motorcyclist of the year…

the latest issue of american motorcyclist (the magazine of the ama), with the motorcyclist of the year on the cover, arrived this past weekend. when i initially saw the cover my instinct was to cancel my subscription/membership to the ama.

the ama states the motorcyclist of the year is “designed to highlight the person (or people) who has had the most profound impact on the world of motorcycling – for better or worse – in the previous 12 months.” this year the ama has decided that the most profound impact on motorcycling is for the worse.

what’s really bothersome is that of all the pro-motorcycling causes the ama supports, of all the people that put their time and effort forth to support motorcycling, the ama couldn’t find one person or group that had enough of a positive impact to outweigh the negative…

so who was chosen?? california governor schwarzenegger, who is supposedly pro-motorcycling. why was he chosen?? for signing senate bill 435. in a nutshell, sb435 requires all motorcycles built on or after january 1, 2013 to carry an epa stamp that certifies the exhaust meets sound requirements.

i know us motorcyclist have an issue with excessive noise. if the idea is to help control noise, sb435 is not the way to go about it. the motorcycle industry council worked hard with the society of automobile engineers to develop j2825 which gives a simple, straightforward way to measure and identify motorcycles with excessive noise.

instead governor schwarzenegger thought putting stamps on exhaust systems was the way to enforce noise limits. there are plenty of exhaust exhaust systems and manufactures that make exhaust systems that aren’t noisy but can’t afford to go through the process to get approval to put the stamp on  their exhausts. not only that, the stamp doesn’t prevent the owner from drilling out the baffles and making the exhaust excessively noisy.

i could sit back and be thankful i don’t live in california. and after seeing what a “pro-motorcyling” governor can do, i am thankful. but we’ve all seen other states follow california. unfortunately this would not be a good path to go down. instead i’ll do what i can to make sure a bill like this doesn’t get passed in my state.

i’m still fuming at governor schwarzenegger getting selected. and if the ama wasn’t so important in protecting the rights of motorcyclists i’d cancel my membership. so, i’m also going to do everything i can to ensure all future motorcyclist of the year are selected for making a positive impact on motorcycling, leaving governor schwarzenegger as the only black mark.

in response . . .

. . . to john q public’s comment on my earlier post… i would have just responded in the comments, but i think this deserves more than being obscured in post comments…

from facts and figures page on for car drivers site (emphasis added):

Cell Phones

A University of Utah study, "A Comparison of the Cell Phone Driver and the Drunk Driver, found that "…the impairments associated with using a cell phone while driving can be as profound as those associated with driving while drunk." Furthermore, the impairment levels were similar whether the cell phones were used in handheld or hands-free mode.

yikes!!!

‘nuff said…

hang up, pay attention and drive…

was downtown yesterday, heading home, in the far left of three lanes of traffic. cruising thirty-five, the speed limit. i’m even with the rear tire of an suv in the center lane when the knucklehead (i don’t think i was that kind at the time) decides he needs to make a left turn. yes, a left turn from the center.

i quickly hit the brakes and move as far to the left as i can. i would have gotten up on the sidewalk if the curb wasn’t there. once i was out of harm’s way, i laid on the horn. looking directly at me through the driver’s side mirror, i see a surprised look on a guy with a cell phone jammed in his ear.

of course he finishes his left turn and keeps going. had i not been wrapped up in being thankful for not making any contact with said knucklehead, i probably would have followed him and given him an earful. of course i would have had to wait until he removed the cell phone from his ear.

the only thing i can hope is that he’s learned to take the cell phone out of his ear and pay attention to the primary task at hand – driving.

a couple things to consider:

• if you drive a cage, please pay attention to the environment around you – including motorcycles!!
• if you can afford a car, a cell phone and a cell phone plan, can’t you invest a few more dollars for a bluetooth headset?? based on this post…
• if you ride a motorcycle, practice your quick stops – you can never be too good at quick stops.
• if you’re on a different bike (as i happened to be in this particular instance), take some time getting used to it…

sorry – don’t mean to be preachy, but…

ironically, as i was starting my journey home, i was following a mass transit bus. the bus number happened to be seven. as you may recall, seven is my lucky number. so i’m thinking about what may be in store for me. i think about playing the lottery, especially since i missed out earlier. but since i only have one number, i can’t really do that. i figure whatever it is, it will happen naturally. in hindsight, i think it was my butt not being wiped out!!

