know that I'll be returning a jacket that saw spirited rides on every canyon road in southern California to its intended use.

Or maybe I'm just sentimental.

The great ethanol scam and your motorcycle engine: get worried

2010-10-21T22:47:00.009-05:00

In this age of runaway, out-of-control government, it's easy to get mired down in worry and anger about a variety of things. Granted, the list is endless. But of all the wild government action we're currently being subjected to, perhaps one of the most cleverly executed scams going is the corn lobby's successful hijacking of the fuel sector via the mandated blending of ethanol with pump gas.

The crazy thing is, everyone knows ethanol is a terrible product as a fuel source. I mean everyone. For crying out loud, when the eco-mentalists and the oil companies actually come together to agree on something, you know a boondoggle of extraordinary magnitude is afoot.

But forget the fact that it takes more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol than you get from a gallon of ethanol. Forget that ethanol's production drives up food prices and contributes to human starvation. Forget that ethanol is 35 percent less efficient than gasoline. Hell, forget that ethanol produces as much or more pollution than gasoline depending on how it's used. Yes, forget all that. The most important issue for you as a motorcyclist right now is that ethanol-laced fuel may be slowly destroying your bike's engine.

From the lawsuits against the ethanol industry by boaters whose marine engines and fuel cells were badly damaged, to the widespread cratering of two-stroke chainsaw and four-stroke lawnmower engines, the direct evidence of ethanol's curse is overwhelming. And the damage ethanol has done to some makes of cars and trucks is arguably just as bad. Early last year, Lexus ordered a massive vehicle recall related to ethanol damage. "Ethanol fuels with low moisture content will corrode the internal surface of fuel rails," reads one of the service bulletins.

It only stands to reason that similar woes are now befalling motorcycle owners, where ethanol's corrosive properties are destroying everything from rubber fuel boots to throttle bodies and carburetors.

And it gets worse. Since motorcycles tend to sit unused for long periods of time during the cold months, they are especially susceptible to serious engine damage resulting from phase separation, a condition whereby water condensation in the fuel causes the ethanol to bond to the H2O molecules, separate from the gasoline, and sink to the bottom of the tank. The first warm day the motorcycle is fired up, the pure ethanol dumps directly into the engine and, shazam, it's curtains for your poor bike.

So what can we do as motorcyclists to insure the continued care and long life of the bikes we love so much? Well, I wish I had that answer. I've heard tell of some guys intentionally phase separating the ethanol from their fuel using distilled water in specially constructed tanks, draining away the water/ethanol mixture, and then running the pure pump gas. I've also heard that running marine fuel stabilizers can be beneficial.

Honestly, I don't know if either of those ideas are good ones or not, but I do know that we all need to start making angry political noises about ethanol-laced fuel. It's needs to be gone forever, and it needs to be gone yesterday. It's time to get off our couches and start kicking and screaming about ethanol and all the other things our so-called leaders are doing to ruin the quality of our lives, otherwise those bought-and-payed-for bastards will soon diminish our existences to that of simple slaves, working and toiling pointlessly and endlessly, only to do their mindless bidding.

Addendum: For clarification, I realize that a small amount of ethanol has been used in pump gas as an octane booster since 1979 or so. My call to action is specifically aimed at eliminating large-volume ethanol blends such as E10 and E15.

West Texas Bike Nights for October 2010

2010-10-12T11:15:00.002-05:00

Come out and enjoy the beautiful autumn weather. These will be the last two organized bike nights of the year in Midland (TX):

Midland Powersports Bike Night
Wednesday October 13, 2010
7PM until 9PM
Midland Powersports on Old Highway 80
Midland, Texas

West Texas Motorcycles Bike Night IV
Wedensday October 20, 2010
7PM until 10PM
Rosa's Café on Andrews Highway
Midland, Texas

FYI, Midland Powersports' Bike Night will feature free food, drinks, in-store specials, and door prizes. Both events are family-friendly, and anyone interested is welcome to attend. See you in October!

Are we starting to see the beginnings of sportbike backlash?

2010-10-08T21:57:00.005-05:00

Ah, modern race-replica sportbikes. They're sleek. They're light. They're unbelievably fast. They handle like nobody's business. And in many cases, they're becoming a generic, boring punchline in motorcycle culture.

At least that's how I'm perceiving the judgments being recently laid out against them by others; both riders and non-riders alike. It seems there's a growing backlash against sportbikes, fueled by a decade of super popularity, a whole lot of bad press, and a snot-nosed sportbiker archetype that's embarrassingly easy to pigeonhole.

We've done it to ourselves. Heck, ten or twelve years ago, I myself was doing far too much 150-plus mile per hour riding on the street, far too many wheelies, and far too much bragging about it. And let's be honest, it was an easy thing to get sucked into. The power, acceleration, and bullet-train stability of a full-on repli-racer is something to which a person can get easily addicted.

Unfortunately, we all know that activities catering to addictive behaviors will eventually draw-in a bad element, and with sportbikes, the bad element arrived in droves. Before long, no one with a daily commute found it unusual to see at least one group per day of insufferable sportbike douchebags acting like complete imbeciles on the freeway. Throw in lots of high-speed police chases, gory crashes, a million stupid YouTube videos and the stunting culture, and even someone as proud of his motorcycles as me stops telling people I even have a repli-racer sportbike. It becomes guilt by association:

"Oh, you ride one of *those* motorcycles? Well, one of you guys went by me doing a wheelie the other day and scared me so bad I almost crashed! I had my infant son in the car!"

"Those things should be outlawed. I watched a chase on TV the other day and the guy on the sportbike ran into the side of a truck at over 100 miles per hour. EMS had to scoop him up with a shovel!"

"The kid across the street from me crashed his and was in a coma for two months. You shouldn't ride those things!"

From my perspective, I'm seeing a lot of guys my age and younger getting out of sportbiking and buying other types of motorcycles. One by one, I'm watching as more and more of my longtime riding buddies turn up on the scene with Harleys and BMWs and adventure bikes. They've simply had enough and have "shifted gear", so to speak. And to my surprise, I seem to be doing the same. I love my ZX7R, but it sits in the garage a lot more these days as I ride my Z-Rex and old-school KZ. People don't leer as much when I ride those bikes, and the cops tend to be less interested in me, too. That's always a good thing.

I'm also noticing a swell of interest among the younger crowd in reviving the café scene. That's very cool, and seems to provide a way to enjoy spirited bikes while successfully divorcing away from the sportbike and stunting cultures. It's even making its way to TV more and more often, which I think is a strong sign:

Finishing touches on the '78 KZ project

2010-10-08T21:25:00.007-05:00

Three months and a few Grand later, I'm finally putting the finishing touches on my 1978 KZ1000 LTD project bike.

Well, I say these are the finishing touches, but the possibilities on what I could do with this bike given the time and money are virtually endless. Due to the ease and availability of parts and support, I could certainly have a hot drag motor built for it. I could go crazy and install a modern sportbike front end, racing swingarm, and suspension system. I could go all HID or LED. These bikes are still so collectible and popular that a virtual treasure trove of groovy aftermarket kit is but an Internet order form away.

Yeah, I could do a lot more stuff; a lot more. But I'm not gonna. At least not for now.

Anyhow, as of this week, all the electrical is properly sorted, the engine is back in proper running order, and the new paint work is finally finished and installed. Now in 1970 Superbird (Vitamin C) Orange with black custom decals I designed myself, my old KZ is looking and running great, and I'm just happy to have the motorcycle back in one piece and purring like a kitten. Now I can actually ride the thing.

Old bikes are a labor of love to be sure, but they are more than worth it. I was just a little kid in the late '70s and early '80s when these bikes were rolling off the assembly lines from Japan, but was surrounded by Z- and H-model Kawasakis thanks to various older family members who were bigtime into riding them. I've said it before, but my experiences with those bikes as a child -- the smell, the sound, the feel of riding pillion -- are all part of the reason I ride motorcycles today. Moreover, they have influenced my enthusiasm for riding old-school and retro bikes, especially since I wasn't old enough to ride back in the day and had to mostly watch all the fun from afar.

Now, my restoration focus can finally return to my poor little S1A Mach I triple, which has been put on the back burner no less than three times since last year as I set it aside to work on other stuff. I've stopped setting goals for a finish date at this point, but if the little Mach I is lucky, it might just be running by springtime.

Fingers crossed.

Sunday was ZX7R tech day

2010-09-06T01:08:00.002-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I changed every fluid in the ZX7R except the fork oil; clutch fluid, front brake fluid, rear brake fluid, engine oil and filter, and engine coolant. If you want to suddenly find yourself with a largely dismantled motorcycle, doing all this stuff at once is a great way to get there:

One of the best things I ever did was to buy this motorcycle. It's hard to believe it's been almost eight years since I took it home from the showroom at Midland Powersports (the old location, BTW). This bike has given me one moment of bliss after the next. From the handling to the sound to the power, this bike has an essence that no other motorcycle can replicate.

The paint is holding up just great, still as vibrant and shiny as the day I bought it. This is why you should always keep your bike's paint soaked in Lemon Pledge (yes, the furniture polish) from Day One:

To celebrate all my hard work, I rode the 7R with Blane, Rodger, Brandon, and Britt tonight until about 11 o'clock. It was perfect righting on a perfect night.

Today, the same gets done to the Z-Rex. I hope I have the energy to get back to work on Tuesday.

1978 Kawasaki KZ1000 Limited Project Update

2010-08-31T23:53:00.005-05:00

As of tonight, generally all mechanicals are properly sorted and I just have a few electrical issues left to iron out. Namely, there are no leads going to the horn and the speedo light is burned out.

So far, this is what I've done (and I solicited my good friend and expert motorcycle mechanic Rodger's help for some of this):

1. Carburetors overhauled
2. Compression check (all good)
3. Generator check (all good)
4. Various wiring and circuit repair
5. Tach drive overhaul
6. Various mechanical refurbishments
7. Frame painted
8. Partial engine polishing
9. New tubes
10. New tires
11. New fuel lines
12. New battery

Also, tonight was my first ride with which I put the bike through its paces; highway speeds; running near redline a few times; hard braking; faster cornering. It was also the longest ride I've ever taken her on. She did great.

My next orders of business will be a valve check, carb synchronization, and to replace the automatic cam chain tensioner with a manual one. Other than that, she's pretty much ready to go to paint.

One final note, and there are many of you here who will understand what I mean by this; tonight was the night that I fell in love with the KZ. It was the first time that I actually got out and really felt and experienced the motorcycle as it was meant to be experienced. For once, I wasn't doing something mundane with the bike like burbling it gently down the street six blocks to the office, or test-riding it around the block once or twice after laying underneath the thing turning a wrench all night.

To help celebrate, Rodger took his fully restored '75 Kawasaki 100 out of the garage and we tore around town, having a great time. It was really nice to have all the hard work begin to pay off.

More updates to come.

Good-Old-Days Syndrome: I Has It

2010-08-21T23:30:00.009-05:00

Or perhaps worse; maybe it's even the beginnings of Old-Man Syndrome. Zoinks. Either way, I got a potent dose of just how much things have changed in my hometown of Midland, Texas over the past twenty years when I went on a late-night ride tonight to meet some fellow motorcycling friends.

It all started earlier this evening when my wife, who's been sick with a stomach virus all weekend, told me to get out of the house (i.e., out of her hair) and go for a ride. No problem there. Next, I checked the local riding forum to find that some guys I know were gonna meet at 11:30 on the northwest side of town. But I figured I'd leave early for a little "me" time, riding alone before meeting the group.

So, just for the sheer nostalgia of it, I started thinking about where I would go if it was two decades or so earlier and I was a 17-year-old kid, cruising around town on my Rebel 250, looking for fun. The preferred choice back then would've been a simple one to make for a kid growing up in Midland: the "strip" on Midkiff Road between Cuthbert Avenue and Andrews Highway.

In the late '80s and early '90s, the strip would've been alive with activity on most any summer Saturday night. Hundreds of kids in hot rods and on motorcycles would've been lining the street for blocks, hanging out and having fun under the streetlights in the many shopping center parking lots on both sides of the road. They'd have been packed like sardines into the Sonic Drive-In, jockeying for the best parking spots from which to be seen and ordering cherry Cokes and chili dogs by the sackload. There would've been some pimply-faced guy with a mullet sitting at the supermarket, blasting Cheap Trick from the stereo of his '79 Camaro to the woots and hollars of big-haired rocker chicks who'd be banging their Aqua-Netted heads to 'Surrender' or 'I Want You To Want Me'. There would've been the occasional drag race, the occasional fight, the occasional flagrant make-out session between hormone-charged lovebirds. In short, it would've been great.

Twenty years later, the strip itself is surprisingly unchanged in its general appearance. The same buildings are still there. The same parking lots are still there. Even the Sonic is still there, which is where I stopped in tonight on my ZX-7R for an obligatory cherry Coke. Despite the similarities, though, one thing's very different: nobody hangs out on the poor old strip anymore. I mean nobody.

The pic above (taken from my crappy, outdated flip phone -- sorry) is what it looked like tonight. What was once a bustling scene is now like a ghost town; no more hot chicks, no more loud music, no more cool cars, no more life at all. Sadly, after decades of concern by the property owners along Midkiff, all the hangers-out have been run off and pushed away by police and private security, apparently for good. Now all that remains of those days are the memories of those of us who remember what it once was.

That's neither a good thing nor a bad thing. It is what it is. But in that moment (and this has been happening to me a lot lately), it really hit home that I am getting older. The only thing I'm disappointed about in life so far is that it apparently goes by so damn quickly. Twenty years ago was yesterday.

In the song 'Subdivisions' by Rush, Neil Peart talks about the discontentment of suburban youth, alluding to "lighted streets on quiet nights". That lyric popped into my head as I drank-in the silence which accompanied my now overpriced soda. The thought then led itself to yet another Peart lyric from a different song: "Changes aren't permanent, but change is."

Indeed.

Midland Powersports to host Bike Night II

2010-08-05T15:02:00.003-05:00

From the press release:

MIDLAND POWERSPORTS TO HOST MIDLAND BIKE NIGHT II

Midland, TX -- Midland Powersports, in association with westtexasmotorcycles.com and The Superbike Blog, will proudly host the second edition of Midland Bike Nights 2010 on Wednesday, August 18 from 7 P.M. until 9 P.M.

The event is free for everyone and will feature complimentary food and drinks, door prizes, as well as in-store specials on select motorcycling gear. Motorcycles of many makes and models will be on display for all to enjoy in a family-friendly atmosphere. In a addition, Tim Kreitz and Britton Parker of the popular Texas band Dingo Sanctuary will be on-hand signing free CD copies of their new album, A Dragon To Feed.

The purpose of Midland Bike Nights is to foster good will and friendship between motorcyclists of all genres while creating awareness of and interest in the sport amongst the general public.

I hope to see as many West Texas motorcyclists as possible at this event. Special thanks to Midland Powersports for volunteering to host.

I must be crazy

2010-08-01T23:38:00.002-05:00

And I probably am, but I just couldn't help it. As of two weeks ago, I am the proud owner of a very troublesome 1978 KZ1000 Limited.

The photo at right shows the bike on the day I got her. She runs strong, but needed just about everything you'd expect: tires, tubes, paint, lots of engine polishing, new carb kits, some minor electrical work, and a battery. So far, I've taken care of the battery and begun the arduous task of polishing. I repainted the frame myself in gloss black, but will have the fender, tank, and side covers done professionally. All the other aforementioned parts are on order, and should be arriving over the course of the coming week. There's no such thing as getting into an old motorcycle cheaply if you intend to do it right.

So, "Why do it?" some would ask. "Why put all that time and money into an ancient Japanese superbike that can't hold a candle to the burning sun of modern motorcycle performance?" Well, if you don't understand why, it probably won't do much good explaining, but I'll give it a shot anyway.

The first thing you need to understand about the KZ is that it's one of the motorcycles of my childhood. I had an uncle, some cousins, and a father (my biological father, to be exact, whom I've not seen in decades -- long story) who were all into Z bikes at one time or another. It seems every time I turned around from the ages of five to twelve years old, someone in my family was sporting a Kawi triple or KZ. I got to touch them, smell them, sit on them, and go for rides on them pretty regularly during that time. So resultantly, there's a special place for them in my heart. In fact, the early Kawasaki superbikes are a big part of the reason I'm hooked on motorcycling today, and am strangely drawn to Kawasakis in particular. I do own four now, after all. Not to mention the other four I've owned previously.

Beyond that, I look at the restoration and ownership of my KZ as sort of a sacred thing. Somebody has to keep these old bikes alive and kicking. They're important. They're historical. They're just flat-out awesome pieces of motorcycling's past.

I'll keep you all posted with regular updates on my progress with the KZ. As with all old-bike purchases, you never really know what you're getting into until you're in the thick of things, and so I'm hoping for no surprises. Wish me luck.

Remember our prediction that Rossi might be out for the rest of the season? Yeah, um, scratch all that

2010-07-18T18:40:00.003-05:00

Not only did Valentino Rossi not sit out the rest of the season after the broken leg he suffered several weeks ago, he returned ahead of schedule to take fourth place at the Sachsenring this weekend. The deity of motorcycle road racing duked it out fiercely for most of the second half of the race with a determined Casey Stoner, who knocked Rossi off the podium in the final corner of the final lap of the race. Dani Pedrosa took first, followed by Rossi's teammate Jorge Lorenzo in second.

