mika
Still Wondering
Happy Birthday :30th , 31st , :September 1st ,
wheels.ca: Motorcycles and scooters big polluters
motoring.co.za: ‘Baby Ninja’ urban warrior for biking newbies
cmgonline.com: New super-sport-tours…maybe
fastbikesmag.com: Triumph 675 gets an overhaul for 2009
gizmag.com: Kawasaki preparing revolutionary new engine
solomoto30.com- the source of the articles information
solomot.com: Scooters for BMW by 2009 or 2010
topspeed.com: German performance shop transforms BWM F800GS into Hypermotard
visordown.com: Is this MV Agusta’s new 675 triple?
From webBikeWorld.com and Chris’ blogs – Multiple Bike Syndrome Parts 1 and 2
Yamaha FJR1300
R1150GS
thekneeslider.com: Buell Blast recall
worldsbk.com: Xaus set for resurgent weekend.
Xaus has signed with BMW WSBK 2009
1967 BOAC 500 Sports Car Race Brands Hatch – now vintage cars racing in there day and Phil Hill
<embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-1393168345775539215&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:400px;height:326px" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed>
formula1.com: Interview with Gerhard Berger on Vettel, Bourdais and KERS
motorauthority.com: Spy shots- Rolls-Royce RR4 Saloon
topgear.com: In the Schnitz
AC Schnitzer works its magic on a Series 1 BMW
Stuff
forums.bmwmoa.org: experiment – you folks write the sig line policy
Packers Blog – jsonline.com
Packers.com – News from the football shrine
Green Bay Post Gazette: Packer News, Commentary
Offical site of the Premier League
GasBuddy.com has gas temperature maps intended to let you see what gas prices are around the US and Canada. Areas are color coded according to the reported local average price for regular unleaded gasoline.
US
Canada
Channel 3 News: The Ian Schmeisser Phenomenon
The tickets for the supposed major parties have been announced.
Who will take the pillion seat on the ISP ticket? The world waits to hear.
Wonderings
I arrived home very late the other night and left the bike out. As is my habit I locked my helmet on the bike with the helmet lock. I went to bed and slept soundly. This was followed by the morning routine of making coffee and then working from home.
After lunch I put my riding jacket on, bagged my laptop and notes, slung them over my back and headed out to the bike to ride to a meeting. Stepping outside I noticed that it was a warm day and though how glad I am for mesh jackets and then wished my Shoei helmet was better vented for comfort on a day like this.
Arriving at the bike I went through the various ritual tasks and quick inspections that begin a riding day. Sitting on the bike I flipped my helmet in my hands and slipped it on. My head was instantly cooled as the moisture in the padding water cooled my head. My neck was damp from the overflow of coolant as it was squeezed out from the padding. I rode off and laughed at myself as I thought about ‘the wet head is dead’ TV commercials.
While I was shocked by this in some small dark corner in the back of my mind I knew it would happen. Complacency about putting the bike away had set in after many long days of no rain. I had slept soundly but the awareness part of my human hunter gather brain had been aware of the overnight rain despite how soundly I had slept. It didn’t register in my consciousness because it wasn’t a danger to me safe in my soft dry bed.
This is much the same feeling I had when I read the Toronto Star - wheels.ca article about polluting belching two-wheelers.
Complacency has set in over the years. When I began riding pollution in the form of smog and litter were the concerns of the day. I could feel smug knowing that I was less of a polluter riding my bike because I was yield multiples better miles per gallon, the general measure of pollution volume of that day, than my cage counterparts. Little has changed since those days.
This complacency and the smiles per mile factor of riding a motorcycle lulled me into a sort of environmental sleep. In this sleep my motorcycle hunter gatherer brain was aware of things such as EU regulations, California v 49 state models, FI added primarily as pollution control instead of performance enhancement on all brands, the growing number of sensors on bikes and the appearance of catalytic converters on BMWs. Yet this information was tucked in the some dark corner of the dream rider motorcycle helmet inside my head.
The article squeezed the information out and washed it over my consciousness. As I ride away from the article I am not laughing in the same way that I did after my real life wet helmet experience.
Motorcycle industry divides itself into two main categories of light weight and heavy weight based on engine capacity. 650cc engine capacity marks the dividing line. All the current roundel models are classed as heavy weights, with the soon to be released G450 being the first light weight in some time. If the article is correct even our new light weight brother will be off the charts in pollution terms.
My Roadster falls in the heavy weight category. In city driving it continues to yield multiples in miles per gallon over the majority of cars. On the high way it is another story. A growing number of cages are challenging or even exceeding my mpg.
But the smiles for mile can not be matched. That is a value judgment made by a long time motorcyclist. The reality is there are a lot of smiles to be had flogging a 3 Series convertible around and the mpg argument for the bike may well go away if the 3 is a diesel. If I remember to put the drop top up at the end of the day I am nice and dry when I drop it the next morning.
The challenge for riders and manufacturers is where do we go from here? I still want a motorcycle and its unique smile per mile factor. A visible mechanical thing called an engine is part of what defines the look of a motorcycle for me. How will hybrid, hydrogen powered, KERS and other things make motorcycles environmentally friendly while remaining motorcycles as we look at them?
It is not the end of the motorcycling world. The sky is not falling. It is just a little less clear than it could or will be because of what we choose for transportation. As I ride away and my consciousness dries a bit I am left wondering what will make up my future bike.
