It was a gift of a day for motorcycle riding; bright sunshine, barely a cloud in the blue sky, and temperatures rising to 60 degrees.  I was able to take the lining out of my jacket and wear my Rev’It Ignition 3 leather pants.  Bill took advantage of the beautiful day to wax the tank on the R Nine T (see picture).  Last week we noticed two lines on the tank, so Bill wanted to add that extra protection.  I thought through what might be causing the lines, and the only real difference between me and Bill on the bike is that I attached the cord for the Helite vest before mounting the bike and he always connected after.  So today I made a point of waiting until I was astride the motorcycle to clip the vest in to see if that kept lines off the bike.

            I also made sure to adjust the knee protectors in the pants before we took off—more on that later.  The day was so pretty, we saw plenty of people out walking and riding bikes.  I shifted easily into first gear, but as we headed down the curvy road, I had a shifting kerfuffle and found myself wondering what gear I was in.  Most modern motorcycles have a gear indicator light; both my BMW G310 GS and Ducati Scrambler have gear indicators.  But since the R Nine T is a retro bike, and has a clock not an LCD display, there are limits to the information available.  There is an indicator for neutral, but that’s it.  As nice as a gear indicator would be, I like learning from the experience of the ride.  It turned out I was in third gear though I had thought I was in fourth.  I decided what I needed to do was feel the motorcycle more.  If I shifted too high up a gear, I should feel the shuddering of the bike to tell me that.

            As we headed down the curvy road, I found myself using my preloaded front brake briefly.  I entered one of the curves a tad too quickly, but with the preloaded brake, I was able to drop the speed safely.  This particular curve was near a driveway with large brick posts, and my mind went to target fixation, imagining how that would work.  I could have been focused on the post instead of slowing my speed in the curve, and that could have led to an accident. Luckily, because I have been working on my skills, nothing of the sort happened.

            During our ride, we did a lot of figure eights.  As we spun around in one court, a little head popped up from some bushes, a young boy helping his mother do some yard work, and watched us intently.  As we headed out of the court, I gave the boy a honk of the horn and wave.  In the court with the realistic cat figurine, I saw a tall great blue heron perched on a dock railing.  It was amazing to see the long, thin bird stretching its neck to the sky.

            I remembered to go off-road a bit as we did our on-street U-turn.  It was strange feeling the grass under my tires again but good practice for me.  My U-turns on the R Nine T are getting tighter.  I worked on making sure my head was completely around, and I felt confident enough to try the tight U-turns in the gravel lot with the large wooden beams.  I had to dab on one turn, but the other turn went great.

            The whole ride was going very well until my left knee protector shifted in such a way as to press down on my kneecap, causing me great discomfort.  We were heading toward the hospital overflow lot, so I made a quick adjustment to lessen the pain until we got there.  Once there, I was able to shift into neutral and quickly dismounted the bike.  I walked around to try and adjust the pants while Bill rode over to see what was going on.  We decided to head home where I got practice in parking the bike at the top of the driveway, then restarting to pilot the motorcycle into the garage.

            We were all smiles as we finished the ride on this beautiful day.  Next week we won’t be so lucky—rain forecasted all week except Saturday, but temperatures in the low thirties.  We’re not out of winter yet.

As evident in the picture of the motorcycles, we had a bright, sunny Saturday for our ride.  The temperatures were a little on the chilly side, a high of 48 with a cold north wind, but the rain was going to wait until Sunday.  With my heated grips, I was able to wear my new Klim Adventure GTX short gloves.  And because I was able to wear these smaller gloves, I was able to ride with the front brake pre-loaded for nearly the entire ride.

            As mentioned in earlier blog entries, pre-load means to have a one or two fingers on the front brake lever, pulling in the slack of the brake.  I’ve been using pre-load as I work on my trail braking in curves and corners, but pre-load is an important safe riding skill.  There’s a YouTube vlogger, a retired NY motorcycle policeman, who refers to his supporters as “Preloaders” (Be the Boss of Your Motorcycle).  So what makes pre-loading so important?

            One dangerous motorcycle crash is called a “high side.”  This crash involves the rider being launched over the top of the handlebars.  Slamming on the front brake suddenly is a leading cause of high sides as the motorcycle may stop, but there is no front brake on the acceleration of the rider’s body, so that keeps going. 

