Motorcycle In The Parking Lot

Hi,

It's been more than a month since I switched to a car as my daily ride to work and the bike is resting in the building parking lot with a full tank of fuel and a dust cover. That's kinda ironic as it's in good shape to ride (except for the crankshaft bit which as per my mech, might require a replacement down the line), yet am not taking it out that much. Just to make up for the lost time together, I was playing around with the idea of doing the crankshaft replacement myself. I know it's no easy job and will take days (maybe a few weeks considering my limited availability at home and lack of experience at this level of task). Then again if it was easy for me, I wouldn't have shown interest to try it out in the first place:)

All said and done, am at work at the moment and after a busy (read 10-12 hours a day) work week, I am finally getting to relax a bit today and think about other things. So just to let my thoughts flow, I started writing this post. And so far with some soothing tracks from 'Cafe La Guitarra Vol 1' (thanks to my colleague/buddy Phalgun for the amazing tracks) playing over my HTC One through Bose headsets are doing a fabulous job at relaxing me. Yeah I know I might have sounded like bragging about the brands here, well. it's far from the actual intentions. All it meant was to highlight the clarity/quality of audio these two are pumping out for me at this very moment as I sit here peacefully and type these words, and I couldn't stop but appreciate and acknowledge them. After all, what is the point of having such equipment and not enjoying them:)

Now coming back to the motorcycle part, I am thinking to take my bull out for a spin on some open stretch of road and am currently in the process to extend the opportunity to a few of my other rider friends. I enjoy riding solo and alone but that would be selfish of me now, isn't it;) So let's hope to see a few more bulls tomorrow morning. Meanwhile when doing a picture search of motorcycles for this post I came across an interesting article on 'How To Ride More', the contents of which I am sharing below, hope you find it a good read as I did:)

1. Commute. Keep a weather radio in your bathroom. Install an indoor/outdoor thermometer in the bedroom. Leave a cover or lock at your job’s parking place. Carry a garage door opener or parking ramp card that’s usable without dismounting. Arrange security in advance and be willing to pay for it. Once a week take a longer than necessary route to work.

2. Arrange your gear by the door or garage. Separate out your trip and camping stuff. Have your gloves and boots set up for selection, depending on the day's destination and weather conditions?

3. Get a smaller size motorcycle. Modern small bikes can do what old big ones did, and are easier cheaper, and more fun to ride. Just like cars.

4. Ride in the rain. Go on purpose when nobody else is outdoors. Ride around for a look. If you get wet you won’t drown.

5. Ride at night. If you don’t have to get up for work the next morning there is nothing like enjoying a two am stop at a lonely all-night coffee shop, after a hundred miles of scary back roads. Full moons are best. Watch for deer and small animals.

6. Always have a way to haul stuff. Wear a Courier bag or backpack. Carry a bungee net, bungee buddy, an empty tank bag, or some bungee cords. As a last resort, leave saddlebags on all the time.

7. Get a ‘beater’ motorcycle. Or make your bike into one. True beaters can be interesting and fun to ride and don’t attract vandals or thieves. TT500s, Ascot’s, Sabres, Interceptors, Titans, GS, /5’s, etc... Like blue jeans, most cycles are better when they show some wear. (Too much bike polishing leads to idolatry. Moses shatters the original 10 commandments...)

8. Have two or three different helmets at the ready. An expensive full-coverage one for serious rides and an easy-to-use open or hinged chin bar type for everyday urban riding or use on super-hot days. Having several types of gloves, boots, jackets, etc...for different situations is also good.

9. Plan rides. One Sunday a month do an all-day local ride or an overnight. Invent some game of it. In cities, try riding only alleys or only to overlooks, or only across all the bridges. What is the longest continuous street in your city? Have you ever ridden it end to end? Put a marked map or list on the tank bag or in your pocket, and carry a compass. Out on the road, go to the smallest roads, to the small places.

10. Ride very early in the morning. Dawn rides can be the best hour of your day. No traffic, clean air, and good sights and sensations. A shower and breakfast after a sunrise ride are wonderful. This is best done when the days are the longest in June and July. It does not apply if your bike has open pipes, especially if you ride an H2 with chambers. Then, stay in bed.

10. Philosophy bonus A: Ignore what everyone else thinks. Riding is a better way to get around. Ride paranoid and keep your skills sharp

10. Philosophy bonus B: Ride with somebody better than you. You will pick up a handy trick or new skill just about every time you are out.

[Courtesy: http://www.aerostich.com/media/readings/2001Catalog/topten.html]

The cover raised a bit, just to check if the bike is still there :P Just like its master, it doesn't like to sit idle you know:)

See you in the morning ride tomorrow.

Update: 13/12/2014 : I did a long trip to Leh in August this year and before which during the thorough check-up of the bike, got to know the crank-shaft is perfectly fine and there is no need of touching it as of now. So ever since this post, the bike has covered thousands of miles (no seriously!), and starting this week I started taking it to work again :) Yay!! I am enjoying every bit of it and planning to make it a regular habit to keep switching between the bike and the car. Wish me luck:)

Ride Safe n Ride Long !!

Sid