Tips and Insights

Every two years, the aptly named “Ironbutt” race takes place in the U.S over eleven days and 11,000 miles (17,700 km). Riders must hit a series of checkpoints in a very tight timeframe. Why does this matter to you, if you never plan to subject yourself to this kind of fun? Well, these folks know about surviving a really long ride. Here are some of their key hints. KNOW YOUR LIMITS If the longest you’ve ever ridden is 250 miles (400 km), don’t plan on a string of 1000-mile (1600-km) days....

What do you do when you can’t keep your engine’s piston(s) cool enough to survive? You enrich the mixture. The added fuel reduces combustion temperature, thereby reducing piston temperature. Back in the early days of air-cooled radial engines, before proper size and placement of cooling fins was understood, designers of such engines turned in desperation to “fuel cooling”—richening the mixture. And even when cooling became better understood, fuel cooling remained important during prolonged...

"So what'd you do this weekend?"   After spending a day or two at the track, this becomes a surprisingly complicated question to answer. I'm not yet fast enough to go racing, so my weekends (or as likely weekdays) at the track are only for track days. They amount to skill and test sessions, for myself and my machine. Track days are not joy rides, for me. I'm there to learn about the track, the bike, and my riding technique. I'm there with a strategy to further polish my skills, until the...

Many older riders and a fair number of younger idealists love the look of engine cooling fins. As a small boy, I came to love their mysterious shapes when I saw them on airliner engines. Time-lapse photography of motorcycle engines from earliest days would show rudimentary black iron fins at first, quickly growing bigger and bigger as engineers learned to pull more and more power from engines, generating more and more waste heat. When iron fins grew so long that their tips became cool and...

Don’t look into a bigger motorcycle until you’ve done the following:   1. Proper gear. Being a squid isn’t doing you any favors. That’s the only thing I did right after I bought the bigger bike—invested in head-to-toe gear to along with it.   2. Parking lot drills. There are advanced track classes I’ve been too where they still stick you in a parking lot prior in order to work on skills like trail braking and counter-steering. It's crucial to constantly work on the basics when you find...

Each street-riding priority moves to the front of the list as your circumstances change, but this single priority should always be first: mastering your bike-control skills. When the worst happens and you need to get your bike stopped, or change your line, or hit that narrow gap, what you do behind the handlebar must be correct. And correct action depends upon correct practice. You must train your mind, eyes, and muscles to do the right thing at the limit of whatever traction you have. So...

1. Dust Off Your Bike. Remove the cover and any blocks used to keep your bike in place during winter storage and lower the bike onto its side stand. Remove any plugs, rags or covers from the exhaust pipes and air intakes meant to keep out animals and foreign objects. Wash away any coating you may have applied to protect the frame, rims and chain. 2. Look Over the Fuel System. Replace the fuel filter and examine the fuel tank, fuel lines and fittings for cracks and leaks. If you used fuel...

There are few things worse than coming out of your home in the morning keys in hand, ready to ride and seeing…nothing. Motorcycle theft is all too common, but you can thwart those evil bastards. Here’s how, in six easy steps. Keep it Out of Sight If a thief can’t see your bike, he can’t decide to steal it. Parking your machine in a secure garage or shed, especially at night, is choice number one. Well, choice number two, really. A bank vault would be even better. Keep it in Sight On the...

It’s hard to pick the right line when your teeth are chattering. Any warm body—including yours—loses heat through five mechanisms: radiation, respiration, conduction, convection, and perspiration. Here’s how to combat them. STAY DRY Water conducts heat about 200 times better than dry air; ergo, a wet rider is a cold rider. A rainsuit or Gore-Tex oversuit is the fix. Added bonus: Even in dry weather, a rainsuit adds plenty of warmth and wind protection. GET BEHIND THE WINDSHIELD Choosing a...

“No one called to tell you that your bike isn’t ready yet?” The service manager said, looking apologetic. I knew I should have called before making the two-mile walk to pick up my 2013 BMW R1200GS Adventure from the shop.   “We had to order a part and we’ll have it ready tomorrow.” He could see my disappointment. “I tell you what, you can take my GS if you want, I have another bike I can ride home, or… You can ride the Rune. ” Without hesitating, I went for the Rune. I’d seen the 2004...