First Two Wheeled Ride to Work for 2014

It has been a very long winter. I first had my kymco scooter out a few weeks ago for some short rides once enough of the ice had melted. I don't mind getting some salt and slush on it.

This past weekend was the first ride of my SV650 and it was glorious. Unfortunately, it was short lived. Something hit the radiator and made most of the coolant leak out. A new radiator arrives tomorrow. The WR250R to the rescue!

It has been in the 40s in the afternoon and icy cold in the mornings, so the ural has been in service for commuting while the other bikes come out and play after work.

This morning I was able to ride the WR250R. It was in the high 20s, but no ice. The bright blue sky matched the blue on the yamaha nicely.

The weather guessers claim snow tomorrow. It dusted snow yesterday; it all melted before lunch. I hope they are wrong for tomorrow. It feels soooo good to lean again!

Are you able to ride two wheels to work yet?

First Day of Spring

Today, is the first day of spring. This last week has been full of “firsts”. A week ago I rode the SV650 to work instead of the Ural for the first time in 2011. I’ve ridden it every day since, but it looks like snow tomorrow, so it’ll be in the garage for a few days. Back to the Ural.

On Friday, I received my first motorcycle wave in return. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the first bike I’ve seen this year. It also rained on Sunday for the first time. It washed a fair amount of the salt away, but there is still plenty of sand to catch out the unwary.

Today, was the first time I put gas in my R1150GS in 2011, and the first time I’ve started it up this year. I’ve been working on it for several weeks getting it ready for riding season.

I was excited to finally be able to start it today. I had drained the tank when I removed it, so the fuel gauge showed empty. I put a little gas in, turned the key, and pressed the starter. Nothing. The display showed an “E” next to the fuel. I guess it needs more gas. I rode the Ural to the gas station and got a couple gallons. The sidecar makes it an easy task to haul stuff.

Back home, I added two gallons, turned the key, pressed the starter, and nothing. My thoughts started racing. What did I do wrong? Did I forget something when I put it back together? I turned it all off and tried again. Nothing. I checked the battery since I’d been playing around with the electrics. It still had a good charge. I tried everything again, and still nothing.

Oh yea, I had put it into a higher gear when was doing the valves, so I bumped the gears back down from sixth to neutral. Ah, yes, I have a gear indicator on this bike. I only rode it for a week, and I don’t have the owners manual. The display now shows “0” and the green neutral light is on. I guess “E” is sixth. The time is off now too from my battery antics. Hopefully google can sort that out for me. I felt very silly once I realized my mistake.

I turned the key and thumbed the starter. The bike choked and died. Oh right, the choke/advance needs to be cranked open. I did that and the bike roared to life. After letting it warm up for a bit, I took it for a very short ride to celebrate. We did some figure eights in a parking lot, and tested the ABS.

I’ve done a lot on the bike this winter. I installed LED aux lights, replaced nearly all of the auxiliary wiring, installed a fuse block, replaced the spark plugs, alternator belt, air filter, fuel filter, adjusted the valves, replaced some plastics, added a rear rack for my top case, and fixed the throttle grip. I still need to sync the throttle bodies (idling a bit rough), install the engine guards, install hyper-lites, and order a better windscreen. The stock screen makes way too much noise, so I took it off. I’m excited it’s running again. I have some big plans for it this year.

Below is a photo of one of the St. Paul snow dumps. It covers the entire parking lot of midway stadium, home of the St. Paul Saints. All that brown stuff in the background is snow. The little round mound, is also all snow. It is quite impressive.

It was nice to ride three bikes back to back. I think the SV may have some competition from the GS even if they are completely different. The downside of riding three bikes back to back, is it highlighted the Ural’s faults and made it seem more like a Russian lawn tractor than usual with it’s vague brakes and wimpy throttle.

More snow and rain the rest of the week. Spring in Minnesota!

Winter Commuting

It snowed a couple inches last night which made the ride in this morning slightly more interesting than usual. I enjoy sliding the Ural around in the snow. My worn K335s tires in the rear made it easier than usual. I will have to replace them in a few hundred kilometers. I have a couple Duros standing by ready to go into service.

