Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Foiled!

ICYMI, aluminum foil (that'd be aluminium for my UK friends) works wonders during servicing and for keeping errant fluid away from where it isn't wanted. Think about it: AL foil is moldable into any shape (instant funnel anyone?) and won't absorb fluid like a rag does.  Many motorcycles have oil drain plugs or (like mine) oil filters located close to the exhaust pipes.  Raid the kitchen, wrap your pipes, and never have to suffer the smoke and smell of old dinosaurs roasting on your headers during that first post-oil change ride.
Remove before flight.

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Monday, April 21, 2014

Revive your First Aid Kit


With Spring finally here, whether you're prepping your motorcycle for the riding season, or you never stopped riding it, this would be a good time to inspect your first aid kit and replace, replenish or supplement (hint: "sting kills") as needed. Reorganizing and re-familiarizing yourself with the kit could also prevent Emergency Step #1 being "dump the entire contents onto the ground and begin fishing around." Wait, you DO keep a first aid kit on your bike, right?  If not, you should.  A first aid kit is similar to an umbrella -- you'll only need it when you don't have it.

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Monday, April 14, 2014

Registered for Americade 2014

I've registered for my favorite motorcycle rally, Americade, centered on Lake George, New York, which Thomas Jefferson described as the "Queen of American lakes". Americade is the largest touring rally (i.e. a centrally-organized event; not a "Bike Week" type of event) in the world, with 50,000+ registered attendees expected. Many thousand more who choose not to register for the rally will also show up. This will be my 10th Americade since 1998, and 12th bike trip to Lake George.  The rally is tremendous fun with tons to do over the course of the 6-day rally, including seminars and talks by noted moto-journalists, world travelers and industry insiders; skills shows; demo rides; bike judging; field events; guided and unguided tours; lighting shows; charity poker runs; scavenger hunts; comedy shows; fireworks; parades; and, much more. It also features a giant motorcycle trade show, TourExpo. Now all that's great, but I tend to spend most of my time riding the excellent twisties and mountain gaps in the Adirondack National Park (the largest in the continental US) and nearby Vermont. I'll also spend a bit of time riding and hanging out with Americade friends (most of which I only see during Americade). Where will you be riding this year?









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Tuesday, April 01, 2014

Blow Hard Motorcycle Horn

This review of an awesome new product was just posted today from the good folks at webBikeWorld; may have to buy one for commuting duty!

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