Motorcycle Nation Podcast

After reading the show notes for episode 11, I realized that a statement I made was not crystal clear. In the notes I mentioned that Ken from Biker Radio Magazine offered up his help to get the audio from the podcast sounding more professional. When I read over the notes later I read it a little different than the way that I meant it. One could take it that Ken tried to help me get the sound on this episode better but that is not the case. Ken and I talked after this show was recorded and edited.

As I said in the show notes and in the podcast, if you want to listen to a true professional you have to check out his site and listen to his show at Biker Radio Magazine. It is in my opinion the best motorcycle related podcast there is from the content to the production. If I can do the things that Ken has suggested to me I should be able to turn this thing around. Thanks for reading and listening.

Steve

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This episode takes a look at the fascinating world of electric motorcycles. It brings news about Billy Lane, recalls from Ducati and Bombardier, and an update on the Miracle Ride for Riley Hospital held recently in Indy.

Special thanks goes out to Biker Radio Magazine host Ken who is going to work with me to make this podcast sound as professional as possible. Visit Ken’s site and listen to a true professional.

The feature is a discussion with John Adamo, jack of all trades at the Electric Motorcycle Forum among others. John’s blogs are listed below:

http://ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
http://PlugBike.com
http://Othermakes.com
http://korider.com (Hyosung Owners/Enthusiasts)

When he has an extra minute you can find him guest blogging at http://asphaltandrubber.com which is a blog owned by Jenny Gunn. John is also on Twitter and can be found at http://twitter.com/skadamo

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2009 brought us the sixteenth annual Miracle Ride for Riley Hospital. This is a two day event held towards the end of May or early June and is one of the largest fundraisers for the hospital and, I believe, the largest motorcycle ride in the State of Indiana in both number of participants and money raised. A walk through the sea of chrome would give away the fact that people ride in from many states to participate in this event.

Saturday begins the Miracle Ride with six Poker runs that leave various dealers across the state. The final stop for each poker run is a location somewhere in Indianapolis. If the riders from the farthest Poker Run origin point were to go straight to Indy without hitting the stops to pick up their cards it could take them 2-1/2 to 3 hours. So, some of these people put in some serious hours on the way to the capitol. The Poker Runs are a large part of the fundraiser and this year was no exception. The preliminary figure that were announced Sunday morning during staging for the organized ride was $220,000 just for the Poker Runs. For the eleventh year, Harley Davidson of Bloomington won the award for the most money raised on the run. They set a new record in ‘09 with $75,000 raised. Congratulations Owners Jeff and Carol Stevens and General Manager Jim Markham.

Sunday brings all the Poker Run participants along with those who just want to do the Sunday police escorted ride to the registration point which changed this year to Lucas Oil Stadium. During registration and staging there are some festivities going on such as Bob and Tom from the nationally syndicated radio program, The Bob & Tom Show, usually get up and get people laughing. The Indianapolis Colts offensive line usually gets up on stage too to tell people why they enjoy leading this ride. By the way, they left their bikes at home this year and Victory motorcycles brought out some of their models and let the guys ride those. And we also get a show from the Indianapolis Metro Police Motorcycle Drill Team.

Most people come to this ride for one reason. To help the kids. The ride kicks off and leaves the registration point and always makes its way over to Riley Hospital where some of the children line the sidewalk and watch all the bikes go by. From past experience it is very moving and tough to go through with dry eyes. From there, it continues through the streets of near downtown Indy to the world famous 16th Street, the same street that holds the Yard of Bricks. For those who wore a helmet there is a lap around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track. Some people come for this. It is fun and you don’t realize how much banking there really is on that track. After leaving the track they reach the end of the ride where there is entertainment, food, raffles, silent auctions, and four or five motorcycle giveaways. Yes, four or five.

Early figures for 2009 indicate that the ride raised around $375,000 for the kids. If you ever thought about traveling and hitting a charity ride, come on over to the Hoosier State and join us on the Miracle Ride. Tell them the Motorcycle Nation Podcast sent you. You won’t be sorry.

Ride safe and ride with a purpose.

I have confirmed an interview with someone from one of the major insurance carriers. The purpose of this podcast will be to bring information to all of you on how to properly purchase motorcycle insurance to insure that you have the coverage needed to protect you in case of an accident. There are many gray areas that we all should know about especially medical coverage.

So, here is an opportunity for you to help out. Please email me, or just comment on this post, any questions that you would like for me to ask concerning purchasing the right amount of insurance, insuring medical, seasonal coverage, or any other item that you want to know. I look forward to this show and thank you for listening to the podcast and reading the blog.

Steve

Blogging about critters in the last post brought back other memories of 2004 and my collision with the deer. It does not matter what causes your accident or object you might connect with there is always a lingering question on your mind. Like I said, my wreck happened in September of 2004. My injuries were minimal for the wreck that I had but still involved a long recovery period. My injuries consisted of road rash of course, a broken left ankle, and lacerated spleen. The ankle took about three months to heal up well which put me right in the heart of the Indiana winter. I am not sure if the timing of the accident was good or bad but I do know one thing. It gave me way too much time to think.

