Category: Tim’s Motorcycle Diaries

What secrets lie beneath my Ninja’s flat black paint?

I’m finding the Ninja to be more and more  manageable.  I don’t think I’ll end up on a sport bike forever, but I’m glad I started with one so I have a sense of what a road purposed bike is capable of.  One of the reasons I went with the Ninja instead of a KLR or other enduro bike is because it looked like it had been mistreated, and I wanted to make it happy again.  The bike is super dependable, rock solid mechanically, but it’s had an interesting hidden life.

In the picture on right you can see where I’ve been working on the front wheel fender, taking the angry-young-man flat black off to find the original
Kawasaki Ninja metallic blue.  It’s a beautiful colour, I have no idea why you’d want to cover it up, unless you’ve done things you want to hide… cheap.

Why would you ever de-blue this?!?

I’m guessing that the gas tank got replaced when the bike was dropped at some point.  The replacement tank comes in flat black, so the owner decided to cover up the scuffs on the rest of the bike with a thin (though apparently professionally applied) coat of black.

The blacked out look is aggressive, tough, very angry young man, but I’m not an angry young man and I like colours, and I don’t want the bike to be invisible, I want it to be very visible.

I’ve removed the black from the front fender, a time consuming and tiring process, but I really want that black gone.  There was a bur in the plastic on the back, some more proof of impact, but I’ve sanded it out and it looks smooth again.  Between the paint remover and the scuffs on the fender, a good repaint will be in order.  I think by stripping and prepping the parts, I can save quite a lot on the repaint (prep is very time consuming).  I can also remove the parts that will be repainted, making them easier to finish.  The only part
that won’t already be blue would be the gas tank, but when done it would match everything else.

Paint removal has been a trial and error experience.  I’ve tried sanding (almost impossible to do on the complex compound curves of the body work).  I tried acetone but it’s very difficult to work with.  It seems to raise the paint and then immediately evaporate so the paint solidifies all mottled.  Paint thinner works well as a final step, removing the last spots and any black haze left.  It also does a good job of smoothing out any roughness left by the stronger chemicals.

For pulling off the paint in the first place the best thing I’ve found is graffiti remover.  It pulled the unsealed black off the clear coated blue with minimal damage.  If you work in small areas at a time, you can lift most of the paint.  When you’ve got it virtually clear, switch to paint thinner and gently wipe the final pieces away, then wash it all down with water.

It helps to have a variety of lint free cloths on hand.  Rougher terry cloths and even a soft bristled scrub brush helped to get into the black and loosen it off.  I could then wipe it clean with the softer cloths.  Even the graffiti cleaner dries quickly, so work in small areas.

burnt metallic orange

The current summer plan is to strip the bike back to blue and repaint it in the stock blue.  While it’s naked I’m also thinking about painting the tube frame a burnt metallic orange.  It’ll peak out from behind the blue and contrasts nicely with it.  The end result should be a Ninja that is not only visible, but doesn’t look like it’s had the living daylights beaten out of it.

Tim’s Tat: inspiration for the Ninja colour scheme

With some carefully chosen accessories that highlight the colour scheme, I should end up with a kingfisher Ninja that matches my tat.  With the orange highlights on the frame I could match up the brake and clutch levers (which are scuffed) with something a bit prettier; burnt orange levers would be a nice touch.

Colourful is the new cool.  Being visible isn’t an option, I want it to be the goal.  Metallic blue and burnt metallic orange would pop and sizzle in the sun, be much more visible all the time, and would make for a happy, outgoing Ninja, rather than a war torn, black and beaten looking one.

Last summer I was driving past the bike on the right over and over again.  Had I the means to ride it home, I suspect I would have snapped it up (they were only asking six hundred bucks and everything on it worked).

The idea of picking up an old bike, getting it going and then hitting the open road with it on a long trip has a lot of romantic appeal.

I’ve been trying to work out how to do a coast to coast Trans Canada trip when I live in the middle of the country.  Riding one way and then flying to the other coast seems a bit heavy handed.  To resolve the issue I’ve decided to plan it empty handed.  I’ll fly out to the East Coast, find a used bike for sale somewhere on the Island, get it sorted out and then head west.

