I am not sure why this comes up in various motorcycle forums. Without getting into a lot of discussion of the why, here are somethings to do (and perhaps some to not do).
1. Be respectfull! It doesn't matter how agitated you are. Demonstrating will only make a potentially bad situation bad or worse.
2. This is NOT the trial! That being said, admissions of guilt can and most likely will be used against you. Avoid any admissions.
3. In spite of the crazy stories to the contrary, creative excuses will almost certainly not make the ticket go away. Use at your own peril.
So - let's here your suggestions!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Olympia Moto Sports Phantom
Living in Seattle and riding this time of year will test your gear. Not only is rainy weather to be expected, it gets downright chilly. Morning rides or late evening rides are going to wet and cold (ok - if your lucky, just cold).
I have a First Gear jacket and pants that are about 5 years old. They have worn exceptionally well - but I decided it was time to get something new (read - latest technology) and I definitely wanted a two piece this time around.
I slipped out of work a little early last night and picked up an Olympia Moto Sports Phantom one-piece. I got the grey (pewter?) one.
I had seen the video of the guy getting into the suit in about 10 seconds (or something ridiculas like that). Trust me - the first time you put this bad boy on will take a lot longer than that! :) Oh yeah - and the first time you don this garment you will also get credit for a short cardio workout.
I am right at 6' tall with a 29" inseam. I am also a little on the heavy side (tipping the scales at 250). I have always had a problem figuring out the fitment of clothes - and in particular, motorcycle gear. I phoned Olympia Moto Sports and spoke with one of their phone support people. They were VERY helpful - to the point that call alone is probably why I chose Olympia.
Before I get into the features of the one piece, I want to point out a very cool design feature. Most riding pants are difficult, if not impossible, to get sized for inseam challenged people like me. When your belly dimension is longer than your inseam - let's face it - nothing fits off the rack. The Phantom can be hemmed without affecting the integrity of the garment. The zippers don't go to the very bottom - there is just velcro down there - so hemming is no problem!
Back to the features I like: the thing is WARM! It got a little chilly last night (my temp gauge indicated 39) and I was on my 1125R. Zipping along at 75 would have been VERY chilly with my old gear. Wind would "leak" into the coat somewhere (typically the back of my neck or up the bottom of the coat). With the Phantom, I was TOASTY warm! I can't remember a ride in that temperature range when I was that comfortable!
This morning on the commute to work we have a "light sprinkle". In Seattle, when it is light rain, that is the equivalent of 100% humidity. I other words, EVERYTHING is dripping wet. I stayed as dry as could be. It was GREAT!
There are a bunch of pockets and I am still figuring out how to layout my stuff to use the pockets conveniently. Getting to your wallet in your jeans with the Phantom on is not easy - but doable. I will likely move my wallet to the Phantom to avoid the wrestling to get my wallet out. I was tempted to ask the pretty lady pumping gas at the next pump to reach into my suit and help get my wallet out - but realized that might have come across as a lame pick up line. Maybe next time...
I have a First Gear jacket and pants that are about 5 years old. They have worn exceptionally well - but I decided it was time to get something new (read - latest technology) and I definitely wanted a two piece this time around.
I slipped out of work a little early last night and picked up an Olympia Moto Sports Phantom one-piece. I got the grey (pewter?) one.
I had seen the video of the guy getting into the suit in about 10 seconds (or something ridiculas like that). Trust me - the first time you put this bad boy on will take a lot longer than that! :) Oh yeah - and the first time you don this garment you will also get credit for a short cardio workout.
I am right at 6' tall with a 29" inseam. I am also a little on the heavy side (tipping the scales at 250). I have always had a problem figuring out the fitment of clothes - and in particular, motorcycle gear. I phoned Olympia Moto Sports and spoke with one of their phone support people. They were VERY helpful - to the point that call alone is probably why I chose Olympia.
Before I get into the features of the one piece, I want to point out a very cool design feature. Most riding pants are difficult, if not impossible, to get sized for inseam challenged people like me. When your belly dimension is longer than your inseam - let's face it - nothing fits off the rack. The Phantom can be hemmed without affecting the integrity of the garment. The zippers don't go to the very bottom - there is just velcro down there - so hemming is no problem!
Back to the features I like: the thing is WARM! It got a little chilly last night (my temp gauge indicated 39) and I was on my 1125R. Zipping along at 75 would have been VERY chilly with my old gear. Wind would "leak" into the coat somewhere (typically the back of my neck or up the bottom of the coat). With the Phantom, I was TOASTY warm! I can't remember a ride in that temperature range when I was that comfortable!
This morning on the commute to work we have a "light sprinkle". In Seattle, when it is light rain, that is the equivalent of 100% humidity. I other words, EVERYTHING is dripping wet. I stayed as dry as could be. It was GREAT!
