Posts Tagged ‘motorcycle blog’

Motorcycle Recall January 2024: Suzuki, BMW and Cake 0

Posted: January 29, 2024 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle news, motorcycle recall, motorcycle safety
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Be aware that this motorcycle recall list is for the United States for the last 30 days, there is no way I could cover the entire world. But in the world of global manufacturing, if a motorcycle is being recalled in one country there is a good chance it is under recall in others. So, safety first.

Also, (DISCLAIMER) this should not be considered a definitive list, check for yourself if you have any questions.

If you are US based, use the NHTSA website http://www.safercar.gov. Enter your VIN number to see if your motorcycle is affected by the recall.

If you are based outside the USA, use the appropriate website to locate recalls that may impact you.

BTW I had never heard of Cake 0 motorcycles either!

*****

NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V038000

Manufacturer Suzuki Motor USA, LLC

Components SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

Summary Suzuki Motor USA, LLC (Suzuki) is recalling certain 2024 GSX1300R motorcycles. The brake fluid pipe flare nut for the brake fluid supply line may have been tightened incorrectly and cause a brake fluid leak.

Remedy Dealers will inspect and tighten the brake pipe flare nut connection and adjust the brake fluid level, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed February 5, 2024. Owners may contact Suzuki customer service at 1-714-542-1490. Suzuki’s number for this recall is 3A01.

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NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V904000

Manufacturer Cake 0 Emission USA Inc

Components ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Summary Cake 0 Emission USA Inc (Cake) is recalling certain 2018-2023 Kalk, Kalk Ink, and Kalk work motorcycles. The lithium-ion battery cells can fail while charging.

Remedy Cake will replace the battery pack, free of charge. As an interim action, owners will be instructed to check their battery serial number and if necessary, follow interim charging instructions until the remedy battery is available. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed January 19, 2024. A second notice will be sent once the remedy becomes available, anticipated March 2024. Owners may contact Cake customer service at service@ridecake.com.

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NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V884000

Manufacturer BMW of North America, LLC

Components EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Summary BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021-2024 BMW R 18B and R 18 Transcontinental motorcycles. The headlight low beam attachment points may break, shifting the reflector out of position, and resulting in insufficient illumination. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, “Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment.”

Remedy The remedy is currently under development. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed February 13, 2024. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Ride On, Ride Safe

Best of 2023: Motorcycle Posters

Posted: January 16, 2024 in custom motorcycle, Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle show
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Every year I collect those motorcycle event posters, drawing and printed art that catch my eye or tickle my fancy (and no, I don’t know what part of my body contains the fancy 😊). This year I started with 14 but it was not hard to narrow it down to the 9 Best Motorcycle Posters of 2023.

I wish I could attribute all the artists in this awesome list but there is rarely information on who created each item.

Which one is your favorite piece of artwork? Mine is the Willow Springs Grand Prix poster!

Ride On, Ride Safe!

🏍️

Best of 2023: Motorcycle Tank Art

Posted: January 11, 2024 in custom motorcycle, Motorcycle
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The age of hardcore custom motorcycles may be passing.  It has become increasingly harder to find cool custom bikes.  Maybe I am looking in all the wrong spots, but it was not easy to find the motorcycle tank art over the last couple years.

This year I found 12, BUT it was very easy to make the cut to the 9 best motorcycle tanks for 2023.

Ride On, Ride Safe!

🏍️

Ijustwant2ride

9 Best Motorcycle Memes of 2023

Posted: January 8, 2024 in Motorcycle
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It is that time of year again, IJustWant2Ride’s BEST OF SERIES!!  First up are the best memes of 2023.  There were a lot of great memes this year, but these are the memes that I like the best.

I started with 18 memes, collected though out the year, and had to cut that into half to get to the 9 best.  Why 9? Because everyone does ten and 11 is too much work!

Front Royal Virginia Polar Bear Motorcycle Ride

Posted: January 3, 2024 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
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Weather, snow, ice or freezing rain permitting the wife and I like to go out for a motorcycle ride each New Year’s Day.  It has been a 50/50 proposition most years for these rides, but this year the forecast looked cold but ridable. Good weather for Polar Bears and nut cases like us.

At about 11AM we set out with our friend and neighbor Mark for a 90-mile ride.  The sky was dark and overcast and looked heavy with moisture but, the weather folks reported that there was only a very low chance of precipitation. The temperature was 39F degrees, a very wet, damp feeling 39 degrees.  

Leaving Front Royal, VA we headed east towards the town of Warrenton, which is not named after me sadly. I was quickly reminded of one of the failings of my Sena Outrush (Harley version) motorcycle helmet, the visor is not pinlock ready and I had, yet again, not ordered the replacement.  Because of that I had to The Sena communication package worked well the entire ride as all three of us were paired and could talk as we rode.