easter ride…

participated in the ray price easter basket ride saturday… first time i’ve joined in and it was quite an experience…

daughter and i headed out in the morning, starting the morning off right by filling out bellies with bo’s… after that, it was too the dealership to line up for the ride…

when we got to the dealership, i was informed by daughter that she needed to spend some of her hard earned money to buy mom a new set of gloves… she wanted to take a picture of a fellow rider that followed us for a short period of time. she took the glove off to get her camera out of her pocket and it went flying… oops... now mom has a new set of gloves… mom was kinda fond of her old gloves, which of course were a seasonal item. so we couldn’t get her those again. and picking out something mom likes is definitely no easy task.

after ordering the gloves, we cruised around the dealership killing time, waiting for departure…

ray price on his trike, posing for a short press conference…

 

some of the over one hundred bikes that rode along…

 

the national guard convoy that escorted us around. it was reported they collect over 600 baskets to be distributed…

bob, of bob and the showgram, lead the ride…

first stop… when you’re on a ride like this, you don’t really get a feel for how many bikes and riders there are until you make a stop and see the place packed with bikes…

i was a little surprised by the (lack of) turnout at the first stop. not sure why, but i was expecting more kids. especially with about six hundred baskets to deliver.

the activities started out with an entertaining lesson about easter, god and jesus from bob fowler of the child evangelism fellowship. after his talk, the baskets were passed out to the kids…

then it was time to head to the second stop, where the number of kids definitely made up for the lack of kids at the first stop… i had no doubt we’d be able to pass out all the baskets at this stop…

this little kid was so cute. the basket was a big as he was. i think the joy he was feeling in receiving the basket overcame any difficultly he may have had with the size of the basket.

this ride was a really special ride… i enjoyed being able to pass out baskets to underprivileged kids. but there was a dark side to giving. or more rightfully, the receiving. and i really saw it when we got to the second, larger stop.

as we were passing out baskets, i saw several children refuse certain baskets, asking, no almost demanding a basket with something else in it. i can fully understand requesting a basket specific for a boy or girl. but to turn down a basket with one toy in favor of another?? isn’t it satisfying enough just to be receiving something??

and then there were the kids that would grab a basket, hand it off to mom and go get another. and another. and another. again, isn’t it satisfying enough just to get a basket??

but it’s not for me to judge. all i can do is learn from the lesson and try not to make the same mistake. to be grateful when someone is there to help. not greedy, asking or taking more than what’s being offered. maybe it’s the place i am in my life right now. i’m grateful for where i am, the people that are in my life, for what i have. would it be nice to have more?? of course!! but the other side of the coin is it could always be worse. a lot worse.

so the ride was a good one. i really enjoyed it. it’s really about the joy you can bring to the many who are appreciative you’re there, appreciative that you care enough to think of them.

peace…

senate bill 22 - omnibus public lands bill…

from the american motorcyclist web site:

The U.S. House of Representatives could vote as early as next week on a wide-ranging bill that could shut off-highway motorcyclists and all-terrain vehicle riders out of more than 2 million acres of public land.

"This bill was on the fast-track in the U.S. Senate and passed swiftly earlier this year without public scrutiny or debate," said Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. "The measure is now being steamrolled through the U.S. House without giving the public an opportunity to fully digest its impact and debate the many provisions in the bill."

