Nov 11
Swap meet.
icon1 Guy | icon2 Uncategorized | icon4 11 11th, 2009| icon3No Comments »

I went to my first swap meet Sunday. A friend had a spot and offered to let me take a jacket I’d bought before losing 75 pounds. I didn’t sell the jacket, and my friend didn’t make much, if any, money. But it was good experience anyway.
I didn’t see many people swapping parts, but I did see a lot of folks swapping advice, stories and good times. I also got to see some unusual bikes. It was better seeing them this way. They weren’t lined up in a bike show, but just sitting at a vendor site or in the parking lot.
Even though it didn’t appear to be a huge financial success, I heard a lot of people talking about making it a regular event. I hope they do. It was fun, and I think that as time goes by and people get used to the idea, it will start bringing in money.
blog-111109

— Guy B. Wheatley

Sep 3
Resell value
icon1 Guy | icon2 Uncategorized | icon4 09 3rd, 2009| icon3No Comments »
The first bike I bought was new from the dealership. I wanted a mechanically sound motorcycle that was the appropriate size for a beginning rider. I also wanted to know that I could bring it back to the dealership with problems and questions.

2004 250 Honda Nighthawk

My first bike. A 2004 250 Honda Nighthawk

My second bike came from an individual. I’d actually seen this machine when I bought the first one. It was at the dealership at that time, taken as a trade-in. The sales and service staff at the dealership was surprisingly helpful. The service department gave the bike a quick once over at no charge and assured me that it was in good condition and worth the asking price. These bikes were both Hondas, and to this day I find myself drawn to Hondas. Other brands make good bikes, but to me a Honda feels like coming home.

1994 VF750 Honda Magna

Bike number two. A 1994 VF750
Honda Magna

My third motorcycle was a Victory I got from a bank as a repo. There was a Victory dealership in town at that time and I took it by there on the test ride. The service department was familiar with it, having serviced it for the bank. Again, they assured me that it was in good condition and worth the price the bank wanted.
Since then, I’ve bought one other new motorcycle, and two used ones. Future purchases are likely to be larger machines where cost will drive me to the secondary market. I just don’t have 20 grand to spend on a toy. So, should dealerships and manufacturers worry about my opinion? You bet-cha.

2002 Victory 92 TC Deluxe.

Number 3, A 2002 Victory 92TC Deluxe.

As I lurk on motorcycle forums where members are actively planning the purchase of a new Victory Vision or Honda Goldwing, one line is repeated again and again. “As soon as I sell my bike.” The days when a first purchase is likely to be a $30,000 machine at the local Harley shop are gone. Most of these machines will go to people “moving up” from a previous purchase. And that’s where I come in.
If manufactures and dealers want to move new bikes, they’re going to have to keep the resale value up on the old ones. The best way … nay only way, to do that is to provide a helpful service department and reasonably priced parts.

Aug 28

Approaching the end of August, one may fairly hope the worst of the summer heat is behind us. Fall isn’t too far ahead and it’s time to start thinking about those great rides to some of the many harvest festivals in the area.
This coming weekend has the Queen Wilhelmina Rod Run & Bike Show close to Mena Arkansas. Any excuse is good enough to ride this beautiful part of Arkansas. Arkansas folks are friendly and know how to put on a good party, so expect a good reception with good food and great entertainment.
And you’ve got to ride the Talimena scenic drive from Talihina Oklahoma to Mena Arkansas, or the other way if you prefer. The scenic route follows skyline drive north out of Mena and includes the Queen Wilhemina State Park lodge. It’s a little more than 60 miles one way, and will take just more than an hour and a half.
Mena is right at 100 miles from Texarkana, and it will take two hours of riding to get there. My experiences in that part of Arkansas have always been well worth the trip.

— Guy Wheatley

Jul 24
Airbag
icon1 Guy | icon2 Uncategorized | icon4 07 24th, 2009| icon3No Comments »

I was watching the Isle of Mann TT practice runs and happened to catch an interview with a guy developing an airbag system for motorcyclists.

At first thought, the idea of an airbag on a motorcycle seem ludicrous. OK, so technically the airbag isn’t on the motorcycle, it’s on the rider. It’s still a concept sure to raise some eyebrows. But watching the demonstration at the TT practice, it started to seem a little more practical. Unlike the video above, the demonstrator at the the TT had the bag deploy under a stretchable outer jacket. As a result, it stayed around the rider much better.
Arms and legs were still flailing around and prone to be broken, but usually those will heal. The bag appeared to give significant additional protection to the upper torso, neck, and even the head. It looks like, when deployed correctly, a rider is much less likely to suffer fatal trauma to those areas. This system is not going to make a crash fun, but it make some of them survivable.
They were collecting data for the electronic controller at the TT practice to refine the deployment algorithms. You want to be sure it goes off in a wreck, but not before then. The developer said he hoped to go to market in about 2 years.
If it’s not hopelessly expensive, I just might get one.

— Guy Wheatley

Jun 22
GPS
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I mounted my gps unit a few weeks ago. I don’t trust the suction cup to hold it to the windshield, so I decided to make my own mount. I fabricated a bracket from a strip of steel, carefully bending it with the correct gap for the mounting stem. I then drilled holes for the long bolt that holds the stem to the suction cup assembly. Finally, I needed a friction plate on the mounting bracket so that the stem would hold position. I’ve used bee’s was as a mold for epoxy before, to make “plastic” parts. I planed to use it to duplicate the ratchet face from the original mount onto the bike mount. Temporarily I used friction tape to give the teeth on the stem side something to bite into.

Fabricated handle bar mount.

Fabricated handle bar mount.

The other issue is that this is not a water proof unit designed for a motorcycle. In the past, I just had to take it off and store in a water tight bag when the rain set in. Of course I can’t use it that way, so no navigator in the rain. I’ve seen some water tight cases for them on a site that sold gps accessories. They ran from $18 to $45. But these were all designed to use as hand held. None of them had a mounting system that would work on the bike. So I began to think about how to fabricate them.
I was showing this to a friend and explaining what I was trying to do. He looked at my bike and gps for a second, then stuffed the mount with suction base still attached down into the area between my gauges and the windshield. There was just enough room to gently wedge it in place where it rides quite securely with out blocking any of the other gauges. He then told me he uses a plastic bag slipped over his gps and a twist tie to hold it shut at the bottom to prevent mist from coming up from below.

Well Duh! Sometimes the simple solutions are the best.

gps mount

gps mount

Mount with gps

Mount with gps

Bag over gps

Bag over gps

— Guy Wheatley