Here’s a good one. I just saw a news dispatch that a motorcyclist in Pennsylvania had an expensive custom helmet stolen off his bike. He went looking on Ebay for a replacement and what do you suppose he found? His stolen helmet for sale.
The seller was charged with theft and convicted. Now the owner is waiting to get his helmet back from the police. He may have a bit of a wait yet. The convicted thief has appealed and the helmet is still being held as evidence.
Do you ever visit online motorcycle forums? I have about seven or eight I like to visit periodically. Just recently, for example, I posted a question on a Kawasaki Concours forum asking if anyone had any experience with the speedometer housing issue I discussed in my last post. I also like to introduce people to this MotorcycleColorado site, so I go and search for people asking for touring ideas on upcoming Colorado trips. I try to help them in any way I can, from route planning, to what to wear, to whatever they need to know.
Here are some of the forums I’ve joined. There are a lot more out there. Check out a few.
Adventure Rider – http://www.advrider.com/forums/index.php
HondaBikes.net – http://www.hondabikes.net/forum/
KawasakiMotorcycle.org – http://www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/forum/kawasaki-motorcycle-forums/
RiderInfo.com – http://www.riderinfo.com/forums/index.php
Motorcycle-usa.com – http://forum.motorcycle-usa.com/
That’ll get you started. Find an interesting thread and have fun.
Few things will put a damper on your riding plans as quickly as a flat front tire. I had ridden two weeks ago and had to put air in but today when I tried to roll the Concours out it would hardly move. Flat tires really don’t roll very well.
On inspection I found a sliver of metal poking out of the tread, something that looked like a wire from a wire brush–very small. OK, I put air in and took the bike to the dealer and they said it should be no problem to fix quickly. Meanwhile I availed myself of the proximity (next door) of the Piper Inn, southeast Denver’s favorite biker bar and hot wing concessionaire. The place was packed with black leather-dressed patrons enjoying one of the nicest days we’ve had in quite awhile. One beer and 10 Buffalo wings later I was back at Vickery expecting to get my bike and roll.
No such luck. First off, it wasn’t a puncture. That little sliver was nothing. Apparently the valve stem core was loose and letting air slip by. A bit of adjustment and everything was fine with that. However, when the mechanic was putting the tire back on, the speedometer housing split. Taking a closer look he found that it had split once before and been welded. Now it had split again. So that’s going to cost me another $70 plus labor when the part comes in. What in the heck makes a speedo housing split like that? Anyway, rather than weld it again just to get by until the new part comes in, he just put the wheel back on without hooking up the speedo, thereby saving me about $20. And by this time the coolness of the afternoon was coming on and all I did was ride back home.
I’ve got to tell you, I really love riding motorcycles but sometimes these get to be very expensive toys. At least this one won’t break the bank.
About this time last year I wrote about the miles I wanted to put on my bikes in 2007. These were largely shots in the dark, but I’m still interested to see how close I came. Here’s the scoop.
I was hoping to put 2,000 miles on my Honda CB750 Custom; 2,500 miles on my Kawasaki Concours; and I hoped to limit my car mileage to 12,000 miles.
I started out 2007 with 79,230 miles on the clock of my CB750, and ended it with 79,691, for a not so grand total of only 461 miles. Darn.
I did better on the Kawi. I started with 19,011 miles and ended with 21,888. That’s 2,877, so it’s better than I hoped.
Not surprisingly, it has a lot to do with which bike I take on our annual bike trip. I took the Kawi this year, but in 2006 I took the Honda and I only put 496 miles on the Kawi that year.
Then for reference, I did manage to only clock 12,211 miles on my cars. I started the year with a Honda Civic and murdered it (don’t ask) in February, and then got a Hyundai Elantra. So my driving was not excessive.
What about 2008? OK, I don’t feel like I’m going out on a limb here because I have some benchmark data. 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. All I need to do is ride the Honda to work more often, right?
OK, that’s my plan and I’m sticking with it. Have a good ride!
Having goals is a good thing to do to ensure that you actually achieve what you set out to achieve. I’ve read various articles about how people who graduated college with goals set for themselves are found, 10 years later, to have achieved much more than grads who did not have goals. The idea is to check back in and see how you’re progressing toward your goals, and then presumably focus more on doing what it will take to get there.
I set a goal for myself here back in January for the number of miles I want to ride this year. Checking in just now I see that I’m not doing bad but I have a ways to go. The good thing is that I wanted to ride my Kawasaki Concours at least 2,500 miles this year and, in fact, I have already ridden it 2,808 miles. I also wanted to limit my car driving to no more than 12,000, and it looks like I’m close to that, hitting just under 11,000 miles so far. I’ll probably go over that a little, especially if we spend Christmas at my brother’s place in Carlsbad, which means driving my car there.
Where I’m really lacking is on my Honda CB750 Custom. I wanted to ride it 2,000 miles this year but so far I’ve only put 350 miles on it. Ouch! I would have to ride it to work pretty nearly every remaining work day this year to reach that number. I don’t think the weather will allow me to do that. But OK, that’s the point of setting goals and checking in periodically. I know now what I have to do. I may not get there but I know the Honda will get the call a lot more than the Kawi in the next couple months. And I guess I’ll ride to work more often. It’s a dirty job but . . .
I mentioned before that I emailed Sen. Ken Gordon to ask about a news report where an ABATE rep said they expect to see a new helmet bill next legislative session. Now I have the response. Ken Gordon said:
The answer is no. I am not planning to do that and I have talked to the people that were involved with this year’s bill and they aren’t either. The rumor is probably the paranoid rumination of someone who imagines something that they don’t like and then assumes that it will happen.
That’s good. Thanks Ken for not getting carried away.