Moreland called on all AMA members, off-highway motorcyclists, ATV riders and everyone who supports responsible outdoor recreation to immediately contact their Congressional representative and ask them to reject the bill. The measure should be defeated because it unreasonably bans motorized recreation on 2.1 million acres of public land by inappropriately designating it as Wilderness, and because the procedures used for fast-tracking the bill through the U.S. Senate and House violate the spirit of open and democratic government.

take action (quickly) here…

whodunnit??

another test to take... whodunnit?? and in case you missed the first one, you can find it here...

how observant were you??

a wise man once told me...

actually, a wise man more than once told me some words of wisdom that have saved me, whether it be a few bucks, a lot of headache or a bit of both...

two recently that i want to share... the first once occurred earlier this summer, but i got to recount last weekend. my bike was parked and some people were looking it over. the discussion turned to the toe/heel shifter. one guy told me he was going to remove the heel shifter on his bike and was asking what i thought. why he cared what i thought i don't know - he's got to ride it and be happy with it. but since he asked...

i told him that i don't use the heel shifter. i too had considered removing it. my concern was how to pretty-up the shaft when i removed the heel shifter. i knew my father-in-law didn't use his. i figured i would see what he did with his bike.

upon inspecting his bike, i saw he still had the heel shifter... he told me he has no plans to remove the heel shifter, even if he didn't use it. his reasoning being you never know when you're going to need spare parts. i chuckled. i decided to leave it on more out of fear of him ribbing me about removing it every time he saw my bike.

not even a week later, i'm traveling home from northern virginia, on a two lane road, my wife caravanning behind me. a goose decides to meander into my lane and stops. at this point i'm having to make decisions on which way the goose might decided to go, which way i'm going to do. i'm quickly slowing down, hitting both brakes, squeezing the clutch and attempting to downshift - pressing my left foot down quickly but only finding air. holy crap!! i look down, no shifter peg!!!

i safely navigate around the goose and find the first pullover. as i'm pulling over, i'm hearing my father-in-law's words - you never know when you're going to need spare parts. thankfully, since i left the heel shifter on, i can move the peg from the heel to the toe and continue my journey home.

chalk another one up for the ol' man...

i noticed last weekend that my right rear turn signal wasn't working properly. after some quick diagnostics, i determined it was the run/brake/turn signal module i installed several years ago. i was all set to buy a replacement module. the only thing holding me up was the debate between the r/b/t module and replacing the brake lights and turn signals with leds - cost being the main factor.

again my father-in-law kicks in his words... they have their web site imprinted on the side of the module. i should call the company and tell them to send me a replacement. i've had the module on the bike for a few years, i don't know if they're going to do that.

i decide to do the next best thing - i'll search the internet to see if there are any reported problems with the unit. quickly finding nothing, i end up at biketronic's web site looking for a forum. nothing.... i stumble on their contact us form and decide to give it a shot.

i explain my situation and fire off the form. not even two hours later, a response... they have a lifetime warranty, send them my address and they'll send out a replacement. how can it get any better than that??

chalk another one up for the ol' man.

i'm gonna have to keep listening to him...

out for a ride...

went out for a ride yesterday. well, more like running some errands, but it was a chance to get out on the bike... two things stood out on my short journey.

first, i love where i live. where else can you get stuck behind farm equipment chugging down the road at twenty and not really care?? i had considered passing on a double yellow. but then i thought why?? all that would accomplish is i'd get where i was going sooner. and since i was running errands "in town," why would i want to get there sooner. i just followed behind, thinking about how farming seems to be a dieing lifestyle.

second, i'm glad i don't live "in town"... the traffic and the people all up in themselves while they're driving, thinking they're the only ones on the road. or maybe just that they're privileged on the road and everyone else should bend to their wishes.

specifically, almost getting run off the road. or into oncoming traffic. as the road merges left from two lanes to one, some bozo in a lexus, nc plate sva-1091, just pulls into my space. any chance of them using a signal?? no. any change of them checking for other traffic before they change lanes?? no.

luckily i was expecting that behavior from the driver. maybe it it was being able to observe them for a mile or two and noticing they didn't have any regard for traffic around them. maybe it was the cell phone crammed in their ear.

i followed them, not by choice, for a couple more miles. all i can say it that my stereotyping was confirmed, at least in my mind, as they turned into wakefield.

once i got out from behind them, my ride improved. maybe because i was getting out of traffic and getting closer to home.

