Holy economic downturn, Batman!  Apparently, times are very tough indeed on Wayne Industries.  A few days ago the Batcycle from the '60s TV series sold on eBay for the Buy-It-Now price of $29,500. Originally a 250cc 1966 Yamaha Catalina, the Batcycle was equipped with the sidecar/detachable go-kart that poor smuck Robin had to squeeze into. It had 8245 miles on it when sold and was fully functional according to the seller.

After suffering a mutiny of my ZR-7s' Handling Department last week, which included the Captain nearly being thrown into the drink twice on the same rainy commute, I decided to reign in my tired front boingers. Overboard went the water-thin old fluid (had been in over 29K miles) and OE springs, replaced by Progressive 11-1145 springs and fresh oil. I went with 10W oil (same as stock), using a Motion Pro fork oil syringe-tool thingie to set the level at 140mm (spring out, fully compressed) per Progressive's recommendation. The new springs are much longer, so to measure for the new spacers I simply laid the OE springs and spacer side-by-side with the new springs and supplied PVC pipe. I then added a very scientific "smidge" to make the new spacer an even 3". I reused the OE washers. I must've gotten the preload correct because the spacer stuck up about 3/8" beyond the extended fork tube, which is the "rule of thumb" preload check per Progressive. While the forks were on the bench, I took the opportunity to polish the upper tubes very well to remove dried beetle remains a/k/a fork seal killers. I also cleaned up the brake calipers and re-greased the slider pins. With everything back together, I did a half-arsed sag measurement using a zip-tie on the upper fork tube. It was at 30mm with no riding gear or luggage, so I must be in the neighborhood of the often-recommended 35mm. A test ride on very familiar roads revealed a much better behaved motorcycle; the front soaks up little bumps while holding up to sharp-edged bumps and also diving less under braking, which also gives me better feel for the rear tire while cornering, perhaps because the excessive fork dive/weight transfer is eliminated. Steering is much improved, too; it actually holds a line again. My ZR always handled well enough for me until recently, and now it's probably even better than new. Of course, having better feel out front will probably soon reveal how old the rear shock it getting, which means I better keep the credit card handy.

We don't need no stinkin' jack!

I hope you didn't miss yesterday's duel between Rossi and Lorenzo at the Catalunya MotoGP. Instant classic. Go watch the race on MotoGP's YouTube channel, or click here to see the final two epic laps.

Update 6/24/2009: The link above won't work; try this one instead. Dorna/MotoGP are yanking down fans' YouTube postings as fast as they go up. Instead, you get to watch MotoGP's own ridiculously sucky video, which shows the most critical passes of the last laps in fast forward! What genius decided that was a good way to show off MotoGP? Hey Dorna: you've got one of most exciting finishes in history; just let it play! And stop trying to quell fandom through your IP lawyers. The more vids get posted on YouTube, the stronger your fan-base becomes...get it?

Even if you're not a regular motorcycle commuter, "git on yer bike!" next Monday the 15th for the 18th annual worldwide Ride to Work Day. This year's motorcycle and scooter commuting demonstration is expected to be more than double as many riders become two-wheeled commuters to help demonstrate that riding is an efficient, economical form of personal transportation which makes parking easier and helps traffic flow better. According to Ride to Work, a non-profit advocacy organization: "Riding to work on this day shows the positive value of motorcycles and scooters for transportation. For many people, riding is an economical, efficient and socially responsible form of mobility that saves energy, helps the environment and provides a broad range of other public benefits". Motorcycle and scooter enthusiasts and rider organizations worldwide encourage their members to ride to work on this day.

According to the United States Census Bureau and the Department of Transportation, over eighty million cars and light trucks are used for daily commuting on American roads, and about 200,000 motorcycles and scooters are a regular part of this mix. On Ride To Work Day, the practical side of riding becomes more visible as a larger number of America's 8,000,000 cycles are ridden to work.

Let's hope the weather next Monday is a little better then recently.  I commuted in the wet all last week, including a ride home in a thunderstorm /windstorm that was sufficiently nasty that when I got home the Weather Channel was doing a live report on it!  Not that it wasn't fun on some video-game-like level dodging all stuff flying by: tree branches, roof shingles, Smart Cars, old ladies in rocking chairs (cue Miss Gulch's theme from Wizard of Oz)...

Remember the American Motorcyclist Association's "Mo-Tow" service, with it's separate fee and subscription period, and how you had to double-check the expiration date or perhaps renew before heading out on tour?  Well, forget all that.  When you join or renew your AMA membership in the new "enhanced" categories (Champion, Defender, Hall of Fame or Competition Plus), and opt for automatic renewal, you get AMA Roadside Assistance for free, linked directly to your membership.  (Little secret: if you're among the first 25,000, you'll also get a $10 BikeBandit.com gift card).  Roadside Assistance is hugely more comprehensive that Mo-Tow, which was basically just a tow service, and includes coverage for all motorcycles, cars, pickups, motorhomes and trailers registered to you, your spouse, and dependent children under the age of 24, living at home or away at college.  The full list of plan benefits are on AMA's site here. Hopefully, one never needs these benefits, but IMHO it's a little extra piece of mind well worth having.

