Following the Leader

"If all your friends jumped off a bridge then would you too?" I must have answered this question a million times when I was a kid, followed by asking my own kids the same question two decades later. In a recent column, Kevin Cameron despaired at ever again seeing new technology because all of the good ideas in motorcycle engineering have been polished and repeated on every brand of motorcycle and, now, every bike has every good idea incorporated in its design.

I just got home from a week trip to meet my new grandson. When I opened the kitchen door, I discovered a red, gory, bloody smear all over my kitchen floor.

As we were leaving the house, my wife or I did something in the refrigerator and when we closed the door the pressure cracked open the freezer door. During the week, everything in the freezer thawed and melted and distributed itself all over the kitchen. This is a fairly new refrigerator, purchased a couple of years ago by my wife with absolutely no input from me. She got a deal on it, but the several hundred dollars of food I tossed probably wiped out any savings she might have realized.

It's a Maytag and like all of the Maytag appliances we've ever owned, it is a piece of crap. My bet is, if the Maytag repairman really doesn't get much work, it's because his phone number is unlisted. All he'd need to do to get busy would be to do a Google search on the words "Maytag sucks" and 44,400 hits later he'd be occupied for several generations. The door gaskets on the refrigerator are magnetic and they are worthless; dissolving into cracked plastic junk in the first year. The temperature varies like a Minnesota spring. The shelves are fragile and expensive. After a year, the only real "feature" the refrigerator provided--quiet operation--vanished and the damn thing sounds like an electric Harley. The appliance claimed to be energy efficient, but I have found no evidence of that. Pissed off and ready to impulse buy, I went to the local appliance store looking for a real refrigerator with real door latches. There are none. Every idiot engineer on the planet has decided that those weak-assed magnetic gaskets serve as perfectly sufficient latches. I couldn't find a single refrigerator at any price that uses a mechanical latch. So, I'm stuck with my POS Maytag until I find an alternative.

This experience started me questioning how well motorcycle and other engineered devices have sorted themselves out through the "never reinvent the wheel" philosophy of design. For example, in my other field of employment pro sound systems have all gone the way of small speaker, array systems with compact and high-power-absorbing sub-woofers and lots of electronics to compensate for the flawed theory behind arraying speakers for efficiency. Everyone in the industry makes these systems and they all sound like crap. If you have been to a large venue rock concert in the last decade, you have experienced the wonder of array speaker design. If my car system sounded as bad as the best of these aural disasters, I'd yank it out and sing to myself for entertainment. Rather than sound quality being the goal, sound companies lusted for light weight and small transportation requirements and the result is an industry that is driving its customers away in droves.

Engineers aren't all brilliant. I had that fact reinforced during my stint in medical devices. Some are barely capable of cutting and pasting someone else's design into their company's drafting format. Some can't rise to that low bar. Companies are even lazier. Instead of nurturing young engineers and developing a corporate culture of design and creativity, most engineering companies simply raid the engineering departments of their competitors for solutions. This results in an industry with carbon-copy products and "inventive" design departments that wrangle over color combinations and the cosmetics of bend angles rather than actual engineering issues. Many of these engineering departments are more like dress designers than product inventors. "Alright, Mr. Wiseguy," said Douglas Adam's marketing girl when his character complained about how long it was taking to release the wheel for use, "if you're so clever, you tell us what colour it should be."

This isn't a problem I'm proposing to resolve. In fact, I'm heading toward retirement and entropy as fast as I can gather the momentum. However, it does make me suspect that a good deal of invention is left to be done. I don't think many large corporations are up to the task, but maybe a good old fashioned long-term depression will rectify that serious error in cultural design. In the meantime, I'm buying a pair of childproof latches to keep my crappy Maytag refrigerator's door shut.

Extravagant Methods and Extreme Results

According to the JR Central Japan Railway Company statistics, the high speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen holds the record as the world's most used high-speed rail line. The train averages 151 million passengers per year (March 2008) and since the inception of the rail line the Tōkaidō Shinkansen has carried over 6 billion passengers.

I thought about this fact as I rode across parts of the Rockies in July. In a discussion about alternative transportation systems, Kevin Cameron wrote, "The Japanese high-speed trains tear up their roadbeds so rapidly that track alignment machines have to make frequent passes. Such machines put down big hydraulic elephant feet, grip the rails, and then using vibration jerk them into better alignment. Those trains are more of a hood ornament than a practicality - like the Moscow subway."

As I rode down well-maintained highways in rural South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah and passed through hundreds of miles of "men at work" sign-dotted roads under repair, I wondered who's system is really a hood ornament? In the United States, we dive off of the deep end of rationality to protect individuality. We use massive taxpayer investment to protect the "rights" of the few individuals who can afford to live and work in places that have little-to-no socioeconomic justification. These highways require constant maintenance and every couple of years they are ripped up and rebuilt, mostly because the earth itself tears them up.

One Wyoming path we traveled constantly brought me back to the conversation with Kevin. It started with US18 at Redbird, turned into WY 270 toward Lance Creek, and ended back on US18 through Lost Springs and eventually reconnected us to I25 at McKinley. 91 miles of nothing: no population, no industry, no traffic, and damn little justification for a well-maintained road. On top of that economic insult, most of the 270 section had been gouged by someone dragging a piece of equipment down the middle of the west-side lane, cutting a 1-2" deep, 8" wide gash into the asphalt. This section, in fact, is where I began to suspect I had a suspension problem. Each time I crossed that gouge, the bike "skipped" its front tire across the damaged section and chattered for several feet until settling down.

The technology required to build and maintain a road in this abandoned place is unjustifiable. If a system that has transported 6 billion people is a "hood ornament," what is an investment in rural highways that probably wouldn't serve 6 billion people in 6 million years? At best, this area might deserve a gravel road maintained by the taxpayers of the county and state. It might be inconvenient for the local farmer(s?) to have to drive something less manicured than a personal interstate highway, but since it wouldn't matter at all to the rest of the country if this inconvenience turned into a disaster I have no interest in that justification.

Roads like this are nothing more than the result of pork-barrel politics and they exist all over the country. As a taxpayer, I resent them. As a motorcyclist, I really resent them.

The only traffic I saw in nearly 100 miles of this route were three motorcyclists; one traditional Harley couple and a pair of adventure touring BMWs. We passed the first Beemer about 10 miles into US18 and the second in the middle of 270. I was southbound, the BMWs were northbound, so I didn't have much opportunity to watch their interaction with the road. The Harley couple were, like us, heading toward Colorado. Wolf took some pictures of them, while they were in front of us, but they turned out poorly so they've hit the digital trashcan. Honestly, they seemed to be struggling with the wind and the occasional corner, but that's probably just my biased view. They were, however, traveling about 15mph below the speed limit, so we didn't spend a lot of time behind them.

I can't speak for the Harley pair, but I suspect the BMW riders were like me; picking an out-of-the-way route hoping for a little challenge. Instead, what we got was a manicured (if recently damaged) two-lane personal freeway that was hardly challenging and rarely interesting. Wolf and I had a few disappointments like that on our trip. Several of my favorites, including Pike's Peak, that used to be interesting, challenging gravel or dirt roads are turning into expensive, well-maintained, paved highways. If there is any road that rivals the Tōkaidō Shinkansen as an overpriced hood ornament, it has to be the highway to the top of Pike's Peak (or Mt. Evans, which has been paved to the top for decades). The girlymen of the world are ruining all the good rides and I am sick of it. It's time to put a little cost-justification into highway construction (Republicans would call that "rationing") and ask a few reasonable questions before setting the asphalt fascists loose on every backroad in the country.

All the News that Didn't Fit

BMW's CBX

BMW appears to be infatuated with the company's concept bike, the K 1600 GT and the K 1600 GTL. The 160 bhp compact in-line six-cylinder engine, features ride-by-wire fuel-injection and traction control, Duolever and Paralever suspension with Electronic Suspension Adjustment, a TFT displayed control console feature GPS, an audio system, Bluetooth, and an iPod interface, and lots of customization options. So far, the model is still in the concept stage, but BMW is committed to producing this luxury motorcycle in the very near future.

Cruising for Ducati
Tom Cruise prominently rode a Ducati Hypermotard in his most recent movie, "Knight and Day." However, when he demonstrated his motorcycle abilities for publicity photos he chose to pose on a lighter Aprilia SXV. I wonder how Ducati felt about Cruise shilling for a competitor's product after they spent so much money product-placing their brand in Cruise's movie? Maybe they are happy it was a box office bust.