restoring confidence...

i received a call this evening from randy, the service manager at ray price... he read my previous post and had some concerns about what i said.

first, i'm impressed he took the time to call - it shows he's very concerned about his customers and the service his department provides. through our discussion, i got more of an appreciation of the passion randy has for his job and motorcycling.

randy was concerned that i posted my comments and he never had a chance to address the "problems". i have to give him that - it's hard for them to make things right when they don't know about them... i should have talked to him and given him a chance to get things straight.

randy isn't only interested in maintaining a positive image for ray price, he's interested in the safety of his customers. when i complained about the brake rotors being on backwards, he saw a bigger potential issue of the front wheel being on backwards. he asked if i would go out to the garage and check to ensure the wheel was on correctly. once we established that is was mounted correctly, he said if the rotors were wrong, they would be more than happy to swap them the next time i was in.

we started talking more about why i thought the rotors were on backwards. randy educated me a bit further on the instance of when they might swap brake rotors or take other measures to reduce the noise when the brakes are used... i guess i was making a bigger issue than was really there...

we talked about the clutch not being set properly. he asked if a tech had informed me that the clutch would take about five hundred miles to get seated. unfortunately a tech hadn't told me that. now, knowing it was properly adjusted, it just needed time to to set it, makes me realize the tech didn't overlook something...

as far as the leak, they happen - probably more often than we'd like as owners... but it was unrelated to the clutch being replaced, as i first thought. randy took the time to explain what was done to fix the leak and how replacing the clutch wouldn't have caused the leak...

and the muffler bolt being loose... who knows when that happened. i don't know if they removed the muffler to replace the clutch or not. that bolt could have been loose for a long time and i just noticed it. do i expect them to check every single bolt on the bike each time it's in there for service?? no, that would be unreasonable. so maybe my comment about the bolt being loose was a bit unfair...

i do believe the techs working on the bikes are thorough. not only that, they do look over the bike for any safety issues any time a bike is in for service and will address those concerns if found.

what did i take away from randy's phone call today?? first, i think he restored my confidence in the service department. i say i think because maybe i was just making some assumptions. had i taken the time to talk to him or someone in the service department, maybe i would have understood better and not felt like i was losing confidence...

second, i do believe the guys in the service department at ray price take their jobs seriously and put their customers and their customer's safety first...

third, i'm a preferred customer at ray price... i paid a little extra for the plan but feel i got a lot in return. the service departments gets me in quickly, gets my bike fixed and back to me. while it's nice to feel like they bend over backwards to do what they can, i think they take all their customers as seriously... and that's a good thing.

in the four years i've been taking my bike to ray price, i have been very satisfied with their service. while i can't compare them to other service departments, because i've never had to deal with other service departments, i do believe they would be hard to beat...

who says harleys don't leak??

well, i'm starting to lose confidence in the service department at ray price...

after my last service and having the clutch replaced, while getting ready for the york trip, i noticed a couple things wrong with the bike. the clutch wasn't adjusted properly, one of muffler clamps bolts was loose and the rotors on the front wheel are on backwards... these are things i think the dealership should have fixed - maybe with the exception of the muffler clamp bolt...

when i got back from the smoke out, i was unpacking my bike and noticed a leak...

closer inspection found the primary drain plug was loose, almost to the point of being completely out. good thing i got home before that fell off!! so i tightened the drain plug and the other bolts around the primary...

a couple weeks later, i'm riding around and notice it leaking again... this time i take it back in to have them check it out and replace the gaskets - there's something more serious going on here than loose bolts.

while it was in, i had them do the 25000k service as well, a few hundred miles short, but close enough... while it was in, i got to tool around on a buell lightning... fun on the twisty country roads but wouldn't want it as my full-time bike...

coincidence??

interesting... two days after the fallen officer memorial ride, the news & observer reports a raleigh police officer's family settles a lawsuit...

"The family of a Raleigh police officer who died in a 2002 motorcycle wreck while chasing a speeder settled a lawsuit with Harley-Davidson Motor Co. and the Raleigh store that leased the vehicle to the police department."

