First time for everything

Something odd happened today as I was riding back home.
I was stopped on a red light in Burnaby when a woman in a van next to me rolled down her window and said "My bike won't start. Do you know what to do?"
To be honest I was a bit stunned. Where do I start? Just seconds left on the red light...
We had a quick chat and went our separate ways but that got me thinking. How many people take the easy way out and not prep their bikes for winter storage? All it does is cause headaches come spring time. It's really easy and doesn't need to be time consuming or costly.
Here is what is commonly recommended and what I follow:

Fill up your tank with gas. Why? To prevent rust from forming.

Add fuel stabilizer. Why? To prevent your gas from going bad. It's only good for 6 weeks. After that chemical changes cause it to get sticky which often clogs up the carbs or fuel injectors.
Go to your nearest Canadian Tire (or Walmart, or whatever store has a car section) and buy a $5 bottle of fuel stabilizer.

If your motorbike is carburated then drain those carbs. Why? To prevent that little bit of fuel in there from getting gunky and blocking the fuel flow later.

Get a trickle charger for your battery and plug it in. That will set you back about $40 or so. All that does is keeps your battery topped up. I learned this one the hard way and had to dish out the cash for a new battery. Trickle charger is cheaper.
That's the bare minimum.

If you feel like actually getting dirty then you should also

Change your oil before storage. For that you'll need the right tools, new oil filter for your bike and a crush washer. I've done this a few times myself but generally being short on time I just go and get it done at a bike shop. That will run you about $50 in total.

Lube up your clutch cable.

Fog your cylinders. What does that mean? It's getting the inside of the engine cylinders sprayed with oil. That typically involves removing the spark plugs and spraying the inside with Fogging Oil (again see the car section in your favorite store). I've been told by a couple of motorbike mechanics that if your bike is stored in a garage (say 5C or warmer, that's 41F or above) then you don't need to fog your cylinders. Mine is stored in a garage so I don't bother. No problems so far.


All in all I've been just riding 4 years now but these few steps ensure your bike will start each spring without costly repairs or towing to your mechanic.

Ride safe.
CR

tags: moto motorcycle "motorcycle maintenance" "winterization" winterize "motorcycle storage" "motorcycle winter storage" "winter maintenance"

Chilly ride

Today was the coldest ride I have ever taken. It was 4C (39F) on my balcony but down on the ground it must have been cooler. There was frost everywhere on the grass and cars as I was rolling down the street. Sunny beautiful day but freaking cold. By the time I got to work 20 minutes later my fingers were tingling despite the double gloves I was wearing (with the outside ones being the thick leather riding type). The roads were damp but luckily there was no frost. Despite the cold, I'm glad I rode in this morning. The views of Vancouver's snow covered North Shore mountains bathed in the sunrise light were awesome. Always puts a smile on my face.
Ride safe,
CR

tags: moto motorcycle motorcycles "morning ride" commuting "chilly ride" "cold ride" "ride to work" "vancouver spring"

A Little Ruckus

This is how I got started. A 50cc Honda Ruckus.


Good looking and capable scooter but ultimately at 50cc it's underpowered for Vancouver streets. If it were flat city would be a different story. I'm 190 lbs, on flat I can get it up to 65 km/h (41 mph) but with hills throughout the city I just could not keep up with traffic and that did not feel safe. Car drivers tend to be aggressive when something slow is in front of them. If you live in a relaxed town that doesn't suffer from a severe traffic congestion then a scooter like that would be plenty for getting around. In fact I would still have it if not for the traffic.
In the end I decided to go and take motorcycle riding lessons to see how a real motorbike would do. Indeed it was the right thing to do. I got my license in 2007 and after riding the Ruckus for just 4 months (~2000 km) I sold it almost without loosing any money off the retail price I paid at the dealer.
Yes, they are fun and popular but it was time for me to move on to something bigger.

PROS:

lite and good looking for a scooter

49cc so no motorcycle license required in Canada, just your regular driver's license.

fuel efficient. This thing runs on fumes. I was getting 40 km/L (94 mpg) commuting to work.

great resale value. Honda Ruckus' are reliable and have quite a fan base with many mods available. See http://www.battlescooter.com .

CONS:

like all 50cc scooters it's a bit underpowered for busy and hilly streets

designed to carry only one person

tags: moto "Honda Ruckus review" "scooter review" "moped review" "customer review" "scooters in traffic" "mopeds in traffic" "riding in traffic" "riding to work" "gas efficiency" "fuel efficiency" "cheap commuter" "50cc scooter" "49cc scooter" "small displacement engine" "user Honda Ruckus review" "Honda Ruckus PROS" "Honda Ruckus CONS"

Ha!

So my first test post is on the 50th anniversary of first human spaceflight. Neato!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin

First Post

Yep, this is a test post :-)