Looking Under Motorcyclist's Skirt
Motorcyclist Magazine's readers got an interesting look at the inner workings of a major motorcycle magazine this month. As a result of Dexter Ford's reporting of motorcycle helmet testing standards in a New York Times article, he was fired as a staff writer for Motorcyclist Magazine. After editor Brian Catterson commented on the reasons for Ford's termination, Ford apparently fired back by releasing the text of email conversations between himself and Catterson: http://www.mc24.no/getfile.php/Innhold/Bransje/DFemail-2.pdf.

Many readers were upset to learn that equipment manufacturers were able to wield so much editorial clout in a major magazine. That portion of the story revolved around helmet manufacturers, Arai and Shoei, pulling advertising because of the criticism Ford made of Snell standards. If an major magazine is afraid to criticize flawed safety standards, why should readers trust their product reviews?

The World Considers Motorcycling's Future
This year's EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) discussion featured a discussion titled "MYMOSA: The pros and cons of motorcycles." MYMOSA stands for "MotorcYcle and MOtorcyclist SAfety," a European Union research project that evaluated motorcycle efficiency, environmental concerns, and safety compared to other vehicles. MYMOSA was relatively motorcycle friendly, but the discussion was often not so sociable.

"I actually wonder why you are saying that the motorcycle industry is going to help with sustainability," said Christian Siegmund, an engineer and panel participant. "Those companies have shown no motivation to reduce emissions or noise... And the way they market them encourages people to drive in a way that is not at all fuel efficient. . .

"I came to this session because I'm a motorcycle enthusiast. But the motorcycle is not the answer for sustainability. They are dangerous and inconvenient to use on a daily basis. They should be talking about improving public transportation if sustainability is the goal."

Industry representatives appeared to be unprepared to respond to comments like this.

Why Did the Bear Cross the Road?
To meet motorcyclists, why else? A bear crossing a New Jersy highway met a motorcyclist, up close. The motorcyclist was treated for minor injuries and the bear returned to the woods to convalesce.

Kitty Lube

For $33/liter, you can lube your car with Agip Hello Kitty SAE 5W-30 synthetic. Why just for cars, motorcycle are cuter than cars?

Motorcycles and Bicycles Mix Catastrophically
Lance Armstrong and dozens of Tour de France competitors crashed after an earlier motorcycle crash had left oil on the road, which mixed with water creating a disaster for the bicyclists. Armstrong finished the race with a road-rashed thigh and an elbow injury. France's Sylvain Chavanel was one of the few riders to escape the mass spill and, although he began the stage in 87th place, took top place in the 125-mile stage and reorganized the positions of the race's leaders as a result. Two Americans and a New Zealander were briefly hospitalized for injuries.

Photo Trip Report

This trip was all about Wolf. The whole point was to take him on a tour of places he'd never been and to enjoy being with him on the ride. So, there wasn't much of a trip report accompanying this adventure.

The map (at right) describes two routes: the one we planned (purple) and the one we took (red). Garmin's Mapquest software says we travelled 3400 miles. My GPS and odometer put the trip at closer to 3600 miles. Our original route was 4100 miles and included New Mexico and Arizona.

Obviously, we bypassed some of the adventure we'd planned; in favor of ease and comfort. Wolfe is a Minnesota kid and he isn't fond of heat. After a few days of cooking in 100+F South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah heat, he decided he wasn't all that interested in the Grand Canyon. So, that changed the western edge of our route. Once we passed Grand Junction, CO, I decided I wanted to see more of the western edge of CO. That was a terrific move.

We took a couple of days at Mesa Verde and Durango, which meant we wouldn't be doing New Mexico. That allowed us to head for Marble, CO via the scenic route I've never looped the Black Canyon and that was more than worth the effort. We spent a half day in Marble, another good move. We took Independence Pass through Aspen on our way to Buena Vista, something I've never been able to do; mostly because the pass always seemed to be closed when I lived in CO. That was a great move. We blew almost a whole day in Buena Vista, rafting the Arkansas. We split Buena Vista mid-afternoon, early enough to ride to the top of Pikes Peak. Always a great move.

We loafed for two days in Manitou Springs and Denver. Wolf had dinner at South Park's infamous Casa Bonita. We split Denver late afternoon Friday in the middle of Denver's rush hour and made it a dinky 150 miles to Sterling for the night. The next day, we cut out of Sterling at 5AM and diagonal'd Nebraska to make good time while seeing the sandhills, the grasslands, and Ashfall Fossil Park. After that, we just hammered out a way home, 850 miles total on Saturday.

We made it back about 10:30PM and neither of us went straight to bed. We had a great, safe trip and it was one of the most fun mini-adventures of my life. I hope we get to do a few more of these.

Highway IQ

All Rights Reserved © 2006 Thomas W. Day

I stare into every car, truck, van, or SUV that shares the roadway with me. Women probably think I'm checking them out. Sometimes there might be an element of that. I'm human. I stare at guys just as often, though. No matter what they think, I'm not checking them out. I am stereotyping them, though. I know that's politically incorrect, but there it is. Like the marketing gurus say, "impressions are everything." Or "image," something like that. I don't have time to get to know these people. I'm not even interested in doing so. I just want to know, as quickly as possible, what kind of hazard they present to me. Cops call this "profiling." Lawyers get really upset at this practice. So sue me.

The average person has an IQ of 100 points. I grant that and start from there. My built-in point system adds or subtracts from that number almost as quickly as I can make out the interior of the vehicle. From there, I either disregard the driver, more or less, as a threat or apply evasive tactics to get as much distance between me and the hazard. The dumber the driver, by my IQ accounting system, the quicker I want to escape their sphere of disaster influence. You probably do the same thing, either more or less aggressively than me.

• Driver is in a 4(or more)-wheel vehicle: -5 points (How smart do you have to be to drive a cage?)

• Driver is a cop. This class of government official has an inflated sense of driving skill, not reflected in performance. They are prone to make sudden, irrational moves when their radio distracts them. They regularly ignore stop signs and stop lights. They scare the crap out of other drivers, making everyone in their vicinity a little less skilled and attentive: -10 points.

• Coffee, hairbrush, and/or cigarette in hand: -15 points for each item

• Driver is tipped at 45 degrees, so that his (always a guy) head is right under the rear view mirror: -20 points (This appears to be a Minnesota thing, because I've never seen it anywhere else, but it always means the driver is drunk, stupid, physically incapable of holding himself upright, or all three. I treat this driving posture as a flashing "beware of idiot!" sign.)

• Backwards baseball cap, blue hair, cowboy hat, or ski mask on driver's head: -25 points

• Coffee in face or driver is most often looking in any direction other than the vehicle's path of travel: -30 points

• Driver looking at self in rearview mirror with hairbrush, coffee, or cigarette in hand: -40 points

• Cell phone in use or beer in hand: -50 points

• "Start Seeing Motorcycles" or other pro-biking sticker on the vehicle: +2 points

• I catch the driver's eyes in the rear view mirror: +10 points

• After seeing me once, the driver looks again every few moments to see if I'm still there: +10 more points

• Both hands on wheel, head and eyes in motion: +25 points

• The driver is towing a trailer full of dirt bikes: +50 points

After I've made the above calculations and classifications, I use a modified version of the David Roth (ex-Van Halen frontman, current-EMT-has-been) crowd intelligence rule. I roughly count the number of vehicles in a 100' distance, front to back and both sides, of the vehicle and divide the driver's IQ by that number. In heavy traffic, everyone is a menace to my safety, almost by logical default. I'm the least likely vehicle on the road to harm the passengers of another vehicle, so I'm in the logical space for an escape route for other vehicles.

