Motorcycle Nation Podcast

I don’t know if my stars and moons are aligned or not but things are just right for me right now. My kids are happy and fed, my wife is beautiful, I still have a job, and the Softail is on the road again. After a few weeks of electrical problems I thumbed the starter on Monday night and she roared to life. It was an oh so sweet sound to my ears.

During the down time my wife let me ride her bike to work and to teach motorcycle safety classes (thank you Baby). She rides a 2006 883 Sportster that I bought her for Christmas in ‘07. The bike has served me well over this time and I am thankful that we had a spare in the garage for me to use. I found out some things about Sportys during this time that I was not totally aware of. The first thing is that these bikes are extremely responsive to the twist of the throttle. Sure, I had heard they were peppy but I had not experienced it. They jump very quickly when you crank the throttle, even with me on it. I was also extremely impressed with the gas mileage. I was able to get 53 mpg which is about 10 mpg better than I get with the Softail.

The other thing that I learned about a Sportster is that I am way too big for it. Now, I know that those of you who know me personally are seeing images having to do with a monkey and a football if you know what I mean. My knees were way up the sides of the tank and I could not see out of the mirrors without moving my elbows in to my sides and giving a slight lean away from the mirror. Not the safest way to ride but hey, I had to do something. The other thing that I learned is that some people will make fun of you no matter what.

I took some heavy ribbing from fellow instructors and other riders when they saw me pull up on that bike. But, you really know that you are riding the wrong motorcycle when you come upon a scooter rider approaching you from the other direction and as you pass you can see the heavy, gut wrenching laughter coming from him. All I can tell you right now is that I will ride it if the Softail goes down again. But, this time I will wear my full face helmet!

Ride Safe…on the bike that fits you! LOL

When you see or read that a motorcycle is a “special construction” motorcycle what does this mean to you? Does the picture in your mind produce images of a stretched out chopper? Do you see a pro street style construction with a massive fire breathing big inch motor? Whatever images are portrayed in your mind, I will bet that the pictures that you see below were not included.

These pictures were emailed to me today and I had to share them. The funny thing is that I received another email that was listing funny sayings and I am able to match up the pair after seeing both. One of the funny sayings was that “Beauty was in the eye of the beer holder”. I think that is an appropriate statement for this picture don’t you?

But, this picture does remind us what that dog with his head hanging out the car window and his lips and ears flapping in the wind knows. There is nothing better than being in the wind. People will do crazy things to experience that rush and this guy ingeniously has figured out a way to fulfill a need and be in the wind. He has the ability to haul a trailer, passenger, and looking at the trunk area, has plenty of room for storage.

Do you have any pics of these “special construction” bikes? If you do, send them to me at steve@mcnationpodcast.com and we will do a follow up post later on.

Hope you are all having a great Labor Day weekend!

Steve

Indiana motorcyclists are proud to have a Governor that not only rides a motorcycle, but is willing to get out and ride with the citizens of Indiana. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels leads a few rides a year that travel the state making stops in small towns all over. The most recent ride, August 14th, was on a beautiful day and surprised many of the first time riders with the route snaking us through some Southern Indiana backroads that had enough curves you would have thought you were on the Tail of the Dragon at times. The best part was that this ride was escorted start to finish by the Indiana State Police Motorcycle Unit. Thank you Gents!

Indiana State Police Electra Glides provided escort.

Whoever ordered the weather up for this ride did well but could have turned the temperature dial back about 10 degrees. I am not sure how many miles were covered as I left after the second stop so I could get back to Indy in time to see the Colts preseason game. The two stops that I did make were Milan and Madison. Milan is famous for their 1954 winning of the state high school basketball championship. The small town team beat the largest high school powerhouses that year and was the team behind the movie Hoosiers. The second stop that I made was in Madison, a really neat town on the Ohio River that looks across into Kentucky. This town also has a famous side as it is the host of the Madison Regatta, a hydroplane racing event held annually on the river.

Ohio River at Madison, IN

Riding with the Governor is free and we had over 400 waivers signed for the ride. If you are in the Hoosier state I encourage you to come out next time and ride with us. No matter what your political party of choice is, it is encouraging to have a rider in charge. The motorcycle rides that the Governor puts on are about motorcycle awareness and when a reporter questioned him on Friday about helmets he made a great statement. He told them that he chooses to always wear a helmet but that education, not mandatory helmet laws is what will save lives. Way to go Governor!

Staging at the State Capitol building.

Saturday mornings at our East Indianapolis training site also brings the state motorcycle skills test to the range. In order to reach the safety training range you must drive through the parking lot where the state test is conducted. On most Saturday mornings you will encounter ten to fifteen people lined up an hour before the start time waiting to be tested. This past weekend, when I arrived to prepare for the day there was only one person waiting and his choice of ride caught my attention.

It was really cool looking with some add on flames and had that throwback look of bobbers of the past. As I got closer I noticed the suicide shift and an engine that looked very unfamiliar to me and I noticed how small everything looked. Well, now my curiosity was up and I had to go and talk to the owner.

Seems the cool little machine that I had rolled up on is known as a Hardknock Bobber. This is a kit bike from Kikker 5150 that is currently sold in 49cc, 110cc, 125cc and 200cc models. There are many body style combinations that you can get along with a good selection of other accessories and paint combos. The machine that I was checking out sported a 110cc engine. The bike itself is still offered if you like what you see but only in the powerplant displacements listed above.

I found it pretty cool and if you encounter little traffic on your daily commute you may check these out. You will get the look and save a ton on gas. Have more questions about the bike? Why not check into the Hardknock Owners Forum.

Wow, time has gotten away from me. The end of month drill at work is always hectic but is more so this month. Add in teaching weeknight motorcycle safety classes and my days begin about 5:30 and sleep comes at about 11:30. So, I have had little time to write.

What has been happening besides that? Well, late spring brought a request from LiveNation, the outfit that handles tickets for Verizon Wireless Music Center (among many others) to plan rides to a series of concerts over the summer. ABATE plans a route and gets riders together for the all day ride. The ride takes the form of an observation ride where the participants are provided a list of questions that involve things to look for along the route. At the final stop, the riders with the most correct questions wins a prize pack that includes a meet and greet session backstage with that evenings lineup.

Through my involvement with ABATE, I have been on both of the rides that have happened this year. I got to see a great show that included Cross Canadian Ragweed, Trace Adkins, and Toby Keith. Trace and Toby were going to ride with us but it seems that Tony George offered up a few laps around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it is said that they took him up on the offer. More recently, I led the ride that ended with the Lynyrd Skynyrd / Kid Rock show. The funny thing about that is that it poured all day and there were a whopping 2 bikes on the ride. Mine and the Ultra Classic that you saw in an earlier post about the Michigan trip. The beauty of it all is that by the time we hit the amphitheater the weather was perfect for an outdoor concert.

Anyway, both of these genres of music worked for motorcyclists. Country, southern rock, and hard rock play right into the lifestyle of two wheel enthusiasts. The other big one of course would be the blues. How can a biker deny some good blues? I am not sure that rap would go over as well! But, we have one more concert this year and hopefully I will get to play a part and attend this one as well. Ang and I have had a great time on the first two and if we make the next one we will get to see ZZ Top and Aerosmith. That would be a great way to end the summer. These perks are just one more way that motorcycling has paid me back.

How has motorcycling paid you back? Weigh in with your comments and until next time, Ride Safe.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Right-Click Here To Download

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

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!

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

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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.

Right-Click Here To Download