            Now when leaning into a corner and suddenly slamming on the front brake, the rider may have a “low side” crash.  This crash occurs when the rider applies the front brake while in the leaned position and the front tire loses traction causing the rider to fall sideways off the bike, on the low side.  My trail braking practice is to prevent a sudden stoppage on the front tire which would cause the loss of traction.

            So the purpose of pre-loading the front brake is to prevent a sudden loss of traction in the front tire because it allows me to gradually increase the braking pressure.  How so?  Well with the slack already pulled in on the brake, any pressure I apply to the front brake lever is activating the brake, so I don’t have to yank in the brake.

            I have tried to ride pre-loaded on all of my motorcycles, but it is only on the BMW R Nine T that I have been successful.  My grip must be stronger now too as I was able to ride in the pre-load position for almost the entire ride without my hand hurting.  My only discomfort came again from the new winter pants, though it wasn’t as bad as last week.  The motorcycle fought me a little with the gear shifting.  When we were ready to set off, it wouldn’t drop into first.  I let the clutch out and back in and was able to shift into first.  But later when we were in the hospital lot, I couldn’t shift into neutral.  Bill had to come over and manipulate the shifter.  While there, he took a quick spin on the R Nine T and marveled at how small the 1200 cc motorcycle is compared to his 2500 cc Triumph Rocket.

            I worked on trail braking, stops, pre-loads, and U-turns.  When we did our in-street U-turn, Bill rode off onto the berm.  He later explained that he wanted to practice the sensation of going off-road so that should he be forced off, it won’t be a weird experience.  So I will add that to my practice next week.

            I was happy to be able to ride in the gravel lot again; the lack of rain made that possible.  I’m almost ready to try my turn around inside the wooden borders.  As I worked in the hospital lot, I marveled at how well-balanced the R Nine T is.  I need to be careful not to get too comfortable with this balance and forget that I can drop the bike.

            We were lucky with little traffic as we rode, but there were a lot of people out and about enjoying the sunny day.  We did see lots of dogs, even three new ones who came out to bark at us.  Only one squirrel made a crazy dash across the road in front of Bill, but far enough away he didn’t have to stop.  I found myself missing the nature sights on the ride.  I’ll have to get used to it as spring is still quite a ways away.  There is one yard that has Valentine’s Day decorations out, so I try and make the most out of that.  Of course, I can always enjoy the sight of Bill riding on his beautiful Rocket.

Flurries, that is.  But still, we rode in the snow.  Obviously, it was a cold, wintry day in both feel and looks.  Gray skies and a north wind joined us for our ride on a 38-degree day with wind chills in the twenties.  It was good day to try out my new Rev’It Trousers Factor 4 winter riding pants.

            These pants are not as comfortable around the waist as my Ignition 3 pants.  The Ignition 3 have Velcro tighteners on the side, but the Factor 4 don’t.  The weight of the knee pads and the fabric pull the pants low, not embarrassingly so, but low enough to add a challenge on the ride to getting my right foot down.  I am wondering if I can find suspenders strong enough to help keep the pants up.

            As for keeping me warm, the pants did fine.  The only parts of me that got cold were my cheeks under the helmet and my right hand a little.  I’m actually not quite sure if my right hand was really cold or if it was discomfort from a cut on the tip of my index finger.

            But other than those minor issues, the ride was great.  I had fun watching the flurries melt on my gas tank as I waited for Bill to gear up.  I really enjoyed the curvy road; the R Nine T loves to lean.  I even worked some trail braking in wearing the large Rev’It winter gloves.  My stops were a little goofy at first with the new pants pulling up my right leg, but my leg eventually adjusted.  I did great watching the rearview mirrors at stops. We did a street U-turn meaning we turned around while on the neighborhood street rather than in the cul-de-sac.  My first go round brought me very close to the grassy berm, but on my second U-turn, I went to full-lock and aced the turn.

            In our practice we visited a new parking lot, a tiny little squarish tarmac probably leftover from the old Burger King that used to be on the lot before it was transformed into a post office and Dominos.  On our way over, a large hawk swooped down and flew across Bill’s path of travel.  We didn’t do more than three turns in the lot before heading over to the hospital lot.  While there, Bill called me over to his bike.  The Triumph had a message about the cold weather and that conditions may not be great for riding.  Unfortunately, getting a phone out to take a picture was a complicated process in all our weather gear.  It was cute, but it was also timely, and we decided to head home out of the flurries.  Next week should be flurry free and a comfortable 50-degree ride; I can’t wait.

