Charlotte-The Search For Fuel

Very interesting problem of late in the entire Southeast. A few weeks ago, Hurricane Ike smashed into Texas. The pipeline that supplies this area, and the refineries that feed it, all were shut down, and have been slow coming up. About two weeks ago supplies here got thin, and then all hell broke loose. Even as of this date, some 80% of gas stations (on average) are out of gas. Those that have gas usually only have regular (the motorcycle requires super premium and does not like regular AT ALL as I found once by putting some in by mistake) and little of that. Many cars and bikes in lines often find the station runs out before they get gas. Its been quite a mess and not just in Charlotte; most cities in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee have had fuel problems. We are also paying higher than the national average for gas. This problem is expected to continue for the next couple of weeks.
Thanks to overtime of late (heavy), some rain, and a cold that hit me a few days ago, I still have 1/2 a tank of "the good stuff" in the bike; hope to use some of that this weekend. However, transportation of any sort in the area requires careful planning. Some people have even camped out at gas stations waiting for the fuel trucks to arrive.
Next week of course is the Fall Rally at Myrtle Beach. Hopefully fuel will not be a problem, but they are planning to test some of the new regulations designed to stop the future rallies. There is word of noise checkpoints. They also have plans to try to have helmet laws in Myrtle Beach, and also enforce new loitering laws at future rallies.Considering that the Hard Rock Park there closed due to lack of customers, and the country is in recession, you would think that people wanting to come and spend money would be a good thing. Got to admire Myrtle Beach who does not seem to need it; I am sure that other beach towns in North Carolina will be looking to bring them there. For instance, though not a beach, did note that the Mt. Airy, North Carolina town web site is very biker friendly, and even has some suggested rides for motorcyclists in the area. Have been there, a great town, and a beautiful area.
Lots of interesting new motorcycles coming out. Saw today that Suzuki has a new one, the M-90, much like the M-109 but with a smaller (around 1500cc) engine. Star also has the V-Star 950 coming out, and of course the new Star V-Max (a real update of that classic motorcycle, and a major remake), and Kawasaki has a new Vulcan 1700 coming out as well. Sure to be a lot more.
Of course the credit problems are cutting into motorcycle sales, especially for bigger bikes. Harley-Davidson sales have been down from 10.2%, and they have been cutting production a great deal to cut inventory. In fact I read that in 1998 cruisers made up some 50% of the market in the US, with scooters at 5%. This year, cruisers are down to 37% of the market, and scooters are up to 19%. Fuel, and the cost of the big bikes are big factors.
Sure to be a lot of interesting developments in motorcycling over the next few months, with a lot of new bikes and new versions of old favorites coming out. Sure to be a lot of interesting news in the coming weeks. I also hope to have news of some good rides soon; oil companies willing anyhow!

Riding in the Rain

Got an e-mail from a friend this week, telling me about a motorcycle crash in Louisville. It happened when the rider rode into a storm (happened to be in Louisville, Kentucky, my old home town) and crashed on the wet roads. He suffered severe injuries, the bike took heavy damage, and he is still (and will be for some time) in the hospital, and in recovery.
I have been riding for many years, and let me tell you...rain happens. I also have some good advice.
1). When you come upon rain, if you have rain gear, pull over and put it on. If you expect rain (clouds or the forecast calls for it) be dressed for it.
2) If it is raining, slow down, and then slow down some more. Speed is not your friend on wet roads.
3) Especially early, try to stay off of, and keep from crossing, the oil trail that runs down the center of each lane of (virtually) every road. Especially early on this mixture of motor oil, transmission fluid and antifreeze is deadly slick.
4) More than anything else, if the rain is especially severe, and you are at all uncomfortable, find a place to pull off and wait it out. Find a place with food, a mall, or if all else fails even a highway overpass and wait the storm out. Better to get to where you want to go later than you planned, than not to get there at all.
Rain is nothing to take lightly. I often change my motorcycle plans due to forecasts, or have called a planned ride early due to gathering clouds. Be especially careful around thunderstorms as they have special and deadly dangers including electricity, hail and high winds. Ride with safety foremost in your mind always!

Winston-Salem Air Show (September 7, 2008)

