Putting The Ninja Back Together

We had our first above zero day this week and I giddily began rebuilding the Ninja thinking that I'd have a chance to take it out soon.  It's been snowing all day today and all hope it lost, but when the sun was out I could finally get to the paint touch ups needed.  The insulated garage isn't ideal for painting if the outside temperature is under minus ten Celsius which it has been for most of the winter.


On my first day of spring I popped open the garage door and touched up the headlight cover and fuel tank, both of which had imperfections in my initial paint application.  Now that they're clean and perfect, I can rebuild the front end.

With the temperature up the paint cures on the body panels very smoothly.  It needs to be well above 10° Celsius for the paint not to bead and bubble on the surface.  The front fairing and fuel tank lay in the warm March sunlight and cured perfectly - it was about 20°C.  The Rustoleum paint on the right covers fantastically well.   If you're looking for paint that will cover smoothly on plastic and metal, this is the stuff.


I'm going to two tone the air intakes on the fairings following a design that more current Ninjas use.  Unfortunately I didn't heed my own advice and I rushed in there yesterday morning when it was still too cold and the paint beaded.  Today I'm going to be sanding it down so I can get a smooth coat on in the heat.



It was nice to have the garage open and to be finishing up the winter repairs, maintenance and body touch ups.  It's supposed to be a warm (by warm I mean above zero) day again today.  With the insulated shop and the sun shining in I should be able to finish up the paint and begin to rebuilt the frame on the bike.

While casting about for a fairingless streetfighter option for the bike I came across some cheap options for replacing fairings.  I'd still like to try and source some of the bodywork from the fairingless ER6N, but it wasn't available in Canada in 2007 and I'd have to go to Europe to find the pieces.  It looks like the fairingless bike has small plastic covers over the coolant tank and that's about it.

Touring Southern Vancouver Island

I just found out I get to spend a glorious weekend at the end of May in Victoria BC.  I've been out that way before, and after the worst winter in years in Ontario I've already started thinking about how I'm going to spend a day in something other than a frigid deep-freeze.

Cycle BC rentals and tours offers bikes out of Victoria for a variety of uses.  I immediately began fantasizing about a glorious day tour through southern Vancouver Island on two wheels.  With choices of a Suzuki V-Strom 650, Kawasaki KLR-650 (which I'm already on the verge of buying) and other smaller bikes, the Vancouver Island bike choices are ideal!

The KLR would be nice, but the V-Strom is a whole other bike by a whole other manufacturer, and I've always been Suzuki smitten.  The GSX-R 750 has been on my wish list since I was a teen.  The Hayabusa has a special kind of charm (especially after sitting on it).  The chance to ride a Suzi through the Pacific Northwest would be a dream come true.

After having a look over the options, I think the Port Renfrew-Cowichan Motorcycle Route is what I'm looking for.  272 kilometres of wild, North Western Pacific seaside, a winding route through the mountains and then back down the other side into Victoria again.

After such a long, cold winter, the thought of riding around Southern Vancouver Island in late spring is a glimmer of hope in the darkness.

http://www.cyclebc.ca/routes
http://www.cyclebc.ca/motorcycles






It's booked!  A BMW F800ST this Friday, pictures to follow! - May 27

Motorcycle Insurance

I've been frustrated with motorcycle insurance and the blanket approach it takes to covering a bike, even one you're not riding.  When I'm paying the same for a new car as I am for a seven year old bike that I use for only a few thousand kilometres a year, usually in very good road conditions, it strikes me as unfair.  The car does about five times as many kilometres and can do much more damage in a crash.  It also has to drive through snow storms and the other perils of winter driving while my bike sits in the garage undergoing a full maintenance overhaul.

Maintained to within an inch of its life and spending
the most dangerous driving time of the year in a garage.

Speaking of maintenance, the bike sees a heck of a lot more of it that the car does, especially in the winter.  The bike is checked before each ride and sees weekly maintenance and checks on a larger scale.  The bike is a cherished tool of self expression, the car is an appliance.

When I called up the insurance company I've been with for over twenty years and asked for a quote they said they wouldn't even consider me, but told me to come back in a few years.  Nice, eh?

I finally got in touch with RidersPlus, who specialize in bikes.  It wasn't cheap, but they got me sorted out quickly.  My first bike isn't a big cc monster, I tried to be 

One of these things is not like
the other, though both are the
same in the eyes of insurance

sensible with my first ride and only considered mid-displacement machines.  Having insured a lot of cars, I knew what could happen between a Mustang and a Crown Vic, yet in motorcycle terms these two vehicles would be considered equal simply because they have the same displacement.  

I was on the verge of getting a KLR (a big, single cylinder on/off road bike) when I came across the Ninja.  It has almost identical displacement though almost nothing else in common with the KLR.  One is a sport bike for the road, the other is an all terrain bike that rides on the road when needed.  The Ninja is fast and agile, the KLR sturdy and stable.  With such different intentions and abilities, I expected the Ninja to be a much more expensive option, but was shocked to be quoted the same price.