A bike on the road is worth two in the shed.

Anonymous (https://wildtriumph.com/motorcycle-quotes-sayings/)

The Christmas season is very generous to me.  Not only do I receive gifts for Christmas, but my birthday falls within the twelve days of Christmas, so I now have two new Rev’It riding pants and new Klim gloves.

            For Christmas I was given the Rev’It Factor 4 thermal lined waterproof pants.  These come with knee protectors and a removeable thermal liner to keep me warm on cold, winter rides.  On my birthday I received the Rev’It Ignition 3 pants which combines leather with breathable mesh for protection and air flow.  These pants also have a removable liner, but they are for warmer rides.  Both pants fit me way better than the Klim riding jeans which we did get in a larger size than I needed.

            Now that I was better geared up, we headed out on a beautiful sunny day in the low-50s.  I wore the Ignition 3 pants, and I also tried my new Klim Adventure GTX short gloves.  Bill gave me these gloves as a moderate weather glove because my Rev’It gloves are for really cold wintry rides and my other Klim gloves are perforated for summer air flow.  I did find myself putting on the heated grips on low with these new gloves.

            As for the pants, they will certainly need some breaking in.  I have to get used to the snugger fit which I found made mounting the bike a leg lift exercise.  I also need to adjust the knee pads.  Throughout two-thirds of my ride, my left knee was under pressure from the knee protection.  It was so uncomfortable, I thought for sure I’d have a bruise on my knee after the ride (I didn’t).  l finally managed to get the protector adjusted by kicking my left leg out straight.

            The ride itself was fantastic.  The sun was bright but, because we headed out earlier in the afternoon, not shining into our eyes.  Most of the Christmas decorations had been packed up, thought there was a cute inflatable of Santa in a car still waving at us.  We passed a snowy egret and two ducks chilling in the lake near the road.  Overhead, turkey vultures were lazily circling about.  No crazy squirrels in the road on this ride.  And, when I ignored the pants, I realized how wonderful a motorcycle the R Nine T is to ride. 

            For starters I easily found first gear which was helpful as my mind was distracted by the feel of riding in the new pants.  I realized how wonderful the Daytona boots are as I had no trouble shifting or braking wearing the boots with the new pants.  I’m very pleased with that as the Daytona’s have a one-inch lift which will help me flat foot the BMW R 1250 GS later in my riding career.  I also realized how easy the clutch is out on the road.  When we were practicing our slow turns and braking out of a curve, I could easily manipulate the clutch.  With the BMW G 310, I often stalled on slow speed drills.  The dry clutch really is fun.

            Yet, the motorcycle did mess with me a little.  We were parked and chatting about how the ride was going when Bill suggested he film a short video of me riding in my new pants.  Now I should have warned him that I hadn’t found neutral when I stopped my bike.  Restarting the ignition, I tried to find neutral as Bill walked away to start filming.  I never saw neutral, but I did believe I had shifted into first.  Nope.  I started riding toward Bill and the engine cut off on me.  Since I was struggling, I let Bill hop on and play with the clutch.  I was in third gear which is a surprise as I never leave first gear during my slow speed practice.  So I still have quite a bit to learn about using that dry clutch.

            I don’t mind more to learn as that’s another reason to ride.  Not that I need any more reasons because riding motorcycles is a total blast.

            Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and the new year is off to a great start.  My holidays were great except for the Arctic blast that prevented us from a Christmas Eve ride.  When the high barely crept into the low 20s, we decided to stay snug and warm at home.

            After Christmas, our area was blessed with gradually warming temperatures, giving us multiple sunny days in the 60s—perfect riding weather.  And Bill did get a short ride in on Thursday; the Ducati was due for its annual state inspection, so we headed off to Honda of Norfolk.  While Bill patiently waited for the inspector to become available, I was able to check out the CRF250F.  This motorcycle is an off-road trail bike that we are considering.  We’d like to purchase two of these bikes and, as Bill calls it, “rag” them off-road.  Bill got his first motorcycle at the age of thirteen, and he had a large field next to his house to ride it in.  So he appreciates the riding skills one can learn on a lighter bike in the dirt.  Because it is designed to ride off road, it is a tall motorcycle; a seat height of almost 25 inches.  But the suspension is soft and sank down as I mounted the bike so I could easily flat foot the bike.  We haven’t gotten to the serious purchase phase yet, but it was great having the opportunity to see and sit on the bikes.

