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"Trip Sevens" Group Tour Departs On 9/1/2018
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  • "Trip Sevens" Group Tour Departs On 9/1/2018
Your Motorcycle Battery Lies About Voltage!

Greg TeiberApr 2, 2018Leave a Comment

Your Motorcycle Battery Lies About Voltage!

Every bike on the market today has a 12-volt battery buuut … that’s not really the truth. Its power isn’t fully charged unless somewhere in the area of 12.5 volts after its been off the charger for a few hours. Here’s where things get a bit funny.

You threw your battery on the charger Wednesday night and here you are Friday evening, beer-in-hand as you prepare to warm up the bike for an oil change. Before you pull the charger off, you check and find a charge of 12.3 volts. “Meh, it should be ok”.

I mean, it’s a 12-volt system anyway but when you disconnect the charger and turn over the motor, the starter barely cranks. You keep fighting. The engine sputters a little. Maybe it barks to life but the headlight is dim at idle. Now your bike won’t idle well and doesn’t want to keep running unless you rev the RPMs slightly high.

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Starved Rock Can Satisfy Your Appetite

Tom BurnsMar 26, 20182 Comments

Starved Rock Can Satisfy Your Appetite

One of the detriments to living in Chicago can also be a benefit. Aside from riding the beautiful Sheridan Road along the lakefront, you accept that an hour of slabbing the expressway is required to find good roads. Highways can replace expressways but then suburban congestion usually increases the time it takes to get to roads worth riding. Yes, this sucks … a waste of time that contributes to squared tires, etc. but it does have some benefits. Once you surrender to the hour in transit to better riding, there are upsides. One of which is the route to Starved Rock.

60 minutes is the average length of many podcasts. I often use this opportunity to catch up on my queue (really helps those expressway miles fly by). I’ll add that T.R.O. podcasts are very well suited for times like these. One benefit in having to travel an hour is that there are options. I don’t always have to go north to Wisconsin for a good day trip. Anyone who has spent time around Chicago knows the unpredictability of the weather. They’ll also note how a crappy day on the Northside could be a different story on the Southside.

My rides usually fall into 3 categories: day trips, weekends in the Driftless or prolonged road trips. I’ve ridden Driftless Wisconsin in a day but when I’m North, I prefer staying for a while. My day trips usually involve Kettle Moraine Wisconsin, taking I-94 an hour north to Kenosha or Bristol where I’m quickly awash in sweepers and sprawling scenery (prairies, farms, lakes and woods).

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The 2018 Honda CB1000R (IMS Chicago)

Travis BurlesonMar 12, 20181 Comment

The 2018 Honda CB1000R (IMS Chicago)

The 2018 Honda CB1000R originally debuted in November at EICMA. It immediately jumped to the top of my list of new bikes to see in person at this year’s Chicago Progressive International Motorcycle Show (IMS). I think a big part of my attraction to this bike, aside from its obvious aesthetic beauty, is that it really harkens back to its predecessor.

Regulars to this site will know that I used to own a 1994 Honda CB1000 “Big One”. This newest version of the CB1000 reignites that classic Honda naked bike styling that was dropped after the 919 Hornet in the late 2000s. Honda calls the styling “Neo Sports Cafe” and that really sums it up.

It has retro queues but a distinctly modern look. I think it’s better looking than the last iteration of the CB1000R, which had a more contemporary “Transformers” styling. By that, I mean it came complete with a headlight that resembled a gas mask (though I thought that CB was more handsome than some of its “spike” styled rivals).

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Motorcycle Sharing: Rent A Bike Near You

Margaret DeanFeb 28, 2018Leave a Comment

Motorcycle Sharing: Rent A Bike Near You

My husband Robin is excited about his new flagship motorcycle, a BMW R1200RS for 2018’s riding season. He’s also pre-mourning the eventual goodbye to a longtime love, his Suzuki Bandit 1200. Celebrating the Beemer feels like a betrayal to the (ready to rent) Bandit, who has taken him 55,000 miles through twenty-three states over five years.

She’s been maintained, upgraded, repaired, updated, enhanced … in a word: loved.

Robin doesn’t want to sell her but as many riders understand, multiple bikes results in more maintenance and less time. Whether the motorcycle runs or is a project, you can only ride one at a time and no matter how much you treasure each bike, you tend to ride one more than most.

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Sweepers Galore On Missouri 34

Robin DeanFeb 13, 2018Leave a Comment

Sweepers Galore On Missouri 34

A lot of great Missouri motorcycle rides connect with eachother just south of Farmington. Clearwater Conservation Area offers one unanimous favorite: Missouri SR-34. This thoroughfare flashes an insignia all the way from Garwood to Jackson in a most elegant sport touring manner.

The section of road between SR-21 and Piedmont is our focus. This constantly sweeping stretch of extra smooth tarmac is a core ingredient to our (methodically under-promoted) annual rally. Efforts to develop new loops in the region often include a go at this grippy, lean-friendly riding route.

It’s a defining outlet for riders whereby contractual handshakes between our tires and the pavement arrive in signwave form (satellite). Skill sets can quickly become overdrawn in these parts. Here I am up ahead on my Bandit, footage courtesy of Rodney Foster and his Sprint ST …

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Quick-Tow Gear For Locally Stranded Bikes

Robin DeanFeb 6, 2018Tow-Ster Leave a Comment

Quick-Tow Gear For Locally Stranded Bikes

Full disclosure, whenever I see a big ride on my calendar that’s more than five hours away, I prepare our three-chock trailer to do its duty. Illinois being mostly flat, it’s an easy way to dodge unnecessary miles on the odometer while packing a few otherwise scaled down favorites. Better tools, camping gear, maybe a guitar shaped inflatable pool … whatever the item, placing it safely and securely in our tow vehicle before hauling our prize ride(s) is nothing if not convenient.

