Passes & Canyons Blog

Bikes coming down from Squaw Pass.

The roads are clear and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were all really nice days. So I rode my motorcycles on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Friday was a little cool but I wore all my winter gear and was perfectly warm. I did run into one problem, and that was with my heated gloves. These are battery powered and while one came on immediately when I hit the button, the other did not. So I got to see how much it mattered on this particular day. Not much. The gloves themselves are very good and warm even when they’re not turned on.

Later I plugged them both in to charge and once I knew both were fully charged I tried again. The one that didn’t work before didn’t work again. Dang! What’s wrong? But I kept pressing the button, holding it, not holding it, and finally it did come on. Not sure what to make of this. I’ll have to see what happens next time.

I didn’t see any other bikes out on Friday and was not surprised. Definitely saw other bikes on Saturday and Sunday. If you weren’t out you should have been.

Saturday was decidedly warmer so while I wore all the rest of the warm gear I did not wear the heated gloves and did not need them. In fact, there were times when I was almost too warm. What a great day in December to ride.

At one point I was on the Concours and I noticed that my front brake was a bit squishy. The bike was stopping OK but it just didn’t feel right. If I pumped it, it would firm up and that’s generally an indication you have a problem. I checked the sight gauge and sure enough, the fluid level was low. Now the question is, is there a leak in the brakeline somewhere? I would just fill it but all I’ve ever heard, and it states it plainly in the shop manual, says do not mix different brake fluids. If you have to add more and don’t know what kind/brand is in there, drain it all and replace it all with one consistent fluid. So I guess I have something to add to my to-do list.

Sunday was a bit cooler but I wore less warm gear and was still perfectly comfortable. I didn’t go for any long rides, just was out running some errands. And just like clockwork, I encountered my Sunday problem. It was no big deal but I noticed one of the zip ties keeping my bag attached to the rear of my sissy bar backrest on the CB750 had broken and the bag was hanging half loose. I have extra zip ties; I fixed it.

So yeah, maintenance. Entropy is a universal law. Everything breaks down eventually. Every fix is a temporary fix but temporary works.

Biker Quote for Today

The older I get the more I understand how important it is to live a life most people don’t understand.

MOST Program annual report

Now we come to what I consider a particularly interesting portion of the 2018 report on motorcycle crashes put together by the Colorado Motorcycle Operator Safety Training (MOST) program. I’m talking helmet usage and rider legality, i.e., having motorcycle accreditation on your driver’s license.

Unlike the other tables in this report, where they list the top 10 items, there are only 7 choices here. There are 2,470 crashes counted.

“Helmet properly used” was ticked off for 1,223, or 49.5% of all motorcycle operators, and 66.7% for all riders trained through MOST. “No helmet” comes second at 882, for 35.7% of all riders and 18.0% of MOST-trained riders. So far rider training is looking pretty good, although we again have the unanswerable question of, did they get the training before or after the crash?

Number three on the list (109) is “not applicable.” These 177 are explained as “(Cars/Trucks).” Which seems odd. If these were people in cars and trucks, why were they included in this listing of motorcyclists? Then, with 54, is “Helmet improperly used.” Gosh guys, if you’re going to bother wearing a helmet maybe you should at least strap it on properly.

Then there is “Available, not used” at 20 and then “Bicycle helmet” at 5. Really? You think a bicycle helmet is going to do much good in a motorcycle crash? Heck, I don’t see how bicycle helmets do much good even in bicycle crashes. They sure haven’t helped my sister-in-law in the two crashes she has had on her bicycle.

That’s the list. What we are told elsewhere in the report is that there were 103 fatalities in 2018 and of them, 54, or 52%, were not wearing helmets. Which means 48% were wearing helmets, which, as always, gives the lie to those who seem to think the answer to motorcycle fatalities is to make everyone wear a helmet. Helmets help but it’s going to take more than just helmets.

Then we come to licensing. Out of 2,470 riders, there were 1,393 total listed as “Endorsement required & complied with.” For MOST-trained riders it was 64.0%. Again, that’s looking good for training though it also is particularly muddy regarding training before or after the crash.

A total of 563 riders had no endorsement, and then we have 371 with “Endorsement required & not complied with.” I’m really not at all sure what that is supposed to mean. How does that differ from no endorsement?

Then there are 51 listed as “Endorsement required & compliance unknown” and another 92 with “Unknown.”

I don’t know about you but I tend to suspect that riders who have MC endorsements are more likely to be safe riders. At the very least it presents a certainty that you have at least a minimum of ability to control the machine. No it doesn’t say a thing about the ability to maneuver a tight curve at a high speed but at least it’s a start. That’s where further rider training is a good thing. I’ve taken five rider training courses and done one track day and I can tell you pretty confidently that I’m a better rider than my friends who have done none of these.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you can identify bugs by taste.

Checking out the new Victory motorcycles in Greenville, SC, in 2011.

I got confused and made an assumption but then finally got it all straightened out. Denver’s long-running Motorcycle Show and Swap (now called the Colorado Motorcycle Expo) will be held as usual at the Stock Show grounds, on February 1 and 2. However, for the first time this year we will also have the Progressive International Motorcycle Show going on at the Colorado Convention Center on January 17-19. Golly, golly.

At ABATE meetings we had the usual “are we going to do a booth at the show and swap/expo this year” discussions. In the course of those discussions it was mentioned that the expo had new ownership. This is new, new ownership because there were new owners who took over just about five years ago.

So when I heard that we were going to be hosting the Progressive International Motorcycle Show–at the convention center, no less–I assumed the ownership change meant the expo had been subsumed into this big deal event. But then I started seeing promos for the expo. Huh? I did some searching and found out we’re getting both. Oh my gosh.

I have to tell you, I’m a lot more interested in the Progressive show than I am in the expo. For one thing, the expo is held at the Stock Show grounds and that is highly inconvenient. It’s an out-of-the-way place and about the only way to get there is to drive/ride. And then you have to pay to park. Getting to the convention center, for me at least, will mean getting on the light rail.

But more than that, the Progressive show has a lot more to offer. Back when I was writing for Examiner.com I made a special trip to Greenville, South Carolina, to attend a Progressive show. (It didn’t hurt that my parents lived in South Carolina, near Greenville, so I visited them and stayed at their place.)

The show was impressive. They had new bikes from all the manufacturers, gear from all the gear companies, a lot of demos and special events, and all in all was a very good event. And I’ve wondered for years why they didn’t have one of these here, but figured that they figured it was hard to compete when there is already an established event (the expo). Well, anyone who has been paying attention knows the expo has been having its troubles the last few years so perhaps Progressive decided it had an opening.

I guess I’ll be going to both. I’ll probably spend some time working the ABATE booth at the expo and I’ll definitely go downtown for the Progressive show. So much more convenient than flying to South Carolina!

Biker Quote for Today

It must have been that wild-eyed, silver-tongued schemer
A girl like Jody don’t think for herself.
Him and that Harley and his damn Jalapeno
Smokin’ that stuff’ll make you hurt yourself. — Bonnie Raitt