The Superbike Blog is both happy and astonished to see Rossi bounce back so quickly, and looks forward to enjoying the rest of the MotoGP season with Rossi on the grid. This is the kind of grit and determination that separates the champions from the rest of the pack, as Rossi has demonstrated over and over again throughout his career.

A few ofthe interesting post-race quotes from team press releases:

CASEY STONER: "In the first part of the race I didn't have such a good feeling and I was doing everything I could to stay with Dani and Jorge but tenth by tenth they were pulling away from me. So, for the second part of the race we changed to a tyre we'd already used yesterday and I immediately found more grip and was able to run faster lap times. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get past Dovi at the start so the front two opened a gap and by the time I got up to third place they were gone. We saw in the first race that Valentino's pace was a little better than ours and that proved to be the case again in the second race. He was taking big chunks of time out of me and to be honest once he got past I didn't think I'd be able to follow. I tried really hard to stay in there and we had a good battle with a lot of nice passes. I tried one last time at the bottom of the hill, where he tried to close the line on me but I was already there. We touched but it was a good, clean fight and I'm just pleased to come away with a podium. We had hoped to be a little closer to the front here but we're happy with this."

ROSSI: "I didn't expect this! I thought it was maybe possible to make fourth or fifth place but I thought it would be very difficult. In the end I was fourth but I had a great battle with Casey and I was so close to the podium, so this is a fantastic result after missing four races. I need some more kilometres to really recover the feeling and feel completely okay with the bike again, but I think I did a great job and this was a very good comeback, better than we could wish for. I felt a bit of pain in my shoulder but more in the leg when changing direction, but at the end the battle with Casey was such fun that I didn't think about it. Unfortunately though he just got the better of me on the last corner! Thanks to all my team for helping me come back and be competitive like this, we will try to do even better in Laguna."

Ever notice there's no advertising on the Superbike Blog? The Motorcyclist Magazine debacle exemplifies exactly why

2010-07-18T15:08:00.009-05:00

Since its inception in mid-2004, I have consistently refused and resisted opportunities to monetize the Superbike Blog. Why? Because this blog is simply a place where I, like a zillion other knuckleheads on the Internet, spew my various opinions and revelations about my own personal interests. Sometimes I spread my loves and adorations, sometimes I rant and rail against things I disagree with. Some months I post like mad. Other months I completely neglect this blog and do other things. The point is, I'm free to do mostly whatever I want here, and I don't have to answer to advertisers about my various and sundry blogging practices. Such is very much by design. The Superbike Blog continues to be popular among its niche readers, and I see no reason to bring in any outside influences in the form of advertisers.

A perfect example of why I have maintained this policy is the current shame being brought down upon Motorcyclist Magazine and its editor Brian Catterson. According to Jalopnik, Catterson, on behalf of Motorcyclist, fired freelance writer Dexter Ford because of a 100-percent true article he wrote for the New York Times. What's the problem, you ask? Several of Motorcyclist's big-money advertisers didn't like how the article in question made them look, and allegedly threatened to pull their ads from the already struggling moto rag.

After his firing, Ford leaked a series of emails in which Catterson admits that the advertisers were calling the shots:

The emails, which Ford confirmed for us are the real thing, include an apparent assertion by Motorcyclist editor-in-chief Brian Catterson that major helmet makers threatened to withdraw advertising in his magazine due to Ford's New York Times piece. That same email then quotes Catterson as saying, "Iʼm getting serious heat over this, to the tune of threatening my job unless I do something about you." (September 30, 2009 at 4:21 PM)

If true, the emails raise troubling questions about a potentially unethical relationship between advertising dollars and editorial content at the popular magazine, one that stretches beyond mere motorcycle reviews and appears to include reporting on the safety of children's helmets.

You can find the complete leaked email exchange on MC24.no.

The fact that sister magazines Motorcyclist and Sport Rider have long capitulated to the pressures thrust upon them by their advertisers is common knowledge among those of us who follow the industry. For this reason, I stopped subscribing years ago. Oddly, Motorcyclist's publishing house, Source Interlink, is now sending me free subscriptions to Sport Rider, Motorcyclist, and even Hot Bike as they apparently attempt to drum up interest in the struggling titles. I'll be glad to take them for free, but I refuse to pay actual money for any magazine that's already payed for with 50-plus percent advertising content by the time it gets to my mailbox. With that many ads, Motorcyclist's web of alliances is plainly entangled, and it can no longer be viewed as objective in its reviews and editorial. Quotes like the following one from the leaked emails bolster my point loudly:

"None of that matters to the brass when two of our biggest advertisers are threatening to yank their ads over a story a freelancer wrote for another publication when we're down $2 mil from last year!"

For the complete story, click here. For the complete thread of leaked emails between Catterson and Ford, click here to download them as a single PDF.

A midnight ride through Midland, Texas

2010-07-18T13:59:00.005-05:00

I'm not gonna lie: Living in Midland, Texas kinda sucks sometimes. It is a boring, uptight little town in the middle of the Permian Basin sand, characterized by high taxes and low self-esteem. There's no real reason to even come to Midland, unless you just got a job in the energy industry and were relocated here.

That said, I -- for some reason I cannot rationally explain -- continue to live here. And as a professional artist and musician with a penchant for motorcycling, lets just say I have my work cut out for me. Still, I manage to do pretty well here, and that does provide me with some pretty unique opportunities to experience Midland in ways other residents might not think of.

For example, last night around 11 o'clock as my wife settled into bed, I put on my riding gear, rolled the Z-Rex out of the garage, and took a slow, quiet ride around the more upscale residential areas of town. For about an hour or so, I made the rounds, enjoying the 70-odd degree night air and complete absence of people or traffic. It was literally like having a city all to myself.

I passed by well-groomed yards accented with Malibu lights and such, some alongside city parks with manmade ponds and illuminated fountains. At night, you don't see the dirt lots and frequently brown-tinged skies visible in the daytime, and you sort of forget where you are. It was a nice ride, very nice indeed.

By the time I got home, I felt much better about living out here in BFE, and took a few moments to stand in the driveway with the garage open, staring up at the starry sky. Yes, my relationship with this town is very much one of love-hate, but I guess I'll stay a while longer. To paraphrase a line from a movie, I guess this is about as good a place as any; at least for the moment.

Random thoughts on the Rossi and Bostrom crashes

2010-06-13T18:31:00.002-05:00

Unarguably, the most significant crash in the motorcycle world over the past week was nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi's ugly get-off at Mugello during qualifying, resulting in a horribly broken leg. The injury is the worst the 31-year-old racing deity has yet been forced to endure to my memory, and may also require by far the longest recovery time. Rossi and his doctors are saying a return to the paddock can be expected within four to six races, but considering the mangled severity of the leg injury in question, I wouldn't be surprised if we get word over the next few months that Valentino is done for the season.

To give you some perspective on just how awful Rossi's injury actually is, keep in mind that the wound had to be left open for a certain amount of time after the operation. Though surgery went well, Rossi told Superbike Planet's Dean Adams just a few days ago that the possibility of infection is a major concern right now, and that he is essentially immobilized indefinitely with the leg elevated as a result. In other words, rehabilitation is still a long way off. I don't work in health care, but I've been watching motorcycle racing for a long time and have seen lots of guys get hurt. Rossi's injury isn't a busted collar bone or fractured wrist. It's serious, and while I'm hopeful it won't result in a forced retirement situation, I must admit that I've been going back repeatedly in my mind to how it all ended for Mick Doohan in 1999.

In any case, the Superbike Blog extends its best wishes and prayers to Valentino Rossi for a full and speedy recovery. MotoGP just wouldn't be the same without him.

The other get-off that got my attention over the past few days was much less severe, but involved one of my favorite racers of all time. It was the crash in testing suffered by Eric Bostrom at Barber on June 10. EBoz was putting an Attack Performance Suzuki GSXR1000 through its paces at the time of the incident, getting it set to race at Laguna in July after taking an almost 2-year hiatus from the sport. There were no injuries suffered by Bostrom in a crash that perhaps illustrates what can happen when you're away from full-on superbikes for an extended period of time, then start the process of re-establishing the skills necessary to pilot one successfully.

I've always liked EBoz because he has a tendency to approach life the way I sometimes do. He has a lot of interests and opinions outside of his profession, and displays a zest for living and acquiring knowledge that seems never to wane. I've always respected that. On the occasions I've met him in person, Eric was always very cool to me, and seemed sincere in how he treated all his fans. That goes a long way on the racing scene.

And I have to be honest; I thought we'd seen the last of Eric Bostrom when he walked away in 2008. It's very nice to see him giving it another go, and I sincerely hope his best racing is yet to come. It'd certainly be great to have another EBoz championship poster to hang alongside the one on my garage wall from 2001. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Memorial Day 2010: Motorcycles, airplanes, and tanks -- oh, my!

2010-05-31T21:46:00.001-05:00

Yeah, I know, that's a stupid title. But it pretty much sums up how Memorial Day 2010 went for little ole' me out here in sunny West Texas. It was a non-stop day of fun and remembrance. I saw things, man. Cool things. Very cool things.

I think I've pretty much gotten to a point in my life where Memorial Day Weekend is now my favorite holiday of all. I'll be honest, there are some Christmases when I wish the sun would just go ahead and explode. The same goes for Thanksgiving, only without the recycled fruitcake and Pagan symbolism. Halloween makes me nervous. Valentine's Day is for suckers. And Labor Day Weekend, well, it always confuses me. I mean, rather than celebrating labor by getting some real work done for once, everybody does the exact opposite and takes time off. It's all such a beating if I over-think it, which as you can tell, I often do.

Ah, but I have no such complaints on Memorial Day. There are motorcycle rides and air shows and barbecues and genuine moments of contemplation to be had. Not to mention that Memorial Day Weekend falls right at the beginning of summer when the sky is blue and the air is warm. It's the perfect occasion by which to set the tone for the rest of the season. I've honestly grown to love it, even despite the fact that I don't always agree with what some people attempt to honor by it.

So without further adieu, here's how I spent my Labor Day Monday, complete with pictures and video.

Ride to Remember 2010

I swear, this thing has got to be the biggest organized motorcycle ride in West Texas now. I wouldn't dare a guess as to how many bikes participate in this event. I'll just say, it's a freakin' crapload. The following pics don't begin to do the ride's magnitude of number any real justice.

Lookin' low, down a row:

The front of my subgroup of about 100 bikes. There were at least 10 or 15 subgroups, so do the math:

Motorcycles ahead of us in the distance as we waited to go:

Hundreds more motorcycles waiting to leave:

The ride itself went off without a hitch, at least from where we were positioned. My friends Britt, Rodger, Brandon, and I rode the first 45 of the event's 80 miles, then broke off to have lunch. Hats off to the organizers of the Ride to Remember. Heck, even the grammar and spelling on the instruction card was much improved over the ransom not they handed out last year. You guys did a great job. Kudos to all of you.

Commemorative Air Force Celebration

Afterward, everyone kinda broke off to ride in different directions, so I went home and picked up my wife. From there we went to the Commemorative Air Force's Memorial Day celebration. Significant at this year's festivity was the return to airworthiness of the CAF's "FiFi", the world's only flying B-29.

To celebrate, they towed her onto the tarmac and ran her new engines for the crowd:

Here's a poorly written sign in the main hangar, describing everything the CAF went through to get FiFi back into the air:

Here's an old B-29 nacelle, presumably housing one of the old-variant Cyclone engines:

From there, we checked out the CAF's old C-46 Commando, which had been flying a few years ago, but is now quite obviously grounded:

This is likely almost the exact same view new WWII pilots saw when they landed at Midland Army Airfield back in the day:

Next, we climbed into a much more airworthy C-47 (DC-3), painted in the very recognizable D-Day invasion stripes:

The view from the C-47's cockpit:

A wide variety of other aircraft were being flown or were on display:

Dare me?

The view from CAF Hangar 2 on a perfect West Texas day:

Me love Jeeps. These 'uns are my Wrangler's great-great-grandpappies:

Dig the ID plate:

So after a day like today, is it any wonder that I prefer Memorial Day over any other holiday? I didn't have to buy any gifts, I didn't have to pay for an expensive dinner, I didn't even have to eat recycled fruitcake. It was just me getting to be around a bunch of the things in life I find to be extremely groovy; my wife, my friends, motorcycles, airplanes, jeeps, and tanks. So tanks a lot to everyone who made all this stuff possible today. Tanks a very lot. Everyone have a great week.

Iraan Sportbike Rally 2010, ride report and pics

2010-05-08T22:37:00.003-05:00

Despite a cold morning and overcast skies, the rescheduled Iraan Sportbike Extravaganza for 2010 went off mostly without a hitch today.

We arrived around 11 o'clock this morning, and when we got there, organizer Carl Peterson was directing riders into parking in his bright yellow hall monitor shirt:

The turnout was smaller than in years past, likely due to the reschedule and weather, but there were still plenty of bikes and motorcyclists on the set:

Look! An old-school ZX-7R! Tim Kreitz must be here somewhere:

Heavy Bus Racing making a show of force:

That great Texas band Dingo Sanctuary donated copies of their new CD to the charity raffle:

Bikes lining up for the top horsepower dyno shootout. I don't know who won, but I do know that an N2O-equipped ZX-10R was verified at 201 horsepower early in the day:

Prepping the dyno for a run:

A rather groovy, very stretched ZX-14 gets loaded onto the dyno:

The stunt show featured some tandem trickery this year:

It was all fun and games until this happened. The guy being thrown into the air tried to leapfrog the approaching stunt bike on-foot and subsequently biffed the attempt. Don't worry, he was fine:

Good times. A big thank you goes out to all the sponsors and organizers. I hope to see more of you next year.

TLC 'un-cancels' American Chopper

2010-05-01T16:46:00.006-05:00

I found this while noodling around the Internet for news on the ongoing Teutul lawsuit:

GOSHEN — Orange County Supreme Court Justice Lewis Lubell issued an order on April 21, saying Paul Teutul Sr. has validly exercised his right to buy his son out of the Orange County Choppers.

The celebrity father-son duo also recently announced they'll be going head-to-head on a new season of "American Chopper," in which each will operate his own bike shop.

Since December, Lubell has been considering a suit filed by Senior asking the courts to appoint an appraiser to value Junior's portion of the company, so that he can purchase it. Senior fired Paulie in January 2009 and the two hashed out an agreement, including an option for Senior to buy his son out.

In November, Senior says, he exercised his right to buy Paulie's 20 percent of the company. Senior's suit claims Junior was obstructing attempts to purchase the shares.

But Junior's counterclaim says he wasn't given access to company records, which he demanded along with $10 million in damages and other restitution.

The judge granted Senior's request, saying that he validly exercised his right to buy the shares in November. But Lubell refused to appoint an appraiser to value the company, instead ordering a conference at which the parties will negotiate over a third-party appraiser.

The judge also barred either party from selling assets of Orange County Choppers until the suit is resolved. The Teutuls' next conference is slated for May 27.

SOURCE

The text of which I bolded prompted me to do a search which led me to this:

Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. haven't spoken in over a year, but their ongoing rift isn't stopping them from appearing in a new show that pits the warring generations against each other.

"American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior" starts taping in a week, and is scheduled to debut on The Learning Channel in August. Under the new premise-- the details of which have yet to be ironed out-- the original Orange County Choppers (run by Paul Sr.) competes against the offspring's Paul Jr. Designs business.

In what proportion will each business be featured, and how will the onscreen drama be treated? Executive producer Christo Doyle doesn't share his secrets, but he does tell the NY Post that "This is a very bitter situation that runs really deep -- at times I feel I'm a family therapist and not a producer."

As for the Teutuls, Junior says "I'm always hopeful for a reconciliation, but sometimes these things happen for a reason." In contrast, Senior claims that Junior has never approached him to reconcile, adding that, "I'm happy he's making an attempt to go out on his own, but I don't feel he's ever really followed through with anything in his life."

Ahh, family...

SOURCE

Oddly -- and I can't give a rational explanation for why -- I am interested in this. What is the dark voodoo magic these Teutul knuckleheads possess which makes me continue to watch?

Proof that literally any excuse to ride will suffice

2010-05-01T14:35:00.005-05:00

One of the challenges the average motorcyclist often faces is in finding interesting new destinations within a well-beaten locale. Riding isn't always about hopping on a bike and going 500 or 1,000 miles at a stretch. Sometimes a motorcyclist simply wants to get out and roll for an hour or two and enjoy a short ride near home. The problem, as you might imagine, is that it doesn't take long before you've seen it all. Or does it?

One of the newish fads on Internet motorcycle forums right now is hunting VOR stations. VORs are navigation radars that are used by IFR-rated pilots. The Two-Wheeled Texans message forum is currently featuring a VOR hunt, and since I have a longtime interest in aviation, I thought I'd participate.

Here's my Z-Rex sitting in front of the MAF VORTAC between Midland (TX) and Gardendale (TX):

So I suppose the above evidence is just more proof that some motorcyclists will use literally any excuse to throw a leg over a bike, me apparently included.

If you'd like to participate in the Two-Wheeled Texans VOR hunt, CLICK HERE.

Blue skies, sunshine, and going over the ton

2010-02-21T20:51:00.009-06:00

After crying like a pretty little girl for weeks about the cold, wet weather here in West Texas, I was pleased to take full advantage of a dang-near perfect weekend for riding yesterday and today. We did the usual West Texas stuff for local rides, but it had been such a long time since we've had days like these, it just all felt new again. The following are a few pictures I took since I happened to have my wife's little Nikon with me.

