2Wheeltips

One of the reasons we all love to ride our bikes is so that we can lay into those curves and feel the heart pumping. Even if you like to take it nice and slow while riding, a situation may present itself where you will need to make a split-second decision. So let me ask you a question:

Are you accustomed to making decisions while your heart-rate is elevated?

I know we can all be great decision makers when we have ample time to think about our options, but how are you under pressure? What kind of decision-maker are you when your heart is going boom boom boom out of your chest?

To be a great decision-maker while your heart-rate is elevated you must train under such conditions. How? Glad you asked…

All you have to do is speed-up that inner-metronome every once in a while. Go for a bicycle ride with your dog; maybe some tennis with whoever rides on the back-seat of your motorcycle; don’t forget that humans are made to run, so put on those moccasins and get out there; try my personal favorite, mixed martial arts…whatever gets your ticker in the upper register.

I wish I could say that I am some kind of genius who has figured this out all on his own; alas, that’s not the case. Those guys who make motorcycle-riding their profession figured this out a long time ago.

Of course, there will be a few other beneficial “side-effects” from all this heart-pounding. Being in better shape will allow you to ride longer if need be and will improve your overall health…it’s what I call a win-win-win.

All this talk of running, tennis and so on makes me wonder…what type of other hobbies do 2wheeltipsters like to do? What is your favorite non-bike related activity? And please don’t say “watching golf”.

I figure it is time to let everyone know about the David Hough (pronounced "Huff") interview.  David is the author of Proficient Motorcycling and More Proficient Motorcycling; the best selling motorcycle books of all time and a must read for every new rider. (both books are available in the 2wheeltips MarketPlace in the recommended reading section)

I'm sitting here reviewing the video now and I must say......I am just as impressed as I was 2 days ago. The interview lasted close to 2 hours!!  It was an amazing interview and we are all still.....totally speechless!!! We thought we knew a thing or two about motorcycling......that was until we got him talking. Not only is he full of knowledge, he doesn't have a problem sharing and he is genuinely  a very nice person.

I will try to clip a section or two from the interview to post here later tonight or tomorrow. The good thing is we will have a chance to work with him more in the future. Stay tuned.....

Earlier this week I spent over an hour attempting to remove the battery from the battery box under the seat. I could not get the battery to budge because I was not able get a good grip on it. I thought maybe some water had gotten in the battery box and froze causing the battery to stick.  I called Mr TwoWheelTips and he suggested that I attach zip ties to the battery terminals to pull the battery up. Well it worked. The battery came out very easily and I was able to replace the battery within 5 minutes. Thanks again Two Wheel Tips.

…so I just finished watching an episode of Super Bikes on the Speed channel. If you’ve seen a cool bike-stunt in a movie (Torque, Biker Boyz…) chances are it was performed by the host of Super Bikes Mr. Jason Britton.

Well let me just say that those guys are just irresponsible and frankly I can’t believe someone would show such …oh who am I kidding…that was some cool ass shit.

Now I know most of you will say that wheelies have no place in motorcycle safety, but let’s take another look.

What does it take to become someone who can ride his bike on the front wheel, back wheel, no wheel, whatever…?

It takes a lot of practice for one.

For another, stunt-riding is all about getting outside of your comfort zone and teetering on the brink of falling as a “normal” thing. It sounds like these skills are directly applicable to accident-avoidance, right?

…or maybe I’m dead-wrong on this one…what do you think?

The weather here in NJ got above 40 degrees a couple weeks ago and I took the bike out. I disconnected the battery tender and the bike started right up. I did a quick pre-ride inspection and hit the road. Everything was fine until I stopped at the store and the bike would not start. I was parked on a slight incline and decided to push start the bike by rolling down the incline and popping the clutch. After 3-4 failed attempts, and an aching back from pushing the 500+ pound bike up the incline multiple times, I called my friend Tony (Mr TwoWheelTips) to see if he could help me. He came over to help and the first thing he asked was "What gear were you using?"  I told him that I had read somewhere about using second gear. He smiled and said that the engine would turn over faster and easier if I used first gear.  I thought about it and it made a lot of sense.  The bike  started right away on the first attempt in first gear. We went for a short ride and stopped to buy gas and of course the bike did not start. Fortunately I was able to roll the bike on flat ground (by myself) and start the bike in first gear.  I ended up replacing my six year old battery because it would not hold a charge. Thanks again Two Wheel Tips.
Oh yeah, thanks for the tip on removing the battery out of the battery box.