OK, maybe I've got bats in my belfrey, but I never thought I'd have wasps up my tailpipe!   It was difficult to photograph, but if you look closely you'll see 2 of mud-wasp nests I discovered recently.  There's a 3rd one behind the other 2.  The nests are vacant; I can only imagine the seriously brain-damaged inhabitants leaving in bizarre, irregular flight patterns before plummeting directly to earth.  The curious thing is that my motorcycle is only parked outside at work. I guess I need to talk to my boss about the length of my work-day...

Even though not a motorcycle-specific product, Datel's self-powered, LED voltmeter line is very popular with motorcyclists. I bought mine at Digital Meter for about $50. Digital Meter's site has a lot of very useful information, including links to websites showing Datel meters installed on various motorcycles. I opted for the DMS-20PC-1-DCM model, with a red LED display within a 8V to 50V range and .1V resolution (I figured the .01 resolution would flicker around too much). The unit is roughly 1.4" long by .9" tall by 1" deep and only weights a few ounces. The case is polycarbonate and the "guts" are epoxy-encapsulated, which should make the unit practically waterproof, although Datel doesn't market it as such. A panel-mount retaining clip is included and a plastic bezel is available for a few bucks for an almost factory panel mount look. I opted to mount mine to the underside of my gauge cluster using 3M Dual-Loc (sort of a "Super Velcro"). With only two wires, hook-up is as simple or complicated as you'd like. I chose to run the pos and neg wires directly to the battery instead of splicing into a switched circuit. With a max current draw of only 13mA, I'd have to let my bike sit for weeks before it would drain the battery appreciably, and it's a 2-minute job to disconnect if necessary. Plus, hooked direct to the battery I get a true reading and I can read voltage even with the ignition switched off. I've subjected the Datel to many miles of poorly-maintained Pennsylvania backroads, and lately, a lot of rain. The Datel hasn't shown even a momentary glitch. My only caution is that the display lens is soft; I scratched it a bit swiping some pollen off with a gloved thumb. I recommend some protection such as vinyl cling material (BTW, tinted vinyl could also be used to dim the bright display if desired; mine is below usual eye-level so it isn't a problem). It's too early to determine long-term reliability, but Datel meters have an excellent reputation among Internet motorcycle forum members. I give the Datel a solid recommendation.

One of the most anticipated motorcycles in recent years, the BMW S 1000 RR, premiered last Saturday at Monza during the Superbike World Championship race weekend. BMW's first true sportsbike supposedly weighs only 404 lbs. and cranks out 193 HP.  The tech-wizzardry includes a 4-stage ABS system, with settings for Rain, Sport, Race and Slick conditions.  Typical for BMW, the styling exercise is a little...ummmm, different, with both asymmetrical headlights and asymmetrical body panels. BMW Motorrad USA says the RR will be U.S. showrooms by early 2010.  Pricing hasn't been announced, but I expect you'll need a 2nd mortgage...or federal bail-out money.

This is not your father's BMW.

The Kisan CG-25 Chargeguard is a digital multi-meter with 4 modes of display: voltmeter, ammeter, ambient temperature and a flashing ice alert warning. The CG-10 package adds a tiny on-board battery charger. The specifics on the Chargeguard system are on Kisan's website.  At about $150, it's a relatively expensive but all-in-one monitoring solution. The Kisan powers up when either the multi-function button is depressed or it detects voltage, and turns itself off after a few minutes' absence of voltage, which negates the need to splice into a switched circuit or to run a relay.  Another nice feature is an auto-dimming backlight. Installation is fairly straightforward, but before delving into the project I highly recommend searching the 'Net for examples of mounting options for the display unit and options for mounting the battery shunt. I decided to mount my display unit on my handlebars, between the bar mounts.  I couldn't get the unit as secure as I wanted on my 7/8" bars (it's held on by zip ties), so I took a couple of inches of an old gel handgrip, slit it and slipped it over the bars and under the Kisan mounting tabs.  After cranking down on the zip ties, the unit was rock solid.  I zip-tied the temperature probe to a fairing stay under my dashboard, where it would be shaded in order to obtain a more accurate temp signal.  The Chargeguard performed spectacularly...for a couple of thousand miles, after which it  sporadically began refusing to power up on "igntion on" (it would work if the button was pressed).  I would also occasionally find that it had turned itself on hours after it had shut down.  These were minor issues I could've lived with; however, somewhere between 7 - 8,000 miles the characters in the display went bonkers (flashing, segments inop, flashing rapidly, etc.).  I took the unit apart hoping (?) to find water intrusion or something obviously wrong  in the circuit board, but all appeared visually well.   Having exhausted my very limited electrical "expertise", the unit and associated wiring was removed and 'canned.  In light of my short-lived and expensive experience, I can't recommend Kisan Chargeguard.  I've recently replaced it with a simple Datel 2-wire voltmeter, and I've got a Teltek electronic thermometer on order.  I won't have an ammeter or some of the niceties of the Kisan unit, but I'm hoping they'll function much longer.  I'll report on the Datel and Teltek units down the road a bit.