The snow looked fantastic clinging to the evergreen trees, so I had to take a photo. The temps for the last few weeks having been hanging around in the mid 20s F. Today, was no exception as the bank’s thermometer read 23F when I rode past. I twisted the knob on my heat troller slightly to the right to further enjoy the warmth provided by my Gerbing coat. The heated grips on low kept my hands toasty warm.

I took one of the scenic routes home along Lake Como. I’ve taken so many pictures of this lake in the past, I rode around looking for a vantage point I hadn’t used yet. This is the result.

It’s the road that winds around the north side of the lake. It’s quite fun to ride on even if the speed limit is 25mph. The sun tried to peek out just as I got home. It was another fun winter commuting day.

PS: Just finished some gas tank work on the R1150GS. I hope to get the fuse block installed this week.

Winter Commuting Video – November 30

We had some freezing rain turn into snow Monday night, Tuesday morning. I saw the roads were still covered in snow and ice, so I put the GoProHD on the chest mount as I left for work.

The temp was about 20F and traffic pretty light. I took the fun, scenic route to enjoy the wintery conditions more. I also wanted to avoid some of the out-of-control cagers. I found myself laughing multiple times, and I might have uttered a “wheee” or two.  It was an enjoyable ride.

Enjoy the video!

YouTube Video:

Vimeo Video:

Winter Commuting – November 22

I’ve been riding the Ural to work for the past week or so instead of the R1150GS because of the snow and ice. It’s been hovering in the mid teens with a hot streak of 27F this morning.

Last week, it snowed nearly six inches and was a lots of fun to ride in.  It’s nearly all melted now because of the freezing rain over the weekend.

Today, it’s been trying to snow, but unfortunately still more of the freeing slush mix. The weather-guessers think we’ll get an inch of accumulation by the time I leave work. I hope they’re right. It would make the ride home much more fun to have some snow! *fingers crossed*

The Ural’s fairing kept me warm and dry on the commute in this morning. Still no electrics yet other than the heated grips. The fairing is doing a great job deflecting the cold wind.

I stopped at Lake Josephine this morning to take a couple photos.

I’ve been there a few other times.

I can’t wait until I can do this again: (probably another month)

The sign is right! Very thin ice that doesn’t even cover the whole lake.

I think these geese are helping to keep the ice at bay.

While I was stopped to take photos, the snow started to collect on the sidecar cover:

The K335s are working great:

A fun ride into work. I was a bit sad I didn’t leave earlier. I could have used a bit longer ride.

Awareness

When riding a motorcycle staying alert and aware of your surroundings is extremely important. Constantly scanning and reacting to avoid hazards becomes second nature to those to ride regularly, but it takes vigilant concentration to stay safe.

The ride home tonight was a perfect example of needing to stay alert. It started after I turned onto the one-way near my office and sat waiting at the stop light. I kept one eye on my mirrors for cars approaching too quickly, and the other watching for the light to change. While waiting for the light a car approached from the opposite direction against the one way. Facing a sea of headlights, they finally figured it out and turned quickly as our light went green.

At the next block, I planned on making a left from my one-way to another. My light was green, and I slowed for the turn. Sidecar turn slower than motorcycles because they can’t lean. Even though I had a green, I checked the cross traffic to make sure they were stopped. All lanes were, except for the middle who was flying right through against their red. I tapped my brakes and used my horn. It would have been a painful left-turn for me if I hadn’t looked to my right!

Further up the road a few miles, a car decided to stop for the green light. With my bikes I like to keep 2-3 second gap, with the Ural I like 3-4 seconds. It’s heavy and doesn’t stop nearly as fast as my two-wheelers. I’m glad I kept a gap, because I used it all up stopping. The nice part about a three-wheeler vs. a two is locking the front wheel doesn’t have a nasty penalty.

The road was wet and cold (41F) and the front easily locked up. I released it get it rolling and locked it up again! A three-wheeler can also turn while under heavy braking (as long as the front isn’t sliding), so I aimed myself away from the stopped car. After I stopped a few feet short of a collision, they realized they had a green and started going again.

At this point, I had my fill of the side roads and jumped on the highway. Minnesota is under a wind advisory until tomorrow night. I didn’t pay much attention to it until I got on the highway. Wow! Riding into a 30mph headwind is something. I could barely keep 55mph with the throttle wide open (normally I could easily do 70).

