Motorcycle Misadventures

Post Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes, in your site or blog, via Scribd

As an author, web content developer, and social media consultant, I like to experiment with all the new tools for publishing. So I just uploaded my pdf ebook Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes,  to Scribd. Now this is too cool. I made it a free download, and anyone can go to Scribd and grab the code to display the book on their sites and blogs. I want to share this ebook and so I invite you to do that. I've embedded the HTML here, in this blog, so you can see what it'll look like. Site visitors can page through the ebook right from your blog or web page. Yeah. It's too cool. Have fun!

Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes - Cruisers

From Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes

Cruisers
Low. Lid Back.

 Take a standard bike, extend the front fork, put a teardrop gas tank in front of the lowered seat, and you’ve got a cruiser. You’ll need to reach a bit more forward with your feet to find the foot pegs, but that all contributes to the “laid-back” styling of this kind of motorcycle.

Cruisers are good bikes to learn on because they’re low enough for most people to get both feet flat on the ground, which gives you better balance and more confidence.

They come “naked” so if you drop it you’re not breaking a lot of expensive options. But once you’ve got the hang of  it, you may be tempted to add saddlebags, a small windscreen, maybe even tie on a sleeping bag and tent and take off on a classic American backroads journey.

Examples of cruisers you might look at:

Honda Rebel 250: This popular cruiser is light and low and a real keeper with decent performance on the freeway. Buy it new or find one used, but plenty of people don’t want to give up their Rebels.

Kawasaki Eliminator 125: This single cylinder “thumper” is a great entree into motorcycling at only about 300 pounds wet. But budget-minded commuters also love this zippy cruiser with a big 3.4 gallon tank and outrageously good gas mileage for under $2700.

Download the free ebook: Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes to learn more about great beginner bikes in cruiser, sport, dual-sport, scooter, and dirt-bike categories.

Comments? I'd love to hear them. Use the comments feature below. Thanks!

Review of the Doran 360M Tire Pressure Monitoring System for Motorcycles

My review of the Doran360M Tire Pressure Monitoring System for Motorcycles is up on Women Riders Now today. I've wanted to install a tire pressure monitor on my motorcycle ever since I rode a bike that had one -- I couldn't believe how it eased my mind! When I received the Doran 360M monitoring system in the mail though, I wondered if I'd be able to wire it to my bike all by myself, or if I'd end up having to pay a mechanic to do it. Read the article.

Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes - Standards

From Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes

Standard Bikes
Dean, Brando. Amelia. Battered brown leather jacket, silk scarf, avaitor glasses. Classic.

Standard motorcycles make great beginner bikes but they’re also really nice all-purpose bikes. Some people start with a standard and move on to a specialty bike, like a cruiser or racer or dual-sport, and end up keeping the standard. They’ve been around so long there are lots of used ones on the market.

The upright riding position makes it easy to look around without having to bend your head into uncomfortable positions. The controls lie exactly where your hands and feet naturally rest, which means it’s easier to deal with emergencies. It’s also very well balanced, with your center of gravity exactly in the middle of the bike.

Standards come “naked” without plastic coverings, fairings, or any kind of bling. This means that when you drop it you won’t be breaking a lot of expensive parts.

Many manufacturers stopped making standard bikes under 250ccs, but there are plenty of older models on the used market that make great starter and around-town bikes.

Examples of standard bikes you might look at:

Suzuki TU250X: One of the rare under-250cc standards being made today, this is a great keeper bike for city and backroads. Freeways are doable but not its forte. Under $4000 and gets over 60 mpg.

Honda CB Series: Like many manufacturers, Honda stopped making small standards about a decade ago when specialty bikes became the trend. But chances are you can grab one of these babies for cheap. Bonus: it’s classic enough to win admiring glances!

Download the free ebook: Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes to learn more about great beginner bikes in cruiser, sport, dual-sport, scooter, and dirt-bike categories.

Comments? I'd love to hear them. Use the comments feature below. Thanks!

Great BBC audio report on women's motorcycle sidecar racing

"Forty years ago sidecars were a popular and cheap way for couples to travel around - you only have to think of Nora Batty and Compo from Last of the Summer Wine. Now the modern day sidecars are increasingly being used in motor sport racing. Passengers can travel up to 100 miles per hour, only meters off the ground. Reporter Anna Bailey met female passengers at the Mallory Park race track near Leicester." Listen to these women talk about their careers in sidecar racing. One couple is in their late 60's. One woman started racing after a bout with ovarian cancer. Did you know that motorcycle racers don't wear nylon underwear in case they fall, so it won't "weld" onto their skin? So what does one woman wear... hear it for yourself. Lots of great stories in this first- rate BBC report. It's amazing! Listen to the BBC - Radio 4 Woman's Hour -Sidecar racing.

