How is it that I find myself so busy at my computer on this fine California evening? Well there's a story behind that, and if I can just get my fingers to work this MacBook keyboard I'll tell you about it (more on my new MacBook later, perhaps). Let's see, where do I begin...
I commute to work most days on my Suzuki GZ250, and last week the weather was just perfect motorcycling weather. Last Friday, in particular, was especially lovely. The sun was out, the Bay breezes were blowing in from the north, and, as so often is the case in California, the temperatures sat mildly and comfortably in the mid-70's. Just a perfect Autumn day, and as I was cruising down the freeway on my Suzuki I couldn't help but reflect on how truly lucky I was to be in this place at this time and on this bike.
(are you with me so far?)
I needed to pick up a few things and so I got off the highway and cruised down the street to the local supermarket, all the while feeling remarkably cool and incredibly virile all dressed up in my black leathers and such. Riding my bike in my black leathers always makes me feel so male and manly, and as I pulled into the parking lot I just knew that more than a few passers-by wished they were me. I found a spot and pulled in the clutch as I eased into the empty parking space, turned the engine off and coolly looked around for admirers while I kicked the sidestand into place.
At least I thought I kicked the sidestand into place...
Actually, I had only partially kicked the sidestand into place, and as I leaned the bike over to rest on the stand it promptly folded back up against the bike and left me leaning over into nothing but an empty void and the inevitable gravitational vortex to which all of us are victim. Now, as you may recall from your high school science class, bodies at rest tend to stay at rest, but bodies in motion tend to...well...let's just say a more experienced pilot probably would have recognized the futility of trying to right the bike once it had begun to fall and would have immediately bailed out, but for some reason I decided to hold on for dear life, not stopping to think if this was a smart thing to do.
The next thing I knew I was lying on my side on the asphalt with my bike laying on top of me, not feeling nearly as cool as I did before, with a shooting pain in my left shoulder and a nagging doubt as to whether Marlon Brando had ever had a moment like this. Of course not. Brando was cool, and there was nothing cool about lying under my bike in a parking lot with my face shield in someone else's dirty motor oil. No time to worry about that now, though; the first thing I had to do was get up and pick up my bike.
So I slid out from underneath the bike and somehow struggled to my feet, feeling like the newbiest newb who ever put on a set of black leathers, and as I looked around I noticed that not one person in the parking lot who had seen my little mishap came by to offer assistance or ask if I was ok. If I had been hit by a car or something like that then sure, all kinds of concerned citizens would have come to my aid, but when you drop a bike, believe me, no one wants to be your friend.
In fact, come to think of it, when you ride a motorcycle people just treat you differently in general. Not in any drastic kind of way, but, you know, in subtle ways. For instance, sometimes when a woman sees a biker coming down the street she might start acting differently than if he were coming down the street in a car. You know, when she sees a biker she might start reaching into her purse for her cellphone or a can of pepper spray or something. Subtle little things like that. On the other hand, when some women see a biker coming down the street they have just the opposite reaction. They smile and flirt and give you that look like "Ooh, you sexy man. Give me a ride on your bike and have your way with me." At least that's what I think that look means. It could also mean "What a loser." I'm not really sure which.
Anyways, back to my story. Since I couldn't get any help, I picked the bike up and put it securely on it's stand, and even though my left shoulder was throbbing with pain, I nonchalantly made my way into the store as if to say "Oh that? It was nothing. Bikes do that sometimes." It wasn't until after I got out of the store my back started to stiffen on me and my left thigh started to throb, and yes it all made for a very interesting ride home as every time I shifted a gear my left leg would ache and my back would go into spasms. Somehow, I managed to make it home, and when I got in the door I immediately laid down on the bed and screamed my lungs out. That's when I found that getting into the bed was a whole lot easier than getting out of it, which I did only to go to the bathroom and even then not without much inner turmoil.
Well, it's now been 3 days since my little mishap in the parking lot and, though still not completely healed, I'm finding that I can physically do almost anything I want to as long as it doesn't involve sitting or the movement of any of my body parts. You know when I was younger I suffered harder falls than this one and I always just jumped right back up without feeling a thing, but you can't do that when you're old and decrepit. Damn, how I hate being old and decrepit.
So rather than just lie on my back and stare at the ceiling while I feel miserable and sorry for myself, I thought I'd do a little blogging and get some of you feeling miserable and sorry for me too. No, no, no, I'm just kidding. My back only hurts occasionally, and I've got the point where I can lift my left arm high enough to put a shirt on without breaking down and crying for my mother. Ah, life's little victories. And as for the bike, well, you know the old saying. When you fall off the horse then you got to dust yourself off and...learn to stay the hell away from horses.