There are a bunch of pockets and I am still figuring out how to layout my stuff to use the pockets conveniently. Getting to your wallet in your jeans with the Phantom on is not easy - but doable. I will likely move my wallet to the Phantom to avoid the wrestling to get my wallet out. I was tempted to ask the pretty lady pumping gas at the next pump to reach into my suit and help get my wallet out - but realized that might have come across as a lame pick up line. Maybe next time...
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Falling in love with your bike (again)
Ahhh.... I love days like today. Great day at work and decent weather for the commute home. I decided to take the long way. I think every rider who commutes to work has a "long way" - a route you save for the days you just want to ride.
Today was just such a day. I found my rythem on that oh so familiar route. The bike and I were one. Shifting was effortless. I hit my line in every corner. Everything just clicked.
I love my bike. :)
Today was just such a day. I found my rythem on that oh so familiar route. The bike and I were one. Shifting was effortless. I hit my line in every corner. Everything just clicked.
I love my bike. :)
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Plugging tires - why it is a bad idea
One of the things I see posted on just about every motorcycle forum is "I have a puncture in one of my tires. Is it safe to plug?"
The rubber liner is essentially a very thin high density rubber whose job is to hold the air inside the tire cavity. The rubber of the sidewall and tread area are composed of lower density rubber that is not designed to hold air but is far less permeable than the casing which is not designed to be exposed to air pressure.
The risk that one runs when using a plug is that the plug has not made a complete seal with the rubber liner. There is no way to verify this seal - just because the tire doesn't leak doesn't mean the rubber liner is sealed. If the rubber liner is not sealed and the leak is only contained by the external rubber, the casing will become pressurized. As the tire runs through its heat cycles the pressurized exterior rubber becomes soft and the casing delaminates from the exterior rubber. This is also known as tire separation an is a VERY bad thing! When you see the tread carcasses on the highway from big trucks - that is what happens to your bike tire. Not good.
Use a patch to get you to where ever you can get a replacement tire. Simple as that.
Chatterbox XBI
Sorry for the delay in posting. Since my last post, I picked up a Chatterbox XBI Bluetooth headset for my full face helmet. It replaced the CAMOS - for reasons I am happy to detail!
The CAMOS is a total and absolute joke! The US distributor, Benchmark Helmets, is also a joke. The product has marginal (and that is being generous) documentation and required 3 seperate phone calls to Benchmark Helmets to get to work. When I finally did, the unit was used exactly 4 times. Then it quit working. I phoned the retail outlet trying to get a return - and they dropped the line from their inventory citing "Too many returns, no support". I then chased Benchmark - for several months. They finally got me an RMA number and I shipped the unit back to them. 4 months later, I don't have a replacement unit from them nor do I have my money back. Phone calls and emails to them go unanswered. STAY AWAY from CAMOS and Bluetooth Helmets (unless you are just a glutton for punishment).
I got the XBI in mid-August. I was doing a fair bit of tooling around on multi-day bike rides. I wanted music and/or traffic reports as well as to be able to receive calls from work/home. The unit does this VERY well. Setup was not that great - and ultimately did require one call to their tech support. Fortunately, they were helpful and we got the sync question resolved while they were on the phone.
Battery life is good - but I hope in future versions they improve it slightly. Starting with a fully charged headset, I got about 3 hours of talk time out of it before the headset lost power. Yeah, I know - what was I doing on a 3 hour phone call on the bike? Working actually - taking a conference call that couldn't be avoided.
That actually talks to the quality of the sound. No one on the call knew I was on a bike in motion! Now, my participation on the call was primarily listening.
The CAMOS is a total and absolute joke! The US distributor, Benchmark Helmets, is also a joke. The product has marginal (and that is being generous) documentation and required 3 seperate phone calls to Benchmark Helmets to get to work. When I finally did, the unit was used exactly 4 times. Then it quit working. I phoned the retail outlet trying to get a return - and they dropped the line from their inventory citing "Too many returns, no support". I then chased Benchmark - for several months. They finally got me an RMA number and I shipped the unit back to them. 4 months later, I don't have a replacement unit from them nor do I have my money back. Phone calls and emails to them go unanswered. STAY AWAY from CAMOS and Bluetooth Helmets (unless you are just a glutton for punishment).
I got the XBI in mid-August. I was doing a fair bit of tooling around on multi-day bike rides. I wanted music and/or traffic reports as well as to be able to receive calls from work/home. The unit does this VERY well. Setup was not that great - and ultimately did require one call to their tech support. Fortunately, they were helpful and we got the sync question resolved while they were on the phone.
Battery life is good - but I hope in future versions they improve it slightly. Starting with a fully charged headset, I got about 3 hours of talk time out of it before the headset lost power. Yeah, I know - what was I doing on a 3 hour phone call on the bike? Working actually - taking a conference call that couldn't be avoided.
That actually talks to the quality of the sound. No one on the call knew I was on a bike in motion! Now, my participation on the call was primarily listening.
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