Southern Ontario's Motorcycle Watering Hole

A warm weekend had us out on two wheels yet again.  By this point in November it could as easily be a blizzard as it could a luke warm autumn day.  For no other reason than it'd be nice to have some fresh bakery bread, my son Max and I rode over to Erin.

The Forks of the Credit were as busy as ever with dozens of motorcyclists making use of what may very well be the last weekend of riding before winter finally shuts us all down.

Whenever you see that many people together with their bikes you can't help but recognize all the vastly different cultures that exist within the riding community.  The Harley crowd was there in droves, dabbing around the parking lot on their heavy bikes.  At one point a group (dare I say gang?) left at once, their potatoing the only thing louder than GnR's Paradise City rattling out of tiny bike speakers.

As conversation resumed after the cacophony left the old fella in a well used Roadcrafter sitting behind us said, 'that's all a bit much.'  It's a funny thing, but I have more respect for that beaten up, well used hundred thousand kilometre Aerostich suit wearing V-Strom rider and the words coming out of him than I do for all the noise and attitude.  One is about motorcycling, the other is about something else.

While having a coffee a couple of dozen bikes pulled in or rode past but we were the only Triumph, which might have been why people kept stopping to look the Tiger over.  At one point three Lamborghinis, two Ferraris, an Aston Martin and a Nissan Skyline drove up from the Forks; some kind of rich guy country drive?

We saddled up and went up and down the twisty bits, getting stuck behind a massive pickup truck with motor company stickers all over it on the way back.  I put away my frustration and just enjoyed the last of the Fall colours.  It was all very big and loud but I entertained myself by slowing to a near stop (no one was behind us) and then speeding up on the bends.  I guess being big and loud myself I don't need to compensate vehicularly.

A whole new batch of people had pulled in to Higher Ground's parking lot in Belfountain when we passed back by.  You can do a lot worse than just heading over to the Forks of the Credit on one of the last warm late Fall days.  You'll see everything from Ducati Monsters and race reps to some outlandish chops from the '90s; it's never boring.

Turning Tedium Into Adventure

It was actually warmer this month than it was last as I headed over to Erin for a monthly meeting.  I thought I'd had my last ride then, but instead I'm still at it as November begins.

The commute in to work starts
before sunrise these days, it's
often below zero.

Since we haven't had daylight savings time yet it was already past sunset at 6:30 as I headed out.  Coming back late it was a starry sky that kept me company.  While riding through an inky black countryside full of skeletal trees, a bright flash suddenly lit everything up as a fireball burned across the Milky Way.  Never would have seen that in a car. Riding a bike is awesome.

I was asked why I'd keep riding as winter approaches.  The answer is simple.  Driving a car over to Erin and back is ninety minutes of tedious commuting.  Riding the bike over and back turns it into an adventure.  Just because something is easier doesn't mean it's better.  I'm going to miss the adventure when the snow flies.

Trying out some unusual angles with the 360Fly.

It has snowed the week before on River Road.

There are large patches of sand all along the road.

Not to mention the wet leaves... exciting!

Hibernating a Motorcycle: Oil Changes

That ain't a cheap oil change, but as expensive as it is,
it's way cheaper than rebuilding a motor.

In a previous life I was an automotive technician and then service manager at a Quaker State shop.  For a few years there I was right up on my lubricants.  That background makes me very conscious of my motorbike fluid habits.   One of my standing rules when I put away a motorcycle for the winter is to change the oil before I do it.

You watch someone like Nick Sanders ride up and down the Americas for tens of thousands of kilometres and you wonder how his Yamaha looked like it had barely been used at the end of it:

Engines are designed to be running.  The very worst thing you could do is start and stop an engine over and over again (like we all do every day).  In the case of Sander's epic rides from Alaska to Argentina and back, while what the Yamaha did was astonishing, the fact that the engine was in good shape shouldn't have been a surprise.  It was barely ever allowed to cool down. 

Oils become acidic and moisture seeps in as things continually heat up and cool down.  Leaving old oil in your engine over the winter isn't doing it any favours.  Swapping out contaminated oil for clean oil before you put it away is a great idea, so your engine isn't soaking in the bad stuff.

Swapping it again in the spring is just a waste of money.  Oil doesn't go bad sitting, but once you're into the heat up cool down cycle again keep an eye on your mileage, and keep up on your oil changes, your engine will appreciate it.

