Motorcycle Haiku and Autumn Photography

motorcyclists blown
in the wind with fallen leaves
clinging to summer

On-bike photos using a Ricoh ThetaV 360 camera attached to the windscreen with a flexible tripod auto-firing a shot every few seconds...

 

Soon enough TMD will go back into Canadian Winter Hibernation Mode and it'll be all mechanical repairs from under a foot of snow in here...

Over 20°C and very windy on Friday.  Everyone was out, bikes blowing in the wind like leaves, clinging to the last breath of summer before the long dark swallows us for months.  This year is particularly sinister with pandemics and second waves breaking over us.  Canadian winters are inherently isolating, but this year doubly so.  Look after yourselves.

Motorcycle Destinations: Mostly Ironheads In Elora, ON.

There was a time when every motorcyclist was also an amateur mechanic.  Getting your hands dirty was the only way to keep early motorcycles running.  We're over a century into the evolution of the motorized bike now and, as in all places, digitization has taken over.  Modern mechanics are now called technicians and have to be as adept at communicating with the computers on a modern motorcycle as the old school types were at diagnosing a mechanical fault with their senses.  Both are complicated, but in quite different ways.  There are obvious advantages to modern bikes in terms of efficiency, ease of use and dependability, but motorcycling is inherently a compromise in convenience, and many of the iconoclasts who escape the clutches of automotive transport to ride in the wind question the replacement of human skill with automated assistance.

Back in the day the motorcyclist themselves performed many of the tasks that a modern day technician does, so what was left to the old school mechanic?  What you'd typically find in a pre-war motorcycle repair shop looked more akin to a machinist's bench than the antiseptic, electronically focused diagnostics bay of a modern day garage.  That ability to manufacturer your own parts and diagnose problems without computer support, using only your senses and your hands might seem simplistic and archaic, but it was nothing of the sort.  There is a secret art to working with pre-electronic, analogue motorcycles that trips up many modern technicians who, while adept in leveraging digital tools to diagnose digital machines and replace parts, struggle to diagnose and repair mechanical faults.

***

If you're into restoring older machinery, this vanishing skill set is hard to come by, but I'm fortunate to live near one of these rare, independent, locally owned shops.  Lloyd Gadd is the owner and operator of Mostly Ironheads in Elora, Ontario.  With decades of experience in mechanics, he approaches motorcycle repair old school.  His shop is part machinists, part mechanics and part historical ode to The Motor Company.  Lloyd focuses on older Harley Davidsons, but as the name of the shop implies, it's not an exclusive focus.  Lloyd is also a qualified mechanic who can do everything from MoT safeties to changing a tire.

I was in there most recently getting last winter's Fireblade project safetied, and in the process Lloyd's prompt service got me looking at a better way to do motorcycle tires that will save me a significant amount of money.  While I was over there I also did a round of photography to give you a sense of what goes on in this old school shop.

Multiple engine rebuilds of air cooled Harley twins were ongoing in this small but dense workspace.

Unlike like most modern shops that simply refuse to work on long term mechanical or machinist driven repairs in favour of high turnover/quick to repair parts replacement, Mostly Ironheads will actually machine parts and rebuild a motor from the ground up.

It's a whole other level of mechanical commitment when you are prepared to turn your own parts out.

Lloyd has a number of customer projects on the go, and also makes a point of collecting older and vintage parts.  If you're fan of Harley Davidson you should make a point of riding up to Elora and checking out what's on hand - in many cases you'll see parts that are so rare that you may never have seen them before, even if you're into classic hogs.

Lloyd told me the story of a 1950s Harley racing motor he'd come across.  Only one of the two heads is accurate, but he's on the lookout for a replacement - though seven decades old serviceable racing parts don't survive well, as you can imagine.  When he has this rare piece of motorcycling history back together it'll be one of the few remaining complete Panhead racing motors in existence.  You might think that's a one off, but not in this shop.  Even if you're not into HD, this place is an ode to moto-mechanical history and worth a stop.  Air cooled bikes have an aeronautical aesthetic to them that modern bikes often miss.

The machining needed to sort this head out is impressive.  It had worn down below spec so is now being built back up and reground to specifications.  When you can machine your own parts, you're as much an engineer as you are a mechanic.

