A boring photo

The photo doesn't do the day justice. It was gloomy but it was December 30 with temps in the 50s F. I had a great late-winter ride.

The rock cliff in the background is one at Creve Coeur Park that is hidden when the trees have leaves. And it looks more impressive when it's dry and contrasts with the background better.

So this is a dumb photographic chronicle of a very nice afternoon ride.

Dripping Spring

Due to recent low temperatures below 10 degrees F, the Dripping Spring at Creve Coeur Lake isn't dripping very much. It was 35F when I took this photo on the afternoon of Saturday, December 18, 2010.

To give you a better idea of scale: there are three teenagers huddled inside the gap between rock shelves midway up the "falls" above the park bench. The view from the inside must be pretty cool. I might have to sneak in there myself, despite the "no climbing on the rocks" sign.

The big sign on the left makes reference to the legend of the broken-hearted Indian maiden who lost her life here, without actually telling you the @#$% story. Thanks a lot.

"Creve Coeur" means "broken heart" in some obscure ancient language.

The Last Ride

Last Friday, December 10, 2010, I took my last ride on The Chrome Nun. With temps in the high 40s I drove my car home at lunch and rode the motorcycle back to work. When quitting time came the temps were low 50s so I made that ride home last until well after dark.

Snow was forecast for the weekend, and it came. This is St. Louis and occasional warm winter days are not uncommon. But seeing my covered motorcycle surrounded by the white stuff is a very unhappy experience.

We don't have a garage this winter so I can't even visit The Nun unless I fight the cover off and stand out in the cold. I'm resisting storing her because I'm counting on those odd ride-worthy days.

The forecast says the temps will creep up to just above freezing this weekend. Unless it's extremely windy I'll probably go for a ride in town. It won't be comfortable and it won't be too much fun but an uncomfortable ride is better than no ride and withdrawal is a bitch.

But baby it's cold outside

The predicted afternoon high for yesterday was a windy 43F. Without checking the temperature I suited up around 1:00 PM and went for a spin. My latest experiment in clothing layers kept my torso warm enough but just barely. And my hands could not have handled prolonged upwind riding.

I rode about 20 miles on slow back streets and made several "warm-up" stops. I was so well insulated that I warmed up quickly when I wasn't moving. The ride was fun but it sure seemed colder than 43F. I turned toward home sooner than I wanted to and immediately checked weather.com for the current temperature.
It was 35!!

Considering I'm not yet acclimated to cold weather, I was very comfortable for 35F! Apparently my latest clothing experiment was a thermal success.

I was wearing a T-shirt, long-sleeve work shirt, jeans, thermal overalls, sweat shirt, cloth-lined nylon "windbreaker" jacket and a Perfecto style motorcycle jacket with liner and pocket bags removed and duct tape over the pocket zippers on the inside. I wore a polyester scarf around my neck and over my chin. and a full coverage helmet with visor. I wore lace-up over-the-ankle boots and lined black leather gloves.

I need better insulated gloves. And the combined pressure of all those layers around my neck was too much. The experiments continue. But not today. The streets are below freezing and I don't risk ice.

Winter Wonderland my arse

Had a good ride yesterday despite low temperatures. It was only in the 40s (F) so I was bundled up like a little kid going sledding. I wore a T-shirt, long sleeved work shirt, two sweatshirts, jeans, thermal overalls and perfecto-style jacket.
I stayed around town because it's colder and more windy out in the country. It was Saturday but I stuck mostly to back streets and avoided most traffic.

I noticed that my new tires (Pirelli Sport Demon) feel different when they are cold. The bike felt a little awkward until I'd ridden for about half an hour. I already knew that tires behave differently at different temps but I've never noticed such a dramatic difference. I take it easy for the first half hour anyway, to let the engine warm up properly. Even then I ease into higher revs for awhile. I don't tend to really push the bike until it's been running for about an hour.

(In super-hot weather it's different. I'm reluctant to really crank it when I know the bike is running high on the hot side. All my Hondas ran less well when it was around 100 degrees out, so I took it easy. The Triumph only felt a little different on high 90s days last summer, but I took it easy anyway.)

I'll continue to ride in above freezing temps (32+) as long as there's no snow or ice on the street. There was a little bit on the ground yesterday, but not in the streets.

I'm hoping and praying for a mild winter with lots of "Indian Summer" days.

One of my favorite shots

This is one of my favorite ride pics. It's on old Highway 100 just off Highway T west of St. Louis.

The Best Motorcycle in the World

The Chrome Nun, my 2008 Triumph Bonneville T100, is the best motorcycle in the world. I'm biased, of course, but that really is the way I feel about The Nun. And I will now elaborate on my absurd statement.

If I could have designed my dream motorcycle it would have been very close to the reality of the new Bonneville. The new Bonnie has the name and look of a classic but is built with the highest standards of engineering and quality. This is a Triumph that Sochiro Honda would respect.

I like a lot of different motorcyles and would own a dozen different bikes if I could afford them, but since I can only afford one right now, my best bet is a Bonnie. I ride all kinds of roads. I'm a backroader and an explorer. I never know what kind of road I'll turn down next. For that kind of riding I'm most comfortable on a mid-size naked standard twin. That description includes the Sportster and the new Guzzi V7, both of which I like. I just like the Bonnie more.

