I’m not generally one to rant about situations that I cannot control – but the triggered traffic signal lights here in Sudbury get me going. It is such a good idea, but such a royal pain for motorcyclists. Repeated prodding of the local officialdom has gained nothing –yet.  

Forty-five seconds!! Not even a full minute and my car and I have official green-light permission to enter the intersection. Permission not only to enter the intersection, but to perform what ever maneuver we so desire with the full weight of highway traffic act legality behind us. Sheer magic! What could be easier than this? -- I arrive at an intersection from a crossroad and wait a very few seconds for green-light permission to proceed. This is winter in Sudbury and I am piloting my trusty cage. Triggered traffic lights work like a charm.

Come the gentler days of spring and summer when two wheels replace four, and what awaits me is sheer frustration. It appears that the magic green light genie does not do motorcycles – or at least not mine! Is my motorcycle no longer legitimate vehicle? It is plated, inspected, insured and driven carefully and courteously. It would seem that my bike and I are not only invisible to most of the other vehicles on the road, but to the very signals that govern the traffic flow.

Should you be fortunate to live in an area with timed signal lights, or none at all, then this is of little concern unless you wander into some town equipped with triggered traffic lights. It still won’t be any problem if you are piloting a four-wheeled vehicle. If you are riding your bike, beware!

Work obliges me to commute across Sudbury some days and evenings at rather odd hours. There are two intersections with triggered traffic signals that I cannot easily avoid even with the most devious and irregular routes. My options at these corners are limited. I can hope that someone else is ahead of me in a car, which will trip the lights in our favour. I can turn right, then make a “U” turn. I can stop, check both directions and proceed in a most illegal fashion to cross the intersection on the red light. None of these options is satisfactory. My luck is such that there is seldom an obliging vehicle ahead of me to trip the lights. If the cross traffic is moderately busy, doing “U” turns is not a happy prospect on a four lane artery, and crossing against the light makes me squirm in more ways than one… On certain busy intersections, I have been obliged to put the bike into neutral, rest it on the sidestand and dash to the sidewalk to poke the pedestrian crossing button. This makes me feel both vulnerable and foolish, and besides, I have never really trusted the sidestand on my bike. (if you ride and older BMW you will understand)

What annoys me the most about this situation is the total lack of official acknowledgement that there is any reason for concern. “take another route” or “turn right then go around a block.” NO, NO and NO again!!! I want to be treated like any other legitimate vehicle/road user under the Highway Traffic Act. Should I be so foolish as to contravene even the most obscure clause in THE ACT, you can be certain that I will be subject to the full weight of the law, directly applied and with no leniency. I just want to be treated with equal respect by the damn traffic signals. Is this too much to ask?

Occasionally on nice July days, our local constabulary can be seen about town exercising pair of elderly HD police bikes, usually traveling as a team. I would bet my back tire that those bikes, sitting side by side, trip the traffic signals just as any car would. Between weight, vibration and noise, something works… Maybe the solution is for me to acquire a Goldwing or some such behemoth that is sufficiently massive that it is recognized by the signal light genie. Maybe I should just stay out of town…

Having chosen to ride a two wheeled vehicle, I have enough to keep me occupied defying the immutable laws of gravity and the inconsideration of other road users. I definitely don’t need the added inconvenience and aggravation of traffic signals that ignore my existence. Happy riding! -- Alison 

 

 

  
The infamous staged photo of a supposedly
drunken member of the Boozefighter Motorcycle
Club at the Hollister, Calif., rally, 1947 

This is probably the quickest way to make myself unpopular with the motorcycling fraternity – but please, persevere and read on. Even if you have never had a beer, someone you know may become a statistic in this category in the very near future. 

 

I am not a safety expert of any sort – but I do try to be a conscientious and safety-aware rider.  My involvement as an instructor with the Canada Safety Council Gearing-Up program (equivalent to the MSC Basic Rider Course) has had the added benefit of keeping me on my best behaviour and reinforcing safe motorcycling habits.  I do believe that responsible and defensive riding attitudes and skills can reduce the likelihood of motorcycle-involved crashes.   But collectively we, the motorcycling culture, are sabotaging our own safety and shooting ourselves far too often.   All of our safety training, skills practice and defensive riding strategies go out the window if we take so much as one drink! 

 

And drink we do – and ride .   

 

The most preventable crashes are those designated as ‘single-vehicle’ incidents wherein the motorcycle fails to negotiate a curve, corner or simply goes out of control.   These crashes are not the fault of the other guy.  Only the rider can prevent this type of calamity.   The grim statistics show that alcohol was a factor in 35 % to 60% of fatalities in single-vehicle motorcycle crashes.  Statistics vary from region to region and year to year, but the sad truth is that the numbers are always much higher than for any other segment of the driving public.   Is there a collective death wish at work here?   Do we really think that because we ride a motorcycle we can exist in some other physical dimension?   Why do we do this to ourselves? 

