Who reads our blogs, anyway?

I don't know whether other moto-bloggers have ever checked what their top 10 most-viewed individual posts are but I was simply curious about what interested visitors the most.  Using the numbers alongside each post in Draft Blogger, the 10 posts most-viewed were noted.  The results may not be all that surprising given that many of the topics listed have potential appeal among the broader motorcycling community, particularly when searching the internet.  The No 1 post however, has over 4 times the number of views than the next highest.  Now that is surprising!

184 individual posts since December 2009

10th place, 1228 views.  Classic racebikes and other stuff

No real idea why this short post about racebikes in NZ should have attracted so much interest.  One possibility is that internet searches for Burt Munro of "World's Fastest Indian" fame threw up some of his bikes (pictured) that still reside in a hardware shop in the southern NZ town of Invercargill.  More on Burt Munro later.








9th place, 1262 views.  Street Triple paddock stand and wheel alignment

The post covered an NZ-made Ducati/Aprilia paddock stand I'd bought for the Striple and how the laser wheel alignment rig which had been knocked together for my Blackbird was adapted to suit the Triumph.  Probably boosted by internet searches on wheel alignment methods.








8th place, 1426 views  Airhawk seat cushions

One of the major topics on any bike forum (and internet searches) is seat comfort (or more accurately, seat discomfort) of standard seats.  At least aftermarket suppliers make a living from fixing discomfort, whether it be from custom seats or the cheaper and equally effective Airhawk pneumatic cell pad range which was reviewed in this post.

7th place, 1707 views  Wheel alignment, improve your handling

The original post on how to build a cheap laser wheel alignment rig.  The post has been linked on numerous bike forums world-wide as an inexpensive means of improving your handling.  Feedback on various forums suggests that many people didn't realise that their wheels were out of line!  You shouldn't nececessarily rely on manufacturer's markings and you certainly shouldn't rely on tyre fitters to do a good job!





6th place, 1732 views Motorcycle tyre performance in the real world

There is more bullshit spoken about tyres and lubricants on bike forums than virtually any other topic (apart from riders whining about cage drivers whilst conveniently avoiding doing anything about raising their own roadcraft skills)!

This post attempts to dispassionately review what's important for road tyres with a bit of personal experience chucked in too.  The later tyre-specific evaluation posts scored well too.










5th place, 2190 views Burt Munro, Kiwi Legend 

Burt Munro has always been an icon in this part of the world but his popularity soared with the release of  "The World's Fastest Indian" movie.  It's been interesting to watch the number and location of blog hits over the last 6 months or so which from a bit of research, have a direct correlation with what countries the movie has been shown on TV at those times!  This book was an incredibly generous gift from fellow Kiwi blogger Roger Fleming  and is THE definitive book about Burt.



4th place, 2842 views  1000 miles in 21 1/4 hours on a Street Triple



The 3 international Triumph forums carry links plus a few other sites on the Internet.  Guess some people wanted answers to the question "WHY??".  In reality, there seem to be a lot of internet searches on whether the Triple is suitable for long distance riding, whether against the clock or touring.  In reality, most bikes would probably be fine - it's more likely the rider's mental horizons which lead to a successful and enjoyable long ride.



3rd place, 2879 views  Street Triple vs. Blackbird
A comparison between two quite different bikes after 8 years of Blackbird ownership and just 2000 km on the Street Triple.  People were perhaps just plain curious with respect to just how a modern "iconic" medium capacity unfaired lightweight bike would stack up against what once used to be the World's fastest road bike.  Maybe they were also curious as to why would an owner would change from a bigger "hyperbike" to a smaller, unfaired one?  The article was written principally for the author to sort out his own feelings!













2nd place, 3914 views  Motorcycle accidents, half-truths and lies

Motorcycle accidents are another favourite internet search.  This particular post highlighted the work of a prominent academic in allegedly exposing manipulation of accident statistics by the authorities in New Zealand.  Incompetence at best or at worst, clouding the real issues for political convenience?  Presumably, there is a similar potential for manipulation world-wide by various authorities.  Irrespective of the alleged implications, action taken to date does not address the root causes of accidents.


And in 1st place with a staggering 13,618 views........

Street Triple Review Revisited

It stands head and shoulders in terms of viewing above every other post.  That's probably not surprising as the Triple is a bike which is currently in production and has won a lot of international "bike of the year" awards.  It's inevitable that potential buyers and owners alike will conduct an internet search... just like I did in fact as the first step to buying a Street Triple!





Now here's something to ponder......................

NONE of the 10 posts listed above have anywhere near the biggest number of comments at the bottom of each post!  The biggest number of comments posted are where there is either a human interest or scenic/travel aspect as opposed to what might be called "technical" motorcycle posts.  It seems that what people do or where they go evokes the greatest responses.  The biggest number of comments on this blog came after 8 months of posts detailing the often stressful journey of continuously trying to raise my riding skills sufficiently to pass the Institute of Advanced Motorists full membership exam, culminating in: Pain and Extreme Pride .  I guess that people could empathise with both the stress and elation of passing a 4 hour, 220 km practical test whilst being observed by a police rider/IAM examiner who was among the best of the best!

