When fashion and motorcycling collide

you get this.

The best argument I’ve seen yet against mandatory helmet laws.
H/T to Bike EXIF.

Two wheels and conditions awareness

Let me preface this post with the comment that I hope this guy has a full and speedy recovery. But c’mon. What was he thinking?
I fully appreciate the need to get back up on two wheels as soon as possible once spring is in the air, but this accident was almost guaranteed to happen:

• The temperature in Ottawa this morning was –13C (8F) with a wind chill of –25C (-13F).
• We have had successive thaw-freeze cycles over the past few days, so ice patches are common on the roads. And at those temperatures, black ice is also common, especially at intersections.
• Even without ice, tires simply do not grip as well on very cold pavement – a particular problem for motorcycles with small contact patches.
• Finally, at 7:30 in the morning, it is barely light out as the sun has just crested the horizon.

We don’t yet know who was ‘at fault’, whether ice was a factor, the rising sun blinded one of the drivers, or the 41-year-old rider simply froze (literally) at the controls. But regardless, this accident would not have happened, and two people would not be in the hospital, if he had only applied some common sense and left his scooter in the garage for another week.

We are all fighting the urge to get out there, but let’s do so safely.

(Photo: Wayne Cuddington, The Ottawa Citizen)

Older riders

Shortly after we moved into our last house, an elderly gent stopped by one day when I was washing the Norton in the driveway. Turned out he lived just a couple of doors away and used to ride one himself – a 1956 Featherbed as I recall. He said he had been thinking about getting another bike, but this time it would have to have three wheels because his balance wasn’t so good and he didn’t feel he could handle the weight safely any more. He was, “almost 80 y’know.”
Anyway this went on for a month or so. I’d be outside puttering around and Fred would show up for a chat and to ask my advice on Honda versus Harley, or trikes versus sidecars. I knew nothing about three-wheeling, but that didn’t stop us from spending time just shooting the breeze.
And then one day Fred showed up on an old Harley Servi Car he’d picked up from somewhere. Cosmetically it was in pretty rough shape – in fact it looked ugly as hell - but it ran well and Fred was in seventh heaven, riding again. Every day he’d be out driving up and down the street, with a huge ear to ear grin on his face. He’d make the odd trip to the grocery store or the beer store, but he generally stayed pretty close to home as he  got accustomed to his new wheels.
Finally one day he had to drive into the city to take his bike in to the shop for some routine maintenance. I watched him head off, all leathers and gloves and helmet and goggles and bright orange safety vest. His wife Marjory stood on their doorstep, wringing her hands with worry about “the old fool” – her pet name for him whenever it came to anything motorcycle. I must admit a certain amount of concern myself, but nothing to be done about it now.
But sure enough, a few of hours later I heard the old Harley as Fred came putt-putting down the street. I walked over to his place as he parked it and had just started to ask how the trip was when Marjory came racing out of the house, hugely relieved. “I just heard on the radio” she said, “the police were warning drivers on the Queensway about someone travelling the wrong way”. “I was worried sick about you.”
Fred, pulling off his helmet, replied, “Nothing to worry about, I’m fine.” Then added, “But it wasn’t just one person going the wrong way, there was hundreds of them.”

The Wearable Motorcycle

Since Gottleib Daimler’s first gas powered motorcycle in 1885, the basic design hasn’t changed. Sure there have been lots of technical advances (thankfully!), but today’s mainstream motorcycles still consist of two wheels, separated by a propulsion system, on top of which sits the operator. 
That hasn’t stopped people from trying to redefine the motorcycle though. For example, we’ve got the Carver One, the McLean Monowheel, and the Can-Am Spyder, all looking for their own place in motorcycling history.
   
But if you want to see a real paradigm shift, you have to look further, to something like this: The Wearable Motorcycle. Very cool.

Zen and Now

By Mark Richardson
Zen and Now: On the Trail of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a road story with a twist.
From the cover liner:

“Richardson … was struck by [Zen and The Art’s] portrayal of Pirsig’s complex relationship with Chris and struck by the timelessness of its lessons.
So Richardson tuned up his old Suzuki dirt bike and became a “Pirsig pilgrim””.

Richardson neatly blends his own experiences on this trip with those of Pirsig some 36 years earlier. He follows the same route, visits the same places, and meets many of the same people that Pirsig encountered. And in the process comes to better understand himself, the Pirsigs, and Zen and the Art.
But Richardson takes it beyond a simple road story with his extensive research into the lives of the Pirsigs beyond what we learn in Zen and the Art. The murder of Chris in San Francisco, the marital breakup, the relationship with the other son, Tom, all combine to add an interesting third dimension to Zen and Now.
Bottom line: If you’re looking for something deeply philosophical, read Pirsig’s second book, Lila: An Inquiry into Morals. But if you want a book that will keep you turning the pages and perhaps trigger an impulse to become a Pirsig pilgrim yourself, Zen and Now is a worthwhile addition to your motorcycling library.

When walking, just walk.
When sitting, just sit.
Above all, don’t wobble.