Hanging out at the Nine Mile:

Crazy Dave makes some adjustments. Check out the custom flamed bodywork he just installed. Very nice, indeed:

The bluest sky you'll ever see was hovering overhead today:

And of course, everyone ended up at the Buckhorn in Goldsmith at the end of the day:

So really, nothing special. In fact, barely enough to blog about. But at the same time, wondrous. As I wrote on my Facebook update this evening, there are few things better than spending a Sunday afternoon riding motorcycles with people you care about, and whom care about you. At 40 years old, I still have the nerve to dream of fortune and fame once in a while. But if life never gets any better than this, it'll still have been pretty darn close to perfect.

I simply cannot overstate my readiness for springtime's arrival

2010-02-14T21:47:00.003-06:00

Back in the mid-nineties, I was playing in a band called The Atomics that, much like my current band Dingo Sanctuary, played a wide mix of original and cover songs. One of the songs we covered back then was by a band called Cry of Love, and was entitled Too Cold in the Winter. I thought of that song often over the past few months, because I can't remember a drearier, wetter, colder winter here in West Texas. I'm so sick of being cooped up that I've almost gone stir crazy a couple of times. No lie.

For the first time in years, I have stabilized the fuel in all my bikes and semi-mothballed them because the riding opportunities have been so few. We had a halfway decent riding day yesterday, but I didn't get free to roll until late in the afternoon, and by that time the temperature was starting to drop off drastically. Sad stuff. This time last year we were doing day rides and having a ball. This year so far, uh, not so much.

For those of you who live in the northern USA and other locales where it gets genuinely cold in the winter, know that I've never envied you and never will. I just don't see how you can stand it, especially if you're a rider. Prolonged cold snaps like the one we're experiencing in West Texas right now strengthen my opinion to that affect. I want it to be warm again.

Anyhow, here's a little Cry of Love from 1994 or so. Yes boys, in 2010, it is indeed too cold in the winter:

Farewell American Chopper

2010-02-11T21:57:00.006-06:00

TLC aired the final episode of American Chopper earlier tonight, and for my money it was a sad, somewhat heartbreaking end to the on-TV saga of the Teutul family.

Say what you want about the bikes featured on the show over the years. Insult their quality and functionality, make fun of chopper culture -- do all that stuff. To me, the show was never really about motorcycles anyhow. It was about Senior, Paulie, and Mikey. It was also about guys I think I would probably really like to hang around with like Vinnie DiMartino and Rick Petko. Maybe I'm just being too sentimental in the wake of the show's abrupt cancellation, but I'm gonna miss certain aspects of it.

I'll admit that I thought some of the drama was staged along the way, and some of it indeed may have been. But considering that Senior filed a million-dollar lawsuit against Junior a few weeks ago over ownership of Junior's shares in the OCC company stock, I'd say the animosity and tension were generally very real. TLC apparently knew it was real, too, and pulled the plug.

The episode ended with Mikey selling his house and apparently moving away, Junior getting officially engaged to his girlfriend and moving on with his own company, the remaining core of the OCC build team delivering a Kobalt Tools-themed chopper to Lowe's, and all the family wounds still open and bleeding. It was a real bummer.

That said, the show survived probably a lot longer than it should have, outlasting every other chopper-related show on television by a mile or two. Without question, the chopper fad of the 2000s is over. Choppers are fashionable items, and like any other fad, they come and go in and out of style. It was the Teutuls themselves that made the show last so long. So who knows; maybe in 25 more years when the chopper craze returns, it'll be Paulie Junior duking it out with his own son on "The New American Chopper" with occasional visits to Senior in the old folks home. Time will tell.

I can only hope that the Teutul clan will realize that money, fame, and TV shows all eventually go away, but the love of family should always endure. So here's an offer of best wishes for peace and reconciliation. I hope they learn to love each other again and get along. Those are the things in life that really matter.

It's finally time to get serious about my Mach I restoration

2010-01-04T04:41:00.004-06:00

I've been sitting on this project for months and finally made the decision to quit stalling, get back to it, and make some progress:

Mladin to World Superbike?

2009-12-14T15:38:00.005-06:00

Those of you who follow now-retired, umpteen-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin on Twitter may've noticed this tweet from a few days ago:

“a couple of world superbike offers have come my way in the past month. 1 of them very good in regards to machinery. decisions decisions”

Mladin isn't answering any emails about the subject just yet, but the Superbike Blog is hereby on record as endorsing his presence in World Superbike. Such would be very cool.

Go for it, Mat. You should've done so years ago.

With no particular place to go

2009-11-15T20:46:00.003-06:00

I scheduled almost all of my October weekends to be free for motorcycle riding, and man, I didn't waste any of it. Dingo Sanctuary and the Tim Kreitz Band took a break except for two local performances and I spent the rest of the month having some pretty excellent Autumn motorcycle adventures with friends. There was the Three Sisters ride, the Davis Mountains (our Verhalen run), Iraan, Robert Lee, and the list goes on.

Those rides were all great fun, but today I decided to just bang around Midland-Odessa and hang out a bit. After a nice afternoon of buzzing around by myself for a change, I ran into my good friend Rodger late in the day at the Starbucks over in Odessa, and we ended up riding to a local Odessa park to catch the sunset.

Rodger pulls up to my table at the Bux:

It was a bit breezy (more than I prefer), which was causing the waves on the water to whitecap at the park:

The leaves are changing and starting to fall off the trees. It makes for beautiful evenings surrounded by all the color:

Rodger's bike on top of a huge concrete drainage slab near the water's edge:

Obligatory greatness:

This photo is proof that you're never too old to be a troublemaker:

I don't understand why, but this park is filled with statues. Creepy ones:

There, that's better:

Soon thereafter, we were provided with the glorious sunset we'd come to see:

Everyone have a great week, and remember: You don't have to go anyplace special to see something astounding. God's beauty and wonder are all around you:

Verhalen ride report: A barn full of vintage beauties

2009-11-01T23:30:00.002-06:00

I got a call from my buddy Carl at the beginning of the week, asking if I'd like to take a ride to -- of all places -- Verhalen, Texas today.

"Verhalen? Why Verhalen?" I asked in a what-are-you-trying-to-get-me-into-this-time sort of tone.

For those of you who don't know, Verhalen is a little ghost town just north of Balmorhea at the northern edge of the Davis Mountain Range. About five people live there -- literally.

But I've gotta hand it to Carl. When it comes to finding vintage bikes stashed in out-of-the-way places, the guy is like a supernatural moto-medium. And when he explained that we were going to see his friend Jim Franklin's vintage bike collection, I was immediately onboard. So this morning around 11:30, Britt and I made the ride to the Odessa Starbucks, where everyone was meeting to make the trip.

Heavy Bus Racing's Marie and Carl Peterson, and Dingo Sanctuary drummer Britt Parker tanking up on snacks and caffeine before the ride:

Our first stop was in Monahans, where we grabbed a late lunch:

I thought I had some good shots of our awesome Mexican cuisine, but I was unfortunately using the wrong macro and none of them turned out. I did manage to get a pretty good shot of the tablecloth, however:

Our next stop was in Pecos, where we refueled and met another group of riders for the final 20-mile (or so) leg into Verhalen. The Flying J is your friend in the remote badlands of West Texas:

Not long thereafter we had arrived at Mr. Franklin's place, The Goat & Guinea Cafe:

The place is not an active restaurant as far as I can tell. In fact, it's a place right out of The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, and is guarded 24/7 by a rather unfriendly looking fellow next door who has a penchant for glaring at you silently while shouldering a double-barrel shotgun. You don't want to be around this place without permission, make no mistake.

We, on the other hand, were invited guests -- and I couldn't have been happier about it once we got inside. The first thing that caught my eye was this beauty:

Yes, it's the real deal. A non-military variant Famous James, complete with original open speedo gear assembly:

In a side room, there is another Famous James awaiting resurrection:

Hiding in the dark between a couple of old pinball machines, I found this:

Jim is apparently a Hee-Haw fan:

Vintage MZ, anyone?

But the highlight of the visit was when Mr. Franklin said, "Let me get these old BMWs warmed up so you all can ride them."

'Did I hear that correctly?' I thought.

Apparently so, because before I knew it, Jim's 1973 R75 and 1980 R65 were purring like kittens and being wheeled out the front door.

Carl was the first to take the R65 for a spin:

The R65 is a former road-race bike that has been put back into street trim. Turn up your volume and bass all the way, and listen to Carl make a pass on a vintage example of German greatness:

I rode the R65 shortly thereafter, and by that time, Marie and Britt had both ridden the R75, which was equally awesome in its own way:

Back inside, we explored the old building:

Britt tickles the ivories on a piano that hasn't been tuned since 1935. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. Stick to playing drums, old buddy:

You are in:

Well, needless to say at this point in the story, we ended up screwing around a lot longer than we planned and the sun was starting to get low in the sky. It was cooling down and we had a long ride back. But as we were getting ready to go, one of the Odessa guys, Jeff, noticed that he had a leak in his rear tire. So it was off to Jim's house between Verhalen and Balmorhea to plug the tire.

By the time we were done, it was sunset. The time change, combined with poor time management throughout the day, was going to now result in a cold, dark, 125-mile ride home. I looked to the south just before we left, the Davis Mountains looming in the distance as a stark reminder of just how far from Midland we were. Suddenly, I had that strange, urgent, out-of-place feeling you experience sometimes in dreams. It was time to go:

Feeling no need to take it easy on his fresh plug and running in excess of 100 miles per hour on several occasions, Jeff's tire was unsurprisingly flat again as we entered Pecos. This held us up even longer, as we waited for him to get a bicycle plugging kit from the local Wal-Mart and re-repair the repair. Thirty minutes later, he was plugged again and it was getting cold and dark. We finally made it onto the interstate at dusk.

I arrived home under a full moon and starry sky. I was cold, tired, hungry, and ready to get off the Z-Rex. All-in-all a wonderful day, but I was never so happy to be home. I arrived just in time for dinner and a back rub from my lovely wife, so things are definitely looking much better now in retrospect.

Total mileage for the day was 255 and the weather was thankfully perfect for November. Despite the problems and late return, all made it home safe and sound. It was a fantastic experience.

Three Sisters Ride 2009: The good, bad, and ugly

2009-10-26T14:50:00.004-05:00

Thoreau once wrote that one should come home from each of life's adventures with new experience and character. I think this weekend's trip to the Three Sisters definitely provided those intellectual commodities to all of us in one capacity or another.

Four friends (Carl, Marie, Weasel, Charles) and I left Midland around 8:15 on Friday night, arriving approximately five hours later at the motorcyclists/bicyclists-only D'Rose Inn on the south side of Leakey. You can't miss the D'Rose. When you pull in, this fellow greets you at the gate:

After a few hours of sleep we awoke with much enthusiasm for the day, got ready, unloaded the bikes, and headed for Vanderpool, where we met our first group of friends from the Two-Wheeled Texans motorcycle forum at the Lone Star Motorcycle Museum:

The museum's cafe makes great meat pies:

The fries were good, too:

Surrounded by all the Brit bikes at the museum, Charles waves in such a fashion as to make the UK proud:

Eight million pics of the museum bikes have been posted to the Internet already, so I'll spare the minutia. However, I think I have decided on the exact shade of orange I will be painting my restoration-project 1973 S1A:

After lunch, we went back to Leakey for fuel before heading out on the hundred-mile loop. There, we met more Two-Wheeled Texans:

From there, it was all corner-shagging all day in a clockwise traversing of the Three Sisters on a perfect autumn day. Traffic was light, we saw not a single cop, and enjoyed a spirited but generally non-excessive pace. I don't think we ever used more than 85 percent of maximum lean angle and kept speeds below 100 pretty much the whole time. We had a few Three Sisters noobs with us and didn't want to leave them too far behind.

Unfortunately, our buddy Weasel tossed it in one of the tight sections near Prade. The corner snuck up on him and he fixated on some gravel near the edge of the pavement. The front end tucked at about 25 or 30 and the bike went into a rock wall.

The upper was mashed from hitting the wall, the lower left bodywork and frame slider were toast, a mirror was lost, and the clip-ons received various damage. I think the front forks could be a little tweaked too. We're still waiting for a full assessment from Weasel:

With the bike operable and Weasel (banged up but) able to ride, we headed into Leakey and rested at The Hog Pen:

Weasel had some bruised ribs, a heat-induced strawberry on his side, a ruined helmet from smacking his head on the pavement, and a ruined set of racing leathers to go with his crashed R6. That said, ATGATT did its job in a major way. Injuries were very minor.

From there, we headed back to the D'Rose, cleaned up our bikes, and got ready to ride to dinner. My old-school ZX-7R still shines up nicely:

Weasel and Charles decided to load-up their bikes and head home at that time, but Carl, Marie, and I were all looking forward to enjoying a beautiful hill country evening. We took one last ride around town as the sun set, then stopped for an excellent meal outside on the patio at the Feed Lot.

After returning from dinner, we hung out on the porch with some other motorcyclists who were staying at the Inn. Oddly enough, most of them were from Odessa. By 9:30, we were tired and turned in for the night. I found a condensed version of Eisenhower's autobiography, 'At Ease' in my room and ended up reading it for about three hours, finally falling asleep well after midnight. It's a good book, by the way. I learned things about Ike's upbringing, family, and his education at West Point that I had never known.

I was wide awake at 6 a.m., missing my wife terribly and fighting a bad case of Go Fever. But rather than waking Carl and Marie for an early start, I got ready, made coffee, packed all my stuff, and enjoyed some quiet time on the porch before sunrise:

When the sun came up, I took a few more pictures. My room, built in the 1930s and endearingly rustic:

Great interior walls:

Here's one of D'Rose's cabin units. Very nice:

When was the last time you stayed at an inn where the original owner was entombed on the property? Dig it:

By mid-morning, the rest of our gear was loaded and we were on the road:

We stopped in Camp Wood for lunch, then looked around a bit before heading north. Here's an obligatory shot of the well-known bike on a stump in Camp Wood:

We took the long way home from there, examining some back roads north of Sheffield for their motorcycling potential. We also stopped to visit our friends Dana and Nancy in Iraan. They own Mesquite Wood BBQ and host the Sportbike rally every year:

The last 70 miles home were the longest, and I was glad to finally get there. I slept harder last night than I think I've slumbered in a very long time.

Thanks to Carl and Marie for the transportation. I enjoyed traveling with them. Another special thanks to Deb and her frequent guest/helper Mike at the D'Rose. Finer people, you will not meet, and I'll definitely be returning there for another visit.

Buell closes its doors

2009-10-15T11:17:00.004-05:00

A video on Buell's website today shows an emotional Eric Buell announcing the apparent end of the brand at the hands of parent company, Harley-Davidson.

"The decision has been made," Eric Buell said in the video. "We will no longer be making Buell motorcycles."

The news of Buell's liquidation -- along with the liquidation of Harley-Davidson's other pet brand, the recently acquired MV Agusta -- comes on the heels of H-D's third-quarter 2009 financial report, which revealed an 84 percent decline in profits. According to Market Watch, the Milwaukee-based motorcycle company posted a profit of $26.48 million (11 cents per share), a gigantic drop from the $166.54 million (71 cents per share) of a year ago.

Reports indicate that all Buell and MV Agusta employees, approximately 190 in total, will be laid off by December 18, 2009.

Buell stirred up controversy in AMA road racing earlier this year when the company's 1200cc, Rotax-powered supersport platform was allowed to compete in the Daytona class against motorcycles with less than half the displacement, then went on to win the championship. Further controversy followed when Buell was allowed to run a non-homologated race package in the Superbike class. The advantages Buell's race bikes were given drew the ire of many in moto-journalism and throughout the blogosphere, including we here at The Superbike Blog.

These embroilments aside, the impending absence of Buell from the world motorcycle market is a clearly negative development. Despite the aggravating amount of preferential treatment Buell received in American road racing to make them competitive, the company has unarguably built lots of really good street bikes since its inception in 1983. It was also the first to develop and/or successfully utilize fuel-in-frame technology in mass production, among other innovative proprietary features. These firsts should be commended as the sun sets on America's first (some would say, "only") sportbike manufacturer.

The Superbike Blog sends its best wishes to all the soon-to-be former employees of Buell and MV Agusta during these trying economic times.

The all-electric motorcycle: Don't count on it

2009-09-24T15:29:00.002-05:00

At least not for now.

As is my usual modus, allow me to preface a somewhat critical piece with a bit of balance: I have nothing against the concept of an all-electric motorcycle. Truth be told, I actually think it's a pretty great idea. In fact, I've often said that the day some very bright engineering and design team releases onto the market a 150-mile per hour, 6,000-dollar, all-electric motorcycle with a 200 mile range and a 10 minute recharge cycle, I'll be the first in line to buy. I mean that sincerely.

Unfortunately, that's not where the technology is right now. The average all-electric motorbike has a range of about 30 miles, a top speed of about 40 miles per hour, a recharge time of about eight hours, and a pricetag that'd get you a Hayabusa or Ducati race replica. And I won't even mention the costs associated with replacing worn out battery packs.

Yet, industry insiders and outsiders alike -- particularly in the mainstream media -- repeatedly represent the all-electric motorcycle as if it were a fully perfected, cheap, dependable mode of transportation. It's not. Far from it, in fact. In all but a precious few real-life riding applications, the electric bike is a generally useless purchase for anything other than helping holier-than-thou eco-mentals feel superior to their petrol-burning neighbors.

