Passes & Canyons Blog

Before I decided to run this Examiner Resurrection I checked to see if this site still exists and whether the information I presented in 2011 had changed. It’s all still good. So I don’t need to change a thing.

A sample of what you get with Cyclepedia.com.

Figuring on restoring an old motorcycle you found in a barn? Looking for the technical info you do to do the work? Here’s a heads-up on a website I recently discovered that may be just what you need.

Cyclepedia.com is an online repository for workshop manuals for ATV, motorcycle, and scooter repair. If you’re only going to need access to the information while you rebuild the bike, a one-year subscription may be the way to go. If you’re planning on riding the bike for years, a lifetime subscription may be your best bet. Either one comes with tech support, so if you’re stuck trying to figure something out, they actually have a motorcycle technician available to answer questions or help you interpret the manual.

These are not just static text documents, like a printed manual that you access online. They come with videos to guide you through processes, as well as interactive features that a printed manual can’t offer. You do, however, have the option of printing the documents.

Want to see what the manuals are like? A sample manual for a Suzuki DR200SE is available. Open it and at left are topics such as:

• Periodic Maintenance
• Quick Reference
• Fuel System
• External Components
• Engine
• Final Drive

And more. Pretty much the stuff you expect in a shop manual. Also included are parts diagram, printable full-color wiring diagrams, and a troubleshooting guide.

I’ll be honest with you, I’m no mechanic myself, so I can’t judge the usefulness of this site; that’s up to you to determine. But I figured if you hadn’t heard about it, you might like to know the site is there. Happy wrenching!

Biker Quote for Today

Don’t make me use my motorcycle mechanic voice.

As far as I can tell, this guy is no longer in business. I mean, this story is from January 2011. But this is still a very interesting idea.

Yes, even you can do this at home.

The future for vehicles may be electric, but that doesn’t meant the present can’t be, too. All it really takes is a motorcycle, some batteries, an industrial-type electric motor, and some know-how. Just ask Chris Ravana. He’ll be happy to show you the electric bikes he has built. Heck, he’ll be happy to take you for a ride.

And by the way, if your interest is in going green, you can’t get much greener. Doing business as Blindspot Cycles out of Fort Collins, CO, Chris sources his parts as much as possible from salvage yards.

Take his 1986 Honda Rebel. The frame and most parts were from a junker. The brakes, tires, and other equipment that affect safety are new. The electric motor was originally used in a big floor-buffing machine. The batteries are straight-off-the-shelf deep-cycle batteries like those used in RVs and boats. Voila! You’re set to go.

Now, admittedly you’re not going to go very far or very fast. The Rebel uses four 12-volt batteries that give it a top speed of about 53 mph and a range of around 30 miles. This is definitely a ride for in town, such as commuting to work, comparable to the electric scooters that seem such a good niche for electrics. The difference is, this is a real motorcycle and it’s something you can build for yourself.

Speed on electric motorcycles of this kind is directly a factor of the number of batteries used. The more 12-volts, the more power to the motor and the faster the motor–and the tires–spin. Chris recently acquired the much higher-tech battery from a Ford Escape hybrid–a 300-volt battery pack.

“I have some engineers that I work with, and we’re going to look at how to break that down and put it into a couple different bikes. I may do a bike that’s in the 96-volt arena, so theoretically a 100-mile-an-hour bike. And then I’ll look at breaking it out into a couple smaller bikes.”

Art that fools people
Chris’s interest in building these bikes is not so much the commercial as the artistic.

“Basically I’m an artist and right now my medium is motorcycles. A lot of electric motorcycles are plastic spaceships and I don’t want to create plastic spaceships. I want to tribute classic styles. People all the time see me on these and don’t know that they’re electric until they don’t hear it. And they’re like ‘Oooh’ and I get that double-, triple-, quadrduple-take. I’ve been run off the road by people doing this (turns head way round). For me, that’s the point. For me that’s the ultimate design challenge, to take something that wasn’t supposed to be and fool everyone.”

Nevertheless, he is a true believer in electric vehicles.

