Conversations with a Motorcycle, by Jack Riepe.

With a few flights across the Atlantic in my diary, I had resisted reading this book until getting on the first of the planes. I am so glad I did, for I was able to savour the delights of its pages in a few long reading sessions.

Jack warns us in the preface that all of the names of the people in this book are fictitious. It is just as well really, as the book is about his adventurous years as a young man, which were focused around riding a motorcycle and trying to lose his virginity.  Sex, booze, friends and motorcycles are a great combination and Jack intertwines them with ease.

The first part of the book tells of his plan to attract women by riding a motorcycle. Initially ridiculed for his choice of bike, his plan takes some time to succeed, as most of the women he wants to get to know don’t have the same attraction towards him. Somehow, his early love of the written word is not as appealing to the opposite sex as he had hoped for. This means Jack turned more of his attention to his motorcycle and he describes the first tentative bike journeys in a way most riders will relate to. He learns to love riding his motorcycle and one day hits that moment when rider and motorbike just work together in harmony.

It is after another female rejection that Jack rides his bike in anger. Faster than he has ever ridden, the engine growled at him and seemed to speak, thus starting the conversations between the two. The book describes his motorcycling, his feelings, his adventures, his brushes with the law and the characters in his life. He says “This book is a philosophy, it’s a story, it’s a novel, one chapter leads into the next, and it is painfully true.”

I too have sometimes talked to my motorcycle. That is just one of the many ways I can relate to this book.

It is great fun and recommended reading. Be warned, it is pretty racy in parts!

For detail of how to order the book, see Jack’s blog.

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Look who I met today on his way to Alaska

I put two and two together and made four. Things don’t often work out as easy as this.

I knew that Dom Chang was riding his Ural rig from Denver to Alaska and I just happened to be in Seattle. I had been reading on his blog, Redleg’s Rides, about his trip planning and his first days on the road. Wondering if our paths might cross, I contacted Dom and yes, we would be in the same place at the same time.

We met for lunch today and Dom told me about his trip, his plans, his motorcycle and it was great to spend just a couple of hours together chatting about, well, motorcycling mainly, with a touch of male life-change thrown in.

I met Dom a couple of years ago when on my own long ride in the USA and he and his lovely wife Martha put me up in their home near Denver. Apparently, my own ride sparked something in Dom, and when the time came for a change in his job, Dom decided to do a long motorcycle trip, fully supported (and maybe even suggested) by Martha.

Now ten days into his trip, Dom has relaxed and started to “look at the scenery”. From my own experience, I know that during the first few days of such a trip, your mind is buzzing with routes, plans, calculations, concerns and all sorts of other stuff that clogs the mind. Dom confirmed this was the same with him but now the fog was beginning to disperse and he was able to really start to enjoy the ride. I guess a few mechanical problems with his Russian-built Ural hadn’t helped. Those issues are now all sorted and Dom has the remainder of circa 16,000 miles to look forward to.

I like Dom. I wish I was going with him.

Have a great trip my friend. I will read your blog and follow your journey.

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Competition - Cool Places to Park a Motorcycle

Okay, want another easy-to-enter and just-for-fun competition?

This one involves finding a photo of your motorcycle parked in an interesting place. Post the picture somewhere (Facebook, Twitter, Blog, photo-sharing site etc) and put a link to it in the comments section below. Tell us where it is and why it is interesting. Entries close on Monday 22nd April.

Spread the word!

I will pick my top three favourites and post them on this blog. Don’t worry about the quality of the picture, it is the place the bike is parked that should be good. There are no prizes, this is just for fun!

I will start the ball rolling…..

Taken during my 21,000 mile ride around America, I parked my motorcycle on the pavement outside the Harley-Davidson Café in Las Vegas. A policeman agreed to let me do it!

Now, go find a picture of your bike parked somewhere interesting.....

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The Best Melbourne Tours

Most tourists visiting Melbourne never get out of the centre of town. The CBD is a huge rectangle - 1/2 a mile wide and 1 mile long. It was laid out by Governor Latrobe in the 1840's, and the magnificent old buildings which populate the city were built on the proceeds of the Gold Rush which started after gold was discovered in Ballarat around 1850. Before that, Melbourne was a small settlement

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Harley-Davidson 1918 Model J Sidecar

Harley-Davidson first added sidecars to its model line in 1914, and later offered specially tuned engines for sidecar use. Before then, standard bikes such as this Model J just had a sidecar bolted onto them. Harley’s big F-head V-twin was ideal for pulling a sidecar and the company began offering sidecars as an option in 1914. From then until 1925 Harley’s sidecars were built by the Rogers

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The smallest things can give a lot of pleasure.

Is it just me that takes great delight in achieving something so small, it could be seen as seemingly inconsequential?

Doing something well that is big or grand gives any of us a lot of pleasure, however infrequently that happens. It is a rare feeling when we pull something off that is very big, so shouldn’t we also celebrate the small achievements? I think so. Small celebrations are really just as important as the big ones.

Today, I had one of those small successes and it felt truly great.

