Successful failure

                                                                             Five bad ass  movie bikes !   Number one . M ickey Rourke's FXR  was one mean machine in the movie  Harley Davidson Marlboro Man . Great movie great bike .   Number two .  This Harley-Davidson Softail Custom   screams out law attitude  in the " Movie beyond the  law " What can we say but WINNING! ya  winning .lol  Number three. This is a bit of  a two for one . You will love the Billy bike  but the iconic Captain America  bike is a true Legend . Easyrider. Number four. If your going to make and exit the best way is to do the Steve McQueen  jump and make the "Great escape" on a cool Triumph T100 . ...

                                     Five amazing sport bikes you will never get to ride!   Number one . 2016 Ducati Superleggera 1299. At 330 LBS this 200 plus horsepower  Italian testosterone  machine  will go warp speed in a hurry . Only 500 built good luck getting one . Number two. The Norton V4RR TT racer .This snortin  Norton is  rare  . You  would be luck just  to see one. It took seventh at the Ilse of Man . Number three . We all dream of riding a moto GP  bike . But at the price tag of these machines most of us will have to keep dreaming . Number four. The Britten V1000 . Built by John Britten in Church Christ  new Zealand . It was also raced by legends like Guy Martin . Number five . Save the best for last . A 2002/03  Triumph Daytona TT600. What is so special about this  bike ...

Five amazing motorcycles you will never get to ride! Number one . The 2016 Norton dominator .  SS . With its 961cc engine and furious  sound , it could be the most awesome cafe racer. Only fifty made . Good luck getting one . Number two . The Brough Superior SS100 . Built between 1924 and 1940. Made famous buy Laurence of Arabia .   Number three. Pro street drag bike . Enough said  . Look dream drool .   Number four . World super bike . Even if you could do you think you have the skills to handle such a rocket ship ? Number five . The Easy rider Captain America bike . There are many copies of this bike how ever the two originals are long gone . One was destroyed at the end of the movie . The other was stolen . Wait ! One got away ? Well it doesn't matter you will never get to ride it .lol We all have our dream bikes . Whats yours ? All theses bikes started as a dream . Maybe we can create our own . Ride well ...

 How to be a biker  1. Buy bike 2.Ride bike  3.Find people   to ride with 4.Walk the walk talk the talk 5.Go to some rallies  6.buy more bikes 7.Do an iron butt ride for bragging rights 8.Enjoy and  engage  with your biker bros and sisters  9.Have fun  10.Live to ride love to ride OH DON'T FORGET GAS MONEY!

Baggers cant  corner ! Ok yes big heavy low bikes can go around corners just  fine . But they have to stay within there  limits . This article in not about taking pot  shots at baggers , but make a few points that might be over looked . Now we are not going to bother with those who ride foolishly .They know they are going to fast for the bikes limits .Where we start is why and how baggers get high sided ? First the lean angle for a bike varies . For example a Moto GP  bike  might lean up too 64-68 degrees . My old 1972 BMW R60 could  touch the  cylinders at about 40-45 ish degrees. My 1948 Panhead chopper maybe  20-25 degrees .While my Triumph TT600 will go over 50 degrees  with the right tires . So how far can you lean a bagger ? Well it will depend ?  Here is what you will have to take into consideration . How wide the bike is  will effect  your lean. The wider the bike the sooner something ...

  Tires ! Ok picking  tires can be an overwhelming task . There is some much  choice it will make your head spin. So how do we pick the right tire ? First we need too look at it as tool to the job . What kind of riding are we going to be doing ? What is the average  road surface in our area ? Do we want  a  hi mileage touring tire ? Or do we want a sticky  slick tire ? Some tires might not be legal  on your roads so be sure to find that out before you  buy . Slicks tend to be  bad in slippery  wet or gritty surfaces . They need to be heated to 180 degrees to work for maybe  20 laps on a track . So maybe they will not be the best choice for  a daily ride on the street . You can get soft compound tires with  treads on them . They will handle weather and  grit better . But you might only get 500 km on the tire. Most cruisers and  touring bikes  will use harder compound  hi mileage  tires ....

   I'd ride that ? Ive owned a few bikes over the years . My favourite was my 48 Panhead chopper . My new favourite  is my Triumph Daytona TT600 I now ride . I must have ridden hundreds of different  bikes over the years. I would try anything  just to see how it rides. Scooters trikes  gold wings to mini bikes, they all put a smile on my face. Doing  bike swaps for a few km with buddy's  was the norm. No regrets. We all have our favourite brands of bikes sure , but I think some of the more hard core fan boys  miss out . Its to the point some will not even associate  with riders who ride different brands of motorcycles . Strange really . I say if an opportunity  to ride a different type of bike comes up take it .Its a good way to meet other riders as well . We all share the same road . Anything that makes  the riding community  bigger makes it  better . So don't be afraid to try new  rides . Enjoy every...

