Tim’s Motorcycle Diaries – Mechanical Sympathy

Scrambling Versys Thoughts

April 3, 2020 By Timothy King

Some home-made Versys diagrams of what a high/scramblertype exhaust might look like - it looks good! I have to wonderwhy Kawasaki never did this with the bike...A more all round capable Versys...The asymmetrical nature of the rear shock (only visible from the right side of the bike) means that, aesthetically, a high…

Emotionally Fraught Vehicle Sales

April 3, 2020 By Timothy King

The last time I was this emotional about selling a vehicle was when I sold the last car I ever owned as a single guy. That Mercury Capri 5.0, 5 speed was a monster, the Millenium Falcon of cars. It was the kind of thing that you could drive from…

My local Triumph dealer and stealing a late November ride

April 2, 2020 By Tim

I keep thinking I'm at the end of the riding season but opportunities are continually arising. After a fairly miserable trip to the doctor I found myself free on an unseasonably warm late November day. My usual M.O. is to head into the country and find twisty roads. Less people+twisty…

Drivetest: Everything That’s Wrong with Ontario

April 1, 2020 By Timothy King

When I think back to the late '80s (the last time I had to involve myself in driver testing), I recall reasonable wait times, full time employees invested in what they were doing and a general sense of competence. I left with my driver's license feeling like my time wasn't…

Biking Family History Part 2

March 31, 2020 By Timothy King

Since seeing pictures of my granddad on a motorbike I've been curious about my family history with bikes. Knowing that bikes have been in my family for generations is kinda cool. When home in August I got to see some more bike-related family history. My Uncle had a couple of…

Dangerous Dakar

March 29, 2020 By Tim

I know hyperbole sells papers, especially in the infamously hyperbolic British press, but with Dakar winners whining about how hard it is, the whole thing looks to be on the verge of imploding. With all of this negative noise around it, it's only a matter of time before some enterprising…

A Quick Motorcycle Chain Switch

March 29, 2020 By Timothy King

After previous experiences breaking and installing motorcycle chains I figured this time it would be fairly straightforward thanks to a good tool and knowing what I'm doing. The Tiger's chain had a pretty severe tight spot in it. When I set the tight spot to spec (40mm of slack), the loose…

Ninja Blues

March 28, 2020 By Timothy King

This has been many weeks in the making. I began de-blacking the '07 Kawasaki Ninja 650r (my first bike) in May. Last weekend I took another big run at it. This weekend I finally got it to the point where I can live with it. I think I'll do the rest once…

Motorcycle Tires and When to Change Them

March 26, 2020 By Tim

I went for a ride with Jeff the motorcycle Jedi and Wayne, the parts guy from our local dealer, the other week. It was a 250km round trip out to the shores of Lake Huron and back. Since we were all on multi-purpose bikes we multi-purposed some of it: Taking…

ZG1K: Customization, Inspiration & Aesthetics

March 26, 2020 By Timothy King

Graphical thoughts on the ZG1K customization...I'm still working through the proportions of a naked Concours. It isn't a delicate device...In spite of the colourful nature of the bike, it's a muscular heavyweight.Inspirations for this build revolve around 80's sport bikes and naked streetfighters. I grew up in the '80s and have…

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