Listen in as we discuss the Kawasaki W650, trip planning software and riding the beautiful Cherohala Skyway.
Alternates: Feed | Google | iTunes | MP3 | Spotify | Stitcher ~ Music by Music by Otis McDonald
This episode of The Riding Obsession podcast is brought to you by Ugly Apple Cafe of Madison, Wisconsin where they use local overstock produce to offer a quick, tasty breakfast and also Riding Solutions, helping people become motorcyclists and motorcyclists ride better.
We're always looking for sponsors for this podcast. Sponsors are given three focused mentions at the start, middle and end of their designated episode. Their contributions are put towards bettering the program's content and recording equipment.
Trav's Activities ...
- Practiced packing for an upcoming riding trip.
- Modded his windscreen for better air flow.
- Installed a securing strap for his top case.
Tim's Activities ...
- Road 135 of WI Driftless two-up with his girlfriend.
- Installing drywall in his garage (now a moto-workshop and lounge).
- Learning new-to-him trip planning software, namely Furkot.
Robin's Activities ...
- Rode 850 miles from Chicagoland to Daytona Beach.
- Enjoyed the Cherohala Skyway, Tail of the Dragon and Foothills Parkway on return.
- Got kicked in the brain by his first MSF course of the season.
Model Focus
The Kawasaki W650 is a 360° crank twin with bevel drive for an 8 valve SOHC.
Kit We're "Blatantly Pushing You To Buy"
SUPER BRIGHT SPOT BEAM: High-quality LED chips emits bright white light; Concentrated spot beam illuminates to further distance and lumen is 1260LM ADJUSTABLE MOUNTING BRACKET: The pod can be adjusted to about 45 degrees, which makes changing direction of light beam easier. BETTER HEAT DISSIPATION: Special designed die-cast aluminum alloy cooling fins effectively extend the lifespan to over 30,000 hours. WATERPROOF RATE: IP67; waterproof up to 3.3 feet of water for 30 minutes and effectively dustproof.
PACKAGE INCLUD: 2PCS 18W LED Light Bars and Mounting Brackets this product is the universal fit. It fit all the vehicles. 60001S- B and 60001S-A are the same productsSpecification:LED Power: 18W (6 x 3W High Intensity LED)Beam Pattern: Spot Beam; Lumen: 1260LMInput Voltage: 9-30V DC (fits 12V, 24V vehicles)Working Lifespan: Over 30,000 hoursWorking Temperature: -40~85 degrees CelsiusLED Color Temperature: Pure White 6000K-6500KMaterial: 6063 Aluminum Profile, High quality Led Chips, PC LensWaterproof Rate: IP67; Waterproof, dustproof, quakeproof and anti-corrosive.Certifications: CE, FCC and RoHS Applications: Off Road Lighting: Back Up Light, ATV, SUV, Truck, Trailer, Forklift, Trains, Boat, Outdoor lighting, etc.
Other Lighting: Excavator, Dozer, Road Roller, Crane, Mining, Tractor, Harvester, Grain Drill, Fire engine, Rescue Vehicle, etc. Household Lighting: Garden, Backyard, Garage, Indoor Lighting. (Note: Use a voltage transformer/converter to convert the AC 110-120V to DC 12V.) Note:They are aftermarket parts.
NOT D.O.T. approved. Do not use if D.O.T.
is required. For off road use only.Before installing this product, please check your state/provincial and local/municipal laws and regulations..
Noteworthy Articles
This Month In Motorcycle History
Brought to you by Today in Motorcycle History
What a finish it would be as the two riders end with 3 checkered flags and 69 points apiece.The championship would be decided on aggregate times, with the winner given the title by mere seconds. On September 23, 1972 the 50cc World Champion is crowned...
Belgian motocross legend Joël Robert won three 250cc World Championships ('64,'68,'69) and German Paul Friedrichs won three consecutive 500cc titles ('66,'67,'68) all aboard CZ machines. CZ was the first motorcycle manufacturer to introduce expansion chambers on exhaust systems.
She helped found Ms.Magazine, theinfluential feminist magazine, and served as an editor there for 20 years. After leaving in 1992, she worked as editor in chief of the features section of the non-profit Women's Media Center, which works to raise women's visibility in the media. Mary Thom was 68.
He proved that an American could win at the highest echelon of motorcycle racing in an era when few thought it could be done. Hennen was battling with Kenny Roberts for the World Championship when his rapidly rising career was prematurely ended by a crash at the Isle of Man TT in 1978. He had just recorded the first sub-twenty minute lap in TT history when he struck a curb at 150 m.p.h.
The subsequent crash caused severe head injuries from which Hennen was able to recover over time, but the lasting effects of the crash forced his retirement from racing. Pat Hennen was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2007.
His debut with Suzuki was at the Malaysian Grand Prix where he pulled off a huge upset, defeating the reigning Champion, Honda's Michael Doohan. He went on to win the second GP race at Motegi, where he again defeated Doohan. Twin Ring Motegi's name comes from the facility having two circuits: a 1.5 mile oval and a 3 mile road course.
Riders on all things two-wheel, from Harley-Davidson and Kawasaki to Ural, Jawa and Riga mopeds take part in the season-opening tradition.
The new all-British built Triumph motorcycle hits the market with it's new rocking front spring fork, redesigned frame and a new engine design which features the newly-invented Bosch-Simms high-tension magneto.Five hundred bikes are produced in 1906. Motorcycle journalist 'Ixion' tests a prototype 1907 machine but it proves flawed and the frame breaks. He later used an upgraded 1907 model to ride 1,279 miles in six days.