 Being a restorer, Lloyd is always on the lookout for parts, and the shop is an ongoing work in progress, with parts coming in and getting sorted and stored until needed.  Previous customers, online and estate sales and various other connections like the Harley Owners Group mean Mostly Ironheads are able to draw in older parts, often found in boxes of 'stuff' that get dropped off.

Lloyd mentioned a customer who dropped off a box of stuff while clearing out space at home.  In the process of going through it they discovered an unopened complete carburetor assembly still in the original factory packaging from the mid-sixties!  There is a joy in bringing a piece of history like this back to life, and the joy is alive and well at Mostly Ironheads.  If you're in Southern Ontario, it's an easy ride up north of Guelph to the shop.

This is that racing motor - one of the heads is incorrect, but the rest is intact and very rare!

 These are the cam lobes for that racing head compared to a typical one.  Not only is the racing cam lobe lighter with hollowed shaft, but it's also heavier duty in terms of strength.  Here and here are good primers on cam profiles if you're curious.  Whereas the right side regular cam is designed for long term use and efficiency, the more radical racing came on the left is designed to stay open longer, rev high and produce more power, though it wouldn't idle well, get good mileage or run smoothly.  But when you're aiming for all out speed, you'll put up with that just so you can wind it up and go.  You're unlikely to see mechanical history like this anywhere else in Ontario.

In addition to the restoration work going on, you'll also find an eclectic mix of older, finished air cooled Harleys ranging from customized choppers to more standard rides.  If you're into older, air cooled machinery, this will really float your boat.

Lloyd's area of interest extends from post war bikes all the way up to the last of the air cooled, carburettor fed bikes.  If you're into graphic design, you'll see everything from post war art deco to sixties and seventies disco and eighties futurism in the logos and bike designs.

There are some core elements to Harleys (like v-twin engines), that evolve slowly, but design wise they're much more in tune with their times than you might have assumed.

Autumn Colours Motorcycle Photography

On bike photos courtesy of a Ricoh Theta V on a flexible tripod attached to the rear view mirror of my trusty Triumph Tiger 955i.  The route was from my home in Elora up through Beaver Valley to the shores of Georgian Bay before coming back through Duntroon and up the Noisy River out of Creemore before heading back down the Grand River home.  The interesting bits were tracing the Niagara Escarpment, the only vaguely interesting roads anywhere near me.

If you want a primer on how to take on-bike photos like this, you can find it here.  It has also been published on Adventure Motorcycle Rider here.

That time I got stuck behind a blockade of Polaris Slingshots on the Noisy River Road...

Google Photos Album here.

Lobo Loco Water Is Life Summer Rally

We just spent a delightful dam day riding north and west from where we live looking for water themed locations for this year's Lobo Loco all-season Water is Life rally.

If you find that your riding is a bit aimless, or you're always showing up at the same places over and over, a long distance rally is a great way to break those habitual rides.  You get a theme and some specific targets, but you also get some special monthly targets in this rally.  It runs from May to October, so you have lots of time to get points.  You can set up rides with intention and ride as hard as you like.  Some people go and go if they're all about the points (and have a lot of free time).  I'm more about the exploration and photography opportunities, even more so If I've got a pillion along, but you can do it however you like.  My son and I have done this a few times now, and my buddy Jeff and I have had some epic rides, but this time it was all about my wife and I getting points and spending some quality time together.

For May the water specific theme was dams, so we went looking for the damned things in our area.  It's amazing what you can find when you ride with a purpose.  Only fifteen minutes from home we were stumbling across secret Mennonite fishing holes at the Woolwich Dam, and twenty minutes later chatting with dreadlocked sports bike riders on the Conestogo Dam causeway.  We bumped into a number of riders on the trip and always suggest they look up the rally as a way of extending their riding destinations.

Further north we stopped just past Harriston (after getting a photo of their water tower), and got lunch at The Red Caboose.  If you've never had an Ontario chip truck lunch, this would be a great place to start.  Everything is grown in the fields around you (including the beef).  It's what you'd expect to pay for a burger and fries, but this'll be the first time you've ever had something this fresh.  Some fancy burger joint in Toronto will but sriracha on it and charge you five times as much for something that tastes half as good.  The fries actually taste like potatoes.  We would never have stopped there had we not launched ourselves on this exploratory rally adventure.

