Many bikes of all shapes and sizes. If you ride, a long distance
rally is a great way to meet new riders and challenge yourself.
Can you make your way to Woodstock, Ontario on October 15th? The second ever Lobo Loco long distance motorcycle rally runs on that day. I had a blast at the first one and want another go. The rally is on the verge of getting enough people to run. If you’re in the North Eastern US, Quebec or Ontario or Michigan/Ohio, and can make it out to Woodstock, Ontario on October 15th, you won’t be disappointed. Give it a go, it’s a blast!
The whole process of breaking the chain and installing it took about half an hour this time around. The o-ring chain I got was easy to break using the tool I picked up, and installing the new master link on the chain took only moments. The three in one DRC Chain Tool I got (chain breaker, outer plate presser, rivet presser) was easy to use and looks good doing it. It might be my favourite tool at the moment.
The chain-breaking tool comes with two sizes of /privet pushing bit. The blue bit was for 500 sized chains (the Ninja’s is a 520). You back off the big bolt and install the push pin, then use the smaller outer bolt to push the pin into the rivet on the chain. The tool automatically centres the rivet, so you’re true all the way through.
The new chain was a 120 link chain, the Ninja takes 114 links, so that’s 6 links off the end. The hole in the top is where the chain pin falls out once you’ve pushed it through.
Close-up of the blue chain bit . There is a pin inside it that the outer bolt pushes through, pushing the rivet right out of the chain. Once the pin falls out the chain falls apart. You end up with a clean break and two inner chain links ready to be re-attached on the bike with a master link.
Six links of the 120 link chain removed. One pin is pushed right out, the other was pushed out far enough to dismantle the chain.
I installed the master link on the sprocket – it keeps everything lined up and made installation easy. After pressing on the side plate (gently, checking that it’s in line with the other links and the chain has play in it), the only tricky bit was installing the retaining clip, it took a few tries. When you get it though you know for sure because it makes a very satisfying click.
With the chain back on and lubricated, everything is tight. The change to how the bike feels is subtle but very satisfying. The engine feels much more firmly connected to the back wheel now. No sags and tight spots like on the old chain.
Now that I’ve got a handle on this and the right tools for the job, chains don’t worry me any more. This process also emphasized how surgical bike mechanics are. I started off doing heavy equipment repair as a millwright and then did a couple of years in automotive. Compared to that kind of work, motorcycle mechanics feel more like surgery than butchery. Patience and a careful hand are more important than brute force. Now more than ever I’m looking for an old bike to dismantle and rebuild to get an inside feel for how motorbikes go together.
It’s supposed to drop into the -40°Cs in the next couple of days. We’re in the bowels of winter here and I’m getting cabin fever. I’ve already day dreamed of the kit I’d need to go to track days, but that kit would serve another purpose, to get me clear of the never ending winter with my own bike. Having a second vehicle that is utilitarian is never a bad idea, but I’m not much of a truck guy. I am a Guy Martin fan though, and he happens to have a Transit Van! You can pick up a well maintained, low miles Transit Van on autotrader.ca for about twenty grand, or about the price of a new hatchback. It’ll get over 32mpg, and will happily carry a couple of bikes and kit (or other stuff) as needed. With a carrying capcity of over 1600lbs, it would be more than up to the job of moving two bikes and riders out of the snow belt. When it’s about to hit -40°C, the Transit could get loaded up for a long weekend and aimed south. A power drive could get me to The Tail of the Dragon, where the two bikes in back could be unloaded, ridden hard, put away wet and driven back into the inhuman wintry darkness after a couple of days of two wheeled therapy.
The Tail of the Dragon is only 11 hours away, but while it’s minus forty here, it’s in the low teens in Tennessee. A banzai ride in the van into ride-able territory would make the vehicle much more than just a track day tool. Based out of Marysville, Tennesee, I’d do a 210 mile loop one way and then do it backwards the next day… Friday: leave noon, arrive in Marysville about 11pm. Saturday: all day clock wise. Sunday: all day counter clockwise. Monday: leave after breakfast, be home by 8pm. Stage one would be getting the van. At that point I’m in for about $20k. It’ll also come in handy for track days and picking up bikes. I’d be able to throw my Ninja and a buddy’s bike in there for the drive down and get to it.
