[Clay Dowling]

Low speed is the easiest way to screw up, because it’s a lot harder there. So keep doing the parking lot practice. That will help build confidence. I had a church parking lot down the street from my house where I practiced a lot when I first got the bike, and every other long-term rider I’ve talked to has done the same. The practice is also fun, and a good excuse to fool around on your bike.

As for worrying about getting hit, there’s nothing special about a bike that makes that more likely. I was hit four times in one year in my Honda Accord. I was never at fault. Twice by deer who decided that jumping from cover into the path of a vehicle was a good survival move (once in town), and twice by drivers who were not looking where their cars were going. In the case of the two hits by cars, I had no viable escape route that would have avoided the situation, and it wouldn’t have mattered how big my vehicle was, because they weren’t paying attention to what they were doing.

[Clay Dowling]

The new wings have a rear collision alarm, I don’t know why you couldn’t rig that to a flame thrower. Frankly I think it’s a great idea. Might as well give a little while you’re getting.

[Clay Dowling]

On what they carry, they tend to have the best price. They’re also cool about returns if stuff doesn’t fit.

[Clay Dowling]

You might try this:

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CustomContentDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=11101&content=36818

Unfortunately it’s an American company so you can’t get it with a Canadian flag on the background. But it sends the right message.

[Clay Dowling]

I go past a Honda dealer on the way to and from work every day, but I absolutely hate stopping in there. It’s four lanes of heavy traffic, and they are some of the least with-it drivers I have seen. I’ve stopped there on my bike once, and it was a pretty awful experience to make a left hand turn out of there even at non-peak hours. Now I mostly refuse to ride through that stretch. I’ll detour a dozen miles out of my way to avoid that patch of road on my bike.

[Clay Dowling]

When I saw it earlier in the week. I suspect that the price of even a discount helmet is well beyond the reach of somebody making his living driving a motorcycle taxi.

[Clay Dowling]

He started on a Yamaha 400 that he took off of somebody’s hands to get it off their property. A little rebuilding and it helped him get used to riding again after a hiatus to get married and have kids.

He then bought a v-star 250, which he uses for his daily commuter, and he loves it. It isn’t the fastest bike in the world, but it’s ideal for the riding he does. He rides from his house in the country to the city every day, and around the city most of the day. A small nimble bike is perfectly suited to that kind of riding, and he doesn’t mind the fuel economy either.

Size really isn’t an issue. He’s 6’2″ and doesn’t have a problem on it. This sized bike isn’t made for all day road trips, but he says he can sit it for an hour before he starts to get uncomfortable. That’s all I can do on my Magna, so that’s not too bad.

[Clay Dowling]

If you’re having troubles, I do some Drupal consulting. Drop me a note privately if you need a hand.

[Clay Dowling]

I had the bike our yesterday, and waved at a few people who were staring at the nutjob on the bike in December. It was a great day for riding though-clean dry roads and temps in the upper 40s.

[Clay Dowling]

We’ve been getting heavy snow for the last week or two, and the roads are all covered in ice. Next year I’m going to try to find a santa suit which will fit over my riding gear. That would look awesome on my red bike, pulling up to my sister’s house. I gotta think my nephews will love it if Santa shows up on a Honda.

These kinds of thoughts happen when the only thing on TV all morning is a DiY show on exterior Christmas decorations.

[Clay Dowling]

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that the guys who designed the engine and ran all the tests on it know better than anybody else what it needs to be broken in properly. As a rule engineers understand their creations much better than joe random dude.

[Clay Dowling]

There are times when I can’t return the wave because my hand is needed elsewhere. It’s good to be social, but sometimes I really need to use the clutch. Don’t take it the wrong way if somebody doesn’t wave back. They may not have seen it, they may have needed their attention or their hand elsewhere. Or maybe they think you’re a jagoff and not worth the trouble. No way to know, no point in getting fussed about something that probably doesn’t have anything to do with you.

[Clay Dowling]

They don’t sell those here in the U.S., but they look like a hell of a lot of fun. If I can get my wife or my daughter into riding they look like a very cool bike for either of them.

[Clay Dowling]

I’ll be able to have a toy like that. But I can’t afford one, and I’m not a good enough rider to handle that kind of bike right now. On the flipside, I still love the Magna.

[Clay Dowling]

I had the same wind buffeting problem on my Magna, which the previous owner had installed a behemoth of a cruiser windshield on. I pulled that off and put a flyscreen on, and the problem is gone. My head is in the smooth air and the rest of me is out of the wind. Gotta have a full-face helmet, but I have an aversion to low-flying junebugs anyway.

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