New Location, New Perspective

I've had a few changes in my life recently, one of the major ones is the location in which I live. No longer am I an hour away from twisty roads, instead I'm minutes away. Now, with this new location comes something else......Snow!

Having lived in the Valley of the Sun for the last 13 years I had gotten used to riding just about whenever I waned to, heck even bad weather there wasn't that bad. Of course the summer's are a bit exhausting and while you can ride year round, most don't.

My new locale is Show Low, which is located about 3 hours North and East of the Valley, it sits at the North entrance of Salt River Canyon, has the North Side of 260 on one side and the North end of the 191 (The Coronado Trail or Devil's Highway) on the other. So despite some down time the riding location is superb. As I continue to settle in and get my life here in some sort of flow I'll be writing about the differences from Valley riding and how a new perspective affects my riding.

The first thing that I'll mention about higher elevation and cooler weather is that my Jacket choice is a lot better. It is great to be able to be comfortable in leather and not sweating like crazy when stopped or standing still. Additionally it is great to not have to deal with scalding heat at a red light or stopped in traffic (not that the traffic up North is anything like the Valley.)

I look forward to the spring and meeting up with folks traveling through Show Low, it is sure to be a brand new way to connect with other riders, hear different stories and with my new job I'll be able to tell those stories in a more interactive way.

So, I'm glad to be back on the Blog and look for more from me soon!

Till then, Ride Safe and never forget to Have Fun!

I Understand Risk, I Don't Understand Delusion. (Or do I?) (Part 5 of 5)

OK, the previous posts have been about understanding how others can have a different level of risk assessment than I might and I've come a long way to accepting that they are allowed to do that and it will not hurt me or any website I might operate. I also will defend my opinion that I can talk safety, provide good examples and not have to fight every person that does not adhere to what I think.

I recently met a group of individuals that are so militant in their safety beliefs that they categorize any advanced training or event including Total Control and Trackdays as irresponsible. They say this because they believe that these things only encourage riders to ride above and beyond what is legal on the roadway. I can only assume that they ride in a manner that obeys every written law, and I'll even accept that as possible. But, I get lost in their understanding of how advanced understanding directly means that a person will automatically use that understanding or skill inappropriately.

I can imagine this as a misguided approach of saving people from themselves and have even fallen into the trap of thinking I could help people avoid pain by trying to change their behavior, but never did I think someone would think learning how to better ride a bike would be bad, let alone trying to stop the process all together.

As I said recently I met a group, well specifically I interacted with an individual who slammed the Ten Step To Proper Cornering as presented in the Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic by Lee Parks. His misunderstanding of the 10 Steps are what he first started to slam, but once corrected on the actual step he stepped further back in his defense and eventually it became clear he was simply against any training of the sort.

Of course this was all based upon what he believed the training or curriculum was about, not from any real attempt to understand any of it at all. In fact he has never cracked Lee's book open, nor did he take advantage of actually sitting through the Clinic (which he was offered, for free.) To be clear, he didn't even sit in the classroom segment, nor did he ride. So, in the end of my interaction with this gentleman I decided it is impossible to respect a negative opinion, when the person doesn't even bother to understand what they are critical of in the first place.

In the end, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and as such it is my opinion that people who ride with our regard to others are rude and those who simply throw stones at things they clearly have spent no time to understand are sad.

While both being rude and sad in my above statement come from the lack of understanding, I am a lot more tolerant of rude, unless it becomes obvious that they do not want to understand, versus those I define as sad. Because the sad folks refuse to understand and ultimately must really be missing the point of riding a motorcycle.

In my mind, when riding is 100% safe, it is boring.

I can't imagine anything worse than riding without any thrill, just using a motorcycle for simple....boring transportation. I know that some have a motorcycle as their only choice and may choose to ride a lot safer, that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about riding a motorcycle and missing the whole point of riding a motorcycle!

So, the next time you go on a ride, take a deep breath and soak in the reality that what you do is dangerous. Then seek comfort in your ability to understand risk, manage it and be truly in control. Because a life without risk, at least in my mind, just simply isn't worth living!

Follow Birdman on Twitter

Hmm, this should have been an obvious connection some time ago??