Just to calibrate your appreciation of my scoring system, an article in Scientific American Magazine once stated, ""Adults in the bottom 5% of the IQ distribution (below 75) are very difficult to train and are not competitive for any occupation on the basis of ability. . . " and "Persons of average IQ (between 90 and 100) are not competitive for most professional and executive-level work but are easily trained for the bulk of jobs in the American economy. . . " That's pretty cold, isn't it? Nature and the highway are cold as the floor of an icehouse. As far as my own survivability is concerned, a web article on IQ gave me the following information about the brainpower behind the numbers and I've added my own "Estimated Driving Skills" column to assess my own risk based on the driver's IQ:

IQ Range	Estimated Driving Skills (Alert Level Color Code)
Below 30	Flashing Red: This driver is clearly an unpredictable moron, an outrageous hazard at any speed, expect any damn idiot move from this rolling example of chaos theory. Ultimate alert.
30 to 50	Red: Mostly unpredictable, slow-witted, prone to panic and irrational lane changes. High alert.
50 to 60	Orange: Unless a slight change in traffic, road condition, or the moon's position relative to the sun occurs, you can probably count on this driver to remain stable. Check for distracted behavior every second or two.
60 to 74	Yellow: Loud noises, bright colors, anything sparkly or in motion will distract this driver, but he/she will probably do something mildly predictable when panic occurs. Moderate alert.
74 to 89	Blue: Mostly, this driver is stable. Pay special attention to this driver at intersections, on curves, and near fast food entrances. Fairly low alert.
89 to 100	Green: Probably not a risk, if anyone else in the above categories is sharing the road, this driver warrants minimal attention. I'd still avoid spending any time in an adjacent lane with this driver.
Above 100	Invisible: The chances are slim that this driver provides much risk. Based on past experience, one of these guys will probably be who kills me.

I realize these generalization are culturally "unfair," "biased," and even irrational. They are based on my nearly half-million miles of motorcycling and they are habitual. I constantly and automatically balance my belief that most people are decent and well-intentioned and that most drivers are nuts and "out to get me." My riding state boarders on paranoia, I'll admit. My confidence in my ability to deal with these contradictions varies with the road conditions and my concentration. You'd think that this would take the fun out of riding a motorcycle and it does put a damper on outright highway euphoria, but I'm disinclined to that mental state as you might have noticed. Riding a motorcycle is risky and that's part of the attraction. However, there is a definite line between assuming risk and committing suicide and evaluating the folks I share the road with is part of my risk assessment.

Passengers and Passengers

A while ago, I wrote a section of the MMSC website that was clearly not PC enough for the state folks. One of the things I suggested in the website was that those considering becoming a motorcycle passenger look at the motorcycle rider as someone who has his hands on the passenger's life support equipment. If you wouldn't trust that guy with your oxygen, you shouldn't get on a bike with the dude. I don't know when, but the site removed my comments and replaced them with something a lot less critical. The folks who promote motorcycling don't want potential customers to worry about piddly things like safety and reasonable precautions.

I'm getting a dose of my own medicine as I write the beginning of this column. I'm on my 2010 Rocky Mountain Tour with my grandson, Wolfgang. My kids are the most precious people in my life. Having one of them on my motorcycle is both incredibly fun and scary.

Considering all of my deficiencies, I'm a fairly confident rider on my own. I screw up, but rarely badly. When I'm into a long-distance solo trip, I take some chances on speed, location, isolation, and communications. I might change directions, go someplace I hadn't considered or mentioned in my original plans without notifying anyone. I might get bored on a long stretch of repetitive terrain and drop the hammer on the bike and ride flat out for a while. I don't ride at night much these days, but I might do that under some conditions. I get downright mechanical about my routines, especially maintenance. That goes to hell when I just ride somewhere with someone else.

With Wolf on the bike, all of the above becomes well-deformed. We call in regularly and I tell his mother where we're going next. I'm riding like an old lady, by my standards of speed, cornering style, and patience. The tires have serious chicken-strips with the side-nubs barely worn. I would have to call my riding style these last 3,600 miles "conservative." If you know me, you know that ain't braggin'. I'm cautious about where we camp or stay. I stick to the planned route as well as I'm able. We pass cool looking side-routes that I'd jump into without question on my own. We might have taken 200 miles of dirt roads this trip. My usual ratio would be more like 25-50% of the overall trip on dirt roads and trails.

I assigned maintenance to him, because it keeps him busy, gives me a little breathing room, and it's "educational." It takes one task away from my list and he is solidly responsible. He did more than a competent job of it.

Still, riding with a precious passenger is a load. Not the weight he adds to the bike. Not the extra emotional energy it takes to travel with someone else. Not even the fact that he's a teenager with a kid's wildly varying energy and interest levels. The load is the responsibility to take this boy to every place we've talked about going and doing it safely. Motorcycling is a risky activity. We all know that. Anyone pretending that riding a motorcycle is in any way as safe as driving a car is someone you shouldn't trust with sharp objects, significant financial assets, or critical decisions.

There are rewards, for sure. I suppose most risky activities have rewards. All of the ones I've indulged in have had upsides that made the risk worth taking; at least at the time. When you spread that risk to someone else, you have to step into another role, though.At least, you ought to. You should care enough about that person to lower the risk factors as far as practical, while still having some fun and getting somewhere. It's a different mind-set than solo traveling. In our case, it was more than worth it. We had a great, safe, adventurous trip and we both came back in one piece. Now, I need a nap.

Desert Rats

We made it through Steamboat, a village that has turned into a seriously ugly city in the mountains, kept going almost all the way to Utah before the heat got to Wolfe. We quit about 5 miles short of Dinosaur National Park. The next morning, we arrived in Utah and Dinosaur National Park. The park turned out to be a serious disappointment. The wall of dinosaurs has been closed for viewing for more than 3 years. All that is left is a short walk led by a ranger and a campground. The campground was nice, but not worth 100 miles of desert.

Next morning, we headed south on Colorado 139. South on the west edge of Colorado is desert. At Grand Junction, it was 104F deserty. While we were filling out a gear shortage at a sporting goods shop, a guy driving a truck decorated with "Bob McConnell for Congress" door panels.

"You came all the way from Minnesota on that?"

"Yep."

"You got some great politicians in Minnesota."

I waited to hear who we had that was great.

"Tim Pawlenty and Michelle Bachman. Great people."

I sorta hoped that he meant Jesse, but I should have known better for the deserts of Colorado. I don't know if that guy was Bob McConnell, but he looked like a less macho, younger version of the face on a Bob McConnell poster I saw on the way out of town. Could be they clone wingnuts out here.

We found our stuff and hit the road again. Grand Junction didn't do much for me, either.

After Dinosaur National and Grand Junction, Wolfe was more convinced than ever that there was nothing for him in the arid zones. I'd really wanted to see the infinity bridge at the Grand Canyon, but Wolfe is boss on this trip. So, we kept going south, now on Colorado 141 which is one of the most scenic desert rides I've ever experienced. Just past Nucia, I put in an easterly deviation, via Colorado 145, toward Telluride to find a cooler camp ground. Found a great campsite about 5 miles south of Telluride on 145.

We rolled into Mesa Verde National Park at 8:30AM and I got a terrific birthday present from the National Parks System: a $10 lifetime pass to all national parks and monuments and a 50% discount on camping at all national campsites. Unlike Dinosaur National Monument, Mesa Verde did not disappoint. We saw most of it and cut out when the temperature beat 100F.

We didn't go far. We're in Durango now, blowing a night, waiting to take the train to Silverton tomorrow. Afterwards, we're gong north for a cheap night at a national campground and on to Colorado's charms and anomalies.

Crossing the Great Divide

The fine folks at Frontier Cycle whipped out a pair of fork seal replacements in an hour and a half and got us on the road by 10:30AM today. A few hours later, we crossed the great continental divide at Rabbit Ear Pass.

It's been a while since I've experienced new fork seals. At first, I thought I'd told Frontier to use the wrong fork oil. I've been using 15W on the V-Strom since I brought it home, but I was feeling every ripple in the road for the first 50 miles. Slowly, the ride smoothed out and the forks went back to sucking up the road irregularities.

We made up for a short day yesterday by being mostly bored with Steamboat Springs. I remember Steamboat as being a cool, but small, skiing village. It has turned into a noisy, tourist hell with a massive dose of boring yuppie condos and glass and redwood Texas whorehouses. Wolfe and I took the ski lift for old times sakes, but neither of us had much interest in shopping or being mobbed by people who were shopping. We moved on toward Dinosaur National Monument. We made it to Dinosaur, CO and discovered that the real entrance to the park is in Utah. We'd covered almost 350 miles since we left Laramie and we were cooked, almost literally. Copped out again and snagged a motel for the air conditioning.

Wolfe is getting into the bike check routine. It's his job while I fill the tank and pay for the gas. We're using repetition of the T-CLOCS MSF routine with a little more detail on the loose bolts and rattled loose bits.

Crusin' the Rockies

Wolfe and I are on the 3rd day of our Rocky Mountain Adventure. We've had a few glitches. Got cooked in the Black Hills yesterday, but had an amazing day and night at Rushmore and in Keystone. The picture, at left, is Wolfe being held up by the wind at the top of Morton Pass on Wyoming Highway 34. We must have fought a 50mph cross wind all the way over the pass. Kansas has nothing on Wyoming winds.