The way electric vehicles in general are marketed is partly to blame for the misconceptions surrounding the true state of the technology. For example, the Tesla Roadster, an ultra high-dollar, all-electric sports car, is marketed as having an almost 250-mile range. However, on the BBC television series Top Gear, the Tesla was found to have a range of only 60 miles. It was also noted that the 109,000-dollar car requires a battery pack replacement every 30,000 to 70,000 miles at a cost of almost $30,000.

All too often, these truths eventually come home to roost for the electric vehicle industry in for form of failure. Motorcyclist Magazine recently reported that the Vectrix electric motorcycle company is apparently on the verge of bankruptcy right now after pumping over 50 million dollars and more than a decade of R&D into its all-electric line of scooters and bikes. It makes one wonder if those who dropped 12 Grand or more for a new Vectrix will be left in the cold from a support standpoint should the company fold completely. And it's not just Vectrix. The list of financially troubled or failed companies producing similar products is considerable.

My aim here is not to trash the concept. As I said, it would be great if someone made all-electric technology tangibly viable, and I hope efforts continue. My aim is to make sure that you, the motorcyclist, are thinking critically so that you are not duped into a purchase you might later regret. Look to the realities, not the hype. Unless the buying public expects and accepts only the very best from the electric motorcycle market, it likely won't get it.

Ghosts, memories, and the changing seasons

2009-09-22T22:05:00.003-05:00

The first real nip of autumn was floating in the West Texas air when I awoke this morning. Summer is over now, and it won't be long until green turns to yellow, then yellow to gray as we move into the cold months.

The onset of autumn, for me, has always carried with it a certain somberness -- but more so this year than in years past. You see, I turn 40 this autumn. Yep, the big four-o. But as if that isn't enough to become introspective about, I also get the added bonus of having been laid off a few weeks ago from an Art Director job of almost five years which I absolutely loved. Sadly, it seems I'm yet another casualty of the lingering economic contraction. So here I am now, sending out resumés and scrambling to prove my professional value to people I generally don't know, all as the hour glass of my life is being flipped at its statistical halfway point. It's a lot for me to process right now, I'll honestly admit. The whole situation has left me a little depressed, and whenever I get depressed, I sometimes find myself lost in the happier memories of my past.

A sizable portion of that nostalgia, as you might imagine, has to do with motorcycles and motorcycling. I think of the many bikes I've had, the trips I've taken, the friends I've made, as well as the friends I've lost to the ride. Honestly, I don't know if doing so ultimately helps me or not, but these flowing mental tapestries of the past are what I use as a cloak of escape from time to time when I need a break from my stresses and anxieties. So imagine my surprise when I found a thread on a local motorcycle message board by a kid who now owns the beloved 2000 ZX6R I sold a few years ago to make room in the stable for my Kawasaki 1200. Talk about memories flooding back.

The bike (pictured above with me when it was new in 1999) has not fared particularly well since I sold it in 2007, having changed hands several times. I could write a very long story on how I got that bike, how thankful I was to have it, and all the blessed memories I made while riding it alongside lots of truly great people -- some of whom are still my best friends, some of whom I've unfortunately lost touch with, and some of whom are no longer with us. The guy who owns it now is using it partially as a stunt bike, which likely means it won't be around for much longer if the videos he posted in the thread are any indication. It could be worse, though. At least it's still running and on the street for now.

I say that because my most pressing fear when I initially decided to sell the bike was that an inexperienced rider would get ahold of it and be killed in a high-speed crash. For a short while, I even pulled it off the market and decided to keep it. It was only when a guy named Toby (a level-headed 37-year old) approached me about selling it to him, that I changed my mind again and finally decided to let it go. It was disappointing to later learn how Toby sold it after only a few months of ownership, but these things happen. Motorcycling isn't for everyone, and I totally understand his decision to sell. Still, when I learned the news, a heavy sense of regret over my selling it was thereafter with me.

Via the video, it was a bit difficult to watch the old girl looking so banged up and being flogged, especially after I had spent eight years' time and money keeping the bike in mint condition. I thought of how clean I had kept it, the valve adjustments and oil changes I had given it, and the otherwise letter-perfect periodic maintenance the motorcycle had received. And now, here was some 20-year old guy wringing its poor little neck in a parking lot, cracked bodywork, noisy valvetrain, ruined suspension and all. I kept thinking, Get off my bike! You're destroying it!

But it's not my bike -- not anymore, I thought. And in the very next moment, I fully realized that I needed to let it go. Once and for all, turn it loose. It's not healthy to hang onto things in such a way. Whatever happens to that bike physically in the future has no bearing on the joy it brought me or the things it taught me. It's ultimately just a hunk of plastic and metal, and a material thing which -- like all material things -- will eventually go away.

Maybe that's partially what I'm struggling with over this whole 'turning 40' thing. Part of me wants to be 25 forever. But I can't be. None of us can. Much like with the times I spent riding my old ZX6R, perhaps I just need to hold onto the valuable things I gleaned along the way like experience, friendships, knowledge and wisdom, and let the rest of it go in preparation for life's next adventure -- professionally and otherwise.

George Carlin once said that life is just a series of dogs you own. If there's any truth to that, then for me, life has been a series of motorcycles. And that particular ZX6R was a very important chapter in the life and times of Tim Kreitz. It was, in a sense, my twenties and thirties -- the summer of my life, now past. And perhaps that's why I couldn't part with it emotionally until just today.

I enter the autumn of my life in the autumn of the year. Fitting, I suppose. I know the winter will come soon enough, but for now I suppose I must remember that there is crisp air, a clear sky, and plenty of riding still left to do. It would be a shame to look back in the coldest moment of winter's grasp and realize that I didn't enjoy, for its own sake, the natural beauty of falling leaves, graying hair, ripening pumpkins, and love and friendships that grow even stronger over time. I pray that God will grant me the ability to do this as fully as possible, and that I might also bless others in the process.

Biker clothing that provokes cagers is a bad idea

2009-09-09T12:49:00.004-05:00

There seems to be an alarming trend developing in motorcycle culture. More and more often, riders are wearing over-the-top gear and garb designed to attract the attention of cagers in negative ways. The shirt pictured at right is a good example. Or should I say, a bad example?

As motorcyclists, we all get frustrated with cagers from time to time, especially this time of year. They cut us off, encroach on our lanes and space, tailgate, and a myriad of other offenses which can result in mishap. But in my opinion, we cross the line when we wear offensive language or symbols intended as some watered-down form of retaliation. It's a poor idea for many reasons.

I know few experienced riders who would recommend doing anything that could potentially result in provoking a cager. You won't ever win against a car or truck, no matter how tough your shirt implies you to be. For the frustrated **** shoveler in the '82 Chevette behind you who is on his way home from his worst day of work ever, an inflammatory message on your shirt could be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel's back.

Moreover, wearing this kind of stuff does more to make us look bad than it does them. We're the ones who appear lesser in intelligence and common sense, no matter how effectively the garb actually does deter the probability of going unnoticed by the average inattentive driver.

Studies have shown that the two things which make a rider most visible (aside from proper lighting) are bright-colored safety gear and retro-reflective material such as decals or tape. If you've never seen how retro-reflective decals work at night, you'd be amazed. They can actually be more effective than a bike's own lighting on some models. In any case, it's a much better method for making your presence known than by intentionally trying to piss people off.

The most important rule of riding on two wheels in America: You are on your own

2009-08-18T14:28:00.012-05:00

This news story from the paper in my hometown of Midland, Texas is apparently making the email rounds with the local motorcycle crowd. I just received it today. And while the story is about a bicyclist who was run over and killed by an inattentive driver who was texting at the time of the incident, it still resounds strongly with experienced motorcyclists. On a regular -- sometimes even daily -- basis, we are practically assaulted by the gaggle of jackasses that comprise the cager demographic.

Now mind you, I realize that ranting about the fact that most American drivers are apparently retarded is preaching to the choir with those who read this blog. That's not my aim with this entry. My aim is to point out the mild slap on the wrist the driver received for essentially murdering another human being. Prepare to be angered:

"A driver who was distracted on his cell phone and fatally struck a bicyclist from behind last year has pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter and was sentenced to five years probation by the 385th District Court."

That's right, no jail time and only five years probation. But wait, there's more:

"Judge Robin Malone Darr ... also ordered him to pay a $2,500 fine."

Gasp! A whole 2,500 dollars? Such cruel, cruel punishment.

What a joke.

The message? "Go ahead, American drivers. Eat those bagels. Drink those lattes. Send those texts. And do it all while driving. Sure, we'll make you pay a little fine or some-such if you kill a biker or cyclist, but only 'cause we hafta. The important thing to remember is that all those two-wheeled riders out there on the roads deserve whatever they get. After all, they shouldn't be riding those stupid contraptions in the first place. They should be driving Hummers while watching DVDs like the rest of us. Don't worry about taking personal responsibility for your actions -- we abandoned those ideals as a country long ago, anyhow. We'll just blame the victim or call it an accident, and still be home in time to watch American Idol or some other pop-culture crap that makes us even stupider."

The idiocracy is fully upon us.

Saying goodbye to Mat Mladin in my own dysfunctional way

2009-08-10T17:08:00.002-05:00

The man who has dominated AMA Superbike for a decade, Mat Mladin, announced his retirement from racing last week, effective at the conclusion of the 2009 season. The end of an era is upon us.

If you've been reading the Superbike Blog since its inception some five years ago, you might think I'm ecstatically happy about the announcement. I've been manifestly brutal to Mat on occasion, sometimes deservedly, and sometimes -- I honestly admit -- out of my own frustration with the guy. In any case, I've given him both barrels at every opportunity. I've called for him to move on to WSB or MotoGP. I've criticized his past treatment of the press and his fans. I've blown up at the attitude he sometimes took toward his fellow racers. I even accused him of using at least some degree of traction control long before it was made legal, a claim I still believe to be true. In short, I've been perhaps his worst critic in all of moto-journalism, and certainly from within the blogosphere.

Strangely, with the reality of Mladin's permanent absence now confronting me, I'm not nearly as happy to see him go as I thought I would be. In fact, there's a part of me that's actually a bit sad -- and it's not because I'm losing one of my favorite whipping boys. Mladin, despite his sometimes insufferable public nature, provided a force of direction to the series and gave it a large measure of its total purpose. It's a benchmark that will be gone forever in a few more months.

What do I mean by that, you ask? Well, when a new factory rider entered the AMA grid, he had a herculean task before him -- beat Mat Mladin. Not many could. Those that did on a consistent basis showed their worthiness to move onto the world stage. He was, in many ways, the ultimate litmus test. For the poor privateers of the Mladin era, it must've been like bringing a BB gun to a skeet shoot. Most were usually relegated to backmarker status by the end of the first lap.

But perhaps the worst thing about Mladin's eminent exit, though, is the circumstances under which he is leaving. He's fed up with years of bad series management, and who can blame him? The AMA was a terrible sanctioning body, and so far DMG is proving itself to be even worse. Mladin's not quitting because he can't do it anymore, he's quitting because he doesn't want to deal with incompetence anymore. He's tired of having his hard work and dedication to being the best trumped by a bunch of idiots who can't read their own rulebook. As he said in a recent press release, it's not fun any longer. That's not how I wanted it to end for Mladin. I wanted a little redemption for both him and the series before he turned away.

What's done is done, though, and Mladin will soon be gone from the grid. But regardless of my frequent air raids on Mladin and his camp, I want the record to show that I never lacked respect for him as either a racer or a businessman. Mat Mladin is a man of excellence, and will certainly continue to be so in whatever ventures he decides to pursue post-retirement. He has the heart and mind of a champion, and such is to be complimented. If I'd had half the drive and ability of Mladin, I might be doing more right now than hacking it out on some obscure blog in the middle of cyber-nowhere.

So long, Mat, and best wishes. The vacuum created by your absence will undoubtedly take years to fill. Sure, you were wrong a lot, but you were also great a lot. No one can take that away.

Get Buell out of AMA road racing until it can play by the same rules as everyone else

2009-07-20T15:31:00.001-05:00

Look, I promise -- I don't hate Buell motorcycles. Well, I don't want to hate them, anyway. But when Sanctioning body DMG (who I'll get to in a minute) allows the mega-torquey, 1125cc Buells to compete against 599cc Kawasakis, Yamahas, Hondas, and Suzukis in the Daytona class, I can't help but feel more than just a little resentment -- especially when Buell dominates the race weekend, as it did over the past few days at Mid-Ohio.

But wait. As if those wins aren't enough insult to endure for the four primary manufacturers who have propped the AMA series up over the past 25 years, DMG also decides to allow a non-homologated, purpose-built, Buell race bike into the newly stripped down Superbike class. The ridiculousness of what's being permitted is almost farcical.

Thus far, I've been pretty quiet in my criticisms of DMG (Daytona Motorsports Group) since they took over the series last year, largely because I knew there would be growing problems, logistical challenges, and a myriad of other dynamics that could possibly take years to correct and otherwise smooth out. Sure, I had a few gripes from the get-go, but kept my overly opinionated yap shut because I was confident that DMG would do its best to build a level playing field. Looking back, I guess I was mistaken. Much like the sanctioning body before it, DMG seems incapable of (and unconcerned with) adhering to the regulations set forth in its own rulebook, which the guys at Superbike Planet were quick to point out a few days ago.

In retrospect, some of the slack the Ducatis were given over the years to make them competitive in American road racing now seems inconsequential compared to what is being handed to Buell on DMG's silver platter of preferential treatment. DMG was supposed to restore series credibility. But in some ways so far, they've done more than their predecessors in damaging it further.

The bottom line is that these Buells should be excluded from AMA road racing until they can play by the rules. Some will say I'm asking for the impossible since V-twins generally suck and tend to be inferior to other engine designs in all but a few racing applications, and I might be prone to agree (especially when I'm in a mood such as the one I'm currently in). But if anything, both DMG and Buell need to fully understand that no one looks good when a Buell wins one of these races. The series is marginalized, American motorcycle manufacturing looks like a laughing stock, and the winning rider looks like a schmuck.

The fifth-grader who's been held back twice should feel no sense of glory when he wins all the blue ribbons on field day. The same goes for Buell. We'll very soon be seeing self-lauding ads by them in all the moto-magazines regarding their recent 'successes' in AMA road racing, the advertising equivalent of a third-world dictator erecting a monument of himself. Try not to laugh when you see the first one appear in print.

Better yet, try not to cry.

It's 2009 -- let's raise highway speed limits to reasonable levels

2009-07-08T23:11:00.002-05:00

I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit this week as I read this story about an Ohio state trooper who was allegedly radared going 147 miles per hour on his sportbike while off duty. He faces a license suspension and the possible loss of his job if he is convicted, a high price to pay for doing some thing that -- depending on the circumstances -- may not have been that big a deal.

Now, hold on. Before all of you fire up your Gmail accounts and start sending pissed off emails to the Superbike Blog ranting about how this guy is a menace and that all sportbikers should be soaked in chum and thrown into shark-infested waters, let's take a look at speed limits from a realistic perspective. Put your preconceived, brainwashed notions aside for a few minutes and consider the following:

1.) The death rate on American highways has dropped by 67 percent since the 1950s, even as the highway speed limit has been increased. Safer cars, better roads, and better driver education have been partially credited for these numbers. By the NHTSA's own data, our highways are safer than ever.

2.) Montana recorded its lowest highway death rate in 1995, during an era when the state had no daytime highway speed limit. Since daytime speed limits were imposed in 1999, the death rate has been consistently higher. This evidence seems to debunk the idea that slower automatically equals safer.

3.) Federal and state studies have consistently shown that the drivers most likely to get into accidents in traffic are those traveling significantly below the average speed. According to an Institute of Transportation Engineers Study, those driving 10 mph slower than the prevailing speed are six times as likely to be involved in an accident that someone driving 10 mph over.

4.) People generally will not go faster than what they feel is comfortable and safe, regardless of the posted speed limit. For example, an 18-month study following an increase in the speed limit along the New York Thruway (from 55 to 65 mph), determined that the average speed of traffic, 68 mph, remained the same. Even a national study conducted by the Federal Highway Administration also concluded that raising or lowering the speed limit had practically no effect on actual travel speeds.

5.) Two of the safest highway systems in the world are in Germany, where speed limits on 70 percent of the Autobahn are unrestricted, and in Italy, where the highway speed limit is 96 miles per hour. You can say what you want about the differences in driver education and infrastructure between the U.S. and those countries, but the facts remain the same.

I post all that data simply to say that high-speed riding and driving can be done reasonably when conditions are right. On a long, lonely highway with good visibility, 140 miles per hour is a doddle on a sportbike. I'm not sure if those conditions reflect the busted state trooper's scenario, but suffice it to say that motorcyclists traveling over 100 miles per hour many times tend to be treated harshly based on emotional reaction, rather than based on common sense and the totality of circumstances.

It's time to start looking pragmatically at the capabilities of modern vehicles, their relative safety compared to previous generations of vehicles, and make necessary changes to our laws and infrastructure in order to accommodate them. I'm not advocating total chaos on the roads, simply a revamping of our practices and enforcement techniques. Enforcing proper space cushioning, lane discipline, and right-of-way observance instead of frivolous speed violations would go a long way toward achieving faster, safer highways in the modern age.

Your biggest obstacle to buying a 2009 literbike might be finding one

2009-06-24T06:25:00.001-05:00

A buddy of mine sent me the following YouTube video via an email link this morning. He's all excited about buying a new 1000 and wanted my opinions. He's pretty sure he wants the new GSXR1000, but -- like many -- is thoroughly intrigued by the new R1 and its funky sounding, MotoGP-inspired engine/crank design.

