Tim’s Motorcycle Diaries – Page 33

Sourcing Parts and Kawasaki Master Brake Cylinders

The rear brake light I ordered on Amazon in December decided to show up today. I’m going to pass it on to Jeff’s BMW cafe racer project and I think I’m done with four month delivery times from Amazon. Time to source my parts elsewhere I think. I’m curious to see how soon the rear brake light I got instead from eBay takes. I have a feeling it’s going to make the Amazon Marketplace delivery times look sketchy.

Meanwhile, a coolant overflow tank and master brake cylinder kit arrived for the Concours in a timely fashion from Fortnine. I wish they’d start stocking customization pieces like those all in one LED lighting systems.

The tank looks like it’ll fit nicely on the battery case. It isn’t as big as the stock one, but the stock one isn’t that big anyway. I’ve routed the coolant overflow tube and it fits nicely down the spine of the bike. Where it’s placed means the overflow pipe can stick out the side and not dump in the path of the rear tire.

The master brake cylinder kit took a bit of work to get into. Getting it off the bike was easy enough, but getting the compression ring out took some fiddling. I’ve replaced the rubbers on the cylinder and I’m ready to put it back together again, but the kit came with 2 copper rings that don’t seem to be on the original, so I’m going to figure out where they go before I reassemble.

Brake handle and electronic switch removal was straightforward. The only tricky bit was the snap ring that holds in the master cylinder. Compressing the cylinder while getting a pair of compression pliers in there
to squeeze the ring into the groove on the cylinder is swear worthy.

The old outer gasket was in pieces before I even started pulling it out. Rubbers don’t typically last 24 years.
Fancy people pay for that kinda patina – mine comes virtue of the bike being 23 years old and Canadian.

The old gaskets and spring on the cylinder

New gaskets and springs ready to install – as soon as I figure out where the copper rings go.

I don’t see copper rings on there anywhere. I’m still not sure why the
All Balls Racing master cylinder kit has them, but have them it does.

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One Bike To Rule Them All!

I think I need 3 bikes, a road bike, an off road/scrappy bike and a touring bike that lets me 2 up easily. The wee garage would easily swallow this stable. The Ninja was $3500. I think I could cover the other two for $4500. Keeping the bike stable at half what our cheapest car cost seems reasonable.

The Ninja is the sport bike… $3500

This Kawasaki Concourse was $2500 in the summer. With a pillion seat-back it would make a great long distance shared riding bike.

If I could pick up a good dual purpose bike for under $2000, I’d be able to fill out the stable for about $8000 (£5000). This KLR fits the bill, though I’d be longing to paint it (not a problem).

Unless I can find a way to throw legs over as many bikes as I can, I can’t see another way to get an idea of how various bikes ride. Finding a bike that does everything is a fool’s errand. Bikes that claim to do this are a series of compromises. The key to riding a variety of styles is to ride a variety of bikes.

The first bike that would suffer in a diversified garage would be the somewhat sensible all round Ninja. In its place I’d be looking for a naked streefighter… a Triumph Speed Triple would be on my short list.

Motorbike show NOTE: I had a chat with Riders Plus Insurance. They insured me in my first year of riding and were helpful and efficient. This time round I was curious about how insuring multiple bikes work. They told me that buying a second bike means you’re doubling your insurance payments. This doesn’t make a lot of sense to me as I can only ride one bike at a time. I expected something like you’re insured at the rate of whatever the highest cost bike is plus 10% for the paperwork on the other bike. What I was told was that you get a 10% discount on your second bike and pay another full set of insurance on it… which makes owning multiple bikes not really financially viable, so that dream goes down the toilet.

My First Honda: Fireblade!

I’ve had a pretty diverse group of R&R (repair & recover) motorcycles to date. My first R&R bike was the Kawasaki Concours ZG1000 back in 2014. Purchased for eight hundred bucks and cut out of long grass to get it out of the field it was in, the Concours got sorted over the winter and put back on the road where it took us to Indianapolis and put over twenty thousand kilometres on it before I sold it on for what I purchased it for this past summer.

The Concours became my riding bike and I sold on the Ninja. Eventually a KLX250 off road bike came into the garage, but didn’t last long as I struggled to find ways to use it in Ontario: land of no fun. That led to a too-quick purchase of a Yamaha XS1100 from an entirely dodgy kid that led me into the headaches of sorting ownership.

