Having a Great Time at the Motorcycle Ice Races

January 5th, 2009

You really can’t believe the way these racers scream around the frozen track until you see them do it. We saw them today and it was great!

My wife, Judy, and I went to the Harry’s Roamers Motorcycle Club ice races at Rainbow Falls Park, which is off CO 67 between Deckers and Woodland Park. A frozen lake provides the track. It was pretty dang cold but the racing was hot! Well, at least some of it.

motorcycle ice racing

You have to figure, with classes ranging from pros to toddlers, not all the racing was hot. But if, like Judy, you swoon over cute kids you would have loved these tiny tots on their tiny bikes. In some cases you could probably run and keep up with the leader, providing you didn’t slip and fall on your butt on the ice.

The top racers, on the other hand, were amazing. They have sheet metal screws drilled into their tires to provide traction and it must really do the job. I haven’t even seen lean angles like that at dirt tracks.

There was a real variety, too. Besides the two-wheelers, there was also three- and four-wheel ATV racing, and also the third-wheel guys. These third wheels were basically motorcycles with a large third wheel set up like an outrigger. And then there were also the guys on two wheels who don’t use studs in their tires. Don’t ask me how they stay up.

The whole thing was a lot of fun, it took much longer to get there from Denver than we expected, and it was biting cold, at least early on. If you go be sure to get an early start and dress very warmly.

The club will be holding four more race days this season, on Jan. 11, Jan. 18, Jan. 25, and Feb. 8. There’s an $8 gate fee, with kids under 12 free. You can buy food and drinks but be prepared to pay very high prices. Better to take something along.

This was a lot of fun. I strongly recommend it. Enjoy.

Biker Quote for Today

Go fast and aim for where the trees aren’t.

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Posted in motorcycle racing | 2 Comments »

2008 Car/Bikes Mileage Almost Equal

January 1st, 2009

I wondered for a long time if I was going to manage to get in more miles on my bikes last year than on my car. Well, it’s January 1, 2009 and I have the answer: Not quite.

My total overall mileage was 9,810 miles. That splits almost equally between two wheels and four wheels, but four wheels ended up with a 132-mile edge. Car: 4,971. Bikes: 4,839.

How does that compare with what I set as goals a year ago? In that regard I’m looking really good. Here’s what I said: “For 2008 I’m going to shoot for 2,500 again on the Kawi, I’ll really push and try to also log 1,000 miles on the Honda, and I will try this time to keep the car to under 11,000.”

In fact, I put 2,265 miles on the Concours and 2,574 miles on the Honda. Clearly I was wildly successful keeping the car under 11,000 considering I only drove it 4,971 miles. Being out of work much of the year made that easy.

So, what about 2009? What goals am I setting?

Well, I’m working again, and this time the job is much closer to home, only 4 miles away. That means that even if I ride a bike much of the time it won’t come out to that many miles. My previous job was 23 miles away.

I’m going to set 5,000 as the low goal for the car, the idea with it being to keep the number down. For the Kawi I’ll shoot for 2,000, and then 1,500 for the CB750. I’ll definitely be taking the Kawi on the OFMC trip this year, so 2,000 should be easy. I’ll need to choose the Honda deliberately on numerous occasions to make 1,500 with it.

I know these aren’t big numbers but hey, I just don’t drive that much. Did you drive less than 10,000 miles last year? I don’t think many people do.

So, have a good year riding and, as always, keep the rubber side down.

Biker Quote for Today

If you ride like there’s no tomorrow, there won’t be.

Posted in Miscellaneous | No Comments »

And Even More Three-Wheelers

December 29th, 2008

I don’t really have a fixation on trikes these days, but they just seem to be where I am a whole lot lately.

Today I went on the ABATE of Colorado Last Brass Monkey Run, their traditional last ride of the year event. And I even joined, so now I’m an ABATE member. Well, not surprisingly, there were a few trikes in among the hundreds of two-wheelers, but then the really flashy ones showed up. These aren’t necessarily the best photos because the light wasn’t right for what I would have liked to have gotten. But you’ll get an idea of what these things were like.

This first one is one of these guys as he’s arriving, and I only got a grab shot, so missed the front wheel.

motorcycle trikes

Here he is again, where you can see it a bit better.

motorcycle trikes

And here’s one of his buddies. Notice the high-riding passenger.

motorcycle trikes

There was a third but I didn’t get any useable pics of it. Oh well. But then a different three-wheeler showed up. This was the second Can-Am Spyder I’ve seen now. Here she has it in reverse gear, backing into a parking spot.

Can-Am Spyder

Biker Quote for Today

Now go put some miles on that thing!

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Posted in Motorcycles, Rides and Rallies | No Comments »

Beware: Other People Want Your Bike–But You Knew That

December 25th, 2008

I reported on LoJack‘s best stolen bike recoveries for 2008 the other day. Now I want to share some of the statistics and information LoJack makes available on their website. It’s ugly.

Kryptonite chainFirst off, they say that in 2006 there were more than 71,000 motorcycles stolen in the U.S., with a value of more than $440 million. Ouch. I know one of those guys. My buddy Bill had his Fat Boy taken from the parking lot of a restaurant where he was eating.