The problem, as I explained it to him, may not be in making a final decision, but in actually finding a bike once he knows what he wants. As a whole, the big four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers have cut their production totals to less than half of what they were this time last year. The worldwide economic contraction has left virtually no industry untouched, the motorcycle world included. Many dealerships didn't get more than one or two of each new model, and since their inventories are limited, aren't offering terribly good deals. Buyers should expect to pay close to MSRP or even more in some areas for the more sought-after bikes of 2009.

All things considered, watching reviews and comparos on the Internet may be the most enjoyable part of the process for anyone who wants an in-demand 2009 sportbike.

Ride to Remember 2009 (report and pics)

2009-05-25T22:01:00.001-05:00

I'm pretty well convinced that this year's Ride to Remember, from the Midland Viet Nam Memorial to the Big Spring Viet Nam Memorial, was the biggest it has ever been. We showed up two hours early and were still positioned mid-pack.

There were rumors floating around when we destinated that the procession had been more than 10 miles long, and I don't doubt it. There were bikes as far as the eye could see from my vantage point.

Easily 1,000 bikes or more made it to the event:

Check out the green Rex in the center of the pic. I meant to talk to this guy and ask if he was a member of the ZRXOA, but I never found him after we arrived in Big Spring.

Bob tells an engaging story as we prepare to leave:

Once we were all lined up, it took a few minutes to get the procession moving, but everything went smoothly once we we were underway:

The only small glitch to speak of was that a few big rigs snuck into the parade on the Interstate, and had to be shut down in-lane by law enforcement. Otherwise, smooth sailing both there and back.

The best thing about participating in this ride is seeing all the old veterans (and others) who stand on the roadside as we pass, diplaying flags, waving at us, and offering their salutes. It gave me this warm, fuzzy feeling that's difficult to describe. It's nice knowing that our remembrance means so much to them.

When we got to the State Park in Big Spring, some dude was directing all the bikes to park in the dirt and weeds:

Like a few others in my section, I refused that suggestion and parked properly on the street:

We skipped the free food afterward and had lunch at a restaurant in Big Spring. When I got home, my Rex was still mostly clean and shiny, unlike my rain-soaked ZX-7R when I got home from yesterday's ride:

All in all, a fantastic day. Great job everyone. The organizers, law enforcement, and riders came together once again to make Ride to Remember 2009 a roaring success. See you next year.

Trail of Tears Ride Report (or 'Betting Against Rain and Losing') with pics

2009-05-24T23:00:00.000-05:00

I'm very irritated with The Weather Channel. They said there was no chance of rain in West Texas today and that skies would be mostly clear.

They lied.

I almost took the Z-Rex on our Trail of Tears ride today, but as I walked out into the garage, this caught my eye:

As it turned out, I'm glad I made the decision to take the ZX-7R. It offers more protection from the elements with its full set of bodywork and Puig windscreen. Though little did I know I would need it at that point.

At any rate, we assembled in North Midland and headed to Big Spring where we picked up my buddy Curt, who I've been friends with since 1981 when we were just snot-nosed little kids:

From our meeting point in Big Spring, we headed south on Highway 87, shortly thereafter making the turn onto FM821, the first leg of the Trail of Tears.

The road was terrible. It had rained the night before, and we were dodging puddles, dirt clods, and mud spots at every turn. By the time we made the turn onto the Hyman Road, we decided to slow down to a below-average pace and just enjoy the scenery.

Our first stop on the trail was the old church at Hyman Settlement. Today was the first time I'd seen the old church since 2007, and it isn't looking very well. The old girl is starting to collapse. We were all kind of shocked at the sudden advancing of the decay:

The Gothic bell tower is seemingly about to fall:

We noticed that the gate to the cemetery next door was open, so we walked around and checked out the old graves, many of them going back to before WWI.

The view of the road from Hyman Cemetery was kinda pretty. Nettle and Thistle are blooming everywhere:

At Hymen is when we started to get our first inkling that bad weather was beginning to form:

To cut the trip short, we decided to take Highway 163 north to Lake Colorado City and have lunch at the Sportsman's Club, then head back to Big Spring. This actually suited me fine, since my wife and I had been invited to go see a minor-league baseball game with friends, and the abbreviated ride would get me back in plenty of time to see the opening pitch.

Ah, the good old Sportsman's Club. I'm sure glad they're open "year-round":

D'oh! Except for today:

Since we were already there, we decided to take a look around. This is the back yard:

The club -- currently not serving Tim, party of four:

Having airballed lunch at the Sportsman's club, we began the nine-mile eastern ride into Colorado City to search out another eatery. Unfortunately, Mother Nature turned us soundly away. About four miles out, we found ourselves headed right into the first thunderstorm of the day, and opted to make a 180-degree turn for Big Spring.

When we arrived, it seemed we had left the worst behind, and decided to have a little Chinese food at Hunan before going home. Dave killed 'em at the buffet:

After sitting around eating and talking for 45 minutes, Britt and I each received almost-simultaneous phone calls from our wives, warning us that it was pouring down rain in Midland. When we paid the check and walked outside, this is what we saw in the distance:

After doing a good job of circumnavigating bad weather all day, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we were probably gonna get wet.

And we did.

Thankfully, we missed the worst of it, as most of the storm cells had moved on to the south by the time we got to Midland. Still, we hit a few showers along the way, and had to ride through the storm's flash-floody aftermath. Here's what my street looked like when I got home:

My poor, soaked ZX-7R, in dire need of a hug:

Luckily, the rain had delayed the start of the baseball game, and I had just enough time to halfway clean up the 7R, take a shower, and get to the ball park. I got there at the top of the second inning:

The storms were all southeast of Midland by that point, but were still dumping massive amounts of rain in the distance:

I hope the rain is done by tomorrow, because we're all participating in the Memorial Day Ride to Remember, and I'd sure hate to miss it. I'll have another ride report on that tomorrow.

Enough with the lame 'fuel savings' justification, just tell her you want a bike!

2009-05-18T11:13:00.002-05:00

I was waiting in line at Starbucks recently when a guy who had been admiring my and my friends' bikes through the window struck up some conversation.

"You guys sure have some nice motorcycles," he remarked.

"Thank you," I replied. "Motorcycling is a little slice of heaven on earth."

"I've just about got my wife convinced to let me have one," he said with a smile.

This remark always makes me cringe a little, and I never know exactly how to respond to it. But not wanting to shoot the wheels off the conversation, I made some innocuous comment about the fun factor and how much he'd love it if he got a bike.

"Yeah, I told her we'd save lots of money on fuel because I have to drive about 60 miles a day. I'm probably gonna get an Ultra Classic when I'm ready to buy."

"Well good luck to you. I hope to see you out sometime."

There ended the conversation, but what I really wanted to say was, "Dude, just tell her you want a Harley and stop using excellent fuel mileage as an excuse. Be honest with her."

Let's do a little rough math. We'll say that commuting via motorcycle cuts his monthly fuel bill in half. For the sake of argument, and to be generous, let's assume that means a savings of $50 per month. Okay, so he then buys a bike that sets him back $25,000 (before financing) to "save money". At $50 per month in fuel savings, it'll take him 500 months to recover the base cost of the bike alone. That's 41 years of riding. The guy was already about 60 years old.

Of course, assuming he sells his car or truck because he doesn't want it anymore, he could probably add a few thousand bucks back onto his bottom line. But honestly, who's gonna do that?

The point is, well, you know what the point is. Buy a motorcycle because it's totally awesome to own one, and is more than worth the cost. Forget all that "fuel savings" nonsense, because in all but a few very well thought out scenarios, you won't be any better off financially.

Motorcyclists: Always there for one another

2009-05-18T00:23:00.005-05:00

One of the guys in our riding group, Blane, had a little mechanical trouble that sidelined our riding plans this afternoon, but the cool thing about a bad situation was how quickly and willingly the other riders in the group offered their help.

Around 3 p.m. we were rolling in a group of four bikes, heading to meet a few other riders, when the oil light on Blane's new Versys suddenly began to glow. He immediately clutched the bike, turned the engine off and coasted into a parking lot just off the road. I saw him fall away in my rearview mirrors, and turned back. The rest of the group followed soon thereafter.

We couldn't figure out if it was the sending unit, sensor, or oil pump that was on the fritz, so we elected to not move the bike.

A few minutes later, we made some phone calls, and Carl and Marie soon showed up with their truck and HeavyBusRacing.com bike trailer. We loaded the Versys (which only has about 200 miles on it) and Carl was nice enough to take the bike to Blane's house.

About 45 minutes later, Blane met us at Starbucks on his other bike, a Bandit 1250, just as Rodger and Britt were showing up. We decided to go to Blane's house, load the Versys into Blane's truck, and take it to Rodger's house for a manual oil pressure check. Our buddy David even showed up to help.

We arrived at Rodger's house after having secured Blane's ailing Kawasaki into the back of his truck:

Rodger talks a little friendly smack about Kawasaki reliability as we prepare to unload the bike:

Brandon fiddles with the seat as Britt open's Rodger's gate in the background:

The problem is somewhere in here:

And yes, to state the obvious, the bike had plenty of oil in it. ;-)

We always have to take a moment and dig on Rodger's vintage stable. Feast your eyes on his awesome 1984 YZ490:

Anyhow, I'm sure Rodger will let us know his findings soon enough. I'm guessing it's a bad sensor.

The coolest thing about all this rigamarole is that it didn't seem like any trouble. Even though we were dealing with a problem, we were still having fun. We were working as a team and discussing the problem and its possible solutions. We were laughing and cutting up and having a great time despite it all. It felt good helping a friend and fellow rider. I guess that's a big part of what being a motorcyclist is all about, and I'm glad I was there to lend a hand.

P.S. Blane, if you read this, Rodger is the one who burned out in your driveway. (-=

Red Bluff Lake and Orla Ruins Ride Report with Pics

2009-05-04T00:43:00.001-05:00

In keeping with our goal of making as many Spring 2009 day rides as possible before the heat sets in, Dave, Britt, and I decided last night that we would make a trip out to yet another place I had never been before: Red Bluff Lake on the Texas-New Mexico border.

Red Bluff Reservoir is on the Pecos River, about 40 miles north of Pecos, Texas near Orla. It extends into Loving and Reeves counties in Texas, and Eddy County in New Mexico. According to Wikipedia, the reservoir was formed in 1936 by the construction of a dam by the Red Bluff Water Control District to provide water for irrigation and hydroelectric power. The reservoir is also used for recreational activities.

Location:

This was the first day of Badlands Spring Tour '09® that I would classify as hot. When we arrived at Red Bluff Lake (139 miles from my driveway), the first thing we started looking for was shade. The morning had started off perfectly mild, but the early afternoon sun was beating down on the rough terrain surrounding the reservoir.

Britt took the pics today, as I forgot my camera. These are stills from his video camera:

We made sure to stay hydrated on this trip. As I mentioned above, it got hotter than we expected.

Me consuming H2O molecules:

Dave's too good for Nestle water -- he only drinks Dasani:

The lake itself is pretty big, but is shallow. AIUI, the depth only averages about seven feet:

The dam:

These knuckleheads in this boat kept going out for short, fast runs and coming back to shore:

The only problem was, their idea of docking the craft was to run it repeatedly aground on the rocks in the shallows. Oh, what a horrible sound was produced each time they beached. I kept waiting for the thing to sink:

Needless to say, we'd had about enough of Red Bluff Lake by that point, and decided to ride back into Orla, where there were some ruins we had passed on the way to the reservoir and wanted to explore.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you L&J Liquors:

The rest of the toilet was nowhere in sight:

No whisky in the jar-o, just empty shelves and Pripyat-esque dilapidation:

Alright, here's a question for you. Have you ever had one of those moments where you went from totally relaxed and halfway bored to an instant state of full-on, fight-or-flight adrenaline? Well, it had been a quite while for me. That is, until we decided to explore the building next door -- an old nightclub with a few surprises still left inside:

I slowly peeked my head inside, looking down and around for snakes, spiders and loose floorboards:

That's when it happened. Just as I decided that it might be a good idea to check upward as well as around, I heard a very faint grunt of a growl and some movement directly over my head. I instantly ducked as I looked up into the rafters to meet the angry gaze a 40-odd pound female bobcat, perched not two feet from my face!

Um, yeah. You could definitely say an adrenaline rush ensued. Just imagine looking up and seeing a mug like this one staring down at you from a superior vantage point:

Needless to say, I hauled *** out of there at Warp Factor 7, yelling at the top of my lungs like a pretty little girl, "Bobcat! Bobcat!"

Britt and Dave were exploring different entrance points when they heard the commotion and each moved quickly away from the building. We met at the front and waited, but the cat never came out. After a few minutes of silence, Dave -- never one to shy away from the opportunity to get rabies shots -- decided to go back inside and get a look.

"Hey guys, I think she's gone."

"Nope, she's still here! Look out!"

Luckily, Dave was spared and the bobcat sprinted away through the middle doorway out back:

Britt, being the crappy photographer he is, never got a picture of the ******* cat! Way to go, Eddie Adams! Give that man a Pulitzer!

At any rate, thereafter, we all needed a little rest and some time to calm down. We headed back to the bikes with our hearts still pumping:

Whew. Boneheads 1, bobcat 0.

Total mileage for today was 278, not counting running from the angry Felis Rufus. I got home about 6:30 and immediately had a beer.

Or three.

Thanks for reading.

2009 Iraan Sportbike Rally: Highlight video with music by Dingo Sanctuary

2009-04-20T00:42:00.002-05:00

For the sixth year in a row, a good time was had by all at the Iraan Sportbike Extravaganza. We enjoyed perfect weather, good food, and did it all for an excellent cause. Enjoy the video:

Even if you didn't mothball your bike during the cold months, do a maintenance check now

2009-04-09T15:56:00.003-05:00

We have a wondrous luxury down here in the American Southwest in that we don't need to mothball our bikes from September to March. We generally ride year 'round and enjoy some of the best weather in the world for motorcycling, all while while our northern friends are snowed in.

Regardless of the lack of atrophy and temperature swing we subject our motorcycles to living in one of the warm areas of Planet Earth, it's still a good idea to give your motorcycle a once-over as the hot months approach. Here's a short list of things to check as the flowers start to bloom:

Coolant. If you have a liquid-cooled bike, inspect your coolant to make sure it isn't starting to break down. Most manufacturers recommend flushing a bike's coolant every other year, but if you live in an extremely hot geographical area, you may need to flush and replace yearly, depending on what type of coolant your bike uses. Keep in mind that the scale and oxidization that forms as a result of coolant decomposition can damage and corrode your engine, so keeping it clean and fresh is a cheap way to ensure reliability.

Hydraulic Fluids. I can't tell you how many bikes I see as I walk around rallies that have brown to black brake and clutch fluid in their reservoirs. This is not good. As hydraulic fluid wears out, it becomes crystalized. As hydraulic multiplication of force is applied to those crystals, they act like sandpaper inside a bike's braking/clutching system. As soon as hydraulic fluids begin to darken, bleed new fluid into the system. Not only does doing so reduce wear on effected systems, it improves their performance.

Oil and Filter. This is a no-brainer. Keep your oil and filter clean all the time, but if your bike only clocks two or three thousand miles annually, this is a good time to do your "yearly" oil change.

Chain. Once or twice a year, most chain-driven motorcycles will need an adjustment to their final drives. When you inspect your bike's chain for excessive slack, check for freedom of movement in the links and the integrity of the master link. If the chain kinks up or is showing too much wear, replace it now. Yes, this is more expensive than a simple fluid change, but it beats having your bike's engine casings smashed open at speed by a failed chain.

Air Filter. A quick visual inspection will tell you whether or not your air filter needs to be cleaned and/or replaced. Out here in West Texas, we have dry, dusty winters, so this is a regular item of inspection for me. Dirty filters rob your motorcycle of horsepower, and can compromise your aspiration system if neglected for long stretches of time.

Tires and Tire Pressure. There is absolutely no excuse for neglecting your motorcycle's tire maintenance. Tires should always be well-treaded, properly inflated, and correctly balanced. I see bald, plugged, under-inflated tires all the time in various motorcycle circles, and I always want to jackslap the riders of those bikes. Yes, tires are costly, but your life is more than worth it. Don't compromise.

Here's wishing everyone a safe, happy, joyous 2009 riding season. May you be blessed with plenty of adventure and good times this year.

Imperial Reservoir ride report and pics

2009-03-29T21:04:00.002-05:00

Continuing our mission to make as many West Texas day-rides as possible before the summer heat sets in, we saddled up for a little-known spot just south of Grandfalls today to see some very green water in large quantities: Imperial Reservoir.

As a native West Texan, I feel somewhat ashamed to admit this, but I had never been to Imperial Reservoir before this ride. The reservoir is located between Imperial and Grandfalls, smack-dab in the middle of nowhere:

On our way, we stopped at the southern end of the sandhills region, took a quick break, and snapped some pics:

Artsy-fartsy version:

I know I've said it before, but oh how I love the savage beauty of West Texas:

We arrived at Imperial Reservoir to find that it costs ten bucks to get in:

Yeah right, like we were gonna un-*** 30 dollars to ride our bikes around in the dirt. Not happening. So instead, we stuck to the perimeter of the park and took a few more pics.