53 years later Triumph will introduce one of the greatest motorcycles in the history of mankind, the T120 Bonneville. In a sick twist of fate, on August 23, 1983 Triumph Motorcycles (Meriden) Ltd. declaresbankruptcy, unable to out ride their financial woes.
Enter John Bloor...
He repeated this remarkable performance at Silverstone on July 5th, winning all four classes and setting a new lap record each time. Did you know that Oulton Park can trace its history back to the eleventh century and is mentioned in the Domesday Book as ‘Aleton'.
On October 27, 1922, Bert LeVack made history by lapping Brooklands at 100.29 mph on a 980cc JAP-powered Zenith becoming the first rider of a British machine to reach 100 mph. By 1924 JAP held 95 World and British Records, set up by only eleven riders which included Bert Le Vack and Teddy Prestwich, one of John’s five sons. Stan Greening, a longtime member of the JAP experimental department, had begged John Prestwich to take a trip down to the Fulham Road to Stamford Bridge Speedway track.
Prestwich was not impressed in the least telling Greening he believed that speedway was little more than a passing fad. But Stan had faith in the sport’s long-term prospects; the factory’s involvement with speedway racing became the subject for further discussion during the 1929 Motor Cycle Show at Olympia when Bill Bragg, Captain of the Stamford Bridge Pensioners Speedway Team, stopped at the JAP booth while John Vivian Prestwich was on duty.
Vivian realized that perhaps Speedway had more to offer than his father had suspected. After long arguments that sometimes lasted until morning, and with some further persuasion (ale) John Prestwich changed his mind and gave the project his blessing. Greening soon started working along the lines that Bill had indicated and in about three months an experimental engine was delivered to Bragg.
By 1932 the legendary JAP Speedway engine had become a reality, at the time it was the world’s most powerful un-supercharged engine of its size and one that would dominate Speedway tracks for the next 25 years. That year Fergus "The Flyin' Scot" Anderson picked up an engine which was guaranteed to produce 37.8 bhp at 5,750 rpm, which he installed in a Grindlay-Peerless machine. In his first lap at Brooklands on April 21, 1932 Fergus brought the virgin engine across the finish line at 98 mph and his second was 109.22 mph.
Fergus would take home the One Hour Trophy when he averaged 100.52 mph.
He would also set a new record for the most points in a single season in the 250cc Class with an unheard of 322 points. The following season Kato teamed with American rider Colin Edwards to win the 2002 Suzuka 8 Hours for a second time. On April 6, 2003, the unthinkable would happen during the Japanese Grand Prix when Kato slams into a wall near Suzuka's Casio Triangle chicane at around 125 mph.
Suffering severe head, neck and chest injuries, he would spend two weeks in coma. On April 20, Daijiro Kato would be pronounced dead. He was 26.
After the 2003 season the FIM named him a Grand Prix "Legend", retiring Kato's bike number "74". Satoshi Motoyama, a fellow Japanese racer and a childhood friend, would wear Daijiro's number on his helmet. Italy's Misano World Circuit honored Kato in 2006, (he lived part of the season in the area), by naming a new access road to the circuit "Via Daijiro Kato".
His brother in-law, Bob Rosenthal, who had been due to ride the ex-Agostini TZ750 Yamaha, withdraws from the meeting.
Erwin opted for the 6000 mile guarantee over the 6-month warranty. Good call. The 1956 BMW line-up shows other than the R-50, there was the R-69 Super Sport, a 600cc 35hp machine, for $1,345.00, the 600cc R-50 for $1,145.00 and a 250cc R-26 listed at $715.00.
Side kick-stands and dual passenger seats were additional.
Evel joined Truax at Snake River to watch the X-1 prototype's trial launch. The launch starts with such promise before losing speed, then altitude, until finally plummeting into the gorge not even halfway across the river reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote with one of his Acme rockets.
The decision was then made to have Truax build the Skycycle X-2 and have it take off and fly more like a rocket than a motorcycle. Two years later on Sunday, September 8, 1974, at 3:36 p.m. MDT (Mountain Daylight Time) at the south rim of the Snake River Canyon, viewed by millions on live television the launch begins with a rumble as the steam that powers the engine is superheated to 500 °F (260 °C).
The drogue parachute prematurely deploys as the X-1 leaves the launching rail and induces significant drag. The Skycycle makes it all the way across the canyon to the north rim, unfortunately the prevailing northwest winds cause it to drift back into the canyon. By the time it reaches the bottom of the canyon, it lands only a few feet from the water on the same side of the canyon from which it had been launched.
Then to add insult to injury, if Evel had landed in the water, he likely would have drowned, due to a jumpsuit/harness malfunction which kept him strapped in. As Knievel raises his fist in disappointment Meep Meep echo's thru the canyon. Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD).
www.nabd.org.uk Posted by Unknown at 7:46 AM Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest.
Listener Questions
Brandon Turner Asks: How do I do wheelies? I've been riding 6 years and still don't know how to wheelie. Help a brutha out!
Should you have any motorcycle-pertinent questions you'd like answered, email them via our contact form or by calling (224) 358-3010.
Mess A La Moto
... brought to you by The Super-Slick, Ultra-Badass Motorcycle Mega-Posse (of Incredible Power)
Concluding Bit
Again, we're always looking for sponsors for this podcast. Sponsors are given three focused mentions at the start, middle and end of their designated episode. Their contributions are put towards bettering the program's content and recording equipment.
Tune in next time for more discussion on all things specific to sport touring or universal to motorcycling as a whole.
Safe travels, everyone!
Leave a Reply