Today, we got out early (about 3 hours too early for Wolfe) and were making great time until about 1PM, when we stopped for a moment in Laramie, WY and I discovered my right fork was pulsing oil. We'd covered about 250 miles or so and I was hoping to add at least another 150 before stopping. Instead, we're in Laramie for a while.

Suzuki's dealer here, Frontier Cycles, seems to be on it. I carry a pile of tools, but nothing near what it would take to replace a fork seal. I thought about pulling the fork, flushing it with diesel, filling it with ATF, and making a run for a friend's house in Denver where there might be more tools and a shop I could use, but the guys at Frontier think they have the necessary parts and I'm taking a gamble on them. Where this goes from here is anyone's guess.

What It All Means

The things revealed in the exposure of the internal workings of Motorcyclist Magazine shouldn't come as a big surprise to anyone. The inner workings (and collapse of) of the main stream press has been discussed practically to death in the last decade. A recent series of discussion in Politics Daily ("'Beyond the Killing Fields': Why Journalism Is in a 'State of Chaos") says as much about consumer product journalism as it does about political and state-of-the-world journalism. To use William Goldman's phrase, "follow the money." Money created modern journalism and money is going to change it. Publishers like William Hearst invented old-school "yellow journalism," promoted the Spanish-American War, waged war on a variety of social issues, and made boatloads of money from it all. When the money really became the issue, in 1929, the corporation's (and Hearst's) politics changed, much of their editorial stance swapped directions, and has steadily become more conservative over the last eight decades.

The trick to modern journalism is to convince readers that the publication is intended for their interests and entertainment while consistently promoting the interests of the advertisers. For that to work, the readership has to be fairly gullible. The problem is that readers are inclined to be skeptical. The most gullible citizens generally aren't literate, curious, well-informed, logical, critical, or analytical. While those folks would be most magazine's target audience, they aren't consistently reachable through the written word. Television is their media of choice. It will be interesting to see how motorcycle magazines find a place in the new world of information and entertainment.

When Readers Get to Peek Under the Hood

"Leaked docs show Motorcyclist caved to advertiser pressure, fired editor" is the title. The gist is, due to advertiser pressure, Brian Catterson (Motorcyclists' editor) fired staff writer Dexter Ford for a story he wrote about Snell helmet standards for the New York Times last fall. I'm not much of a fan of Motorcyclist, mostly because of the magazine's overwhelming endorsement of hooligan exhaust system noise and Catterson's generally abrasive attitude toward anyone who disagrees with him, but this series of emails shows that Brian is even more erratic in reality than he seems in his magazine.

Pretty funny stuff. The Hell for Leather article includes this line, "If true, the emails raise troubling questions about a potentially unethical relationship between advertising dollars and editorial content at the popular magazine. . . " Sorry. I don't think any reasonable person reads Motorcyclists or any other major product-based magazine expecting to see information critical of that industry. Rick Sieman (Super Hunky) with Dirt Bike Magazine was the last seriously critical editor (in my memory) in the history of mainstream motorcycle journalism. I think the manufacturers set fire to his ass and tossed him into a swimming pool full of high test.

Advertisers have the power in the ragstock publication business. Honest industry magazines have stopped asking for subscription contributions because subscribers just don't pay the bills. The folks who pay the bills call the shots. That's pretty much all there is to it. I wish Mr. Ford well. He is a good investigative journalist, but there isn't much call for investigative journalism these days. We've moved into the newspapers/magazines-as-press-releases phase of written communications and, until folks can figure out how to make money on the World Wide Web, that's where we're going to be for a while.

Handicapping

All Rights Reserved © 2010 Thomas W. Day

I recently taught an MSF Experienced Rider Course (ERC) with another refugee from our magazine. He is a serious rider with a small collection of motorcycles in various states of abuse and deterioration and an even bigger collection of small businesses and personal responsibilities. The result of that complicated mid-life is that his motorcycles don't always get the love and attention the need and deserve. The result of that result was that on this Sunday morning, he had nothing to ride. So, his choice was to give up the class, use one of the state's motorcycles for class demonstrations, or turn over all the demos to me. To cover his bets, he'd already pulled one of the state's Suzuki GZ250's from the trailer when I arrived.

To satisfy as many people as possible, the state provides us with a fair selection of motorcycles for the Basic Rider Course. We have small sport bikes, a couple models of dual purpose bikes, some standards, and some cruisers. Why an experienced and talented rider would pick the GZ250 from that assortment is the inspiration for the title of this rant. The GZ250 is a clunky-shifting, long-wheelbase, uncomfortable, awkward and imprecise mini-cruiser. If you want to look like you know what you are doing, this would be the last bike you'd pick for demonstrations. (I've written before about how dumb I think cruisers are, so this isn't going to be that discussion.) His reasoning for picking the one bike in the trailer that he didn't like riding was: he was handicapping himself with a poorly designed motorcycle so that student's wouldn't be able to claim he was "cheating" the course on an easier-to-ride bike than the implement they'd brought.

Many of us who teach the ERC get that response from the hippobike crowd when we demonstrate on our motorcycles. So, we compensate. I usually ride my 650 V-Strom for these classes, although my everyday ride is a 250 dual purpose. Unless I'm going some distance or need the carrying space the V-Strom's 3 cases provides, the 250 does my commuting job pretty damn well. So, when I ride the V-Strom for an ERC, I'm handicapping myself for the benefit of the many characters who bring over-sized, hard-to-ride motorcycles that overwhelm their skills and physical capabilities. I guess I'm trying to show some sympathy for their poor choices. The more I think about this, the dumber it seems.

At the other end of the learning spectrum, when the MN-Sportbike guys throw one of their Hedonistic-Enthusiasm parties and I'm able to sign up, I often bring the 250. It's more fun to ride. The only way I can keep up with my group is to go fast in the corners, since everyone is going to hammer me on the straights. I learn more about cornering and I push my own limits harder on the little bike. Did I mention it's more fun to ride?

In emergency situations, I'd rather be on the little bike. It's stops faster, turns quicker, is able to leap tall curbs in a single hop, is as happy riding in a ditch as on the pavement, slips between practically any traffic space, and, if I find myself lying under it, it doesn't weigh much. Splitting lanes in an emergency maneuver is way easier on the 250. Swerving away from a traffic obstacle is effortless and doesn't even require much thought.

It's obvious that lots of American motorcyclists think that buying a big bike is like buying a big car: bigger is safer. That is about the dumbest rationale I've ever heard. When you are vaulting over the handlebars, you want the smallest motorcycle you can imagine in the air behind you. It's hard to come up with an emergency scenario that would justify being on a large motorcycle. In any crash situation, the highway, traffic, engineering, and nature have handicapped motorcyclists to a sensational disadvantage. We don't need to give up any more than we have already donated to make this demonstration seem "fair." When you are on the top rung of that risk-taking ladder, it's past time to start looking for any advantage you can find.

Even when I'm demonstrating on the V-Strom, I get "That's easy to do on your bike, trying doing that on my Giganticusmaximus " My response is usually, "Why would I want to do that?"

Seriously. Why would I want to ride a motorcycle that was designed by a committee that has the group intelligence of a Spinal Tap audience? Hell, my 650 is too big for the stuff we're doing on this range. My 250 would be perfect here, but I'm handicapping myself with a road bike so that you won't feel bad about not being on the wrong motorcycle for your skills and our purposes. If you think this U-turn exercise is easy on my V-Strom, you'll really be disgusted at how easy it is to do on the bike I ride everyday.

By the way, I put 5,000 miles on my 250 last year, what did you do on your 1800 Hippodromeopotamus? Are you going to ride that thing, or just watch it deteriorate in your garage? You can't ride it, right? You're afraid you're going to crash it and kill yourself because it's too big, too powerful, and you don't have the skills to manage it. You should have bought a 250 for your first bike, but you didn't want to look stupid. You missed that bet, dude. You can't look dumber than when you are selling your $25,000 motorcycle for $5,000 with 2500 miles on the odometer and a rash of scratched up chrome from when you dropped the bike in your driveway.

All the News that Didn't Fit

AMA Updates
On May 11, Arizona's Governor Jan Brewer vetoed Arizona: House Bill 2475 which would have authorized a one-year experiment to allow and study lane splitting in Maricopa County (the Phoenix metropolitian area). The bill was unanimously passed by the House and had a substantial Senate majority.