The Triumph Daytona took out bikes twice its displacement in Performance Bike‘s Track test.
Stage two would be getting a bike that doesn’t have to compromise to get me there. A sport focused machine that will arrive ready to take on the twisties would do the trick. My first choice would be the Triumph Daytona 675R. At only 189kgs (416lbs) ready to ride, it’s a light weight machine that punches well above its displacement. You can pick up a new, last year’s Daytona for about twelve thousand bucks. For the ten grand under the price of the cheapest Volvo SUV, I’d have a a bike delivery system of epic proportions, with an epic bike in the back of it. When it isn’t taking me out of the snow belt it could be picking up used bikes or taking me to track days. I’ve almost talked myself into this!
A rough week at work discovering just how untrustworthy people can be had gotten me down. On top of that (or perhaps because of it), I was fighting an imminent cold. If you’re reading this then you probably already know it’s better in the wind, so I went looking for some. I was originally thinking of pushing up to Beaver Valley, but it’s a long slog across tedious Southwestern Ontario to get to any good bits, I wanted to get to twisty roads sooner. The most direct route to the Niagara escarpment, one of the few places not tediously flat around here, is through Orangeville. I fired the Tiger up and aimed it north east. The air was cool, in the high teens Celsius, and the traffic light. I dispatched appliance coloured (and shaped) minivans as I came upon them and quickly made my way over to The Escarpment. Bypassing Orangeville, I rode past what must have been a forty pound beaver lying in the middle of the road. This thing was big enough to knock someone off a bike or damage the underside of a car, but the Orangeville police officer fifty yards up the road running a a radar trap was more interested in revenue streams than road safety. Stay classy Orangeville popo.
The only way to make a sign like that better is to
make the number on it bigger!
Hockley Road seldom has you up on the crown of your tire. I was alone going east but was passed by several groups of bikes coming the other way from the GTA. After the never ending flatness it was nice to drop down into the valley and lean. Leaning on a motorbike is as close as you’ll ever come to flying. It feels more like flying than flying does.
When I’m riding all of the negative things my mind impulsively chews away on are washed away in the wind. It’s partly to do with the complexity of piloting a motorcycle. You’re deeply involved in the progress of the machine; hands, feet and whole body balance, so your mind is focused away from those nagging thoughts. It’s also partly to do with the sensory flow you experience. The wind, the smell, the temperature, the sound and sights are powerful as they accelerate around you. You are busy, involved, and the world demands to be experienced when you ride a motorbike.
Home made turkey pot pie warmed me up.
After sixty plus kilometres of twisty roads I was ready for a break. My hands were actually getting cold since I’d been spending my time weaving through shady, leafy green valleys. Coming back down River Road, I stopped at the Terra Nova Public House for lunch. It isn’t cheap, but the food is locally sourced and well prepared. Sitting in the sun on the patio watching the bikes go by is a nice way to spend an hour on a sunny Sunday afternoon. With some hot food inside me, I was ready to leave these lovely roads and begin the long ride back into the agricultural desert in which I live. I took my time heading toward Horning’s Mills (where I once thought of buying a house), getting the corners right that I hadn’t on the way in. There is one particularly twisty section that has a decreasing radius corner that catches you out if you come in too hot. On the way in I’d overcooked it and had to brake, on the way out it was a smooth, throttle only proposition. There are a couple of more big sweepers passing north over Shelbourne on 17 through the wind mill fields, but after that things get pretty straight. By this point I was loose and feelin’ good. On the straights I found curves in the form of mobile chicanes, and passed them. It felt like I was in a time machine, I was home almost before I left. Motorcycles can make even straight roads exciting if you approach them with gusto. Once back the cold closed in and the nagging doubts returned. If I could ride a bike forever, I’d always get to sit in that meditative saddle. When I watch around the world trips on the TV I think the best part would be getting to be out in the wind every day, always seeing something different, having the world wash over you. No wonder Ted Simon and others come back from their trips hearing the sound of one hand clapping. Some spontaneous art from the ride…