On Sunday, I rode in to Ephrata, PA for the "First Sunday" event. On the way, I managed to dodge most of the loose gravel, tree brances and assorted critter carcasses littering the "back-er" roads (roads so small they that don't have numbers) caused by a big storm and high winds a couple of days prior. If you're not familiar with the Ephrata ride-in/rally/breakfast event, check out the old posts here, here, here and here. Below are a few pix I snapped (click to enlarge).

Following up on my prior post, the Honda Sport Touring Association is now the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association. The new logo is still being debated. So why the name MSTA? “It's simple really,” says David Brickner, current president, “we ride all brands of motorcycles and having 'Honda' in our name was a stranglehold on attracting new members into the nation's best and oldest sport touring organization." (Plus, it has been many years since the association was actually affiliated with Honda). Says Brickner, "We now have a new name that better serves our unique branding and heritage of riding the nation's tightest, most technical roads - and touring to get there. MSTA members really define the spirit of sport touring as a recreation for motorcyclists."

Mark you calendars -- the 18th annual worldwide Ride to Work Day will be Monday, June 15th. In recent years, RTW Day was held on the 3rd Wednesday in July. This year's motorcycle and scooter commuting demonstration will more than double as many riders become two-wheeled commuters to help demonstrate that riding is an efficient, economical form of personal transportation which makes parking easier and helps traffic flow better. According to Ride to Work, a non-profit advocacy organization: "Riding to work on this day shows the positive value of motorcycles and scooters for transportation. For many people, riding is an economical, efficient and socially responsible form of mobility that saves energy, helps the environment and provides a broad range of other public benefits". Motorcycle and scooter enthusiasts and rider organizations worldwide encourage their members to ride to work on this day.

According to the United States Census Bureau and the Department of Transportation, over eighty million cars and light trucks are used for daily commuting on American roads, and about 200,000 motorcycles and scooters are a regular part of this mix. On Ride To Work Day, the practical side of riding becomes more visible as a larger number of America's 8,000,000 cycles are ridden to work.

Why do we ride motorcycles? Why hurl ourselves down the road on thoroughly impractical machinery, in all manner of weather and road conditions? Why do we get a kick out of being leaned over at crazy angles, trusting our well-being to rubber contact patches the size of a half-dollar? Why do we get a rush from a quickly-accelerating motorcycle? Are the reasons biological, spiritual, or something else entirely? Are we programmed for this activity, or are we exercising free will? Former road racer, moto-journalist, novelist, historian, illustrator, and aircraft pilot Steven Thompson provides some answers...or at least some food for thought. I tiptoed into this 417 page book, Bodies in Motion, Evolution and Experience in Motorcycling, with some initial trepidation, not convinced I wanted to know the answer, as experience informs me that once one knows (or pretends to know) why one is doing something, self-consciousness alters the behavior pattern. In short, too much analysis can ruin all the fun.

Don't get me wrong; despite some short-comings, I highly recommend you buy this book! Face it: motorcycle books are largely of the "how to ride", "where I've ridden" or "how to fix it" varieties; this one is something fresh and a little more cerebral. I'm not surprised at all that Bodies apparently kicked around for quite a while before visionary Andy Goldfine did us all a great service by publishing it. While Bodies in Motion didn't convince me Mr. Thompson has the magic answer to why I ride, it has me thinking about why I ride, which I suspect was the author's intent all along.

Bodies in Motion, Evolution and Experience in Motorcycling. Steven L. Thompson. 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0-9819001-1-7. 417 ppg.

I just re-read this post from March '08, and it's eerily accurate so far as to March '09.  Last Sunday about 8" of snow got dumped on us; tomorrow when I head out on my ride shortly after sunrise it'll already be over 50F.  I may hit some rain on the way, which ain't necessarily a bad thing as it may wash off some of the "protective coating" of salt reside and road grime my ZR-7S has accumulated this winter.

Andy Goldfine (Mr. Aerostich), who introduced a generation of motorcyclists to "Better Riding through Chemistry" via his Cordura/Goretex gear, surprised a lot of 'Stichies like myself by releasing a new jacket and pants combo made from...leather.  But don't worry, Aerostich isn't going all retro on us, because you see, the Transit suit is made from waterproof cows.  Perhaps Farmer Jones fed his heard a Goretex diet, or maybe the smart folks at Gore finally figured out a way to bond Goretex to leather.  In any event, does the Transit provide a happy marriage of abrasion-resistant leather to the all-weather comfort of Aerostich's textile offerings?  Well, I can't tell you firsthand.  Though Andy G. has been velly, velly good to me over the years, I don't believe he was going to hand over one of his new $1500 Transit suits for me to monkey with.  So instead, go read GabeUnchained's review of the Transit, re-posted on his blog from famed San Francisco publication City Bike.