People tell their kids all the time, and I am guilty as well, that if they fall off their bicycle they need to jump right back on and keep going. Well, let me tell you, that is easier to say to your kid than it is to convince yourself of the same thing. I spent the winter and early Spring of ‘05 wondering if I had the guts to get back on the bike. So many doubts flowed through my head during this time. I spent many hours contemplating if I would be scared once I got back on. Could I get past the fear of the return and be totally comfortable on the road again? Or, would I have such a fear of going down again that I could not safely handle a motorcycle again? One thing that I tell my students is that they can never fear a motorcycle. They must respect it, but they can not fear it. Was I facing the same possibilities that my students faced? Yes I was.

My fears came from many different directions. The fear of going down again was a strong one. Then there was the thought of should I be riding if I have kids and a family? Or, will my injuries heal well enough that I could ride? The first hurdle was the question over riding while I still have a family. That hurdle was crossed fairly easy. People die after being hit by a softball or being shot while being in the wrong place at the right time. Any minute of any day doing any activity brings the possibility of accidental death so I could not see giving up something that I loved for a possibility. So, on to the harder to conquer fears. The fears that could only be answered by throwing the leg over the saddle and pointing the motorcycle down the road, kicking it in gear, and making it go.

I bought the items that were a must to rebuild the bike. As a sidenote, slight mechanical ability can save you a ton of money. The estimate provided by a local HD dealer to fix my bike was $4500. I bought the parts and repaired and replaced the bars, fork tubes, lowers, gear shift lever, and some left side chrome for less than $500. It did not get body work and paint until 2 years later. Anyway, after the repairs were done there was only one thing to do. This was the moment of truth. I can tell you that when I raised the bike off the side stand my hands were sweating and I had a knot in my stomach. I thumbed the start button and the V-Twin roared to life. The sound was like music to my ears. It had been such a long time. Now was the real test. I squeezed the clutch and pressed down on the shift lever and eased out the clutch. I rolled out of my cousins garage and made my way up his short driveway to the road, never having to leave first gear. So far so good. My next challenge was shifting as I was still in rehab and my left ankle was not strong enough yet to pull up on the shift lever without pain. So, I ventured out on the road and hung my leg over the top of the lever and pulled back and shifted. With the pull of each gear I gained a little more confidence and felt my love of the wind coming back. I finished the short shake down run and returned to the garage to clean up before taking her home and parking her.

I was excited about my ride to work the next day. I left the house with total confidence and made my way down the state road that leads me east to the plant. The next huge hurdle had to be conquered, riding right through the same area where the accident happened. If you have never heard of the butt puckering experience I have to tell you right now that it is real. I got to the stretch of road where I went down and I slowed way down, every muscle tensed, sweat formed on my brow, and I scanned aggressively. I made it through! There was no question now that I still had the love for the sport and the desire to ride. Fear did not stop me although I can see why some people call it quits after having a motorcycle accident. I raise my hat to all of us who have been down and jumped back on. But I also raise my hat to those who decided that the risk of going down again was enough to make them stop riding.

Have you had that fear of returning? Let us know your experience via comments, whether you still ride or not.

Some critters we encounter on pretty much every ride. That would be the birds and the bugs. From listening to the motorcycle riders that I follow on Twitter there are places in the US that your bike will be covered in bugs after even a mid day ride. Hope you all have windshields for that one. Other critters, domesticated and wild, only show themselves to us occasionally. This list includes the dogs, cats, raccoons, possums, and many others. Some states have the occasional bear or longhorn steer to contend with but in Indiana the most feared is the deer.

I hit a deer in September of 2004 on my Softail. I popped around a downhill blind curve and started down a short straight stretch and it was as if someone dropped him at the side of the road. I had little time to react so I applied max braking and scrubbed off some speed before seeing the inevitable. I dropped my left shoulder and went for the ride. I can still hear the sound of my helmet grinding down the asphalt. Whew, what a ride. More on that at a later date maybe. The funny thing that non motorcyclists asked me was, “Why didn’t you swerve?” well Sherlock, tell me which way he was going to go! How many times have you seen a deer decide to wheel around and run the opposite direction? I could not predict anything in that short period of time.

Anyway, back to the other critters. I have encountered a critter in the past weeks that I have never encountered before while on my motorcycle. It started with the Michigan road trip and I saw another yesterday on my way to lunch. I am talking about turtles. On the Michigan ride we saw about five turtles and then the one yesterday made it six for me. I am a little surprised to be honest with you. Anyone been noticing a rash of turtles on your rides? Anyone know someone who has hit one?

What is the feared critter in your neck of the woods? Leave some feedback. All I can say is thank goodness I don’t live in alligator country! I will take the deer any day.

Ride Safe and watch out for those critters!

This weekend is that time where we are asked to stop and take some time to remember those that have left before us. We associate this holiday mostly with the military, those who shed their blood and gave their lives so that we could continue to enjoy the freedoms that we are afforded. Imagine a world where the people had no freedom of speech. What would your reaction be if the government told you what job you would work and exactly what you would be paid? How about a law that said that you could not own a motorcycle? People have lost their lives in the name of freedom and the things that we now enjoy should be enough to earn them the respect of every person born into this great country. If any of you are ashamed of your country, I urge you to move as quickly as possible. We don’t want you here anyway. I served in the United States Marine Corps and I salute all those who died protecting our freedoms. I will give my moment of silence today.

