Ryan J. Allen » Motorcycle

Motorcycle Sunday

Ryan J. Allen — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 13:14:51 +0000

It’s +1 out right now (9 am). I am going to be motorcycling to church today. Then it’s off to Lululemon to pick up my pants, and Starbucks to add another star to my collection. I am 7 stars and am 4 days behind on 30 stars in 30 days. I remain hopeful that I will have collected all 30 stars by the end of this week.

Worst Race Ever

Ryan J. Allen — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 02:20:44 +0000

The PEC marathon was a disaster. Personally, I wasn’t prepared and it showed. In retrospect I don’t know how I pulled Ottawa off so well. Around 29 km I decided to stop my pace. My first half was a respectable 1:50-ish. From 29 it was quite down hill. I walked many kilometres in the end. I am, however, really proud of myself for finishing.

What helped make the day even worse was the weather. It was easily the worst weather for any race I have ever done. When I stopped to walk, especially near the end, I got quite cold, windy, and uncomfortable. Thankfully I had Alex and Cathie there to help me stabilize in time for the motorcycle ride back to Kingston.

The motorcycle ride to Picton at 6:00 am was awful. It was rainy, cold, and dark. The back end of my bike slid out when I was on the 401 on-ramp–not a way you want to start your acceleration to 100+ km/h. The ride back afterwards made up for it.

I read this week about the 100 year old who completed the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. The guy goes 12-16 km a day. I’d like to do that. I’m currently in a bit of a post-run sloth period but I will have to pick things up soon in preparation for my Christmas holidays.

Anyway, I’m alive.

PEC Marathon on Sunday

Ryan J. Allen — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 03:07:53 +0000

This Sunday is the PEC Marathon. I’ll be the only one I know running. It has an 8am start time, which should put me in at the finish around noon. I’m in no rush, as I have already beat my marathon goal for the year. I think it will be cool just to finish my third marathon.

Alex might come cheer at the end. Aunt Judy is walking the half so there’s a chance I’ll see someone else I know there, too. I’m hoping I’ll get to see her at the half-way point at least, even if they’re not yet ready to start.

A part of me hates that these running events are always on Sunday. I miss hanging out with God in church.

I’m going to motorcycle there.

I Always Said I Would Buy a BMW

Ryan J. Allen — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:33:43 +0000

When I was younger I fell victim to the BMW marketing machine. BMW created a series of short films called the Hire starring Clive Owen that showcased the capabilities of their beautiful vehicles. The series convinced me that I needed to own a BMW 750Li–the flagship BMW sedan–primarily because it was so luxurious, and so expensive.

Some time passed and I started to believe the 7-er was too big. I revised my goal to own a 540i, manual transmission. As I matured more I came to the realization that these vehicles aren’t cheap, and I probably wouldn’t be able to afford a 5-er. So I revised my goal and made it to own a BMW 3-er, of no specific engine size.

Originally my goal was to buy a BMW when I turned 25. I did not forget that goal. When I turned 25 I was still living in an apartment, did not own a car, and had no dependants. Financially, owning a BMW, possibly used, was possible but I went a different route: I bought a motorcycle.

I have been riding the 2007 Honda Shadow Spirit since 2008–four riding seasons (well, I did miss one due to living on another continent). I’ve done some things to the bike to make it a little more capable of long-distance rides: added a GPS, quick-release saddle bags, changed the rear sprocket, and added a quick-release windshield. Honestly, with all of these things the bike feels like it’s bigger and heavier than it is and removing them makes it feel light and nimble. But the bike remains heavy, slow, and loud. These are great things for cruising around town, but work against it on the longer rides.

I want a motorcycle that I can ride to Toronto without wearing ear plugs; a motorcycle that has a luggage piece that can hold a second helmet; a motorcycle that doesn’t leave me searching for a missing gear when riding on the highway; a motorcycle that can keep up to the 130 km/h traffic on Toronto’s 401 express lanes; a motorcycle is comfortable for 2-3 hour riding stretches; and a motorcycle that has the power to get me out of a situation at the flick of a wrist.

Some bonus features? How about ABS brakes; an on-board computer; a centre stand; and maybe heated grips. How about a maintenance-free belt-driven final drive, a 0-60 time of 3.6 seconds, and a convenient 12V power outlet? World-recognized reliability and experience in creating performance vehicles.

How about a BMW F800ST? Six gears, a top-speed of 225 km/h, fairings, windshield, luggage, quiet exhaust, designed for light touring with a sporty-twist. Not too much power, but more than enough for public roads. I think this is the bike for me.

Family Reunion and Windshield Performance

Ryan J. Allen — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:53:08 +0000

I was in Kingston this long weekend for a family reunion. It was fun, and nice to see many family members I hadn’t seen in a while all in one place. It was organized by my aunt and she did a great job of keeping it entertaining. There were a few moments where I thought “can he/she say that?”, but in the end I figured it was all fine since we’re all family.

I organized a few of “my” generation to have breakfast one morning. It was nice. I hope we can do it again. I wanted something a step-up from greasy-spoon but not quite top-tier so I decided on Windmills, which fit the bill perfectly.

The ride to and from Kingston was the first long-distance ride with the windshield. It performed well. I removed the windshield for my time in Kingston but re-installed it for the ride home. On the ride home I decided to try 401+416. The windshield made the ride so comfortable that I rode at highway speeds and exhausted my primary fuel before I reached Ottawa. It wasn’t that much faster than if I had taken highway 10 or 15 but I did it not for time savings but rather so that I would be familiar with the windshield’s performance for the same ride that I would do in two weeks.