About 30 minutes into the ride, it started snowing! Soon snow was swirling in tiny tornados across the pavement.  It was not sticking to the pavement so onward we rode our iron horses into the cold and snow! 😊

At the halfway point the temperatures had not improved but the snow had slowed to just random flakes here and there. However, the cold was starting to penetrate, making us feel a little like the polar bears of this namesake ride. This ride, during a warmer time, is a great one for those that wish to visit Civil War historical site. There are many road markers directing you to those sites along the way.

Arriving back home it was a bit of a struggle to get off the motorcycle.  Instead of just swinging my leg over the back rest and off the bike, I had to slide it across the seat and off.  I had tightened in the cold and was quite stiff. Plus, it did not help that I had multiple layers of clothing and leather chaps in hopes to stay warm.

If you have been reading this blog for a long you might recall that I had called these rides “Frosty Balls” rides.  I can no longer do that as the new motorcycle has a heated seat! LOL Between the heated seats and the heated hand grips all I need is a heated body!

If you would like some tips for cold weather riding check this post out “9 Cold Weather Riding Tips”

For those of you that ride Harley Davidson models with the “Boom Box” system you can download our ride here “2024 Front Royal Polar Bear Ride“

Ride On, Ride Safe!

🏍️

Motorcycle Recall December 2023: Can Am X2, Harley Davidson, Indian and Ducati

Posted: December 31, 2023 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle news, motorcycle recall, motorcycle safety
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Be aware that this motorcycle recall list is for the United States for the last 30 days, there is no way I could cover the entire world. But in the world of global manufacturing, if a motorcycle is being recalled in one country there is a good chance it is under recall in others. So, safety first.

Also, (DISCLAIMER) this should not be considered a definitive list, check for yourself if you have any questions.

If you are US based, use the NHTSA website http://www.safercar.gov. Enter your VIN number to see if your motorcycle is affected by the recall.

If you are based outside the USA, use the appropriate website to locate recalls that may impact you.

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NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V856000

Manufacturer Bombardier Recreational Products, Inc.

Components VISIBILITY

Summary Bombardier Recreational Products, Inc. (Bombardier) is recalling certain 2023 Can-Am F3 and F3-S motorcycles. The rearview mirror lens may dislodge from the housing.

Remedy Dealers will install new mirror assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 22, 2024. Owners may contact BRP customer service at 1-888-272-9222. Bombardier’s number for this recall is Bulletin 2023-9. This recall is an expansion of Recall 23V-053.

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NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V855000

Manufacturer Bombardier Recreational Products, Inc.

Components FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

Potential Number of Units Affected 10,969

Summary Bombardier Recreational Products, Inc. (Bombardier) is recalling certain 2019-2023 Can-Am Ryker motorcycles. The impeller may swell, causing the high-pressure fuel pump to fail.

Remedy Dealers will inspect and replace the fuel pump as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed January 22, 2024. Owners may contact Bombardier customer service at 1-888-272-9222. Bombardier’s number for this recall is Bulletin 2023-10

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NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V836000

Manufacturer Harley-Davidson Motor Company

Components ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, STRUCTURE

Summary Harley-Davidson Motor Company (Harley-Davidson) is recalling certain 2023 FLHXSE (Street Glide CVO) motorcycles. The motorcycle may react unexpectedly and become difficult to control when traveling at certain high speeds, especially on rough roads or through wind gusts.

Remedy Dealers will update the engine control module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 22, 2023. Owners may contact Harley-Davidson customer service at 1-800-258-2464. Harley-Davidson’s number for this recall is 0185.

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NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V829000

Manufacturer Indian Motorcycle Company

Components ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Summary Indian Motorcycle Company (Indian) is recalling certain 2023 Chieftain Elite, 2023-2024 Chieftain Dark Horse, Chieftain Dark Horse Icon, Chieftain Limited, Chieftain, Roadmaster Limited, Roadmaster Dark Horse, Roadmaster, Springfield, Springfield Dark Horse, and 2024 Roadmaster Elite motorcycles. The crankshaft position sensor may have been routed improperly, which can result in an engine stall.

Remedy Dealers will inspect and reroute, or replace the crankshaft position sensor as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 28, 2023. Owners may contact Indian customer service at 1-877-204-3697. Indian’s number for this recall is I-23-07.

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NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V820000

Manufacturer Ducati North America

Components SEATS

Summary Ducati North America (Ducati) is recalling certain 2016-2023 XDiavel S and XDiavel STD motorcycles. The passenger backrest may break if it is installed incorrectly or used incorrectly by the passenger.