The wind was blowing steady at 30mph and gusting up to 60mph. It was exciting riding home the rest of the way! As I am typing this, the wind is impressively loud outside. I’m curious to see how much damage the area will have in the morning. On the positive side, I have been delaying dealing with the leaves in my yard. When I came home tonight, they were gone. Nice! Thanks wind!

Tonight had to be a record for crazy drivers! One of the more exciting commutes I’ve had in a while.

 

PS: I took the Ural today, and didn’t take any photos (dark on the way in and on the way home). Here are a couple from the Super9 this weekend.

 

Death by Motorcycle

Yesterday was great weather for riding. Blue skies and lots of sun made for a warm day, but my mesh coat and pants kept me comfortable. Traffic was also light because of the holiday weekend. Commuting was more enjoyable than usual.

While I was riding along at a brisk pace on my SV650, a flock of small birds (sparrows?) exploded from the bushes to my left and flew across the road. A grey object about the size of my fist punched me in the chest. Ouch! The bundle of feathers bounced off my right thigh and then my boot. The little guy didn’t have a chance. I had cars to contend with, so no time to think about it or stop.

At the next light, I took a quick survey of the situation. My left mirror was knocked out of place. I suspect the bird hit that first, then my left chest, my right thigh, and right foot. I pulled a small feather out of my coat and re-adjusted the mirror before the light turned green.

I’ve nearly hit several birds before, but we’ve always managed to avoid each other. This morning I have a small little bruise to remind me of the encounter.

Commuting in the Rain

When I went to work on Wednesday, I apparently forgot rain was wet. I took the Super9 instead of the Ural for some variety. I forgot the seat on the scooter is well used and depresses into a crater when you sit on it. It’s very comfortable, but not ideal in the rain. When it rains, the water collects in that crater. By the way, I was NOT wearing my rain gear.

My Tourmaster riding gear is quite nice, and it is waterproof. I’ve never gotten wet wearing it while riding, but apparently sitting in a puddle for thirty minutes is beyond it’s capabilities. I arrived at work Wednesday with some wet clothes, and ended up standing at my desk for a few hours while things dried out.

It’s has been raining for the last four days. I’m happy to see the salt, oil, and other grime being washed from the roads. The rain is also slowly melting the snow. Yesterday was the warmest day of the year so far at 50F! It was only in the low 40s today though.

Today, I was smarter. I wore my rain gear, and I didn’t get wet at all. I also wore my new GoPro Chest Mount. I found my DIY chest mount a bit clumsy to get on while wearing riding gear.

The new mount is MUCH easier to put on. It goes on like a vest and has a nice buckle in the front to secure it. The straps are made of a stretchy nylon that is easy to get on while wearing full gear. I did find that the right side had a tendency to become disconnected from the buckle, but it only takes a second to reattach it.

I thought the video turned out nicer than the DIY too since the mount seemed to absorb some of the bumps. It is also more comfortable to wear without gear on. I just need to learn to aim it a bit better. This video was a bit high, but I still like how it turned out.

I think the GoPro HD Camera worked quite well in the rain. The sound isn’t quite what I wanted because I had the camera in the waterproof case. The case worked as expected and kept the camera dry.

Bobskoot: here is your rain video as requested:

Youtube Video: GoProHD in the Rain on the Super9

First Ride in the Rain in 2010

It finally rained today. The temperature has been hovering in mid to high 30s (F) for about the last week or so. It’s even gotten up to the 40s a few times. I have been enjoying not using my heated gear. It is very comfortable, but the wires get bothersome getting on and off the bike frequently.

This morning was misty-fog and about 35F when I rode the Ural to work. I really wanted to take the Super9, but I needed to bring more things with me than the little scooter could handle.

By the time I finished working today, it was already raining. I was actually excited since it was the first time I was able to the ride the Ural in the rain. Riding the sidecar in the rain felt great. I was able to pay more attention to the scenery and slightly less to the road surface since there is no chance of falling down.

On the contrary, with the roads wet and covered in gunk, I was able to drift the back end of the Ural around the corners slightly. I’d read about the technique in my sidecar book, but have only been able to pull it off on snow.

Basically, you give the bike a little bit of gas while in a right-hand corner to cause the rear wheels to slide just slightly. When done correctly, it reduces the lateral forces on the bike making it less likely to tip over in the turn. It’s also kinda fun. It makes the corner feel much smoother.

