For Science!

And the Science gets done

And you make a neat gun

for the people who are

still alive

Email me and I’ll be sure to get it through - despite a filter and a low hit rate, I get copious spam comments.

dcfoley@dcfoley.com

I understand why motorcycle manufacturers don’t bother to send their current standards to the US; if it isn’t a cool cruiser or an xtreme sportbike, no one buys it.  This is hopefully going to change as more people are actually using their motorcycles (as opposed to the occasional weekend ride).  What really bothers me is the lack of ABS options. This is once again a market-driven problem. Many motorcycle riders believe that ABS is either useless or only for newer, less skilled riders. The larger issue is that anything designed for safety is automatically uncool with the cruiser crowd.  The sportbike crowd is at least accepting of some safety gear, most likely because many of them idolize the racetrack heros. I could write an entire post about the guys in shorts, flip-flops, and no helmet, but I’ll get back to my point. I love my CB750, but I’ve already locked the front a couple of times while hitting oil patches and such. It would be quite comforting to know that something was there to back me up in case the STOPNOWGRANNYTURNEDRIGHTINFRONTOFYOU panic keeps me from actually modulating my brakes. Highsides, I hear, are no fun.

So, here’s my problem. Retrofitting ABS onto the Nighthawk isn’t really an option. There are very few bikes available with ABS, and almost all are around $10k and up (new).  Even disregarding price, most are either heavy touring bikes, ill-equipped for the small town commuting that I enjoy, a few sport bike offerings, or, of course, BMW.  Suzuki, it turns out, offers two bikes that fall outside of these categories: the V-Strom and SV 650N.  Both share a v-twin, which is supposedly a good motor, but unfortunately has less power and torque than my current ride. The Vstrom is a street-heavy “adventure” horse while the SV is a modified sports bike.  I have sat on an SV and seriously considered a used model when I was first looking at bikes.  While it seems like a good bike, it isn’t as comfortable as the NH, particularly since the footpegs are much closer to the seat.  The Vstrom is more tempting, with a riding position like mine (still a crap stock saddle in my opinion, but that’s easy to change) and the dual-headlight fairing that would add to the bike’s usefullness. Both have a great aftermarket, as opposed to the nearly zero availability of NH parts. Unfortunately, not only would I be stepping down on power, I would be paying about 4x for the insurance without insuring the bike itself. Not really sure why slower bikes would injure others more often. Most of all, there’s the reliability issue, especially critical since I would be buying used. Despite their problems with the tech-heavy halo bikes, nothing beats a Honda for reliability.  I was tempted by the BMW R1100R but the BMWs, despite a reputation of solid build and reliability that’s attached to anything German, break. Expensively.  I recently ran accross an amusing illustration of this phenomenon on ADVRider; two guys expecting few dirt roads send their Nighthawks over to Russia to ride with a KTM and a BMW GS (big dirt bikes, essentially).  Turns out they ran a significant amount of siberian “highway” that BMWs are made for. Except the Eurobikes break, repeatedly and the Hondas keep going. So, this brings me to my ultimate point. I want to live the life afforded to the Europeans by Honda. I want my bike, only better. I want an ABS-equipped CB1300F.

www.hellforleathermagazine.com

Remember, corporations are good citizens, pushing products for your benefit.

Ads via [Consumerist]

Why did the beancounters take over when Soichiro died?

  Having put a few thousand miles on the bike, I believe that I am ready to give some commentary on my 99 Nighthawk.  My sample came with 12k miles and 2 previous owners, one or both of whom managed to beat it up a decent amount.  It has been laid down on both sides, the left resulting in a bent handlebar and left riser.  The triple tree seems to be fine since it tracks straight, so I am not worried about it.  The tank has some dents in it from things being dropped/scratched onto it, but fortunately the Honda engineers figured out that keeping the tank protected in a slide was a good thing.  Another advantage of a naked/standard bike: no pricey plastic to replace after a get-off.  That said, the crashbars installed by the previous owner, while tiny, seem to be a good idea for protecting the crankcase.  Other options on the bike are the center stand (why isn’t this standard?) and the Hondaline sissybar.  The centerstand is obviously handy for the two-and-only-two items of regular maintenance: changing the oil and lubing the chain.  Concerning the first: oil changes are dead simple, with a well-placed drain plug and an easy to find/inexpensive automotive oil filter (same as subaru 4-banger) behind the downpipes (easy access).  I have been using Mobil 1 full synthetic (the motorycyle-specific stuff) but I am losing oil at around a quart every 1000 miles, most likely due to cheap oil for the beginnning of its life.  The Mobil stuff is quite pricey for that kind of consumption so I will probably switch to a blend.

  So far, all that I have changed on the bike is to add a better headlight bulb, a pulsing circuit for said headlight (people still turn in front of me, but it helps), and hidden LED lighting for better side visibility at night.  I would reccomend these mods for all bikes.  The other additions that I am still pondering are a windshield (long trips without one would be not so great) and hard saddle bags (it would be nice to throw my gear into lockable on-bike storage instead of carrying it). 

  The bike rides fantastically.  It’s stable , with a long wheelbase and, let’s face it, heavy frame.  It doesn’t flick like a CBR but it will definitely leave the Harley crowd behind in the twisties, and the dirt-bike seating position and handlebars make it easy to control.  If you are used to breaking the rear wheel loose in full control on the dirt, this bike will not dissapoint on wet pavement.  One of my friends actually described it as “like riding a Cadillac dirt bike” after a run on it.  Of course, he’s comparing it to his beater sports bikes, but it’s still strong praise in my book.  There have been no comfort complaints from the pillion either.  My only issue with the ride is that I can’t find the right setting for the rear preload; either I have it nice and soft but it bottoms out when I go over some of the more heinous intersection dips or I have it dialed up enough to avoid bottoming but it slopes the seat up enough to cause me to gradually slide into the tank.  Maybe I should just slow down a bit on the big bumps and quite pretending I’m on a dualsport. (speaking of which, hypermoto bikes are my main temptation away from this one. Check this out.)

  Overall I would say that I made the right call for me.  Thanks to Robert, Doug, and Suveen for pointing me this way.  However, if you do not have some prior dirt bike experience, a lighter 250CC starter bike might be the way to jump in.  In any case, whatever you buy, get the first one used.

  Concerning the gear:

  The Cortech jacket and gloves are worrying me.  The mesh appears to be polyester and it sends out hairs every time it gets hit with velcro.  Not a good sign for holding up when I need it.  At least the leather sections are generous on the jacket.  I would highly reccomend my Olympia Airglide 2 mesh pants.  They come with a liner like the jacket and worked well in the colder months.  They seem strong and fit snugly enough that the armor will likely stay on my knees, unlike the other zip-off pants I tried.  The Gmax helmet has been working alright so far, save for the common complaint of any naked cycle rider: noise.  If i am planning to be at highway speed for more than 5 minutes, I pop in some earplugs (usually keep some in the pants and a box under the seat).  Still, it would be better to have a helmet quiet enough to avoid this extra step.  The venting seems adequate for TX summer, which is saying something I suppose.

  So far the bike has given me nothing but happiness, making my commute enjoyable when it’s too hot to pedal.  Hopefully the Honda reliability will continue.

For not thinking of this:

Seen at the LebowskiFest 08 [Asylum]

Is not actually on the album…

Big Ideas (don’t get any) from James Houston on Vimeo.

Colbert announced a drinking game on his show tonight with one simple rule: drink when he says “Nation.”

Zen.