 

Over and over, it has been shown that alcohol and riding do not mix.  Lab tests, professional rider tests, accident statistics, medical analysis – however you wish to look at it, the results are always the same.   We loose if we mix booze and bikes.  Everybody looses.  And apparently we aren’t getting any smarter! 

 

We ride two-wheeled vehicles that fall over.  We are not protected with roll bars and air-bags (some exceptions apply) and crumple zones and seat belts.  We are protected only by our attitudes and our skills and our gear.   Personal armoured gear is the fall-back should the other two levels of protection fail.  

 

Thankfully, protective riding equipment is not affected by alcohol consumption, but there is a very real likelihood that none (or little) protective gear will be worn on occasions when alcohol is mixed with motorcycle fuel.   There is no question that both physical skills and attitudes go down the drain – and very quickly – if we drink and ride.   Perversely, our bravado and self confidence tends to increase with every drink consumed.   This is doubly dangerous as alcohol-induced bravery is coupled with decreased physical and judgemental abilities.  Stunts seemingly become do-able even as simple tasks become difficult to execute.  A person who has been drinking is never a very good judge of his/her own condition or degree of impairment – good judgement requires sobriety. 

 

Why do we continue to sabotage our own health, livelihoods and even lives? 

 

There is no magic formula for how much liquor one can imbibe – or how quickly the effects will be felt.  The effects of alcohol have proven very difficult to quantify as variable such as weight, contents of stomach, alcohol tolerance, activity levels, etc all influence the apparent timing and degree of inebriation.   The only way to insure that you’re brain and body are functioning at optimum levels for motorcycle control is to simply refrain from drinking and riding. 

 

The absorption of alcohol is slightly easier to quantify.  Every drink takes approximately one hour to be neutralized within a body.  Which is all fine and dandy – but one doesn’t know when the effects will kick in – so it is doubly hard to time the outcome.  You may indeed process the one drink in an hour – but the effects may not have actually reached your body/mind for 30 min. after the drink was consumed.   In effect, you would have to wait 1hr. & 30 min. to be deemed sober enough to ride safely.   This is far too complicated and too much math for most people who are relaxing with a drink in hand.  

 

Like oil and water – booze and bikes just don’t mix!  We all know this - but putting it into practice does not appear to be a priority with far too many of our fraternity.  For all our sakes, be pro-active.  If you are aware of someone who is drinking and planning to ride home; hide the keys – call a cab – roll out the spare cot - whatever it takes to keep your friends alive.  We are all in this together – so not letting our fellow riders risk everything by riding after drinking is worth any possible hassles.  For yourself, choose to make the right decision – always.  

 

If we all added some plain old common sense to our New Year Resolution List for the up-coming riding season, everyone would benefit. What price do you put on a life saved? – Alison Green 

 

 

As you may have gathered from earlier columns, I do enjoy tinkering with my bikes. This goes without saying if one rides a less-than-very-new motorcycle. I have managed to make most of the common blunders while attempting general maintenance, and probably invented a few more along the way. I do however try to only make any given mistake once… twice for the same thing is embarrassing!  But I do like to think that I have learned a few things along the way – albeit, usually the hard way! 

  

 I am no mechanic so for any work that I attempt with wrench in hand, there is always a good manual open at the appropriate page. But even the best manuals have occasionally let me down.  Either the author assumes dexterity with tools that I do not possess, or items have been ignored completely.  I don’t like this sort of surprise… 

  

It would seem that all bike manuals assume that one is working in a clutter-free shop with a smooth cement floor. There is seldom mention made of the various wee bits that can fling themselves off to far distant corners of your workspace – sometimes to never be seen again. Switches are notorious for this sort of behavior and it is often best to take a defensive attitude before delving into the mysteries of on/off. Encasing the whole shebang in a large clear plastic bag and taping the opening securely shut seems to work... Cut slits for hand access and proceed. The phone will probably ring, your nose will start to run, or someone will come calling while you are thus trapped! No matter, the various bits will be captive before they have any chance of escape. 

  

Any what about those irritating clips and washers that immediately dive into the bowels of the engine compartment? If you haven’t heard the tell-tale tinkle of metal on cement, the part in question has probably fled into the engine compartment.  If extreme caution isn’t sufficient to capture the pieces in the act, an extendable magnet or magnet-on-a-stick can be your best friend.   