Sunday, September 7 at 10am, I (after a fuel stop) rode out to the Winston-Salem Air Show at Smith-Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The show was always one of my favorite events, and I had not been to it for a couple of years. However, since it had not been held during that time, it was not my fault! So I rolled out getting on I-85. For a Sunday morning, it was pretty busy; and nothing sucks like traffic on a highway on a motorcycle. However it got better when I turned off to NC-52 which took me into Winston-Salem, and to the exit to the airport. That was a pleasant ride with less traffic.
Getting into the airport grounds at 11am, the traffic was pretty heavy. I parked with a group of motorcycles on the very hard (and thankfully very dry ground). The airport is an old design and worth seeing in its own right; sort of an Art Deco design. Though very hot and humid, I wandered around the grounds. I saw the plane you see here (a PBY Catalina from World War II). The PBY was neat because the last one I saw was the remains of one wrecked in the 1940's on the island of Diego Garcia. I saw that in the 1970s back in my Navy days. There were a number of interesting planes, commercial, military, private, and performing aircraft. The air show was really great, fun to see the pilots play havoc with the laws of gravity. Big highlight for me was the flyover by a pair of F-22 Raptor flighters. All in all I spent three hours there. Was glad to see the show back, also was pleased that the crowd was large and happy. I have always been a great fan of aviation, in fact feel that motorcycling is a great deal like flying (and have found that many pilots agree with that statement) though as I like to say, though conducted at a lower level.
I left the air show around 2pm and rode into downtown Winston-Salem which was nearby. I used to make the show on a Saturday, but found that on a Sunday its still pretty deserted. Its a neat downtown (both clean wise and in an interesting sort of way) with a lot of interesting buildings and of course churches.
I rode on through town, and came across Old Salem. Old Salem is a collection of old restored buildings. You can pay to go through them, or walk the streets for free (I chose the free walk) but liked wandering around that area. Its right off the downtown, and is worth a visit.
I got back on NC-52, but took a detour to go though Welcome, NC which was on the route home. Welcome, NC is the location of Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and though it was closed stopped to get a photo of the buildings. RCR is a really good museum with quite a collection of many race cars, including many driven by Dale Earnhardt. I have been through the museum on a previous visit.
I rode back onto NC-52, and merged after a while onto I-85. Not for long though, cause again the traffic on I-85 was bad, and frankly in my opinion highways suck! I got on NC-29 and rolled through Spencer, NC and stopped at Salisbury, NC (both are some of my favorite towns). Took a little walk in Salisbury, also stopped for fuel and a coke. I rolled on down NC-29 into Concord, which is a much more scenic route, and a lot more fun to ride.
The only city I missed that I wanted to see was Lexington, NC which is the home of some really great barbecue, but will be back there in October for their festival, and will see it then. Figured after 141 miles of riding, the airshow, and a few stops on the way back, that was enough for one day, as I rolled into the driveway of my house at 5pm.

So you want to ride a motorcycle? (Part 3)

So, lets say you have had that motorcycle class I have been pushing in previous posts, and you are ready to ride, and own, your first motorcycle. As I noted in #2 of this series, there is some danger in getting the baddest bike on the market right off the bat. Many people (myself included) started riding on smaller bikes. I first rode a Kawasaki 100, went to a Yamaha 350, then (in the Navy) to a Suzuki 400, up to a Honda 550, then a Honda 600, and only in the last couple of years to a Kawasaki 1500. Is the bigger bike more fun than the others cause its bigger? No, its certainly comfortable, but not all that different than the others; and even less fun in some respects. Smaller bikes are quick handling, and fun on the really curvy roads. There are pluses and minuses.
That said there are a lot of good motorcycles out there. Be sure to check out some of the "commuter" bikes (for instance Kawasaki has the Vulcan 500 and the Versys), Honda has a lot of great models (some of the smaller Shadows and of course the 250 which if you take a motorcycle class you may train on!), Suzuki has a lot of good smaller bikes including the very highly regarded SV-650. The motorcycle magazines rave about that bike as being good for both beginners and experienced motorcyclists. What they like about it is a good balance of power and weight, also ease of maintenance with good handling. I don't think I have ever read a bad review of that bike. Even Ducati has a good starter bike, the Monster line has a highly regarded little brother. Sport bikes also come in smaller sizes, a good benefit of those is that they can also be cheaper to insure than their faster (and much more powerful) brothers.
I guess what I am trying to say is that bigger is not only not often better, but frankly can be a really bad idea for the beginning motorcyclist. What is important is that the bike fits your needs. If you plan to do a lot of highway riding you need a bike that can handle highway speeds, but that covers a lot of motorcycles; many of the 500's and 600's will run all day at highway speed. The lighter weight and lower horsepower of the smaller bikes can save you a lot of money (often as well consider that bigger bikes often require super unleaded gas), as well as be "more user friendly" to the new rider due to the lower weight, and somewhat slower 0-60 times over their bigger brothers.
Remember the best part of riding is getting back to tell stories of the ride; not the quickest trip to the hospital. Ride to live, live to ride as the slogan goes.

Motorcycle Maintenance

Been a great Labor Day weekend; got on a few "honey-do's" and also got some good riding in. All the rides have been local, did not have a great many miles to ride, as the oil change was due within 100 miles. I like to stick to the schedule. of note though I did go to the Concord Regional Airport (twice in fact) to see this 1929 Ford Tri-Motor which was visiting here. Great aircraft, and I am quite an aircraft fan. Plus, good example of how things can last if you maintain them. I worked with aircraft (in the Navy) for a number of years, and learned the importance of maintaining your vehicle.

Maintenance is important both from a safety standpoint, also to make your bike last longer. I like doing it myself; for one thing I know it was done right, and for the other its a lot cheaper as well as faster. Bike shops during the riding season can get really backed up, and its a lot faster to do as much of the work as you can on your own. Lots of good manuals out there to get instruction, even a few web sites. A few tools and other items can save you hundreds both in labor costs, but by doing the work also in repairs.

My work was to change the spark plugs (my Vulcan has four), the oil and filter, and also the rear gear oil. I had had a idle problem of late I thought was the plugs, but turned out to be a simple adjustment later on. Still new plugs really make the motorcycle purr like a kitten. As they get worn the bike tends to run rougher. New oil is also good for the engine, and I will be set for a while thanks to all that work. Wanted to get that done as it was due, and I am looking forward to the ride to the mountains pretty soon. Coming up next though is the ride to the Winst0n-Salem Air Show (weather permitting especially with the hurricanes threatening this area) which I am looking forward to on Saturday or Sunday.