"The confidential settlement was brokered in December, but the product liability lawsuit wasn't officially dismissed until May 5, according to court records and Mark Kircher, who represented Harley Davidson. The city of Raleigh also paid nearly $366,000 as part of workers' compensation, according to the City Attorney's Office."

"The settlement was between Paul's estate, Harley Davidson and Ray Price Harley Davidson, the Raleigh area merchant for the motorcycles."

"The lawsuit had claimed that a high-speed wobble caused the motorcycle to become uncontrollable, a problem that some Harley-Davidson enthusiasts, motorcycle mechanics and personal injury lawyers had noted previously. The cause of the wobble has been a matter of intense debate, with some lawyers and accident victims claiming a design flaw in certain Harley models as the source. Others have pointed to improper maintenance. Paul's lawsuit is one of several filed in recent years that center on high-speed wobble."

i'm thinking ray price's sponsorship of the memorial ride may have been part of the settlement...

22500 service...

took the bike in a little early, about 100 miles, for it's 22500m service... mostly because i wasn't sure if the clutch was going to last.

i did some riding over the weekend and it didn't seem to be getting worse, although it was still slipping when i cranked on the throttle. i was still a bit concerned about being out somewhere if/when the clutch finally gave out...

while it was in for it's regular service, i had them look at the clutch as well as replace my front tire - finally...

i picked up the bike a few days later to find the service done, a new front tire and parts ordered for the clutch. they did adjust the clutch again and said it was ridable. i forgot to ask them what was wrong with the clutch or what parts they ordered. but they did say they would call when the parts were in.

while the bike was in for service, i got to ride around on a softail deluxe. nice ride. each time i ride around on the new ninety-six inch motor, i like it more and more. this one had after market, and loud, pipes.

not so sure i like riding around with loud pipes. you'll hear some bikers let out the mantra, loud pips save lives... i've never really believed the slogan. my thinking is if the cage driving it's paying attention, they're not going to hear/see you just because you have loud pipes. in addition, the majority of sound is blasted behind the bike. the majority of accidents are cages failing to yield your right-of-way; left turn in front of you or right turn out of a parking lot in front of you. the sounds going behind you doesn't help either of those situation...

i didn't like the loud pipes for a much more personal reason, not how it affected the traffic around me but how it affected me. the loud sound drown out all the other traffic and environmental sounds i rely on to help keep me safe in traffic. in addition to looking, i like to hear where the cages are on the road, i like to know where the sound of screeching tires is coming from. loud pipes don't allow that luxury...

anyway, while my bike was in for service, this is the bike i got to style around on. again, nice bike. i didn't care for the seating position. it was a bit to cramped for me. but fun to ride a different bike for a couple days. makes you glad to be back on your own...

brotherhood...

took a ride out to rocky mount to catch up with my bro and friends. they were on their way to myrtle beach and making their usual stop for the night in rocky mount.

not sure why, but the guys decided, one at a time it seemed, to pull me aside and tell me how great of a guy my brother is. he's always there when anyone needs him, offering a helping hand, equipment, whatever... he seems to be there when anyone needs him with whatever they need, regardless of his own schedule.

i would usually respond that, with this group of guys, they all do that for each other. they balked at that thought, saying it was different with him. he seemed to go above and beyond - which is true.

it got me thinking of brotherhood... in the biking world, terms like brother, bro, brotherhood aren't generally not tossed about and carry some serious weight. but that's not a discussion for here or now...

i would apply brotherhood to any of the guys my brother rides with. they may seem like assholes and certainly act like it at times. but if you need anything, whether you're a stranger or not, they're there to help... they've never met a stranger on a bike...

in this group, brother does rise above. even outside this group, he rises above. it's great to know someone like him. it's even better when he's your brother - in both senses of the word...

peace...

btw - here's the route to rocky mount - in light blue...

do the test...

a quick awareness test for you. how many passes the does team in white make??

it was made for bicyclists, but i think it applies to motorcyclists as well. hell, just about anything really...