Can’t see inside the cylinder/carburetor/transmission? A good fine-beamed flashlight of the LED variety is essential. Good light where you need it is a wonderful assistant to almost any job, and invaluable when working upside down with bifocals that won’t focus where you need them. Can’t see around a corner? Try one of those nifty little dentist’s mirrors on an extendable wand. Just remember that everything you see is reversed! Wonderful gadgets.  I keep a couple of exceedingly strong rare-earth magnets handy too. There have been times when I needed a third hand for the mirror and a magnet on the bike frame has been just the ticket. Doesn’t work worth a pinch on the aluminum housing however! 

  

A few of the “oversights” that I have encountered along the way are particularly annoying. Maybe these items are covered in a different manual, but I haven’t found the book! 

  

When working on a BMW /5 -  Battery Removal and Installation: “disconnect both leads, remove battery hold-down plate....gently remove battery being careful not to spill fluid” 

This says nothing about barked knuckles, swearing, prying, jiggling and muttering! With every possible interference removed (seat, air-filter housing & tank). THE BATTERY WILL NOT EASILY COME OUT OF ITS NEST! Solutions vary from prying the frame apart with a very large pry bar, removing the upper subframe mounting bolts; filing notches in the frame (not smart). Another option, -- giving up in disgust and taking it into the dealer, dead battery and all! Removing the entire engine is slightly easier than battery removal. WHY? 

  

On just about any bike... Tank Removal.  “Ensure petcocks are turned to “off”, 

Remove fuel line from bottom of petcock; undo tank anchor nuts...etc.”   

Now, on any bike older than 4 or 5 years... and mine are considerably older, fuel lines are not easily dislodged from their moorings.  Keep a length of spare fuel line handy in the shop and when necessary, slit the old line lengthwise at the petcock and remove gently without swearing. Replace with new fuel line and proceed.  Much easier... 

Another option is the nifty tool available from Snap-On that is designed to push between the hose end and the petcock. This works like a charm when all of the tugging in the world does nothing. A SS washer over the petcock at the end of the fuel line makes subsequent removal much easier – the washer provides a surface for ‘pushing’ on the fuel line. 

  

 I’m certain that there are other poorly defined procedures just waiting to sabotage the unwary home mechanic. And I am equally certain that BMW doesn’t have sole proprietary over omissions and awkward procedures. Next time that I find myself swearing at some reluctant part, or nursing a barked and bleeding knuckle, I will consider the cause. If it isn’t a simple case of utter clumsiness, I will try to remember to make notes for future reference.   

  

I actually enjoy maintaining and tinkering with my bikes, I just don’t like it when they win! At the very least, I do always check tire pressures before a ride. It is vital for my safety and it hardly ever skins my knuckles! -- Alison Green 

  

  

  

 

 

Alison's trusty BMW R80G/S on tour.  

 

I’ve been asked repeatedly just how I prepare and what I pack for long rides, but the making of lists and planning of routes and checking of the bike is only part of the picture. I have attempted to put into words just how I approach the preparations and the ride – not just what gets packed or checked or worn, but the total mindset that needs to be adopted for maximum enjoyment of motorcycle travel. Hopefully, there is something in this collection of ideas that will make your next trip smoother and more rewarding.  

So you want to cross the continent on your bike… DO IT! But plan ahead and prepare! Embrace the freedom to ride all day, anywhere, and then cruise off into the sunset… but remember, sometimes there are detours! 

This is not a how-to list for the long distance rider, but rather a philosophy for travelling smoothly that opens up a whole new world of enjoyment.  Whether you ride alone, two-up, or in a small group of like-minded enthusiasts, you can boost the pleasure factor by adopting these few simple routines. 

As thousands have discovered, there is a whole new world out there just waiting to be explored on two wheels, but riding day after day is not all sunshine and roses. Successful long distance travel takes planning, some practice, motivation, and a totally unexpected skill-set. Touring in comfort and safety is not simply a multiple of short Sunday-afternoon excursions: it is a whole different ball game and should be approached as such. 

My definition of “Touring” does not include the one-day 800-mile filibuster to get to destination X in record time. Unless you are of the Iron-Butt fraternity, great distances covered in minimum times are not usually repeated day after day. That genre requires a totally different set of preparations (and deep pocketbooks)… fuel and tire costs alone would keep most of us working weekends just to break even! 

So what is included in basic ride preparation for an extended tour? This assumes that you will be riding a capable and reliable motorcycle of at least 500CC displacement. Touring is certainly possible on smaller bikes, but can be less than ideal. 

 

            The bike should fit you! Sounds simplistic, but too many people don’t consider the overall fit/height/weight/style of their chosen mount. Know your bike: if you are not completely comfortable and at home on the bike, long days of riding will quickly becomes torture. 

 

            You should be physically fit and healthy. Staying alert while riding is demanding and the fresh air will lull you to drowsiness when you least expect it – healthy is good, and eating wisely while travelling is a must. 

