Passes & Canyons Blog

I’ve never heard of U.S. Highland, have you? Apparently they make motorcycles engines and now they’re planning to make motorcycles–a lot of them–in the near future. This photo is one of their promotional shots, of the Desert-X.

What I’m able to learn is that this is a Swedish company that moved to the U.S. two years ago. They set up shop in Oklahoma, in the town of Mounds. I’ve never heard of Mounds, either.

The company currently has 30 employees but says it will be hiring 300 when it goes into production. They plan to build both street and off-road bikes, although it is expected that making motors for other companies will remain a large part of their business.

At a time when other manufacturers are struggling it’s good to see someone with bright hopes for the future. Let’s wish them success.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Motorcycles 101: Combatting handgrip vibration

Biker Quote for Today

Get yourself to the hills and be uplifted, assuming you’ve got some good knobbies.

I did a critique recently of “The Old Man and the Harley,” an interesting book in some ways, in need of better editing in others. I’m not sure if that was the trigger but I got an email more recently asking if I’d be interested in receiving the motorcycle books published by Motorbooks, Inc. and reviewing them. Of course I said yes.

So I got my first batch yesterday and I’m looking forward to digging into them. These are the four.
How to Restore Your Motorcycle, 2nd Edition
Maximum Control: Mastering Your Heavyweight Bike
Modern Motorcycle Technology: How Every Part of Your Motorcycle Works
The Vincent in the Barn: Great Stories of Motorcycle Archaeology

I’ll have a lot more to say about them once I get a chance to read them but I have noted a couple things already. First, three of these four would seem to be a good, complementary set. Read Modern Motorcycle Technology to understand how it all works, then read The Vincent in the Barn to see how old bikes have been rediscovered. After that, go out and get your own old bike and let How to Restore Your Motorcycle guide you in getting it back in shape.

One amusing semi-contradiction is that The Vincent in the Barn talks about discovering old bikes, whereas How to Restore Your Motorcycle states explicitly, “let me disabuse you of the notion that a lot of collectible vintage bikes are lying around in barns, basements, and garages waiting to be picked up for a song.” I suspect both are correct however; it does happen but don’t base your whole plan on it.

There are also more books coming that are not ready for release yet, and I’ll be looking at those as they come available. I think I’m about to broaden my knowledge in a number of ways.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Connecticut leaning toward requiring motorcycle training

Biker Quote for Today

Home is where your bike sits still long enough to leave a few drops of oil on the ground.

Gary France is a Brit who is planning an extended tour via motorcycle in the U.S. this summer. He and I have been in communication in regard to his route and I periodically check his blog, http://garysusatour.blogspot.com/. Well, I checked it today and he had just put up a post about a motorcycle insurance specialist, Carole Nash, who had put up a list of her Top 20 Biking Blogs. As you might expect, the list leans a bit to British blogs but not entirely. Gary’s blog was one of them. As I guess they say in England, he said that “I am chuffed to bits.” (That means he’s pleased.)

Now, the reason I was thinking about Gary is that I was going to do this post about him and his planned ride. The time is drawing near. But when I saw the list I figured I’d pass that along to you. In Carole Nash’s post she tells a bit about the blogs and has a screen shot of each one’s home page. I’ll just give you the links and a couple comments.

It’s a good list. There are several I recognize and would include in my own list if I was making one. They include Helmet Hair, Bikes in the Fast Lane, and Cyril Huze. Worth checking out.

Helmet Hair
Bikes in the Fast Lane
Forty Years on Two Wheels
USA Tour on a Harley Davidson (this is Gary France’s blog)
Ouch! My Piles!
Atlas Rider
Fuzzie Galore
No Foreign Lands
Knuckle Buster
Saul T Nutz
Twisting Asphalt
Bike EXIF
The Kneeslider
The Scooter Scoop
Honda Motorcycles Blog
Swag’s Rant
Motorcycle Training Blog
Cyril Huze
Faster & Faster
Chessie’s Tales, Motorcycles and Rides

By the way, Chessie is another I’m familiar with and that’s because she has read some of my stuff and left comments. I’m pleased to see her in this list, too.

Finally, as a bonus extra, commenter Glen Hughes noted on Carole Nash’s post that she left out this good one, which I’m also familiar with: Rippin Kitten.

Of course I would add the Passes and Canyons Blog as a favorite, but you already know about that one. And I’d also give you Redleg’s Rides. So that should keep you busy for awhile.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Fact sheet and posters for Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycles tell us a more useful truth: we are small and exposed, and probably moving too fast for our own good, but that’s no reason not to enjoy every minute of the ride. ~ Dave Karlotski