Remedy  Dealers will inspect the passenger backrest installation, tighten the screws as necessary, and also apply a warning sticker on the component, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed January 9, 2024. Owners may contact Ducati customer service at 1-888-391-5446. Ducati’s number for this recall is SRV-RCL-23-005.

*****

Ride On, Ride Safe

Motorcycle News: More on Kill Switches and a Bently Motorcycle?

Posted: December 21, 2023 in custom motorcycle, Motorcycle, Motorcycle news
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ijustwant2ride.com

DOWN Shift – Vehicle Kill Switches  

Nothing has changed except that National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has published it preliminary report on the Biden Infrastructure mandate regariding vehicle kill switches. The NHTSA is looking for public feedback on this issue.  One of the areas that they are looking for input is on false positives.

My Take – False positives shutting your car/motorcycle off is one major area of concern I have with this proposed legislation.  Even with 99.9% success rate that would leave millions of vehicles shutdown every day. Another major area of concern for me, can the police or OTHER government officials shut down your car remotely?  Just because they say that it will not happen does not mean it will not happen. You can supply that feedback and make your voice heard on this new regulation by going to regualtions.gov and searching for the docket number, NHTSA-2022-0079.

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UP Shift – Bently and Ducati team up for a luxury motorcycle

The Ducati Diavel V4 motorcycle is getting the Bently Batur treatment.

The Bently Batur with a twin-turbo 12-cylinder 730HP engine is the most powerful Bentley ever to leave the production line.  The Batur was limited to a run of just 18 but Ducati can let you get a taste of that exclusivity.

The Ducati is painted a Scarab Green color that pulls from the Bentley Mulliner palette. The lines of the motorcycle are being updated to reflect the Bently’s characteristics.  Featuring forged rims that reflect the shapes of the car. The bike’s two-tone grille comes directly from the Batur while the triangular exhaust pulls from the sports car and front mudguard, fairing and upper view of the tank are meant to look like Batur’s hood.

Even with the Bently treatment buyers have option:

    Two-seat or single-seater tail configuration. The rider’s seat is covered in black Alcantara and red fabric that matches the look of Batur’s seats. The Bentley logo is embroidered on the rear pad.

    A “jet” helmet

    A matching jacket

Ducati will sell only 550 of these luxury motorcycles. Fifty examples are reserved exclusively for Bentley owners, who can add even more custom elements.

Each bike comes with a certificate of authenticity, a passenger seat and motorcycle cover, delivered in a personalized wooden case.

My Take – WOW.  No pricing was available when I wrote this post, but I expect it will be out of my tax bracket.  I put this as an upshift as it draws attention to the motorcycle industry.  If a Bently Batur owner gets a matching motorcycle, maybe just maybe they might buy a bike that they will actually ride.

*****

Ride on, Ride Safe

9 Tips for riding a motorcycle in winter.

Posted: December 6, 2023 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle safety, motorcycle touring
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Winter in the northern hemisphere is approaching fast, maybe faster then you can ride your motorcycle south, chasing the sun! On top of that there is great concern that the winter in the Unites States may be worse than normal because of an El Nino jet stream pulling damp air and turning it into snow. Just look a few post in the past to see we had a winter ride already this year.

If you want or “need” to ride in winter here are some tips to help you prepare for the conditions.  However, always look at the level of risk to reward before you ride out.

  1. Wear appropriate gear: Dress in layers to keep yourself warm and dry. Wear a windproof and waterproof outer layer to protect yourself from the elements. Don’t forget to wear gloves, boots, and a helmet that covers your face. If you can make a lot of that gear heated even better! If you can make your base layers synthetic and not cotton as cotton does not dry fast and you do not want to be wet in the winter.
  2. Check your tires: Make sure your tires are properly inflated and have enough tread to provide good traction on slippery roads. Racing slicks will not help you much on snow or ice.
  3. Use the right oil: Use oil that is designed for cold weather. This will help your engine start more easily and run more smoothly. I am a big fan of synthetic oil which seems to work better in winter, IMHO.
  4. Warm up your bike: Let your bike warm up for a few minutes before you start riding. This will help the engine run more smoothly and reduce the risk of stalling.
  5. Be cautious: Be extra cautious when riding in winter conditions. Slow down and leave plenty of space between you and other vehicles. Folks in cars don’t look for us in summer I am sure they will look even less in winter.
  6. Avoid sudden movements: Avoid sudden movements like hard braking or accelerating quickly. This can cause your tires to lose traction and lead to an accident.
  7. Watch out for black ice: Black ice is difficult to see and can be very dangerous. Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses, and shady areas.
  8. Stay visible: Wear bright and reflective clothing to make yourself more visible to other drivers. This is one of the reasons I run Custom Dynamic lights, they are extra bright. There are also other options such as adding reflective tape to your clothing and even helmet.
  9. Stay alert: Riding in winter conditions requires extra attention and focus. Stay alert and be prepared for unexpected situations.