I turn 45 today. I don’t feel old, but that isn’t stopping the math from bullying me. As I told a friend, the only way to battle this age thing is by acting as immaturely as possible. With that in mind, here are my top six motorcycle choices for a mid-life crisis: #6 Off Road Opportunity The chance to experience off-road riding with a focus on bike control would be awesome. It so happens that Yamaha offers just such a course a pretty hour and a half ride north of me. That would be a fantastic day in the dirt. #5 Kawasaki Z1000
The anime dream machine. Twitchy, not as good as other naked bikes according to Bike, but it’s one I got excited about throwing a leg over and I’d never get tired of looking at it, though it makes little sense and would be a handful. What’s a mid-life crisis without making silly, emotional choices? #4 Triumph Thruxton The start of an ongoing cafe racer makeover. The basic bike is sufficiently hooliganish so it speaks loudly to that vanishing sense of immaturity. This bike begs for leathers and old school style. I’d ride it like a rocker to pub brawls. This Thruxton would turn into the bike I’d ride to Fight Club. It wouldn’t be shiny for long, more like a rolling black eye.
#3 Royal Enfield Bullet Classic For those moments when I want to feel like Indiana Jones outrunning Nazis. The classic Bullet is an old school thumper that would take me back. It’s the next best thing to being there because it’ll start every time. Seeing if I could ton-up on it would be a long term goal. Old people like me like things that remind them of their pre-war childhoods. #2 Leather pants… or worse!
I went all modern textile with my first round of motorcycle gear, but nothing says mid-life crisis like leather pants! In my year of riding I’ve come to appreciate leather riding gear for the level of protection it gives. I’ve also come to realize how much more effective leather is at keeping you warm in less than comfortable Canadian riding conditions. All that aside, leather looks cool! If not the pants, then a full race suit and some track days to wear it in on. #1 Suzuki Hayabusa or Kawasaki ZX-14R
I got all glassy eyed when I sat on a ‘Busa at a show, it feels really special. It’s a big, beautiful bike that will go faster than light speed. I’ve always had a soft spot for Suzuki and the Hayabusa is about the most beautiful thing they’ve ever made. The other super bike that took me by surprise was the super Ninja ZX-14R. Either one would scratch that mid-life crisis itch (really quickly). Oddly enough, the whole adventure bike thing doesn’t seem to tickle the mid-life crisis itch, though perhaps it’s because adventure riding is so far away from normal life while a road bike is a daily opportunity. To make the list the adventure bike deal would have to get all Ted Simons (I’m reading Jupiter’s Travels at the moment) and involve a long term opportunity to travel too. I get the sense that another post is forming around this.
I’m still having culture shock over going to Arizona. They have “buckle up it’s the law” signs everywhere but most motorcyclists ride around without a helmet on. They do things different in Arizona. I was gutted to learn that Eaglerider was closed on the one day I wasn’t at the conference I was going for. I ended up in the desert in a cage. I still had a great time hiking in the heat, but Arizona really is built for bikes, especially in the spring when it’s hot but not too hot. I took the route I was going to take anyway if I had the bike. The only part I didn’t enjoy was 87 back down to Phoenix where everyone was thumping along at twenty over the limit in massive pickups towing boats.
The ride out of Phoenix was smooth and the road quickly went down to one lane and got interesting. Soon enough I was working my way up into the Mystic Mountains. If you’re riding from Phoenix a nice place to stop is the Boyce Thompson Arboretum on the right of US-60E about an hour out of Phoenix. It’s a lovely place to stretch your legs and smell the desert blooming.
On towards Globe it gets switchbacky and a dream ride for a bike. The roads are smooth and never dull. Turning toward Lake Roosevelt in Globe, the road takes on a less frantic vibe and has you taking long curves at speed. I stopped at the Tonto National Monument. It’s a sweaty hike up the hill, but another interesting stop for a leg stretch.