So far I’ve been able to make money on my R&R projects, Shed and Buried style, but I don’t make it easy on myself. Both the Concours and the XS1100 were big, four carburetor bikes with spaghetti loads of vacuum tubes and complex wiring. I’ve taken my time looking for the next project and tried to look for something simple, air cooled and single cylinder, but bikes like that don’t come up often. As the summer fades and winter approaches, it was time to commit to a new R&R project.

This 1997 Honda CBR900RR Fireblade came up on Facebook buy and sell. I’ve found the local nature of Facebook’s marketplace offers up interesting opportunities that you don’t find on the hardened semi-pro sellers of Kijiji and Autotrader, where you are much more likely to find shady characters who sell a lot of crap. This twenty-two year old non-running Honda got me curious enough to contact the seller in Alliston.

It turns out the bike had gotten tangled in a divorce and was then sidelined. It was eventually used to settle debts between the estranged couple, but now it belonged to a non-rider with no mechanical experience who just wanted it gone. Her new partner was trying to sell it for her, but with it not running he wasn’t getting any calls. A late nineties CBR in safetied, running condition was going for about $4000, he was asking $1200 for this one as is.

We exchanged a number of emails, both of us cautious as we’d both met idiots from online sales (it turns out the internet is actually full of idiots). As we got to know each other I asked increasingly direct questions – was is repainted to hide crash damage? (no, the former owner didn’t like the stickered stock look) – why is it in this state? (where I got the bad karma backstory this bike was unfortunately wrapped up in). The last problem to solve was how to get it here.

During our give and take the seller offered me the bike for $1200 instead of $1300, and then said he could trailer it down to my place for $100, so I got it at asking price with a $100 delivery charge. The bike showed up and we had a good chat and ended up being given a milk crate full of pears from his parent’s farm too. Bonus Honda pears – good deal. This low mileage, non-runner seemed like a steal upon first look. The paint’s a bit rough, but for a 20+ year old low mileage bike, she cleaned up a treat.

I was told the bike was a non-runner due to the carbs. As I got into the bike mechanically I figured I’d look at the fuel system as a whole rather than only looking solely at the carb since I didn’t know how long it had been sitting. I’m glad I did. The fuel tank had a worrying amount of rust in it. I talked to people on the Practical Sportsbike Magazine Facebook group (one of my go-to bike magazines and a great place to talk to DIY types) and got suggestions around various acid etching and chemical routes.

I went out to Canadian Tire aiming to get some industrial grade hydrochloric acid but found Metal Rescue Rust Remover, a water based environmentally friendly solution that neutralizes rust and prevents more from forming. It also helps the tank retain its structural integrity whereas acid eats holes in it. My first go at a motorcycle tank cleaning (I’ve been lucky so far and not had to deal with it) went well. I left the chemical in the tank for about six hours before recovering it back into the bottle (it can be reused). With the tank sorted it was time to look at the rest.

The vacuum operated fuel pump in the bottom of the tank was clogged and a mess, but it too cleaned up nicely. With the big end of the fuel system sorted out, I turned to the carbs.

Compared to the buried in the frame carbs on the Concours and XS1100, the Honda’s are a joy to access. Having seen the mess that was the rest of the fuel system, I figured the carbs were crammed full of guck, and they were. The only other issues seemed to be more about mechanical cack-handedness than wear.

Once on the bench I’ve been able to isolate some obvious problems. I found a spring laying under the carbs on the engine case. If you’re fixing a carb it generally helps to use all the parts. I also found that one of the choke pins were broken, so the choke was only working on three of the four carbs, and the choke cable itself wasn’t attached correctly, so the choke was only moving about 2/3rds of the distance it should. These are all things that would prevent the bike from starting properly.

Yesterday I took the float bowls off and had a look at the bottom end of the carbs. The ethanol in modern fuel is not a good mix with older fuel systems, like carburetors. Not only can it eat away at the rubber and gaskets in older systems not designed for it, but it can also leave varnish, and worst of all, it’s a water absorber, so it can lead to corrosion in older, gravity fed systems. If there was ever evidence of modern ethanol based fuels making a mess of a carburetor, it was here in this old Fireblade, where every carb bowl was worse off than the one before it.

Thanks to some judicious use of carb-cleaner, they cleaned up nicely, but does ethanol ever do a job on mechanical fuel delivery systems! Fortunately, if I stick with super unleaded from most stations in Canada, it means I’m not running any in this old bike from now on.