I am really enjoying finally seeing other riders on the road! I saw a number of bikes on Sunday. I saw two yesterday, and one forgot how to wave. Today, I saw three. One was even a sidecar! I have no idea what kind – just a random white a hack. He gave a big wave though.

It is supposed to rain the rest of the week. I really need to finish my projects on the SV650, so I can put it back together and get it on the road!

Winter Commuting – February 2

Thanks to last night’s snow, there was almost four inches waiting for me when I woke up. It took a while, but I cleaned out the driveway and got the Ural on the road.

The cars were again attempting to turn roads into parking lots, so I took the Ural through side streets and thoroughly enjoyed riding in the general direction of work. I realized I was going to be late, so I decided to enjoy myself even more.

I went to a couple lakes and took some pictures and just enjoyed looking at the snow collecting on the trees, which doesn’t show up in any of the photos well.

It was a blast. I had a lot of fun riding in the snow, and I was the only one not complaining about the commute once I arrived at work.

It’s about the journey not the destination. Enjoy where you’re at.

 

Winter Commuting – February 1

The ride to work this morning in the Ural was nice. It had warmed up to 10F. I still had to stop along the way to work to let my left hand warm up. The gloves still aren’t working. I need to remember to call Gerbing tomorrow to sort out a solution.

While I was working, it started to snow. When I went to leave work, there was about two inches on the road with more still coming down. All the cars, as usual, forgot how to drive when presented with a little precipitation. Downtown was in gridlock, but the narrow little Ural managed to escape the tangle of cars.

I engaged the 2WD on the Ural and I didn’t have any trouble riding home. I took the side back roads as my usual back roads were clogged up with cars. This proved to be a great decision as I had a blast drifting practicing my emergency winter maneuvers on the way home. I love riding in snow!

Winter Commuting – January 29

It was –5F this morning which seemed colder than –10F from a few weeks ago. I thought I was getting wimpy until I noticed my heated vest wasn’t on. I stopped by the sign above to get the photo and check the cabling on my vest. When I looked down I saw this:

With my left glove still not working and now no heated vest, it was a cold ride. I pulled over a couple times to warm up my hand.

With some spare electrical tape and my knife, I managed to fix the cable for the ride home. On the way home it was 10F, so I took the extra long scenic route past a number of different lakes. The stops gave me plenty of opportunity to warm up my hand. At the Lake Como stop in St. Paul I took this:

I noticed a wall near one of the lakes and took this one:

With a little help from picnik, I touched it up to the version below.

Commuting - January 8

Apparently spark plugs aren't supposed to look like the picture to the left. Who knew? :) The Ural was idling very rough this morning and had about half the power it should.

I made it about two blocks and turned around for home to troubleshoot. Plenty of gas? check. Good battery? check. Pulled the left plug and found the top one in the photo... not good. I swapped it with my spare, and then also swapped the one on the right. The top plug from the left jug was cool compared to the one on the right which nearly burned my hand. I was likely only running on one cylinder. Now I know what that feels like, a bonus I guess.

The messing around made me an hour late for work, but because of it I was able to enjoy a really beautiful sunrise. I know... I should have taken a photo or two.... but I wanted to get to work.

Commuting and a Panorama – January 5

I was completely dark and –9F as I rode in this morning, but soon after I arrived at work the sun came out.

I left early so I could go for a short ride since it was so nice out. I know +10F doesn’t sound nice, but I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t at all cold, and actually turned my heated vest off near the end of the ride (getting sweaty). There wasn’t many cars on the road yet, so I was free to enjoy the sunshine without a lot of distractions.

I stopped and took a bunch of pictures. I also found time to experiment with making a panorama using the Autostich software Bobskoot mentioned. I think it turned out pretty well for my first attempt.

The photo below was created from the above ten images of downtown St. Paul, MN.

Click here to see the full uncropped version: 17,048 x 3322 (4MB)!

I also stopped by Como Park in St. Paul and took a couple of shots.

The last shot is of the pavilion which is home to a small cafe. During the summer there are a number of events held on the outdoor stage.

Lake Josephine above. I was very temped to ride down the boat launch and out onto the Lake. You can see the tracks from the snowmobiles and the trucks that appeared to have also been practicing emergency winter maneuvers.

