Category: Amazon

Motorcycle art…

Motorcycles and things related to them are interesting..the bikes themselves, the people, the events, and more, so it was with some interest that Sue and I noticed a small piece in our local newspaper about a motorcycle show in nearby Chaffey College.  Faster, Faster!  The Art of Motorcycle Culture was the name of the show, and that sounded like it might be fun.  Not having anything pressing to do, we decided to ride over and see it.  I had my Nikon, thinking that the show might have some interesting motorcycles worthy of a photo or two.

Wow, were we ever surprised.  No motorcycles.  It was an art exhibit, where the topic was, well, motorcycles and things related to them.  At first we were a bit surprised because there were no motorcycles (we were expecting a bike show), but the exhibit was well displayed and we had a good time.  There were paintings of motorcycles, people, custom helmets, vests, and oil cans.  That last one might sound a bit off the wall, but Jeffrey Durrant’s paintings of oil cans were, to me, the best part of the show.  I can’t explain why.  I guess that’s one of the elements of fine art…something that is appealing in a way that is difficult to put into words.

Chaffey College had an interesting booklet assembled for the exhibit that included a number of essay prompts.   That’s fascinating, and it made me wish I was still in school taking courses with assignments like that.  The folks who organized Faster, Faster did a fine job.   The show runs through March 9th.

Swag

I didn’t start out in the typing business looking for swag. I was more interested in seeing my byline on a real, printed object. Being published meant at least one person in the world thought my stuff wasn’t terrible. No, it was like more swag found me. Slowly at first, then faster as the typing game became less and less lucrative, swag has grown ever larger in importance.

Today all I write for is swag. I pay the electric company with logoed T-shirts and swap brake manufacturer stickers for groceries. Swag has completely replaced the United States Dollar in my financial transactions. My wallet looks like an overstuffed armoire and I fill those Leave-a-Penny convenience store change holders with plumbing company plastic key fobs.

More than money, swag fills the void: I insulate walls with swag and burn it to make a fine garden fertilizer. When cooking, I substitute swag in all recipes that call for newt. I mark time by measuring the half-life of a rubber USB drive shaped like a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. I have over 1000 tiny jars of lemon sage Best Western hair conditioner that I plan on converting into diesel fuel someday.

CSC sent me a flat-brimmed swag cap. They didn’t need to: I love those guys and how their business plan is a fantastic experiment in mail order motorcycling. I like that the customer needs to be a bit more self sufficient to operate their motorcycles. And I like the hat. With most products becoming sealed off to us regulars, CSC bikes actually require you to dig in. Since I own mostly weird motorcycles that have no dealer support I relate to the pride a CSC owner feels when he sets his own valves or replaces the chain and sprockets on his motorcycle.

Swag works. The preceding paragraph should be all the proof you need. Swag turns customers into advocates and a scuba suit beer cooler celebrating Pandya’s 50th birthday will always come in handy. Come to think of it, Exhaustnotes.us has no swag that I’m aware of. I’ll have to get to work on that.

Mesa Verde in Motorcycle Classics

Native American cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park.

The latest Motorcycle Classics has a cool article on Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado.   Sue and I were there last year and it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.   Nah, let me change that last sentence: Mesa Verde National Park is worth a visit all by itself, wherever you are.  It’s only an 11-hour ride from Los Angeles on the freeways, although if I were going there again it wouldn’t be a freeway ride.  There are just too many interesting things to see on the our secondary roads. I’ve been writing for Motorcycle Classics for about a decade now, and you can see more of the MC articles here.

The Three Flags Classic: Day 5

Day 5 would have us crossing another international border (this time in Canada, the third country of our 2005 Three Flags Classic rally), and it would be yet another grand day.  If you haven’t read the first four days, you might want to catch up by reading our prior blog posts here:

The 2005 Three Flags Classic Rally:  the Intro!

The Three Flags Classic:  Day 1

The Three Flags Classic:  Day 2

The Three Flags Classic:  Day 3

The Three Flags Classic:  Day 4

On to Day 5!

Day 5 would take us all the way in to Calgary, Canada!

