2Wheeltips

When do I need to stop, is a voice that I hear,
It is a sound that comes from my inner ear;
I read the books, and classes I do take,
but will I stop before its to late;
I recognize the all the signs, I see,
but are they really there for me;
Is there such a thing as going too far,
especially when you are not driving a car;
What about two wheels that you are on,
can you go too far, where far becomes gone;
What is it that you are talking about,
because what you are writing is not clear, and I am out;
I don't have time to waste,
Just because you are typing up space;
You know we bikers do not call a car by its name,
The word we use is "cage", it is a biker's thang;
You make me wonder are you a real biker that ride,
or are you a wanna be, who is full of jive;
So as a reader, I have an answer for you,
I can tell you what you need to do;
Save up some money so you will not become poor,
don't try to sell your prose from door to door;
Buy yourself a bike to ride, and a safety class do take,
your writing is getting on my last nerve, give me a break;
Well Mr. Don't like what I write, tell me when do I stop,
In the background when you hear the sound of the 2wheeltips cop;
What is that sound, I must ask,
When Carol says to you, "your poems are a blast!"

When we throw our legs over a piece of steel,
things come out of our mouths at will;
just think of some of the things you have said,
during an after thought, you felt real scared;
You used your creator's name in vain,
because a cage wanted your lane;
You might tell yourself that you ride without fear,
when you look in the mirror, a fool you see my dear;
Riding a bike is no joke, nor is it play,
Just within a moment, could ruin your day;
You tell yourself, I am looking cool,
but riding without protective gear, makes you a fool;
Oh, I guess, I just put my foot in my mouth,
Just made someone mad and their feelings went south;
I must say this fool, I have been,
while riding with my hair in the wind;
Saying to myself all the time,
I know what I am doing is a biker's crime;
But each time I read or hear it said,
that if you don't wear a helmet you will be dead;
I feel like my freedom is being taken away,
I should be able to ride any kind da way;
I tell myself it is my right,
and for that, I am willing to fight;
I tell myself, full finger gloves, I do not need,
I have tough knuckles and they don't bleed;
You saw some thing and had some luck,
and than asked your self do I have a buck;
You stop for gas and open the lid,
and found out later, deeper as you dig;
No money, no credit, not even a dime,
my mind says steal it, but it is a crime;
Ride it like you stole it, is what they say,
but if I steal this gas, I will have to ride that way;
Do not pretend that you are an angel, without any sin,
I can see behind that sweet biker's grin;
So things on my mind, I must stop hiding;
I wanted you to know, what goes though my mind, when I am riding.

two wheel tips feels the same
a lot of crappy dealers are to blame

I took my vtx in for some lizards lights
they wired it wrong and my battery said "yikes!"

There was a constant power drain
The bike wouldn't start, what a royal pain

I figured it out and unhooked everything
my battery was happy and started to sing

The dealer said it's not their fault
Had to be something wrong with what I bought

I told them that I bought it from you.
They looked around and said "you bought it from who?"

I looked at them with a pout
They said it's closing time, so you have to get out

I took my bike to the shop the other day,
Asked them to fix my bike, they said, "OK!";
I left it with them and was feeling good,
Knowing my bike would be fixed as it should;
I received a call and they said it would be delayed,
That meant that my bike would be in there another day;
They promised me, they promised me, I took their word,
I know what they told me and I know what I heard;
I had this strange feeling in my gut,
I felt that my bike would go untouched;
I have heard of stories, where they said they would fix,
and take your money and you would be git;
Now I don't want to give two wheel tips a bad name,
with the reader thinking two wheel tips feels the same;
All of this is just coming from me,
If my bike could talk it would agree;
I had a trip to Americade planned,
Hotel reservation made in advanced;
If I did not make it on time,
I would lose my deposit and my mind;
Something happened to my bike while I was riding there,
The same old problems started again and I will share;
What makes me so sure in my mind,
I knew a mechanic that used to work there at one time;
He told me of shady practices and lies,
That is why now, I have opened my eyes;
What can you do when you can't do your own work,
and have to depend on a dealer who is a jerk;
I really don't like speaking like this,
Because all shops this is not their practice;
I said, I would share what it was, they didn't do,
To be honest, I don't have a certifed clue;
30,000 miles maintenance, is what I ask,
and fix the fairing that was shaking like a blast;
The radio was making strange noise and sounds,
After, I picked up my bike and rode around;
The bike didn't feel tight like it use to would,
It felt loose like something ratteling under the hood;
I know I can't prove legit;
I want to know, did they fix it!