“I’ve been riding motorcycles my whole life, I’ve just always had a motorcycle. But I hate having gas bikes. They stink, they leak, and never seem to run right. With these, when you turn it on it’s gonna go or it’s not gonna go, or it’s charged or it’s not charged. It’s really that simple. Other than that, there’s no maintenance, they don’t leak, they don’t produce any smells, they hardly produce any noise, and they’re just really user friendly and simple.”

Honoring the look
A common question Chris gets is why he retains the gas tank on his electric bikes.

“Because it helps people understand it’s a motorcycle. I don’t want someone to think that I’m riding down the street on a trailer or some miscellaneous pile of parts. I want people to look at it and think, ‘Ah, it’s a cool chopper.’ The all of a sudden they realize it doesn’t make any noise and it’s not running on gas. I would love to do all vintage bikes, board track racers, and just really cool old stuff and keeping the tanks on, keeping them looking like motorcycles is really important to me from a design standpoint.”

Chris first got interested in converting motorcycles to electric when “I saw something online about someone who had built a bike and claiming you could do this for $1,800 or something like that. It turned out not to be the case at all. I was just intrigued and I said you know, I’ve got to build one of those.”

He works totally on a custom basis, building bikes only when a customer orders one. Each bike is made to fit the customer’s specific desires. If you want one he’d be glad to work with you, just contact him at info@blindspotcycles.com. (Nope, not gonna happen. Sorry. But these links below are still good.)

If you want to build one for yourself, there are several websites that offer instructions. Here are a few:
http://visforvoltage.org/forums/electricrides/motorcyclesandlargescooters/custom-builds-or-homebuilt
http://visforvoltage.org/forum-topic/motorcycles-and-large-scooters/587-my-kz750-electric-motorcycle-project

Biker Quote for Today

He was born free. And he loved to drift. He loved his motorcycle and his motorcycle loved him. But he did not believe in love and attachments. He just wanted to drift. He was addicted to his loneliness. He was free. And he loved to ride his motorcycle. — Avijeet Das

A day on that California trip.

I knew things had gone too far when my 86-year-old mother told me she won’t be flying any more if it means they’re going to pat her down all over, as in everywhere. Which, of course, is exactly what they did to me when I flew home from California a few weeks ago. Using profiling to decide who to search may not be the best idea, but can’t we at least agree that there are some people who we can reverse-profile out of being searched?

So what does this have to do with motorcycles? It’s all about transportation choices. I want to say right up front that I owe the idea for this piece in part to Bruce Arnold, who runs http://www.ldrlongdistancerider.com/, and his recent post, Motorcycle Touring Mathematics 102: X-Raying Your Junk vs. X-Treme Riding Pleasure. In this post, Bruce compares the example of flying from Miami to Atlanta to riding there on a motorcycle. He looks at time, cost, and dignity. By his calculations, riding would take about 3 hours longer but cost a little less. He goes on:

The trade-offs to consider, however, go beyond time and money. Given the choice, for instance, how would you rather spend an entire day: Subjecting yourself to the pains of being processed, inspected, stamped and transported like so much meat? Or enjoying the pleasures of the wind in your face, a thundering engine beneath you, and the open road ahead of you? And what about privacy and practicality? Would you rather pack what you really wanted and needed to take with you, or worry about whether your shaving cream, pocket knife or party favors will make it through security? And last but not least, just how much individual freedom and personal dignity are you willing to sacrifice in return for a questionable promise of protection from some ethereal “terrorist threat” that may or may not exist?

On that recent trip to California that I mentioned my first intention was to ride out there. Time was not an issue. This is what I do for a living. I don’t have to take time off to ride my motorcycle, it’s my job. And riding to Southern California would be a great road trip. Why would I not ride?

Well, the answer, as it turned out, was money. I was able to get tickets from Denver to LA and from Oakland to Denver for such incredibly low fares that it was the only logical thing to do. I would have spent more on gas than I did for plane fare, and that doesn’t even include motels for three nights out and three nights back. So I flew and I got groped. And make no mistake about it, the security folks will deny it, but if you fly one-way rather than round-trip you will always get pulled aside for extra screening.

I couldn’t agree more on the idea of riding as your first choice, though I’m also well aware, as is Bruce, of the factors that time, distance, and weather often play in determining whether this option is really an option. Those caveats acknowledged, Bruce’s math does makes sense when riding is a possibility, and more and more people are figuring this out. Even some people opting for cars instead of motorcycles. As security increases and the time you waste in airports increases, the numbers will only favor ground transportation even more.