But what about when we’re ’round townin’ it? Those days when our “runs well but nowhere near tour-ready” machine induces a grin, beckoning us to bake its engine to a dry cook via ten miles of moderate but entertaining speeds? In a polar winter or equatorial blaze, any chance of such a joyride stranding us could trigger panic attacks. Remember, though that we’re motorcyclists. If any one of my friends (or enemies) called me on the phone with chattering teeth asking for their bike to be rescued from the roadside, I’d remove every one of my flock from the garage, roll out my pull-behind and ask them where I was headed … if this were my only trailer.

The smallest of the bunch, front-wheel tow chocks are an easy stow even in the tiniest of trunks. While that hot hatch or all wheel drive crossover likely stipulates a warranty violation for anything heavier than two bicycles, others have certainly gotten away with more. In a pinch, these plug-in receiver tools have proven useful in getting bikes back to that cozy garage (or ditch, whatever).

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I Bought A Junk Moped (And So Should You)

Travis BurlesonFeb 4, 2018Leave a Comment

I Bought A Junk Moped (And So Should You)

Thanks to an illness last spring that left me with impaired balance and medical bills to pay (dig back to our May, 2017 podcast to learn more), I opted to thin the herd and get a new bike. My 1994 Honda CB1000 “Big One” was just too fast and too heavy for me to deal with while under the influence of an ongoing balance issue. Similarly, my lack of stability made riding off-road difficult, so away went the DRZ400 also. The NC700X wasn’t only an incredible deal, its low center of gravity and usable but controllable power made it a perfect bike for me. However, this left me with a problem. The service intervals for this modern honda are 8,000 miles apart … and it’s brand new.

What am I going to do over the winter?

That question sent me to craigslist with a $300 max budget looking for something to keep me occupied during the frozen months. I inquired about some old Suzuki GS’s from the 70’s but never heard back from the seller. There was a Honda CB750 SuperSport that looked good but was immediately gone. Then I started thinking about a moped. A cool old Puch, Suzuki FA50 or Honda Hobbit would be cheap and good for running to the store or whatever is local. I could take it camping or use it as transport in a track paddock. After some time I found a ’78 JC Penney Pinto 2.

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ASUS C100P: A Perfect Ride Along Laptop

Robin DeanFeb 1, 2018Leave a Comment

ASUS C100P: A Perfect Ride Along Laptop

Before writing for this website, I’ll sometimes race off to a remote location in an effort to become more inspired. Ten miles of twisties might become twenty, then forty, eighty, maybe a full ton of warm-up curve carving to get my head goin’. The result is always the same: fatigued in some indie cafe, an espresso drink in my hand, surfing social media while paying bills.

Why did I come here again? Eh, whatever.

A laptop can prove pretty handy while on any motorcycle trip but good tech doesn’t come cheap … or does it? There are various deal promotions on the web listing the “best laptops under 500” among others. I say that’s still too much money for something I’ll regularly overhand into my hard luggage before shaking it rigorously for as many as three hundred miles per day, occasionally punctuated with an assault on Deals Gap.

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Tips To Ready Your Bike For (Sniff) Sale

Robin DeanJan 29, 2018Leave a Comment

Tips To Ready Your Bike For (Sniff) Sale

A few weeks ago, I took a big plunge. Against all (often outsourced) logic, I financed a pre-owned but brand new BMW R1200RS. With barely 560 miles on ‘er, she’s fully equipped with luxurious features, each installed at the previous owner’s expense to shape a deal I just couldn’t refuse.

My intention to obtain this elegant beast was discussed at length in our house. Both excitement and compromise were expressed between both my wife and myself until a plan was clear. Sadly, our beloved Bandit 1200, which inspired the launch of this website, would need to be sold.

Readying the bike for sale, a few interesting details stood out … about me …

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Rylo Action Cam: Stable Footage, 360° View

Robin DeanJan 25, 2018Leave a Comment

Rylo Action Cam: Stable Footage, 360° View

In the action camera realm, almighty king GoPro sees little if any competition outside of lower priced, lesser quality “meh, whatever” almost disposables. A while back, the VSN Mobile caught our attention for its best-in-class 360° capabilities. New top shelf cameras on the market rarely make the cut for review because they either don’t offer anything innovative, “introduce” already standardized features or whisper larger dimensions … all with a less established reputation.

It’s hard to get new tech onto the battlefield and even harder to find a fair fight worth picking.

Of all the cams that may (or may not have) flown by in our social media feed, the Rylo stood out in a big way. Its shape and overall technological concept immediately made sense even through a five-second internet ad. That alone speaks to why we’ve decided to give it the focus it deserves.

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Recent Posts

  • Your Motorcycle Battery Lies About Voltage!
  • Starved Rock Can Satisfy Your Appetite
  • The 2018 Honda CB1000R (IMS Chicago)
  • Motorcycle Sharing: Rent A Bike Near You
  • Sweepers Galore On Missouri 34
  • Quick-Tow Gear For Locally Stranded Bikes
  • I Bought A Junk Moped (And So Should You)
  • ASUS C100P: A Perfect Ride Along Laptop
  • Tips To Ready Your Bike For (Sniff) Sale
  • Rylo Action Cam: Stable Footage, 360° View

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