South Carolina Supreme Court struck down the Myrtle Beach, S.C. helmet law. The helmet law was among several rules passed by that city to restrict motorcyclists' access to Myrtle Beach. "We find that the City Helmet Ordinance fails under implied field preemption due to the need for statewide uniformity and therefore issue a declaratory judgment invalidating the ordinance." Ed Moreland, the AMA senior vice president for government relations, said, "We're pleased that the South Carolina Supreme Court struck down the Myrtle Beach law, sending a clear message to all jurisdictions that discriminatory laws against motorcyclists are unacceptable."

Racing Action
Valentino Rossi is out with "a displaced and exposed fracture of his right tibia," suffered when he crashed his Fiat Yamaha M1 in a practice round of the for the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello. For the next 6 months, Rossi is out of the MotoGP picture. Yamaha is still in good position for the series, though. Jorge Lorenzo came in 2nd in the Mugello round and added to his championship lead with two wins and two seconds for the season. Honda's Dani Pedrosa won the event while Lorenzo battled it out for 2nd with Andrea Dovizioso. Lorenzo is 25 points ahead of Pedrosa and Rossi is in 3rd place for the series title.

On the 2nd day of the series at Road America (Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin), Tommy Hayden (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) pulled off his his second career AMA Pro SuperBike win. Hayden beat Josh Hayes (Team Graves Yamaha), Day 1's winner, by the 0.178 of a second. Hayes holds a one point lead over Hayden in the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike series. Also at Road America, Danny Eslick opened the new AMA Pro Racing Vance & Hines XR1200 Series with a win over Jake Holden in the debut on June 6.

Joe Kopp (Lloyd Brothers Ducati Motorsports Team) handed Ducati it's first AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship win at the Budweiser Arizona Mile. It was an eventful day for flat tracking, since it was the first ever win for Ducati, the first BMW entry since 1954, and the first Kawasaki to make a main event since 1975. Sammy Halbert looked like a winner early on, but he ended up in a battle with Chris Carr, Kenny Coolbeth. and Jake Johnson for 2nd. Bryan Smith (Kawasaki) came in 17th and Matt Wait (BMW) finished 18th. Luke Gough (10th) and Chad Cose (15th) were riding for Suzuki and the rest of the field was all Harley.

Bryan Smith (Monster Energy Kawasaki/Werner Springsteen Racing) and pulled off Kawasaki's first-ever AMA Pro Grand National Twins Championship podium place (2nd) on Sunday at the historic Springfield TT on his Kawasaki Ninja 650R Jake Johnson won the event on his XR750 Harley Davidson. Henry Wiles (Monster Energy Kawasaki/ Jones Racing) rode his Kawasaki KX450F to a first place in the AMA Pro Grand National Singles Championship race.

Ryan Dungey took both motos on his Suzuki fuel-injected RM-Z450 at the AMA High Point Motocross National, making it 4-in-a-row for him and putting him solidly in the lead for the 450 class. Andrew Short and Bruce Metcalfe (both on Hondas) finished out the podium for the Pennsylvania event.

The first event of the American TTXGP series was held at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif and Shawn Higbee (Team Zero Agni) took 1st in the US's first all electric superbike race. Ten competitors were at the start of the race and eight finished the 11-lap event. Michael Barnes (Lightning Motorcycles) was in the lead for much of the first 8 laps, but when his "power management safety override" tripped, he was sidelined for 45 seconds waiting for the system to reset. Barnes came in 2nd, 18 seconds behind Higbee. Near the end of the race, Higbee had some electronic and battery problems of his own to manage. Thad Wolff (Team Electra) finished 3rd. Higbee's best qualifying time for the 2.28 mile track averaged speed about 77 mph. The AMA Superbikes that weekend were averaging 87 mph on the same course.

Mathias Kiwanuka Gives It Up
After his brother was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash, New York Giants defensive end, Mathias Kiwanuka, has decided motorcycling is too dangerous for him. Benedict Kiwanuka, 32-years old, was in critical condition after a motorcycle crash left him with internal injuries and several broken bones.

My Motorcycles: Suzuki TU250X

All Rights Reserved © 2009/2015/2021 Thomas W. Day

This started off as a "review" and a really brief one (see [Initial Review August 2009] below). In May of 2021, I stumbled into decent buy on a TU250X and bought it, after assuming that my motorcycling days were long gone. So far, I'm still here and I'm still occasionally riding. I had BIG touring plans for this summer after buying the bike in the spring but cataract surgery on both eyes ate up all of July and half of August and the upper body strength I lost during that long period when I was supposed to avoid lifting more than 10-25 pounds, keep my head above my waist as much as possible, and a whole other list of strenuous activities pretty much diluted my initiative and courage out of commission. I suspect I may regret missing out on that trip for the rest of my life. Of course, at my age that is not a long-term bet.

I have taken a few 100-250 mile rides on the TU250X and the bike performed wonderfully, so far averaging 87mpg mostly running at near full throttle anytime I'm outside of city limits. This is the first motorcycle I've owned since the 70's that allows me to be flat footed when I'm stopped. I haven't cared much about that for the previous 50-some years of motorcycling, long suspensions being more important to me than stopped stability, but I'm old, not particularly limber or strong, and considerable less stable than in the past and it is a nice feature/function at this point in my life. Vibration is minimal at the bars, foot pegs, and seat; at least it is reasonable and minimal to me. Engine noise is also minimal, I've been "complimented" a few times with "Wow! That bike is really quiet." Of course, most people just assume a motorcycle will be asshole-loud and that motorcyclists are obnoxious hooligans.

The speedometer, with stock tires, is "optimistic" at best. I ride with a GPS, so I know what my actual speed is and the speedo is about 7% faster than reality: 62mph indicated is about 55mph, for example. That said, cruising speed on the 250 on flat land without wind hindrance or assistance is about 55-65mph (max and in mild temps conditions). At that speed, the bike is incredibly easy to ride for long distances, with rest stops every hour or so. The passing "experience" is a throwback to my old VW Beetle days; plan on lots of space and no noticeable acceleration above 65mph. Even getting around farm implements is exciting and the only place I can ever pass a semi is on straight uphill sections.

Off pavement, the new handlebars made all the difference. I went from being tentative about turns, deep road sand and gravel, and wet sections to being irrationally confident that my old dirt skills would get me through most anything the road tossed at me. So far, so good. 

Maintaining the TU is almost an old school experience. Valve adjustments are the old-fashioned screw adjustment system, which means it needs to be checked every 3,000 miles, but the components are fairly easily accessed and it only takes about 30 minutes once you've gone through the routine once or twice. The air filter is just a coin-screwdriver away and the oil change routine is nothing complicated or odd, except for the oil screen which is hidden behind the filter frame (some TU owners don't know it is there). 

I added a USB charge port to the handlebars to power my Garmin and charge my phone. Bar vibration is lower enough that I can read the little Garmin maps on the fly. The GPS has Bluetooth, but I don't need it or want it talking to me while I ride. I read maps through the plastic case on my Darien's thigh for 30 years. I can deal with a handlebar GPS just fine.

May 2021 POSTSCRIPT:  As of May, this review turns into a "Bikes I've Owned and Loved (a lot or a little)" review. I bought a barely-used 2012 TU250X and now, I hope, this will turn into a long-term review of that motorcycle. Even after whining that I'd owned my last "customized motorcycle," I immediately started personalizing my TU. 

#1 Best Farkle: The T-Rex Racing "2009 - 2020 Suzuki TU250X Center Stand." Installing this thing is a 3-handed job, but well worth the effort. Suddenly, many difficult maintenance and touring operations are much easier. Lubing the chain, for example is possible a half-dozen different ways. 

#2: The Acerbis Dual Road  Handguards. For me, handguards are a must, but there isn't a lot of handlebar real estate on the TU. These guards solve that problem as well as it can be solved. They are a bar-end only attachment and with that limitation they robust and good protection for my hands and the bike controls. 

 #3: An old standby (for me), Oury Road/Street grips. These things have been on my street and dirt bikes for longer than I can remember. They soften the vibration and impact, add grip, add some diameter to the bars (easing arthritis pain and blood constriction), and stay where they belong until you cut them off. My comfort level on the TU dramatically improved by replacing the grips. The TU's throttle is inconveniently specifically designed for Suzuki's mediocre grips, who some Dremel carving is necessary where the handguard meets the throttle body.

