Listen in as Tim, Travis and Robin discuss the new Zero, upcoming tours and ride leader tips.
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This episode of The Riding Obsession podcast is brought to you by Riding Solutions, helping people become motorcyclists and motorcyclists ride better. Also by Ranch Road Fabrication, specializing in architectural, interior and automotive metal work. And lastly by Ugly Apple Cafe of Madison, Wisconsin where they use local overstock produce to offer a quick, tasty breakfast.
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Trav's Activities ...
Tim's Activities ...
Robin's Activities ...
Updated Site Features And Developments
- The TRO php code overhaul continues.
- Our weather page now predicts migraines (even better).
- Member maintenance logs are back up and running.
Model Focus
The Zero SR/S is a fully faired electric road bike with 140-pound-feet of continuous torque.
Kit We're "Blatantly Pushing You To Buy"
Canyon Dancer 32505 Black Bar-Harness II for 32" Handlebars
For use with handlebars up to 32 inches wide New design features glass filled injection molded polycarbonate cups with steel lay-in that replaces the old handlebar cuff and new webbing using heavier threads with more stitches for greater strength Cups eliminate possible damage to soft grips and hold the cross straps further out on the bars to clear a wider variety of fairings and prevent damage to switch housings Cups are sized to fit the fattest grips in the industry Steel D-ring lay-ins provide extra security to prevent losses even after many years of weather and abuse begin to weaken the polycarbonate cupAn evolution of the original groundbreaking Bar-Harness, Canyon Dancer combined user feedback and its own in-house testing to give you the new ultimate in street motorcycle tie downs, the Bar-Harness II.
Made with stronger straps and revised cups to work on the fattest and softest of grips, the Bar-Harness II refines the process of securing and trailering your bike to the highest level. New design features glass filled injection molded polycarbonate cups with steel lay-in that replaces the old handlebar cuff and new webbing using heavier threads with more stitches for greater strength. Cups eliminate possible damage to soft grips and hold the cross straps further out on the bars to clear a wider variety of fairings and prevent damage to switch housings.
Cups are sized to fit the fattest grips in the industry. Steel D-ring lay-ins provides extra security to prevent losses even after many years of weather and abuse begin to weaken the polycarbonate cup. For use with handlebars up to 32 inches wide..
For use with handlebars up to 32 inches wide New design features glass filled injection molded polycarbonate cups with steel lay-in that replaces the old handlebar cuff and new webbing using heavier threads with more stitches for greater strength Cups eliminate possible damage to soft grips and hold the cross straps further out on the bars to clear a wider variety of fairings and prevent damage to switch housings Cups are sized to fit the fattest grips in the industry Steel D-ring lay-ins provide extra security to prevent losses even after many years of weather and abuse begin to weaken the polycarbonate cupAn evolution of the original groundbreaking Bar-Harness, Canyon Dancer combined user feedback and its own in-house testing to give you the new ultimate in street motorcycle tie downs, the Bar-Harness II.
Made with stronger straps and revised cups to work on the fattest and softest of grips, the Bar-Harness II refines the process of securing and trailering your bike to the highest level. New design features glass filled injection molded polycarbonate cups with steel lay-in that replaces the old handlebar cuff and new webbing using heavier threads with more stitches for greater strength. Cups eliminate possible damage to soft grips and hold the cross straps further out on the bars to clear a wider variety of fairings and prevent damage to switch housings.
Cups are sized to fit the fattest grips in the industry. Steel D-ring lay-ins provides extra security to prevent losses even after many years of weather and abuse begin to weaken the polycarbonate cup. For use with handlebars up to 32 inches wide..
Great for attaching tie-downs to triple clamp tie down hooks and even in the bed of a truck or trailer Create two pairs of dirtbike tie down rings points for your trailer or van 8mm mounting hole 10mm rise 4 Pieces motorcycle tie down strap ringsIf you ever have had to tie your motorcycle down to transport it, you probably used your handlebars to attach the tie down hook.
Then, when you untie your motorcycle, you notice scratch marks all over youhandlebars from the metal hooks... No longer do you have to thread your straps around the handlebars and improvise the best way to mount your bike safely in the back of the truck, Now there's a better way. P1 Tools Tie Down Rings allow you to strap down your bike in a truck or trailer quickly.
They help secure your bike, avoiding potential losses and saving you time and headaches. We bring you the only tie down rings on the market that are colored in black. Lightweight and strong, these rings will connect to your bike easily and make the process of loading and unloading your bike a breeze.
Installation is very simple and takes about three minutes to complete. Just connect these to your bike's bolts. Once installed, they are out of the way and add almost no weight to your motorcycle.
ADD TO CART TODAY RISK-FREE AND SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS OF LOADING AND UNLOADING YOUR MOTORCYCLE.
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
A semi-seasoned rider asked about "scrubbing" their new tires in via slow, low angle maneuvers in a parking lot. Reason? They suffered a crash after a dealership swapped their rubber during storage. The owner elected not to have their bike washed and the lubricant found its way to the sidewall.
Our response: Don't go to a parking lot. In fact, don't worry about scrubbing your tires in. Instead, wash your bike properly, then ride at normal road speeds or attend an at-speed event. Only 40mph+ momentum can heat your rubber enough to let curves ditch the chicken strips.
Should you have any motorcycle-pertinent questions you'd like answered, email them via our contact form or by calling (224) 358-3010.
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!
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