What is at the bottom of my insurance despair is that a second bike costs me pretty much the same as the first. At the Toronto Motorcycle Show last weekend I stopped by RidersPlus again and had a chat.  The guy there confirmed that your insurance does in fact drop quite significantly over the first few years of riding and by my forth or fifth year I'd be able to insure two bikes for basically what I'm paying for one now.

Honda CB500X, a nice fit, multi-purpose
machine that is easy on insurance

In the short term if I want to minimize insurance costs while I'm learning to ride, a low displacement bike is the key.  I sat on the Honda CB500X at the show.  A nice, tall bike that could handle a wider range of duties than the road focused Ninja.  I'd be giving up a bit of power, but even a 500cc bike still has a much better power to weight ratio than most cars.

Another option is to dig up an older enduro bike, like the Suzuki DRZ-400.  This would be a go-anywhere bike that I'd get used and not worry about tipping over occasionally.  Being an even lower cc bike, it would be even cheaper on insurance.

Notes

Some interesting Stats-Canada vehicle collision statistics - very easy to look through.  It shows a downward trend in accidents, injuries and deaths over the past twenty years.  Glad to see my insurance is coming down with it.

Forbes Article: The most dangerous time to drive - A Saturday in August in an urban environment.  It turns out the most dangerous places to drive are where there are a lot of other people - places most bikers avoid like the plague.

2014 Toronto Motorcycle Show

A ninety minute drive down to the Direct Energy Centre at the CNE in Toronto got us to the 2014 Toronto Motorcycle Show.  Having been to our first motorcycle show in January, it was interesting to note the differences here.  The TMS is much more focused around manufacturers.  I complained that only Harley-Davidson and Kawasaki showed up to the 'supershow' in January, but at this one all the major manufacturers were present.

What else was different?  The Supershow at the International Centre in Mississauga meant free parking and a discount on admission, my son and I were inside for about twenty bucks.  The TMS has you ante up $14 to put your car somewhere and then $17+$12 to get inside... it ain't cheap.  Once you're inside it's significantly more focused and dense, mainly because there are so many manufacturers present.  The Supershow had many more stalls of local equipment vendors and clubs, it had the feel of a bike motorbike jumble and it was HUGE; we walked for hours and missed an entire hall.

One show wasn't better than the other, but they feel like very different events.  My son greatly enjoyed the trials bike show at the TMS, and having space out back to show bikes in motion was a nice thing we didn't see at the Supershow which seemed more like a sales focused event.

I'd said Kawasaki and HD were outstanding for being the only manufacturers to show up at the Supershow.  At the TMS it came down to who took the time.  Suzuki seemed entirely disinterested, Honda was absent though with lots of bikes to sit on, as were many of the other manufacturers.  

I don't doubt they all hire people or bring them in from dealers for this sort of thing, and we were there on the morning of the last day of the show, but BMW went above and beyond.  They not only took the time to talk to me but also made my son really happy with some stickers and a poster, nicely done BMW.  If you're going to put on a public face at a show like this, exhausted, disinterested staff isn't the way to go.

As a new rider I'm still getting a feel for manufacturers.  I'd add BMW to Kawasaki and Harley Davidson as manufacturers who are willing to go the extra mile to ensure that your riding experience is exceptional.  This is anecdotal, but it's still my experience.  HD and Kawasaki were both at the TMS in force and were once again very customer focused.

Triumph was there and I have a soft spot for such a successful manufacturer from my homeland, but once again the people on the stand were harrowed and indifferent, at least I managed to get a poster!

I had a nice chat with the Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group and look forward to eventually owning an old bike and becoming a member, they seem like nice people.

The Toronto Motorcycle Show isn't cheap, but it is dense with opportunities to sit on many bikes (though not KTMs), and see some fantastic trials demonstrations.  Some manufacturers are more present than others, and I'd head over to BMW, Kawasaki and Harley Davidson if you want some quality customer service.

Here are some other pictures from the event:

Hayabusa!

The Motorbike Show & Wild Camping

I've been consuming motorcycle media at a voracious rate while we're buried alive in snow.  You probably know about the obvious stuff like Long Way Round, but I've been trying to find less known (in North America) faire.  Here is a quick list of some off-the-beaten track stuff that you might not have seen from Great Britain:

ITV's The Motorbike Show:  Henry Cole of World's Greatest Motorcycle Rides fame does reviews of motorcycle culture focusing on racing, restoring and interviewing people involved in motorbiking.  I've really enjoyed this show, I wish it got more attention here in North America.


Wild Camping by Jo Sinnott is an epic journey from Ireland to Portugal through the best parts of Europe.  Jo takes you wild camping while travelling on her Triumph Bonneville.  If you're interested in long distance riding, Jo not only shows you through the rough camping ethos but also looks into the mindset you need to survive a long road trip.

ITV and Travel Channel UK represent motorcycle and travel culture on the leading edge. I only wish they were more available in North America.  OLN?  Speed Channel? Pick these up!