Hey, here’s a thought: Let’s build some high-speed passenger railroads. Then while most other folks are blasting across the country at near-warp speed, I’ll be putting down the highway on my motorcycle. Maybe you’d like to join me from time to time.

Biker Quote for Today

And I to my motorcycle Parked like the soul of the junkyard Restored, a bicycle fleshed With power, and tore off Up Highway 106 continually Drunk on the wind in my mouth Wringing the handlebar for speed Wild to be wreckage forever. — James Dickey

OK, I admit, I’m just like you, I’m really busy this holiday season and I’m not averse to taking the easy way out: I’m putting up some Examiner Resurrection pieces. We’re going back here to 2010, but this is still relevant.

The Harley I rode.

I spent four days on a Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail recently, hoping to understand at last the reasons why so many people are so fanatically devoted to the brand. I recapped my thoughts the first couple days out but now I’m ready to speak about my total experience and the conclusions I’ve reached.

Hint: I’m not converted, but I think I understand more now.

Ease of riding
The No. 1 understanding I came to on the Harley is that this bike is just incredibly easy to ride. Let’s compare it to my primary bike, my 1999 Kawasaki Concours.

The Concours is a tall bike to begin with, and with my 30-inch inseam it took some getting used to. The Softail has a much lower seat height, making it very easy for me to plant my feet widely and firmly on the ground at a stop. The Connie also has a 7.5-gallon gas tank that sits way up high, making for a very high center of gravity. Center of gravity on the Softail is very low, which makes the handling much more stable at low speeds. I never once came anywhere close to dropping it, whereas I have dropped the Kawi a couple times.

The power delivery on the Softail is very different from what I’m accustomed to so that took some getting used to. My Kawi has a high-revving engine and it has a ton of power. It’s very fast and the gearing is such that you don’t have to shift constantly in situations where you’re frequently speeding up and slowing down. My first impression of the Softail was that I all too frequently needed to downshift from the upper gears. To a certain extent I think that is true, but what I found with experience is that mostly that’s just the low-rev, loping v-twin and it would go along fine at the slower speed but then pick right back up with the twist of the throttle.

The bottom line here is that, while it probably took me two years to become totally comfortable on my Concours, I was right at home on the Softail within an hour or two. Now, having gotten comfortable on the Connie, I’m extremely comfortable on it and like it very much. And with longer legs it wouldn’t have taken that long. But I don’t think most people are willing to be that patient, so I can see the attraction of the Harley.

Riding comfort
Having a broad, well-padded seat was a real joy for me on that Softail. My other bike, my 1980 Honda CB750 Custom, has a reasonably comfortable seat but after doing a ride to California and back on a trip that included numerous long-mileage days, I swore never to do that again. I went out and bought my Concours. The Connie is a much better touring bike but even its seat gets hard after awhile. The seat on the Softail was a huge improvement.

Another thing I liked was the floorboards. With the floorboards I could shift my foot position a little or a lot, and even stretch my legs out completely straight. The key here is the knees. None of my buddies likes trading bikes with me and I think that has a lot to do with their aging knees. I suspect that sitting with your knees always bent as you must when your pegs are below you is just not something that works for them any more.

I, on the other hand, prefer to have my pegs beneath me because I want to stand up when I go over a bump and let my legs absorb the shock. The first big bump I hit on the Softail threw me way up off the seat and back down hard. I did find, though, that with my feet on the back edges of the floorboards, and a good grip on the handgrips, I could raise myself off the seat for bumps and minimize the impact. I still prefer pegs below me, however, and my knees are still limber enough that I can ride that way comfortably. Besides, highway pegs allow you to stretch your legs out, too. That said, I do, again, see the attraction of the Harley for a lot of folks.

While the Softail’s seat was comfortable, and you can get custom seats with better lumbar support, I strongly prefer the riding position on my Connie. Stock, the Connie had an intolerable reach to the grips, so the very first thing I did when I bought it was install risers that brought the grips back and up three inches. That made all the difference in the world. Now I have just a slight forward reach that keeps me in an erect, upright position, which is a good posture for your back. Having the pegs underneath you also helps foster that good posture.