No, that's not true. In fact I went for ride last night. Once you get a motorcycle in motion they're just fine. It's when they're standing still that they're dangerous.
Showing posts with label suzuki. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suzuki. Show all posts
Monday, October 29, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Born To Be Wild
I just logged my 1000th mile on my little GZ this week, so I thought now would be a good time to write down some of my impressions. I don't know why anyone would care, but indulge me, ok?
First of all, I love biking. Period. End of argument. Any day I can't ride is a day wasted as far as I'm concerned. As for the GZ, it was a little tight for the first 500 miles or so and getting it to go any faster than 45 mph was a real chore. I took it in for regular maintenance at 600 miles, and ever since it seems to have really loosened up. The engine revs freely and the clutch has lost it's initial grabiness. The other day I was breezing down the expressway and couldn't believe it when the speedometer read 62 mph (ok, so this isn't a superbike - I thought I told you that).
Anyways, each day it seems to run better and better, and some mornings I can't wait to get out of bed and head off on my morning commute, only to drag around the office all day until I'm ready to head home again. I tell you, there's just something about being outside and feeling the thump-thump-thump of that engine that lifts my spirits every time I go for a ride. Especially when I pull up to a light and look at all those people lined up around me in their little metal boxes, all of them so remote and insulated from the world around them, that justifies all the little inconveniences of motorcycling (bugs, manhole covers, exhaust fumes blowing in your face, etc...). It's like all these people are driving around in little living rooms and never bothering to step out the door and experience what's outside. There they are - mom in the front seat talking on the phone and the kids in the back watching TV on their built-in video players, too self-absorbed to even engage each other, let alone the world going past their windows.
(Which reminds me of a story I saw on the news. Seems that Yosemite National Park has been having a hard time attracting visitors lately because a lot of kids seem to think that National Parks are boring. They're so busy living their digital lives that they just can't get into trees and waterfalls and stuff like that, so the Park Service is trying to find ways to get kids interested in nature again. Hmmm, maybe they could cover Half-Dome with a giant HDTV screen and set up some XBox 360's or something. That might interest them, for a couple of minutes that is).
Anyways, motorcycling, I've found, is all about being out in the world and engaging with nature and the elements, and like I said, I love it. Now that I've had a taste there's just no way I'll ever stop riding these things. That is, of course, unless I die first. One big problem with the GZ, though, is the seat. I can only go about 30 miles or so before major butt pain starts settling in. This is a real drag, and unfortunately none of the aftermarket seat manufacturers takes the GZ seriously enough to develop a replacement seat for it. The only solution I've found so far is short rides with long butt breaks, however that may change because I just placed an order for something called a buttbuffer. It's supposed to be some kind of space-age pad and I have no idea if it's gonna work, but at this point I'm getting desperate.
Other than that the GZ is pretty much what I expected it to be. It's steady and reliable, not too fast, and gets me around 70 mpg riding around town. I haven't taken it on the freeway yet, but maybe after I get my buttbuffer I'll be able to take an extended trip somewhere. Meanwhile, I stopped by a Triumph dealership the other day and looked at one of their new Bonnevilles. Ah, now that's a bike. No Harleyesque heft or sportbike plasticiness, just classic 60's styling, a 865cc parallel twin and nice firm cushion to rest your tush on. Hmmm, maybe next spring...
Oh, and before I go this news item just came across the wire. It appears that the Turkish government has passed a non-binding resolution condemning the United States for the genocide it committed against the native North American peoples during what it called the Great Indian Wars of the late 19th century. Although many in the American government were outraged at this meddling in U.S. history, there were a few democrats on the house floor who openly wept. Keep following this blog for more updates in this curious exercise among Washington politicians to assert their virtue and claim the moral high ground.
First of all, I love biking. Period. End of argument. Any day I can't ride is a day wasted as far as I'm concerned. As for the GZ, it was a little tight for the first 500 miles or so and getting it to go any faster than 45 mph was a real chore. I took it in for regular maintenance at 600 miles, and ever since it seems to have really loosened up. The engine revs freely and the clutch has lost it's initial grabiness. The other day I was breezing down the expressway and couldn't believe it when the speedometer read 62 mph (ok, so this isn't a superbike - I thought I told you that).