We loaded up early again the next morning and headed north from Whitefish, Montana.   Wow, was it ever cold! It was 34 degrees when we rode across the border into Canada, and even though the sun climbed higher into the sky on that fine bright day, it grew even colder as we continued north. I had my electric vest cranked all the way up and I was still freezing.

We stopped for breakfast in Fernie after we crossed the border to warm up a bit.  Our route took us through a brief bit of British Columbia, and then we entered Alberta.  The route took us into the Kananaskis National Park in Canada on our way to Calgary, our destination that day.

The Canadian Rockies in Kananaskis National Park, on our way to Calgary. That’s my Triumph Daytona 1200 in front, and Marty’s BMW K1200RS behind it. Wowee, it was cold that morning!
Another photograph with the Rocky Mountains in the background. This was in Canada’s Kananaskis National Park, and that’s me next to my Triumph.
A comparable photo of Marty at the same spot with his Beemer.

We saw signs warning of mountain sheep crossing the road. I thought it would be great to see one, but I didn’t expect that I would. Then we started spotting the things all over.

Look closely. Way up the road. Just past the sign on the right. Do you see the mountain sheep standing there?

The first one was that lone sheep you see in the photo above.  We stopped to grab a photo, but I realized I had my Sigma 17-35 wide angle on the camera. I grabbed a quick shot from the motorcycle, but I knew the distance and the wide angle lens would make the animal just a tiny bit in the photo.  I didn’t want to get off the bike because I thought I might scare it away. I fumbled to get my longer range 24-120 zoom lens on the camera (it was in my tank bag).   The entire time I thought the goat would run away before I could get the lens on my Nikon N70.

Then the sheep looked directly at me and starting slowly walking in my direction.

“Uh oh,” I thought.

I didn’t know if mountain sheep bite or if they are aggressive.  Maybe it would come over and try to butt me.  I could see, even at a distance, that the thing had horns.  I had visions of it knocking me and the Triumph over.  My Triumph had never been on its side.  The scratches on that beautiful Daytona fairing would be tough to explain.  I remember wondering if I would be able to keep the bike upright if the thing butted me.

Little did I know….

Marty’s photo of my close encounter.

The sheep literally walked right up to me. I took this shot while sitting on my Triumph, at a distance of maybe 4 or 5 feet.

My new best friend. We were both feeling kind of sheepish.  I guess it was as curious as I was.

I shot up a whole roll of film and the thing was still hanging around.  I noticed that as it advanced, it would stop every few feet and lick the road.  I’m guessing that it was enjoying the remnants of the road salt the Canadians put down when it snows and the roads ice over.  Someone later said they are probably used to being fed.  I prefer to think it just wanted a better look at the Daytona. After all, it was the only Triumph in the 2005 Three Flags Classic.

It warmed up after that and it was a glorious day.  Our next to last checkpoint was in the Kananaskis National Park at a place called Fortress Junction.   Marty and I chatted with the other riders and then we rode the final leg of the Rally into Calgary.

A guy named Dave and his friend at the final checkpoint in Fortress Junction, Canada. It was a glorious day.

Later that day, we rode along a highway and then into Calgary, the endpoint for the 2005 Three Flags Classic.  I would be the turnaround point for Marty and me.   We still had a lot of fun in front of us…a couple of days in Calgary, and then the grand ride home.   On the ride home, we were on our own (it was not part of the Three Flags Classic, which ended in Calgary. That portion of our ride is coming up in future blogs, so stay tuned!

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Barron’s recommendations…

I guess more financial mags are zeroing in on Harley-Davidson’s plans to introduce an electric motorcycle.  You saw our post a week or so ago about The Motley Fool and their thoughts on the Livewire.  Barron’s, another financial newspaper/advisory service, similarly reported on Harley’s woes but with a twist.   This most recent Barron’s article strongly recommended that either Harley move into manufacturing pickup trucks, or allow itself to be acquired by Ford.  Yeah, that’s right.  Ford.  The car company.