I guess there's a place for both technical and human interest posts on a blog but despite the technical articles being tops in terms of number of views, it's human interest and travel which I enjoy writing most, perhaps because humour and irreverence can be liberally used!

Have any other moto-bloggers pondered about their blogs?  Would be really interested to hear as I personally enjoy the blogging aspect of learning about other's lives and where they go.

Motorcycle Marketing - what's changed in 50 years?

A couple of previous posts have mentioned my mate and fellow Coromandel village resident Paul, who is a complete Norton enthusiast, owning a Commando race bike, a pristine Commando road bike which he bought new in the early 70's and a classic 1950's ES2 single.  He's currently in England with his wife visiting family and presumably filling suitcases with bike bits when his infinitely better half isn't watching him like a hawk.

Paul has just visited The Sammy Miller Museum which is a truly world class motorcycle museum.  I suppose that he could have bought me one of the exhibits as an act of true friendship but simply getting a postcard from him was still a lovely gesture.  Rather surprised that it didn't feature a Norton just to rub it in but he was clearly feeling generous as it featured a Triumph!  Here 'tis....

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be!  1955 Tiger 110

The photo on the postcard is the front cover of Motor Cycle magazine from March 1955.  Note the idyllic setting although ummmm...blue skies in the UK might be pushing the boundaries of honest advertising! The Triumph marketing strategy at face value seems fairly blunt.  "Triumph - the best motorcycle in the World".  No facts quoted to back that up but since when have facts had any bearing on advertising right up to the present time?  They're hardly going to say "Best bike in the world and as an added useful feature, it pees so much oil everywhere that your boots will never leak and everything aft of the engine will never go rusty", are they?

But here's where the Triumph marketing department sneaks in a bit of almost subliminal marketing.  Note the implied message, "Buy a Triumph and you'll instantly be turned into a serious chick magnet".  The woman in the foreground simply can't keep her paws off the rider.  Even the pillion passenger in the background can't keep her hands to herself but it could be argued that since the rider seems to be riding on a bumpy grass verge rather than the road, she may be hanging on for dear life. 

The lack of appropriate protective clothing in the advert merely serves to heighten the fact that the rider is a rebel like Dean and Brando, instantly shoving him much higher up the attractiveness quotient scale.  Although the following photo has been posted previously, it does serve to reinforce the implied assertion that Triumph riders with inappropriate riding gear (even those with an appalling fashion sense) are hugely attractive to the opposite sex.  The photo was taken in 1969 at the Isle of Man TT and the bike is a 1955 Tiger 100 (a good year obviously, for Triumph marketers). Fear of further ridicule prevents the identity of the rider from being disclosed.  The pillion was a lovely Scottish lass holidaying in the I.O.M who may have left her spectacles back in Scotland.

Destined never to be chosen as best-dressed man of the year, sigh......

Finally, just to prove to female readers that they too will become magnets to the opposite sex following the purchase of a Triumph, absolute proof is in the photo below.

Paramount Pictures publicity photo

Ann-Margaret was an unknown, unattractive actress before this photo was released.  Stick her on a Triumph in conservatively styled OSH-approved riding gear and bingo, hormones all over the world start sloshing about and Triumph sales skyrocket - I rest my case.

If you should think that this post conjours up the phrase "tongue in cheek", just go and talk to Triumph riders of either sex to get to the truth of the matter.  Better still, buy a Triumph and find out for yourself!

Challenge: Your ride

Martha, from the Living Among Tourists  scooter blog has challenged other moto-bloggers to post their "path most travelled" ride.  As I live on a peninsula in NZ, most of my rides take the same 55 km route down the coast to get off the peninsula.  You might think the same trip is boring, but it's anything but with a technical, twisty road right by the sea - made for 2 wheeled transport!.   We'll start with a map:

55km of coast road from Coromandel to Thames

Leaving home on Coromandel Harbour

About 15 km south of Coromandel looking north over Manaia Harbour

Same spot, looking south over the Firth of Thames

About 25 km south of Coromandel - summer shot with Pohutukawa tree in flower

Te Mata beach holiday homes, about 30 km south of Coromandel

Thames Wharf, 55 km south of Coromandel - fishing boat right outside chip shop!

Thames historic township, originally based on gold mining

Another bike enthusiast in the family

World Superbike Championships, today as it happened:

Settled down to enjoy the event in peace but someone else in the shape of Annie had other ideas:

I think we'll keep her interest a secret in this household or she'll be getting short rations from another family member :-)

Confession time (and other stuff)!

I have a confession which sits nicely with the "Confessions" title of the blog!

When I passed my Institute of Advanced Motorists full membership test last year, that wise and hugely experienced U.S-based instructor Dan Bateman offered these words:

"....also remember that you will forever be known differently now. It is a tremendous responsibility to always reflect the proper ideals ".