Take 88 back to Phoenix, 87 is fast
and crowded.
I then pushed on up to the intersection at 188/87 at the top of the lake which I’d classify as a mistake on a bike ride. There is a much more interesting road, the Apache Trail/US88 that follows the Salt River out of the Mystic Mountains and down to Apache Junction on the outskirts of Phoenix. Had I been on two wheels I would have taken that one without a second thought. Arizona begs to be ridden on a bike. When I was out in the desert hiking I got a real sense of how wide open it feels. Being able to feel that all the time on two wheels would be wonderful. There will be a next time now that I’ve seen how easy it is to get down there. From Southern Ontario I flew out of the tiny and quick Kitchener Airport into Chicago and on to Phoenix. I was travelling for about five hours, but with the time change I left at 6:30am and I was on the ground and ready to go by 10:30am Phoenix time. With that in mind, I’m now thinking about what a week in the desert on two wheels would look like. Voila, the Desert Ride. ~1765kms/1100 miles. I think I could comfortably do it in a week.
The route: Phoenix up the road I missed, on to Sedona and some vortexes (!). Then the Grand Canyon and ‘Vegas before orbiting back to Phoenix through Yuma. If I left on a Sunday morning and came back on a Sunday night it would be seven days of riding with the pickup and return of the bike on consecutive Sunday mornings. 252kms of riding per day minimum, more if I get lost, should be pretty manageable. It was about $800 to fly down return, $1118 to rent a Harley Fat Bob for a week (7 day discount!) from EagleRider. A couple of hundred a day for food & lodging… $3320 for a week riding in the desert. That’s not crazy for a chance to ride when I can’t at home and shake off the winter blues, and an adventure bike would probably cost even less. Now that I know how close and easy Phoenix is to get to, I think I’ll be back.
I took a 360 video of our ride down the Forks of the Credit today.
The video bit came out OK, but what was interesting was how well the microphone picked up the 955cc Triumph triple cylinder engine.
Since it was out of the wind you get a front row seat to the mighty motor and its strange sonorous ways:
I’ve heard induction roar on a bike before, the Concours made a big whoosh, but the Tiger almost sings as it breaths. It must be a British engineering thing. Vulcan bombers used to howl when their air induction reached a certain point as well:
The mighty ZG1K modified Concours is just about done. I’ve been plumbing the depths of the wiring loom working out how to integrate LED headlights and indicators into a 1994 electrical harness based on much less efficient bulbs. Jumping into the future like that freaked out the existing flasher relay that manages how quickly they blink. If you’re running big, old, inefficient bulbs, you get a nice steady indicator and hazard flash because those bulbs are heavy loads on the circuit. The LEDs barely use anything at all by comparison, so suddenly the indicator relay is flashing so quickly it looks like a strobe light. There are various ways to address this, but I think the easiest is to get an adjustable flasher relay (ten bucks on Amazon). It plugs directly into the harness and can be adjusted for an indicator as quick or slow as you like.
I’ve still got to wire up the horn and headlights, but the bike is close to finished wiring wise. I hope to be out later in the week checking off the other details and making sure everything is ready to go. It has always been a quick bike, but now it’s a ninety pound lighter quick bike. I’m looking forward to seeing what it can do when it’s finally road ready.
The ZG1K started out as a café racer conversion, but the muscular feel of the big-4 Kawasaki engine and the heavy duty frame made it look like more of a drag racer than a café racer. Once I’d stripped it down I went with what I had. If it had been a light weight single or twin engined machine then the café racer angle would have worked. Had that been the case I would have gone with a finished, painted look, but once I started down the muscle bike route I started thinking it’d look better as a Mad Max themed post apocalypse rat bike. Seeing Fury Road was how it got renamed the ZG1K Fury. Mad Max: Fury Road isn’t short on motorcycle inspiration. The art direction in that film is amazing. The paint on the bike wasn’t too bad (it was rattle can but nicely finished and badged), but I ended up taking a sander to the tank one day and liked the result with the Kawasaki decal half sanded off; it felt much more radioactive that way.