I run super in my bikes anyway because they’re very fuel efficient anyway so it doesn’t cost much and, at least on the Tiger, the power commander means I can maximize power out of it. For the Honda or any other carb fueled bike, you should be running super just to stay away from the ethanol.

Today I’m going to pull the tops of the carbs and have a look at the state of things (I’m hoping better than below) and finish cleaning them. I’m also going to see if I can fix that broken choke pin on carb 4 or else I’m going to have to track down the part. Bikebandit has it for $50US, but no one else seems to have one available.

There are other bits and pieces in this poorly looked after carb that are suspect. Rather than use boot clamps to attach the carb to the engine, the muppet who owned it before me appears to have put some kind of rubber sealant on them and attempted to ‘glue’ them to the block. This is stupid in all sorts of ways. Bits of this rubber seal would deteriorate in the gasoline rich air-fuel mix and get sucked into the engine, and there is no mechanical connection ensuring the carbs are tight and leak free to the engine. For a system that runs on vacuum, this is a disaster.

The boots have cleaned up nicely, so I also need to source some ring clamps for them. The Honda specific ones are hard to find, but I’m hoping I can find some aircraft grade ones that are an engineering match and easier to source. Oetiker Clamps, ironically based in Alliston where the Honda came from, do some nice, high quality options that I should be able to fit.

So much of mechanics come back to common sense. The guy who owned this before seems to have had a startling lack of it. I’m hoping for $1200+$500 in parts I can get this Honda humming and ride it for a year before seeing if I can double my money on it (unless we bond). Safetied bikes of similar vintage with twice the mileage are going for four grand. Even with all the work done so far, the bike hasn’t cost me a penny in parts and I may be within spitting distance of sorting out this abused Fireblade.

NOTES:

One of the tricky bits of working on old bikes is getting the documentation you need to work on them accurately. The internet is a gold mine for this. If you’re working on a late ’90s Honda CBR900RR Fireblade, you’ll find this handy:

1996/7 Honda CBR900RR Owner’s Manual: https://mototribu.com/constructeur/honda/1996/1000cbr/doc/revuetechnique_900rr.pdf

It has lots of good technical graphics in addition to all the specs you need.

***

I was also able to source the Haynes Manual for this bike from Fortnine on sale for only $35. Most other places were over $40US, so finding that on sale was a good first step in this project.

At the moment I’ve got emails out to The Bike Yard in Caledon and Oetiker Clamps in Alliston. With any luck I can source the bits I need and have this Honda purring even before the snow starts to fly, then I can spend the winter sorting out the other fluids and maintenance before it hits the road in the spring.

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Road Trip Insanity

Over thirteen hundred kilometres in two days? Bring the pain!

I’m still looking for a DRZ-400. I just found one way up in Thunder Bay. Here’s a stupid but interesting idea: fly up Friday, pick up the bike Saturday morning and ride it home by Sunday night.

Leave Saturday morning from Thunder Bay and trace the north shore of Gitchegumee to Sault Ste. Marie where I’d overnight Saturday after my first nearly 700km day.

Sunday morning would have me up early to tackle the final 650kms home. At least I’d be able to pass out on the ferry from Manitoulin to Tobermory.

Insane? Probably, especially on a 400cc dual sport bike mainly designed for the dirt, but that’s also what would make it interesting.

Pearson to Thunder Bay late on a Friday night, about three hundred bucks

It’s nearly June and they are still below zero overnight in Thunder Bay, so it’d be a bag of layers I’d be bringing up with me. The riding temperature range may go from around zero all the way up into the thirties, so flexibility is key! A water proof duffel bag for the back of the bike would work as carry on luggage and a universal way to carry gear on the bike.

In that bag I’d chuck a helmet and goggles, a face scarf, motorcycle jacket, pants and rain gear. I’d wear bike boots onto the plane. Repair wise I’d bring a mini tool kit and some chain lube. Clothing would have to be everything from polar fleece to thin cotton to cover the possible temperatures.

A nice, clean, low km bike ready for an insane trip home?

It’s buying an unknown bike from a stranger, though this particular one is low kms and looks very well looked after. There are things I could do to ensure the bike is ready to go. With some emails between the seller I think I could convince them to prep the bike for the trip as part of the purchase price. I’m not sure about the legal requirements but if they safety it and scan it to me I could appear up there with plates, ownership and insurance ready to go.