It is indeed a tremendous responsibility and the confession is that I failed to live up to the ideals on a recent ride, which was bloody unprofessional.  It involved a certain amount of enthusiastic riding on my part.  I'm going to be a bit circumspect about the occasion for obvious reasons but it wasn't the actual speeding which still rankles because I always choose the time and place with care if there's going to be a bit of spirited riding involved - that's what sports-oriented bikes are for.  What is particularly upsetting is that my situational awareness wasn't up to scratch, something I normally take considerable pride in.

It was dark, the road was deserted and I was enjoying a bit of smooth riding at a reasonable pace out in the countryside.  Night suddenly turned into day and with a sick feeling, I realised that I'd tripped a radar camera vehicle parked on a grass verge just off the road and the flash was me being caught on film.  It wasn't actually being nabbed which was upsetting.  Although I was admittedly a little over the speed limit, it was a straight and unoccupied bit of road.  The upsetting bit was that I'd totally failed to recognise the potential threat and even more so, I'd had a warning a few moments beforehand!

NZ Police unmarked camera van (file photo)

Let me explain....

Camera vans in NZ have traditionally operated on Ka microwave radar band, although some newer ones operate on K band.  A lot of radar detector owners in NZ have K band turned off because the majority of K band alerts are false from things like security systems, automatic door openers etc.  Mine isn't turned off but when the detector screamer went off and I saw it was K band, the warning was ignored as it was assumed to be a false alert from something innocuous well down the road.  How wrong can you be?

I should also add that being photographed doesn't attract demerit points on your license like being microwaved by the Highway Patrol and at my estimated speed, the fine would be at the low end of the scale anyway.  It was simply that there was a failure on my part to pay adequate attention to the surroundings, despite an early warning.  What if it had been a large animal by the roadside ready to bolt into my path for example?

As it happens, bikes have no front plate and unless the operator had eagle eyes, the chances of a brown envelope coming through the mail are probably slim.  If one does come, I hope it's whilst Jennie is still overseas to avoid a biblical-scale bollocking being administered (and dredged up at inopportune times for the next decade).  It's fair to say however that a lesson has been learned and the ideals of IAM, Dan Bateman and good riding practice in general will be very much to the forefront.  Also, a timely reminder that radar detectors require the good judgement of the user.  Sometimes, a bit of a scare isn't a bad means of reinforcement!

Onto happier things, early winter in NZ can present some beautiful sights.  We live in a frost and snow-free area and the deciduous trees in our garden are only just shedding their leaves. The succulents are also in full flower and attract the native birds for their nectar.  I took these photos a couple of hours ago.

The reds and greens are a nice contrast to the grey day

Soon, they'll be a soggy mess, but for now, the leaves are gorgeous!

With respect to the tree in the photo immediately above, I've just bought a solar-charged lighting system with 200 red and blue LED's to wind round the branches when the leaves have finally fallen.  Should look quite cool at night.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Auckland to help with a few jobs at the new house which our younger son and family have just bought.  Weather will dictate whether it's by 4 wheels or two.  Quite happy riding in rain but I've just spent hours thoroughly cleaning the bike!  I'm also taking up a rather nice house-warming gift.  Towards the bottom of  THIS post by fellow blogger Sonja, we visited a friend whilst she was in NZ who is a master potter (and has a toilet with world-class views as you'll see from her photos!!).  Mike Cogswell is a potter's potter, always experimenting with new techniques.  I was particularly taken with his matt finish pots with gold highlighting.  One of his latest pieces is blue with a subtle rippled background to represent the sea right by our village, with the offshore islands picked out in gold, and also a gold stylised fern leaf (like the tree ferns in our garden).  A perfect reminder of our area as the kids love coming down here.  Hope they like it!

Mike Cogswell's magnificent work

Anglo-American Match Racing, 1971

Call it Karma if you like but the last few weeks have seen a few quite independent events become inter-twined.

I made a recent post about blog piracy and the swift action taken by Google to remove the material from the offending person's website.  The outcome could have been a whole lot more positive for that person had some simple courtesies been extended to the people he stole material from.  Meanwhile, at the complete opposite end of the scale.... a short while ago, I received an email from a British couple, Julie and Brad Jones, who currently live in France.  Julie explained that they had seen a couple of photos on the internet which I'd taken in the early 1970's of factory supported BSA/Triumph racing triples.  They were classic BSA fans and in particular the BSA/Triumph factory racing triples. They were intending to publish a booklet on a particular period and series of events involving these bikes and would I please give permission for my photos to be included? As as the respondents in the post about piracy said, most bike enthusiasts are more than happy to help when it's fellow enthusiasts asking, and making the normal acknowledgement offers.  Julie and Brad's request ticked all the boxes and I was delighted to supply a few additional photos as well.

Their request held particular significance as in my early 20's, my mates and I used to go to UK race meetings specifically to watch those racing triples so they were very much part of my formative years as far as bikes went.  Small wonder that I currently ride a Street Triple!   Apart from their looks and amazing performance, it was the engine note which literally gave me goosebumps.   They had a 3 into 1 exhaust system, running into a long, shallow taper unrestricted megaphone.  When those bikes were warming up in the pits with their unique howl, I reckon most spectators literally felt the hairs on the back of necks go up.  And at full throttle, well.... aural sex!! (No, not oral sex, sigh....)