Anyways, each day it seems to run better and better, and some mornings I can't wait to get out of bed and head off on my morning commute, only to drag around the office all day until I'm ready to head home again. I tell you, there's just something about being outside and feeling the thump-thump-thump of that engine that lifts my spirits every time I go for a ride. Especially when I pull up to a light and look at all those people lined up around me in their little metal boxes, all of them so remote and insulated from the world around them, that justifies all the little inconveniences of motorcycling (bugs, manhole covers, exhaust fumes blowing in your face, etc...). It's like all these people are driving around in little living rooms and never bothering to step out the door and experience what's outside. There they are - mom in the front seat talking on the phone and the kids in the back watching TV on their built-in video players, too self-absorbed to even engage each other, let alone the world going past their windows.
(Which reminds me of a story I saw on the news. Seems that Yosemite National Park has been having a hard time attracting visitors lately because a lot of kids seem to think that National Parks are boring. They're so busy living their digital lives that they just can't get into trees and waterfalls and stuff like that, so the Park Service is trying to find ways to get kids interested in nature again. Hmmm, maybe they could cover Half-Dome with a giant HDTV screen and set up some XBox 360's or something. That might interest them, for a couple of minutes that is).
Anyways, motorcycling, I've found, is all about being out in the world and engaging with nature and the elements, and like I said, I love it. Now that I've had a taste there's just no way I'll ever stop riding these things. That is, of course, unless I die first. One big problem with the GZ, though, is the seat. I can only go about 30 miles or so before major butt pain starts settling in. This is a real drag, and unfortunately none of the aftermarket seat manufacturers takes the GZ seriously enough to develop a replacement seat for it. The only solution I've found so far is short rides with long butt breaks, however that may change because I just placed an order for something called a buttbuffer. It's supposed to be some kind of space-age pad and I have no idea if it's gonna work, but at this point I'm getting desperate.
Other than that the GZ is pretty much what I expected it to be. It's steady and reliable, not too fast, and gets me around 70 mpg riding around town. I haven't taken it on the freeway yet, but maybe after I get my buttbuffer I'll be able to take an extended trip somewhere. Meanwhile, I stopped by a Triumph dealership the other day and looked at one of their new Bonnevilles. Ah, now that's a bike. No Harleyesque heft or sportbike plasticiness, just classic 60's styling, a 865cc parallel twin and nice firm cushion to rest your tush on. Hmmm, maybe next spring...Oh, and before I go this news item just came across the wire. It appears that the Turkish government has passed a non-binding resolution condemning the United States for the genocide it committed against the native North American peoples during what it called the Great Indian Wars of the late 19th century. Although many in the American government were outraged at this meddling in U.S. history, there were a few democrats on the house floor who openly wept. Keep following this blog for more updates in this curious exercise among Washington politicians to assert their virtue and claim the moral high ground.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
I Don't Want a Pickle, I Just Wanna Ride My Motorsickle
Wow. Over the last two months I've made a grand total of two posts. Not that the internet can't go on without me, but I really should try to do better than that, don't you think? My New Year's resolution this year was to make a blog post each and every day no matter what, but I guess that only proves the futility of resolving your way to better personhood.
Anyways, the weather has been so nice out here this summer that I just haven't had the time for much computer time. As I've said before, I'm not the kind of person that likes to sit inside and tap on a keyboard all day, especially when the sun is out and there's a nice cool breeze blowing in off the bay. Nope, sitting in front of a monitor may be okay for those other pasty-faced blogger geeks out there, but I'd rather go for a hike or a bike ride or even a trip out to the coast instead.
So that's my excuse. Indian summer is starting to settle in so I thought that as long as the weather is heating up I might as well enjoy this air conditioning and catch up on some blogging (hint for all of you out-of-towners: the hottest days around the bay usually start sometime after Labor Day and continue on until about the middle of October. That's when the fog disappears and the Santa Ana's pick up and our fire season reaches its most dangerous stages. The great Oakland fire was an October fire, as those of us who live around here remember all too well) .
For my first topic of this new blogging season I'd like to talk a little about motorcycling. You see, as you get older you start to think about things - lots of things; things you've done, mistakes you've made, and things you'd always meant to do but never got around to actually doing. Back in High School most of my friends rode motorcycles, but I never had the cash to buy one of my own. Other than a very occasional ride on one of their bikes, a motorcycle of my own was beyond my means and just sort of fell onto my "someday" list.
Fast forward a few decades later, and my brother mentioned to me that he had signed up for a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Beginning Rider Course that, unfortunately, had been canceled due to noise complaints from the neighbors. I asked him to let me know if he ever decided to sign up for another class, and the next thing you know it's 7:00 in the morning and we're standing in the parking lot of the local community college getting ready to gear up for our lessons.