So what would this buy-a-bike-instant-road-trip insanity cost? They are asking $3500 for this ’07 Suzuki with 14,000kms on it. I’d be ok with the asking price if it includes the safety and prep for the return trip. On top of that I’m looking at about $300 for the flight up there, $300 for hotels on the way back down and sundry costs (gas, food, ferry, etc). Lets say another $300. Forty four hundred bucks for the DRZ I’m looking for and an insane road trip to boot from The North? Sounds like a fun weekend!

If I had more disposable income I’d be dangerous!

ZG1K: A Customized Kawasaki Concours

I’ve stripped down the Concours to the bare bones. From there I intend to build it back out into a cafe-racer/naked streetfighter. A bare-bones ZG1000 Concours looks pretty butch:

A high intensity LED headlight with built in indicators.

ZG1K Stipped Model – Click on it and drag to change views
by timking17 on Sketchfab

Were money less of an issue I’d get it custom upholstered to run the stripe all the way through.

The back end is going to get tidied up and topped with a cafe style brown leather seat. I’m also researching LED light systems that will be all but invisible under the seat until they light up.

The front end is going to get a basic/minimalist light cover and a light that has indicators built in for a clean look our front (no indicator storks poking out). The front fairing and light will be mounted to the forks.

Stripping on the Ducati Monster is a thing of beauty.

As for paint colours, I’d like to try and take the tank back to metal and then have a crimson stripe running over the minimal front fairing, along the tank and across the minimal rear body work. An asymmetrical design with a thick centre strip and a thinner stripe off to the right is what I’m currently thinking, though I’ll see what works as the bike comes back together. If the tank is too rough I’ll redo it red with a gold stripe that matches the wheels. Now that I say that, it might be what happens anyway.

I’m going to use the Structure Sensor scans to map out body work in 3d. I’m also going to make use of a Dremel 3d printer to print out scale replicas of different body configurations. These are some screen grabs of the 3d scan (which you can see at the top).

The massive twin exhausts might get modified, but right now I’m enjoying the big-guns look they have, so I’ll probably be keeping it. They help visually balance a bike that looks otherwise top heavy with that massive gas tank.

First go at a logo – I think I’m going to have to find the Kawasaki Heavy Industries logo for this heavyweight streetfighter.

Getting Connie Back On Her Feet

The front wheel is off to replace
the speedometer gear housing.

So far the cost in parts has been only about $85 for a new speedometer gear from my local Kawi dealer: Two Wheel Motorsport. Other than that it’s been a matter of checking connections and adjusting some poorly run throttle cables.

The gas gauge (reading low/inaccurately) was a loose electrical connection under the tank, cleaned up and connected properly it took about five minutes. The temperature gauge was similar, just cleaning connections at the sensor (on the left side of the radiator) resolved that.

The speedo was a bit of a puzzle. I got a new cable assuming the old one has seized (only about ten bucks), but it didn’t resolve the issue. Putting a drill on the cable had the speedometer showing 70km/hr accurately. The odometer and trip meter both register too, so it wasn’t an issue with the gauges. I looked at the speedo gear housing in the front hub and it didn’t spin even when the wheel was. Robert on the Two Wheel parts desk said these seize up if not lubricated well – they also seize up if the bike wasn’t run for a while (as mine wasn’t). He said to make sure I grease the end well when I install the new one.

Well lubed and routed properly, the
throttle cable snaps back perfectly.

The new part should be here Friday. The local dealer cost about five bucks more than online, but didn’t charge me thirty plus bucks in shipping and customs costs, so that’s a clear win for buying OEM parts from your local dealer.

The sticking throttle was a matter of taking the cable ends apart at the handlebar and lubing and re-routing them properly – the return cable didn’t look like it was installed properly on the higher-rise custom bars on the bike. After lubing the cables and cleaning the handlebar mechanism I routed the return cable in the proper spot behind the pull cable. It was tricky getting it all back together again, but once it was done up the throttle was tight, smooth and snapped back like a champ.

I’m hoping to have the speedo done in the next couple of days and then put the bike together for a safety next week.

Adventure Biking

Originally published on Tim’s Motorcycle Diaries in May of 2014:

An epic journey with
an epic budget

I’m over a year into the habit now and my biking interests continue to evolve. One of the things that got me started was Ewan and Charlie’s Long Way Round. When looking for my first bike I was all about the adventure bike. The idea that I could ride to Borneo or the Andes was pretty enticing. A bike that could go anywhere and do anything seemed magical.