The parking lot and most of the side streets in St. Paul are covered in thick ice (2-6 inches) with deep ruts; the suburbs are better. It really felt like I was riding on a rough ATV trail. Fun! I need to check if the Ural counts as an ATV – most of the off-road trails in Minnesota are for ATVs not motorcycles.

I visited a couple more lakes, but didn’t take anymore photos as I was having too much fun hanging off the side of the Ural in the curves. The numerous lakes in the city can provide some curvy entertainment when the fun country roads are too far away.

-11F Commuting – January 4

A new year and already a new record for coldest riding temps: –11F (-24C)! At first I didn’t think it was very cold It had to be at least 20F, but then I saw the temperature on the usual sign: -11F.

My new helmet actually allows me to ride with the visor completely closed. It has been so long since I’ve been able to ride with a completely sealed visor, I forgot how nice it is. I am loving my new helmet and will write up an initial review soon. The entire way to work and back without fogging! So nice!

On the way home, it as warmed up considerably (11F) thanks to the clear blue skies. The Ural worked flawlessly today, and I really had a great time riding.

My first flat tire of 2009

Just this weekend, I was telling a friend how amazing it was that I hadn’t had a flat tire in 2009. This weekend I also purchased a tire repair kit for my SV650 (the ural has a spare tire onboard and the WR250R has a set of spare tubes).
This afternoon a couple co-workers came over to my cube and let me know my rear tire was a bit low and that I should check it out. When I got outside, the rear tire was completely flat.
Instead of being upset, I was actually excited to change the tire! I was too eager to change it, and I forgot to take a picture until after the tire was nearly off. I watched the maintenance videos last week and felt confident I could do it. I grabbed the manual and read the page through again on changing tires. I also watched the video again on my phone; it seemed easy.
I first tried the Ural air pump to just put air in the tire thinking, somehow, it had leaked out. This is when I also had my first RPOC moment… the tire pump didn’t fit on the tire correctly and it wouldn’t lock in and just leaked air instead.
Lets see, step one in the manual is “lift the motorcycle onto the center stand.” The center stand doesn’t have a nice lever to hold with your foot. I wasn’t strong/smart enough to figure it out, so I grabbed two co-workers to help me lift the bike onto the stand.

I set about removing the cotter pin with the supplied pliers, and then took the axle nut off. So far so good. When I got over to the other side, I found I needed two 17mm wrenches to remove the axle pinch bolt.
No problem, I thought, I’ll just grab them from the supplied tool kit… hmm… only one 17mm wrench here… lemme double check… yes only one… lemme check the toolkit list in the manual… yes, only one 17mm wrench is supplied (second RPOC moment). I tried the one 17mm wrench and the supplied pliers – no go. I ended up going back inside and asking around the building until someone came up with some vice grips which worked great.
After I removed the pinch bolt, removing the axle was easy. The tire also came out rather easily. It took another check in the manual to figure out I needed a special tool (in the kit) to remove the spare. Spare removed, I tried to mount it on the bike, but it wouldn’t fit. I tried for a while and then took it out to compare the two tires.
That’s when I noticed the black plastic ring on the inside on the spare… I removed that and it went right on. The rest was pretty easy. Re-inserting the cotter pin was slightly annoying.. apparently they work better when completely straight.. who knew? Inserting the cotter pin before tightening the axle pinch bolt makes things easy too.

I put the tools away and went back inside to put my gear on. I stopped by Sears on the way home and purchased some extra tools to make the next tire change a bit easier.

1) a pair of needle nose pliers
2) a pair of vice grips
3) a small bottle jack
4) a metric socket set (with a 17mm)
I also put my bike pump into the tug (sidecar) until I can buy a smaller one that fits in the trunk. I also need to add a light of some sort. A 12V light with a cigarette adapter would be perfect.
When I got home, filled up the flat tire to 40psi, and am currently waiting for it to go flat again. I can’t find any nails or anything else wrong with the tire, and I can’t hear any hissing. I’m stumped. I might just replace the tube with a heavy duty tube for good measure and call it done.
The ride in was very comfortable with my new heated gloves despite it being 2F. The ride home was also nice with a 500% increase in temps (10F)! I’m happy I had the opportunity to learn in the parking ramp rather than on the side of the road. I’m also very thankful to have such helpful co-workers!

UPDATE: I found the problem with the tube. The tube was pinched by the spoke bolts.

