Zen and motorcycles

Growing old is more palatable if its disconnected from growing up.

Ride safe. Ride often.

Cam belt service life -- can it be so?

My Ducati has 13,000 miles. The manual says the cam belts should be replaced at 12,000. In an era where some motorcycle drive belts last at least 100,000 miles, it boggles my mind that Ducati would have belts so inferior. What gives? I've heard all of the horror stories of cam belts breaking and I know exactly what will happen. Who has had or knows first hand of such an event that could be directly attributable to broken cam belts?

Let the 2008 riding season begin!

My wife and I rode our bikes out Rte 211 for our first ride of the season. The weather was great and traffic was reasonably light. If not for the high pollen count, it would have been a perfect day.

Alas, I failed to download the track information from my GPS before clearing its memory. Our route today was essentially the same as in a previous post about Rte 211.

We're making plans for summer road trips. We will be heading to Sikeston, MO for the 1st Annual Trike Rider's Int'l Rally. The price of gas may hinder some of our plans, but we're certain to make a number of day rides and likely a few over nighters. I'll do my best not to forget to download the GPS track data and plan to post the rides here.

Safe riding!

Funny feeling leads to Iron Butt Rally on a Cosmopolitan

Since January, I've had a funny feeling in my gut about things. Today everything coalesced into a clear picture of what I had to do.

I managed to ride my Honda Valkyrie and Ducati Multistrada to a nearby Honda Motorcycle dealership and traded both on a Honda Cosmopolitan scooter. It was a tad more difficult than I anticipated straddling both bikes, especially given the differing seat heights. Working two throttles, the brakes, shifting gears presented their own set of problems. But I made it. I purchased a blue and white Cosmopolitan scooter like the one below.

I have given my two weeks notice and will be entering the next Iron Butt Rally covering 11,000 miles in 11 days. My calculus, which accounts for aerodynamic drag, Coriolis effect, and the gravitational pull of the moon, indicates I can cover the 11,000 miles with one 10-gallon tank of gas strapped to the rear luggage rack. I plan to keep Hostess Twinkies & Red Bull in the under seat storage compartment. In this way, I will not have to stop for gas or food. Presently, I am now training my body to so completely digest Twinkies that the only generated waste will be liquid. In this way, I will not have to stop for bathroom breaks.

I'm testing a satellite based Internet service provider and the not yet released iPhone 2.0 so that I can write blog posts on the road.

Give me a wave if you see me passing your home.