In two weeks (well, one week now) I will be riding down to Watkins Glen for the NASCAR race. AdamJ and I are going and I am pretty, pretty, pretty excited. I can’t help but think that Adam is more excited, though!

The week following will be a trip, hopefully by motorcycle, to Toronto. I can’t help but think it’s time for a new bike with a few of these longer rides. To be honest, when I took the windshield and bags off of my motorcycle on Wednesday morning my bike felt small. I have been on the lookout for what I might want next but haven’t come to any conclusions.

Two Wheeled Vehicle Related Things

Ryan J. Allen — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 23:53:49 +0000

Yesterday morning Adam and I went for a bicycle ride. I was riding my mountain bike as we were intending to go through the Kanata Lakes area. We got 5 minutes in and turned around because the bugs were insane. We ended up bicycling to to Carp–specifically to the Diefenbunker. We turned around and stopped by the Sippy Cup Cafe (don’t worry Null, I still think we should go) in place of our usual after-squash Starbucks run. I had a cappuccino, which was huge, and bought some of their “Really Freakin’ Good” coffee beans.

Yesterday afternoon we did a routine check-up on Adam’s motorcycle. Neither of us are gear heads so its was a learning experience. We had moments of concern, and moments of triumph. We were specifically hoping to resolve some engine cut-out issues that he has been faced with; time will tell our level of success.

This morning I took my motorcycle with newly minted windshield onto a 400-series highway for the first time. Riding behind a windshield in this setting is noticeably different–as it should be. The biggest thing I noticed: my legs are right out there in the wind. This was always the case but it wasn’t as noticeable before. I am going to ride for a bit with the windshield on and take it off for the long weekend. Having said that, with the rain and some work obligations I don’t imagine I’ll get out on the bike all that much this week.

And finally, I decided to go for another leisurely bicycle ride this evening. I bicycled along the newly opened Terry Fox extension here in Kanata. It was nice. It would have been more nice if I ended the trip with another coffee stop but I do want to sleep tonight.

Memphis Shades Speed Demon

Ryan J. Allen — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 01:07:59 +0000

I ordered a windshield for my motorcycle today.

I went to Dream Cycles in Ottawa thinking that I would order a Memphis Shades Memphis Slim windshield. The lady at the shop was quite helpful and showed me what this windshield would look like on the bike. This would have involved relocating the turn signals, and doing something with my tool bag in front of the bike. So instead she showed me the Memphis Shades Speed Demon. It falls under their “sports shields” category, but is kind of a micro version of their Batwing Fairing. I liked the suggestion and went ahead and ordered the Speed Demon.

I should get my new windshield tomorrow and, if I’m lucky, I’ll install it this weekend. I’m anxious to see what effect this will have on my long distance rides.

And, yes, I ordered the quick-release mount so I can remove the screen when riding around town.

Motorcycle Mods

Ryan J. Allen — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 02:11:28 +0000

The motorcycle mods are all done. Mods…I should say mod (singular).

I changed my rear sprocket, changing my 41 tooth to a 38 tooth. This involved cutting two links out of the chain. I purchased a chain breaker and riveter tool for this and it worked quite well.

There was also a recommendation that you change the clutch springs. I bought springs to do this, drained the oil, removed the crankcase cover, changed the springs, set everything back up. The springs were the wrong ones. Not my fault–the fault of the vendor. I ordered new stock springs to replace the old stock springs and sealed everything back up.

There was also an issue with a broken bolt. That was dealt with.

Everything is better and I learned some stuff. I missed some riding days, but I will make up for it. There were some photos. I might post some, someday.

Mood

Ryan J. Allen — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 05:01:00 +0000

My mood has soured.

This weekend was great. I saw some great people, had a great run, listened to some great music really loudly in a great car. It seemed that almost nothing could bring me down.

Never say never.

Last Thursday some of the guys and I did some mods to my motorcycle. A couple of things didn’t go perfectly: notably, the chain riveting and the gasket maker drying time. No problem, though–we would resume today.

I came home after work, excited, with a new rivet link in hand. Before Adam and Scott arrived I decided to torque up the crankcase cover bolts. I over torqued them. One broke in half.

It also seems that the clutch springs I purchased are impossible to punch in. And I don’t mean very difficult–I mean impossible. It is more than a little frustrating.

The good news is that the chain and sprocket are on. And I am learning a little bit about dealing with problems when working on vehicles. The bad news is I won’t have the bike out this week with the expected beautiful weather. I wouldn’t have much time to really enjoy it, but it is still disappointing.

Things could be worse.

Weekend Updates

Ryan J. Allen — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:24:48 +0000

Further updates: I played squash on Saturday morning. Adam and I played an intense match-up. New racquet and new shoes in hand for Adam. It was fun.

Saturday afternoon we got Adam’s bike back on the road. Topped up the battery, pumped up the tires, cleaned and lubed the chain, full oil change with filter. Adam says the bike runs well. It was exciting.

Sunday I got on the bike to go to church. There was stuff going on in Kingston. I got out for a 7 km run at a 5:05 min/km pace. I was pretty happy about that.

Katy’s gone to Africa and I don’t have any vegetables.