If the Bonnie was much bigger it wouldn't be suited for bad back roads. If it was much smaller it wouldn't handle well on fast highways. The new Bonnie is an old-fashioned general-purpose motorcycle, and that's my favorite kind. I like that I can confidently turn down any road that captures my curiosity.

Of all the new Bonnevilles I like the 2008 T100 best. I love the retro styling of the T and '08 was the last year for real carburetors (in the US). Electronic Fuel Injection has become very dependable but a carb failure will most likely just slow you down while an EFI failure could stop you cold. Anyway, I dislike the "phony carbs" on the EFI models.

And of all the color schemes on the new Bonnies, many of which I think look great, I like the b&w T100 the most. I like black motorcycles but these days all-black is a little too black for my taste. The b&w T reminds me of a police motorcycle. Maybe that's comforting.

I've made a few important changes to The Nun which have made her even more suited to me. And this bike is the first showroom-new vehicle I've ever bought for myself. And when you put this all together it seems right that before and after every ride I just stand there looking at The Nun with admiration and wonder that I got so lucky.

Some people shouldn't ride.

Last weekend I met a nice 50ish fellow with a cool new neo-retro Moto Guzzi V7. We talked at length about backroading, avoiding traffic and just enjoying riding. I thought we were kindred spirits until I saw him depart on the bike. Instead of a smooth confident take-off he handled the machine like it was his first time. Actually, the first time I rode a motorcycle I handled it more deftly than the way he rode.

Different people have different characteristics, like attitude and coordination, that make them better or poorly suited for certain physical activities. I was a natural for motorcycling. My motorcycle racing uncle Bill was probably a natural. But his little brother, my father, had no business on a motorcycle. Dad dumped bikes. And when you watched him ride, you understood why.

I need to observe bad riders and see if there is a tell, a genetic marker, like maybe they are terrible dancers...

Cold weather riding gear.

Temperatures are dropping.
I'll ride my motorcycle unless there's a threat of ice on the road. But I don't like hypothermia.

I recently bought a "pair" of Dickies thermal bib overalls for about 60 bucks. They are black, warm, comfortable and easy to get on and off over boots and jeans. They fold easily, making storage simple. I've worn them while riding in temps in the low 40s F and have been perfectly comfortable. I think the bibs will be sufficient for all but prolonged near-freezing exposure.

To keep my upper torso warm I wear as many layers as the temperature requires: T-shirt, heavy long-sleeve work shirt, large sweatshirt, XL sweatshirt, XXL sweatshirt, "perfecto" jacket, wool scarf and full-coverage helmet.

I deliberately purchased an oversized jacket and removed the liner and pocket bags so that I could wear it in temps up to 80F and so that I could pile on multiple layers in cooler weather. (In temps above 80F I wear a mesh jacket.)

Depending on temps I wear mesh gloves, unlined leather gloves or lined leather gloves.

Helmet visor fogging is a problem at low temps. I've been advised to buy a product that snowmobile riders use. I'll be searching for some soon.

I don't plan on any long or high-speed rides at near freezing temperatures but it's wonderful to be able to ride around town for an hour after being snowed in for a week. Fortunately, I'm back in St. Louis where winters are usually mild and snow seldom lasts for long. "Indian Summer" warm spells in mid winter are common in St. Louis.

Electrically-heated riding gear is available but it's expensive and makes the pre and post-ride rituals more complex. If we ever move to Wisconsin I'll think about it. Or if I ever have enough spare money to afford a Ural Patrol. Then I'll be out riding IN the snow!

St. John's Gildehaus

Gateway Riders and Shadow Riders both had a sausage-fest at St. John's Gildehaus on their ride calendars. I don't ride with groups but thought it would be fun to see a bunch of bikes. The weather forecast was T-storms but the radar was clear so I headed out to Highway T and beyond.

It was a glorious day for riding but a bit windy. I hadn't been on highway V since spring, when it was a mess of patches and busted pavement. Now it's brand new blacktop all the way to Union, and it's one smooth sweet sweeper.

No bikes at the church and the line was too long for me so I explored instead. St. Louis Rock Road starts at V and heads back toward town. It's a lovely top of the world ridge-runner. It's patchy but my new Sport Demons didn't care.

After ride inspection found some oil leakage at valve cover gasket. I didn't do anything unusual on this ride so I have no idea what the problem is. Back to the shop for warranty work.

Too Busy Riding

I haven't written many entries to this blog lately because I've been too busy riding. That will change with the weather. Soon I will write more than ride.

Last weekend I took my wife on a tour of my favorite recently discovered rides. Over two days we rode more than 100 miles on wonderfully bad twisty roads, crossed three rivers, rode three ferries, in two states and five counties. We saw great scenery and an unearthly circling flock of pelicans over Calhoun County, Illinois. I avoided the boring Great River Road and its endless parade of noisy Harleys, preferring to spend my time on mostly empty back roads.

This weekend it's threatening to rain. Very sad. It's a full moon and the autumn foliage is at its colorful peak. I might have to risk getting the Nun wet and road-dirty. She's due for a bath anyway.

The Honda CB 900... by Triumph

I love vertical twins, but I have only owned two. My first bike was a Honda Dream 250, a parallel twin with forward leaning cylinders. My third bike was a four cylinder Honda 550. My second bike was a Honda CJ360T, a true vertical twin, and I thought it had a beautiful engine. I loved the looks of the vertical twin DOHC (double overhead cam) Honda CB450 but somehow never bought one.