#4: The stock cafe racer style bars are ok, on pavement, but I'm just not comfortable with narrow pullback bars. So, I replaced mine with Fly Racing Carbon Steel Honda CR bars, about 2" wider, straighter, and marginally lower. What a difference! The first time I was on gravel, the bike felt squirrely and a little unstable in 2-4" loose gravel and sand and I didn't feel like steering responded particularly well. Nothing else has changed, except the bars, and the bike is almost as solid off-pavement as my V-Strom or WR250X.

Stay tuned. If my eyesight and health holds up, me and this little 250 are going to go a few places.

[July 2015 POSTSCRIPT] 

 Last month, I added a little track time to my TU250X riding experience. What I learned from that is that the TU250X is a fully capable urban commuting bike. I still don't know what the top speed is, but it's got to be above 70mph because I hit that a couple of times on the Dakota Community Technical College straight-away and I had some top end yet to go before I bailed out and started braking before the chicane and carousel. A better rider would have gone faster and deeper into the corner before hitting the brakes. Regardless, the TU wasn't straining at 70mph and I had a good time on the bike and the course; meeting and exceeding all of my expectations.

Last summer, my brother bought a TU on my recommendation and, as of May 2015, he had 17,000 miles on the bike and has ridden it all over Arizona deserts, mountains, and back country. He still likes the bike and doesn't seem to feel the need for more power or status, since he's knocking down 70-90mpg regularly and saving a bucket of retirement cash in the process. His big complaint about the TU, after taking a Lake Superior Loop ride with me in 2011 and seeing how much insane fun I was having on my WR250X, was that his TU wasn't very good on gravel roads and, especially, steep gravel road hills around the lakes near his house in Arizona. So, I recommended a collection of tire options and he upped the "aggressiveness" of his tires and I haven't heard a word of dissatisfaction from him since. I remain jealous of his mileage, youth, and common sense.

[Initial Review August 2009] 

This will be a very limited review, since I've only "test ridden" the Suzuki on an MSF range. But it is a work in progress. I will find one of these bikes in licensed condition and I'll add that to the report. If I have to, I'll even buy the damn bike myself.

Suzuki's newest entry for 2009 was the TU250X; a 330 pound, air-cooled, fuel-injected, catalytic-converted, electric-starting, 82mpg, retro-looking, standard bike that is the kind of machine that riders have been wanting in every major motorcycle market in the world; except the US. This $3,800 bike has everything that an urban commuter could want. Most especially, the fuel-injection makes it friendly to new riders and those of us who are tired of the hold-your-mouth-just-right starting routines carbureted bikes require from us in cold weather. The 3.17-gallon fuel tank should provide close to a 250 mile range for most commuters.

Cosmetically, Suzuki went straight after the vintage-Brit-bike-lovers' market. Suzuki's marketing department describes the TU250X as a bike with "classic styling – including spoked wheels, a round headlight and low-slung tapered muffler." With its pin-striped red paint job, it reminds me so much of old small-bore BSA and Triumphs that it gives me flashbacks. The only obvious nod to the 21st Century is the front disk brake, but the rear brake is a competently functioning drum, just like the old days. 18" wheels, front and back, add something to the vintage appearance and help give the bike a neutral handling character. Turning or going straight, the TU250X doesn't resist change and it doesn't do anything unexpected. The Cheng-Shin tires suck, but the 90/90 and 110/90-18 tire sizes are available in Metzeler Lasertecs, Dunlop GTs, Conti Go! and Ultra TKV11/12 among other tire options.

The frame is silver-painted steel and is pretty rigid, if a little heavy feeling. The engine is a stressed-member of the frame and the square-tubed backbone adds to the frame strength. The rear suspension (3.7") is a traditional dual-shock rig, slightly canted. The moderately long (54.1") wheelbase of the bike makes it stable for all sorts of street use without being difficult to maneuver. The TU has a low (30") seat height, so it's accessible to riders of all heights. The twin-section seat puts the rider in sort of a neutral-cafe-racer posture. The independent passenger seat is reasonably large and comfortable, for a 250. Your feet are mildly bent, but the 27" wide straight bars put most riders in a slightly aggressive riding position. It works for a variety of riders, from 6' and a little over (see photo on right) to the rest of us (a 5'8" rider is pictured at left). A bar-mounted windshield would be a useful addition to the bike's aerodynamics and comfort.

The 249cc, 4-stroke, single-cylinder, air-cooled, SOHC, wet-sump engine is mostly straightforward. The cylinder is SCEM-plated (nickel-silicon-phosphorous) to reduce weight and increase heat transfer, just like most of Suzuki's competition off-road bikes. The motor is tied to a wide-ratio 5-speed transmission linked to the rear wheel by chain drive. The air filter is washable foam and is easily removed for service. The plug, oil filter, screw-and-locknut valve adjustments, and battery access are readily available and straightforward. The bike has a 3,000 mile service interval, including valves, so it's a good thing that it is reasonably easy to service. Well cared for, it ought to last tens-of-thousands miles. Suzuki puts a "12 month unlimited warranty" on the TU250X, to give buyers a bit of confidence in the model.

The bad news is that the TU250X is hard to find. My local dealer was given one for the season. One. More than 80 buyers signed up for first shot at the bike, but it vanished as it hit the floor when a walk-in customer snagged it. That's it for 2009's stock from that substantial Suzuki dealer. I know of one buyer who drove from Minnesota to Georgia to buy one.

The TU250X is, obviously, fitting a niche. In the rest of the world, it has been such a hit that Suzuki has been overwhelmed by the demand, which means the paltry small-bike US market is going to be even more starved for attention and inventory. The good news is, if you are really a vintage Brit bike fan, you'll miss the puddle of oil in your garage. Take that as a consolation for not being able to see, ride, or buy this cool little bike.

Product Review: Roadgear Toolbag

All Rights Reserved © 2007 Thomas W. Day

The highly attractive Roadgear Toolbag before I loaded it with gear and spoiled it with grease.

I'm a paranoid type, always assuming the worst will happen and that it will happen to me. My V-Strom came sans-toolkit, which gave me the opportunity to put together my own kit of good quality tools. First, I needed a place to put all the tools I'd want to carry. The Roadgear Toolbag is one of those things I spied at the Cycle World Motorcycle Show in 2007. t that time, I hadn't figured out what I needed for the Alaska trip, so I stored the information in my computer and, early this spring, I contacted the Roadgear folks (http://www.roadgear.com/) to get my hands on their toolbag.

The toolbag was a pretty little thing, when it arrived in the mail. The bag is made of heavy duty nylon that comes in a variety of colors. I picked gray, to match my 'stitch and my personality. The bag incorporates a pair of straps closed with nylon buckles into a logo-bearing carrying handle. That feature is more practical than you might think. There are nine assorted-sized compartments for tools, a large partition behind the tool holders, and three small Velcro-secured partitions to store sockets and small parts/tools in front.

Some of the stuff I stored in my Roadgear Toolbag, also after 10,000 miles of Alaska abuse.

I immediately began to stuff tools into the bag until I had most of the things I expected to need in a mechanical crisis and a package that would fit into the storage container I'd added to my luggage rack. The bag would have held a lot more stuff, but then it wouldn't have fit into my available space (the inside of a 4" PVC pipe). As it is, I had almost everything I wanted to carry wrapped into a neat and convenient package.

For a lot of reasons, this was the perfect setup. It forced me to assign places for each tool, making it difficult for me to misplace a tool during a field repair. If I put everything back the way I'd originally organized the bag, it would roll up into exactly the right size package for my storage container. The combination of custom container and the Toolbag gave me fast and easy access to my tools and that meant that I would do maintenance a lot more often.

After 14,000 very messy miles, I am almost tempted to pull the tools and send the Toolbag through the laundry. Almost. The Toolbag has proved to be tough, well-made, and functional. It was a terrific addition to my touring kit and I recommend it without reservation.

The FBI and the Outlaws

A couple of days ago, the FBI and ATF unsealed an indictment against 27 members of the Outlaws motorcycle gang. The gang's "National Boss," Jack Rosga, "Milwaukee Jack," and several officers of the gang were included in the indictment and arrests that were distributed across several states: Wisconsin, Maine, Montana, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Virginia.