patriot ride...

this year's rally in raleigh charity ride was the patriot ride for support our troops... without trying to turn this into a debate about whether the war is right or wrong, whether we should be there or not, whether you agree or not, the least we can do for the men and women is give them our support...

this year's ride was heading out to the nc national guard armory and checking out some helicopters. on the surface, the ride may not seem as "cool" as last year's ride to the beer distributor and the caterpillar plant. but i figured it was a small way i could help support our troops - as well as get out of a day's work and ride the bike!!!

the ride itself was fairly uneventful - mostly highway to and from the armory, but there is something cool about having a police escort and the right-of-way. and being in a pack of two hundred fifty plus bikes. i must have been in the middle somewhere because at times, as far as i could see in front and behind there was nothing but a sea of bikes. hell, i couldn't even see the limo leading the ride.

we get to the armory and they have this big spread of food for us... after eating, they give us a little "talk" on how our support helps the troops and other things we can do to help out... then it was off to see the helicopters. pretty neat seeing those us close - especially the blackhawk we've all heard so much about.

in the end, the ride was a lot better than i thought it would be. it may not have seemed to rank that high on the "cool" scale, but looking back, it really was a great ride. put me a little more in touch with what our troops do for us and what we can do to help thank and repay them... one of the ways is to get a license plate for your car...

anyway - on to some pictures from the ride...

more billy lane...

looks like billy lane's attorneys are hard at work trying to get him out of his trouble - but i guess that's what they're supposed to do... they're saying his illegally taken blood samples are tainted...

from the picture included with the article, it looks like billy is trying to clean up his image... probably not a bad thing to do. as we all know, people put a lot of weight into first impressions. his old image probably wasn't a good one for appearing in courtrooms. i wonder if this is a deeper sign that he's changing himself too. we all make mistakes - some carrying more seriousness than others. the key to recovering from mistakes is to take responsibility, learn and minimize the changes of making the same mistake again... time will tell where billy heads from here...

peace...

motorcycle awareness month

today kicks off motorcycle awareness month. seems like the amount of effort being put into actually raising awareness varies from state to state. some states are going all out - well maybe not all out, but they seem to be making some effort. other states don't seem like they're doing anything.

the ama and msf are putting together a campaign to raise awareness. the ama has a humorous video on their web site. the msf is supposed to be putting videos up on youtube. i'll have to see if i can locate them...

the msf has come up with five rules for staying safe - actually ten rules, five for a motorcyclist and five for cages. here they are:

motorcyclists

• get trained and licensed - take an msf ridercourse and get licensed by the department of motor vehicles
• wear protective gear - wear proper protective riding gear, most importantly a helmet made to department of transportation standards
• ride unimpaired - ride unimpaired, never drinking or using other drugs before getting on a motorcycle
• ride within your limits - stay within your personal limits, never riding faster or farther than your abilities can handle
• be a lifelong learner - be lifelong learners, regularly returning for refresher riding courses

cages

• look out for motorcyclists - use your eyes and mirrors to see what’s around
• don't be distracted - hang up and drive, put down the food, the pet, the personal grooming gear, the cd, and the reading material and save it for later
• give two-wheelers some room - don't tailgate or get too close side-by-side
• use your turn signals - signal your intentions. it's also the law
• keep it in the car - don’t throw trash and cigarettes out the window, and securely lash down cargo that can fall out on the road and be a deadly hazard

there ya have it...

ride safe...

more on billy lane...

been a while since i've posted... guess it's been a while since i've ridden too - since my last post. doesn't mean things haven't been going on - just haven't posted about them. i guess i'll be covering them in the next couple of posts...

first thing i want to cover - well, not necessarily the first - but it's the one i'll start with, is billy lane. just came across this article at www.floridatoday.com. it doesn't seem like this case will ever end. but i guess it's getting closer now that a date has been set. but this is only the civil case. a date for the criminal case has yet to be set. from the article, a date may be set on march 23.