The Softail, on the other hand, encouraged me to slouch. And after four days I could tell. My back was hurting.

Details
One negative aspect of the Softail’s low profile is the potential for contact with hot exhaust pipes. I discovered this one rainy day when I noticed black marks on the pipes. Then I noticed a spot on my black rain pants that was clearly melted a bit. Apparently you have to be careful at a stop to set your right foot down away from the bike so as to avoid this sort of thing. I also apparently let the heel of my boot touch the pipes while riding with my feet back on the floorboards, and that got melted, too.

This has never been an issue with my Honda or my Kawasaki. Sitting up higher as they do, there is room for the pipes to go beneath the pegs, and I’ve never touched those pipes with anything.

Ground clearance is another issue. Riding the bikes I’ve owned, I had never scraped hard parts until just recently when I took a Harley Sportster for a demo ride. Both my bikes are shaped live a V when you view them from in front or behind, and you’d need to lean a long way over to touch anything on the ground. Not so with the Softail. Swooping through curves on the New Priest Grade Road I scraped the floorboards and I wasn’t even leaning all that far. I’m not saying that’s a problem, but it’s definitely a difference.

I liked the very clearly defined shifting on the Softail. It gave a loud thunk dropping into the next gear, so it was always clear whether you had or had not flicked that shift lever far enough. There have been times on my bikes, particularly between first and second, where I didn’t make it all the way into gear and didn’t realize it until I let the clutch out and twisted the throttle.

I wasn’t impressed with the Softail’s brakes. I’m generally heavy on the front brake and only use the rear brake when I need extra stopping power. With the Softail I had to use the rear brake almost as much as the front. The front just didn’t do the job. Surely Harley can do better than that.

It took some adjustment for me to look to the gas tank for the instrument cluster. And I didn’t like having to take my eyes off the road to do so. Both my bikes have the instruments up on top of the fork where I can still watch the road while checking the dials and gauges.

The Softail surprised me with how smooth it was. I’ve seen plenty of Harleys that, at idle, shake like a paint mixer but that was not the case here. I definitely prefer smooth. Also surprisingly, it was a bit rougher at highway speed.

Lastly, I liked the idea that the bike won’t start without the key fob in close proximity, so with our frequent stops I wasn’t constantly inserting and removing the key. I’d use the key in the morning, then all day long I’d just turn the bike off and walk away. Coming back to it I’d just turn the switch and push the Start button. Then use the key for complete shut-down at night.

Harley or cruiser?
While these riding impressions all have to do with the Softail I was on, I suspect most are applicable to any dressed out cruiser. In other words, I’m not certain whether I’ve gained a better understanding of the Harley mystique or simply a better understanding of the cruiser mystique.

Of course one thing many Harley owners point to with pride is the fact that their bikes are “American iron.” That’s as opposed to, say, Star’s Royal Star Venture, which is made in Japan, I presume. I’ll point out, however, that Kawasaki operates a plant in Lincoln, NE, which until recently produced motorcycles. I may be wrong but I believe that’s where my Concours was made, so how much more American-made is a Road King with Kiehin carbs and Brembo brakes than my Connie?

So no, I’m not converted, but at least I don’t find it such a mystery. The Softail is a comfortable bike that is easy to ride and feel at home on. Presumably that’s true for the whole Harley line-up, with the possible exception of the V-Rod. I think especially for aging riders, and there are a lot of those out there, cruisers are absolutely the way to go. Maybe that will even include me one day. But not yet.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycle adventures are the perfect antidote to middle age. — Alex Morritt

Motorcycle noise is a legitimate issue, but let’s separate the fact from the ignorance.

Will the Governator veto the California bill requiring EPA seals on motorcycle exhausts? (This Examiner post is from eight years ago, so there have been some changes.) That’s one of the biggest questions on many people’s minds at the moment. That it should be an issue at all is a demonstration of ignorance. Let’s start with a recap.

Truth
Some motorcycles make too much noise. Admit it, it’s a fact. Also, some cars and trucks and airplanes and trains and other vehicles make too much noise. This is true as well.

So the California legislature decided to copy what has been done in several other jurisdictions in recent years, notably Denver, and has passed legislation requiring all motorcycle mufflers to carry the Environmental Protection Agency stamp that certifies it does not exceed noise standards. Thus the waiting to see what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is a motorcyclist himself, will do.

