Motorcycle Nation Podcast

Don’t Fix It. I have heard this so many times over my years yet there is something in the back of my mind that will not let me heed the advice. I must like the adventure of it all. Before I get any farther, this is the second rendition of this post. You will understand a little better shortly. You see, the blog was running fine but behind the scenes in the admin panel where you create your posts there was a message. This message was like a beacon to me as it screamed out, “Click Me…Click Me”. The message said that version 2.9.2 of Wordpress was out. Well I was on 2.7.1 so I felt that I “needed” to have the latest version so I got suckered in.

I installed an automatic upgrade plugin and clicked the button. The first 5 steps were progressing very well and then it happened. The dreaded fail message saying that the upgrade could not complete because it needed a newer version of mySQL. OK, no problem, leave me on 2.7.1 until I figure out how to upgrade mySQL through my host. Now, where do I click to get me out of here? The screen was stuck on the fail message with no way to return. So, I closed the window and attempted to log back in. No go. I was stuck with no way to update anything on my site.

That was Sunday evening. I labored through support forums and phone calls for the past few days trying to remedy the situation. I finally saw that there was a new Wordpress app for Android and I downloaded it to my phone last night and wrote the first version of this post. Later on I figured out how to upgrade mySQL and used FTP to enter into the files for the first time. It was all a frustrating but educational experience and today we are able to write again. I made the joke in the original post that I was going to have pretzel fingers from typing the post on the phone.

But, in the end all is well. Did I learn my lesson? Probably not. The only thing I can tell you is that when I feel that I “need” to change something on my bike that “ain’t broke” kick me. Really hard. In an unmentionable place.

Ride Safe

The VTwin Expo is going on right now in Cincinnati, OH and as you can probably tell I am not there. I had my media credentials along with the recording equipment and camera ready to go only to wake up this morning to blowing snow. Yesterday we received a little over five inches and even more overnight. The roads here in central Indiana are passable at a slow rate but some of the counties that I would have to pass through to get to the Duke Energy Center have travel advisories and the state police are asking motorists to stay home.

So, the show is on hold for me until 2011. I could actually attempt the trip on Sunday but being the Indianapolis Colts fan that I am, how can I be gone during the Super Bowl? I was really looking forward to this show as it would be my first opportunity to cover a major show and the biggest names in the VTwin market are exhibiting there. I am very curious to see what new, innovative ideas the manufacturers have managed to come up with during their winter hibernation period. I guess if I can’t bring the show to you first hand we will have to get the information from our favorite magazines that cover this market segment. I will be looking through IronWorks Magazine, a friend of the podcast, to get any information that I can. We will be attempting to bring you some of the new product information straight from the mouths of the creators themselves. Time for me to start the research. Happy Super Bowl weekend and if you are able to ride this weekend then I am jealous. Be safe.

I hope you did not expect to come to this post and find some great blues song about a bike being down and a rider drowning in his beer over it. The song is not here but this post is about looking at your bike knowing it is not running and you can not do anything about it. It is one thing if you are strapped for cash or you don’t have the time. It is something altogether different when you have the time and your credit card has already been provided but you can not get the part.

We always try to promote using your local shop to help boost the economy but there are times that the deal at the online retailer is so good that we make the decision to purchase it online. Many times you can save hard earned cash by purchasing from the online parts house even if you have to pay shipping. The problem is that you have such a wide variety of shops to choose from in the vast world wide web world that you have no idea who is legit or who is true to their word.

You are sitting back in your chair right now wondering why I am ranting on about this subject aren’t you? Well, I have been listening to the continuing saga of a coworker who ordered a simple part online to save $7. He placed two orders online approximately 55 days ago, one with Bike Bandit and the second with another retailer to be left unnamed at this time. My buddy owns a mid 80’s (I believe) Yamaha Venture and it is hard to locate parts to keep this motorcycle on the road. The part he ordered from Bike Bandit was at his door within 4 days. The part he ordered from the anonymous retailer is yet to be delivered even though the website said that it ships within 5 days. After numerous phone calls around the 25 day mark he was told that the part should be shipping in 1 week as it was backordered. It never came. So, he made another phone call last week and had to leave a message with the newly installed automated phone system.