But Memorial Day is not just about the millitary. It is about family that deserves remembrance. It is a time to reflect on the good times that were had with that person. The love, laughter, and tears. The whole package is what made your relationship with that person special and we should remember them today as well. But, you can not stop there. Today is a day to remember friends as well. Those that were taken away from us too soon. Whether by natural causes or that inattentive motorist. Our fellow motorcyclists that made our enjoyment of the lifestyle what it is. We should remember them today as well.

Take a few minutes out of your day, away from the burgers or ribs, away from the swimming pool or the fishing hole, and remember. And don’t forget to thank your God for all of these people and for him making this all possible for you.

Ride Safe and Remember

You all remember that my buddy Dennis bought a new Ultra Classic on our recent trip to Michigan. If you have not read about that one scroll down a couple posts and read about the road trip. What I did not share with you is that another friend also has a new bike that was purchased about two weeks ago. Now that is not a very amazing story but let me add this ironic twist. The other friend just so happens to be Dennis’ wife Kim.

I stopped by the ABATE of Indiana state office yesterday where Kim works as the HFIC, that would be Head FEMALE In Charge, of the Motorcycle Safety Division. Kim schedules all the classes for the safety program at the sixteen safety sites in the state. I stepped off my Softail and was checking out her bike when she came out the front door with the keys in hand. She told me to take the bike for a ride and I told her that I would take it around the block and would be right back.

Remember that I am riding a 1999 Softail Custom as my daily ride. We are talking the 80 cubic inch Evolution engine, which was still solid mounted to the frame during that production year, and a five speed tranny. This was my first experience on the Harley Davidsons with the 96″ engine and the six speed transmissions. I have to say that I was impressed with Kim’s Street Bob.

Kim with her new Street Bob outside the ABATE of Indiana offices.

Really good power through the gears, even in sixth when I cranked the throttle from sixty-five mph and held on to one hundred before I decided I did not want a ticket that day. I like the shift points with the six speed tranny but really can’t think of any use for that gear other than being on the interstate hammering out the miles. Shifting was very smooth and was a little confusing without that trademark “clunk” during each shift. The handling was very nice although my route did not allow me to give a good test of the lean angles of the bike as any roads with any curves are 20 miles farther to the South. Overall I loved the ride.

Speaking of curves, I have to share a story from a friend from a few years ago. I got an email from him one evening and I read the email and noticed that he had placed a new sentence into his ending signature. We have all heard of Deal’s Gap with their 318 curves in 11 miles. Well my friend lives in Kansas and he signed off on his email by saying, “Kansas, 11 curves in 318 miles.” And now you have the rest of the story.

Back to new bikes. So, for the past 10 months I have been surrounded by new bikes. I have had the opportunity to ride a few of them and came away impressed with all. All but one have been from the Motor Company and that was a BMW f800GS. That is an amazing motorcycle as well and it is on my list of bikes that I would like to have. A little adventure would be fun. Put some miles on and go to a place where you could enjoy the attributes of the Beemer’s off road side would be pure pleasure. I have the New Bike Fever bad, all this is missing is the Big Bank Account to go with it. If you have purchased a new motorcycle lately, let us know about it. I can live through you.

Ride Safe

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Episode 10 starts out with information on recalls and then we dive straight in to the interview with Micah. Our main focus was to bring awareness to the ride on May 30th that Micah and friends are putting on called The Ride for Alexandra’s Heart. Follow the link for more info. This podcast is pretty straightforward and we end the episode with the song Story Teller by Indiana natives The Eclipse Band.

For out of state donations or for more information concerning The Ride for Alexandra’s Heart, you can make contact in either of the following ways.

Via Mail
Lucas County Choppers
PO Box 1213
Holland, OH 43528

Via Phone
419-491-7032

Recall Information

Ducati
800-231-6696
or find your dealer via the web at http://ducatiusa.com

Honda
866-784-1870

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This episode starts off with a quick summary of my road trip to Cedar Springs, MI and then moves along to the loss of two very committed motorcyclists. One local, Mark Garback, a motorcycle safety instructor with ABATE of Indiana and the other Mike “Boz” Kerr, Vice President of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation.

Next up is an interview with Paul Holdsworth that you have to listen to. You will be floored by Paul’s experiences over his many years of motorcycling and he speaks of his role with IronWorks Magazine. Many thanks to Paul as he was patient with my screwed up schedule and waited many weeks to record this podcast. Thanks again Paul. You can find subscription info to IronWorks Magazine by following the link and you can enjoy the musings of Snakebit Sam at IWBlogger.

We close out the show with another Eclipse song, Green Fishing Line. Follow the link to their website and get your own CD if you have been enjoying the music we have been playing on the podcast.

Special thanks to my friend Dennis Tyger for taking the road trip with me. Better friends are hard to find. As always, we appreciate you, the listeners of the Motorcycle Nation Podcast, for taking the time out of your life to support and listen. Safe travels.

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