Saturday, May 06, 2006

Brokeback Fender


I just got in from ridin' trails all day. Me and the Swampthing were in amongst the 125 and 250 two-smokers with a KLX250s and a KX450 four stroke for good measure.

Tales are to follow and maybe a pic. Rest assured, I have been out doing things you shouldn't do on a KLR.

No, that's not me. I had some difficulty with a tree just off the trail bending the radiator back into the fan, so Claude volunteered to straighten the fan bracket enough so I could continue. Sadly this is the only pic I got on the trails due to a digital camera that was not up to the task of vibration resistance required in the tankbag of the SwampThing.

Holy BatShit !

Meet HolyCaveman:


This fella posts on the KLR650.net forum and is pretty much the designated suspension experimenter and practicioner of the arcane art of suspension tuning. Somebody forgot to tell him certain things are Not Done on a KLR650.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Absurdity Is No Obstacle


NAPLES, Fla. -- A sheriff's pilot was temporarily blinded when someone aimed a green laser into his helicopter's cockpit, authorities said.
Two Collier County sheriff's pilots were searching for a loud party in Naples last Friday when the laser beam was directed into their cockpit, sheriff's Lt. Mark Cherney said.
One of the pilots was wearing night vision goggles, which amplified the beam and temporarily blinded him.
The pilot suffered severe headaches and it remains unclear if the laser caused lasting damage to his eyes, Cherney said. The other pilot was not injured by the beam.
It is a felony to point a laser at an aircraft. No one has been charged in the attack.

"We have some leads," Cherney said. "We're looking for more."


This is cute. Robo-cop wannabes using nightvision while piloting a helecopter on a secret mission looking for loud parties.

I wonder what the budget is for the "Loud Party Airial Reconnisance Patrol" , hmmm?

Let's see a nice used Bell Helicopter is for sale on ebay for $895,000.
Nightvision goggles for around $2500 for the good stuff.
Pilot - let's say $70.000.
co-pilot - $65,000
Ground support and maintenance I guess around $100,000 year contracted out.

If the city of naples, Florida is prepared to spend that kinda money to locate Loud Parties nothing is beyond the pale for the fedgov. Any calls of "The fderal government doesn't have the time or resources to_______." should fall on deaf ears. Anything a governing body can/may do, it will do. Absurdity is no obstacle.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Diesel Conversion - Not the KLR

Anybody have any idea how much HP in a diesel would be required to move my Suburban down the road at legal speeds? It's probably around 7,000 lbs loaded. EP? Bill? Astro? Y'all know who I'm talkin' to.

I find myself lamenting the prospect of unloading the behemoth for a more economical form of personal transport and have recently found the time to consider picking up an old 4 cylinder Perkins or somesuch out of an outdoor forklift, straight truck (6 wheeler) or marine power unit and doin' a swap. I have the rescources to engineer and execute this and I figure it will put the 'burb near the 20mpg mark which I can live with. Gearing is not a problem as the 'burb has a tall overdrive.

I'm not a bit interested in being able to haul ass down the road and am thinking the european approach to powering a 'lorrie' is the way to go.

Gum-bo Rally !


There's a KLR rider I know of put his adventure bike away for a Dos Equis speed run from Omaha to Apalachicola (Haul ass from Omaha to Old Virginia and hang a right, y'all) for a bowl of fresh gumbo. Sound crazy? Been there, done that. Twice.

See there is this great little cafe' on the Mississippi called the Magnolia Grill (What else?!) at Natchez Under-the-Hill on the banks of the Mississippi where the old paddlewheelers used to dock at what was one time considered the Barbary Coast of US water travel. There is an old saloon still in operation and a bunch of yuppie shops, but the treat is the Magnolia Grill. An ice cold Corona at the end of a hot, hard ride overlooking the Mighty Mississippi and all is right with the world.


I hope this doesn't give anyboby the itch.....

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Meet the Motorcycling Underworld - Slick Creek on the TransAm Trail

Y'all remember the tale of Nate droppin' his bike for the first time in Slick Creek on the TAT. Just as a public service I am posting some pics lifted off of AdvRider.com to better illustrate the process whereby Nate bit it. This is purley for academic reasons. Not to make fun of anybody or anything like that, but I know I don't have to tell y'all that, now..... do I.

Here's a fella makin' a bold attempt using pretty much the same teeter-totter method as Nate:



Here is another fella suffering the same results as Nate. Thump.


Not to be braggin' or anything, but this is pretty much how I did it:
Nice bike, eh, Waterboy? Look!, you can ride dualsport and still keep your blog handle!

Monday, May 01, 2006

New Rider - Ninja 250

Just got my first new bike last Friday!

It's only a Ninja 250, but I'm going to go for a sport-tourer after I get some serious miles under my belt.
Michael Maier Edit comment Delete comment | Email | Homepage | 05.01.06 - 7:39 pm | #


Congrats, MM! I can't think of a better starter bike. Many experienced riders enjoy them and I think there are even some club races limited to participation with only the EX250. Excellent choice.

Waterboy?????

chirp - chirp

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Fun With Search Engines - Google "cruiserboy"

Ever look at the Sitemeter page tracking referal pages to your blog? I do. It is interesting to note what you have in common with the great searching horde of humanity the world over.

ZX14R; KLR650; KLX250s review; GPZ

Always the motorcycle stuff, though "ethnocentricity" had quite a following for awhile....However, my favorite recurring search string has to be "cruiserboys".

I referred to some fellas I was riding with in this way completely innocent of the homosexual connotation Sitemeter and have Google since revealed. Black leather everything and "chaps" - that's what otherwise grown men call their leather pants with no ass in 'em. I swear I laugh out loud everytime it pops up. A cruiserboy, it seems, is typified by the village people motorcycle gayguy, ya'll! Granted, when I called 'em cruiserboys I did mean it in a off the cuff derogetory way, but I had no idea of the extent of my own diabolical subconcious machinations.

So, Greg (not you EP), Frank, Timmy, Pappy, and Dave, many a pillowbiter has spanked his monkey reading my tale of the ride with y'all when Pappy, ahem, 'went down'. I ain't laughin'.... Really....I'm not.