Additionally, motorcycle theft is up nearly 137 percent since 2000. That comes out to one motorcycle stolen every 7.4 minutes. Only about one-quarter of them are recovered.

I assume the numbers LoJack is providing are the latest available, so excuse me and them if they’re a little dated. That said, they say that in 2005 the states that had the highest rate of motorcycle theft were, in order:

  1. California
  2. Florida
  3. Texas
  4. North Carolina
  5. Ohio
  6. Arizona
  7. New York
  8. Indiana
  9. Georgia
  10. Pennsylvania

LoJack also make available on their website a seven-page brochure entitled “Bike Smarts: A Guide to Protecting Your Motorcycle From Theft.” It’s pretty basic information but you might find some ideas that hadn’t occurred to you, so check it out.

One other thing. At the bottom left of many of the pages on their website, LoJack has a link to what they call “Real Stories of LoJack Recoveries.” These are heart-warming stories of how folks like you and me got their bikes back and the bad guys got what was coming to them. Fun to read.

Biker Quote for Today

If you love your bike and it leaves you and then comes back – you’ve probably high-sided.

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Posted in Biker Issues | No Comments »

I Love It When Bike Thieves Get Busted

December 22nd, 2008

Does it make you smile really hard when you hear of some bike thief getting busted? Then boy, I’ve got just the thing for you. This isn’t a commercial for LoJack but it could be interpreted that way.

LoJack logoYou know about LoJack, right? They hide a radio transmitter in your vehicle and if it gets stolen the cops can often locate it quickly and get it back to you. And it’s not incidental that the guys who took it often end up getting picked up, too.

Now, I’ve never used LoJack, and heck, I really don’t think anyone is going to be interested in stealing my 1980 Honda CB750 Custom. It’s the Harleys these guys want. You guys with the bulls-eyes on your bikes know who you are.

Well, apparently LoJack releases an annual listing of the stolen motorcycle recoveries in the past year that they are most proud of. Straight from the press release, here’s this year’s list. Read it and smile.

Most Arrests Made in Recoveries In less than 48 hours — LoJack For Motorcycles helped Las Vegas police and the Southern Nevada Auto Theft Task Force break up two theft rings, which led to the recovery of four Honda motorcycles, a Yamaha ATV and the arrest of 10 suspects.

Fastest Motorcycle Recovery Leads to Big Chop Shop — In this recovery, a Yamaha YZR was stolen and recovered in only eight minutes after the system was activated. Through this recovery, Los Angeles Police Department and LAPD Burglary Auto Division also found seven other stolen bikes and bike parts, valued at a total of more than $100,000!

Best Bust Reflecting the Trend of Selling Stolen Bikes Online — In this recovery, thieves advertised a bike online and, as soon as they got an interested buyer, stole a bike matching the one they had advertised. The thieves then delivered the stolen bike to the buyer, thus limiting the time they were in possession of the stolen item. Fortunately, the bike had LoJack For Motorcycles and its signal was picked up only 10 minutes after system activation — 75 miles away from where it was stolen.

Bike Stolen and Recovered Four Times in Nine Months — A Tucson resident discovered his 2007 Suzuki GSX-R 600 missing from his apartment, reported it stolen to police and just 14 minutes later, a police helicopter and ground vehicle tracked down the bike. This was the fourth time since August 2007 that the owner’s bike was stolen and recovered with LoJack For Motorcycles.

Best LoJack Early Warning Recovery — LoJack Early Warning notified the owner of a Yamaha YZF-R6 that his bike was moved without permission from the parking lot of his apartment. Police activated the system and within 20 minutes received the silent signal from the bike, which indicated it was on the move on a local interstate highway. Police then picked up a strong signal and did not see a bike, but rather a Chevrolet cargo van driving nearby. As the police passed the van, the signal’s directional arrow reversed, which indicated that the bike was inside the van. The police stopped the van, discovered the bike (plus two other stolen motorcycles) and arrested two suspects.

Is that sweet or what?

Biker Quote for Today

Sleep with one arm through the spokes and keep your pants on.

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Posted in Biker Issues, Motorcycle Gear | 1 Comment »

A Gift for the Harley Lover on Your List

December 18th, 2008

Harley-Davidson stock certificateWe all know people who are fanatics about their Harley. And most of them have very strong feelings about the company that makes their beloved machines.

Well, here’s the perfect gift.

How about a framed, personalized Harley-Davidson stock certificate? They’ll be an owner of the company, and hey, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Harley pays dividends. Right now they’re paying $1.32 a year per share. Your loved one can look forward to padding his wallet with that cash!

The place to go to make this happen is Oneshare.com. You can pick the frame, the matte, the engraving–heck you can even pick the stock. It doesn’t have to be Harley-Davidson.

You pay the price for the share, a $39 transfer fee, and whatever the frame, matte, and engraving you select costs. Figure around $104 for a Harley share right now, or higher if you want to get fancy.

So, just wanted to pass that along as a gift idea–doesn’t have to be Christmas, could be birthday or any other–that you probably hadn’t thought of. You’re welcome.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride like you own the road…and…someday the road will own you.

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Posted in Harley-Davidson, Miscellaneous | No Comments »

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