Well, thanks to technology and the ability to rss feed to Twitter you can now follow The Birdman Blog and the occasional Tweet os Twitter by following Birdman_H54.

URL is here - http://twitter.com/Birdman_H54

See ya soon!

The Best from SEMA 2008

Back in 1999 a friend introduced me to Kevin Beard and told me about his new company called Piloti. I of course would be yet another to help correct people's pronunciation of the company's name for well into the future.

While the name may confuse some, once you wear a pair of these shoes you are certain to become a fan. In fact I have worn them on the show floor of SEMA and CES since 1999 because due to their design they are the most comfortable shoes I own.

I wear my various styles of Piloti's everywhere, well everywhere except riding because Piloti has never had motorcycle boots.

Since 2003 I've asked Kevin every year when he would be making motorcycle boots and finally last year he said. "Well we have been getting a lot of requests for a boot that could be worn while riding and would be good to then wear all day at work, so we will see."

This year as I walked up to the booth Kevin was talking with Bob Bondurant, so I spoke with Kristin Z who pointed me to the new Moto Boots. Once Kevin was done with Bob he turned to me immediately and said "Did you see!" to which I smiled and golf clapped.

So, the best thing this year from SEMA is the introduction of the new Piloti Motorcycle Boots which should be available in January of 2009.

I'll post up all the in depth details about these boots soon, but for now drool over the styles shown including a Ducati Red! (I call them Honda Red.)

See the Photo Gallery - Click Here!

Don't Flinch

It is advice my father gave to me when I first was learning to drive. It was in reference to dealing with a bad situation such as hydroplaning and driving onto ice and it has become the one constant in understanding any high stress situation for me regarding just about anything but primarily driving and riding.

In a hydroplane situation you typically don't want to do anything, every high performance instructor I've ever had has always said to maintain inputs and wait the slide out. Any seemingly minor change of input will lead to a drastic change as the vehicle regains traction and it never ends well.

The same is true for a motorcycle, but the rules apply to a lot more than just major situation. Any drastic change of input can obviously result in a crash on a bike, but minor changes or the act of doing nothing on a motorcycle usually is what leads to a crash.

Over the years I have seen a lot of crashes and quite a few on motorcycles. Of all of those 3 motorcycle crashes have occurred directly in front of me and all 3 had a similar sequence of events that lead to the crash. In the last few seconds all 3 of these riders simply stopped riding. (One even put his arms into the air directly above his head.) All 3 could have simply stopped or looked through the turn and would have been fine, but they flinched in their mind and gave up.

I once took a bike down a trail only to find the road disappeared ahead into a 6 foot drop. I leaned back and gave a little gas and landed hard. I mentally had to say "Oh crap I am still going" and got on the gas or I would have fell over and crashed!!

I didn't only because I didn't give up.

On Sunday I met up with a group of guys to help support a triathlon by carrying judges on the back of our bikes. We arrived on time but the organization of the event was not exactly as we were expecting and the rider who was to show us the course gave a hurried description and then said to follow him.

He popped on his sportbike (with sneakers :( ) and jumped onto the course. Here is where me in a hurry, put myself into a very bad situation. I started out of the parking lot, he went straight onto the street and flopped right. I decided to round the corner a bit and then understood the reason he did what he did was that he was too close to the rise of the curb. I had a split second to decide and had to much forward motion to turn hard right onto the sidewalk, so I straightened and gave my bike some gas. The amount of gas I gave the bike saved me, as if I would have done nothing the oil pan would have cause the rear to lever and I would have fallen off the bike.

As you see above the concrete shaved a little off the pan, but not overreacting meant I continued on with the day and no one was the wiser.

Well, in reality I am better for sure. Never again will I be pushed to keep up with someone that didn't plan things properly. If not I know I will pay the price personally. It is in my control to do things the proper way and I should have done better!

On the positive side the guys that volunteered for the event had a blast, were highly professional and were rewarded in the end!

Thanks for a great day and I can't wait for the next one!!

Well, would you look at That?!?

Yes, that is a VRod and yes, that is my garage.......



But, nope....not mine! ;)

It is actually forum member Ricky's and today Ricky, Rix-ster, James K and I tore into his bike.