I know I'm invisible when I ride on the road
I know you can't see me…or so I've been told
So I ride as if no one can see me at all
It's almost like building my own safety wall!
I watch what you do and adjust my own ride
As I cruise down the highways, my time I do bide
But I never get lax and assume you see me
'Cause accidents happen when I get lazy!
Attention is paid to all things that I pass
After checking things out, I give it some gas!
But as I take special care of myself on the road,
It's safer for all, as we all surely know!

Each one must decided how far to go,
long distance or around the corner to the store;
But if you are writing a poem for others to read,
then keep it short and you will have fullfilled their need;
Now days people have a short attention span,
and don't have time to do a quick scan;
What is that in the road that I didn't see,
a great big pot hole, looking at me;
Now do I sweal or countersteer,
do I drop her down into first gear;
Afraid to stare and target fix, I become,
and right into the pot hole, I will run;
Remembering my training from two wheel tips,
I will make the bike do a little dip;
Dip to the right and dip to the left,
do it all within a single breath;
I made it around the pot hole, just in time,
because countersteering came to my mind;
I must keep it short and I must go,
I was just taking a ride to the corner store.
Anything can happen even on a short ride,
That is why I prayasIride!

Well, we may still have a couple of decent months left in this years riding season before the weather turns ugly here in Iowa. Typically, come Thanksgiving, any good riding days left are few and far between. By mid December, “forget-about-it”!! Trust me, I’ll take advantage of every good day we’ve got left but I’m already planning and preparing for next season.

Having lived in the South for almost 15 years before moving back north, I must admit I am very envious of you Southerners who can ride 80 to 90 percent of the year. Here in Iowa, I had to come up with other ways to stay in touch with motorcycling thru those very long and dreary winter months. Here are some of things I do to stay connected when I can’t ride for our four plus months of winter:

• I do a very deep cleaning of my bike and detail it so it is pristine come spring. I remove all the side covers and try to clean out all those little nooks and crannies that dirt loves hide in. I give it a fresh coat of wax and polish all the chrome and aluminum wheels.
• I try to get my maintenance done if it’s relatively close to being due. The GoldWing I have was just serviced in July and won’t be due again until late spring early summer so that’s not going to work this year. The Kawasaki cruiser I had happen to need its scheduled maintenance at the end of the season. This worked out great because my local dealer would come over with an enclosed trailer, pick-up the bike, do the maintenance and any other work I wanted done, then deliver it back for only about $15 extra bucks. I love it because I didn’t have to worry about riding in crap weather to get the service done and they love it because this was their slow time and they were always looking for work during the off season. You Northerners might want to explore that kind of arrangement with the shop that services your bike. It minimizes loosing precious riding days to have your bike serviced during prime riding season.
• I have on hand or on order all the “stuff” I’m going to install on my bike in preparation for next season: (two DC power outlets, a fuse panel for accessories, a passenger volume control for the bikes intercom/audio system and some additional front marker lights). This gives me something to do when cabin fever begins setting in and allows me to become more intimate with my bike, in a “wrenching” sort of way. No snide comments please!!
• The big project I have planned this winter is to have my stock seat, which is not all that comfortable for a touring bike, completely redone and customized to fit me and my wife’s specific size and shape. I’m having this done by Russell Cycle Products in Shasta Lake, CA. We are calling this a Christmas present to our “butts”!! Ho Ho Ho!! This is going to take 3 to 4 weeks as I have to ship the stock seat to them and they completely redo it and send it back. I’m very excited about feeling the results of this investment and will let you know how it turns out.
• The other thing I like doing when I can’t ride in the winter is read. I enjoy re-reading all of my motorcycle riding skills books and I usually buy a couple to three new ones to keep things interesting and add to my collection. It keeps thinking about the sport so I don’t feel so rusty come spring and needing a refresher course to remember how to start the thing.
• The season's end is a perfect time to re-evaluate the type of riding you did and what you might want to do differently next season. For me, riding the same roads repeatedly gets monotonous. We continue to ride further and explore areas outside of our typical 150 mile radius from home. For us, the upgrade we made late last year from our cruiser to our touring bike worked out great. It could be that it works the other way where you get tired of taking the long trips and want to take shorter “joy rides” closer to home. In that case you might want to consider that your current bike may no longer be the best choice for the new style of riding you are planning and consider making a change in equipment. Doing this during the off season gives you plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the new bike and have everything ready to go come spring. My experience changing bikes at the end of the season has been very good. Dealers are anxious to get what they have on their floor gone and more than eager to make deals. Being the buyer you are in no hurry to purchase so you definitely have the time advantage working in your favor. In any event, spending time kicking tires on bikes and negotiating with sales people is a wonderful winter passtime for me even if I decide to maintain status quo.