Ford has already produced F-150 pickups with Harley trim packages (seriously, I can’t make up stuff this good) and they are reintroducing a $100K Harley-themed truck for 2019…

Barron’s reasons that Harley’s brand recognition could help Ford (a company who’s stock price has been tanking for years).   The Barron’s article actually recommends Harley as a buy (the stock, not the motorcycle), with a target price of $50 per share if such an acquisition occur (i.e., Ford buying Harley).  Seeing as Harley stock (symbol HOG) is currently about $35 per share, Barron’s reasons that could be a wise investment if Ford acquires Harley (which I don’t think will ever happen).

I’m watching all of this in stunned silence.  Well, nearly stunned silence, except for the tapping of my laptop’s keyboard as I whip out this blog.   $35,000 electric motorcycles.   Harley-badged $100,000+ Ford pickup trucks, which presumably will sell to folks whose judgement, common sense, and sobriety has to be questioned.  Financial advisors recommending buying Harley stock because if Ford (a company with terrible stock performance) buys Harley (another company with terrible stock performance), the Harley stock price will go up (while Harley’s business has been tanking in a dive so steep they may not be able to pull out of it).  Got it.  Right.

My take on all of this?   It’s hard to take it all in, let alone understand most of it.  Your thoughts?  Let’s hear them!

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To Hammock or not to Hammock…

You guys remember our good buddy Mike Huber, whom we met on one of the Baja rides. Mike is a former US Army paratrooper, a GS rider, and a great guy. It was good to get an email from Mike a couple of days ago, along with the following guest blog…

Combining my two favorite passions in life of motorcycle and camping is new to me, but I quickly fell in love with the lifestyle and have grown to embrace moto camping so much that over the past two years I make it a point to moto camp at least once a month.

As I developed my passion for moto camping I began following blogs and Facebook groups to seek out tips and tricks that can make my moto camping experiences more exciting and comfortable. I began to notice that some moto campers on these pages camped in their hammocks full time and didn’t even own a tent. This awoke my curiosity since I always travel with an ENO double nest nylon hammock. On most nights when I camp I usually hang the hammock when I have a few hours to kill where I can get comfortable and read a book or just gaze into the campfire after a long day of riding. Even though I travel and use a hammock frequently I never thought of sleeping in my hammock while camping prior to reading these blogs.

A short time later I was traveling from Arizona to Colorado and I found myself in a beautiful state park camping where I had spent over an hour or so sitting in my hammock next to the fire. I decided to give this hammock camping thing a try. It was a clear night and the moon and stars were really popping so I threw a few logs on the fire, loaded my sleeping bag into the hammock ad settled in for a restful night’s sleep.
Below are a few pros and cons I have found with my limited hammocking experience:

Pros:

• Able to see the stars the entire night without having to leave your bed
• Lightweight and compact
• No pressure points in a hammock so it can be much more comfortable and warmer being off the ground
• A level area is not required so at times you can be closer to bodies of water

Cons:

• Some parks do not allow hammocks to be hung on any park property or trees (see photo)
• If you are in an area with no trees (EX: deserts of the southwestern United States (and using a cactus is a really bad idea)) there may not be a place to safely hang your hammock
• Without a properly equipped hammock facing bad weather can be a challenge

I enjoy the unique experience of hammock camping and whenever conditions are right have continued to camp in my hammock. I am now in the habit of setting up both my tent and hammock at my campsites and go with how I feel, the weather, and my surroundings. Hammock camping is another option to have, and with moto camping having more options is never a bad thing.

Mike, that’s an awesome blog.   Thanks for taking the time to think of us.  Your photos are outstanding.  Let’s get together for a taco or two the next time you’re in town.   Gresh says he’s buying!

Punny stuff…

Hey, Gresh started it with that “assault and battery” blog title.  We post our blog notifications on Facebook, too, and a bunch of guys weighed in.  With shocking puns.  I won’t spoil it.  Read for yourself, folks…

And there you have it.  No doubt there are more highly-charged comments posted by the time you read this.  I stopped reading them and posting responses because I thought I might offend someone, or maybe even be offended myself.  But then, I always have had a short fuse…

It’s like the time a neutron walked into a bar and asked “How much for a beer?”

The bartender, a proton, said “For you, no charge.”

“You sure?” asked the neutron.

“I’m positive,” answered the proton.

And with that, my friends, it’s time to, you know, pull the plug.  Unless you have more.  Well, do you?