Chemistry is where the big advances are happening nowadays.  Today's oils have astonishing temperature ranges and abilities.  Here are some links on what's going on with lubricants:
http://www.motorex.com/index.cfm?oid=1993&lang=en
http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/bp-magazine/innovations/reinventing-the-oil-change.html
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop-changing-your-oil.html
https://mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/mobil-1/mobil-1-4t-motorcycle-oil
http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/475/oil-breakdown

Hibernating a Motorcycle: Tires

Dave Hatch's Motorcycle Experience is doing a series on how to store a motorcycle over the winter (or for any extended period).  The first bit is on how to prepare and look after your tires while the snow flies outside:

So, make sure they are clean and at maximum pressure when you put the bike away, and move the bike every once in a while to prevent the tire from settling on one spot.  It was interesting what Warren Milner, the tire expert, said about what super sticky sport bike tires can do in extreme cold.  It's an issue with all super sticky tires evidently.

Build Your Own Motorcycle Stand

Motorcycle buddy Jeff decided he needed a motorcycle stand for his BMW Airhead café racer project. He found some plans online and proceeded to execute that build!

It's a camera taking a photo every five seconds over a weekend of building.

The End is Nigh

I rode in to work this morning in near zero temperatures.  It was sunny but cool.  The ride home was in the mid-single digits and sunny.  Winter gloves handled 8°C with ease, they were streteched a near zero.  Tomorrow might be my last 2 wheeled commute of the season.  I threw the 360Fly on the front for the ride, these are screen grabs of the video:

It's amazing what you can get away with thanks to grip heaters and an extendable windshield.  -5°C might be a bit more than I'm willing to put up with on the ride in to work, but if it's clear I might just steal one more before the snows fly.

There are still some autumn colours hanging on, but the trees are starting to look skeletal.

For these shots the camera was suction cupped near the bottom of the windshield and aimed forward.

Sepang Echoes And A Word To My Newly Found Countryman

My lovely wife convinced me to do the Ancestry.com DNA test.  Being very British, the results that came back were a bit surprising.  Genetically speaking I'm the result of the fact that Europeans love to get to know each other intimately.

My people are from Norfolk on the east coast of the UK, so a strong Scandinavian influence was to be expected (damned vikings!), but the rest is interesting.  I had no idea we were part Irish (evidently everyone is), and the trace bits at the bottom are also cool.  Realizing I'm made up of all these different cultures feels good.

I other news, Marc Marquez just won the MotoGP championship in Motegi, Japan.  I started watching MotoGP during Marc's first year in the championship and it was thrilling to watch this astonishing talent blossom even as I was getting acclimatized to motorcycle racing.  It was hard not to become a fan.  I remained a fan up until last year when Marc made a young man's mistake.

If he's fighting for a championship, Marc parrots words of respect. but only because he's going to win it.  When he's out of the running his arrogance comes through, and it isn't pretty.

I find it hard to support a guy who thinks he's more important than the battle itself.  Motorcycle racing is Hemingway-esque in the demands it places on participants.  If you do it wrong it will kill you.  When doing something that potentially lethal well you need more than quick reflexes and arrogance.  The world is full of fast, dead motorcycle riders.  Motogp, being the very pinnacle of motorcycle riding, should present professionals who respect the dangers of the championship they are chasing.  What Marc did last year in Sepang suggests that he thinks himself superior to others who face the same peril.  A rider who thinks he can dictate the outcome of a championship he can't win is not only arrogant, but dangerous.

If you're going to stare death in the face with only your reflexes to save you, you should approach your work with a degree of respect and humility.  I just finished the Australian GP, and watched Marc toss his Honda into the countryside while leading.  He's far from perfect, though still no doubt a once in a generation talent.  I'd like to be a fan again, but not if he's going to disrespect the brave thing these riders are attempting.

Now that I'm 2% Spanish and we're coming up on the anniversary of Sepang, I want to say something to my countryman: 

"Marc, it's not your place to dictate the outcome of a championship for anyone but yourself, and there's something to be said for apologizing.  I want to be a fan, but unless you're going to respect the battle you'll never be more than an ego with quick reflexes.  

One day, as you get older and slower, you'll be tempted to apologize for what happened in 2015, but when someone irrelevant tries to apologize in order to remain relevant it's just another expression of arrogance.  Now that you've got another championship, and as MotoGP heads to Sepang again, it's time to take on another dimension as champion and speak for the championship itself.  Perhaps you can direct other misguided young men away from disrespecting the thing you're all fighting for.  We'd all thank you for it."

Commitment to your craft means more than just making time on the track.
I wonder how a championship feels when you've just spent a year diminishing it.