With the old style round headlight but running LEDS and the stainless steel, drilled mounts I made for it, the bike looks old fashioned and rough but with weirdly futuristic details. The rear lights look like they come out of Battlestar Galactica, but then the rest of the body panels (only where they are needed to cover up plumbing or electronics) are finished in some cut aluminum from the heat-shield that fell off my Mazda a couple of years ago. Once committed to the rough look, I went looking for ways to stay consistent to it. Ironically, the least ratty thing about the bike are the refinished and painted rims I had done before these whole thing started with a carb failure. They never went on the original bike while it was on the road and they are by far the most perfect feature on this one that aims for imperfection. Technical and aesthetic ideas for the custom bike were collected on a Pinterest board:
Once I’ve got everything together it’ll be a review of all the main systems to make sure everything it tight and works well. I’ll bleed the brakes, make sure the engine is tight and dependable and then see how often I can get out on the thing.
The wall-o-carbs that blast the Concours to warp speeds.
I’m looking to expand my riding experience so a second bike had to be as different from the Concours ZG1000 that I have as possible. The Connie is a 999cc, sport touring heavy weight with shaft drive, full fairings and an inline four cylinder with a row of carburetors that create astonishing power. It’s a blast to ride on the road. The KLX I rode home today is a rev-happy 250cc single cylinder bike that weighs an astonishing 370lbs less than the Concours. Everything the Concours does well the KLX doesn’t and vice-versa, which was kinda the point. Having never ridden a fairingless bike before I was surprised at the wind blast from the very naked KLX. It could get to 100km/hr with some judicious gearing and a willing throttle hand. If I squeezed the Concours that hard I’d be travelling well over 100mph while vaulting over the horizon.
A very different riding experience, and I haven’t even taken
it off road yet!
What else is different about the KLX? Knobby tires offer some weird feed back. The KLX comes with some fairly serious off-road tires which make a kind of slapping sensation on pavement. They almost feel like whiskers, picking up seams and other details in the pavement with surprising detail. It makes me wonder how nuanced the feel is on dirt. Once I got used to the change in feel it wasn’t a problem to make full use of the 250ccs. The KLX pulls away from traffic lights in town with aplomb. The tallness of the KLX makes cornering nothing like the Concours. Where the Concours (and the Ninja before it), tuck in and conquer corners in a buttoned down way the KLX feels like you’re on a ladder. Tall rims and seat, long suspension and a clear view ahead conspire to give you an unobstructed view of the road. Again, once I developed some confidence in the bike’s strange geometry managing corners, I had no trouble rolling on throttle through turns and getting things more settled on the floaty suspension.
A two Kawi garage
The skinniness of the KLX is also a shock after straddling the wide and heavy Concours. You feel like there is nothing around you and virtually nothing under you. Looking down, the wasp waisted KLX is barely there. Strangely, it has a less cramped riding position in spite of it being a skinny, 370lb (!) lighter bike. With more relaxed knees and taller bars it feels like a good fit; it’s funny how such a small bike can feel so big. I’m hoping to have the paperwork in order by the weekend then it’ll be time to see how the KLX handles what it was build for. Taking it out on some trails is imminent!
I’ve written about motorcycle related Japanese anime before, it’s a whole sub genre of media from a country that is a motorcycle producing superpower with its own unique moto-culture. You name the anime and there is probably a rider on the team who works in motorcycles somehow. But there is one motorcycle anime where bikes aren’t worked in, they’re the main subject. Bakuon!! tells the story of a group of high school girls who meet over a shared love of the sport. Bakuon is Japanese onomatopoeia for the roar of a motorcycle’s exhaust (the Japanese have some pretty funny word sounds). In the opening of the show each of the main characters bond over their shared love of riding. The experienced riders mentor the younger ones as they get their licenses and begin riding together, but don’t assume this is a why so serious coming of age story. Bakuon!! is edgy and laugh out loud funny. Even non-riders would find this an accessible and funny thing to watch, but it’ll challenge you. Bakuon!! is shamelessly Japanese. If you’re unfamiliar with Japanese humour, which can feel very foreign to gaijin, this show might seem offensive. All I can suggest is to maybe stow your Western superiority complex away and see if you can wrap your head around it.
