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Posts Tagged ‘motorcycle blog’

Motorcycle Product Review: Newfacelook Kevlar Riding Pants

Posted: August 15, 2015 in motorcycle touring, Product Reviews
Tags: Harley Davidson, kevlar, kevlar riding pants, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, motorcycle pants, motorcycle riding, motorcycle touring, sport bike, Sportbike

Kevlar Motorcycle Riding Pants

I was in the market for a new pair of riding pants. I have one pair of Bilt “Iron Worker’s” Kevlar riding pants but camo is not something you can wear everywhere. I know that Kevlar/Aramid pants range from $300 and down, I was looking for something in the under $100 range.

Scanning Amazon I ran across Newfacelook and their line of jeans and cargo pants. The price was right and the reviews were more favorable than not so I decided to give them a chance. I did notice that a lot of the reviews stated that the pants ran small so I ordered a size up. Boy those reviews were right, they run very small. I normally were 36 and I ordered 38s, my best guess is that these are closer to 32s… no way I was getting them on. I had no issues returning the pants.

Even though they did not fit, they did look well made. I took a close look at the seams and how the Kevlar was attached to the pants, based on my impression of the build quality I decided to give them another chance. This time I ordered size 40 (wow) and they fit like a normal size 36, imagine that.

I wore the pants on a bunch of local day rides and then during our 1700 mile motorcycle vacation. I like them, they have held up well in the heat and the rain. They are comfortable and I do not even notice the armor.

I have not had a chance to try out the Kevlar and armor, thank God, but both seem to be of quality, not that I am an expert on either. I “FEEL” that I would have some protection if/when I go down.

Now of course they are not perfect. A couple of the downsides, besides the sizing, they wrinkle to easy and the Velcro for the armor pouches gives me the impression that it might not hold up for the long run, I will have to wait to see on that.

Without testing the protection I have to give the pants 4 out of 5 stars. For the price I really like them enough that I will likely buy another pair.

: Our dog Emmy points out the stitching.

Well, what do you know… I have a “Most Popular” on ALLTOP

Posted: August 4, 2015 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle news
Tags: alltop, blog, Harley Davidson, Indian motorcycle, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, motorcycle riding, sport bike, Sportbike

ALLTOP is a news/blog aggregation type of site. Today, on the ALLTOP MOTORCYCLE page, one of my “5 Things” posts has made it to the “Most Popular Stories” section. COOL

Motorcycle Recalls: A BUNCH in the last month or so…

Posted: August 2, 2015 in Motorcycle, motorcycle safety
Tags: Harley, Honda, KTM, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, motorcycle recall, motorcycle riding, motorcycle safety, sport bike, Suzuki, Yamaha

Not sure if there is a season for recalls but an awful lot of motorcycles have been affected in the last 40 days (give or take). Here are the ones that I am aware of, check the link at the bottom to find our if your bike has an open recall (any recall not just these).

185,000 – Harley-Davidson is recalling more than 185,000 motorcycles in the U.S. because the saddle bags can come loose and fall off, increasing the risk of a crash. Models affected are: certain 2014 and 2015 Road King, Street Glide, Electra Glide Ultra Classic, Ultra Limited, Police Road King, Police Electra Glide and CVO Ultra Limited bikes. Also affected are 2014 CVO Road King and the 2015 Electra Glide Ultra Classic Low, Ultra Limited Low, Road Glide, CVO Street Glide and CVO Road Glide Ultra motorcycles.

45,000 – Honda recalls more than 45,000 motorcycles A product flaw that could result in engine stalling and increased crash risks led Honda to recall certain motorcycle models dating back to 2013. The model affected are: 2013 through 2015 are ST1300PA, CB500, CBR500, CRF250L, CBR650, CTX700, NSS300, VT750, VT1300, 2015 CB300F, CBR300 and CBR600. The recall also affects NC700 models from the years 2014 through 2016.

12,700 – Yamaha recalls 12,721 Motorcycles the insulation on the stator coil, a component of the alternator, may become damaged and short circuit to due insufficient heat resistance. Models affected are: 2008-2011 WR250X motorcycles manufactured June 1, 2008, to June 1, 2011 and 2008-2015 WR250R motorcycles manufactured June 1, 2008, to June 1, 2015.