All San Francisco Side Stand Up Podcast

Tonight, Side Stand Up gathered at BMW Motorcycle in San Francisco to do a live podcast with a great lineup. We missed Tom Lowdermilk, who was stuck south of Fresno on a wild ride I'm sure we'll hear about next week. So Joanne Donn (GearChic) and I did our best. Thanks to Joanne's husband Evan, the AV guy, for sound help despite the lack of the right equipment. We will put him on the advisory board further in advance for next time. Catch the archives at http://sidestandup.com/ - we know you'll love hearing from these great guests about their specialties, motorcycle culture in San Francisco, and the Bay Area's best roads. Tune in to Episode 120, November 17, 2009.

Jennifer Bromme, owner and head mechanic of Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair in San Francisco tells the story of starting Werkstatt, what's it like to be owner of the most popular motorcycle repair shop in SF, her antique bikes/pet projects, and her wild travels and racing activities. Jennifer  was trained in Munich, Germany on street and race bikes, and founded Werkstatt in 1994. She raced sidecars and motorcycles for 4 years, and supports AFM and AMA races as a technical and crew chief. She loves to take crazy trips to explore Mexico. Her shop works on Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, KTM, Triumph, and BMW motorcycles, and was Baylist's best motorcycle repair shop in the Bay Area. 

Gabe Ets-Hokin, Motorcycle reviewer, editor of CityBike Magazine in San Francisco, reveals the truth about the glamorous life of a professional motorcycle reviewer, plus talks about his new role editing CityBike magazine. Ets-Hokin [rhymes with "Get Smokin'] has written for most of the top motorcycle magazines and websites and has had a ride on almost every new bike introduced in the last five years. His stories appear in City Bike magazine (which he edits), MotorcycleDaily.com and many other outlets.

Crystal Gurr, Co-owner of Scuderia West Motorcycle Dealership and Repair in San Francisco talks about how to attract women to your motorcycle shop, staffing your shop with knowledgeable people who know how to fit gear. Crystal  is co-owner of Scuderia West, San Francisco's #1 motorcycle dealership. They sell and service KTM, Aprilia, Victory, and Kymco scooters. They are also arguably the best place to buy gear anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Selling and shipping your bike safely to someone far away

There's a very informative post on Adventure Rider - Selling your bike safely - from a member in Oregon who sold his bike to someone in New York. He was worried about shipping it without cash in advance so followed a how-to on eBay to set up an account with escrow.com. He describes his concerns, the problems, and the solutions.

Need to make a decision? Jump on your motorcycle!

  I just listened to journalist/author Jonah Lehrer talking about his new book How We Decide on In Forum (a suborganizataion of the Commonwealth Club). (He also wrote Proust was a Neuroscientist.) He talks about, well, how we decide, and emotional vs. rational thought works, i.e., the conversation between those two parts of the brain that helps us make decisions. What does this have to do with motorcycling, you ask? Well, he didn't say specifically, but automatic tasks like having a conversation with a friend, doing a crossword puzzle, driving a car (riding a motorcycle), frees up the analytical/rational mind and allow us to make the right decision. It's a fascinating conversation. And we probably already knew this, but next time we need to make a decision, it's probably best to jump on the motorcycle and let the decision happen there. Right? Listen to the program.

Cash or credit? Punt or go for first down? Deal or no deal? Life is filled with puzzling choices. Reporting from the frontiers of neuroscience and armed with riveting case studies of how pilots, quarterbacks, and others act under fire, Jonah Lehrer presents a dazzlingly authoritative and accessible account of how we make decisions, what's happening in our heads as we do so, and how we might all become better deciders. Luckily, this one's a no-brainer: Read this book.
--Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)

The Sweet Scent of Spring

This morning when I was riding I caught a whiff of sweet broom and was reminded that the sense of smell is the most powerful of all of them, and one of the reasons I like riding so much. Whether it's flowers or manure, at least I'm always "in the moment," for better or for worse. By the time I've got where I'm going I'm fairly fully aware of the places I passed through, which is more than I can say when I drive a car.

Home again this late afternoon I hiked in the hills above my neighborhood in Point Richmond. One part of the trail was absolutely overloaded with broom laden with yellow flowers, the heady scent as strong as if I was sniffing from a bottle of perfume. I walked slowly then, to make it last -- the yellow flowers, the perfume, the blue bay sparkling below, the families in the park with balloons and barbecues. It's a shame that it's an invasive species but, so are we. I suppose the best we can do is try to contribute something sweet.

Happy spring riding, with all your senses.

Want to Work at Moto Guzzi in Mandello del Lario?

My friend Alis Agostini, (yes, daughter of Duilio), in Italy is fabulous and fun and she has a dream job -- maybe for you:

Do you want to work and live in Mandello del Lario? Meet people from all over the world? Do you think that working at the historic Agostini Moto Guzzi dealership would be at least interesting if not actually fulfill a lifetime ambition?

If so . . . click: Position Vacant News flash Announcements Moto Guzzi Concessionaria Duilio Agostini Mandello del Lario.