We increased the rear tire size with a swing arm swap, upgraded the wheels with custom chrome ones and did a few other things. It was a full day of fun, kidding around and having fun all while working on a motorcycle.

I'll let Ricky tell you all the modification we did on his bike today and you can find photos of our fun - Click here!

Mixing It Up

I am always looking for and easy and fast way to be able to work with the electronics on my bike and mixing audio has always been something that has held things up.

In the past if I wanted to use two audio source such as a radar detector and an iPod I needed to use and off board mixer or an Autocomm type system. Both added a lot of bulk or cable and kept me from using a radar detector and another audio source together for a long while.

I recently found the Belkin RockStar and it looks as if it will be filling a need!

Check out the thread ( click here ) on South West Rides to find out more, ask questions or see how the testing of this new find progresses.

Martin's View

I've always held the belief that regardless of the brand of bike or style of rider, all riders are cool and I respect at a basic level all of them equally. Now, some excel in the area of riding and others are on a bike to enjoy the many things on the road that I do, such as the sites and smells.

Martin, who can be found online as MBonadio has always been a leisure rider and a really great guy. OK, then there is the fact that for a while he seemed to trade for a new bike every 6 months. Anyway, Martin just recently went on a 3-day trip to the Grand Canyon. He took his time, enjoyed the ride and then came back and shared his adventure in a way that many do, by posting pictures. You can find his report here - Click!

But, today Martin posted probably one of the best reports of a trip I've ever seen. You probably already watched it because it was posted at the top. I've seen a gazillion ride video's some really good and some really bad, but this representation of a ride really strikes a chord with me and makes me smile.

Thanks for sharing Martin, and please don't stop making videos!

To comment on this video - Click here.

A Brand New Look!

Well, it is evolving, but the front page of South West Rides has been replaced with a more interactive and informative one.

If you are a member you'll notice some personalized touches including your avatar and buddy list right off the start. New Rides and Events that were posted with RSVP's are listed at top and down in the middle you will find all of the Scheduled, Requested and Listed Motorcycle Events.

Add your zip code to your profile and you'll see weather displayed, not to mention a much better weather.com interface.

Look for more tweaks to this interface and if you have suggestion drop a note in the Forum Operation Questions section.

Zooooom

Sometimes you can do the coolest motorcycle things, without motorcycles!

Here James shows that getting squirrely is fun.

It Gets No Better

We had our first "Coin Ride" for Southwest Rides today and I don't think it could have been better.

Lots of fun and 20 riders, I even gave away 7 more coins to members of the Rim Rider's BMW group.

The weather is perfect this time of year and the bugs are starting to show, but there are not that many.

The next few weeks show see even more people getting a coin, and hopefully they will be reminded to Ride Safe - Ride Smart

Time for some tune up rides.

Well, the weather is now perfect for the nice just under 400-mile day rides in Arizona.

Today was an awesome ride for me. I started in East Mesa and rode to Tonopah, AZ to meet up with about 12 riders. We took a quick trip to Wickenburg, AZ to meet a few more.

From there we looped Northern Arizona, including the fun 260 and up to snow in the upper sections of AZ87.

Temps for the day ranged from 46 to 72... as I said, perfection!

For more photos - Click here.

Watch Out Hollywood!

Here I come!

Ha ha, OK maybe not, but give me some time and you never know, right?



I've fussed with several different types of video systems and couldn't really find what I was looking for. I got a very pricey digital camcorder for Christmas a few years ago, but it was about impossible to use with my Mac. Then I tried a remote lipstick type camera with a digital recorder and it was OK, but the camera I got was a rearview camera and I had to flip everything to look right.

Then I go a GoPro Hero camera, but it didn't really hit the mark for me, although it is a really cool camera.

Then, out of the blue, a refurbished Canon MiniDV camera was posted up on Engadget for $139 and I grabbed it up. Right off the bat this much easier to deal with and I think this is going to work.

Local Racing is Cool!

My wife and I headed out to Firebird Raceway to see the first race of the year officially sponsored by South West Rides.

Not only was it a lot of fun, I was so into it I forgot to take a photo!

But, photo or not I thought I would at least post up and say that I had a great time and it was an awesome day.