Go West Young Man

2008 VTX

One of the nice things about shopping the classifieds (besides not paying the rolling off the lot premium) is that you might pick up a bike that you otherwise wouldn’t.

Browsing the classifieds in St. John’s NFLD today I came across this Honda VTX.  I’ve never even heard of this bike, but that is one cool looking ride.  I’m the furthest thing from a cruiser fan, but you have to wonder what kind of relationship you’d have with that Honda as you ride coast to coast.

Maxim

It’d certainly hold its value well, I might even break even on the other side, and it would have long legs for that epic journey.

The Maxim on the right costs less than it would cost to ship a bike across Canada. It has just had new mufflers, tires and battery.  With some minor fix ups I’d probably be well on my way for less than two grand.  It might not have the style and presence of the VTX, but it would bring its own history with it and offer its own unique experience.

The nice thing about doing it this way is the trip itself is dictated by what’s out there, and the bike might be something you wouldn’t otherwise develop a riding relationship with.  From thousand dollar cheapies to expensive chromed out blingers, on a quiet Tuesday morning in July there was an interesting mix of bikes available in the St. John’s area, and each one would make your cross country ride a completely different experience.

When it’s a one trip bike, you might ignore some of the must haves you usually think about when buying a long term bike.  Those must haves often lead to a lot of compromises.  Here is a bike you’ll ride for a few weeks one summer.  Without the weight of a long term relationship, what would you want to try out that you wouldn’t otherwise?

I imagine I could fly out with my plates and find the bike, call back for insurance and be ready to go in only a couple of days.  At the other end I could put it up for sale on consignment and have it settled out while I’m flying home. The only complication might be if you fell in love, then an extension on the trip might be in order.

Trans Canada

From St. John’s NFLD on the Atlantic coast to Tofino BC on the Pacific Coast

Leave at Sunrise over the Atlantic, ride to sunset in the Pacific…

Coast to Coast, from St/ John’s Newfoundland to Tofino BC

The only planned stop would be a home for a rest stop in Ontario on my way across.  7813kms across if I stay the course, but I’d be hard pressed to pass through places I’ve never been before without having a look around.  Conservatively I’d guess that this would be a 10,000km trip.

At a couple of tanks of gas a day, covering 5-600kms would be easy and allow for some wandering time as well.  I’d throw a goal that far up the road and see how it went.  It’d be two weeks at 500kms/day, but with other stops and breaks, three weeks wouldn’t be a bad guess.

Roughing out costs, with gas at $40/day, hotels at $140/day average and food etc at $50/day, I’d be looking at $230/day on the road, $4830 for expenses over three weeks, and then whatever the bike costs/sells for.  Through in a $1000 for the flight out to St. John’s and home from Vancouver.

Going lean I could probably manage under $100/day for hotels and shave $20-30 off the food/gas costs (bike choice would play in there).  It would be conceivable to do it for ~$150/day ($2100 if done in 2 weeks).  I like the idea of a tighter schedule with more saddle time, I’d probably see if I can do it in 10 days…

Three ferry rides (off  The Rock, across a Great Lake and over to Vancouver Island), the Atlantic Ocean, the East Coast, across Quebec and Ontario, through the Prairies, over the Rocky Mountains and onto Vancouver Island for a final push to the Pacific Ocean.  Coast to coast across Canada by motorbike!

Now I can’t stop looking at used bikes…

1983 Suzuki GS in Guelph, only about $1000.

1986 Kawasaki Concourse, about $2500

I guess I like the more angular style of ’80s bikes…

Agony!  ‘84 Honda Interceptor: Had this been available in March when I was looking for my first bike, Tim’s Motorcycle Diaries would have started off way differently!  I’ve had a crush on these bikes since I was a kid, and only $1500!

I’ve been trying to find a comparison about the relative dangers of motorcycling that didn’t devolve into anecdote and hyperbole, I couldn’t find one on the internet (the home of anecdote and hyperbole).  After reading all sorts of people who knew someone who died on a motorbike, or were hit by a car ‘that came out of nowhere’ (cars don’t come out of nowhere, they’re very big and weigh thousands of pounds), I’m left shaking my head.

