Tim's Motorcycle Diaries

Monday 7 April 2014

Scrambler

I'm enjoying the Ninja and I hope to track day with it this year at some point, but I'm also keen to expand my two wheel experience. To that end it would be nice to have a bike that is a bit more drop friendly and willing to go off paved road. In keeping with my '70s heritage I love the idea of a scrambler: an all-rounder that is stripped and ready for everything from road to off it.

Triumph makes a Scrambler model based on 'stripped down desert bikes with high exhausts' (that don't get blocked in dirt, mud and water). But if you head over to the Triumph page you get the sense that the new Scrambler is more a hipster man purse than a scrambler in the real sense.

I was hooked on adventure bikes but I'm finding them a bit much. I got an ADV magazine I hadn't seen before recently, and after reading the third straight piece about how adventure touring had produced a mystical understanding of reality I threw up in my mouth. What used to be a Mondo Enduro style lark has turned into pretentious evangelism. Why do people always have to fuck up what they love with hyperbole? A DIY scrambler that I can get muddy and fall off of without worrying about plastic is my latest crush. The video at the bottom with wacky Auzzies giving it the welly in mud is much more my thing.

Building a scrambler by stripping down a street bike and readying it for anything is an appealing project. I found a 1986 Yamaha YZ Radian for sale. The Radian is a naked sport bike with a detuned engine with better mid-range power, ideal for working in less than ideal traction situations. This particular Radian seems well cared for and is only going for about $1000 (Canadian).

I'd strip off the fenders, shorten the seat to a single, lighten up the bike (which is already pretty light) and swap out the lights for LEDs. I'd also throw some frame sliders and upgrade the shocks for heavy duty use and cover the fronts with dust covers. I think I'd keep the cool chrome, analogue instruments. The muffler would get the high mounted low profile scrambler treatment and last but not least would be some somewhat knobbly tires that would work both on road and off road.

With all those changes I think I could strip the bike down to about the 400lb mark.

The point of a scrambler is to ride it anywhere and not worry about it. It hearkens back to days before motorcycles were penned into tiny niches by marketing types more intent on selling a lifestyle choice than a machine you could make your own. At the very least, it'd be hard for me to make it look like a week long trip has provided me with enlightenment on something so low brow.

Some Scrambler Links:

How to build a scrambler (EXIF)

Aftershock (The Bike Shed)

Aftershock - Sydney from Sydney Cafe Racers on Vimeo.

It's Better In The Wind - Short Film from Scott Toepfer on Vimeo.

Sunday 6 April 2014

Travelling Ninja

A Vicious Cycle got me the kit for the topbox mighty quick (the day before they said it would get here). It was a quick fit and install. With the topbox and backrest in place, my son has a much more comfortable pillion to sit on. A Vicious Cycle makes it easy to get sorted with the right kit, letting you search by bike and get kit specific to your machine.

The setup is very solid. The Givi monolock seems very stable and the frame was all first rate. There were no problems with installing it.

The 26l topbox might seem small, but for a svelt bike like a 650r Ninja, it's a well proportioned fit.

$320 all in (including shipping & taxes) for the Kappa case, the Ninja specific mounting bracket and the Givi monolock base.

Thursday 3 April 2014

Finishing Touches

The snow is slowly receeding. This week I was down in the city and saw someone buzz by on a bike and got all revved up. Over the past couple of weeks I've put the Ninja back together. It's about where I want it now in terms of looks. It's gone from a debranded, flat black angry young man's bike to a colourful machine that knows what it is.

After it warmed up enough to get the paint sorted I sourced some stickers from The Sportbike Sticker Shop. They arrived the day before they were supposed to in a plain envelope with cardboard backing in perfect shape ready to apply. Since I was going for a blue and orange colour scheme and I could colour customize the Ninja stickers, I did.

I went for black Kawasaki logo writing for the lower fairing and 650r stickers for the front. I picked up a Triumph sticker for the toolbox and the Japanese kanji for shinobi (Ninja). Instead of on the toolbox the kanji ended up on the bike on the 'interesting' side (the side with the shock). The metallic silver sticker looks great on the flat black leading into the exhaust port on the fairing.

The stickers went on well and seem to have bonded perfectly. The site says you can clearcoat over them, so I'll do that as a final step and it'll be done. I recommend The Sportbike Sticker Shop - you get your order quickly, it's very competitively priced and the stickers are quality pieces that look great when you get them on, just don't be surprised if you get what looks like a letter from a relative only to find it full of awesome stickers.

With any luck we'll have some heavy rain and then a 10+°C day and I'll be off on the kingfisher coloured Ninja.

What thirty bucks gets you from The Sportsbike Sticker Shop

Saturday 29 March 2014

Bikes v. Cars, the one we lose

$33,800

Since I started riding last year I'm smitten with motorbikes. I like old bikes, new bikes, sport bikes, adventure bikes, bikes with sidecars, hyperbikes, scamblers, cafe racers, touring bikes, low cc bikes, big cc bikes... I dig 'em all. The motorbike offers a unique approach to efficiency and size in personal transportation that most other vehicles can't touch. I'm not a big fan of choppers or Harley type cruisers, but I get the appeal. One I don't get though is the CanAm Spyder.

A thirty-four thousand dollar tricycle? I'd be sorely tempted to pocket five grand and buy a Mazda Miata. The Mazda is cheaper, gets better gas mileage, corners better and goes significantly faster all while keeping you dry and carrying way more stuff. It's not like the Miata is a slouch on the road either, it'll put a smile on your face in the curves. The Mazda not only gets the wind in your face but in your hair too (you don't need a helmet).

$28,250

One of the reasons I'm so fixated on bikes is that they outperform the most engaging experiences I've had driving cars. As a sensory experience and a source of efficiency and power bikes take some beating, except in this case. I don't mind trading some safety for that kind immersive, complex experience. When it comes to Miatas and Spyders though the calculus clearly points to the four wheeler.

Thursday 27 March 2014

Mechanical Sympathy

At the end of a twisty road, deep in the hills, the shop of my dreams...

courtesy of www.floorplanner.com, it's easy to play with, give it a whirl!

Since doing bodywork on my first bike, I've remembered how much I enjoy doing it. The new shop will be a working paint shop with a booth and an oven capable of power coating parts.