If you don't know about the MSF or the BRC then I should explain that it's a class open to both raw beginners and experienced riders that is predicated on the belief that a lot of motorcyclists you see out on our public roads don't know what the hell they're doing. These are people that usually begin by asking a friend or family member to teach them how to ride, and then pick up an enthusiast magazine and drool over the latest high-revin' zero-to-sixty in 3 second pocket rocket, and then go down to the local dealership and buy themselves "one of those". That's the way many motorcyclists you see have learned to ride provided, of course, that they survived the trip back from the dealership. Sound familiar? Hmmm, maybe you have a young one of those living in your upstairs bedroom?
Which brings up this point: Is the "pro" rider the one you see weaving his way in and out of traffic at 90 mph, or is it the one who pays attention to his surroundings and rides within his ability level, having practiced techniques such as maximum braking, proper turning, swerving and low speed maneuvering? If you're under the age of 30, then I guess you'd say the "pro" rider is the one going 90, but if you're over 30 then you probably think the MSF BRC might not be such a bad idea.
The BRC always sounded like a good idea to me, so I took the course and passed it. Righ now I'm just waiting for them to send me my paperwork and then I'll be headed off to the DMV to get my M1 license (in California, passing the MSF BRC means you don't have to take the motorcycle driving test). In the meantime, I've got my permit and I'm happily riding my new motorcycle. That's a picture of me over on the left (handsome devil, ain't I?)
I read somewhere that you shouldn't think of your first motorcycle as your "dream" motorcycle, but rather you should think of it as your trainer. It's the bike that hopefully you'll be making all your beginner mistakes on. With that in mind, the best starter bikes are typically light, cheap and underpowered. Now the dealer won't tell you that. The dealer is going to tell you that with a 1800 cc engine and a dry weight of only 860 pounds, that $25k Honda Goldwing is the perfect bike for a beginner, or that Suzuki Hayabusa with a top speed of 190 mph and a 9 second quarter mile time is just the kind of bike to get started on and one you're not likely to outgrow in a couple of months. Well, I'm no fool. I'm a MSF BRC graduate so you can't oversell me like you do all the other noobs that walk in the door.
So what did I buy instead? Well, don't laugh - I mean it. My rider coach told me that you can learn on any bike, but you'll learn a lot faster if you start on a small bike and move up to something bigger, and since I trust my rider coach a lot more than I do some high commission motorcycle salesman I bought a Suzuki GZ250 - probably the safest and most boring motorcycle on the road today. Top speed? Are you kidding? Quarter mile times? You could get there faster on roller skates.
But is it fun? Damn, if it didn't make my butt so sore I'd ride the thing all day. Besides, it has all the features a beginner needs. Like all cruisers it sits low to the ground with a low center of gravity making it easy and stable to ride. It has a single cylinder engine making it very easy to maintain. It's fast enough to get around town, but not fast enough to get a beginner into too much trouble. It handles very predictably and you'd have to try really hard to dump the clutch and get the front tire in the air. And best of all, it doesn't look like a beginner bike. Fact is, I've gotten more than a few admiring looks while straddling my little GZ, and since I know nobody's gonna be looking at me then I have to conclude that others find it quite a looker too.
I also bought around $600.00 worth of gear (those helmets can get expensive) and a book considered to be the Bible of motorcycle riding called Proficient Motorcycling by David L. Hough. If you've taken the BRC then I think you'll find it an excellent resource for building on some of the fundamental concepts you've learned. In fact, David L. Hough was one of the people responsible for developing the coursework in the MSF program, and you can tell by reading the book that this guy knows his stuff. It's just a matter of absorbing it and applying it to your everyday riding habits.
And did I mention the GZ gets between 70-80 mpg? Well, it does. Today I pulled into a gas station next to a guy filling his Chevy Silverado and it was great. Five bucks and a gallon and half of gas and I was on my way, while that guy was still sitting there watching the the numbers spinning higher and higher. Ah, the joy of motorcycling.
Anyways, the weather has been so nice out here this summer that I just haven't had the time for much computer time. As I've said before, I'm not the kind of person that likes to sit inside and tap on a keyboard all day, especially when the sun is out and there's a nice cool breeze blowing in off the bay. Nope, sitting in front of a monitor may be okay for those other pasty-faced blogger geeks out there, but I'd rather go for a hike or a bike ride or even a trip out to the coast instead.
So that's my excuse. Indian summer is starting to settle in so I thought that as long as the weather is heating up I might as well enjoy this air conditioning and catch up on some blogging (hint for all of you out-of-towners: the hottest days around the bay usually start sometime after Labor Day and continue on until about the middle of October. That's when the fog disappears and the Santa Ana's pick up and our fire season reaches its most dangerous stages. The great Oakland fire was an October fire, as those of us who live around here remember all too well) .