And now I own a New Bonneville, which is like a big brother to the 450. It's an even bigger DOHC vertical twin motorcycle. It's the big twin Honda never made.

The Bonnie is also classic-Honda-like with its high quality, smoothness and quiet strength. In many ways it's more like a grown up CB450 than a classic era Triumph. And I couldn't be happier about it.

60s Triumphs were fast, great looking and super cool, but they weren't great vehicles in several important respects. They were unreliable and not the best handling bikes. Some people found their quirks charming. But I needed a bike that would get me safely to my destination, every time. In the 60s and early 70s that meant Hondas and BMWs.

Honda changed motorcycling by making performance and quality affordable. The other manufacturers had to inprove their quality to compete. Every motorcycle company has benefited from Honda's lead. Remember the AMF-era Harleys?

So when John Bloor reinvented the Bonneville, he insisted on a super reliable, high quality machine capable of competing with the best bikes in the world. And Triumph built one. I bet even Sochiro Honda would love the New Bonneville.

Honda changed automobiles, too. Remember the Vega?

Calhoun County Revisited

Yesterday I returned to Calhoun County, Illinois. Traffic was heavier and two ferries were running. I rode the MRR, the Mississippi River Road, past my intended Hardin turn off because that road was completely unmarked. After riding twisties devoid of bike traffic I met the western part of the GRR, the Great River Road. The GRR is fairly flat and barely curved so it was full of noisy Harleys and similar machines.

I took the GRR back to Hardin and perhaps the only gas station in the county. The lot was full of Harleys and trikes. I got the hell off the GRR route and took my missed cut off back to the MRR and home by the twisties.

Riding a hundred miles of "bad" twisty hilly roads has left me a bit sore. You use a lot of muscles to navigate the bad back roads; muscles that you don't use if you're reclining on a cruiser, taking easy roads.

The trees are beginning to change color. Next weekend will be very colorful. I've had enough of Calhoun for awhile. The scenery is primarily bare, recently harvested fields. I'm starting to miss Wild Horse Creek Rd.

I just had new Pirelli Sport Demon tires put on the Nun and they feel great. A minor oil drip turned out to be a loose oil filter that was installed by an authorized dealer tech. When the warranty concludes next April I'll be doing most or all service work myself. I'm more careful than the average mechanic.

I'd be riding instead of writing if I hadn't overdone it yesterday. I'll take the Nun for a spin sometime today but right now I'm enjoying a restful Sunday morning.

Calhoun County, Illinois

I discovered the Ozarks of Illinois!

Just across the Mississippi River from St. Charles County, Missouri, via the Golden Eagle Ferry, lies Calhoun County, Illinois. Unlike much of Illinois, this place is hilly and full of twisty roads.

I didn't crop the road surface out of the above photo so you can see what a rural Illinois road looks like. It's gravel and oil. The nicest ones are compressed with a roller. The cheap way is to just let the traffic compress it. The surface is as smooth as asphalt but tougher.

 Above is a museum piece that sits outside a tourist trap. It's a Cushman; the original motor scooter.

Here's a shot of the ferry ride back to Missouri. This was a much nicer ferry ride than the one at Grafton. And the roads were hilly and twisty and Harley free. The only other bike I saw was a sport bike that was getting off the ferry before I first got on. The roads from Golden Eagle to Brussels, IL are better suited to a Bonneville than to a sport bike. And don't even take your Gold Wing over there. You might fall down.

It was a beautiful day and a great ride. I'll be back when the leaves change.

Grafton Ferry

I rode a ferry for the first time yesterday. It was OK.

Grafton, Illinois is cute, tiny and overrun with noisy Harleys. Harley riders love the Great River Road (Hwy 100) because it's flat, wide and has mild curves. I was on 100 for less than two hours and saw around 200 Harleys. I also rode a winding hilly road through Pere Marquette Park, on which I saw zero Harleys.

I had lunch outside on the main strip in Grafton and it was like a Harley parade. Once in awhile a big bike would purr quietly by... Gold Wings, of course. There were a few sport bikes mixed in with the groups of Harleys.

The time I spent on 100 quickly became boring. The scenery is nice but repetitive. The first eagle you see is exciting, but a dozen eagles later the thrill wears off.

One fellow traveller endorsed the Golden Eagle Ferry over the Grafton Ferry. It leads to a hilly section of Illinois between the Illinois River and the Mississippi River. I'll be making that trip soon.

I took a lot of photos during the Grafton trip but none of them are very interesting. I include only one so-so ferry shot:

A Nun is Born

I have named my 2008 Triumph Bonneville T100.

1. The bike is black and white and chrome all over.
2. I refer to my Sunday morning rides as "going to church."
3. I have loved Grace Slick since I first heard her sing.

Therefore I have christened my beloved motorcycle...
The Chrome Nun.

For those of you who are not classic rock geezers like me, "The Chrome Nun" was one of Grace Slick's nicknames and once featured in an album title: Baron Von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun. I grew up with the Jeffersons (Airplane, Starship, etc.) and have always considered Grace the first lady of rock.

The new monikker suits my T to a T. She's respectable in a disreputable way and she's entirely capable of being unladylike.