The ignorance comes in where the proponents of the bill think it will solve the problem. It won’t, and Denver again serves as a good example. In a recent CBS News article it was reported that “just 37 tickets were issued in 2007, the law’s first year. In 2008, just 4 tickets, and last year 5 tickets. So far this year, no tickets have been issued.”

It’s a matter of practicality. Generally the stamps on the mufflers are in obscure, out-of-the-way places where a police officer would have to get down on hands and knees, or perhaps lay on the his back on the ground, to spot. It’s just not very likely to happen. Plus, OEM mufflers carrying the EPA stamps are not always available for older bikes, and even if they are, why should a biker be subject to ticketing for not having a stamp if the noise the bike makes is not excessive?

In the meantime, laws like this are not needed. Laws already exist limiting noise. All that is really necessary is to enforce the laws already passed, and this is regardless of whether the source of the noise is a motorcycle, a truck, a lawn mower, or anything else. The problem with the California law and others is that they unfairly target motorcycles.

Ignorance
While controlling noise levels is a valid endeavor for cities and other jurisdictions, the people promoting this agenda have been going off the deep end of late, and they often don’t worry about getting facts straight.

For instance, on the site for NoiseOFF – The Coalition Against Noise Pollution, they offer this bit of misinformation:

Some riders join motorcycle rights organizations (MROs) that lobby against motorcycle noise legislation. These organizations include the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, and American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). . . . The AMA compromises (sic) over 300,000 members and more than 1,200 chartered clubs, with corporate representation from the motorcycle industry. Through sponsored events and organized campaigns, they mobilize their membership to lobby to defeat motorcycle noise legislation.

First off, the MRF is only involved in national lobbying and they don’t get involved in local issues. As for the AMA, all you need to do is check their site and you’ll learn that they routinely urge riders to be conscientious with noise, and that what the AMA does oppose is . . . drumroll . . . legislation that unfairly targets motorcycles.

Then of course there is Noise Free America, which recently had this to say about the Sturgis motorcycle rally and South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds:

In reality, the Sturgis event is probably the largest concentration ever of lawbreakers. And Mike Rounds, the governor of South Dakota, gave aid and comfort to this massive lawbreaking.

Is it really that hard to understand? If noise of any kind is a problem, pass laws that limit the noise regardless of the source. And then enforce those laws. Quit singling out motorcycles. The sleeper whose slumber is disturbed doesn’t care what caused the noise, they just want the noise stopped. And that includes sleeping motorcyclists.

Biker Quote for Today

The bike started up–better rev the engine a dozen times to make sure.

Jeremiah Owsley (left) and Dave Hennessy with the Suzuki sidecar rig they’ll be racing tomorrow.

“I think Dave is just gonna put a major piece of whoop-ass on John, mainly because of his experience and the loose gravel on that top section. Dave is an old MX sidecar racer with a lot of dirt skills. John is a street racer without dirt skills. Plus, Dave’s bike is more powerful.”

That’s the pre-race prognostication from Key Kyler, the mechanic supporting both sidecar racing teams competing in the 2010 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which runs tomorrow.

The veterans
Dave Hennessy, running a 1000cc Suzuki “motard style” rig with his passenger, Jeremiah Owsley, is a veteran of the course. John Wood, running a Wasp rig with a 750cc Yamaha engine with his passenger, Giorgina Gottlieb, is in the rider’s seat for the first time on this bike. He was the passenger on the rig last year.

With such uneven competitors, beating the other guy is nobody’s main focus.

“We’re going against the records of previous sidecars,” says Dave. “We hope to improve so we’re in the hunt for the record. John and Giorgina are in a slightly different class. If they beat me, good for them. Still, I hope they don’t. We have an advantage over them.”

In Jeremiah’s mind there is no question who will come in first tomorrow, and he is focused on the record.

“I think we’ll beat last year no problem,” he says.

The rookies
For John and Giorgina the challenge is simply to finish the race. They didn’t do so well in the first day of practice.

“Somebody put a ditch in the raceline,” says John. “I’m a roadracer and tried to use a roadracing line, dive to outside to apex, but there was no traction out there. Still, I thought I had it till the last 30 feet.”