i'm not sure why billy doesn't own up to the fact that he was at fault and face the consequences. one argument is that our criminal justice system is based in the belief that you're innocence until proven guilty. so billy is going to make the state prove he's guilty. makes sense. but it is the right thing to do?? if they do in fact prove his guilt - will be appeal?? i'm sure he will - thus dragging the process on even longer.

i can understand the family's civil suit against billy lane - recoup loss of earnings, pain and suffering, etc. but i'm not sure i agree with including daimlerchrysler. to me, billy should be held solely responsible for his actions. he's the one that was drinking, he's the one that got behind the wheel, he's the one that crossed the double yellow. should daimlerchrysler be held responsible because they gave him the vehicle?? the family thinks so because daimlerchrysler gave him the vehicle despite his driving record. again, i think billy is solely responsible. i also believe more people should start taking responsibility for themselves and stop trying to blame other people or make excuses. but i know that day is a long way off...

peace out...

tragedy...

a week ago today billy lane, a custom motorcycle builder hit and killed a fellow motorcyclist, as reported by florida today. it's a sad story all the way around... i'm not sure where to start, other than noting the saddest part is the death of gerald morelock.

when something like this happens, the death of a biker caused by the wrongful actions of a cager, the cager usually gets off with a fine for the traffic violation. for example, if a cage makes a left hand turn in front of a biker and kills the biker, the cager is usually just charges with failure to yield the right of way and slapped with a fine. obviously this doesn't sit well with the biker community - which the ama is trying to do something about...

unfortunately this time a biker did it to another biker. through negligence, billy lane, in his cage, was passing two other vehicles on a double yellow line. before he could get back into his own lane, he hit the gerald head on - killing him. those are the facts. there's still speculation whether billy was drinking or not and the tox reports have yet to come back.

looking back on billy's past, i, unfortunately, have to believe he was drinking when this happened. i've seen billy four times in person, each time i've seen him, he's been drinking. no, that doesn't mean he rides after drinking. but i can't imagine he's the type to let someone else cart him around after he's tipped a few. not only that, when he was in town for the smoke out, he was arrested on charges of drunk driving, riding on the wrong side of the road and riding without a helmet. it would seem that billy might have learned from this earlier episode. but he didn't, at least not with his reckless driving behavior. and so it follows that he probably didn't with drinking either.

there's so much speculation about what should happen now. rightfully so, nothing will happen until the tox reports come back. if they show he's been drinking, he'll probably have the book thrown at him. what if they come back clean?? should he get the slap on the wrist and the fine?? should he get charged with something more serious for killing a biker??

and what should billy do?? a lot of people say he should do the right thing. but what is the right thing?? should he try to help out the family for the damage he's caused?? should he let the legal system handle it all?? at a minimum he should give up drinking and driving/riding. since he's been lying low, it's hard to know what he's doing. and i don't blame him - he's under a microscope right now and no matter what he does, someone will criticize him for it. at a minimum, he's got to live the rest of his life knowing he took another biker's life. and that's truly sad.

only time will play the rest of this story out. and not matter how it plays out, nothing will put all the pieces back together again. maybe the third saddest part of all this is stuff like this probably happens daily - we just don't hear about it because a famous bike builder or media star usually isn't involved.

peace out...

harley wobble...

well, it's been a while since i posted, but that doesn't mean i haven't been riding... most of my riding lately, though, has been short trips around town - nothing big, no all day or overnight trips... just been too busy recently to take a longer trip...

over the last several weeks, i've noticed my bike is tending to wobble as i ride it. although i first noticed it many weeks ago, i wasn't too concerned as it wasn't that bad. however, as i've ridden, the wobble is getting worse and worse - to the point i'm becoming concerned for my safety. while i won't rule anything out, i don't think this is related to the famed harley wobble, which can be read more about here too. i will say, however, that as i was experiencing the wobble, the thought/fear of the harley wobble as at the forefront of my thoughts.

the first time i experienced the wobble, i was in a turn not far from my house. i felt it wobble, which was unusual and got my attention. it wasn't a bad wobble, but enough to get my attention. the road was newly paved, which i didn't think would/could be a factor as it was smoother that before. but you never know...