 Dave Aldana's BSA triple - ohhhhh....the noise!

The period in question which Julie and Brad wanted to cover was the 1971 Anglo-American Match Race Series.  It involved a team of household names from the USA (Mann, Castro, Emde, Rice, Aldana and a non-riding team captain Gary Nixon) pitted against the UK's finest in the shape of Smart, Tait, Cooper, Jefferies and Pickrell, all on BSA/Triumph triples.  I was fortunate to be at 2 of those race meetings and the spectacle (and noise!) is still with me to this day. Incredibly close racing with no quarter given.

To complete the reminiscences, the finished booklet arrived a few days ago with Julie and Brad's compliments and what a cracker it is!  As well as the detailed background story to the racing series and results, it's packed with memorable photos: the riders, the bikes and some wonderful promotional material for the event, including the one immediately below.  Monty Python fans might recognise the attractive woman as Carol Cleveland who set a lot of youthful, hormonal hearts racing, including mine; whenever she appeared in that classic TV show!

Carol Cleveland doing her patriotic duty with little flags

(courtesy Julie and Brad Jones)

Paul Smart at speed on the Triumph Triple - Mallory Park

John Cooper, UK team member. Looks like Phil Read in the background

(In the same year, JC beat Giacomo Agostini on the works MV  Augusta in one of the best races ever seen in the U.K and I had the privilege of being there!)

Ray Pickrell on the Rocket 3

If there are any other racing BSA/Triumph racing triple enthusiasts out there and Anglo-American Match race fans in particular, the booklet is commercially available at a very modest price.  Details including shipping costs can be obtained from the Jones' HERE .  They also have a number of other booklets covering BSA's and Triumphs from  around that period so it would pay to ask if you're going to place an order.

So there we are, a courtesy request for photos leads to a win for Julie and Brad, a win for me in the shape of a great booklet (thanks again guys!) and a whole load of great memories. Karma?  I'd like to think so!  

Somewhere in the house, I have an additional box or two of 35 mm slides taken at the '71 match races, both in the pits and out on the circuit.  Ditto for multiple boxes of slides taken at the 1969 Isle of Man TT.  I really ought to have a concerted look for them as there's real history in those boxes!

Let there be light - lots of it, and there was!

When I wrote the original Street Triple review, the only disappointment was the lights - having a couple of candles flickering away inside those twin chrome bowls would only have been marginally worse.  To make matters worse, the units pointed at the ground too steeply, giving you a tantalising view of a hole in the tar seal a nanosecond before your front wheel dropped into it.  I suppose that the lights might just have been ok for poseurs who like riding their bikes in a fully-lit city at night, but woefully inadequate for anyone who wants ride their bike in an unlit, twisty bit of countryside.

In fairness to Triumph, a lot of other makes fall short in the headlight stakes and I'm at a loss to know why, particularly as a lot of the world has animals that come out at night and lurk on the nice warm roads.  Cattle, sheep, kangaroos and the like are pretty immovable objects if you run into one and there are things in the Americas and elsewhere that would happily eat your face if you annoyed one by running into it.  Ok, by putting crap bulbs into the average bike, the makers might save a buck or two over fitting something better, but they don't win any brownie points from the owners and it's a genuine safety consideration.  Even for riders who predominantly ride in daylight, there are obvious advantages to being as conspicuous as possible.

There are all manner of remedies (at the owner's expense) such as HID but these have a few drawbacks too, cost not being the least of them.  On my Blackbird, I switched from 65W halogen bulbs to 100W high quality Xenon bulbs.  (More on the quality aspect later).  Night vision was much improved and people certainly noticed me in daylight earlier than previously with that intense blue-white light.  I could get away with a higher wattage because the volume of the headlight was quite large, allowing decent heat dissipation.  Not so lucky with the Triple because of the small headlight volumes and the risk of cooking wiring or other fittings.

Apart from raising the angle of the factory-set headlights a touch, the stock bulbs were replaced with ones of the same wattage, but high quality Xenon bulb, the Osram Nightbreaker +90.  The difference was immediately noticeable, even in daylight as per the photo below.

 Standard bulb left, Nightbreaker right

As mentioned in a previous post, these bulbs were good enough to see me through the annual 1000 miles in 24 hours endurance ride on twisty, unlit backroads.  They weren't outstanding, but they were good. In daylight, traffic definitely sees the bike earlier, particularly when I'm approaching from behind.  They definitely don't like those lights in their mirrors for long!

One of my bulbs failed a couple of weeks ago after 2 years of service.  I would have been happy with a straight replacement but had a look about to see if there was anything else worth checking out.  Autobulbs Direct in the UK whom I've dealt with for quite a few years were advertising the Ring Xenon Ultima +120 bulbs at 27 pounds a pair.  Not cheap, but they were duly ordered and arrived today.

