Chasing problems

The thing I didn't realize about motorcycles before I started on the endeavor is that one cannot leave the motorcycle idle for very long. Not only is my currency from riding become blunt but the motorcycle itself seems to get into a state of entropy. The battery looses charge, the chain needs to be re-lubed, tires deflate, etc. And in this past week without riding it did pretty much all that.

As a standard routine I would check everything over before hitting the road but this time I noticed something odd. Even on center stand the front tire was flat, way too flat. The first thing that came to mind was, "Oh great, I hit a nail!" So I spun the tire around to look for a puncture but there were no signs of one, no nails, no screws whatsoever. I pumped up the tire and decided to wait a bit before heading out just to be sure.

The tire was holding pressure but there was something about it that I couldn't leave to chance completely, so I decided to leave it overnight to see what happens and use my car in the meantime.

When I came back the next morning it was again flat. I spun the front wheel again this time carefully examining the tire. There were absolutely no sign of punctures. I tried listening to hear if there were signs of air leaking but couldn't hear anything leak. I called my brother to see if I could come by to get tools to remove the tire to examine it for leaks and possibly patch it but he was at work. I had things to do during the day so I decided to put it off until I get home that evening.

Definitely a slow leak but how long? I pumped up the tire again and this time clocked it to see how long it actually took to deflate. About 20 minutes to get to a fairly low point. Great! I could ride over instead of having to make two trips in the morning. Since my brother lives about 6 miles away, 10 minutes via freeway, I deduced that it was an acceptable risk to get the motorcycle over to his place. Plus I would pack my foot pump as a backup plan in case things go awry with the short hop.

In the morning after donning all my gear I over inflated the front slightly and started my stop watch. Even with 10 minutes to spare I constantly monitored the tire and the time because when there was full weight loaded on the tires I surmise that the front tire would leak even quicker. I made it alright and within 10 minutes of arrival, sure enough it went flat. A calculated risk and everything went as planned!

I took the wheel off, broke the tire bead and took the tube out. Inflated the tube and dunked it in a bucket of water to look for signs of leaks through air bubbles... But no bubbles, the queerest thing! My brother and I then examined the inside of the front tire and there were no protrusions. We figured there was only one other possible thing, the inner tube air valve. So I dunked the tube with the valve in water again but still found no leaks. After half an hour of chasing leaks and air bubbles, we surrendered and decided to put everything back. And just as a precautionary measure lube the valve core with WD40 before re-installing it.

Everything goes back on. We decided to wait it out once again to see if the valve is the culprit. After about half an hour we noticed that there was only a little bit of a pressure drop. That was it! It was the spring loaded valve core being stuck.



Although a small victory, I rode back home happy that I discovered the problem and fixed it. To be certain I took a new core from a spare inner tube and replaced it with the old one. I have a special tool that was included in my bead breaker kit to remove the valve core (Schrader valve - also spelled as Schraeder) but you could also purchase one from a bicycle shop (maybe a car parts store) for such use. This valve type is interchangeable from bicycles to cars to motorcycles tubes, they use the same valve. So if you wanted, you could use the valve cores from your bicycle tubes.




The moral of the story? Everything wears over time and mileage, be sure to carry spares, maintain your equipment and always keep a cool head when running into problems.

Texting while driving

Just saw this video over at The Lonely Rider. The incident happened a while ago but could just easily be today. Imagine if it were a motorcycle, scary!



All the more for us "two wheelers" to be extra careful not only on freeways but even while we're stopping at a stop sign or waiting at a light. Don't forget to check your 6'oclock and know your escape route in case something like this is barreling up behind you!

SOLAS tape

Get out your winter gear folks, cold weather is here! And now that the days are shorter don't forget your SOLAS tapes when you're out on your motorcycles either.

What's SOLAS tape? If you had never heard of it before, SOLAS stands for Safety Of Life At Sea. A highly reflective tape approved by the U.S. Coast Guard specifically designed to enhance the visibility of life jackets, ring buoys, survival suits, and inflatable life rafts in marine environments. It make sense since rescues at sea are also perform at night and SOLAS ' high reflectivity improves the chance of spotting a person/lifeboat when a searchlight hits it.

SOLAS tapes come in two types, an adhesive and a sew-on version. The adhesive version is highly flexible and adheres to rubber-coated cloth, vinyl-nylon laminated cloth, cured polyester cloth, PVC, aluminum, virtually most surfaces. While the sew-on version has all of the adhesive's characteristics but is most likely used in applications where the adhesives version just may not stick too well to and had to be sewn on. Both SOLAS tapes are excellent for outerwear applications such as motorcycle jackets and rain gear. It even sticks to nylon and cordura.

SOLAS is normally sold in 15-foot increments or 55-yard rolls. Depending on who you're buying from they could be on the pricey side, but the way I see it it's a good investment for safety reasons.

I've used SOLAS on my bike and gear ever since I've started riding and have had many occasions to see it in action. Loosing my brother at night in freeway traffic? No problem! I could easily identify him at night with SOLAS on at a quarter mile ahead if not more in my motorcycle's headlight. There's no doubt that I'm highly visible to automobiles and trucks which is a definite added safety measure.