And to continue the theme, my next bike will be The Penguin, a euphemism for a nun popularized by The Blues Brothers movie.

The Penguin will be a black Ural Patrol 2-wheel-drive sidecar bike. I'll paint the belly of the sidecar white, like the belly of a penguin. And I'll paint two small white circles on either side of the fuel tank to resemble penguin eyes.

The Penguin will be my winter bike. 2WD Urals do great in the snow and their high-amperage alternators can power electrically-heated riding gear from head to toe.

I won't be able to afford The Penguin for a few years but I'm publishing the idea now to stake my claim on it. I won't have a major cow if someone copies the idea, so long as I'm not accused of copying them.

I'm 56 now. I intend to have my Penguin by the time I'm 60. In the meantime, I'll ride the wheels off The Nun.

I'm in love with a Russian!

.











Back in Spring of 2009 my wife encouraged me to get a motorcycle. I hadn't ridden in a few years. I gave away my last bike while living in Creve Coeur, a town full of grayheads who tried to kill me every time I went for a ride. I figured I should quit while I was still alive.

Anyway, I missed riding, badly, but I didn't think there were any recent bikes I'd like. I wanted an old fashioned bike with modern engineering. I knew there had been at least one fairly recent retro-styled Japanese parallel twin but last I'd heard none were sold in the US.

So I googled "retro motorcycle" and guess what popped up. Yes, my Bonneville. And I bought one two weeks later. But guess what else popped up. Turns out there is a motorcycle model called the "Retro."

To make a short story long, the Retro is just one of several models of sidecar motorcycles built by Ural, a manufacturer in Russia. The bikes and sidecars are knock-offs of a 1938 vintage BMW rig. Ural has improved its machines over the decades but without stylistically deviating from their original "borrowed" inspiration.

A couple of models, including the Patrol pictured above, have a driveshaft linking the rear wheel of the motorcycle with the sidecar wheel, for a switchable two-wheeled drive that rivals the off-road traction of an ATV.

A 2WD Ural is a motorcycle you can ride in the snow! Do I really need to say more?

I need a 2WD Ural. I want to ride a motorcycle in the snow. And I love the funky old fashioned look of the Urals. I love their noise and their low-tech design. The Ural is made to be serviced by the owner. And it's made to be serviced with normal tools. This is the motorcycle for the proletariat... and for petit-bourgeois dilettantes like me.

Since a fully-equipped 2WD Ural costs about $13,599.00 it might take me awhile. I might have to finish paying for the Bonnie first, but I clearly see a Ural in my future.

Now would be a great time to buy a Ural. They have just upgraded the machines a lot. And yet they still have carbs. That can't last long, given increasingly rigid pollution standards. If you can swing it, get your Ural now. Then swing by Westport and give me a ride.

If you're anywhere near St. Louis, get your Ural from Dave Clark in Eureka. He's a top BMW tech and he upgrades and stands behind the Urals he sells. Check out Dave's shop at:

http://www.abcbmw.com/

1WD models can be detached from the sidecar and ridden solo. The 2WD models cannot be used without the sidecar.

The entry level 1WD Ural rig costs $10K. But I just have to have a 2WD model.

How to modify a Bonneville and then make a really poor photo of it.

On June 30, 2010 I shot the above poorly-composed photo of my 2008 Bonneville with its latest modifications. Since then I've been too busy riding the bike to make blog entries.

My Bonnie now has three mods: Triumph centerstand, Triumph King and Queen seat and Dart Flyscreen. I put the centerstand on shortly after I got the bike last Spring. I just added the other two.

The stock seat on a '08 Bonnie is as uncomfortable a motorcycle seat as my butt has ever been spanked by. I've never had an iron butt anyway and almost always stand up during stops to let my brains breathe, but the stock Bonnie "plank" made me burn after only about ten miles. The seat and my butt got a little more used to each other after a few thousand miles, but it was still torture on a long ride.

I heard great things about the comfort of the K&Q but the seat's non-traditional look had few fans. I tried the gel seat first, but it was all wrong for my leggy 6'2" and bony butt. I swapped it for the K&Q and transformed my humble horse into a royal mount. Not only is the seat super comfortable but it actually makes the Bonnie feel like a different, and better bike. I feel more solidly planted in that seat and the bike feels more under my control. Psychological? Fine.

I'm not bothered by the looks of the big seat. To my eye the new Bonnie looks chunkier than the old Bonnies and I think the big fat seat suits it fine. Anyway, when I'm riding I don't see the seat. And my bike is for riding. But yeah, I still stand and look at it for awhile after almost every ride.

I also added a Dart Flyscreen. I don't like the look of windshields on anything but a big bike (Electraglide, Indian Chief) but I also don't like being smacked around by the wind when I'm driving at highway speed. The Dart Flyscreen got great endorsements on all the forums so I thought I'd give one a try. I love it.

You wouldn't think such a tiny screen would do much and you'd be right. It doesn't do "much" but it does some. It doesn't eliminate wind buffeting but it noticeably improves it and makes the bike feel much more comfortable and stable at higher speeds. So you still have "the wind in your face" without having the wind kicking your ass.

And I found that if I lay all the way down on the tank, I can go over 80 mph without feeling any buffeting at all. If I ever go for the "ton" (100 mph) I'll be glad I have the flyscreen.