Ultima +120 left, Nightbreaker +90 right on dipped beam

Contrast the two photos......  the Nightbreaker in the top picture is significantly brighter than the OEM bulb and in the lower photo, the Ultima is brighter than the Nightbreaker so it looks like we've got a winner again, although they need a proper test.  Looking at the manufacturer's specifications, both bulbs are rated at 400-500 hours of life. My lights are permanently on and over 2 years, this claim represents an average of 5 hours riding a week.  My riding is is well in excess of this rate over a year so the manufacturer's claim, at least for the Nightbreaker, is quite conservative.

Ring +120 packaging

Ring +120 bulb through blister pack

As mentioned earlier, having bright lights is equally important for both daytime and night-time riding, reducing the risk of SMIDSY (Sorry Mate, I Didn't See You) from knuckle-dragging cage drivers.

It might be time to mention the word "quality" in conjunction with replacement bulbs.  Both Osram and Ring Automotive are major manufacturers with a good history of continuous improvement.  A friend who used to ride a Hayabusa bought some supposedly high output Xenon bulbs off Trade Me, the NZ equivalent of eBay.  When they arrived, they were coated dark blue all over and made in China.  OK for pimped cars that never leave town, but utter crap for the serious motorist or rider.  Their output was FAR worse than the standard bulb so it pays to do your homework and stick to the major brands!

Oh, and nothing to do with bikes but  whilst Jennie is away on her European trip, I took her trick MX5 to Auckland and put on a set of sticky tyres to replace the current ones which were well past their best.  A friend who successfully races cars recommended the Bridgestone RE 002.  Not cheap, won't last as long as "normal" road tyres but man, do those things grip.  A blast down the practically deserted twisty Kaiaua coast road was impressive (err... an understatement).  So there we are, additional safety for my soulmate and additional fun for me when I'm allowed to take it out on my own, **grin**.  Quite a good week so far!

Bridgestone RE002

A nice, mixed weekend

Jennie was due to fly out for a Mediterranean 3 week "girlie cruise" on Sunday, so Saturday was earmarked for some "together" stuff.  As it happened, the weather and tides were perfect so we took the boat out fishing in the morning.  Right on the edge of winter and a balmy 18 degrees C with no wind - absolutely perfect.

We anchored up in 25 metres of water among the commercial mussel beds and basically, as soon as the first bait hit bottom, it was all on!  We were only out there for just over 2 hours and got our daily combined maximum limit of 18 Snapper - one of the best days ever.

The big chilly bin starting to fill up!

Under the boat, there were 3 Kingfish about 1 metre long lurking to see what we were hauling up.  "Kingies" are rocket-propelled predators and their speed has to be seen to be believed.  They can also weigh more than 50kg!  They're smart fish too - they'll take bait dropped in the water but they're very wary about anything with a line attached - live baiting is the normal method of catching them.  Great eating but they're so powerful that normal gear gets smashed up or at very least, a snapped line.  During a moments' inattention last year, one hauled my rod and reel out of the boat - bye bye $$$$$$!

The photo below shows the metre-long kingies coming up to investigate some bait I dropped on the surface.

Great eating but hard to land!

Towards the end of the trip, Jennie landed an undersized Trevally, dropped it back in and that's when we got a heck of a fright and exhilaration all rolled into one.  As soon as it hit the surface, there was a colossal explosion of water right next to the boat as the biggest two kingfish we've ever seen came after it from the depths.  We were just frozen at the power and speed of these monsters and didn't have time to take a photo but this file photo has one of comparable size.  What a privilege to see something like these in their element!

 The mighty adult Kingfish !

(source: Oceanbluefishing.com)

Sunday saw me departing before dawn for another round of assessing IAM Associates against the advanced riding criteria in Auckland.  There's some strong current interest from female riders which is great.  Wonder if the average male rider thinks he's got nothing to learn?  I'm inclined to think that testosterone plays a bigger obstruction to learning than we might imagine!

 Some of the bikes assembling pre-ride (including a rare VFR 1200)

More bikes of all shapes and sizes

Anyway, I got to assess a rider who's skills had plateaued for a while and was pretty sympathetic as we all go through that process.  However, he'd put in a whole lot more practice with an IAM mentor and his overall skill level had measurably increased over all aspects which delighted us all - the system works!!!  I also had an extremely accomplished Observer assessing me and after the ride was finished, he took me and another trainee Observer for a short training ride to demonstrate some advanced observing skills and how to plan and control the ride.  The learning in that half hour was immense and served to reinforce that whilst I might be riding at an advanced level, I have a heck of a way to go to become an accomplished Observer!!  That's the great thing about continuous learning compared with a one-off course - you become painfully aware of how much there is to learn.  Teaches humility when you see just how good some of these guys are!!!