   Never cross the line ! We have all done this at some point. Ive done it twice this year. Lucky no one  was coming the other way . Usually it will happen on a corner we are not familiar with . A lot of times you will see cars truck ext cross the line coming the other way . We riders will then point the finger at them then do it our self's. All too often riders will play the blame game  with cars . I don't like to look at it like that. I look at it this way instead . It doesn't matter who's fault it is if we are the ones who are going to get hurt . Its more important to not get into that situation in the first place . But what if the car is the one coming over the line ? I see this all the time on shallow corners let alone  tight corners . In other words you should expect it . So what  can we do ? If you use  Out , In , Out while cornering we can pick our line before the corner .Adjust for the car cross over. In other words don't ride the yello...

YOU GO WHERE YOU LOOK ! This is one of the most important  things for a rider to learn. 95% of all input to a rider is visual . It takes time to learn to commit to a corner . And on busy  traffic  roads its easy to  get distracted buy oncoming cars. We have to learn to see through the cars and to our point of reference . When you pick your line look well ahead . Do not look where you are look where you want too be. At low speed we need to learn to trust  the bike and let it do its job while we look where we want to be . Target fixation is what gets us into real trouble . Several times you can find accidents where two bikes crash  , the first  bike crashes and the second bike follows .Why? Because  the second rider  is looking at the rider ahead .  So how can we fix this problem? Well first stay sharp  stay in your skill level . If you feel your over shooting your corner just focus on where you want to be , you just...

     How to scare the crap out of your self on a motorcycle? Well you could  try whacking the throttle wide open and top  out the bike . But that's illegal . You could do  wheelies on a dirt bike , but that takes skills . You could try an Evil Knievel  jump ,but you need big sponsors to build the  ramp. There must be a way to do this ? Wait ! I know  ?  First you will need little experience . In fact the less you have  the easier it will be to scare your self . Ok all kidding aside  we need to point out some over looked dangers .  I was talking to a guy who bought a Harley last year . He got his licence years ago when you didn't need to take a safety course . He told me how he made it half way home before he turned around  and brought  the  bike back . He said it scared the  crap out of him. Why ? Well simple . He did not have the skills to ride safely .Not knowing how to corner properly...

   Proper braking is something  we must know how to do as riders .Sadly many riders do not know how to brake properly . Some riders only use front  brake . Others just the back .  We should use both for the most part . It sounds simple but there are things to know that will make your braking better and safer .   There are mainly  two types of braking . The first type is called strategic braking . This is where you down shift letting  the clutch out for each gear and ending up in first gear at the stop . You brake as you down shift . The second is emergency , panic , or OH CRAP ! braking . For this one you don't down shift you just brake and come to a stop in what ever gear your in . The idea is too stop the bike as fast as  possible .   Thing to consider ? How our brakes works . The back brake  will give you about 30% of your stopping  power and the front brake gives you about 70%  of your stopping  pow...

 How my motorcycle addiction started ? We need to go back to 1978 . I was five years old . Although I'm 44 now  I remember this day like it was yesterday .I was in the school yard  playing  like kids do .It was sunny and warm. Just a beautifully  day all around . Then I heard it ? Thunder  ! Loud  and rumbling  . The other kids started to run away yelling "Thunder ! thunder ! " I didn't run I just stood there looking in the direction  of the thunder . The shiny chrome long forks I saw first . There were three bikes  . Two choppers and one trike .  I waved as they rode by . They waved back . I just stood in awe . It was the first time I seen  Harley's and  choppers as well as trikes . After school I ran home as fast as I could. Told my mom and dad about the  choppers in a hyper babbling  excitement . They just said to me  " Well that's  nice , go wash for supper " As soon as I finished my ...

   Do not fear the corner ! The number one rider related  accidents are usually a car turning left in front of  them . The number two is  miscalculating  the corner . For new and old riders this is mostly what happens . Here is  the  scenario . Rider enters the corner at too high of speed. Then missed  the apex  and over shoots the exit , panics then crashes .    Misjudging  a corner  could have  fatal  consequences . First we must understand mechanics of a corner . There are mainly  three parts . The entrance , the apex , the exit .      To enter the corner we use out in out. Before the corner  we need to have the approach speed right. Its best to slow down for the entrance . Try to keep a steady speed  through the  corner . We come in at the apex . Coming out of the apex we can accelerate  or maintain speed .  Not all corne...