From the FBI's website, "Those charged in the indictment include:

• Jack Rosga, aka “Milwaukee Jack,” 53, serves as the National Boss of the Outlaws organization and is also a member of the Gold Region, Milwaukee Wisconsin Chapter.
• Joseph Allman, 46, is an Outlaws member in the Red region and holds a position in the Maine Chapter, previously serving as President and Enforcer.
• John Banthem, aka “Bull,” 46, is an Outlaws member in Montana and is the president of a new prospect chapter in Montana.
• Thomas Benvie, aka “Taz,” 41, is an Outlaws member in the Red region and currently serves as President of the Maine Chapter.
• William Davey, aka “Rebel,” 46, is an Outlaws member in the Copper Region and was formerly the Chapter Enforcer in the Ashville, North Carolina.
• Mark Jason Fiel, aka “Jason,” 37, is a former Outlaws member in the Copper Region and a former leader in the Manassas/Shenandoah Valley Chapter.
• Mark Steven Fiel, aka “Snuff,” 59, is an Outlaws member in the Copper Region and serves as President of the Manassas/Shenandoah Valley Chapter.
• Chris Gagner, 37, is an Outlaws member in the Copper Region and serves as the President and Treasurer of the Asheville, North Carolina Chapter
• Harold Herndon, aka “Lil’ Dave,” 48, is an Outlaws member and is currently the Copper Region Vice President and member of the Lexington, North Carolina Chapter.
• Mark Lester, aka “Ivan,” 55, is an Outlaws member in the Knoxville, Tennessee Chapter and is served as the Boss of the Grey Region until early 2010.
• Brett Longendyke, 32, is an Outlaws member in the Copper Region and serves as the Manassas/Shenandoah Valley Chapter Enforcer.
• David Lowry, aka “Little David,” 49, is an Outlaws member and currently the Copper Region Boss and member of the Charlotte Chapter.
• Michael Mariaca, aka “M & M,” 50, is an Outlaws member and serves as the President of the Rock Hill, South Carolina Chapter and Copper Region Enforcer.
• Thomas Mayne, aka “Tomcat,” 59, is an Outlaws member in the Red Region and serves as the regional treasurer. Mayne formerly served as the Red Region Enforcer.
• Harry Rhyne McCall, 53, is an Outlaws member in the Copper Region, Lexington, North Carolina Chapter.
• Michael Pedini, aka “Madman,” 39, is an Outlaws member in the Red Region and a former Enforcer in the Northern Maine Chapter.
• Thomas Petrini, aka “Jo Jo,” 48, is a former Outlaws member in the Copper Region, Manassas/Shenandoah Valley Chapter.
• Michael Smith, 51, is an Outlaws member in the Copper Region and serves as the President of the Hickory, North Carolina Chapter.
• Mark Spradling, aka “Lytnin,” 52, is an Outlaws member and serves as Treasurer of the Copper Region.
• Christopher Timbers, aka “Alibi,” 37, is an Outlaws member in the Manassas/Shenandoah Valley Chapter of the Copper Region.
• James Townsend, aka “Vern,” 44, is an Outlaws member and President of the Lexington, North Carolina Chapter.
• Leslie Werth, aka “Les,” 47, is an Outlaws member and currently is the Vice President of the Rock Hill, South Carolina Chapter. Werth served as the Copper Region Boss until October 17, 2009.
• Brian McDermott, 50, is an Outlaws member of the Copper Region’s Hickory, North Carolina chapter.
• Charles Love, aka “Chuck” and Rebar,” 49, is a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club from Amelia, Virginia.
• William Powell, aka “Torch,” 49, is a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club from Lynchburg, Virginia.
• Charles Barlow, aka “Chuck,” 43, is a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club from Chesterfield, Virginia.
• Dennis Haldermann, aka “Chew Chew,” 45, is a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club from Chesterfield, Virginia.

Thomas Mayne, a regional treasurer for the Outlaws, was killed in a gunfight with ATF agents, when the agents attempted to arrest him. Kenneth Chretien , Mayne's brother-in-law, was subdued and arrested at the same location. Yesterday, a judge set Chretien free on $10,000 bond. Mayne was a suspected in an assassination attempt at a Hell's Angel clubhouse in Maine last October. He wore a "Nazi-style SS patch" that indicated he had performed a hit for the Outlaw gang.
Local and state police are notoriously impotent when it comes to confronting these violent characters and prosecuting them for crimes. All I can say is "Way to go Feds." I'm all for hauling back the military from Iraq and Afganistan and sending the whole US Army after these criminals.

Taking the Cat by the Horns

British Petroleum should take a lesson from Agip, the manufacturer of Hello Kitty synthetic oil. Agip's corporate logo, that six-legged cat at the bottom right of the can, is a brilliant advertisment for renaming problems as solutions. Microsoft and Apple have been telling us that software bugs are "features" for 30 years, it's not much of a leap to move air and water pollution into the same category.

"Yeah, our oil causes birth defects and a million other environmental problems, but look at the cute six-legged cat. Gotta love that, don't 'cha?"

And we probably do.

Not Much Fun?

All Rights Reserved © 2009 Thomas W. Day

"That can't have been much fun."

I'm getting to work on a late October morning. It was raining fairly hard on the way in, so my riding suit is dripping wet and I probably look like something the cat decided wasn't worth dragging in. A co-worker commented on the weather, the fact that I was still on the bike, and his impression of my appearance.

I looked worse than I felt. Yeah, it was cold and wet, but my 'Stich kept me dry. My helmet, heated vest, and the rest of my gear kept me warm. My piddling commute is probably barely worth suiting up for, but I do and most mornings I enjoy the ride in as much as anything that will happen to me all day. In fact, I felt pretty good. Any year that I'm still on the bike as Halloween approaches is a good year. It won't be long before would be condemned to a cage or the bus, but so far was still on two wheels. I get a little taste of faster-than-natural travel, feel the bite of the coming winter, enjoy a few moments of the sensation of moderate competence as I maneuver my bike through traffic and into the parking garage in the morning's rush hour, and start up my day with the mild charge that I always get from being a motorcyclist. It was, in fact, fun.

Motorcycling is a physical thing. That's some part of why it's hard to explain to a non-rider. Intellectually, riding a motorcycle is pretty hard to justify. We get pretty decent fuel mileage, but tires and other maintenance costs probably make up for that. We don't tear up the roads, require as much space, contribute to congestion, and a few other advantages but, mostly, motorcycles are a rare event on the highway and those of us who ride barely manage being a blip on the traffic radar. We're on our bikes because we want to be on a motorcycle more than we want to be warm, surrounded by a crumple zone, sucking on designer coffee, yakking on a cell phone, surrounded by a high fidelity sound system, or lounging in a plush bucket seat. You have to admit, that's weird. At least, I have to admit it.

That morning, I had a boat load of stuff to do. I got out of the house early, hit the library, stopped at a friend's house to drop off a project I'd finished over the weekend, took the long way to work through neighborhoods and side streets. I managed to turn a 7 mile commute into a 20 mile journey. It was raining, 42^oF, and in every way a dreary, depressing kind of morning. I, on the other hand, was having a terrific morning. I managed to hook first dibs on the new Elmore Leonard book at the library. I was pretty satisfied with the project that I'd been working on, but my customer/friend was blown away. I got paid and felt pretty good about it. The route I'd taken was pretty much traffic-free and I didn't have to mess with the usual culprits of cagers. How perfect is that?

I admit to being a little proud of the fact that I was doing something different every day. Something slightly adventurous. Something that takes a bit of skill to pull off day-after-day without incident or worse. It's arrogant or smug or conceited or damn silly, but I'm 62 and I don't get a lot of physical stuff to feel good about. I'm going to wallow in the few I get from here until . . . whenever.

Riding my motorcycle is just icing on the cake of living. Every day I get to ride somewhere is a pretty good day. So, screw the weather. Nuts to getting old. It might not look like fun, but it is. It is always fun.

All the News that Didn't Fit

More Biker Brawling
Residents of Minneiska, Minnesota watched while the Hells Angels and Outlaws motorcycle gangs fought it out on April 17th as one more episode of the Spring Flood Run soap opera played out. At least one biker was "cut and bloodied," but he claimed he "fell down." As the Trib asked, "If dozens of bikers from rival gangs scuffle in a parking lot in a small Mississippi River town and don't admit to it afterward, did it really happen?" One biker was legally carrying a concealed weapon and a pair (Nathan K. Houser, 29, of Burlington and Loren Francis Aikan, 63, of Madison, WI) were cited for possessing brass knuckles. No one was arrested. Highway 61, north of Winona, was closed for two hours as police questioned about 100 members of the Outlaws.