I know a guy who died on a motorcycle.  He was late for work and ran a red light at over 100km/hr and ended up going over the hood of a nice, old couple’s car who were turning left into the lane in front of him.  Along with a pile of other people I ran across our work parking lot and got there just in time to see him die.  Not to speak ill of the dead but this guy was a yahoo, and his accident was all about his idiocy and had virtually nothing to do with his motorcycling.  Had he run the same light in a Mustang he would have ended up killing three people, two of them completely innocent, as it was he traumatized them. 

Online you’ll find many anecdotes about how dangerous it is ‘out there’.  There was the guy who went on at length about how a muffler fell off the car in front of him and he couldn’t avoid it; he hasn’t been back on a bike since.  I suppose that muffler came out of nowhere too.  I wonder how close behind the car buddy was when that muffler took him off his bike.

In many cases those ex-bikers say that training doesn’t help, the only thing that does help is a cage of your own.  A life lived in fear is a life half lived, and there are a lot of people hiding in cages living half lives on the interwebs.  The emotionality and ignorance on display is distressing.  How can you do a thing well when your stories clearly demonstrate ignorance around how to operate a motorbike effectively?  I wonder if any of the people who knew that yahoo I worked with are the ones now saying how dangerous motorcycling is.

Extreme defensive driving, if you’re not thinking about all of this approaching an intersection, you’re not doing it right

Having taken some training I plan on taking much more because it really does help.  If you’re serious about your bikecraft you will continue to seek out ways to improve, otherwise you aren’t taking the task seriously.  Training isn’t just about how to make a bike go, it’s also some of the most intensive defensive driver training you’ll ever experience, and I’ve done a lot of advanced driver training.  

Anyone who wants to pin the dangers of motorbiking on everyone else on the road feels helpless.  Training goes some way to mitigate that, though afterward you’re never able to say, “it came out of nowhere!” or, “it wasn’t my fault!”  When you finally get to the bottom of the extreme defensive mindset you need on a bike everything is your responsibility, including responding to the poor driving of other people.  If you’re not willing or able to shoulder that responsibility you shouldn’t be on a bike.

In addition to the dismissive attitude toward training, the other theme that develops as you read the anecdotal former rider or friend of a dead friend online is the anger.  People who have have a hate on for riding and are now evangelizing against it were angry when they rode, frequently telling stories of how they were shouting at four wheeled offenders, incredibly upset by being run off the road, angry at how poorly everyone else uses the road.  They’ve never shaken this anger, it’s a part of who they are and they still spout it online.  You have to wonder how blind that anger made them when they rode.

Another benefit of training and then advanced training is that rather than approach a situation with an emotive response, you tend to be clinical.  Anyone who has taken martial arts understands how this works.  The untrained fight in ignorance, throwing haymakers and making a wondrous mess of it all.  They typically attempt to overcome their ignorance and inexperience by fighting emotionally.  A true student of anything is clinical because they approach their craft with an eye to constant improvement.  They don’t thrash around in anger, they analyze and improve.  An emotional mindset seldom leads to skills improvement.

The angry biker is a dilettante, someone posing, looking for social status with no interest in improving their bikecraft.  You can’t learn if you’re angry.

When riding a motorcycle in an angry, blaming way you are attempting to cover your ignorance with loud emotionality.  Don’t be ignorant and upset, become skilled and clinical, and always have an eye toward improving your craft.  Riding a motorcycle well is a deeply immersive experience, you’re doing a difficult, dangerous thing, and doing it well should be a great source of pride.  When you’re lost in your bikecraft you are attentive, meditative, alert and alive in the truest sense of the word.  I don’t imagine any of the naysayers on the internet care, but this is an important place to find yourself.

All rights reserved by JamesAddis

Interweb hyperbole… 

http://ridingsafely.com/ridingsafely1.html

http://ask.metafilter.com/44065/Exactly-how-dangerous-are-motorcycles

http://motorcycleaccidentlawyerpa.com/motorcycle-vs-car-accident-statistics/

http://www.nerdgraph.com/motorcycles-vs-cars-road-safety/

http://rideapart.com/2013/12/things-more-dangerous-than-riding-a-motorcycle/