    Man Dies in a Motorcycle Crash After Driving His Dream Harley Bike for Just 3 Miles:    This is the head line of a sad story all too  often  written . The details of the crash were not given .What we do know for sure is ? A 59 year old man saves up to by  a Harley . Its his first  motorcycle . And he only made it 3miles or 5km  before he died. Now the fact he was 59 was not important . The Harley motorcycle doesn't really matter either. What is important he was inexperienced. We can speculate  what happened  all day but all that matters is we know there was a fatal accident . In most places we have motorcycle safety courses but not everywhere. The last place you should learn to rid a motorcycle is in fast traffic  or  twisty highways . The best place to learn is in a controlled parking lot under expert instruction. We cannot  stop all accidents but by learning form incidents and mistakes we can low...

                            I ride because ?                         : To see the open road                         : To feel the wind on my face                         : To chase adventure                         : To meet other bikers                         : To share stories  of my  rides                         : To feel the freedom                          : To travel to new places                         : To s...

 The kick start race of all kick start races ! Ok maybe that's a  bit of a stretch  but hey! I was out riding today on  my Triumph TT600 sport bike . It was a nice day  . As I  rode I started to think of a bike rally I went  too years ago . Compare  to my fuel injected TT600 my old 1948 Panhead  was from a different world all together .It was kick starter only .   At most bike rallies there are events. Tub pulls  , ride the plank , the hot dog catch , beer chug slow race ext .And of course the kick start race. How it works is simple . The one who  starts there  bike the most times in one minute wins . And I was in !  So about 20 bikes line up . All kinds,  sportsters triumphs  blockheads shovel heads  and a few others . And of course  my 48 Panhead . On the far end was  purple shovel head  with twin Dellorto carbs . This bike would be my rival for the day . Now the rider was a ...

   A bike made out of evil ? Ok I'm  not the most superstitious but I truly  believe  I had the  worlds most evil motorcycle . Now hang on hear me out  ! We have to go back to 1997-98 . My 1948 Harley  pan head chopper was  down and out and needed a rebuild . My  1972 BMW R60 needed fork seals and  tires and cables and brakes ext. My Kawasaki LTD 440  was a crash  victim and out of  order . The  Yamaha XS650 was done as well .  You guessed it a riders nightmare , four  bikes all broke .  If you thought the saddest thing you could see  was a kitten in the rain  with a bad hair cut  you'd be wrong . It would be  me moping and whining  about not having a bike .One day  I was at the local Harley  shop chatting with one of the mechanics named Bill .T . I told him about all my broken bikes . He was interested  in the 72 BMW . He offered  a trade p...

    Ok hot topic . I'm in Canada  and we do not have this here . Is it a good idea or not ? Well to be honest I'm not sure ? The argument  for it is  that you  are less likely  to get rear ended  in traffic . There are  a lot of arguments  against as well .  One being  your between  cars and have no margin for error . So how can we make  an educated decision ? Simple  ! We will have to look at the statistics . I do not have any at the moment . I cant seem to find them . What we could look for is  if riders  have more incidents of rear ending  vs  lane spitting  incidents .  We can compare the  two  and see where the higher risk is . Even if its legal in your area  you will know if its worth the risk or not . I do not think we will be seeing this in Canada any time  soon . And even if it was legal I  would still want to see the stats to estimate...

         Fall riding  tips. Some  things to watch for  new riders.  First the roads will not only be wet at times  but the pavement  will also be colder. Your tires  on cold pavement do not grip as well. Leafs can be slippy . And with more rain more sand and grit will be on the road .With the cooler temperatures  dress for changing conditions . Watch for hypothermia  .   keep in  mind when your colder you tyre  easier . Some bikes run nice in the cool air but  might be harder to start in the cold .Let the bike warm up before you go. By late fall watch for black ice .Oh and bring a camera with  you when you ride. If there is a time to take pictures with your bike its in the  stunning fall. Ride well ride safe take care .

    So its 6:00 PM . Your coming home from work in a crimson sun set . Its late fall most other riders have stopped riding  buy now.   Your  riding  strait into the sun and its hard to see.  you need to turn . The signal lights  do not catch the eye of the driver behind .  So what must you do to indicate your turning? To be seen you  put your  arm out in this case  your  going left. The street is in an orange glow  due to the time of day . An oncoming driver is also turning left . How ever they wait because they can see the silhouette of the rider , even if they don't see the signal light  well .  The driver behind the rider can not see the signal light at  all .Because they are blinded by the sun. They do see the  riders  gesture .  Rider makes the turn all goes well .    Ive used arm signals for years . If you use  both  indicators and hand  signals...