It was a bit of a rough landing but the bike was back together for the next day’s practice.

“The passenger was back together, too,” adds Giorgina.

Practice on the mountain is divided into three sections, with each group of racers working a different section each day. Some parts of the road are paved and some are not. On the second day it was a paved section.

“I was back in my element, and we were able to work on technique,” says John. “Every time we went out we got faster. I was trying to ride smooth and let the fast come, and that had tremendous results.”

This is Giorgina’s first race ever so for her there is a great deal to learn.

“Every time we go out I’m learning a lot. It’s fun. Now it’s a matter of making transitions smoother. You lean left for left, right for right. It makes more sense the more I do it. When you turn left you want weight on the left side, either the back for traction or the front for steering. Turning right you want to keep the chair down for traction. My job is traction control.”

In sidecar racing, the job of the passenger, or monkey, is to shift their weight to add traction to whichever tire needs it at the moment. Rough movement from one position to another can make it harder on the driver to maintain control, thus the need for smooth transitions.

The race
On Sunday the sidecars are scheduled to run second in the back half of the program. The first half is the vintage cars, stock cars, open wheel, unlimited and others. The second half is exhibition powersports, sidecars, quads, and motorcycles. Racing starts at 9 a.m., which means everyone will be up by 3 a.m. to get to the mountain and settled in. Once racing starts there is no traffic on the road except for the racers. As racers reach the top they remain up there until racing is completed and they come back down in three groups.

Why do they do it?

“I ask myself that each morning at 3 a.m.,” says Dave. “When you get to the top it feels pretty amazing.”

Rick Litt, a friend of Dave’s for more than 30 years, adds, “His main motivation is he just loves racing.”

For John, this year is all about learning the track so he’ll be ready to come back with his roadracing sidecar when the road to the top is fully paved, in 2012. This year, “As long as I don’t make a fool of myself it’s OK. I just want to see the top.”

And then there is the coming down. In a somewhat new tradition at the Pikes Peak, as the racers come down the mountain, spectators all along the route stand with their hands outstretched to high-five them. For the racers it’s a pretty emotional affair.

“From what I hear, it’s moving,” says Giorgina. “The fandom for this race is amazing. The people who actually watch are passionate about it.”

Many of those fans camp on the mountain the night before in order to get a great view of the race. It is the only night each year when camping is allowed on Pikes Peak.

Today, Saturday, is a day of rest for the racers. Tomorrow is the big day.

Biker Quote for Today

If I could marry my motorcycle, I’d roll her right up to the altar. — Flip Wilson

Giorgina Gottlieb, riding with John Wood, demonstrates the position she’ll take on the sidecar on right turns.

It’s not really a race without competition, so it’s no surprise that the only two competitors in the sidecar class at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb are essentially one team. Dave Hennessy, last year’s winner, has returned with his 1000cc Suzuki rig. He will face off against John Wood, who will be piloting the Wasp/Yamaha rig run by Dave’s brother last year. John was the passenger, or “monkey,” on that rig last year.

Jeremiah Owsley is Dave’s monkey and John has enlisted Giorgina Gottlieb, a sidecar novice, to ride with him.

Wrenching for both teams is Ken Kyler, who is building his own sidecar rig and hopes the experience this year will serve him well when he competes next year.

While Dave and Jeremiah are an experienced team, it’s all new for John and Giorgina. John has his own sidecar rig that he has raced, but it is one of the F1/F2 models designed for road-racing. The MX sidecar rig he will be steering on the mountain is a different animal.

Giorgina has had an introduction to the sport on John’s rig but the first time she ever laid eyes on what she’ll be riding on Sunday was Monday of this week when everyone arrived in Colorado Springs. While John and Giorgina are from California, Dave brought both rigs up on a trailer from New Mexico, where he and his brother live. Ken came in from his home in Maryland.

Demonstrating the moves she’ll be making on the rig, Giorgina explained that the technique is mostly the same as on the F1/F2 sidecars, but “I’ll be closer to the ground, I’ll have to throw myself around more. It’s like a jungle gym.”

Thus the “monkey” designation. Sidecar monkeys move between left, right, and neutral positions, using their weight to counter centrifugal force as the rigs go racing around curves, helping keep all three wheels in touch with the ground.