Yes, the water really is this green:

Looking toward the southwest:

That, my friends, is what we call a chaw:

After 130 miles of riding, we needed fuel, so we headed into Grandfalls and hung out for a while at the epicenter of town activity, Allsups:

Behold Grandfalls in all its glory:

By the time we were ready to leave Grandfalls, we were all hungry. In fact, I hadn't eaten anything all day, so Britt suggested we head into Monahans and grab an early dinner at the West Texas legend, Fermin's:

Again, this was a brand-new experience for me. Somehow or another, I had never made an effort to have a meal at Fermin's, and boy am I glad I finally did. I highly recommend the restaurant to anyone who's willing to make the trip to Monahans for dinner. You won't be disappointed.

Dig the simple, old-school interior. I love these kinds of places:

After an excellent dinner, we dropped by the Monahans Milllion Barrel Museum to find it closed. Decades ago, the "Million Barrels", as the locals once called it, was an experimental, open-pit, oil storage facility that didn't exactly live up to its engineering expectations and was eventually turned into a museum. Unfortunately, it isn't accessible on Sundays, so I stuck my camera through the gate, took a few more pics, and we were on our way:

We got back into to Midland around 5:30 or so, having clocked approximately 250 miles for the day. It was a bit windy, but the dirt stayed down, so the ride was still very enjoyable. There is a lot to discover in West Texas, and adventuring by motorcycle makes it that much more fun.

Have a great week.

King Mountain and Ft. Lancaster ride report with pics

2009-03-08T23:25:00.009-05:00

We made a slight change in our original plan to ride around King Mountain today, instead skirting the eastern border of Castle Mountain, King Mountain, and Square Top on our way to Iraan, Sheffield, and Ft. Lancaster.

I got us off to a half-hour late start by flooding the ZX7R like a dumb***, and then practically running the battery down trying to get it started. So we left Warfield at about 11:50 and headed south.

We never got very close to the Castle Gap, but I did stop at the Iraan Highway turnoff and took a photo if it out in the distance:

Our first stop was at the old location of Camp Melvin, where we took a break and snapped some pics:

Britt can't find a radio station. Welcome to the middle of nowhere:

The cool bikes, basking in the sunshine on a perfect day:

We stopped for lunch at our buddy Dana's barbeque place in Iraan. He's a fellow biker, and hosts the Iraan sportbike rally every year:

This was lunch. Not a bit healthy, but pretty dang tasty:

As we were leaving, something in the window of the restaurant next door caught my eye:

Upon a closer look, my eyes were not playing tricks on me. They serve "espersso":

But wait, there's more. They also serve "cappaccino":

After a few minutes of belly-laughter, we headed south, through Sheffield and out to a place I had never been before, the ruins of Ft. Lancaster:

For the bargain price of two bucks (6¢ in Year 1900 U.S. dollars), we got to tour the mini-museum and ruins:

Keep off the ruins. We wouldn't want you to ruin them:

This flagpole has been erect since 1855. Now that's what I call stamina:

After Ft. Lancaster, we headed for the observation point at the top of the mountain to the north:

"Pardon me, sir, but I'm not getting any closer to the edge":

By that time, mid-afternoon was upon us and it was time to head back. We stopped on the old truss bridge that spans the Pecos between Ft. Lancaster and Sheffield. Surprisingly, the Pecos has a considerable amount of water in it right now. Don't ask me how, because all of West Texas has been dry as a bone for months:

Today's mileage total was 256 -- and that's not counting the 4 trips up and down my driveway to get the 7R started. I hope your weekend was as fun as mine. Best wishes and safe riding.

Ruins of Rattlesnake Bomber Base (Pics & Ride Report)

2009-03-01T22:31:00.000-06:00

My good friend Britt (drummer of Dingo Sanctuary) and I had been talking all week about making a ride to a spot in the heart of the West Texas badlands where neither of us had been in years, the ruins of the WWII-era Pyote Army Airfield, otherwise know as Rattlesnake Bomber Base. Today, the weather cooperated, and despite the facts that it was a little cool and we were a bit tired from performing all weekend, we -- along with our friend 'Busa Dave Hardy -- decided to make the ride.

I was excited about seeing the old base again, mainly because exploring ruins of any kind is something I absolutely love to do. But more so with this particular location because of the significance of its history. Just a few examples aside from its importance during the war: Rattlesnake Bomber Base was the place where Enola Gay was mothballed before being sent to the National Air & Space Museum for preservation. Also, it was the filming location of the character Truman's skydiving school in the 1985 cult-classic movie Fandango, which is one of my all-time favorite flicks. Our plan was simply to wander around and take pictures, so imagine our disappointment when we discovered that the gate was welded shut and displayed this sign:

Pissed off like you can't imagine (I mean seriously, think about me and my politics, then just picture how I reacted at the sight of that sign), we decided we would go ahead and trespass anyway, but only if we could find a back way in, where the bikes wouldn't be sitting on the roadside giving us away. Unfortunately, we rode around a few times, and apparently all the entrances have been either closed off or are secured. The "West Texas State School" (fancy wording for "Youth Prison") borders the eastern edge of the property, and is crawling with guards. So we decided to ride along the prison's outer perimeter road and look for a photo op. This was the best I could do, because I didn't have nearly enough lense:

A bit dejected, but still having fun because we were riding motorcycles, we decided to cross over to the north side of the Interstate and check out the original entrance to the base. Much like everything else in Ward County, the location is in total ruin. Still, I always try to find the beauty in these kinds of relics, and I think there was definitely some there:

It's a far cry from what the entrance looked like in the 1940s. By the way, that lamp post is still there:

We had arrived into Pyote from the north, having traveled from Midland through Odessa, Kermit, and Wink. On the way back, Britt suggested that we go through Wickett and Monahans because he wanted to show us something. Naturally, we were game, so Britt led us to a lonely spot just northeast of Pyote, still in Ward County, that came as a total surprise to me. It was an old, decrepit cemetary where many of his relatives are buried:

Britt's family ties in West Texas go back to just after the Civil War. This is the grave of his grandfather, who was the Sheriff of Ward County. He died long before Britt was even born:

Every other grave in this cemetery belongs to one of Britt's relatives or ancestors:

Some of the graves are almost a century old, and their gothic fencing and plots are in advanced decay:

Believe it or not, this is someone's grave marker:

The cemetery's supply building is likewise in a state of ruin. We had a look around, but there was nothing but trash inside:

Again, I always try to find the unlikely beauty of these kinds of places, and as I walked out the door, I saw this:

Later, I saw this:

And this:

By that time, the temperature was starting to fall pretty rapidly, and we decided to head back to Midland-Odessa. We made haste, with only a short re-feuling stop in Monahans:

Obligatory shot of my Rex:

I was back home around sunset, having put a little over 200 miles on the clock. Aside from not being able to get onto the base, it was still an excellent day. I wish I could figure out a way to make a good living by just riding around and looking at stuff on my motorcycle. Man, that'd be sweet.

Myrtle Beach alienates bikers as Daytona smartly offers its welcome

2009-02-26T15:54:00.005-06:00

Dig it.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Bike Week starts February 27 in Daytona Beach and, despite the downturn in the economy, officials expect this year to be big.

It did not look like this [lots of bikes and people shown in video] on Main Street this time last year and Myrtle Beach may have something to do with it. It has a Bike Week in May, but there is now a strict new set of rules; you have to wear helmets, eye protection, partying is frowned upon -- and bikers said they don't want to deal with it.

Many of the bikers that gave Myrtle Beach a miss have descended upon Daytona Bike Week more than seven days early, apparently to make up for lost fun. Behold a great example of free-market economics.

I wonder if Myrtle Beach will demand a bailout from our out-of-control federal government as a result of this. It certainly worked for the auto industry.

Behold the power of the Superbike Blog

2009-02-17T16:51:00.002-06:00

For those of you who remember when I suggested that the great Greg White and his 2 Wheel Tuesday crew should scrap their misguided 2005-2006 TV product for something more focused and informative, I'm proud to report that the humble Superbike Blog has been heard.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, 1000cc Raw Thrill. Here's the pilot episode:

http://www.1000ccrawthrill.com/video1.html

What's that you say? I had nothing to do with it? Balderdash! In the words of Adam Savage, "I reject your reality and substitute my own."

It's nice to know this blog is making a positive difference in the motorcycling world. We'll be sure to keep up the good work.

What a difference three decades makes

2009-02-15T01:01:00.002-06:00

It's almost time for superbike season again, and I always like to wax a little nostalgic as Daytona approaches.

Videos like the one posted below were produced by Kawasaki and shown in dealerships during the late '70s and early '80s. This one features a very young Eddie Lawson, as well as none other than the great Rob Muzzy before his hair turned silver. And of course, it features the wondrous KZ1000J. When I was a little kid, this bike made my pre-pubescent motorcycle pants go completely crazy. This is a magical era in my memory, and is one of the reasons I own and ride a ZRX Lawson Replica today.

Enjoy:

Now that the chopper is dead again, Honda decides to mass-produce one

2009-01-19T14:24:00.003-06:00

I don't get it. Is the market for this kind of thing still so strong as to venture upon an idea like the Honda Fury?

The chopper is a fashionable item. It always has been. Like most other fads and fashions, it'll likely come back into vogue again in another 15 to 25 years, just as it returned in the early 2000s. But as for now, even Jesse James himself has pronounced the chopper a dead style.

I'll be interested to see how this thing sells when it arrives. As a friend of mine wrote, I'm afraid Honda may've shown up five years late to the chopper party. We'll see.

Racing pullouts rampant in 2009

2009-01-06T11:07:00.004-06:00

Well, we're only into the second week of the year, and already, several factory race teams are announcing their decisions to pull out of competition in a variety of series. The world economic collapse is having its effect on many forms of motorsport, and motorcycle racing is no exception:

"Torrance CA: American Honda announced today that it will withdraw Team Honda from participation in the 2009 AMA Roadracing Series. This was an extremely difficult decision to make as the racing spirit reaches to the very core of Honda. The primary factor contributing to this decision is the current global economic situation and its impact on Honda. "

"Blame it on the global economic crisis. Kawasaki, which fields riders John Hopkins and Marco Melandri, are set to leave premier motorcycle racing this season. This news comes in the wake of Japanese manufacturers Honda pulling out of F1, Subaru and Suzuki quitting World Rally Championship, all due to the poor economic climate."

This situation is likely to get worse before it gets any better. Like most of us, corporations are having to tighten their belts fiscally, which usually starts with sponsorships, R&D, and advertising. Motorcycle racing is a vehicle for all those efforts.

There's no bailout when you overdraw your traction account

2008-10-14T20:08:00.001-05:00

An exert from a post by newish rider Chris at TWT about what can happen when you ask too much from your bike on a twistie road:

"So about noon we’re tooling down Highway 7, coming south from Ola, Arkansas, and I’m feeling pretty good about my technique – good enough to push it a little too far in one of the hairpins. Rather than pushing the bike on through the curve, I hit the brakes and discovered that that stuff about the handlebars wobbling out of control was really true. Lost control altogether and flew off into a ditch."

Unfortunately, I believe Chris may've learned the hard way what Keith Code refers to as the "One Dollar Rule". That is to say, think of the total amount of traction available from your bike as being one dollar. Turning draws a certain percentage of the dollar, and braking draws a certain percentage as well. If you're using 80 cents-worth of traction to turn, then simultaneously withdraw another 40 cents worth of traction for braking, you are at $1.20 and have likely just crashed.

Always try to feel what the front end of a bike is doing through smooth control inputs. The max amount of usable traction can't be found by chopping the throttle violently to zero while jamming the brakes, especially in a tight turn. That usually sets up an oscillation or tucking slide, as Chris found out.

That said, the important thing is that he's gonna be fine. He can heal up, fix the bike, and get back out there with the lesson learned. We've all crashed at one time or another. The important thing is to walk away from the fiasco with hopefully minor-to-no injuries and the knowledge of what you did wrong.

Glad you're okay, Chris!

Pics of Friday's Ft. Davis run

2008-10-12T07:23:00.001-05:00

We had a great time banging through the twisties in Ft. Davis on Friday. I took some video, too, but without a steadycam rig or a pod, not much of it is worth showing. Besides, I already have a ton of video footage from previous trips, including a "Road-trippin'" vid on this blog (look in the November 2007 archive).

Anyway, here are some pics. These are stills I took with my DV Cam, so they aren't great, but you get the idea. Enjoy.

Balmorhea:

Lunch in downtown Ft. Davis:

The rattlesnake zoo:

The State Park observation point and Indian Lodge:

Scenic Loop:

McDonald Observatory:

Ft. Davis ride this Friday (10.10.2008)

2008-10-06T19:59:00.000-05:00

Three or four of us are taking this Friday off from work and riding to Ft. Davis for the day. All are welcome -- it'll be a combination of cruisers and sportbikes, so don't be shy regarding bike type if you want to participate.

We'll start from Midland, make an early stop for coffee in Odessa (circa 6:30am), then head onward to Ft. Davis via Pecos and Balmorhea. We'll ride the scenic loop, grab a bite, pop down to Marfa, then return to Midland-Odessa via Alpine, Ft. Stockton, and Crane.

Here's a map:

Midland riders will meet at the T&C on Midland Drive and Andrews Highway at 6:15am. Odessa riders will meet the Midland riders at the Odessa Starbucks between 6:30am and 6:45am. Be fueled and ready. We'll leave for Ft. Davis shortly after 7am.

The pace will be moderate in the main group. We'll likely split up through the scenic loop into faster and slower sub-groups. I'm taking my ZX7R, which needs some suspension work right now, but is still dialed in good enough for a brisk (albeit slower-than-usual) jaunt through the twisties.

Email me at timkreitz-at-ya-hoo-dot-kom if you need any additional info.

All that needs to be said about the 2008 Indy GP on NBC

2008-09-15T00:34:00.001-05:00

Stunningly bad coverage. Ralph Shaheen had his generic announcer guy voice all cranked up and cheesylike. Kevin's color commentary didn't mesh with it very well, either. No pre-race, no post-race, no analysis, no interviews, no nothing. What a sad marginalization of one of the greatest motorsports on the planet. I hope everyone involved is adequately ashamed this evening.

That is all.

West Texas speed test results: 176-mile per hour Hayabusa

2008-07-21T15:37:00.001-05:00

Carl & Marie Peterson performed baseline testing on their future 200-mph project bike this past weekend, and the Superbike Blog's cameras were there:

Not a bad starting point, and we'll be closely following their efforts to get the bike past the herculean number of 200 over the coming year.

I promise a motorcycle in every garage, comrades!

2008-07-09T13:30:00.002-05:00

I hearby announce my candidacy. Tim Kreitz in 2008 -- power to the people. Who better than an award-winning musician and motorcycling advocate to pull this country out of the crapper:

Finding the old iron bridge

2008-07-07T22:28:00.002-05:00

I rode about 400 miles total over the 3-day (or in my particular case, 4-day) weekend, and using a little over half that mileage, found one of those cool little West Texas hideaways I'd have never known existed were it not for word of mouth.

My drummer Britt just bought his first motorcycle in over ten years (a 2008 Street Glide), and since last month, he's been telling me about a place he always refers to as "the old iron bridge" near Buena Vista. "We've gotta take a ride and check it out," he mentioned repeatedly. "It's just the kind of place you like to explore."

So we did on Friday. It's an old, abandoned, single-lane truss bridge from probably the 1930s or 1940s that spans the Pecos. For those of you whom are interested, here's it's location. Be prepared to ride dirt roads for about the last mile:

Robbo and Britt sitting on their bikes in front of the bridge:

And of course, no matter how remote or off the beaten path a relic like this is, you can bet there are already pics of it on the Internet. Some dude took these last winter:

We spent about an hour or so there, scouting out the grave of Fifi Murphy about 200 yards across the bridge (I'd always wondered where it was) and shooting bottles and cans with Britt's .45 ACP. Soon thereafter, we mounted up and headed into Grandfalls for fuel, then back to the Midland-Odessa area.

A neat spot to visit if you're ever in the area.

Vigilance in summertime is paramount

2008-06-16T13:55:00.004-05:00

No amount of law or law enforcement will keep you safe from stupid teens this summer, as this story illustrates:

"Cellphone bans for teen drivers are difficult to enforce," added McCartt. "Drivers with phones to their ears are not hard to spot, but it is nearly impossible for police officers to see hands-free devices or correctly guess how old drivers are."

And they're ignoring the rule most blatantly in my hometown. One of these days, society is going to wise up and raise the driving age. Until then, keep your mental radar set to '11'.

The day frustration turned into moto-misery

2008-06-04T15:17:00.003-05:00

It's been over a week since Memorial Day, and only today do I finally feel like writing about what a miserable motorcycling experience it was for me.

I met my good friend Rodger at Midland International Airport around 9 a.m. that morning, where we lined up to participate in the annual Veteran's Ride to Remember. It's a 1000-bike excursion from the airport, into Midland, east down I-20, and then up the hills into Veteran's Park near Scenic Mountain in Big Spring.

The morning ceremony:

Here we are, lined up and ready to go:

Here's a small section of the line:

The ride over was just fine. The roads and highways were closed for the procession from beginning to end, which allowed the gargantuan group to stay together. It was actually great fun. It wasn't until we reached the park in Big Spring that the trouble started.

As the immense line of bikes slowed on the highway for the turn into our destination, I began to notice how hot the day was getting. Normally no problem, but by the time we made it to the top of the hill and into parking, the Rex was overheating in a major way. Coolant had filled the expansion tank and was pouring all over my back tire and swingarm. In the midst of all those straight-piped Harleys, I hadn't been able to hear that the Rex's fan wasn't operating. Strangely though, neither was the temp light. At that point, I immediately knew the radiator's thermo-swtich had failed.