On the 180 km trip home, I called in to refuel about 60 km short of home.  On re-starting the bike, there was a yellow warning light on the dashboard which wouldn't go out - momentary panic about getting stranded as the Coromandel coast road is a lonely place on a late Sunday afternoon on the edge of winter!  It wasn't oil or temperature but the engine management system and I fretted that it might be electrics.  However, we made it home with no problems and a lot of relief.  Straight onto the internet, praying that I wasn't going to have to fork out BIG $$$ for repairs!  From what I've been able to deduce, some Triumphs are sensitive to over-filling the fuel tank which I know happened because I wasn't paying attention and splashed it everywhere!  Apparently, over-filling can trigger a sensor alarm in the engine management system which ALLEGEDLY disappears after 3 cold starts and warming the engine to normal operating temperatures.  Because the bike has to start from stone cold, I've only managed one today, with 2 more scheduled for tomorrow.  Fingers crossed that's all it is.  The internet is a truly wondrous place - how ever would we have coped with problems like this a few years ago?

So now I have 3 weeks on my own to do stuff and eat stuff that I wouldn't normally get permission for.  Small chance, Jennie will have spies everywhere :-).

Addendum:
Yayyy!!!  The "fix" for the engine management light actually worked, despite slight skepticism on my part.  Amazing!

Moto-blogging piracy

 Source:  MS Office clip art!!!

Moto-bloggers are a great bunch and it's almost like family, either sharing thoughts and banter on line or meeting up in person.  In the two-odd years that I've been blogging, I've met some truly wonderful people as a result and have a long list of people I'd still love to meet!  There are some fantastic blogs out there, inspirational and enriching in terms of both technical enlightenment and human values.  Wouldn't have missed any of it for the world with the friendship, support and encouragement which everyone freely gives.

However, I've just come across the first ever moto-blogger who doesn't display the values that the rest of us cherish.  My great mate Roger happened to spot my recent post on motorcycle communications equipment on another blog site.  There was no acknowledgement of source, it had simply been lifted in its entirety.  Like most bloggers, I don't have the slightest problem with people using original material, photos etc if they think it will add anything to people's knowledge or enjoyment. When it's happened in the past; there has always been attribution of source and in some instances, I've been contacted beforehand.  Just the normal courtesies we all observe.

The offending website belongs to a chap called Sajjad who incidentally subscribed to my blog in recent times. This is his blog: My Way to Ride .

A note was sent to Sajjad mentioning the lack of courtesy and no response was received.  I wrote again now asking that the post be removed. Exactly the same result.  I then had a very quick look at a few more of his posts at random and it would appear that he writes no material of his own, lifting both other blogger's material and that of commercial sites.  In addition to my own site, the quick look revealed that he'd also taken an article from fellow Kiwi Bandit Rider and one of the recent female rider profiles from the Helmet or Heels blog, to name but two.

Sajjad clearly doesn't have a lot between his ears as it's really easy to find the original sources.  Just to test the waters to see if I was being overly sensitive, I contacted the owner of one of the commercial sites which had been plundered, Mike le Pard at Total Motorcycle.  Mike thanked me for pointing it out and said that Google were extremely vigilant about breaches of this sort, and gave me this LINK

The link  covers the reporting of  abuse of all kinds and is easy to use.  After following the instructions, an automated acknowledgement came back with the warning that it may take some time to investigate.  Heck, a few hours afterwards, I received an email saying that it had been dealt with and my content removed.  How's that for service, even if it may often take a bit longer!!!  I'd imagine that if there are more complaints, Google may close the site down, especially as it seems to be entirely comprised of other people's material and has no original value of its own.

So there we are.... many thanks for Roger's eagle eye, Mike's advice and swift action by Google.  We now know that if there's someone out there plagiarising or abusing others, there's something we can do about it!

Tankslappers, top boxes and the trembles

Excuse the alliteration in the title but it pretty much sums up an exchange of emails this week with my riding mates Dr Andy West and fellow Kiwi blogger extraordinaire Roger Fleming

Now please bear with me as it's a bit of a detective story!

It started with an email from Andy who in addition to his wicked Triumph Daytona 675, bought a BMW800 GS in more recent times. No embarrassment to Andy intended (he's an extremely accomplished rider by the way) and the full details won't be publicly disclosed but he dropped his Beemer following a massive tankslapper at open highway speeds on a public sealed road.  Fortunately, the outcome could have been a lot worse than it was, although I'm sure that he didn't see it that way at the time.

What's a tankslapper?
At this stage, a few riders might be unsure with respect to what a tankslapper actually is so I'll elaborate.

One definition (source: Triumph Rat Forum - Tbirdnz)
The “tankslapper” is a very frightening experience. Usually occurring when accelerating hard over bumpy pavement, a tankslapper ensues when the front tyre becomes airborne, then regains traction outside the rear tyre’s alignment. The resulting deflection bounces the tyre off to one side, followed by another bounce in the opposite direction as it contacts the pavement again. Unless the bike’s steering geometry is able to damp out the deflections quickly, the resulting oscillations from the front tyre as it bounces back and forth will swiftly gain in strength, causing the bars to swap from side to side with increasing ferocity. The oscillations can be violent enough to rip the bars out of your hands, and fling your feet off the pegs. You can guess what happens next.