Rourke as Barger?
Just in time to correct any positive impressions the public may be forming about motorcyclists, Mickey Rourke is hoping to be part of a Tony Scott production of The studio was quoted claiming the part is "so perfectly tailored for Rourke that it is hard to imagine another actor who could more convincingly play a character who wears the hard miles and brawn of a grizzled biker gang veteran." Sonny Barger's life story in a new film tentatively titled Hell's Angels. Fox bought the rights to Barger's life story a decade ago, but is just now beginning to go into the development phase. Screenwriter Scott Frank has begun working on the project, with heavy rewriting of the original script, as a “Donnie Brasco-like drama.” A second major character will be a young cop infiltrating the gang. In 1983, before turning his face to pulp, Rourke played "The Motorcycle Boy" in Rumble Fish and "Harley Davidson" in the financial bust Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, so this could be yet another flashback moment for him.

Spanish Scrappage Plan
Spain is heading down the bankruptcy path that Greece has paved so thoroughly. However, Spanish motorcycles seem to have found the cash to take advantage of their country's Moto-E scrappage subsidy. In April, motorcycle sales increased 18% over the previous year. The Spanish AMA, ANESDOR, is urging the government to extend the Moto-E deadline to prop up the motorcycle industry.

Motorcycle Awareness Month in California
May was Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month by NHTSA proclamation (and National Digestive Disease Awareness Month, by Presidential decree), but the LAPD took a different tack in celebrating the month: by cracking down on motorcycle traffic violations. As announced on the LAPD's blog, "In support of Motorcycle Safety Awareness, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) will deploy extra officers throughout the month to patrol areas frequented by motorcyclists. Officers will also crack down on motorcyclist traffic violations and other vehicle drivers that lead to fatal or injurious motorcycle traffic collisions." The site stated that California motorcycle fatalities have increased 175% from 1997 to 2008 and at fault for that "dramatic increase were speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs by motorcyclists and other drivers."

Canadian Motorcyclists Join the Parking Protest
In protest of Vancouver's "zero-emission" parking spaces for electric scooters and motorcycles that exclude traditional motorcycles, 75 to 100 motorcyclists staged a parking protest that took up all of the spaces in a two block area of the popular Robson Street shopping district. The motorcyclists want more dedicated free spaces for motorcycles. The city has proposed special motorcycle spaces that would cost 1/2 the regular space rate. The entire city of Vancouver has only 42 motorcycle parking spaces. (More than downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis combined.)

Swedish vs. British vs. USA Motorcycle Safety Ads
Leave it up to the Swedes to produce an incomprehensible motorcycle safety ad. The Brits are a lot less subtle and infinitely more effective. Monty Python would be proud. I think. However, Michigan did us (the US) all proud.

RIP: Danny "Magoo" Chandler
Danny Chandler has died, at 50, from complications related to his paralysis. The AMA Hall of Famer, the winner of the U.S. 500cc Motocross Grand Prix, the first racer to win both the Motocross des Nations and the Trophee des Nations in the same year (1982), was a positive influence for everyone who knew him after the 1985 Paris Supercross crash that left him paralyzed. After several tough years (including a divorce and the death of both of his parents), Danny went back to work volunteering with DARE, organizing visits by top motorcycle racers to children’s hospitals through his International Riders Helping People organization, conducting his motocross safety program, and promoting mountain-bike races.

“In the long run the accident has left me a richer and fuller person. Had it not been for that I would just be another guy walking around. Now I have an interesting and compelling story to tell to the kids.”

Fingernail Painting Driver Is Convicted
Lora Hunt, the fingernail painting nurse, who ran a stoplight and killed motorcyclist Anita Zaffke in May of 2009, has been convicted of reckless homicide in a Lake County, Illinois courthouse. Her attorney, her attorney, Jeff Tomczak, argued that Hunt was a victim of sexual discrimination. He claimed she should have been on trial negligent homicide as she would have been for eating a sandwich or dialing her cell phone. "I do believe it is the underlying act of painting the nails that was the impetus for the charge," Tomczak said. "I haven't seen a reckless homicide charge for dialing a cell phone." (I didn't realize "two wrongs makes a right" was a valid legal defense.)

Prosecutor Mike Mermel argued, "It is not the same as biting a sandwich … it's a voluntary disablement. She might as well have been in the back seat making a sandwich."

Hunt will face as much as 5 years in jail or as little as a brief probation. She could be sentenced on June 15th.

Evel on Display
In an exhibit that will run from July 10 through September 6, the Harley-Davidson Museum will celebrate the life of "America’s favorite daredevil"; Evel Knievel. In the largest temporary exhibit the museum has ever attempted, Knievel’s life and legend will be featured in a 10,000 foot2 exhibit that will include "his signature leathers and cane, personal photographs and letters, collectors’ toys and memorabilia, and the rocket-inspired Skycycle X-2 used in Knievel’s infamous 1974 attempt to jump Idaho’s Snake River Canyon" and his favorite motorcycle, the Harley-Davidson XR-750.

Kawasaki Returns for the Police Dollar
After abandoning the police motorcycle market five years ago when the company dropped the KZ1000P, Kawasaki has returned with the 2010 Concours 14 ABS Police motorcycle. "All units are delivered with a tighter turning radius and custom law enforcement equipment, including: adjustable speedometer, a second wiring harness with 12 fused circuits and a separate battery dedicated to the add-on electronics installed by Beaudry Motors, Inc. An extensive selection of emergency equipment is available to satisfy agency requirements." Even with a $16-22k price tag, the 1352cc Concours is about $2,000 cheaper than the BMW or Harley competition.

Triumph Wants to 'Thank A Hero'
Triumph Motorcycles North America is offering up to a $750 discount to active U.S. Military service members. The company's "Thank A Hero" program is an attempt to "show our support for the sacrifices they make for all of us,” according to Jim Callahan, Triumph's North American Marketing Manager. “This is our way of saying ‘thank you’ for everything they do.”

Kawasaki's In-House Magazine Goes On-Line
Kawasaki's owners' magazine, Accelerate, has become an on-line 'zine. You can find it at http://accelerate.presspublisher.us/. Articles by Dr. Gregory Frasier and a variety of contributors are there, free for the reading.

Texas Motorcycle Cop's Bike Was on Recall
In January, Arlington, TX police Sgt. Craig Story struck a school bus with his Harley Davidson motorcycle and died of his injuries. The motorcycle was included in a December 2009 recall that warned of failure of the "front fuel-tank mounts, which can distort in crashes and cause fuel leaks and fires." Sgt. Story's motorcycle was scheduled for the repair at the time of the crash. While Story's motorcycle burst into flames, the department said there was no evidence that the fire contributed to Sgt. Story's injuries.

New Laws
April 12, Maine's Governor John Baldacci signed House Paper 1170 (An Act Relating to Road Noise), a bill that says "A person may not operate a motor vehicle in an area designated as a quiet zone by the department or the Maine Turnpike Authority and clearly identified as such by posted signs if the noise emitted by the motor vehicle exhaust system exceeds 62 decibels at a distance of 50 feet or greater." I wonder who that is aimed at?

Missouri House Bill 2421 would require "every applicant for a motorcycle license or endorsement shall show proof that he or she has successfully completed a motorcycle training course. . . "

New York Senate Bill 7302 "establishes the 'New York state consumers' right to repair act' which mandates automobile manufacturers to release vehicle repair information to vehicle owners allowing such owners to choose among competing repair facilities for the convenient, reliable and affordable repair of their motor vehicles." Senate Bill 7385 requires a motorcycle operator to keep both wheels on the ground at all times for a wheelie-free New York state. .

Deaths Down, Down Deaths, Down
According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, motorcycle fatalities were down 10% in 2009, from 5,290 in 2008 to approximately 4,762 in 2009. This was the first fatality drop in more than a decade, following the 2007 peak. You can find a copy of the study at http://www.ghsa.org/html/publications/spotlight/index.html. The reasons for the drop were explained to be "less motorcycle travel due to the economy, fewer beginning motorcyclists, increased state attention to motorcycle safety programs, and poor cycling weather in some areas."

GHSA Chairman Vernon Betkey said, “Clearly the economy played a large role in motorcycle deaths declining in 2009. Less disposable income translates into fewer leisure riders, and we suspect that the trend of inexperienced baby boomers buying bikes may have subsided.”

2010 NHTSA Recalls
BIG DOG 2004 Chopper, Bulldog, Ridgeback, Mastiff, Boxer, Pitbull: Loose connection between the harness connector and the electronic harness controller causes intermittent loss of power to headlamps a causes engine stall.