For my first topic of this new blogging season I'd like to talk a little about motorcycling. You see, as you get older you start to think about things - lots of things; things you've done, mistakes you've made, and things you'd always meant to do but never got around to actually doing. Back in High School most of my friends rode motorcycles, but I never had the cash to buy one of my own. Other than a very occasional ride on one of their bikes, a motorcycle of my own was beyond my means and just sort of fell onto my "someday" list.
Fast forward a few decades later, and my brother mentioned to me that he had signed up for a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Beginning Rider Course that, unfortunately, had been canceled due to noise complaints from the neighbors. I asked him to let me know if he ever decided to sign up for another class, and the next thing you know it's 7:00 in the morning and we're standing in the parking lot of the local community college getting ready to gear up for our lessons.
If you don't know about the MSF or the BRC then I should explain that it's a class open to both raw beginners and experienced riders that is predicated on the belief that a lot of motorcyclists you see out on our public roads don't know what the hell they're doing. These are people that usually begin by asking a friend or family member to teach them how to ride, and then pick up an enthusiast magazine and drool over the latest high-revin' zero-to-sixty in 3 second pocket rocket, and then go down to the local dealership and buy themselves "one of those". That's the way many motorcyclists you see have learned to ride provided, of course, that they survived the trip back from the dealership. Sound familiar? Hmmm, maybe you have a young one of those living in your upstairs bedroom?
Which brings up this point: Is the "pro" rider the one you see weaving his way in and out of traffic at 90 mph, or is it the one who pays attention to his surroundings and rides within his ability level, having practiced techniques such as maximum braking, proper turning, swerving and low speed maneuvering? If you're under the age of 30, then I guess you'd say the "pro" rider is the one going 90, but if you're over 30 then you probably think the MSF BRC might not be such a bad idea.
The BRC always sounded like a good idea to me, so I took the course and passed it. Righ now I'm just waiting for them to send me my paperwork and then I'll be headed off to the DMV to get my M1 license (in California, passing the MSF BRC means you don't have to take the motorcycle driving test). In the meantime, I've got my permit and I'm happily riding my new motorcycle. That's a picture of me over on the left (handsome devil, ain't I?)I read somewhere that you shouldn't think of your first motorcycle as your "dream" motorcycle, but rather you should think of it as your trainer. It's the bike that hopefully you'll be making all your beginner mistakes on. With that in mind, the best starter bikes are typically light, cheap and underpowered. Now the dealer won't tell you that. The dealer is going to tell you that with a 1800 cc engine and a dry weight of only 860 pounds, that $25k Honda Goldwing is the perfect bike for a beginner, or that Suzuki Hayabusa with a top speed of 190 mph and a 9 second quarter mile time is just the kind of bike to get started on and one you're not likely to outgrow in a couple of months. Well, I'm no fool. I'm a MSF BRC graduate so you can't oversell me like you do all the other noobs that walk in the door.
So what did I buy instead? Well, don't laugh - I mean it. My rider coach told me that you can learn on any bike, but you'll learn a lot faster if you start on a small bike and move up to something bigger, and since I trust my rider coach a lot more than I do some high commission motorcycle salesman I bought a Suzuki GZ250 - probably the safest and most boring motorcycle on the road today. Top speed? Are you kidding? Quarter mile times? You could get there faster on roller skates.
But is it fun? Damn, if it didn't make my butt so sore I'd ride the thing all day. Besides, it has all the features a beginner needs. Like all cruisers it sits low to the ground with a low center of gravity making it easy and stable to ride. It has a single cylinder engine making it very easy to maintain. It's fast enough to get around town, but not fast enough to get a beginner into too much trouble. It handles very predictably and you'd have to try really hard to dump the clutch and get the front tire in the air. And best of all, it doesn't look like a beginner bike. Fact is, I've gotten more than a few admiring looks while straddling my little GZ, and since I know nobody's gonna be looking at me then I have to conclude that others find it quite a looker too.I also bought around $600.00 worth of gear (those helmets can get expensive) and a book considered to be the Bible of motorcycle riding called Proficient Motorcycling by David L. Hough. If you've taken the BRC then I think you'll find it an excellent resource for building on some of the fundamental concepts you've learned. In fact, David L. Hough was one of the people responsible for developing the coursework in the MSF program, and you can tell by reading the book that this guy knows his stuff. It's just a matter of absorbing it and applying it to your everyday riding habits.
And did I mention the GZ gets between 70-80 mpg? Well, it does. Today I pulled into a gas station next to a guy filling his Chevy Silverado and it was great. Five bucks and a gallon and half of gas and I was on my way, while that guy was still sitting there watching the the numbers spinning higher and higher. Ah, the joy of motorcycling.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