Bike Candy
Page 2: MotherShip News and Bugs Bunny
The two were made for each other
THE END
wheels.ca: Motorcycles and scooters big polluters
motoring.co.za: ‘Baby Ninja’ urban warrior for biking newbies
cmgonline.com: New super-sport-tours…maybe
fastbikesmag.com: Triumph 675 gets an overhaul for 2009
gizmag.com: Kawasaki preparing revolutionary new engine
solomoto30.com- the source of the articles information
solomot.com: Scooters for BMW by 2009 or 2010
topspeed.com: German performance shop transforms BWM F800GS into Hypermotard
visordown.com: Is this MV Agusta’s new 675 triple?
From webBikeWorld.com and Chris’ blogs – Multiple Bike Syndrome Parts 1 and 2
Yamaha FJR1300
R1150GS
thekneeslider.com: Buell Blast recall
worldsbk.com: Xaus set for resurgent weekend.
Xaus has signed with BMW WSBK 2009
1967 BOAC 500 Sports Car Race Brands Hatch – now vintage cars racing in there day and Phil Hill
<embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-1393168345775539215&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:400px;height:326px" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed>
formula1.com: Interview with Gerhard Berger on Vettel, Bourdais and KERS
motorauthority.com: Spy shots- Rolls-Royce RR4 Saloon
topgear.com: In the Schnitz
AC Schnitzer works its magic on a Series 1 BMW
Stuff
forums.bmwmoa.org: experiment – you folks write the sig line policy
Packers Blog – jsonline.com
Packers.com – News from the football shrine
Green Bay Post Gazette: Packer News, Commentary
Offical site of the Premier League
GasBuddy.com has gas temperature maps intended to let you see what gas prices are around the US and Canada. Areas are color coded according to the reported local average price for regular unleaded gasoline.
US
Canada
Channel 3 News: The Ian Schmeisser Phenomenon
The tickets for the supposed major parties have been announced.
Who will take the pillion seat on the ISP ticket? The world waits to hear.
Wonderings
I arrived home very late the other night and left the bike out. As is my habit I locked my helmet on the bike with the helmet lock. I went to bed and slept soundly. This was followed by the morning routine of making coffee and then working from home.
After lunch I put my riding jacket on, bagged my laptop and notes, slung them over my back and headed out to the bike to ride to a meeting. Stepping outside I noticed that it was a warm day and though how glad I am for mesh jackets and then wished my Shoei helmet was better vented for comfort on a day like this.
Arriving at the bike I went through the various ritual tasks and quick inspections that begin a riding day. Sitting on the bike I flipped my helmet in my hands and slipped it on. My head was instantly cooled as the moisture in the padding water cooled my head. My neck was damp from the overflow of coolant as it was squeezed out from the padding. I rode off and laughed at myself as I thought about ‘the wet head is dead’ TV commercials.
While I was shocked by this in some small dark corner in the back of my mind I knew it would happen. Complacency about putting the bike away had set in after many long days of no rain. I had slept soundly but the awareness part of my human hunter gather brain had been aware of the overnight rain despite how soundly I had slept. It didn’t register in my consciousness because it wasn’t a danger to me safe in my soft dry bed.
This is much the same feeling I had when I read the Toronto Star - wheels.ca article about polluting belching two-wheelers.
Complacency has set in over the years. When I began riding pollution in the form of smog and litter were the concerns of the day. I could feel smug knowing that I was less of a polluter riding my bike because I was yield multiples better miles per gallon, the general measure of pollution volume of that day, than my cage counterparts. Little has changed since those days.
This complacency and the smiles per mile factor of riding a motorcycle lulled me into a sort of environmental sleep. In this sleep my motorcycle hunter gatherer brain was aware of things such as EU regulations, California v 49 state models, FI added primarily as pollution control instead of performance enhancement on all brands, the growing number of sensors on bikes and the appearance of catalytic converters on BMWs. Yet this information was tucked in the some dark corner of the dream rider motorcycle helmet inside my head.
The article squeezed the information out and washed it over my consciousness. As I ride away from the article I am not laughing in the same way that I did after my real life wet helmet experience.
Motorcycle industry divides itself into two main categories of light weight and heavy weight based on engine capacity. 650cc engine capacity marks the dividing line. All the current roundel models are classed as heavy weights, with the soon to be released G450 being the first light weight in some time. If the article is correct even our new light weight brother will be off the charts in pollution terms.
My Roadster falls in the heavy weight category. In city driving it continues to yield multiples in miles per gallon over the majority of cars. On the high way it is another story. A growing number of cages are challenging or even exceeding my mpg.
But the smiles for mile can not be matched. That is a value judgment made by a long time motorcyclist. The reality is there are a lot of smiles to be had flogging a 3 Series convertible around and the mpg argument for the bike may well go away if the 3 is a diesel. If I remember to put the drop top up at the end of the day I am nice and dry when I drop it the next morning.
The challenge for riders and manufacturers is where do we go from here? I still want a motorcycle and its unique smile per mile factor. A visible mechanical thing called an engine is part of what defines the look of a motorcycle for me. How will hybrid, hydrogen powered, KERS and other things make motorcycles environmentally friendly while remaining motorcycles as we look at them?
It is not the end of the motorcycling world. The sky is not falling. It is just a little less clear than it could or will be because of what we choose for transportation. As I ride away and my consciousness dries a bit I am left wondering what will make up my future bike.
Bike Candy
Page 2: MotherShip News and Bugs Bunny
The two were made for each other
THE END
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