Here's a video of a tankslapping nightmare, source You Tube:



Tankslappers/headshakes are at the extreme end of a set of conditions which upset the stability of a bike.  They can be felt as a gentle weave at the other end of the scale and more often than not, there's little or no warning.

From personal experience, I don't think that the definition above quite covers the whole set of circumstances as it can occur under under deceleration too but it's pretty comprehensive - especially in terms of the first sentence and the last but one!

My first major tankslapper was on the Honda Blackbird, accelerating hard past a car towing a boat and trailer. During the passing manoeuvre, I hit a patch of bare tar, the rear tyre broke traction and next second, a tankslapper had started.  I had both time and presence of mind to open the throttle right up and it straightened up.  It rattled me but was over so quickly that there was no soiled underwear!

The second one was far worse and at much lower speed.  Again on the Blackbird, I'd accelerated away from a crossroads, not particularly hard and was still in a low gear when the tankslapper occurred.  This time it was so violent that all I could do was hang on loosely and not try and fight it, which might well have saved me.  When it had finished its shakes, I pulled over and got a dose of the shakes myself!  It was a really close call and I had a huge welt on one leg from a foot coming off the peg and the inside of my leg smacking the frame. 

I never want a repeat of those experiences.  There is something which goes a long way to alleviating the problem and that's fitting a steering damper but let's do a bit more digging.....

Some further thoughts
Andy West's email has prompted a bit more musing.  Both incidents of mine occurred after I'd raised the rear ride height of the 'bird to quicken the steering.  It's pretty certain that a steeper or more sporting geometry raises the risk and is one significant reason why drag bikes have heavily raked steering.  The sharpened steering on the Blackbird may well have been one contributing factor and the fact that it's a heavy mother is another.  Once that mass starts swinging, it's like an oversized pendulum which is hard to stop.  As Andy's 800 GS has relatively conservative steering however, there might be other considerations too which predispose a bike to tankslappers or weaving at certain speeds and conditions.

It was another comment from Andy which caught my eye - he mentioned in passing that he had a top box fitted and he was riding solo.  Whilst I didn't have a top box hanging off the rear of the bike, I did have a high-mounted pack on both occasions - see picture below.

Blackbird with double pack

Whilst the Ventura zip-together pack shown above raises the centre of gravity and therefore lessens stability, it's saving grace is that it's reasonably aerodynamic and sits well forward.  Contrast this with the BMW below where the top box is both high and aft of the rear axle

Top box a long way aft

You don't need to be a physicist to appreciate that a load high up and well to the rear of the bike will shift the centre of effort aft (and upwards).  Now add the effect of wind pressure at speed on the top box and the dynamic centre of effort will move even further aft potentially causing stability problems.  Of course, the severity will heavily depend upon the type of bike you ride - suspension travel, level of wind deflection, weight distribution and so on plus the speed you're travelling at and maybe even wind direction.  Bikes ridden two-up appear to be less affected, probably due in part to mass centralisation and also shielding the top box from an unstable slipstream.

When I had my two incidents, I searched the international Blackbird internet forums and found quite a few cases of everything from an alarming weave through to a full tankslapper, almost always with top boxes being used.  Mentioning this to Roger yesterday, he was pretty certain that he'd seen similar reports for other bikes.  I've just jumped on the 'net to check for myself and yep, there are plenty of cases there for all manner of bikes!

So there you are.... if you didn't know about the potential for weaving or tankslappers before, particularly with top boxes; you do now and that's half the battle.  You also know that a steering damper will help enormously, at least in mitigating the more violent effects.  Let's hope you never have one as it's a truly terrifying and dangerous experience!!!

Addendum:
Regular readers will remember that it was an email from eminent motorcycle journalist David Hough that set me on the path to raise my riding skills with IAM and we've stayed in touch.  David's knowledge of motorcycling in general and safe riding in particular is legendary.  I floated the subject of tankslappers past him and as always, got a comprehensive and enlightening response.  Here's what David had to say:

Geoff,

Tankslappers are a reality. Dynamically speaking, the front end wants to balance itself (drag on the tire off-center steers the front wheel to the side--which countersteers itself back the other way, restoring balance) but outside forces can interfere. For example, if the tire loses traction momentarily and then regains traction, and the wheel isn't pointed exactly in the direction of the bike, tire traction attempts to steer back into a (more or less) straight line. But there's a risk the tire gains traction so quickly it over-centers, then reacts by steering back the other way, etc. etc. In time it should self correct, but a rider tends to panic and attempt to force the bars to settle down. Problem: the front end left-right frequency is typically faster than a human can respond to, and the rider imparts steering pressure in the wrong direction.

Momentary loss of traction (or reduction in traction) can also occur when the front suspension can't react quickly enough for a dip, bump, or groove. A painted line can be slippery in the rain. A dip can hold grease. A groove can momentarily steer the tire. Loose wheel bearings or swing arm bearings can encourage oscillation. The rider imparts a sudden steering input (say when recovering from a lane change) Wind drag on luggage or fairing can cause instability as turbulence pushes side-to-side. It's worth noting that the California Highway Patrol required special radio box mounts on their former Kawasaki bikes. The radio box (on the back of the machine) had sliders to allow it to move around laterally without imparting undesirable forces to the back of the bike. 