As some of you know, I've only been riding since September '09. I got my first (and only!) bike at that time, and she (yet unnamed) and I have had some learning experiences.
I went on my first long trip on the bike to a nearby town/suburb of Parker, CO to meet some classmates for a community service project. I got  directions, and looked it up on Google maps, then realized my "little jaunt" was going to be about 15 miles. Yikes! But it was a warm (60's) sunny day in Colorado, and I just couldn't resist! So, my first thought was - how am I going to be able to look at directions while I'm riding? I already had turn-by-turn directions written down on a sticky note, so I thought "why not just stick it onto the tank"?  I put the sticky note on there are thought about what tape to use...scotch tape? heck no... Masking tape? yick... I know - Blue painter's tape! Wow, I'm going to look soooo hawt with this yellow note stuck onto my tank with blue tape! woohoo!! With that decided, I set off on my nerdy newbie way, with my brand-new armored kevlar jeans and a bright yellow refective vest over my armored jacket. Yes, I was a circus on wheels, but I was a highly visible circus!!
I had a wonderful ride, played with some traffic that didn't behave too badly ( I think they were scared of my vest :P ). I actually got up to 55 mph on a long lovely stretch of road on the way there, and got used to getting the bike into 4th gear :))
I did get lost, but I pulled off into a parking lost, pulled out my phone and put it on speaker, and without taking off my helmet, got directions, hung up and got back on the road.
Found the house, had a little trouble parking on a street without any curbs and no room left in front of the house, but managed angling it in. My bike got admired, and one of my friends that was there (who has been riding for years) gave me some advice about the LED red and amber license plate that I want to put on the bike, then we got to work on our project.
On the way home, I am feeling more confident about at least being able to find my own house again! It's mid afternoon, and the sun is just beautiful! I actually get some "motorcycle waves" exchanged on the road this time, and I'm so excited! I'm recognised as a motorcyclist! (well, it's either that or "look at that newb doofus"!)
On that long lovely stretch of road that goes 55 mph, I all of a sudden  learn what a cross-wind feels like. Now, I'm always amazed that no-one talks about how similar motorcyling and bicycling are to each other - from my years and years of battling crosswinds on my bicycles, I automatically lean the bike into the wind and keep on going. Easy as pie, although I did get startled at first - the crosswinds are a bit stronger at 55 mph rather than 15 mph :)
I get home after seeing a little heaver early rush hour traffic - but they were still scared of my vest, and treated me well. :)
For my next adventure, my husband and I go shopping for his motorcycle, and I get to put my winter gear to the test riding it home!

We are doing an interview on David Hough next week and decided to post a link to one of his most recent articles.
http://www.bmwmoa.org/news/general_interest/david_l_hough_an_unlikely_hero

Dino mentioned that SuperTinTin is great snap-in software for Skype if you are running Windows.  But, if you are running Mac OS, then what?  Well, Ecamm to the rescue!  They have a piece of software called Call Recorder and it works on the Mac!  Since some of us at 2wheeltips work off of Macs, Ecamm is being kind enough to also help us out by letting us use the Call Recorder software in some of our interviews!  Thank you, Ecamm!  As they state on their website, the Call Recorder software is "an easy way to record Skype calls and podcast interviews. Call Recorder is an add-on for Skype which automatically transforms your audio or video calls into QuickTime movies."  So, come visit us to watch our interviews and if you decide to get Call Recorder for your Mac, let Ecamm know that you heard about it on 2wheeltips.com!

I would like to thank SuperTinTin (a Skype snap-in) for sponsoring our Interview with the Experts series on Windows platform.

SuperTinTin is the best audio/video recording software on the market for recording audio/video conference by capturing original media data while making sure there is no signal loss.

Because it is not a screen-capture recorder, video quality is not affected at all if you open, close, resize messenger windows while recording.

SuperTinTin will allow us to share our interviews with the members of 2wheeltips.com

You can visit SuperTinTin at http://www.supertintin.com/

Thanks SuperTinTin :-)

by Dino Dogan

If you walk down the aisle at your local amazon.com you might see an attractive book cover with a motorcycle casually leaning on its kick-stand in front of its house; i.e. garage. The book is Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford.

Personally I don’t rate books on a 5 point scale –all amazon like- instead I prefer to think of them in terms of worth-reading or not-worth-reading and this one falls deep into the worth-reading pile.

You will learn as much about your motorcycle as you will learn about yourself when this book takes an M. Night Shyamalan turn into the modern-corporate-dweller psyche.

Masterfully done, tremendously put together and brilliantly illuminating. A must read for all.

Dino Out