That’s about it for my list. If anyone has any other ideas on what you do to get through the dreaded off season I’d love to hear them!! Oh, yes and I do drink quite a bit more to pass the time during the winter months but that’s probably not something I’d recommend and please don’t tell my Doctor!!

Can you write a poem?  Do you ride a bike?
Have you written a poem you think we might like?
Then post it right here on the 2wheeltips site
Let others enjoy your motorcycling insight!
We're anxious to read all that you've got to say,
By writing in prose, the alternative way!
Topics are endless, so give it a try
Put pen to paper…don't ask yourself "why?"
Poetry is fun when you read how it goes,
So upload your stuff to "Write Like Some Prose"!
PrayasIride has been writing a LOT!
I'm writing poems now to show him what I've got!
I'll write about trips and experiences I've had
About wonderful times and even the bad
So check the site often to see what is new
Read what we write and submit your prose, too!
Upload your poetry to "Write Like Some Prose"
Perhaps you'll become famous….hey, one never knows!!

PrayasIride wrote another great poem!
And just like his others, he drove his point home!
His comments regarding the BRC class...
Wondering to yourself, "Will I fail or pass?",
Made me think about when I took the BRC, too,
It wasn't something I was sure I could do…
But practice makes perfect, as it has been said
We need to learn focus and good habits embed
Instructors are great just to give us that start
But the rest is just practice and that is OUR part!!

DuPont has been an industry leader in promoting safety in the workplace and a company that truly “walks the talk” when it comes to safety. DuPont developed a safety management program called “STOP” (safety training observation program) that has been adopted by 100’s if not 1000’s of companies world wide due to it’s effectiveness in reducing/eliminating workplace injuries.

My Company has been using the "STOP" program for the last 7 years and we have found it so effective that it’s become the cornerstone of our safety program!! Not all of the components of the “STOP” program are transferable to motorcycle safety, but most are. I would like to share those with you and see if you might find them useful.

The key principle of the “STOP” program is the belief that all “incidents” are preventable. The word incident is used instead of “accident” to purposely avoid the perception that “accidents do happen no matter what”.

I personally believe that all accidents are preventable in the workplace and even in the home. I don’t, however, believe this is remotely possible on the roads due to the number of poorly trained, irresponsible, distracted, drunk and or reckless drivers that can cause an accident no matter how safe and cautious we might be. We can not control the other guy’s behavior and that will always be the “wild card”.

What “STOP” teaches is when preparing to do a job (and this can be any job: painting the house, woodworking, hanging Christmas lights, trimming shrubbery), you need to do five things first:

1. DECIDE: Decide to make safety the first priority when doing this job. This applies directly to motorcycling. Decide before getting on the bike that you will keep your safety and that of your passenger in the forefront of your mind during the entire ride.
2. STOP: Stop and take a moment to give your full attention to the entire job. Applying this to riding and our bike this would include what we’re going to wear, the weather conditions, where are we going to ride and the possible hazards associated with that route, what will we be carrying. This is the time to clear your mind and totally focus on the task of riding safely.
3. OBSERVE: Observe your bike and gear for possible unsafe conditions. This is when you would perform your T-CLOCKS and look over everything to insure its “good to go”.
4. THINK: As you think about what you just observed consider how your safety will be affected by using a questioning mind. Ask yourself things like: •
   1. What unexpected things could happen that I might not be prepared for?
   2. How could I be injured if the unexpected happens?
   3. My tires are fair but, if it rains, will they proivde sufficient traction?
   4. What other precautions could I take that would make this ride safer?
5. ACT:  Finally, act, applying good judgment to take whatever action is needed to eliminate both unsafe acts and unsafe conditions.

It’s that simple!! As I’ve said in previous articles, it’s all about attitude. 99% of this process is mental preparation and focusing on safety principles before you act or ride, in our case, and taking the time to ensure the safe condition of you, your bike and your gear.

These principles have a proven record of saving 100s of lives and preventing 1000s of injuries in the workplace. They work if you believe in them and use them. Of course, many don’t, and many will think this is all just too much bother. Unfortunately, that is why our Emergency Rooms do such a great business. You make the choice.
Ride safe, be safe, live long, and prosper.