With our stomachs full of goodness, we continued north.  After a water tower hit-and-run in Clifford we eventually found ourselves in the place where government cuts made the water kill people: Walkerton, Ontario.  We got to the Walkerton Heritage Water Garden only to discover it wasn't running - a local walking by told us they weren't turning it on due to new cut backs.  Thousands got ill and e Coli in the water killed seven, and now a similar government has cancelled the memorial to what their predecessors did - I imagine they're thinking this is best not remembered.  The irony runs thick, unlike the water in the monument.  The local said the politicians all spent more time making sure they weren't liable than they did actually trying to solve the problem.  Walkerton is now a vibrant community that has bounced back from this tragedy, but the damage runs deep, and more cuts are coming.

We left the park in a sombre mood and headed through the lovely town before striking out east on Highway 4.  Another water tower hit and run in Hanover and we were on our way to Durham and the ride south to home.

I'm sure I've passed through Durham before, but have no memory of it.  It's a pretty little town in rolling Niagara Escarpment country.  Alanna eagle-eyed the Garafraxa Cafe on the main street and we pulled in for a caffeine boost to get us home strong.  Things looked promising with an Italian coffee machine that looked like a Vespa scooter and a proprietor who knew what he was doing with it.  It ended up being one of the best Americanos I've ever had.

We pushed south to Holstein Dam while picking up water towers in MoFo and Arthur.  Our last stop was the Shand Dam that created Belwood Lake just down the road from our home in Elora.  To maximize points you want to get your bike in the photo and have signage and the dam itself in one of the two photos.  I find the Ricoh Theta 360 camera handy for doing this because it grabs everything at once, but many others just use their smart phone camera and get a lot more points than I do.  Naming conventions on your photos are important too - you lose points handing things in the wrong way.  Having Alanna along really helps with this as she actually reads the instructions.

By this point we'd been on the road for well over six hours and were ready to go put our feet up, fortunately our circuitous route took us in a big loop back home:

https://goo.gl/maps/4SQrADMcDpTKAQvf6

All told we think we cracked a thousand points on this ride, and discovered all sorts of strange little spots we'd have otherwise missed.  The Water is life Grand Tour full summer rally is running from May to October, so you've still got tons of time to sign up and give it a go.  If it grabs you, Lobo Loco is also running more intensive weekend and one day rallies throughout the season.

***

Lobo Loco Rallies on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LoboLocoRallies/
Like the page and see what's going on - there is a vibrant community of riders involved with this.
 
Lobo Loco Homepage:   https://wolfe35.wixsite.com/lobolocorallies
Includes the intensive weekend events as well as this season's grand tour.  You can sign up on there through RideMaster - the same group that handles Iron Butt Rallies (if you want to get really serious).


NOTES:

Some dammed stops on this year's Grand Tour Rally:

Stop One:  Woolwich Dam & Reservoir 
https://theta360.com/s/o3txOAqc332jOD4u4RDytX4Hg
43°37'21.3"N 80°33'51.9"W

Getting signage with the name on it counts for points!

We went a bit overboard with this one.  It was our first stop, it was a lovely dam surrounded by Mennonites fishing and we wanted to make sure we got the required things in the photos (and they are many!)...

You will need to have the following in order to collect points:
A) A photo of the dam itself
B) A photo of signage indicating the name of the dam, or a photo indicating the name of the town the dam is in

- We will accept a “Welcome To”, City Limits, or Town Hall sign.
C) The GPS coordinates, approximate street address, or nearest cross street to the dam
Your motorcycle MUST be in at least one of the 2 photos.

You will receive the highest points ONLY for whichever you achieve for each individual dam:
99 points - motorcycle with the dam (which I think we got with the bottom one with me standing with the bike in front of the gate)
66 points - motorcycle with the dam signage

33 points - motorcycle with the town signage

... but I think I like the one with us leaning over the dam more.  Sometimes the photographer gets in the way of the rally requirements.

#loboloco Water is Life Rally 2019 Summer Woolwich Dam #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

We found a squirter at the Woolwich dam!

Stop 3:  Conestogo Dam
43°40'32.4"N 80°42'56.0"W

#loboloco Water is Life Rally 2019 Conestogo Dam #motorcycle #rally #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Gotta get that signage in for maximum points.
Stop 8:  Holstein Dam
44°03'36.0"N 80°45'29.4"W

 ... that was a buggy one.  Dam in photo, check, rally flag, check, bike in photo, check!