Spring is in the air...

And with it came the irresistible urge to get the bike out of the house and running again...

I dunno, perhaps it was the umpteenzillion bikes I saw today, including the usual Tuesday gathering of exotics in my neighborhood (see below*), or maybe all the distant wails of sportbikes zooming off in the distance...

At any rate, I got home tonight a little early from the gym and decided to push her out. With little help from Kendra (boy, she is strong!), we maneuvered her down the stoop without too many swear words... it sure is easier to get out than get in... I ran down to the gas station for a gallon of gas (which really confused the attendant) in my little red plastic container, and after adding the contents to the tank, topping off on oil, and aiming the pipes AWAY from Kendra, the house, the general public, etc, I let her rip...

And she roared to life (ok, I'm exaggerating) in a great plume of whitish smoke (ok, I'm not exaggerating)... and with only three kicks...

So she lives! Wintering indoors treated her well, as did the lining of everything with WD-40... from what I can tell, she just needs a bit of polish and some air in her tires, and she'll be ready for the open road once more...

* BTW, I finally found out what goes on every Tuesday at a Belgian pub in my area (from the Moto Guzzi National Owners Club):

(PHILADELPHIA) TWO WHEELED TUESDAYS
Come join us every Tuesday night at 7:00 P.M. at The Abbaye, 637 North 3rd (3rd and Fairmount), Philadelphia, to socialize with like minded riders and have dinner, if you wish. Rain or shine! For more info call: 215-432-4229

That would explain the wonderful assortment of non-Harleys lined up every Tuesday... I'll have to gather up my posse and head down one of these weeks...

Akira's cycle

This may have nothing to do with R5s, or with Yamahas, but it does have something to do with Japanese motorcycles... well, sorta. Someone actually made a full-size working version of the motorcycle driven by the hero in the Akira anime... and now someone's gone ahead and made one from a scooter!

In related unrelated news, check out the sub3wheelers... and you can hack together a cheaper version here...

A Short History of Irony

The history and origin of irony, as recorded by the author of another motorcycle blog.

OBB's Reader Ride

I recently submitted the R5 to the Reader's Rides section of the Old Bike Barn, a purveyor of all things motorcyclic... and was accepted. You can see the old girl in all her glory here.

Back from holiday

Back from down under! Since it was nearing the end of summer there, as you can imagine, bikes were everywhere. Perhaps because we stayed mostly in and around big metropolitan areas, I saw pretty much nothing but modern sportbikes. But they were everywhere! Much more a part of everyday life than here.

The best of all? Not a single one was chained to a pole or railing. Not one! They were parked anywhere, usually just casually on a curb, and that's it! Says a lot...

I'll be posting pics once I get throught them all.

:: HIATUS ::

Alas, friends, time for a holiday. K and I will be visiting the land down under for about 2 weeks, starting tomorrow... so no bike-related stuff until then. But lots of pics, I promise. And I'll be sure to say "Hi!" to Paul Hogan and Colin Hay for you.

Subscription

I just hooked up this site to send feeds you can subscribe to and read with a newsreader, or display on other web sites, software, or gadgets. I guess that means I'll have to post more... well, the riding season is quickly approaching, so we'll see...

To subscribe, you can use the link at the bottom of the sidebar, or click here.

Hooligan film

"Hooligan" - this documentary is not a technical history of motorcycles. It is designed to shed light on an energized cult of inspired motorcyclists – past and present – who have been referred to as "Rockers," "Hooligans," "Ton Up Boys," "Coffee Bar Cowboys," and "Bike Boys." It is not about Harley Davidson riders, weekend cruisers, chopper builders or sport bike riders. It is about a lifestyle born from the coupling of rock ‘n’ roll and the magic of two-wheeled machines like Triumphs, Nortons, BSA’s, Motoguzzis and Velocettes. It is about stripped-down, old-school cafe racers; retro classics; bobbed fenders; clip-on handlebars; customs; and rat bikes. It is about the love and commitment necessary to restore and maintain them.

I especially like the tagline:
"Real bikes are built in garages."

Strapless

While the bike was indoors, I was fiddling under the seat and located the bolts holding the seat strap. Not particularly liking the strap, I removed it... what do you think?

BTW while I was under there, I found an ancient rubber "bungie"-type tiedown wedged between the foam and seatpan. Cool.

A-RRRing-Ding-Ding-Ding

A coworker forwarded on to me this morning a PowerPoint document comparing the sounds of a HD to a Honda... of course the HD was all rumbly potato-potato, and the Honda was, well, not... but the funniest thing is I describe the sound of my bike almost exactly like this! Have a listen:

[728k WAV]


UPDATE: After having heard the sound once again, from online ads touting it as a cellphone ringtone to a wierd animation of a frog imitating a motorcycle, I followed the link to annoyingthing.net and actually discovered the origin of the sound from an interview conducted by Newtek Europe with Erik Wernquist, the creator of The Annoying Thing:

A little more than a month after I had put the animation up I got a phone call from a somewhat confused person claiming he recognised the sound in my animation as his own creation. His name was Daniel Malmedahl and he said he had been contacted by a friend of his telling him to check out my website. I was a little uncertain at first but when he gave me the "proof" of performing the sound live on the phone there was no doubt he was the guy I was looking for. Apparently he was oblivious to the fact that his sound had spread around the internet, even before the Annoying Thing. He told me the he didn't actually make that sound as a joke at first, but as a serious attempt to imitate the 2-stroke engine of a moped of his. He has a talent and interest in imitating the sound of engines. This was about six years ago, and it wasn't until a friend of his put the sound on a CD that they used to play at parties he realised the hilarious quality of the noise. From that CD, the sound somehow found its way to the internet and eventually ended up in my mailbox...