John, at the helm, says the MX rig is “crazy at first, but it makes a little more sense once you get used to it. The hardest part is being in the dirt.”

While the two have helmet to helmet radio communicators, they don’t work well enough to be much use.

“We’ll be telecommunicating through the frame. The passenger needs to know by feel how far out to lean to meet the driver’s need.”

Changing complexion of the race
Ken Kyler is eager to compete next year, figuring it will be his last chance to race Pikes Peak in the old fashion. In response to lawsuits, Colorado Springs has been gradually paving the road to the top of the mountain and that paving must be complete in 2012.

“The loss of the dirt will change the entire complexion of the race. The F1s and F2s will show up and take over. The same will happen with the bikes.”

Ken figures that if he can learn the logistics and get familiar with the course this year it will reduce the stress he’ll face next year.

“I’ll be scared enough about riding.”

He also hopes he’ll have competition. While he sees the possibility of as many as five sidecars competing next year, at this point there is no assurance there will even be two.

“It’s the greatest race in the world of this type,” he says. “There are 150 turns in 12 miles. You won’t find that anyplace else.”

Tuesday was the day for all competitors to run their machines through tech inspection. After crawling over and around Dave’s Suzuki rig, the judge commented that “I wrote the engine numbers down, I’m looking at it, and it looks really nice.” He then handed Dave a bag of absorbent material to use in case of an oil spill and wished him well.

“Now,” said Ken, “it’s time to walk around and drool over everybody else’s equipment.”

Biker Quote for Today

Told him it was me or the motorcycle. That was the longest wheelie up the street I’d ever seen.

I’m going to resurrect a series of Examiner pieces about some folks riding in the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb a few years ago. This is long past but their stories are timeless.

Andrew Phillips with his BMW R1200GSA.

Andrew Phillips has never raced the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb before. And yet he has, many times.

When Andrew competes in the 450 Supermoto class in Sunday’s race, for the first time he will be doing so from the seat of his BMW G450X. All the other times have been at the controls of an XBox. Andrew has also watched numerous YouTube videos of previous Pikes Peak races, all in an effort to learn the course and get as familiar with it as possible without actually being there.

“It’s hard to practice on the bike when you don’t have access to a race course. It is taking away a lot of the unknown,” he said. The course is no longer completely unfamiliar. And familiarity counts. “When you’re going that speed you want to know where the curves are, when to slow down.”

Andrew’s first actual day on the mountain was Monday of this week, and this morning was his first opportunity to run part of it with his race bike. The bikes, sidecars, and quads in the event did practice runs this morning on the lower third of the mountain, while other classes ran the upper two thirds. Tomorrow they’ll move to the middle and then on Friday they’ll practice on the top third.

Back home in Vermont and along the East Coast, Andrew has participated in a number of hill climbs and some rally moto stuff, riding for the MAX BMW team. He did well in several and even took a first in a rally moto in Tennessee. This is his first shot at a big race.

“I probably won’t be winning this thing,” he says. “My goal is to finish safely and have the experience.”

Although he has been riding motorcycles since he was 17, Andrew, now 43, had ridden mostly on the street. In 2004 he got his first dirt bike, a BMW 1150 GS Adventure. That’s a big bike for riding dirt and he describes that as something of an awakening. When he picked up the G450X from the dealer, a bike with half the weight of the 1150, he headed straight for an event, racing it right off the showroom floor.

He has considerably more experience on the bike now, and is working to get some experience on the mountain. In addition to the practice runs in the morning, he has ridden the road to the top several more times on his R1200GSA, which he brought along, too, to explore Colorado and have fun when he’s not practicing.

Andrew’s wife, Jen, is blogging about his Pikes Peak preparation and experience, and will be flying in Thursday evening to be here for the big event. On Saturday they’ll be riding to places like the Shelf Road, the Royal Gorge, Skyline Drive in Canon City, and visiting Bishop Castle. And then it will be race day.

Biker Quote for Today

So if you’re on the motorcycle, on the track you’re not thinking at all about what’s happening next week or tomorrow or anything. You’re literally thinking about the turn you’re setting up and there’s something about that I find very cathartic and meditative. — Dax Shepard