308 – Suzuki recalls 308 Accessory Backrest Mounting Hardware kits, part numbers 990A0-75148 and 990A0-75148-BLK, manufactured March 1, 2012, to April 21, 2015. The supplied bolts are to long and my rub the tire.

248 – KTM recalls Super Duke R motorcycle for an issue related to a fuel tank leak. Models affected 2014 and later 1290 Super Duke R motorcycle

That is a lot of bikes that need to be checked… my Ultra Limited is one of them.

If you have one of these model motorcycles (in the US) please check one of the US Governments websites that actually works SAFERCAR.GOV to see if you are affected.

How is this LOGO for a Motorcycle Blog?

Posted: July 31, 2015 in Motorcycle
Tags: blog, Café Racer, Harley, Harley Davidson, motorcycle blog, motorcycle riding, motorcycle touring, sport bike, Sportbike

So what do you think? Do you like it?

5 Motorcycle Things that interested me this week.

Posted: July 27, 2015 in Motorcycle, motorcycle safety
Tags: captain kirk, flat tire, hoverbike, land speeder, motorcycle blog, motorcycle tire patch, rivit trike, US Army, victory, Victory motorcycles

Around the world in less than 100 day on a Victory.

Man steals a motorcycle and gets run down!

How to plug a tubeless Motorcycle Tire

US Army Land Speeder?!?!?

Captain Kirk’s newest ship grounded…sad

Motorcycle Product Review: Viking Bags Sport Tail Bag

Posted: July 12, 2015 in Motorcycle, motorcycle touring, Product Reviews
Tags: Café Racer, Harley Davidson, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, motorcycle luggage, motorcycle touring, sport bike, sport tail bag, Sportbike, viking bags

First I have to say that I am a bit late on this motorcycle product review. I have had the bag for a few months but I wanted to wait until we could really put the Viking Bag Sport Tail Bag through a real test. (Also available at Motorcycle House)

If you follow this blog you know we just finished a 1700 mile tour from our home in northern Virginia to Myrtle Beach, SC then to the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains before heading home. This bag (their model AXE-23) was strapped to the top of our tour-pak for every mile of the trip.

We gave this bag a real work out. We experienced conditions of 100+F degree heat, multiple rain and thunderstorms, twisty mountain roads and this bag hung right in there.

OK, so what do I think about the bag. While the video will give you better details here are some of the major + and – of the bag.

+ It fits the Harley Davidson Air Wing Tour-Pak Chrome Luggage Rack really nicely.

+ The bungee cord tie downs really gave the bag a snug fit to the luggage rack. I NEVER had concerns of it coming loose.

+ The hooks for the bungee cords are coated, which provides added protection against scrapes and scuffs to chrome or paint.

+ It holds a LOT more than it would appear to hold. The design of the expansion sides gives the bag an extra 6 inches of space. Look at the video and you will see why their design is better than any other expansion side that I have seen.

+ The rain cover works well and did not come off in 70+ MPH wind.

+ The no-mar, anti-skid bottom did not scuff the chrome and helped hold it in place.

– The clips to add soft saddle bags. I would have liked to have had a female connector to use them as a secondary tie down or the ability to remove them completely.

– The side pocket zippers had tuck in spots to prevent wind “tinkle” but none of the others had that option.

– The bungee cords had little caps to protect the ends of the hooks and thus your paint and chrome, it think that was a great touch for protecting our bikes. But, two of the four tips came off during the ride.

During our ride I was considering giving the bag a 4 star rating. But, after we got home and I had time to reflect on the bag AND get my wife’s input I have no problem at all giving the Sport Tail Bag (AXE-23) a 5 out 5 rating.

That extra star came about when I realized that I was thinking of giving the bag away before the ride began and after it was over we decided that we are going to keep it for our future rides!

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbAkzD7e8xY&feature=youtu.be

You can checkout some of their other products (like sissy bar bags) here.