Look at me and my friend
Ewan on our big bikes! It’s
hard not to get taken in by
the image.

It turns out it is magical. You give up a lot of physics to have a tall bike with knobbly tires that looks like it can ride to the Andes. Being a guy in the vanishing middle class with a young family and work, I’m not in a position to gallivant off into the woods for weeks on end following my inner McGregor. I get the sense that, like SUV drivers, many adventure bike riders are in it for the posing. I’ve never been good at posing, it’s one of the reasons that cruisers have never done anything for me. I’m less interested in being seen on a bike and more interested in the process of riding it.

An epic journey on a
shoestring

To complicate matters I then saw Mondo Enduro and heard Austin Vince’s arguments for adventure riding for adventure riding’s sake (rather than adventure marketing for sale’s sake). The idea of taking inexpensive, small bikes around the world seems absurd from a Long Way Round/BMW/Adventure Bike Rider point of view where anything less than a 1000ccs without electronic assist and no wind is ‘uncomfortable’.

Why can’t I buy this
in Canada, Austin?

While Ewan and Charlie actually did the deed, they did it with an awful lot of support, brand new sponsored bikes, a staff and no worries about money. That they did it is being leveraged a great deal by bike manufacturers to move large, heavy bikes that are ill-suited for off road work, but they look the part and let you live that movie star dream.

I get Austin’s angle, and still get excited by the idea of travelling light and far for travel’s sake, not for image’s sake. I’m currently reading Ted Simon’s Jupiter’s Travels, and he too focused on the opportunities motorcycling around the world offered rather than the image it portrayed.

I just turned 45 and fantasized about mid-life crisis motorbike choices. I was surprised to find that adventure biking didn’t make it onto my list considering it was one of the genres of riding I was most excited by. Like the SUV driver that has never driven on gravel but wants 4 wheel drive and a massive vehicle just in case it might happen, the idea that an adventure bike will make it look like I can travel down roads I’d never take is marketing that I just can’t buy into.

The road beckons, it’s right outside my door, so why would I ride a bike that wasn’t designed for it? It’s not like you can’t go pretty much everywhere on a road bike, Nick Sanders certainly has. If you want to get off the beaten path and camp Jo Sinnott can manage it on a Triumph Bonneville. If you want to be extreme, Melissa Holbrook-Pierson will introduce you to the Man Who Would Stop At Nothing who makes Charlie & Ewan look like frat boys.

There is no doubt that adventure riding is a meaningful genre of motorcycle riding, just as off-roading is a meaningful genre of four wheeling. But are you the guy who has to hose out his jeep after going deep, or are you the guy who polishes his SUV and pretends he’s all about the mud? I suspect I’ve read too many life changing adventure bike articles in magazines that sell the myth. As long as adventure riding is about the image rather than the deed, it doesn’t do much for me, mid-life crisis or otherwise, which makes me sad.

Transitioning to Season Two

It’s getting into autumn and my first season of biking is coming to a close. I’ve enjoyed the Ninja and I’ve done a lot of work on it. I’ve overcome my anxiety around opening it up and working on it and I’ve put a lot of miles on it in all kinds of weather. I’m far from the beginner I was in April and my garage is more a shop than it’s ever been before.

Not only has riding become a new interest but it has also reawakened my love of mechanics which has in turn influenced my work in general. So far the whole experience has been a positive one full of firsts and valuable learning opportunities.

I’m thinking about season 2 and where I want to go. When I started off riding I was aiming at a KLR650 or other big dual purpose bike but went with the Ninja because it was local, available, low mileage and made a lovely sound. The Ninja offers me an opportunity to explore the limits of a modern road bike, but that can be a tricky proposition, and an expensive one. Were I to stay with the Ninja I think I’d find some track days and feel out some of the more extreme limits. Knowing how a vehicle handles on the track offers you a unique insight into how to manage it on the road, especially in emergency situations. I’ve driven cars and shifter-carts on track and know how to work towards the edge without stepping over it (too far).

I’ve been very careful with the Ninja, but I’d like to push my understanding and that involves taking risks with the machine. I can’t understand the dynamics of riding if I’m never riding over seven tenths. If I’m going after a deeper, more nuanced understanding then I’ve got two options: the dirt track or the race track. One is obviously cheaper than the other.