 

            Know where you are going! Wandering may sound romantic but in real life it often creates more stress than it relieves. Plan your destination and route ahead of time – overnight stops (approximately), ultimate goals, diversions, visits… You can detour from your plan to your heart’s content – but have a plan. It gives focus to the trip and increases the anticipation and enjoyment of the entire ride. 

 

            Your gear should be quality motorcycle–specific apparel, and it must fit. Nothing is worse than pants that bind or gloves that pinch after an hour on the bike. Gear that is marginal is simply not good enough when the weather turns nasty – uncomfortable can quickly become a serious health and safety risk in cold/wet conditions. Helmets, boots, gloves, armoured jacket & pants and raingear are all essential. And don’t forget the earplugs – they are worth at least two hours of extra road-time every day just for keeping the wind-noise from exhausting your brain. 

 

           Don’t bite off more than you can chew. You will be in the saddle day after day and attempting to cover too many miles per day is a common blunder.  If you are comfortable driving 800km (500Miles) during an average day in the car,  plan on cutting that in half for motorcycle travel!  400km can be quite sufficient for a day on your bike.  Try not to burn yourself out at the start by riding too far on the first day -- you will regret it! Pacing one’s self is absolutely critical to successful touring and nothing is more counterproductive than attempting to cover too many miles. Remember, this is a holiday! If your route takes you along miles of superslab, then the distances covered might be much greater, but most touring riders attempt to avoid Interstates and 4-lane roads in any case! 

 

            Keep a timepiece visible at all times and develop the habit of keeping an eye on it! This may sound odd when one is out to relax and get away from it all, but knowing your riding interval time is one key to successful touring. Plan to stop every hour!  It is far too easy to just keep going, and going, and going until the bike needs fuel, you are exhausted, your butt is numb and your bladder is screaming at you! Pull off the road at a safe location, get off the bike, stretch, walk around the bike, have a pee, smoke, snack whatever… do this faithfully every hour. It takes but 5 minutes and makes a world of difference to the success and comfort of your tour. Obviously if there is a known coffee stop 15 minutes further down the road continue for the extra few miles, but if no other diversion is immanent do not skip the hourly stretch break!    

 

            Decide how you will communicate with fellow riders and/or your passenger. If hand signals are understood and used by all, that will work just fine. If everyone uses voice activated helmet-mounted communicators, that can be even better. Just don’t neglect a pre-arranged and understood means of communicating. This is essential for the comfort and safety of everyone on the trip. It is doubly important if you are riding two-up! The rider had best be aware of the passenger’s needs or the entire vacation could be less than harmonious. 

 

            Don’t neglect your tummy. Many small meals and healthy snacks are better than infrequent big meals. If you have the Double-Whopper-Combo-with-XL-Shake for lunch, you will get sleepy shortly thereafter! Drowsiness is inevitable while your body is digesting a big, rich meal. This is not good if you are driving anything – especially a motorcycle.  Also, keep well hydrated, and not just with coffee. Yes, it makes for more pit stops, but hey, you will be stopping every hour anyway… If you brag that you can go all day and not have to stop for a pee – then you are abusing your body and are probably dehydrated. Not good! It is not good for your body and especially not good for your level of alertness. Water is best, juice, tea, moderate coffee consumption – anything non alcoholic: but keep hydrated at all times. 

 

            Get off the road by 5:00pm. or earlier if possible.  Your body is weary; the end-of-day commuters are inattentive; the deer are thinking about coming out for an evening feed; the sun is getting low enough to silhouette every bug on your windscreen; and you are probably getting hungry!  Reasons enough for anyone…  If you wish to add hours to the day, try to do so in the morning – get an early start and the entire day will be more enjoyable. A good meal, a leisurely evening and a good night’s sleep go a long way to ensuring a positive outlook and a pleasant ride the following day. 

 

            Cut yourself some slack .  Try not to schedule your holiday time too tightly: then if everything goes sideways, there is no need to panic to meet deadlines or commitments.  Bikes can break down, the weather can go seriously bad, detours happen, travel-flu might strike… any number of things can derail the best of plans – so leave some room in the schedule. On extended road trips I usually plan on not riding one day in five. This gives me time to relax, to do bike maintenance, laundry, find an internet café, buy groceries… the list goes on.  This builds some slack into the plan from the start, and on long trips the respite from the road is vital to maintaining my energy and enthusiasm. I think my bike appreciates a day off too! 

 

Two weeks or six months on the road – the philosophy stays the same. Be kind to your body and your bike. Stop often. Don’t rush for time or miles.  Keep healthy. Enjoy. 

 

Guaranteed good memories to follow… 

 

Ride Far and Ride Safely 

Alison 

gone2wheeling@yahoo.ca