Best of all, when I'm sitting upright the tiny screen doesn't obscure my view of the pavement in front of me. I love to ride bad back roads and I need to see the road! I would never ride a faired bike on my favorite roads. Seated on a bike with a monster fairing, like a Goldwing, you can't see the pavement directly in front of you for ten or fifteen feet!

(To be honest, even the flyscreen obscures my view of the closest foot or two of pavement, but by then it's too late to change course. In other words, it's acceptable and well worth the benefit.)

I'm still not used to the different look of my bike. All my previous bikes were unmodified naked standards. But when I'm in the saddle, cruising up and down the twisties, I'm very happy with my modifications.

Back in St. Louis

I recently moved from Cornland (Central Illinois) back to St. Louis, where I came from.

This is the most beautiful place I know for motorcycle riding.

The above photo was taken Friday at Babler State Park. The tree behind my motorcycle would not quite fit in the photo. The camera was on its widest setting and I was as far back as I could get without going into the woods and obscuring the shot with foliage.

That was a great ride from Maryland Heights to Babler but I found an even better ride today. I rode past Creve Coeur Park and out the country roads in the bottom lands to Hog Hollow road. I took Hog Hollow to Olive asnd Olive to Chesterfield Parkway to Wild Horse Creek Rd.

Wild Horse Creek Rd. might be the best motorcycle road I've ever ridden on. If you live around St. Louis you should try it. But let me warn you: keep at or under the speed limit and watch the road. The scenery is outstanding and distracting. Don't be distracted. Most of the road has no shoulder and a couple of the bridges are one-lane only. Pay attention and take it easy. This isn't a road for speeding around pretending you're a racer. A real professional motorcycle racer would take this road easy and enjoy the ride. Real motorcycle races don't include daydreaming car drivers, horseback riders and wildlife. Don't be a dumbass.

I encountered one motorcycle on Wild Horse Creek Road, a new Triumph Thunderbird. If I had enough money to keep two motorcycles I'd get a Thunderbird. But on roads like Wild Horse Creek Road I'd still ride the Bonneville. As beautiful as the Thunderbird is, it's a cruiser. And I want my foot pegs right under me when I'm exploring strange roads. I would not want to ride a bike bigger than a new Bonneville on the bad back roads.

Commutism

I rode Bonnie to work today for the first time this year. It was 43 degrees when I left home and a little colder in a few spots along the way. I live in a fairly small town and work in an even smaller town. The 12 miles between them are mostly cornfields. Of course, there's no corn right now. In fact, it's a whole lot of flat nothing around here.

You don't need a photo of Central Illinois in March. Just draw a horizontal line and pretend it's the horizon. That's most of our scenery around here.

On my way home this evening I'll take some back roads. There's a few curves and a couple of inclines that the natives think are hills. That's like how people in arid areas call creeks "rivers."

I sure do miss the terrain around St. Louis.

Perfecto!

I always wear a Perfecto style motorcycle jacket (Think Marlon Brando in The Wild One). The Perfecto was designed for motorcycling. It's a very functional motorcycle jacket and I see no reason to use any other kind. There are some very comfortable synthetic jackets but no synthetic fabric is as tough as good old leather.

When I get a new jacket I always remove the belt and anything tied to the zipper pulls. I also remove the liner and pocket pouches and use the zippers as vents in hot weather. When it's really hot I ride with the jacket front unzipped. In cold weather I wear a sweatshirt or two under the jacket.

The big double breasted overlap in front stops the wind and the Perfecto even sheds rain pretty well.

One big advantage to the Perfecto style jacket is that there are many good imitations, so you can find one for about $100.00. A real Perfecto costs about $500.00.

My jacket is black, my boots are black, my (full-coverage!) helmet is black, my gloves are black and my chaps are black. My motorcycle is black and white.

I also have a white helmet for night riding in town. And my wife's helmet, jacket and gloves are white.

How NOT to take a motorcycle photo

First, be sure to take the photo AFTER the ride so that your jeans are all stretched out and you have serious helmet hair.

Second, face directly into the sun so that your eyes are good and squinty.

Third, make sure to get part of a lamp post in the picture for no good reason.

Fourth, stand in front of the bike, especially if you're over six feet tall, so that you can make the bike look smaller than it is.

Finally, make sure your T-shirt is sticking out the bottom of your jacket for a real touch of class.

Wife and I rode around the lake. Ride was uneventful except for one unusual sight. About ten thousand of several different kinds of water fowl were all clustered together in one lobe of the lake. I would have gotten a photo of it but the sun was directly behind the scene. That didn't stop a bunch of people from trying. The parking lot closest to the phenomenon was packed with amazed onlookers. The lot looked like a good place to get backed over by a distracted driver so we kept going.

Why a Bonnie?

My wife had ridden my Honda CB500 and enjoyed it much more than I enjoyed having a passenger. I sold that bike and later got rid of my 360T. That was around the turn of the 21st century.

I thought I should quit riding before my luck ran out. At the time I was living in an area where old people tried to run over me every time I went for a ride. Of course, I missed riding every nice day after that.

Then in the Spring of last year, 2009, my wife and I were trying to think of fun things to do together. She suggested I get a motorcycle that we could both ride. I thought that could be fun but I really didn't care for baggers, cruisers or Goldwings. I don't like fairings and I'm only comfortable with a vertical riding posture. That also eliminates "crotch rockets." I didn't think I'd like any of the "modern" motorcycles.