Commuting & Heated Gloves – December 28

My left heated glove failed and the temp was 18F. Over the last few days my left heated glove hasn’t been working consistently. It has been producing far less heat than the right. I tried swapping cables, but that didn’t seem to help.

They finally quit, and I pulled out my unheated winter riding gloves instead. My hand was cold by the time I made it to work, but not nearly as cold as it would have been wearing the failed heated glove. The Tourmaster heated gloves only have 40gm of insulation, and they get cold very quickly without heat.

From previous experience with my vest, I knew I had to return the failed item to the place of purchase to use the three year warranty. Unfortunately for me, I purchased these gloves from Motorcycle Superstore. I called them to see if we could speed up the process. Like a broken robot, they kept repeating it would be six to eight weeks -- I ship them the gloves, they ship them to Tourmaster, Tourmaster sends them back to them, and then they ship to me.

Their solution for my current needs was for me to purchase another pair of gloves. I told them I would, but it wouldn’t be from them. I had been researching other heated gloves over the weekend in preparation of the impending failure. I decided to get Gerbings this time around (lifetime warranty directly with Gerbing).

I called around and found a local place 35 miles away that had gloves in stock and in my size. The sun had finally come out by the time I left work, so I was able to enjoy the blue sky as I rode down on I35. Since the sun was low, every time the road twisted to the southwest, everyone on the road was momentarily blinded and slowed down. The frequent slow speeds helped my unheated hands make it.

I finally settled on a pair of medium G3 Gerbing gloves. They are all leather with a microwire heating element. I almost purchased a small pair of the new T5 gloves, but the G3s fit my hands better. The sizing on the Gerbing gloves is a bit off compared to other major brands (I normally wear a large), but the sizing chart is surprisingly accurate.

In the parking lot, I tried to install the battery harness in the 16F dark, but I forgot to bring my 8mm wrench for the battery posts. I tried my leatherman and some pliers, but it wasn’t working – I couldn’t properly grip the nut and the bolt separately. I rode home with the new gloves on, but without heat (my vest was on high).

My feet were more cold than my hands by the time I rode the 35 traffic-free miles. The new gloves have 100gms of insulation and seemed warmer than my regular winter riding gloves. I need to get some Nik-Wax to treat the leather of the new gloves.

I enjoyed my riding today, and am looking forward to the –6F predicted in a few days! I have added two 8mm wrenches to my on-bike tool collection.

Commuting – December 23

Another balmy day with the temps at 25F! The Ural is getting quite dirty as you can see from the photo despite my best efforts to keep it clean.

The snow-pocalypse is scheduled to begin tonight and continue until Saturday. We are supposed to get 20 inches (50cm for you metric people) over the next three days. The weather people have lost their minds saying it will be the worst storm since ‘91 when we had 36 inches (91cm) of snow in 24 hours. I don’t see how the two compare…

Overnight we got six inches of snow, and by 8am the roads were all cleared. I will have to take the Ural out later and practice my donuts.. uh.. I mean emergency winter maneuvers.. yea, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Commuting, Maintenance, and Books - December 21

The Ural has been running great since it's first service just over one week ago. The ride today was pretty normal for Minnesota winter: 16F in the morning and 22F on the way home.

 

 

I finally finished winterizing the rest of the bikes in the garage this weekend. It was good to finally finish the process. I just needed to put some marine stabil in the tanks and let them run for a bit to get it into the carbs and injectors. It also reminded me how much work I have to do.

 

The WR250R needs new handle bars (they are really bent), new levers (bent), and new handguards (bent!). I guess I need to quit crashing in the forest, but then my friends wouldn’t get as much entertainment.

The SV650 needs a carb sync and the valves checked out. I was nervous about doing both, but after watching the Ural service videos, it doesn't seem that tough. I also want to replace the turn signals and brake lights on the SV. The previous owner put tiny little turns signals on. They look good, but no one can see them during the day. I should also flush all the radiators and change all the plugs to get the bikes ready for an early spring ride.

Since I purchased the Ural, I have been reading "Driving a Sidecar Outfit" by David Hough. It has helped me understand some of the unique sidecar dynamics. I think riding a sidecar is much more work than a regular bike, even a dirt bike.

There are some excerpts from the book on CycleSideCar.com. David also wrote one of my favorite motorcycle books: Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well.