Baldy on Mt. Baldy…

My mighty CSC TT250 posing in a turnout on the way up to Mt. Baldy.  These are great motorcycles.

We had a short break in the near-nonstop rains here in So Cal, and that meant two things to me:  Get out for a motorcycle ride, and get to the rifle range.   That’s two separate things (it’s a bit of a challenge to carry a rifle on a motorcycle), so let me just post a photo or two from my motorcycle ride.

When it rains in So Cal in the winter time, it’s snowing in the mountains, and the San Gabriels looked mighty inviting.  I needed to get my knees in the breeze and I recently had good buddy Joey D put new tires on my TT250.  I wanted to see how the new tires felt, and a quick run up to Mt. Baldy would be the perfect way to do that.  I’m here to tell you I really like the TT’s new treads.  A lot.

Yeah, I know. It’s the title of this blog.

While I was taking photos with my cellphone, a young lady pulled into the turnout in a 3-Series BMW M car.   She asked if I wanted her to take my picture with the bike.  Hey, why not?  I probably should have grabbed a photo of her with the BMW, but I always seem to think of these things too late.

I stayed nice and warm on my ride up to Mt. Baldy, as I was wearing my R Heroes USA workshirt under my moto jacket.   It felt great to get on the bike again, and the ride was made all the better by the crisp mountain air.   Good times.

Regarding time on the rifle range, that’s a topic for another blog.  Stay tuned!

Assault on Batteries

Unlike motorcycles, I’m not fixated on doing things the old way for electrical energy storage. I run a lithium-polymer battery in the Husqvarna that has exceeded all my expectations. The thing never goes dead (no trickle charger needed) it has tons of cranking amps (no need to use the compression release to start the bike) and it weighs nothing. You can install the thing in any position and nothing will leak out. The only drawback to the lithium-polymer battery is cost.

Battery technology is advancing rapidly with so many new combinations of lithium with something else, molten salt or rare elements only found in war torn areas. It’s hard to know which technology will win out in the end but for now, in my solar-powered shed system, lead-acid still offers the best electron storage option.

Lead-acid batteries are messy, inefficient and half their capacity comes at a voltage too low to run your equipment correctly. They are heavy as hell and the cable connections are always corroding from the acid fog and hydrogen fumes escaping from the fill caps. You’re lucky to get 5 years service out of a lead-acid battery. The things are problematic in most every way.

But not in all ways: lead-acid is a completely mature technology. We’ve been building them since 1860 and there is a cradle-to-grave recycling system in place right now. Any auto store or Wal-Mart has the ability to take your old lead-acid batteries and deal with them responsibly. Unlike the new battery elements there are no ecological surprises with lead-acid: We know all.

Lead-acid batteries are available everywhere. Go to any town in the world with at least one gas station and you can buy a lead-acid battery. You don’t have to deal with Tesla or any of the high-tech battery startups that don’t actually have product. Your battery isn’t tracked online, the software will never need to be updated and your battery bank will never be monitored by anyone but you. Unlike most e-car and e-bike batteries, lead-acid batteries come in standard sizes (24, 27, 31, 4-D, 8-D) and for the most part are interchangeable unless you have a restrictive battery box or short cables.

Lead-acid batteries are tough. It’s hard to damage a clean lead-acid battery with tight connections. They put out gobs of amps on demand and as long as there is electrolyte in the cells they stand up to overcharging well. They’re even somewhat repairable: Go on YouTube and look up battery repair for ways to flush out debris from old lead-acid batteries to gain new life.

Lead-acid batteries are easily scalable and nearly any voltage or amperage desired can be achieved with large, simple jumper cables. I’m running 4, group 31, 12-volt batteries in my 24-volt system. My future plans are for 16 batteries total but there’s no rush. I can take as long as I want to get there or 8 batteries might prove to be enough for my usage level.

Most important for me: They are cheap! The four deep cycle marine batteries in my off-grid system @100 amp/hour each give me a total of 2400 watts of storage (@ 50% capacity) for 400 dollars. If I ever get to 16 batteries I’ll have 9600 watts of storage for around 1600 dollars. Compare that to 7000 dollars for 7000 watts of storage from Tesla’s Powerwall.