over the weeks, as i'm riding, i notice it more often and getting worse. worse in the sense that the wobble is lasting longer and longer and getting more noticeable. violent is the word that comes to mind, although that seems a bit dramatic. the other day it got to the point where i'm questioning my safety on the bike. i do realize that i'm not the most experienced on a bike, but i do consider myself a fairly competent rider. i believe the skills i've developed over the past several years have made me a very safe rider. i ride like i'm invisible and everyone is out to hit me. so when i begin to feel unsafe on a bike, something serious is going on.

last week i gave the bike a quick once over - checking the tire pressure, the steering neck, the air pressure in the rear shocks, etc. everything seemed to check out. not feeling confident i didn't over look anything, i called the service department at the local dealership. i explained what was going on and what i had checked. service department dood said outside of tire pressure he couldn't think of anything that would cause the wobble. and, he said, it sounded like i had the appropriate pressure in the tires... curses...

today i finally took the time to get the bike up on the lift. and i had my father-in-law (fil) here to help. we started with the front tire, everything seemed to be okay. my fil like to check things out from front to back, so he starts with the front tire and checks all the components as he moves towards the back of the bike. i like to check groups of components on a bike, tires, shocks, etc. so after checking the front tire, he starts moving to the middle of the bike and i move to the back tire. i grab the rear tire and move it from side to side. uh oh, i think i found the problem. i call fil over and tell him to take a look. facing the rear of the bike, i move the tire left and right about half an inch. uhhhh, houston, we have a problem - it shouldn't be doing that. as i move the tire, i watch the rim and the spokes. the spokes are definitely loose. not much to do now but call the dealership to make an appointment to get this fixed.

i call the dealership to schedule an appointment. i explain what's going on and that i'm a preferred customer. basically a preferred customer means i paid a lot of money to have someone else do something for me that i could probably do on my own for much less money if i would just learn how. but there are some perks, like a free loaner bike when i have to leave it at the shop. or priority seating when the service department is slammed. priority seating pays off this time. the first open slot they have is august 30. but, being a preferred customer, i can bring it in any time, drop it off and they'll get it fixed within three days - assuming they don't have to order out for parts. the dood tells me to bring it in at my convenience and they'll get to it. of course they'll need it for a couple days... no problem, i said, we just have to be sure a rental is available. oops, problem... seems the rental is only good for service, not warrantee or repair work. the work is covered because i'm a preferred customer, but not the rental. i explain it was my understanding the rental was good any time i had to bring my bike in for work. service dood says he wishes he knew who was telling people that because a lot of people are under that impression and he has to be the dood that breaks the bad news to people... and i don't blame him there - he is put in a bad spot. i inform service dood that i can tell him exactly who told me i get a rental whenever i bring my bike in. the false-advertising dood was the sales manager when i bought my bike and was promoted to general manager. one thing about false-advertising dood is he personifies a used car salesman. close your eyes and imagine a used car salesman. now you're picturing this dood. and, believe it or not, he really was a used car salesman in a former life.

i'm more than happy to spill the beans and offer false-advertising dood's name up. and when i do, service dood makes a deal. since that's what he told me, and he's the general manager, he's going to get me the rental!!! service department dood says that if i can work out a convenient time to pick up a rental, they'll be more than happy to get my bike in... excellent. i get my bike in and i get the rental i'm not supposed to have.

i'm mixed about what i discovered today. i'm extremely happy that i found the problem while the bike was still sitting in my garage instead of while i was tooling down the road. i'm happy that i'll get the bike in this coming week and that i get a rental while they're working on my bike. i'm disappointed because i'll miss riding until i can get the bike in and get the rental. and tomorrow i'll be observing a basic rider course and i was looking forward to riding the bike. but when i weigh the pros and the cons, it's a no-brainer that not riding an unsafe bike for a few days will be well worth the comfort and confidence of riding a safe bike. (did that make sense??)

one other thought - this probably all started when i had my tire replaced in may.

peace and ride safe...