But my wife kept talking about it and I kept thinking about it. One morning I googled "retro motorcycle" because I remembered that a few years before there had been a Yamaha that was styled like an old Triumph. I liked the idea of an old styled bike with new engineering.

One of the first images that popped up was a new Triumph Bonneville. I remember uttering to myself, "uh oh." I copied the photo to an email and sent it to my wife with those words: "uh oh."

I found lots of photos and several highly complimentary articles about the new Bonnevilles. I discovered that they were in production, beautiful, fun, super reliable and big enough for passengers. I got very excited about a motorcycle for the first time in a long time.

Of all the models, years and colors, I liked the black and white 2008 T100 best. I called the nearest Triumph dealer and they had a brand new one. I bought it about a week later.

I miss the lightness, maneuverability and quickness of my old 360 but I can't say that I miss it while I'm riding the Bonnie. I only miss it when I'm sitting here thinking about it. If I was riding the Bonnie right now I'd be too busy enjoying myself to miss the 360. Does that make sense?

The Bonnie is not a very comfortable long-distance touring bike. But it carries two passengers effortlessly and goes places I wouldn't care to take a bigger bike. It is an excellent compromise between a solo day-tripper and a two-up traveling machine. As long as I only have one motorcycle, this is my best choice.

Even if my wife didn't want to ride with me, I would still have gotten the Bonnie because it is just so cool and so much fun. And, surprisingly to me, I actually enjoy riding two-up on the Bonnie. Stopping and slow maneuvering with two requires a little extra care, but taking off and riding with two is a breeze on this machine.

I need to upgrade the saddle for the sake of our aching butts, but we have a blast riding around in the country on this bike. Oh yes, that's the other thing. A big bagger is a fine interstate bike but I prefer the scenery-lined back roads and that's where the Bonnie has no peer. A lot of the back roads in central Illinois are rolled and oiled gravel. The Bonnie doesn't mind them but I wouldn't want to travel on them very far with a Goldwing.

My Third Motorcycle

I always thought of my 1974 Honda CB500 as my "second and a half" motorcycle. It was my dad's bike and he gave it to me when he bought a CB 650. I already had my beloved 1977 Honda CJ360T at the time so I hardly ever rode the 500.


In fact, about the only times I ever rode the 500 was when I planned to ride on the interstate or I intended to give a ride to a girlfriend. The 360 was too light for the interstate and too little for passengers.

The rest of the time the 500 collected dust while I rode all over town on the 360. The 500 felt heavy, awkward and sluggish compared to the 360. It was a nice looking, nice running bike. But I never really liked it.

I think my dad gave me the bike to try to bribe me into riding with him. It didn't work. He was a dangerous rider and I stayed the hell away from him. A couple of months after he got the 650 he wrecked it. He busted his rotator cuff and the bike was in the shop for a month. I rode it to his house from the shop because he wasn't ready to ride yet.

I didn't like the 650 either, but that was mostly because it was a bagger with a big view-blocking fairing. I like naked bikes. I like to be able to see the road right in front of me.

Shortly after Dad died I sold the 500. I was glad to be rid of it.

My new Bonneville is about the size and weight of the 500. It probably handles similarly but I like it anyway. I always preferred twins to fours and the Bonnie is NOT sluggish. And the Bonnie is much better for giving rides. That 865cc engine doesn't care if there's a passenger.

Boring ride report, last day of February, 2010.

It isn't that the ride was all that boring, but that there really isn't much of anything to report. I didn't go around the lake. I just rode around town from thrift store to thrift store looking for a plain red woman's head scarf.

I like to wear a slick scarf around my neck when I'm riding, to protect my neck from my helmet strap and the collar of my jacket. Between looking at scenery and watching out for other drivers I'm a real bobble-head when I ride. And that can chafe the throat very quickly.

Well-worn cotton bandanas aren't bad but super-slick headscarves are better. The only problem is that the standard slick square headscarf that every woman owned when I was a kid is now pretty much fashion-extinct.

I have a square red headscarf that I bought at a thrift store but it isn't plain. It has a kind of checked pattern. I want a plain red one. the one I have is also not the slickest material available, either. I want the slickest material, whatever that is.

I visited three thrift stores and found many scarves, but not a plain red one.

It's in the lower 40s today so there were other motorcycles out. I rode for a little while yesterday but it was only in the high 30s so I was alone.

On my way home today I visited some friends:
Oh no! My bike is the same color as a cow!!!

Hinckley 865

The heart of the new Bonneville T100 is its 865cc vertical twin engine. This power plant combines classic Triumph looks with post-Japanese-invasion engineering. The head is obviously inspired by the rightfully famous Delta head, the sharpest looking head ever designed.

The 865 is a dual-overhead-cam engine, like the classic Honda CB450. As a kid I dreamed about the 450 when I wasn't dreaming about Triumphs. And I feel like my T100 is a fulfillment of both dreams.


Despite the overhead cams, the 865 isn't a super high revving engine. It develops its peak 66 hp at only 7200 rpm. Compare that to the CB450's 43 hp at 8500 rpm! But the 865 delivers at least 90% of its peak 52 ft lbs of torque from around 2700 rpm to redline. The Bonnie has the smoothest power curve of any bike I've ever ridden.