I spent a few minutes, and used an entire package of Windex wipes, cleaning my rear tire:

After letting things cool down, we got on the road for home, but took a wrong turn shortly after leaving the park and needed to turn around. We found a cul-de-sac and stopped to talk for a moment about where we needed to go.

That's when it happened.

As I put my feet down, I quickly realized that my left boot was still slick with the coolant I had walked through while cleaning my bike. I lost my footing to the tune of about three inches, but that was just enough to send me past the point of no return. I held the bike with all my strength for what seemed like forever, but eventually resigned myself to my own failure, and eased the Rex onto the ground as gently as I could. It went down to the left, marring the pulse cover and busting the front turn signal lense. There were also minor scratches on the grab-bar and bar-end. But thankfully, the tank, bodywork, and levers were all spared.

The damage was admittedly minor, but as I picked the bike up, I quickly made the realization that, for the first time in 18 years of street riding, I had dropped a streetbike from a standstill. I could've punched myself, I got so mad at my own stupidity.

At any rate, the Rex did just fine on the way home with a 75-mile per hour wind blowing through the radiator, but I didn't enjoy a single minute of the ride. I just wanted to get home, drink about a gallon of water, lay down -- and cry.

So fast-forward a week, and as of last night, I have most of the marred parts sanded and repainted. I've also installed a manual fan switch that runs in parallel to the new thermo-switch, which is still on order, along with a new lense, pulse cover, and cover gasket. In addition, I've ordered myself a set of frame sliders just in case -- Lord please forbid -- I should ever drop it again.

Hat-tip to Rodger and Mike for all the pics. More to come as I get my new parts installed.

We're discussing this article at Two-wheeled Texans

Garrison Keillor, I pity your sad existence

2008-05-29T22:03:00.004-05:00

There's a fine line between healthy cynicism and outright vitriol, and this past Wednesday, author/columnist Garrison Keillor stumbled across it like a teetering drunk. In perhaps the stupidest piece he has ever written, Keillor went after the veterans and troop supporters who rode in the Rolling Thunder rally on Memorial Day. Here are a few jewels of "wisdom" from a sad, pathetic guy who just flat-out doesn't get it:

"A patriotic bike rally is sort of like a patriotic toilet-papering or patriotic graffiti; the patriotism somehow gets lost in the sheer irritation of the thing."

"You don't quite see the connection between that and these fat men with ponytails on Harleys. After hearing a few thousand bikes go by, you think maybe we could airlift these gentlemen to Baghdad to show their support of the troops in a more tangible way."

"...the bikers riding in formation are more interested in being seen than in learning anything. They are grown men playing soldier, making a great hullaballoo without exposing themselves to danger, other than getting drunk and falling off a bike."

"No wonder the Current Occupant welcomed them with open arms at the White House, put on a black leather vest, and gave a manly speech about how he'd just 'choppered in' and saw the horde 'cranking up their machines' and he thanked them for being so patriotic. They are his kind of guys, full of bluster, giving off noxious fumes, and when they leave town, nobody misses them."

I suppose it never occurred to this pseudo-intellectual nancy that many of those so-called "fat men with ponytails" are veterans themselves who've seen the horrors of war firsthand; who've given their hearts, minds, and bodies so guys like Keillor would have the liberty to marginalize and insult them from the comfort of a computer chair.

Moreover, Keillor doesn't seem to've made the historical connection between motorcycles and military service, specifically with regard to how surplus post-WWII bikes became a respite, comfort, and escape for thousands of shell-shocked servicemen who had a difficult time adjusting to civilian life when they got home.

I'm personally no fan of President Bush, and I don't like the debacle we've created in Iraq, but I'm behind servicemen and veterans one hundred percent. Their sacrifice, bravery, and willingness to do what not many of us won't do makes them heroes in my book.

It's a shame that Keillor refuses to tolerate those who show their patriotism in ways he doesn't relate to. He's missing out on a golden opportunity to expand his awareness of the world and meet some truly excellent people along the way. And that, friends, is very sad. I wonder how differently Mr. Keillor would've seen this event had he spent some time walking and talking with those leather-clad vets -- putting his hand on their shoulders and telling them "thank you for your service", instead of demeaning the solidarity and freedom they represent.

Shame on you, Garrison Keillor. Shame on you, indeed.

A huge thank you to KOSA-TV

2008-05-28T00:15:00.000-05:00

The Midland-Odessa (TX) sportbiking community lost a dear friend and riding brother to a drunk driver earlier this month, and on behalf of the Superbike Blog, hats off to KOSA-TV for helping us spread the word about the charity bike show on June 8th which will benefit his family:

For more information on this event, please visit westtexasmotorcycles.com.

Rally video with music by Dingo Sanctuary

2008-05-08T09:43:00.001-05:00

Here are some highlights of the 2008 Iraan Annual Sportbike Rally, which was held a few weeks back to benefit the Iraan, Texas Senior Citizens Center.

U.S. Superbike and the mailbag

2008-05-07T15:45:00.003-05:00

I've been getting a few of these lately:

"Dear Tim, I enjoy your blog very much but noticed you have not written about any of this year's racing series. Is there a reason for this?" - Perry in Florida

Yes and no, Perry. Part of the reason my writings on roadracing have waned lately is because my interest over the past 12 years or so has been primarily with the AMA series. But I'm sure I don't have to tell you that there's absolutely nothing to write about in that series these days. They should just change its name to the Yoshimura Suzuki Walkaway Cup and be done with it. I know I am.

Perhaps the purchase of the series by the Roger Edmonson group will usher in much-needed changes. I was impressed that he announced the return of superbikes to the Daytona 200 in 2009, along with various other policies aimed at shaking things up for the factories. But one thing's for sure -- something has to be done. I've seen better racing on riding lawn mowers than the U.S. Superbike Series is currently offering. Mladin by nine seconds, Spies by seven seconds, Mladin by five seonds -- geeeez. Pardon my while I pass out from a combination of boredom and disgust.

Here's hoping Roger and his minions bring back a proper racing series over the next few years. Until then, I'll probably continue to ignore what has become the most boring thing to watch since The English Patient.

Motorcycles and the credit crisis

2008-04-06T23:13:00.002-05:00

The Wall Street Journal's Herb Greenberg points out repeated references by the Northern Trust's Paul Kasriel to the motorcycle as an indicator that Americans are living beyond their means:

"There is no consumer purchase more discretionary than a Harley-Davidson hog," [said] the chief of economic research at [NTC] in Chicago.

As we all know, he was right ... as is evidenced by Harley's U.S. retail sales, which have hit the skids, falling 14 [percent] in the fourth quarter alone. Harley is hardly the only consumer-products company feeling the pain, thanks in large part to the credit and housing meltdowns.

And from what I see here in West Texas, it's not just Harley buyers. I personally know at least a dozen people who are currently hanging it out for everything from touring bikes to rocketsled hyperbikes -- one in particular having financed for 60 months on an eight thousand-dollar purchase. Let me tell you something, if the only way you can afford an 8 thousand-dollar bike is to finance it for five years, then buddy, you can't afford it at all.

What ever happened to planning ahead and saving for this kind of stuff? Come to think of it, what ever happened to planning ahead and saving for anything? We're a spoiled, selfish lot here in the US, and our 'gimme-gimme' philosophy is finally coming home to roost -- just like it did in the late '80s.

Take the test

2008-03-18T19:06:00.000-05:00

This one's making the rounds right now, but makes a very good point:

The sins of the previous owner

2008-03-12T19:52:00.006-05:00

As many of you know, I reached the end of an 8-year search last spring when I finally found the right Kawasaki ZRX, and snatched it up into my stable. Since then, the past nine or ten months have been absolute coolness -- spiritual, even -- as my Z-Rex and I have become acquainted with one another. I'm proud to say, with much admitted bias, that I own one of the most fantastic motorcycles ever produced.

But there was always one small problem with my particular Rex that I could never solve. No matter what I did, achieving a suspension setup I was happy with constantly eluded me, sometimes almost mockingly it seemed. From front to back, top to bottom, I went through every possible suspension configuration you can imagine. Throughout the entire system, I made adjustment after adjustment in an attempt to dial-out a strange vagueness in the front-end feedback that I just didn't like. Now mind you, there wasn't really anything outrightly "wrong" with the way the Rex rode or handled. It was stable and responsive. But at the same time, it was never what I considered to be totally "right" -- and it certainly wasn't anywhere near what I felt convinced the bike was capable of. This is hard to explain, but the front felt heavy and "teetery" and low speeds, but overly light and dodgy at high speeds with a tendency to right itself. I was baffled.

So at one point late last summer, I basically gave up on dialing the bike in, resigning myself to the fact that it wasn't a full-on track bike like my ZX7R and ZX6R, and that it would never feel as perfect. It was a retro-style '80s hooligan bike, by golly, and I'd just have to live with mediocre handling.

Then, just last week -- as I began contemplating the possibility of biting the bullet completely and lowering my Rex to dragbike height -- I made a forehead-slapper of a discovery on the rear shocks that explained everything.

The tabs that hold the rear preload adjusters in place had been removed by the previous owner and the rings were being held by a set of secondary retainer castings higher up on the outer cylinder:

By my best measurement, this lowered the rear ride height somewhere between 15 and 20 millimeters. In and of itself, not an inherent problem. But get this, the previous owner left the front ride height in stock configuration!

"No wonder this thing handles like shit!" I literally yelled out.

So last night, after some rough calculations and experimenting, a friend and I lowered the Rex's triple clamps a total of 19 millimeters on the fork tubes. As soon as I rode the thing, I found what I had been missing handling-wise over the past year. The top-heavy, teetery feel is gone at low speeds, and the bike fires into turns willingly and without protest at speed.

Subsequently, I adjusted in a little more rebound force up front and will probably still make some changes to the front preload, but right now, it's like I bought a new bike. It's still no bullet train like my 7R, and I obviously lost some ground clearance and sacrificed the overall optimum geometry by going lower, but still -- it's literally twice as good as before.

The lesson: When buying used, don't assume the previous owner had any idea what he was doing. Go over everything with a fine-tooth comb and pour over the shop manual. If I had been more thorough in the beginning, I could've had this aggrivation licked a long time ago.

Spooky and beautiful: Shafter Lake ride report

2008-03-10T19:00:00.000-05:00

For the first time in over ten years, I (along with some motorcycle pals and pal-ettes) rode out to Shafter Lake yesterday. It was a last-minute decision and I neglected to bring a camera, but luckily my good friend Rodger had his little digital “box” camera with him and we were able to take some simple snapshots.

Shafter Salt Lake is a huge Alkaline playa northwest of Andrews, Texas. Right now, it’s empty due to current near-drought conditions, but in this satellite image, it appears to be partially filled:

We took a wrong turn on the way there and ended up stopping for a few minutes to rest. Dig Rodger’s showroom-pristine 1986 GSX-R750. He also has a matching 1987 GSX-R1100 to go with it:

Soon thereafter, we were riding again and had crested the hill which leads into the playa’s basin. We stopped and parked at the observation point on the south side of the lake. With Rodger’s little camera, I took a series of pictures of the entire lake, which I composited together. This is a large image (2270x436).

Heather and Stephanie had never seen the lake before, and decided to walk down into the salt:

We knew better than to traipse through that stuff and decided to watch from the rim. Here’s Rodger saying something like, “Those girls don’t have the sense God gave raisins”:

Blane, me, and ‘Busa Dave contemplating the moment on a perfect West Texas day:

The girls in the salt:

We warned them about the harshness of the lake bed, but they didn’t care. When Heather returned, her shoes were ruined:

The bikes again:

There is a cemetery and native-American burial ground nearby. Here’s the marker:

All-in-all, a fantastic day of riding. It was a bit cool around the lake, but the ride home was warm and comfy. I got home around 6:30 and cleaned my bike until 7:30. After a little dinner, I was wiped out. There’s so sleep so sound as the one you have after a good, long motorcycle ride.

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This land was your land

2008-03-03T13:28:00.001-06:00

I'm not a big offroad motorcyclist, but this issue is important to me nonetheless. So should it be with you. Here's yet another case of the government telling the citizens how it's gonna be, instead of the other way around. Sure, this is about motorcycling on the surface. However, it is but one symptom of a much bigger problem:

Two wrongs don't make a right

2008-02-26T13:12:00.001-06:00

Here at ye ole' Superbike Blog, we are sometimes criticized as being anti-law enforcement. I personally feel like that reputation is undeserved, because it presumes that no matter what LEOs do, this blog is against everything they stand for. This is most assuredly not the case. When a cop bravely pulls a motorist out of burning vehicle, catches a robber, or snipes a hostage taker during a standoff, we should all be proud and thankful. And if those were the types of activities police engaged in exclusively, you'd never read a negative word about them on this blog.

Unfortunately though, we all understand that the average beat cop spends the majority of his shift, not catching murderers and rapists, but acting as either an agent of the citation industry or an enforcer of unjust/unconstitutional law. This effort is sometimes directed at motorcyclists, who have always been seen by cops as easy enforcement targets -- especially sportbikers. When such a situation occurs, you'll usually read something negative about police on this blog. Sorry, but that's just the way it is. In a system where our modern-day government owns a monopoly on both official force and lawmaking, corruption therein is naturally rampant, and this blog will always scream loudly in pointing out violations of natural liberty as they relate to motorcycling.

That said, there are certain actions by motorcyclists the Superbike Blog looks down strongly upon regardless of the circumstances, and one of them is blatantly running from police.

Now mind you, we're not talking about occasional jackrabbiting when you think a cop might decide to turn around and contact you. We mean instigating a full-on chase by going into warp drive when a cop is directly behind you -- lights on and sirens wailing. This is dumb, dangerous, and gives all of motorcycling a black eye regardless of the outcome. Here are a few things to consider the next time you see red-and-blues in your mirrors and feel the urge to flee.

It's 2008, everything's a felony. Well, not everything, but damn-near. And here in Texas, that includes evading police. The story's the same in a lot of other states, too. Now, should running from the cops put you in the same criminal category as a pedophile, you ask? Of course not, but keep in mind that common sense, reason, and honesty are not traits required to be a legislator. Without argument, such penalties are plainly unjust, but are all the more reason to perform a quick cost-to-benefit analysis before you twist the throttle. Realistically, you need to decide whether or not attempting to get out of a 400-dollar ticket is worth potentially spending the rest of your life as a felon should you get caught.

If the cop does something stupid and hurts himself, you'll probably be held responsible. This is another sign-of-the-times trend that's sweeping the nation. More and more states are passing legislation that holds the runner accountable for any boneheaded decision the officer might make that subsequently results in his injury or death. That means if he can't drive very well or makes a tactical mistake, you'll pick up the tab for his ineptitude. Again, if you'll just stop and think about it, beating a 400-dollar ticket -- or even an impound -- isn't worth potentially going to jail for causing the death of a police officer, especially if it was his own fault.

Chances are, there's someone who'd miss you very much. If you have a spouse, a child, a mom, a dad, a brother, a sister -- think about what they'd have to go through emotionally if you died in such a meaningless, sensational way. Your chances of being killed after engaging police in a high-speed chase are very high, and your untimely departure from this plane into the next would leave a great big 'you-shaped' hole in the hearts of those you love. Use discretion and live another day, even if it means having to pad Johnny Law's pension a little.

An appeal to fear is usually the sign of a weak argument

2008-02-26T09:42:00.002-06:00

From the mailbag. A reader finds a website filled with disturbing images of motorcycle crashes and incident statistics:

"Hi Tim, I read your superbike blog about once a week. I ride and have ridden bikes for the past 15-20 years. I recently found a website that I must say affected me a little bit. I respect your opinion and was wondering if you have ever seen this site. It is www.[omitted].com. If you haven't seen it, I would recommend you check it out. Please look over the entire site. I am interested in what you think the actual point the webmaster is trying to get across. In one sense I think he is pro motorcycle but then he comes across as anti motorcycle. Anyway, love the blog, hope to hear from you soon."

Wayne - Cincinnati, OH

Hi Wayne,

That website has been around for years, and is -- in my opinion -- clearly biased against motorcycling. While some of the stats its author uses to bolster his/her positions are correct, many are misrepresented.

For just one example, the claim that moto-accidents have increased 47 percent over the last five years is likely true. But what isn't mentioned is that the number of new motorcyclists (many of whom are young and/or untrained) has increased dramatically during that time, as well. With motorcycling at a 25-year high in popularity, simple probability tells us that more riders equals more accidents.

As for all the graphic imagery -- it is what it is, but to me has little significance beyond its shock value. If you wanted to, you could just as easily put together a big, bloody webpage urging people not to ride in cars, fly in jetliners, or work in the oilfield. The world is a dangerous place and we are imperfect beings who will, at times, make mistakes. You can make anything look terrifying if you place it into the right context.

In closing, I'll offer the following statistic for some hopefully encouraging perspective: Each year in the US, 50 percent more people die of the flu and pneumonia than die in vehicle crashes, and motorcycle wrecks only account for about 9 percent of said vehicle crashes on average. Being exposed to a higher level of risk than a car driver is something motorcyclists must accept. But once accepted, successfully managing that risk through good decision-making and skill-building is a reliable, fun way to enjoy a lifetime of joy through motorcycling.

Don't let the shock merchants get you down.