I wanted to do a few other things today so I was not able to stay for all the races, but the time there was pretty cool. I almost can't wait until the next session.

In the morning I will need to go get some new oil for the ST1300 as I thought it was low and overfilled her today. Oh well, the trip was short and it wasn't too much over. I'll post up my procedure tomorrow.

It Was A Good Day

Actually it was an awesome day to ride. It all started out when Tom a guy from Michigan that I met via ST-Owners.com called me up and asked if he could stop by so that I could look at his bike. He had brought it here to Arizona in the back of his pickup and wrapped in shrink-wrap.

Well, the shrink wrap had rubbed his paint and even worn through in a couple places, but all in all not that bad.

We decided to run down to Tortilla Flat on AZ88 (Canyon Lake Road) probably my favorite ride.



When we got to the town of Tortilla Flat it was packed, so I decided to show him the South West Rides secret which is the Canyon Lake Restaurant and Cantina. It of course offer good service and excellent food!

I have to say that the road is still not in really good condition, hopefully it will clear up soon, or I might have to start a drive to get it paved.

Back On The Road

After being sick for two weeks and dropping this very bike in my garage last week, I made a nice (at points) 300 mile trip today!

I say nice at points because the trip involved a lot of stop and go spots at times. When I hit Wickenburg, AZ I came to a complete stop about 6 miles from where I needed to be. It took me a good 45 minutes to get to my destination, but it worked out in the end and the people I was to meet actually waited for me, aren't riders cool!

From there is was a nice ride up Yarnell Hill and then through the White Spars to Prescott, AZ.

I had lunch with the crew and then needed to scoot home. Or course I was not planning on a 80 mile detour, but thanks to traffic again I had to find my way around the top of Phoenix, AZ to get home.

I made it in time to shower and head out with my wife for dinner with friends. It was a great day!!

Some Tuning Love

If you decide to step outside of a stock setup in the realm of horsepower creation, a custom fuel map will be something that you'll be needing.


I stopped by Euro Motorsports today to check out their new Dyno setup and found something a little better than the cookie cutter Dynojet approach.

First off all you'll notice the mondo fan in the front. That is actually one of the dryer fans you might find at a car wash. I was informed that sportbikes with this thing don't get above 180 degrees when tuning, which is killer if you ask me.

Second, you'll notice that the computer and monitors all have custom mounts which work well to help make tuning easier.

Finally, you might notice that the window is against a wall. Kind of odd, since you can't see in there, right? Well, that is solved by the fact that in the front of the store you can find a big screen and linked monitor that shows an even better view than you would see through a window.



Add Mark Ledesma to the mix and you might not find a better place to get a bike tuned...

For more photos, check out the gallery. Click here!

Heated Grips

Today we had another tech day at my garage and it was centered around heated grips.

Dean from the South West Rides website was on hand and personally helped install about 5 sets of grips. I think a total of 8 got installed and several more folks bought a setbto install later.

It was fun times for all, motorcycle talk and plenty off cool bikes on hand. I don't think it could have been a nicer day. Much better than
hanging out at pre-Super Bowl parties anyway!

I Hate Tests!

I've lived in Arizona for over 10 years now and only had 2 vehicles ( including 1 today) tested for emissions. I've actually sold vehicles to avaoid the test I think, mostly because I don't like other people I don't know banging my vehicles through gears on a Dyno...

While it shouldn't be a big deal you could tell there was serious
stress from people at the testing location. Oh, that and the fact that the scrubs doing the testing act as if they are holding your life in their hands.

No big deal, my ST passed with flying colors and I got the
"Congratulations" letter. Too funny in my mind that they pat you on the back for test you can't study for and that you can't realistically pre-test.

With a little running around I got all the stuff for the Grip Day
tomorrow. So stay tuned for excitement.

Yummy New Rubber

Nothing gets a rider as excited as new rubber, well I'm sticking with that thought anyways!

Today I stopped by the Kawasaki Superstore to get new rubber put on my Uly's wheels. It just took a little while to say goodbye to $300 but hey, you can't take it with you right?

I got back home and put the wheels back on and fixed a few little things and voila' she is back to new.

I've recovered from illness, the rain is gone, so tomorrow I might just have to tackle.....Emissions Testing!!!!