Two years ago, I started looking for a fuel container to carry spare petrol (gas) on my motorcycles when touring. At two litres, the first I bought was the right size, but had a spout so small that refilling it was impossible. The next one was too flimsy. The last one I bought was too large (5 litres). It seemed hopeless, but I was determined to find a robust 2 litre container that I could fill at a regular petrol pump.

Today, that search came to an end when a delivery from Touratech (who else!) found its way into my hands. This is perfect and will fit into my panniers with ease.

So, I felt it was worth celebrating the end of a long search. A small success, but it gave me a lot of pleasure.

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Top Purchases for your Motorcycling.

On both Twitter and on my blog, I asked a simple question. “What is the single best thing you ever bought for your motorcycling?”

The results are very interesting.

By far the most popular single item was heated grips, and by a considerable margin. You voted this the best item by a factor of three over anything else. I suppose this could reflect the geography of the people that answered in that most live in countries that have a colder winter. It is however surprising that more manufacturers don’t offer their own brand of heated grips, but rely instead on after-market suppliers.

Running in second place for the most bought item was a music system / speakers for motorcycles. Again, not surprising, as so few motorcycle models have these as an option. A lot of riders do like to listen to music while on the road, so again, perhaps this is an omission the manufacturers need to address.

As a surprise, in third place was after-market exhaust pipes. I didn’t see that one coming, but in hindsight, we all do see a lot of motorcycles with non-standard pipes. I suppose it is the one item most changed on some brands, especially Harley-Davidson, whose owners like the distinct noise that come with different pipes. Harley-Davidson themselves no longer sell these types of pipes that increase power and noise and I should think they regret having to stay within certain environmental criteria with their standard machines and parts. They are certainly missing out on a huge market. Many sports bike riders also like to improve performance by using race-can type exhausts.

Seen as a whole, it is accessories FOR THE RIDER that forms the largest group of purchases, with protective clothing, raingear, boots, helmets, special sunglasses, heated jackets and custom molded earplugs that some people consider are the best things they have bought for their motorcycling. We all need these types of item, but a lot of riders singled out one of these as the BEST thing they had bought.

The next largest group of items riders thought were the best purchase was accessories for their motorcycle themselves. The list of answers is below, in no particular order.....

Better headlight bulbs
GoCruise throttle Control
Scottoiler chain lubrication system
Power Commander 3 (allows adjustment of fuel injection systems)
Luggage / travelbags / topbox
A centrestand
Ape hangers
EZ Pass holder for a windshield
Custom seat
12v charging port
Cruzer Cady
Flashing LED brake lights
Windshield
Louder horn
Fork Brace
Heel / toe shifter

I’d like to mention just three of these. Better headlight bulbs. Hello manufacturers, are you listening? It s a pretty poor show that riders feel the need to have to go out and buy these at all. Almost all of the bikes I have owned have had poor headlights and it seems in common with others, I too have felt the need to improve the lighting. It is a terrible state of affairs that some riders think the BEST thing they have ever purchased for their motorcycling is better headlight bulbs.

Many riders suffer from an aching throttle hand due to having to hold the throttle on their bikes at an almost fixed position, especially on long rides on open roads. Most riders suffer from this, but few motorcycle manufacturers do anything about it. Some larger bikes have cruise control and riders seem to fall into the category of loving this, or thinking it is a joke. My main touring bike, a Harley-Davidson Road King, has electronic cruise control and it is wonderful, but at the same time, I wouldn’t need it if I was commuting shorter distances. Any journey that has you in the saddle for most of the day really does need some form of throttle control, even if that just gives a few second rest and the opportunity to move your wrist around.

A final drive chain, used to transfer power from the engine to the rear wheel of a motorcycle is, well let’s admit it, pretty ridiculous. You have a critical moving part on your vehicle that needs regular adjustment and lubrication, that if not done properly can be very dangerous. Just imagine if car manufacturers did that. Even worse, riders having to resort to buying an external lubrication system such as a Scottoiler, shows what a crazy situation this is. Surely motorcycle manufacturers can come up with an in-built system to keep a part lubricated!

The remainder of the list of best buys shown above are almost all personal choices to match the style of riding that the respondents do, but perhaps the louder horn and better brake lights are also things the manufacturers should have got right in the first place.

One type of response really impressed me. Some people said their best buys were about how to improve their motorcycling in general. A motorcycle safety course stuck out as a really good response and to think that this is the best thing a some people ever bought for their motorcycling is impressive. Books about roads to ride show a hunger by some to find better riding and waterproof road maps, as selected by one rider, showed a willingness to ride in all weathers.

Of course, no survey would be complete with at least a few jokers. These responses made me laugh – a motorcycle, gasoline and a solo seat!

Okay, this wasn’t a huge survey, but it was responded to by a good number of people, so I assume it fairly reflects motorcycling. My overall conclusions from the responses are....

• Manufacturers have to do better in providing good quality, safer and more comprehensive motorcycles.
• A lot of people want to stamp their individuality of their motorcycling.
• People don’t like to get too cold.
• Interestingly, just one riders best product was to do with making themselves more visible to other road users and nobody said anything about hi-vis.
• Motorcyclists spend a lot more money on after-market goodies than car drivers.

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