In the scenario of a rider passing another vehicle on wet pavement at speed, I'm not amazed a tank slapper occurred.

Attempts to hold the bars steady rarely do anything other than to accentuate the wobble. Changing speed can change the bike's reaction. For example, applying the rear brake, or rolling on the throttle can help. But the speed change needs to be quick, before the bars are oscillating at a frequency that makes it difficult to hold on.

DLH

Bike communications? Horses for courses!

A week or two back, fellow Kiwi blogger Roger mentioned that he'd bought a Sena SMH10 digital motorcycle communications system like mine and he hoped that I'd post a technical review based on my experience of the same unit.  This isn't a review of the Sena as such, more of a review of the thought processes to sort out what features you need for your particular type of use.  From research carried out before the purchase, it was clear that there are some great models on the market as well as some real clunkers.

As with most things, the decision on what to purchase very much depends on price and what you want to use it for. Consequently, there's no such thing as one best unit.  What I'll do is summarise my decision-making process and hope that if others are in the market for a comms set, it helps in deciding what's best for their particular needs.

Sena SMH 10 basic functionality

What might come as a surprise is that I personally don't like bike comms!  When Jennie used to be a regular passenger on my Beemer and Blackbird, some hints were dropped that it would be nice if we were able to chat en route.  These hints fell on stony ground as riding a bike is my "quiet time" - time to think about riding well, taking in the sights and smells and so on.  I don't want interruptions, particularly at critical moments.  I don't ride with an MP3 player, even though music is almost always on in the 4x4; if not Jennie's convertible.  There always seems to be enough going on to fill the senses on a ride without other distractions.  That's a purely personal decision and it's certainly not being critical of anyone who enjoys music on the move.  The same principle generally applies to phone calls - that's what voice mail is for so I'm not a slave to the bloody thing!!!  Different kettle of fish if you're expecting a vital business or personal call though.

Having set the background, we'll now get down to why I bought a comms system.  When I was an IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) Associate in training, two of the Examiners used identical old-fashioned comms systems to give me instructions, particularly what directions to take.  The business end of the system consisted of a coiled thin audio tube which carried the conversation directly to the ear via an MP3-type ear bud.  They were horrible things - the voice commands were indistinct to say the least and the tube, despite being looped over the top of my ear; gradually worked its way out of the ear canal.  Not good for stress levels when you're being tested!!! Now that the boot is on the other foot with me observing Associates, I wanted something which delivered high quality 2-way sound between 2 riders and equally importantly; it had to be simple to use whilst on the move.

Another IAM member has a Scala G4 set, which impressed the heck out of me in terms of clarity, features and being compact.  A comparison between the two was then undertaken, drawing up a matrix of the different features for comparative purposes.  Each of them have slightly different features but either would meet my "fitness for purpose" requirements admirably.  I'm not going into detailed comparisons here as anyone can easily do the same through the excellent You Tube comparisons and other internet sources.  However, the main personal selling point was the large "jog" dial shown in the photo below.

Single dial operation

The dial controls volume by turning or switching between different riders and/or mode by tapping it.  The size and simplicity makes it so easy to use, even with winter gloves.  Although the unit looks large in the photo above, it's extremely compact as shown in the photo below and there's no additional wind noise or turbulence with it fitted.

Sena SMH 10 on my Shoei helmet

The speakers have a backing which attach to the helmet lining material or if the ear space is unlined, a small strip of self-adhesive Velcro.

Speakers in ear space

The microphone is on a flexible stalk which can be bent to any position.  I have it slightly to the left of my mouth as shown in the photo below and it works perfectly.

Microphone position left of centre

There are several modes of operation but the one I prefer when interacting with a trainee is voice-activated (VOX).  Not having to remember to press a button is far less stressful for both parties!  An IAM check ride generally lasts for 2-3 hours which is way inside the claimed 10+ hours of operation on a fully charged unit in this mode.  I have no reason to disbelieve the claim.  Clarity of communication is simply amazing.  Sena claim that communication up to 1000 metres of separation is unaffected.  I haven't tested the ultimate range as I've completely lost the plot if the rider I'm assessing has got that far away from me!!  I have, however, noticed that communications degrades if the bikes are separated by a bend with a sheer cliff or other major obstruction.  This hasn't been a real issue to date as it normally only lasts for a few seconds.

The other feature I like is that it can be installed on a helmet and be ready for use in under 5 minutes - important if you're on the road and switching between students.

As stated earlier, there are lots of comms sets on the market, some good, some decidedly dodgy.  There's an equally wide range of prices too.  Units like the Sena, Scala and Baehr are without doubt at the top end.  Also as mentioned, each make has different features which fit different "fitness for purpose" requirements.  If you're in the market for a comms unit, I'd recommend that you carefully think about what features are likely to be important for your particular set of needs and then draw up a matrix where you can compare what the various brands offer.

I hope that this has been of interest....