It is possible to ride your motorcycle in winter and even with there is snow and ice on the ground. You just have to be very careful as you only have two wheels to handle the conditions. As I mentioned above always weigh the risk vice the reward before heading out on a cold winter day.

*****

Ride On, Ride Safe! 🏍️

Motorcycle Recall November 2023: CFMoto, Triumph

Posted: November 28, 2023 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle news, motorcycle recall, motorcycle safety
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Be aware that this motorcycle recall list is for the United States for the last 30 days, there is no way I could cover the entire world. But in the world of global manufacturing, if a motorcycle is being recalled in one country there is a good chance it is under recall in others. So safety first.

Also, (DISCLAIMER) this should not be considered a definitive list, check for yourself if you have any questions.

If you are US based, use the NHTSA website http://www.safercar.gov. Enter your VIN number to see if your motorcycle is affected by the recall.

If you are based outside the USA, use the appropriate website to locate recalls that may impact you.

*****

Manufacturer CFMOTO POWERSPORTS

Components SERVICE BRAKES, AIR, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

Summary CFMOTO POWERSPORTS, INC. (CFMOTO) is recalling certain 2022-2023 700CL-X motorcycles. The ABS control module software settings may delay braking when the hand brake lever is squeezed two or more times, and therefore lengthen the distance required to stop the motorcycle.

Remedy Dealers will update the ABS software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 27, 2023. Owners may contact CFMOTO customer service Toll Free at (888) 8-CFMOTO (283-6686) or at 1-763-398-2690; or via email at info@cfmotousa.com. CFMOTO’s number for this recall is WAR-2023-07 and is available online at www.cfmotousa.com.

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Manufacturer Triumph Motorcycles America, Ltd.

Components SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

Summary Triumph Motorcycles America, Ltd. (Triumph) is recalling certain 2020 Rocket 3 TFC, 2020-2024 Rocket 3 R, Rocket 3 GT, 2022 Rocket 3 GT Triple Black, and Rocket 3 R Black motorcycles. The rear brake master cylinder may fail to move fluid through the system properly, requiring an extended distance to stop.

Remedy Dealers will replace the rear brake master cylinder, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 20, 2023. Owners may contact Triumph’s customer service at 1-678-854-2010. Triumph’s number for this recall is SRAN 611.

 *****

Ride On, Ride Safe

Motorcycle News: Vehicle Kill Switches and Speed Limiters

Posted: November 23, 2023 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle news
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ijustwant2ride.com

I am always looking at motorcycle news. Sometimes it is good news, sometimes it is not so good news. Here I give you a quick synopsis of the news story that caught my eye and then my take on that story.

Down Shift – Vehicle Kill Switches  

Under the Biden Infrastructure Bill “provision requires such technology to “passively monitor the performance of a driver” and “prevent or limit motor vehicle operation if an impairment is detected.” That “this needs to be developed and rules given to manufactures by 2026”.  We could see this as a “new feature”, for which we will be paying, by 2027.

My Take – Some are arguing that this is not a kill switch, but from the way I read the language it is a kill switch.  Whether or not it will stop a moving vehicle is a different question.  But, the way government bureaucracies work, if it does not cover stopping a moving vehicle at first, it soon will.

We do not need this level of government interference in our lives.  While the provision states “impaired driver” now what prevents the standard from changing to something different in the future.

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Down Shift – Using Technology to limit vehicle speed.

To prevent deaths from speeding, the NTSB has recommended limiting the speed of cars via technology, if necessary. This proposed action is another part of the Biden Infrastructure Plan.  This effort is modeled from the European Union legislation requiring all new vehicles to have “intelligent speed assistance” systems as standard equipment, which can be temporarily overridden by the driver. The limiting technology, known as Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), doesn’t force drivers to obey the speed limit. 

My Take – I am sure that Vision Zero has their smelly little hands on both these rules that were slide into the Biden Infrastructure Plan.  Yes, I do not like the Vision Zero folks.  IMHO they are nothing but little totalitarians who what to eliminate motorcycles from the road. I am sure their unwritten manifesto is “The best way to save lives in the transportation system is to have no transportation”.

They state that the ISA will not force drivers/riders to obey the speed limit but, like the above proposal, if it does not at the start it will in a few years.

*****

Ride on, Ride Safe

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