            Now I mentioned that we had a week of spectacular weather, riding weather.  And I was off from work the whole week.  So why didn’t we take advantage and go for a weekday ride?  Well, my Mom was having trees removed, so the yard was torn up and there were large machines all around the house that week.  Our motorcycles were trapped in the garage.

            Also, unfortunately for us, rain moved in late Friday and lingered all through Saturday into Saturday night.  Road surfaces become slippery in the rain, especially if there are oil slicks on the road.  Plus, I’m using 50/50 on/off-road tires, which means the tread is chunky, so there are gaps where the tire is not in full contact with the ground.  These gaps don’t make for the best traction on wet roads.  We began to believe there would be no ride this weekend either.

            If you search “motorcycle riding as therapy,” you’ll find over 15 million hits.  The Semel Institute for Neuroscience at UCLA found that riding a motorcycle decreased cortisol, a stress hormone, by 28%.  Even I have written about how therapeutic I find my riding (“Hint of Fall Riding” published Dec. 5, 2021).  When it became obvious that Saturday’s ride was a no-go, we headed over to Southside Harley-Davidson to see if they were as well stocked as Bayside.  They did have a good number of motorcycles, including a gorgeous red Fatboy, several Pan Americans, Nightsters, and even a few Livewires (HD’s electric motorcycle).  Bill was amazed to realize that the Harley’s didn’t seem as large now that he’s been riding a Triumph Rocket.  But looking at motorcycles isn’t the same as riding them, and I admit I was getting a bit depressed.

            Our only hope was that the promised sunshine for Sunday would show up and shine enough to dry out the roads if we were patient and planned on a much later start.  Thankfully, 2023 gave us what we wanted and the roads dried out enough to allow us our ride.  I needed the escape as my football team came out in the second half and stunk up the field.

            The Arctic storm brought enough strong winds to blow clear almost all of the trees.  But with the sunshine, warm temps (65), and most people having tomorrow off, there were lots of people out and about.  We saw several kids playing on new Christmas bikes, scooters, and skateboards.  Bill had a near run in with a screwy squirrel; I watched from behind and I swear, it was like the squirrel was playing chicken with the front tire of the Rocket.  Finally, he darted off the road and let us resume our ride. 

            I worked on keeping two fingers on the front brake as I worked the throttle.  This position is known as pre-loading because the slack is pulled in on the brake to pre-load it so that when pulled, actual brake pressure is being applied to the front wheel.  It is considered one of the safer ways to ride.  I believe I was successful at the pre-load on this ride because I was able to wear my summer gloves on the warmer day. 

            Because I found it easier to pre-load the front brake, I was better able to work on braking into the curves.  I found turning easier, and I was able to turn tighter in courts.  I only had to widen out my turns to keep clear of Bill on the Rocket. 

            One aspect of our ride that has changed some since Bill acquired the Rocket is how we now make multiple runs on the 35-mph road.  It is clear that he feels the grunt of the torque on his new bike, and I found myself wondering as we rode if we would venture out onto a higher speed road soon.  We’ve discussed some options; maybe if the weather cooperates, we can put one of those options into play.

            The one downer on our ride was the position of the sun.  Due to our rain delay, we were out riding much later in the day than usual and, being winter, the sun is much lower in the sky. Together, these circumstances meant we were riding into the glare of the sun on several roads.  My helmet does have a visor, but I had taken it off in December because when I wear my leather jacket, the collar pushes the helmet in the back and the visor blocks some of my vision.  But the low sun shouldn’t be too much of a problem as we don’t usually ride at 3:00 in the afternoon.

            After such a wet and dreary Saturday, however, I’ll take the sun even in my eyes a bit since it means I get to ride.  And the days are slowly stretching out.  It’s far too early to think about spring, but some more weekends in the 60s in the middle of winter would sure be wonderful.  Next week’s ride will be more wintry as the high is only in the 40s, but that will be my chance to try out my new winter riding pants.