Monday, October 22, 2012

Ride to Eat Report: Prospect Diner

Yesterday I stopped for a slightly hung-over breakfast at the small rail car Prospect Diner near Columbia, PA. It was my first visit but surely not the last. Highly recommended for motorcyclists. When I arrived at 0845 the joint was packed and getting busier. The parking lot is small and gravel, so bring a side stand plate. According to my diner reference book, the Prospect is a 1955 Kullman unit.

After uploading breakfast, I continued west over the historic Wrightsville Bridge, after which I headed generally south thru PA on twisty routes 624, 525 and 851, then into MD on 24 thru scenic Rocks S.P. before turning east back to DE.
Looking east across the Susquehanna

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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Turned 50 yesterday.

No, not me, my bike. Pulled over on way home from work to capture the moment on my crappy cell-phone camera. (I'm 51 BTW).
Every one of them is mine!

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Monday, October 15, 2012

Welcome New Sponsor Chaotic Motorsports!


Please welcome a new sponsor of Tilted Horizons, Chaotic Motorsports from the greater Houston, Texas area.  Chaotic's owner, Dominik Hussl, tells me his mission is to provide a one-stop online source for quality aftermarket motorcycle parts & accessories to the motorcycling community.  Unlike many retailers, Chaotic carries a large variety of parts for all types of bikes. No matter if you like to cruise on a V-twin or you're a knee-dragger on a superbike -- nobody is left out. Dominick himself keeps a beast of each flavor in his garage. It's also good to know that everyone else at Chaotic Motorsports is a rider, too.  Visit Chaotic's website and let them know Tilted Horizons sent ya!

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Monday, October 08, 2012

Of hot stuff, bionic pubic hair, funny smells & polishing your pipe.

Ah, motorcycle odors. Experienced riders can diagnose a problem with their bike depending upon whether its exuding eau du exhaust, oil, coolant, or that "should've-left-that-job-to-the-professionals" smell of wire insulation burning. It was this last olfactory assault to which I was subjected during my ride to work last Friday, confusing because it seemed a tad too "plastic-y" and I hadn't touched any wiring in ages. At every stop light I looked around and saw no smoke emanating from either motorcycle or my gear (please don't let it be my Aerostich or my riding buddies will forever call me The Melty Man), so I pressed on to work, where I parked up and immediately discovered the problem.
A metal bracket had broken, and it with its attached reflector had managed to balance for on top of a header pipe for 45 minutes. Once cooled, the offending piece popped off the pipe easily, but left behind a large black glob of baked-to-perfection "stuff", which of course got even more baked-on during my ride home that evening.

I know its fairly common  so how I'd managed to not melt anything on an exhaust pipe for so many years is a mystery; usually I'd experience only small clumps of dried-up Amish horse exhaust smoldering away on my pipes for hours like a potpourri burner. Googling uncovered myriad methods for removing melted nylon gear/rubber boot soles/plastic rain suits, etc. from exhaust pipes. After due consideration of the various methods, I chose to use Acetone and grade #0000 steel wool because I happened to have both in my garage. Surprisingly,  only 10-15 minutes later, my pipe was polished to like-new condition (OK, not nearly like-new; but all trace of the burned blob was gone and the pipe looked pretty damn good for having accumulated 50K miles of road crud). Being a chronic sufferer of CBS (Clean Bike Syndrome: please give generously), I was compelled to continue on and clean and polish the entire pipe...which of course led to cleaning the remaining three, and a sore forearm.

I haven't figured out exactly why the metal bracket broke -- it wasn't corroded and it's not in an area subject to stress or fatigue.  Unless, it shared the bird-strike my left knee took back in June. The reflector was on same side and not far forward of where my knee was. Hmmmm, Beaky's revenge!?
These are your friends if you've melted something on your exhaust! 

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Monday, October 01, 2012

Can you hear me now? RevZilla's latest contest.


I bet you'd be happy with a high-tech motorcycle helmet such as the much sought-after Schuberth S2. I bet you'd be thrilled if you could obtain one for free!  Click  over to RevZilla's October contest page to enter. The First Prize winner this month will receive not only the helmet, but also the SRC-S communications system.  Total value of that package is $1,128! Two Second Prize winners will receive $50 RevZilla gift certificates.

While you're on RevZilla's site, take a look around at what RevZilla has to offer the serious adventure or sport-touring motorcyclist. Why shop RevZilla? I can tell you why I do: fast, free shipping for orders over $39.99; TeamZilla cash back program; "no  hassle" exchanges; price match guarantee; and above all, RevZilla's top-flight reputation among riders I know for its customer service and product knowledge. Let 'em know Tilted Horizons sent ya!

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