The KLR is still under consideration

I’d initially shied away from doing off road for fear of wear, but I’m over the maintenance panic now. I’d still like to develop my road riding skills, but exploring limits seems like a less dangerous option in off road and multi-surface riding. To that end, I think I’ll look to a multi-purpose/enduro bike for my second season and begin exploring roads without worrying about where the tarmac ends. The ultimate goal is still the long distance/adventure touring bike. I love the swiss army knife abilities of those bikes.

The KLR still offers an affordable, basic, multi-purpose bike and I’d consider it seriously. It’s also not crazy expensive.

Triumph Tiger 800xc, my first
British bike?

Given a bigger budget I’d aim for a Triumph Tiger 800xc. It is a capable off-road bike that doesn’t tip the scales too madly, while still offering an effective road mile covering bike. A bike that can pack in the miles is what I’m looking for.

Either the bargain basement KLR or the Tiger would get chucked to the curb if I sat on them and they didn’t feel right. Now that I’ve done some miles I’m getting a much better idea of what I want my bike to feel like.

KTM’s outrageous 990 Supermoto

Fortunately there is no shortage of multi-purpose bikes out there. From Yamaha Teneres to KTM 990 Supermotos to BMW’s famous adventure bikes, there are many options and many of them have that naked, standard bike look that I prefer.

I’m planning on finishing up my work on the Ninja and putting it out for sale this fall while looking for my second season bike, this time spending a lot more time considering how I fit and what I want to do with it.

Why On Earth Would They Do That?

A conversation with one of my students at lunch today:

Lyndon demonstrating, ‘it’s hard’

“What are you watching?”
“Footage from today’s stage of the Dakar race.”
“What’s that?”
“The hardest race in the world.”
“Why is it so hard?”
“It’s thousands of kilometres of dangerous off road racing with cars, bikes & trucks with little sleep over weeks at a time. Many people who start it don’t finish. People die on it almost every year.”
This very smart grade 9 student was confused. Finally she asked, “Why would anyone do that?”
“Because it’s difficult,” I replied.
She ruminated on that a moment then asked, “why is it so dangerous?”
“Because people race it in cars, trucks, quads and bikes, all at the same time over deserts, mountains and jungles. If you’re on a smaller vehicle it becomes even more dangerous than it already is.”
“Why on earth would anyone do that on a motorcycle?!?”
“Because it’s even more difficult…”

Is attempting the dangerous and difficult with ample chance of failure a bad idea, or the point of it all? Risk nothing and you lose everything.

If you haven’t been keeping up with the race this year, it’s still all to play for. If you want the official feed you can find it on the Dakar YouTube channel.

If you’re into documentary film making using the latest in state of the art video and on the fly editing, Lyndon Posskitt’s Youtube Channel will take you through the race one gruelling stage at a time. If you’ve got some time, watch Lyndon’s Malle Moto – The Forgotten Dakar Story about last year’s race. It’ll set you up for this year’s harrowing adventure.

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Another Lousy Weather Long Weekend Daydream

With hail hitting the windows, here’s another load-up-the-van daydream, this time over the Easter long weekend…

It’s up in the teens Celsius in Cincinnati, and it’s close by, less than eight hours away. If I’d have gone to work on Thursday with the bike loaded up in the van, I could have been on my way by 3:30pm and feet up in a hotel on the Ohio River before midnight. The next morning I’d be exploring what looks like a plethora of interesting routes up and down the River on the Kentucky side, all in mid-teens temperatures.

Spoiled for choice:

Cincinnati is so close I could finish up with a short ride Monday morning and be on the road about noon, which would get me back up into the still frozen north by eight in the evening.

Another angle might be to aim just east of Columbus, Ohio. There are a large number of motorbike roads out that way on the edge of the Appalachians. Zanesville, Ohio would be a great launching point to dozens of rides, and it’s less than seven hours away. Due south of town is the Triple Nickel, along with a pile of other very twisty roads. Temperatures out in eastern Ohio are similar to those in Cinci.

Flirting with the West Virginia border means wandering onto the foot hills of the Appalachians. Every road in the area is twisty, even the ones leading to the riding roads. This is even closer than the Cinci plan, and twistier too.

The weather’s getting better everywhere else but here. With above zero temperatures still weeks away, I remain reduced to daydreaming about rides out of reach.

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