Today, he received a phone call from one who claimed to be the owner saying that he was looking over the orders list and that he noticed this order being so late. He wanted to apologize and said that he had good news. It looked like the ordered part would ship in 4-5 days. My buddy said he wanted to tell the guy, “Excuse me for not getting excited.”, but he just told the guy if it is not here next week he could keep it.

There is nothing worse than having a ride that is down and in this down economy we are all looking for a break on the cost of maintaining our bikes. It is understood that sometimes things happen but two months to get a part that says it ships in 7 days is ridiculous. If you find yourself down make sure to do your homework. Either buy it from the local shop that you can deal with face to face or get on some forums and track down that reputable parts dealer that won’t leave you stranded. If the owner turns out to be stretching the truth then I will reveal the name of his company on the blog as one to avoid. After all, I don’t want anyone in the Motorcycle Nation Podcast family to live with the Bike Repair Blues.

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This episode we talk to Jensen Beeler of Asphalt & Rubber, one of the best sites for motorcycle industry news that I have found. Jensen has created an awesome site and his business background and a recent trip to the electric motorcycle manufacturers makes for some great conversation. You can also find Jensen on Twitter as asphalt_rubber and on Facebook. The Facebook link is on his website.

The recalls section is back and we run through them. Or, maybe I should say it. The only recall we have right now is for the BMW f650 GS and the f800 GS. The model years covered are 2008 thru 2010. During operation the a ventilation hose could draw water vapors into the charcoal canister allowing it to mix with the air-fuel mixture and cause the motorcycle to stall. The recall was set to begin this month, January 2010. If you have not heard from BMW you can call them at 800-831-1117.

There are a couple of news stories that are quickly covered so that we are able to jump right into the interview with Jensen. We close out the podcast with music from old friends Eclipse. I just had to hear “Ride Through the Badlands” again.

If you get a chance, review the podcast in iTunes so that we can move farther up the chart. If you would like to help cover the costs of keeping the site on the net and help us cover storage costs and bandwith, we have added a donate button on the right sidebar. Any amount would help from a dollar to whatever you want to give. Anything would be appreciated.

Remember our friends at MotoCaribe Motorcyle Tours. When you are ready to take a trip you can ride paradise on two wheels in the Dominican Republic. Give Ed a call at 877-MOTOFUN ext. 100 or visit the website by clicking their name above.

Until next time…Ride Safe

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Just a quick note to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. There are some exciting things coming soon on the Motorcycle Nation Podcast and we want you to be a part. Thank you all for helping to build this site in 2009 and I hope that you will continue to support us in 2010.

…terrible time of the year. The terrible time that I speak of is that time leading up to Indiana’s historically worst months for snowfall, January and February. With the snowfall comes the realization that the motorcycle will probably not be coming out of the garage for the next sixty days as the snow remains on the ground and the possibility of black ice forming on the road is great. I have never truly been a big fan of the snow anyway but when my true passion for motorcycling materialized I found an even stronger hatred for it. The cold does not bother me. If you own the right gear riding can be enjoyed nearly year round, except those months that road conditions may prohibit it.

So, I have to find things to fill my days during the winter. I do quite a few things to keep motorcycling in front of me. Most of you know that I teach motorcycle safety and we have things going on throughout the off season that keep us at our best. I also subscribe to a couple of print magazines that I spend time reading over the winter. During the summer, with my normal job, teaching, and my kid’s sports practices and games I don’t get the opportunity to read those mags on a regular basis. The cold winter months give me plenty of free time to study what I missed all summer. I spend time doing this blog and the podcast and I listen to other motorcycle podcasts. And, of course, I spend alot of time on the internet reading all the motorcycle related sights. Thank goodness for the net.