Motorcycle TV: Orange County Choppers – American Xtreme

Posted: July 9, 2015 in Motorcycle TV
Tags: A&e network, Café Racer, custom motorcycle, Harley Davidson, motorcycle blog, motorcycle riding, motorcycle TV, OCC, orange County Choppers, Sportbike

With the dearth of motorcycle related TV shows we can count on OCC to pop back on our sets. Love it or hate it OCC is coming back this time on the A&E Network.

While there is nothing on their website I have seen several adverts for the new show. You can check out the OCC-American Xtreme Facebook page for a little background.

The most obvious change from the older OCC variants to this Xtreme version is …. There is no Paul Jr in the cast. It looks like all the other regulars are back including Senior, Rick, Nick, Jason, and Jim Quin. Paul Jr’s brother Mikey is listed as part of the cast as well, which is good as Mikey always puts a spin on things that you might not expect.

But that is not the only big casting news Rusty Coones, late of Sons of Anarchy, is on the show as well. Guess the producers think the show needs another bit of spice. Rusty has a long past with motorcycles beyond SOA to include owing his own bike shop and running with the Hells Angles.

I have loved and barely liked the different OCC shows. Regardless of your thoughts on the Teutuls at least we get some new Motorcycle TV.

Motorcycle TV: What’s in the Barn!

Posted: July 8, 2015 in Motorcycle news, Motorcycle TV
Tags: Café Racer, discovery channel, Harley Davidson, Indian motorcycle, motorcycle blog, motorcycle riding, museum, Sportbike, what’s in the barn, wheels through time

If you have not noticed there have been no new “What’s in the Barn” motorcycle TV shows. That is because it was canceled by the Discovery Channel.

I know this because I talked to Dale Walksler, star of the show, while I was on our motorcycle touring vacation. I met Dale when we stop at the “Wheels Through Time” motorcycle museum in Maggie Valley, NC.

My reviews were not five star but that was more due to the production not the content.

Motorcycle Touring Vacation: Part 3 – Breakdown on the Highway

Posted: July 5, 2015 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
Tags: breakdown, Electra Glide Ultra Limited, Harley Davidson, Harley Owners Group, HOG, motorcycle blog, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle touring, roadside assistance, shift linkage problem

Towed away!

As I noted in Part 2, we left the Wheels Through Time Motorcycle Museum headed north on the Blue Ridge Parkway. But my internal navigation system “honed through years of military training” (LOL) kept telling me we were going the wrong direction. The crazy GPS lady was stating we were headed in the right direction but my trust was not there.

So going against the rules of my “man card” I stopped at one of the overlooks with several bikers taking in the awesome view. After a bit of small talk they confirmed I was headed in the right direction…so much for my instincts LOL. BUT, I was not completely wrong, turns out that this portion of the parkway made a long southern dip before turning to the north. So…vindication!!!

The next day we left the hotel at about 8 AM and hit Interstate 40. WOW, if you have to ride on an interstate highway let them all be like I40. Lots of elevation changes, even more gentle twists and turns on good to great tarmac, I40 is a motorcyclist dream of how every interstate should look. The next time I head to that part of the country I will roll through there again.

That wonderful feeling you get when the bike, the road, the weather and everything else comes together for the perfect ride came apart about three hours into our sojourn when the bike came apart. I was feeling an odd tap on my boot but when I looked down there was nothing there, when Debbie looked she said my shifter looked loose. Turns out it was more than loose, the linkage had come apart!!!!

I was in 6^th gear and unable to change gears! I saw an exit coming up and decided to try and baby the bike off the highway, down the exit ramp and into a gas station. I was afraid that if I had to stop that the bike would stall and I was in no mood to push. Luckily, there was no traffic at the bottom of the ramp and with a wide turn I made it through the exit and was able to roll to a stop in front of the Hartford, TN Citgo.

As soon as I was off the bike it was clear that this was a big issue around a little part. Somehow the linkage that connects to the shaft that connects to the heel/toe shift levers had disconnected. The torx screw that is used to tighten the linkage to the shaft was still there, the whole thing just vibrated right off.

The multi-tool that Harley gives you with the Ultra Limited was of no help. One bit was to small, and the next bit was to large, even so I am not sure I would have been able to fix the problem with the tool based on where I needed to be to reattach and tighten the screw.