Check it out...

Risk management

I came across an article recently about how people misuse GPS technology. Because they were overconfident and relied on technology as a safety net to bail them out and in doing so got into trouble. Being that I just wrote a post about using GPS trackers for motorcycle touring I thought I should pass it along and make a couple of comments.

I remember when I first started the California MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) course one piece of good advice that I came away with that is still ingrained with me today is "risk management". Let me explain what I view as "risk management" (a variation of the MSF's version).

Philosophically speaking "safety" is an illusion. The reason why I say that is because the odds would be just about even that I would likely slip in my own bath tub, cut my finger while preparing dinner, or crash my motorcycle (if you don't factor in the roles of other motorists or luck). To be completely safe I would have to remain in my house and not do anything which is rather not practical. In our universe, our society we would have to go about our daily business and that takes risks.

While the odds may be more likely that I would cut my finger than getting into a motorcycle accident, most people would say that riding a motorcycle is more dangerous. What we sense as danger in motorcycling is actually the catastrophic results, the after effects of accidents. I believe safety is linked more with risk management.

Whenever I get suited up and ride I understand that there are risks involved. Because I know the consequence of a crash is never desirable I always start a ride with risks in mind. I try not to drive when I'm sleepy or tired, or upset, or angry, or intoxicated, etc., and I wear armor to minimize the results, that's part of my risk management.

Most of the public, however, fail to remember this. So when those people decided to hike into a wilderness area they failed to consider the risks that they're taking (their own safety), choosing only to rely on their GPS to rescue them if they got into trouble. Furthermore, most city folks also forget about their self reliance, their self sufficiency and resourcefulness before hitting that panic button.

The way I see it, it won't be long before somebody, a lawmaker most likely, will pass a law to regulate, tax or penalize the use of GPS and there goes more of our freedom.

You can read the entire article here:
Responders fear misuse of Yuppie 911 GPS beacons

GPS tracker

Earlier in the year my brother bought a SPOT. He figured we'd be going on a lot of motorcycle tours so to ease the minds of our spouses and also to keep interested friends who could not participate updated as to our progresses.

The SPOT is a personal satellite tracking system. The device currently comes in two flavors: the "Personal Tracker" (weighs 7.4 oz and measures 4.4" x 2.7 x 1.7") and "Messenger" (weighs 5.2 oz and measures 3.7"x 2.6" x 1"). Both models are capable of sending an "SOS" (when the situation is life threatening), "HELP" (non-life threatening emergency), "Check-in/OK" (lets friends and family know your status along with location), and "Track Progress" (emit constant broadcast of your progress in real time through Google map) but only the smaller "Messenger" offers a "Custom Message" feature. The SPOT is not your typical navigation GPS where it would show you directions, but functions only as a locator and serves as a beacon to send in reinforcement when you want it to. I should also mention here that there's a charge of $120/year to use the SPOT tracker.

Both models recommend using Lithium batteries. The "Personal Tracker", the larger of the two, takes AA type batteries while the "Messenger" AAA types. Battery usage for the larger unit is quoted to be 1 year if power is on but unused, 14 days in tracking mode, 7 days in SOS mode or 1900 messages. As for the "Messenger", 94 days with power on but unused, 4.3 days in tracking mode, 2.8 days in SOS or 350 messages.

Check out these user guides:
SPOT Personal Tracker
SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger

The motorcycle wave (follow up)

I went to the Pomona BMW dealer to drop off my F650GS to get the front fork seal serviced over the weekend. My brother accompanied me on the short stint and through our conversation while at the dealership the topic of the motorcycle wave came up. I wrote a bit about the motorcycle wave a few posts back but I thought I'd mention about this new anecdote here because I found it rather amusing.

My brother works at the NASA JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) in Pasadena, California and commutes daily to work on his BMW F800GS motorcycle. One day while going to work he noticed another two-wheeled motorist coming from the opposite direction probably also commuting to work. The thing that was striking about this fellow was that he was in full gear and riding a scooter. Not only do my brother and I believe in "all the gear, all the time" (ATGAT) but we understand and greatly sympathize with those who take the time to don the hot and sometimes uncomfortable protection gear before hitting the road. So as he was passing by my brother waved the peace sign. The guy just stared straight ahead ignoring him and probably wondering, "What the..."

The next day, he saw the same fellow and flashed the friendly "V" sign again. This time he just looked. Probably curious if my brother was waving to him. It went on this way for about a month then one day he finally understood and enthusiastically wave back with his peace sign. He's finally understood the fraternity of two-wheelers! He didn't think he was part of the motorcycle crowd but he always was, ever since he decided to ride!

Truth is, by being friendly with other motorist we could create a safer environment with fewer road rages and accidents, something that we forget when we're in cars where we are locked away in our own little cages, our little worlds.

So the next time you're on the road and someone give you the peace sign just remember: "peace and be safe."