The finning on the head and cylinders is modest. Air cooling is supplemented by an inconspicuous oil cooler. This helps the big engine to more closely resemble classic era twins, some of which were heavily finned and looked larger than they really were.

The compact upper end of the engine sits on a substantial bottom end, giving the engine a distinct look. It also contributes to a low center of gravity, and that translates into great handling.

The 865 engine has been built since 2006 and is already legendary for its performance and reliability. It is a size upgrade of the original 790 engine that has performed reliably since 2001.


They did some fancy designing to make the 865 look like a classic Triumph engine, including an oil return tube that looks like a push-rod tube and deliberately placing the large engine cover on the left and the traditional "Triumph Triangle" cover on the right. This configuration required a right-side final chain drive, which is fine with me.

The engine is clean looking, despite the addition of flexible oil lines running from the head to the small radiator-like oil cooler mounted in front of the engine. Air pollution gadgetry is largely invisible. The air injector lines blend in with the spark plug wires they sit next to.

The new Bonnie motor runs so vibration free that, with the super-quiet stock mufflers, riding a new Bonnie is like riding an electric motorcycle. It's reported that the vibration damping engineering was too good at first and that a little vibration had to be engineered back into the engine for "character." They must have added very little. This thing is smooth.

The 865 is no racing engine but it's no dog, either. A completely stock Bonnie will go from 0 to 60 mph in five seconds and reach a top speed of 115.

Presumably, if you want to go faster than everyone else in town, you'll buy a faster bike. But if you want "enough" power and more than enough quality, you can't beat the Triumph 865.

My Second Motorcycle

Sometime in the late 80s I stopped at a garage sale in my suburban neighborhood. A faded red motorcycle was parked near the garage. It had no sign on it so I asked if it was for sale. The lady said yes, then told me her husband had bought it new, his friend was injured in a motorcycle accident and the husband stopped riding. The bike hadn't been started in about ten years. I asked how much and she asked how much will you give me. I said $100.00 right away and she said OK. Later that night with fresh oil and a new battery the little bike fired right up.

The bike was a 1977 Honda CJ360T. (The bike pictured above is the 76 model. The only difference is that the 77 had a stripe on the tank.) I don't know what Honda was thinking when they made this motorcycle. It was as light as it could be, with plastic wherever possible and no starter motor. I think it was geared a little lower than the CB360.

One thing was for sure, you really had to hold on! The power to weight ratio was amazing. If I didn't shift very smoothly the front wheel came up. Top speed couldn't have been very fast because the beast really screamed at highway speeds. But from a stop I beat pretty much anything on wheels. I just held onto first gear until almost red line and when I shifted I was near the top of the power curve. Man, that was a quick bike.

I hated the ugly faded red and the dumb looking stripe so I painted all the red parts black. The bike looked like a wasp. The seat vinyl crapped out and I replaced it with heavily Scotchguarded black denim. It looked pretty cool and it was very easy on the butt.

The bike was so light that it got blown all over the place on the interstate, so instead of going around the town on the big roads I'd zig-zag through town on the back streets. It was the perfect bike for that kind of riding. Like most stock Hondas it was very quiet so I surprised a lot of people when I flew down their less-traveled byways.

[I neglected to mention that if I accelerated too hard the front wheel lifted up when I let out the clutch in second gear.]

That bike was a very bad influence on me. It made me do illegal things. I drove it way too fast and sometimes I rode it where you aren't supposed to ride. I won't go into detail in case they're still looking for me.

I had the 360 when my dad gave me his four-cylinder 1974 Honda CB550. I rode the four sometimes, mostly because it was interstate-safe and big enough to give girlfriends rides. But mostly it sat, because it was nowhere near as much fun as that 360. I eventually sold the 550 because I didn't want it to die of neglect.

Later I moved to a part of town full of dangerous drivers. I risked my neck every time I rode the 360 and finally decided to quit while I was still not dead. I couldn't bear to try and sell the bike so I just gave it to a guy I worked with.

My new Bonneville isn't as quick and maneuverable as that 360 was, but that's probably a good thing. Bonnie is only a little bit of a bad influence on me, and I can live longer with that.

My First Motorcycle

My first motorcycle was a 1967 Honda Dream 250 that I bought right after my 16th birthday in 1970. The very square looking bike was not my first choice but I don't think I could have made a better choice for my first vehicle.

When I say it was "square" I mean old-fashioned but I also mean physically square. The headlight was square, the fenders when viewed on end were squared (and flared!), the forks were squared. Nothing else looked like a Dream.

The motor was whisper quiet and always started with the merest bump of the starter button. This ugly beast was as reliable as Honda ever made them. The huge fenders and complete chain cover, while corny looking, were very functional. It looked nerdy as hell but it was really a great bike.

I rode old Red many thousands of miles all over the Midwest and she never gave me the slightest problem. None of my friends could say the same about their bikes. But I got this bike almost by accident.

Right after turning 16 Dad took me to a bike dealer in St. Louis. I picked out a cool looking late model Honda 175 scrambler and put money down on it. We left to visit a loan company and got approved. When we returned to the dealer the salesman unapologetically told me he had sold the bike right after we left.

We left that dealer, never to return, and visited a small Honda dealer closer to home. The only small but not-too-small used bike they had was the Dream. I sneered at the corny looking beast. The salesman assured me it was a great bike and a great deal (much cheaper than the scrambler) and that I owed it to myself to take it for a test ride.