The newer Powerwall is AC-in, AC-out and comes with a built-in AC inverter which is a savings if you’re charging from the grid but you’ll need a solar AC inverter to charge the Powerwall from the sun so it’s kind of a wash for my set up. The lifespan/charge cycle of lead-acid batteries is supposed to be less, judging from the two-year lifespan of the lithium ion batteries used in my cordless tools, maybe not.

I’m not a Luddite when it comes to battery technology on motorcycles or power tools but for me the new designs and materials haven’t yet made sense for large, stationary storage banks at low cost. I’ll revisit the topic if Tesla reduces the price of their Powerwall by half or some new manufacturer comes up with a wiz bang combination of chemicals that outdoes ancient lead acid technology.

R Heroes USA!

I’ll get to R Heroes USA, the title of this blog, in just a bit.   There’s a story behind today’s title and it goes like this:  About 10 years ago, CSC donated a Mustang replica to the Firefighters Cancer Support Network (the FCSN), a charity of firefighters focused on helping firefighters and EMS workers with the disease.   The motorcycle CSC built for the FCSN was a great-looking bike, and when I picked the colors for my CSC 150 I had it built exactly like the Firefighter model…

A Mt. Baldy firefighter checking out my CSC 150 several years ago.

When Steve and Maureen donated the bike, the FCSN gave Steve and me each a sweatshirt.  I liked mine immensely, and in fact, for the last 10 years it has been my “go to” shirt for knocking around, or whenever it gets really cold out here, or whenever I’m riding in cold weather.  Yeah, I’ve got a heated vest and all the right motorcycle gear, but when it’s seriously cold and I want to layer up, nothing beats that sweatshirt.   It’s warm and it’s incredibly comfortable.  When we did the recent Janus Motorcycles Baja ride, I knew it was going to be a cold expedition and I knew I’d be wearing my blue pullover sweatshirt.

My 10-year-old R Heroes shirt.  This is my favorite shirt. It’s still in great shape.  R Heroes makes them right here in California.

Most recently, we’ve been in a cold snap here in So Cal, and I’ve been wearing my FCSN shirt pretty much every day.  It made me think: I’ve been wearing that sweatshirt for nearly 10 years.  That’s phenomenal. I thought about that a bit, and I realized:  I need to get me another one of these.

I looked online, and I couldn’t find anything of the same style.  You see, it’s not just a sweatshirt.  It’s got pockets, it’s got a YKK zipper (the best there is), it’s fleece-lined,and like I said, it’s warm.    It’s also just long enough to cover anything you might have strapped on your hip (even a big old .45).  It’s perfect.  I usually don’t get excited about clothes, but I fell in love with that pullover.

With no initial luck on the Internet, I looked inside the shirt.  I couldn’t find a label that indicated any of the sweatshirt companies I thought I knew, so I looked a little harder.  There was a tiny label that said “R Heroes USA.”   What’s that? I thought, so I did a search on that name, and oila!

It turns out that there’s an apparel company called R Heroes USA, it was founded by a firefighter, they manufacture here in America, and they focus on gear for firefighters (that explains the great pockets and the uber-high quality).   I sent an email to R Heroes USA, one thing led to another, and my new good buddy (and R Heroes USA founder) Chuck took my order for a new shirt just like the old one.  It’s their Model 505 workshirt.  It should arrive about the same time you are reading this blog.

The R Heroes 505 Workshirt.

I’m pumped, and I know I’ve got another good 10 years in front of me with this new shirt.  You can do the same, you know.  You can’t order directly off the R Heroes USA site, but you can get to a list of their dealers and if there are none nearby, you can send R Heroes an email just like I did.

Like I said, I had a nice conversation with Chuck (the R Heroes USA owner and founder).  One thing led to another, and what do you know, R Heroes USA is looking to reach beyond the firefighter market.  The Model 505 (and probably other R Heroes USA shirts) are perfect for riding, and ExhaustNotes has a new advertiser.  It’s a win-win-win all the way around, folks.  Click on the R Heroes USA logo below (or right here), give the site a visit, and get yourself what I’m here to tell you is the best and longest-wearing shirt on the planet!