Hane Chan is the character you follow into the story. She’s not really the main character, it’s an ensemble, but as a new rider trying to get her license you get to discover the joy of riding with her. She also tends to explain to outsiders what craziness is going on in the group. Her initial interest is sparked by her first day trying to ride her bicycle up the hill to her new school, and her actual interest in motorcycles is minimal, until she experiences riding for the first time:
How edgy is the humour? At the riding school where Hane is getting her license she begins a conversation with the bike they lend her (as you do) who speaks to her with an older woman’s voice. At one point Hane asks why the bike has such a masculine name when it has a woman’s voice. The bike tells her that because it’s a practice bike at the academy it has had all the go-faster technology removed from it, so it was castrated. When Hane discovers she’s been riding a trans-gendered bike she just nods and goes about her day, as you do. You might find this foreign in a Western mindset, but the lack of judgement around gender is refreshing.
An even edgier moment happens when the girls take a long trip up to Hokkaido. When they reach the end of Japan they come across one of the teachers from their school who is attempting to commit suicide by jumping into the ocean because she’s just broken up with another boyfriend. She failed comedically (the point isn’t a cliff and she falls onto rocks five feet below). The girls take her back to their hotel where the teacher proceeds to get drunk and attempt to molest them. At this point your appropriateness meter is probably pegged, but, as they do in all circumstances, the girls back each other up and get out of the situation themselves. After that moment of girl-power the show signs off with them cleaning their bikes with their swim suits on. Trying to keep up with the twists and turns in Bakuon!! is part of the challenge. The humour in the show is unrelenting. Each of the girls is smitten by a specific Japanese manufacturer (though Ducati sneaks in there too, but not without a lot of ribbing), and they’re constantly giving each other a hard time over it. At another point Suzunoki Rin, who tells a dramatic backstory about her accident prone father, has to explain how she has a Suzuki brand on her butt. Physical humour operates on a different plane in Japanese culture.
In another episode Onsa, the Yamaha or nothing rider accidentally licks Rin’s drool (they both fall asleep on a train – it happens) and catches a Suzuki germ that makes her only like Suzukis. This kind of brand fixation is a constant source of material in the show. The only time it gets turned up even higher is when they make any reference to non-Japanese brands, who are all evidently incapable of making something that won’t blow up on you regularly. Considering the hard time they give each other, the shots at other manufacturers (like my beloved Triumph) comes across as funny rather than nasty. If you’re ever feeling hard done by when watching the show, at least you’re not a bicyclist. They’re relentless with the Tour de France types.
If you like motorcycles you’ll love Bakuon!! If you like anime you’ll enjoy this show for its humour and a style that takes some interesting risks, like showing most men in the show without a face. Yes, it can get edgy, but that tends to be a Western cultural dissonance thing more than any negative intent by the show. The girls all play off each other for maximum comedic effect and the writing is willing to take unexpected turns to chase down a laugh, as it should.
As an anime with motorcycles but also about motorcycles, Bakuon!! offers you a deep dive into Japanese assumptions around riding that anyone on two wheels would find enlightening. As a Japanese school girl anime it also breaks a lot of stereotypes. A group of girls who ride makes this a feminist statement. The girls are very self sufficient and never look to men or even adults for solutions. The most skilled rider in the show is the untouchable club sempai (mentor) Raimu Kawasaki who always wears her helmet and never speaks, Top Gear Stig style. At one point she lifts up her big Ninja effortlessly and frequently performs riding stunts that defy belief. She was sitting in the school clubhouse alone when the girls show up and was evidently in the club when the school’s current principal was at the school, she might not even be human! I can’t help but feel that she’s presenting some autistic tendencies, further stretching the show’s reach. That Bakuon!! is also a comedy busts another malecentric stereotype. If you can get your Japanese school girl mindset on (and everyone should), this’ll amuse and entertain. You should give it a watch.