He showed me how to operate it and turned me loose on the parking lot and the driveways that went all around the dealer. I started off uphill on a gravelly patch, spewed some gravel and shot up the hill. I rode all over the place with a big smile plastered across my face. They had to flag me down to get me off the thing!

We made the deal and Dad followed me home in the car. I proceeded to ride Red all over the neighborhood (we lived in the suburbs) showing all my friends. I didn't stop until nightfall. Missouri learners permits only allowed daylight riding, darn it.

I never ever regretted buying the Dream. Dwarfing the little bike with my skinny 6' 2" frame I looked like a dork on that bike, but I was the happiest dork in town.

When I got out of the Army I moved everything else home but left the bike for a week at the apartment complex. When I returned to get the bike it was gone, and the apartment management said, "What motorcycle? We don't remember any motorcycle."

What followed was an epic story that I'll save for another time.

[ If you look closely at the last picture, which I stole off the internet, you'll notice that the tank badge is a right-side tank badge! My bike was missing the left-side tank badge. Could this be a photo of my long lost bike??? ]

Sharp Dressed Rider

I'm joking about the title of this entry. I do not think the image at left is "sharp." It looks like a spaceman trying to pass himself off as a black cow.

(I'm wearing a full-coverage helmet, Perfecto style motorcycle jacket, chaps and tall boots. Not pictured are the black leather gloves I removed in order to operate the camera.)

My dad rode an old retired Army flathead Harley when he was young, and his brother, my uncle Bill, raced motorcycles. They made me promise to wear proper gear when I rode and to not drive recklessly.

I can't say that I always entirely kept my word, but their advice influenced me more than biker movies or changing fashions. I always thought it was more important to keep your skin on than it was to look cool. Not that it looks cool to ride down the highway on a bagger wearing only a wife beater, shorts, flip-flops and shades. That's biker high fashion here in Cornland.

Helmet law biker beanies are another fashion you won't see me wearing. That's the fashion statement that says "you can make me wear a helmet but you can't make me wear one that does any good." Good thinking.

I started riding with a 3/4 coverage helmet. Hippie-ish wire rims were my only eye protection. Later I grew a brain and bought a snap-on face shield. Still later I grew up and got a full-coverage helmet.

The anti-helmet gang say that helmets restrict your vision. But they tend to ride around looking straight ahead because it's uncool to move your head to watch for approaching hazards. I look like a bobble head in a hurricane when I ride. I don't think looking cool is worth getting run over.

The anti-helmet guys also tend to like loud bikes. They say "loud pipes save lives" but I don't buy into that. I always thought "loud pipes say look at me" although I'm sure there are exceptions. Some guys just love loud noise.

I once worked with a guy who owned three Harleys and an old Triumph. Two of the Harleys actually ran. He only ever rode the one that had the front wheel raked out so far that it took four lanes just to turn the thing around. I pointed out that my little Honda could run circles around any Harley in town. He said, "It's not how fast you get there but how cool you look on your way there." We had rather different philosophies. I was the one with the hot girlfriend so I wasn't very worried about not looking as cool as him.

I don't mind that everyday guys dress up like outlaws and ride bikes that look like cartoons. That's fine but it's not me. I'm not a biker. I'm a motorcyclist. I enjoy riding motorcycles. The way I dress, the kind of machine I ride and where and how I ride are selected to enhance my safety and enjoyment of riding. I like to ride the back roads where the fewest people see me, so it doesn't matter very much how cool I look.

And judging from the photo above, that's a good thing!

LSD Trip

No, I didn't ingest lysergic acid diethylamide. I went for a ride on Lake Shore Drive.
No, not the one in Chicago. The one in Springfield, IL.

Springfield is in the middle of flat, boring cornland. Most of the roads are flat and straight with 90 degree turns and intersections. Almost the only road with any curves is the one that goes around the unimaginatively named Lake Springfield.

Snow was everywhere and the lake was half frozen. I mean the northern half of the lake was liquid but the southern half was iced over.

The temperature during my ride was 43 F. I was wearing a shirt, two sweatshirts, an imitaion Perfecto jacket, jeans, tall lace-up boots, chaps, a bandana, a full-coverage helmet and gloves. I was warm enough, except for my hands. The gloves were unlined. Dumb me.

Still, the ride was great. I got a lot of surprised looks and no other bikes were on the road. Almost all the riders around here are fair-weather bikers. I get looked at funny anyway because most of the bikes around here are big V-twin baggers.

The bike ran great. Bonnie doesn't like near freezing temps very much, but she liked 43 just fine. I think I need a cover for the oil cooler when it's in the lower 30s. The bike never seems to warm up when it's that cold out.

There were a lot of puddles and the bike is a salty mess now. Check out my boots and chaps from when I stopped for a cup of coffee mid-ride:

This concludes my first ride report. Happy trails!

Greetings!

I bought a showroom-new 2008 Triumph Bonneville T100 in April of 2009.

I love this motorcycle and ride it whenever I can.

Right now there's snow on the ground so the bike is in the garage and I'm playing around on the computer.

As soon as the temperature gets above freezing around here I'll start riding again and taking photos of the bike at interesting places I visit. Then I'll post the pics and the stories here.