So, as the East coast is getting hammered this weekend, I ask you…what do you do in the winter to fuel your need for two wheels? Leave us a comment and tell your friends to listen to Episode 15 to take them away to paradise on two wheels.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Steve

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Episode 14 covers on the continuing struggles of the motorcycle industry and focuses on Harley Davidson as they seem to be the worst off. We also cover the cancellation of the Love Ride and KTM pulling out of MotoGP 250cc class racing due to the economy. We give some new bike releases to look for and also provide news about recalls on Ducati, Triumph, and BMW motorcycles.
We also talk about the upcoming Motorcycle Cannonball, a run for pre 1916 motorcycles that starts in San Francisco and ends in New York. The run is Sept. 10-22, 2010. Link is posted below.
Paul Teutel Sr. a singer? Check out Paul and the OCC band on their new CD OCC Rocks. You can sample the music over at Amazon.com
And, sadly, the end of Biker Radio Magazine has come. This was the best motorcycle podcast that ever hit iTunes or the internet. Ken Venus recently recorded and released episode 100 and the show has come to an end. To listen to past episodes follow the link at the end of the show notes.

SHOW LINKS
multistrada.ducati.com
motorcyclecannonball.com
bikerradiomagazine.com

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**UPDATE**
Episode 13 is now working in iTunes for all of you iPodders. I made a stupid mistake and forgot to click one button which caused the episode to not update. I have to thank my friend and fellow podcaster (not to mention he is a podcast consultant, wordpress wizard, and recording/podcast equipment salesman) Cliff Ravenscraft for finding my mistake for me. Thanks Cliff. If you are a podcaster or would like to give it a shot check Cliff out at PodcastAnswerMan.com.

Hey everybody,

I am not sure what is going on with iTunes but the show is not showing up in there. I am working to remedy this problem and thank you for your patience. I hope to be able to update you later today and say that you can go back to iTunes and get the show. As an alternative, you can still listen directly from the last post right here on the blog. Have a great day.

Steve

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In this episode we discuss some quick news. We mention the Vegas Bikefest and let you know that Jay Leno is auctioning off his 200hp V-Max to help a friend. We joke about Sen. Lautenberg from NJ helping to push a helmet law in Uganda (purely a joke). Motorcycle sales are down and we let you know just how bad the outlook is and we mention a study by the Freedonia Group that says that internationally, motorcycle sales are expected to rise 8% per year over the next 5 years.

The return of Casey Stoner to MotoGP this weekend and the trade off from World Superbike to MotoGP and vice versa of James Toseland and Ben Spies is mentioned as well. The majority of this episode involves the alarming trend over the past years of returning war vets losing their lives on motorcycles and what the Department of Defense has done in an attempt to stop these tragedies.

We close it out by mentioning friend of the show Adrian Blake, creator of the motorcycle show Ride! over on BlogTalkRadio. I urge you to go give Adrian a listen at Ride! Finally we close out the show by mentioning some interviews that we have in the works. Dwayne from Cycle Outfitters here in Indy will be joining us soon to talk about cold weather riding gear. Dwain DeVille, author of “The Biker’s Guide to Business” will promote the book on the Motorcycle Nation Podcast. This is a unique look at the world of business through the eyes of a biker. And we are in the process of setting up an interview with Jensen Beeler, Editor-in-Chief of Asphalt and Rubber, a website providing the latest motorcycle industry and racing news to the web. You won’t want to miss anything that is coming up!

Finally, we send you out with the song Ride by Adrenaline Factor. You can find this song and additional band information at MusicAlley.

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I was guided to a blog the other day called Forty Years on Two Wheels where the author was on a rant about the quality of American motorcycle shows. His evaluation discussed the fact that most seemed low budget and revolved around the V-Twin motorcycles. He went on to point out that the coverage is focused at Daytona, Sturgis, and other traditional American Iron gatherings. And he even mentioned the hosts. The feuding Teutuls, the ex racers, and the well endowed, none of which he considers to be worthy.

I love my V-Twin. As a matter of fact there are two products of the Motor Company sitting in my garage. But, I have to agree with the author. The world outside of HD and V-Twins has so much to offer and we need someone to step up and produce a show. I personally would love to see a show on adventure bikes. Maybe a shootout to crown the champion. I have my eye set on the BMW F800GS and would welcome the opportunity for a full review of the off highway capabilities. A show profiling the sport tourers would be cool too. A Honda ST1300 or that old reliable Kawasaki Concours could hold a spot in my garage as well.

I don’t want this blog to be a Harley only blog. Invite all your friends here so we can talk all motorcycles. Maybe someone with some pull will see that there is a need for a TV show that focuses on every brand of motorcycle and every type of riding. If you know someone, put the bug in their ear.

Ride Safe