US motorcycle sales down in 2007 for the first time in 15 years

2008-02-21T10:57:00.001-06:00

Well, it finally happened. According to a report recently issued by the Motorcycle Industry Council, the first recent lag in annual domestic motorcycle sales happened in 2007. Final numbers aren't available yet, but I have to wonder if this slowdown is the first harbinger of the average Joe's interest in motorcycles starting to wane.

Motorcycling in pop culture reached a cult-like status in the 2000s with the cable TV-driven rise of celebrity bike builders and superbike roadracing. But I've noticed that the novelty is apparently starting to wear off as far as the general public is concerned. Shows like American Chopper have been bumped from constant rotation on the Discovery Channel and subsequently relegated to once-a-week airings on TLC. The TV bike building competitions have also disappeared, and moto-celebs like Jesse James and Arlen Ness seem to be fading back into obscurity.

As for racing, I don't know what to think yet. Speed Channel used to dedicate its entire Tuesday night prime time lineup to motorcycle racing replays and niche lifestyle shows, but the vast majority of those programs are now gone, too.

The popularity of motorcycles in the US has always ebbed and flowed with the culture and fashion of the time. In 1973, 1.6 million new motorcycles were sold here. Nineteen years later, that number had dwindled to approximately 280,000. In 2007, we're back up to 2.5 million, including ATVs, off-road bikes, and scooters. Maybe we're finally heading back into the valley after reaching an early 21st-century peak.

All in all, that may not be a bad thing for those of us who are serious, lifelong motorcyclists. We tend to lose fewer rights and are generally subjected to less hassle from the public, our legislators, and law enforcement in periods of regression.

Want to be dangerous? Ride and drive slower!

2008-02-19T10:06:00.005-06:00

I was listening to my favorite radio station this morning, and the hosts got onto the topic of driving and speed limits. And like most Americans, the Morning Musers have been successfully programmed to think that all speed limits are good, and that speed kills. Granted, this type of thinking is common amoungst the fear-stricken, nanny-state softies known as modern Americans, but it upset me nonetheless. So, in the spirit of dispelling some of the lies being fed to us by legislators and law enforcement, I offer the following information. Hat tip to the National Motorist Association for some of the material below:

Firstly, slower isn't always safer. Federal and state studies have consistently shown that the drivers most likely to get into accidents in traffic are those traveling significantly below the average speed. According to an Institute of Transportation Engineers Study, those driving 10 mph slower than the prevailing speed are six times as likely to be involved in an accident that someone driving 10 mph over. That means that if the average speed on an interstate is 70 mph, the person traveling at 60 mph is far more likely to be involved in an accident than someone going 70 or even 80 mph.

Secondly, most drivers won't intentionally put themselves into perceived danger. People generally will not go faster than what they feel is comfortable and safe, regardless of the posted speed limit. For example, an 18-month study following an increase in the speed limit along the New York Thruway (from 55 to 65 mph), determined that the average speed of traffic, 68 mph, remained the same. Even a national study conducted by the Federal Highway Administration also concluded that raising or lowering the speed limit had practically no effect on actual travel speeds.

Lastly, the assertion that most accidents are caused by speeding is incorrect. While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) claims that 30 percent of all fatal accidents are "speed-related," this is misleading. This only means that (in less than a third of the cases) one of the drivers involved in the accident was "assumed" to be exceeding the posted limit to some degree. It does not mean that speeding caused the accident. Research conducted by the Florida Department of Transportation showed that the percentage of accidents actually caused by speeding is very low, 2.2 percent. Speed is an unfortunate catch-all excuse by law enforcement, because an object must be in some degree of motion in order to crash into something else. Therefore "speed" can be said by the non-reputable to be the "cause" of every accident, or "a contributing factor".

Our nation's traffic fatality rate (deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled) is the lowest it has ever been. This in an age when cars and motorcycles are faster than ever. Enforcement of artificially low speed limits is little more than a revenue generation tool for government, and -- as the science shows -- does nothing to improve safety.

Remembering a classic

2008-01-31T08:45:00.000-06:00

The great thing about YouTube is that you can find lots of obscure bikes and the riders who keep them going. Today's featured gem is the Honda CBX. These bikes never caught on in the USA, but have achieved cult status overseas. In England, Spondon will even make you a custom frame for the inline, 6-cylinder, CBX engine.

I remember seeing several of these bikes as a little kid, but they faded away pretty quickly as the flood of high-powered, fully faired, 4-cylinder sportbikes began to hit the market in the early '80s. Still, the CBX was an excellent motorcycle in its own rite, and you've gotta love that 6-cylinder sound:

Hope for the AMA?

2007-12-17T16:23:00.000-06:00

At long last, it seems the much-needed winds of change are starting to blow at the AMA.

It was major news this December when new AMA head honcho Rob Dingman started cleaning house at AMA headquarters, getting rid of longtime AMA fixtures Greg Harrison and Bill Wood. The firings led to a series of outraged employee letters, emails, and other attempts to promote the removal of Dingman from power -- most notably the resignation of former AMA president Ed Youngblood from the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Ambassadors and Promoters Committee.

Now Dingman has responded publicly via the AMA website, and I have to say that -- despite his tactics -- I'm pretty much in support of the new guard's efforts, at least as an active AMA member and otherwise casual observer. Here are a few examples of why:

"Earlier this year, I was named chief executive officer of the AMA. Honored as I was to be entrusted with the leadership of the AMA, I quickly came to realize that I had returned to a much different organization than the one I had left just eight years previously. The AMA’s core mission had become diluted because it had taken on more than it could reasonably accomplish. Today, the AMA attempts to be a rights protector, publisher, member services provider, sanctioning body, promoter, entertainment firm, event management company and sports sponsorship and marketing outfit. The AMA has never had the appropriate resources or infrastructure to be all of these things."

Finally, somebody gets it. I can only suspect at this point that Mr. Dingman is a regular reader of the Superbike Blog.

He goes on to say:

"Success in the AMA’s racing endeavors has proven elusive because the AMA has mingled its role as sanctioning body with its role as series promoter. This has confused and frustrated the motorcycle racing community and as a result, the AMA has regularly found itself at the center of racing controversy. This has caused the motorcycle industry not to support the AMA to the degree that it could. This lack of support has impeded the AMA’s ability to grow to its full potential and has therefore kept the organization from being as effective as it could be executing its core mission: pursuing, promoting and protecting the future of motorcycling."

Say what you want about this guy, but he's right on the money. The AMA has been a disgrace as a sanctioning body over the past several years, and Dingman's point is a significant part of the reason why.

I'm all for giving Rob Dingman a real shot at rebuilding the AMA, and if removing the people who turned it into an institution, rather than an organization, need to be removed to accomplish that task -- more power to him. My continued involvement as a member pretty much depends on it.

Just for fun, here's a ridiculous ZX9R turbobike

2007-12-07T11:21:00.000-06:00

I'd wager this bike has well over 200 horsepower. Necessary? Nah. Greatness? Yep.

The number-one reason female riders fail: Husbands

2007-12-05T15:29:00.000-06:00

Search your favorite motorcycle forum and you'll find the article topics, usually worded as questions:

What kind of bike should I get for my wife?

Tips on teaching the wife?

Where's an empty parking lot near [location] where I can give my wife riding lessons?

Invariably, these posts are quickly filled with gaggles of responses from married motorcycle dudes from all walks of life, each sharing loudly his alpha-male advice and experience on what's best for a woman rider who's just starting out -- most of which is totally wrong.

Never do the actual aspects, wants, or interests of the female in question ever come up in the conversation -- and the responses are generally always the same. It's get her this bike or get her that bike. Have her do this or have her do that. Blah-blah-blah.

Then three months later, you see this topic:

Selling the wife's bike!

This type of thread is also filled with typical, predictable content:

"She just doesn't get it."

"She's not strong enough to control the bike."

"She won't listen to me."

"I'm afraid she's gonna get hurt, so I'm selling her bike."

And so another female rider, one who could've potentially enjoyed a lifetime of happy riding, is forever frightened and intimidated out of the sport -- all because her knucklehead husband felt like he had to be master over the process. Most times, she was on the wrong bike, had been given poor instruction under condescending duress, and was otherwise set up to fail.

Well listen up, machomen of the world. Your wife doesn't need you in order to pick out a bike and learn how to ride. At all. In fact, according to Motorcycle Safety Foundation stats, she's more likely to fail under your wing than under anyone else's. If you really want to help her, back off and:

1. Let her take the MSF RiderCourse on her own, and then get professional, private instruction thereafter if needed. The fundamentals taught in the MSF curriculum are more complex than many realize, and are absolutely essential for a beginner to understand. Besides, judging by many of the self-described "experienced" riders who've taken the basic course from me over the years, many husbands don't know enough about the fundamentals to be teaching anyone anyhow. So leave it to the pros, instead of filling her head with incorrect techniques and bad habits. Statistically, she'll also learn better if she's being instructed by someone other than the person she must ask ten times to take the trash out.

2. Let her pick her own bike. Not only is it a big part of how someone falls in love with motorcycles, it's also essential for confidence and safety. Just because you ride a sportbike (or cruiser or whatever) doesn't mean that's what she must ride. She'll instinctively pick her motorbike just the same way you did, by fit and feel, and by the emotions the bike gives her.

3. Let her practice and/or ride by herself if she wants. What makes you think she can't have a productive day practicing in the parking lot down the street or going on a toy run just because you don't happen to be there? She needs to discover the spiritual beauty of motorcycling, and chances are she won't ever have that commune if you're hawking over her every moment she's in the saddle.

Oh, and conversely, one last thing: Just because she likes being a pillion doesn't mean she wants to be a pilot. In several different chapters of my time as an MSF instructor, I've had a female student who told me, "I don't want to ride my own bike, but he sent me here because he's tired of always hauling me on the back of his." Most times, that's a formula for either failure or disaster.

Grow up, guys. You ain't that great.

Ft. Davis was fun but c-c-c-cold!

2007-11-25T01:40:00.001-06:00

This week's trip to Ft. Davis was my first there without a bike since 2005, and to be perfectly honest, I'm very glad.

The highest temperature we experienced was was 39(F) on Wednesday afternoon, and the lowest we endured was 14(F) with wind chill just outside Marfa on Thursday night. Then on Friday, the wind blew at well over 30 miles per hour atop the observation point at the state park. Brrr.

But aside from the cold, the trip was very fun. I took one of my cameras with me and shot the following footage. Enjoy:

I hope everyone had a safe, enjoyable Thanksgiving.

"That's a cop, stupid."

2007-11-20T22:15:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd get one good evening ride in tonight before the rain and snow in this week's forecast arrives, so at about 6:30 or so, I headed out on the ZX-7R for wherever.

The ride itself was a good one. I rode Midland's north side, then took a jaunt up through Gardendale, went around Odessa once, then took Highway 191 east back toward Midland.

When I got into town, I stopped for fuel at Midland Drive and Andrews Highway. As I pulled out of the gas station and headed for the Godfrey intersection, I saw the unmistakable front profile of a late model Mustang several blocks behind, suddenly coming up fast in the lane beside me -- engine revving to the moon.

"Puh-leeez," I thought. "This should be interesting."

As we stopped at the red light, an MPD patrol cruiser pulled up too, facing us head-on from the other direction -- as plain as day under the streetlights.

"That's that," I thought. "This punk will surely stand down."

So there we were, just the three of us -- me, Johnny Law, and the pimply-faced geek with the small-block V8. All would be calm and civil.

Or so I thought.

To my surprise, Mustang Dork® started revving his engine like John Force at Pomona, trying like mad to get my attention. Naturally I ignored him, like I always do in these all-to-frequent scenarios, but he persisted. Finally, I looked over at him and he put his window down, hands making a what's-the-deal gesture and giving me the nose-up nod.

"That's a cop, stupid," I barked while raising my faceshield. "Chill out!"

He looked over toward the patrol cruiser just as the light turned green. I immediately took off at a brisk pace, attempting to send the message that the conversation was over. Not only that, but I went up a block and got into the Left Turn Lane to make sure we didn't meet again at the next red light. But, nooooooo. Mustand Dork® slithered in behind me, determined to have either a race or a conversation, neither of which I was interested in.

A soon as I made the turn, I hit the hyperdrive button and stayed in the cooking oil until the next light. At long last, he got the point and turned off, presumably back in the direction from whence he came. Me, I went for a coffee.

If I had a knickel for every time some teenage knucklehead in a Mustang, Camaro, or tuner car attempted this exact same stunt, I'd own one of the space shuttles by now. Listen up, kiddies: If you can't run 10 seconds or less in the quarter-mile, don't bother picking on me. It's not my job to entertain you, nor are the vast majority of you worthy of even lining up along side the likes of me. Don't be silly. Stop it. Honestly.

So what's the moral of this story, you ask?

I hate people.

Well, most of them, anyway. Eric Clapton, as an example, wouldn't fall into that category. But backward baseball cap-wearing, pepperoni-faced teen douchebags in lame Mustangs do.

Oh, and if they have a "No Fear" or "Ain't Skeered" decal on the window -- Ooooh, then I double hate them.

Double.

WE'RE DISCUSSING THIS SUBJECT AT TWO-WHEELED TEXANS

The gaggle of morons that is the IIHS

2007-11-14T09:25:00.000-06:00

From the AMA:

You probably saw the headlines in newspapers across the country several weeks ago:

"High-Performance Motorcycles Contributing to High Death Toll."

"Supersport motorcycles lead the pack in death rates and claims costs."

"The New Motorcycles: Bigger, Faster, Deadlier."

And underneath those headlines, you—like many other Americans—read dire warnings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that sportbikes are much more dangerous than other types of motorcycles on the road.

Indeed, the IIHS claimed it had conducted research showing that three types of motorcycles—those that fit in categories it calls "supersport," "sport" and "unclad sport"—are so dangerous that serious action is required to deal with this issue.

What type of action? Here are the IIHS' own words on the subject:

"Short of banning superport and sport motorcycles from public roadways, capping the speed of these street-legal racing machines at the factory might be one way to reduce risk."

That's right—this powerful Washington-based group is talking about either banning or restricting entire classes of motorcycles. And when we hear words like that, we—like you—take notice.

Never mind, for a moment, that the alleged "research" behind this report doesn’t stand up to critical examination. What matters is that mainstream media outlets, which are unlikely to give this report a hard look, are already parroting the IIHS line, which means that we all need to be very concerned.

"This kind of flawed report, passed off as scientific research, has the potential to do great damage," says Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. "At the very least, it can create false perceptions we’ll have to fight for years. And at worst, it could lead to restrictive laws that have no basis in reality."

Read the whole thing here.

This isn't just about sportbikes. Congress tried to do this with UJMs in the early 80s but thankfully failed, due in part to swift action by the AMA.

No matter what kind of motorcycle you ride, you'd better make your voice heard against this plan.

WE'RE DISCUSSING THIS SUBJECT AT TWO-WHEELED TEXANS.

A free gift for anyone who loves the Z-Rex

2007-10-18T15:23:00.000-05:00

I designed a wallpaper using two photos of the Eaton supercharged Z-Rex that appeared in Sportrider a while back. The file is a JPEG with dimensions of 1280 x 960. Enjoy:

Click HERE to download.

True greatness...

2007-10-18T15:21:00.000-05:00

Triumph owners, I envy you...

2007-10-11T08:45:00.000-05:00

My favorite line: They program the bike by attaching it to female brains "so it can change direction in an instant."

Being dismissed from the MSF course isn't the end of the world

2007-09-18T17:58:00.000-05:00

Via Usenet this morning:

"By the end of the day It became apparent that everyone else was picking things up a bit faster than I was. However I went home that evening confident that the next day I would catch up.

Sunday morning arrived wet and raining. Not hard enough to stop the class though so things went ahead as planned. The wet surfaces intimidated me and the instructors seemed to be picking things up...hurrying from one lesson to the next.

By noon I felt I needed more time and was about to ask the instuctor what to do when he called me over after lunch and asked me to leave the class. He said they felt that the class was moving along and I wasn't able to keep up. He asked me to leave and said he would call me back at another time when a smaller class becomes available so that they could spend more time with me.

I left quite humiliated. They never called me back. I really don't know what to do." - Phil

I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad experience, Phil. As an instructor, it's always tough for me to dismiss a student, regardless of how badly he or she might be doing.

That said, you must understand that the instructors have a tremendous amount of responsibility on their shoulders. They must keep the class on time (every single module and exercise is timed), they must maintain visual control of the range, and they must watch 5 to 12 students at once to make sure they stay safe. In the midst of all that, they also have to instruct. If one student is causing a repeated distraction, can't keep up, or is dangerous, he or she must be dismissed for the sake of the other students. The last thing I always say before taking a class to the range is, "This course moves very quickly, so pay close attention, listen to my instructions, focus, and have fun."

Now then, just because you were asked to leave doesn't mean it's the end of things. You can always go back (or to a different MSF sponsorship) for a few sessions of private instruction to help you with the basics. And make no mistake, what you are learning in a BRC is most definitely the basics. If you were still having problems with starting, stopping, turning, and shifting at the beginning of the second day, you'd have never made it through the more advanced exercises to come.

All that said, you should also take enough stock in yourself to question whether or not you need to be on a bike. Things happen fast on the street, and an MSF instructor can see things you might not be able to. If your mind is constantly focused on the mechanical aspects of riding rather than concentrating on the riding environment, you'll never make it out there in the real world.

Food for thought. Best of luck with whatever you decide.