So, as Harley Owners Group members, we called in for a tow. A few hours later we were talking with Joe at Smoky Mountain Harley Davidson of Pigeon Forge, TN. Less than 30 minutes after it was off the tow truck it was fixed and ready to ride.

From what I can tell, based on comments on Twitter, Facebook, user forums and HD techs this is not an uncommon problem. In fact I have had several people comment that, based on my roadside breakdown, that when they checked their linkage they found loose connections. IF YOU HAVE AN FLH… CHECK YOUR SHIFT LINKAGE!

Anyway, the entire ordeal lasted about 6 hours altogether. Which put us behind our semi-planned scheduled. We stopped for the night right after crossing into Virginia and then rode the all the way home the next day… through some rain of course!

The entire trip was 6 day and 1700 miles in length. We spent some quality time together even if the weather and traffic and breakdowns put a crimp in our trip. We had a good time and look forward to our next adventure. Hopefully with less rain!

: The linkage just came off.

: Joe, Smoky Mt. HD service manager.

: Going to lunch while waiting on the bike… we barely order before it was fixed.

: Smoky Mt. Harley Davidson

: Our ending mileage.

Motorcycle Touring Vacation: Part 2 Beach to the Mountains & a Motorcycle Museum

Posted: July 4, 2015 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
Tags: blue ridge parkway, Dale Walksler, Electra Glide Ultra Limited, Harley Davidson, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, motorcycle riding, motorcycle touring, smokey mountian, wheels through time

(Although I could subtitle this Beach to the Mountains via a lot of traffic and a lot more rain)

After a few days chill-laxing on the beach (Part 1)….without the excitement of sharks, we packed the bike up and headed to Smokey Mountains. In particular, we were headed to Maggie Valley, NC and the Wheels Through Time Motorcycle Museum.

What should have been a 5-6 hour ride turned out to be a nearly twelve hour ordeal. Unfortunately there were multiple accidents on our route, one of which resulted in multiple deaths and closed Interstate 26 for about 8 hours.

In addition to the traffic issues we also had a lot of rain in fact you can quantify the rain into the following:

2 rain showers

2 thunderstorms

5+ “sprinkles”

1 wet t-shirt contest

The reason for the wet t-shirt contest was we became tired of putting on and removing the rain suits. If it was not raining the sun made the suits intolerable and the last shower…we just decided to ride through.

One highlight of the day was, I thought, the built in infotainment system. The system worked very well, within the limits of the road network, and rerouted us through different parts of South and North Carolina. With the exception of a 30 mile section of I26 we were on the move most of the time. But that 30 mile section left my clutch hand very tired and sore (I required a couple of pain pills that evening). At dusk we gave in and got a room about 8PM and hoped for an early start to get to Maggie Valley.

We left the hotel for a quick McDonalds’ breakfast the next morning and met another couple on their own bike vacation. They were on the return leg of their trip, headed back to north Indiana on their GoldWing Trike. Back on our bike we were at Maggie Valley and the museum within an hour.

If you love motorcycles then you must visit the Wheels Through Time Museum. The bikes that Dale Walksler has assembled is nothing less than fantastic. But, what puts it over the top is that they all run, in fact he started a couple while we were there! He rode a 1930’s Harley trough the main lobby and out the front door. We also saw him riding a 1920 Harley with youngster in the side car. Unfortunately Dale’s Discovery TV show “What’s in the Barn” was canceled.

There is no way that I can do justice to the quality of these museum with just a few paragraphs. If you are in this area of North Carolina/Tennessee for the awesome riding you must stop by and check out what the museum offers.

After a few hours we needed to mount up and put some miles down. This day the weather was perfect for riding, cool, clear and wonderful. We were headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway but decided to ride through the Smoky Mountain National Park and the Cherokee Indian Reservation to stop by Cherokee Harley Davidson, where I picked up another pin. We jumped on the Parkway and headed north crossing the highest point on the parkway and riding through multiple tunnels.

Although the speed limit is 45 MPH the parkway is still a great ride with awesome views of the Smoky Mountains. We either passed, or met at the overlooks, several hundred other bikers out for a great ride.