Why do classic motorcyclists own so many bikes?

Answer: So they always have one to ride. Case in point. It's finally warming up enough to ride. The problem is that one of my bikes is torn apart with the generator down at the local repair shop. Who hasn't called me even though he said he would look at it last Friday. The other one is in Backus' garage with the front forks torn apart awaiting completion of the Race Tech suspension upgrade. So, as I feared, I'll be having a Blast this week. A Buell Blast that is. Makes me shudder. But still better than a car.

OK, so I occasionally make fun of editors. It's only fair. After all, they occasionally make fun of sales managers. But I have to admit, it's pretty damn nice that with absolutely no effort from me my R60 now has new G3-S shocks installed and everything is calculated, cut and laid out ready to assemble to complete the emulator conversion on the forks. All that is missing is a pair of bushings that are on their way from Bob's BMW to replace the ones that my forks chewed up over the last 35 years. And that is all because Backus is such a good egg. Even though I offered to assist. And I even went there one night last week to help with disassembly. Something I'm far better at than assembly. At any rate, I'll soon be riding in modern suspension style and comfort. And you'll soon be able to read all about it in Motorcycle Classics. Thanks Richard.

Coming soon: Suspension completion. Hopefully a rebuilt generator for not too much money. Otherwise I'll be looking for a used one. Maybe something about Jason Ricci, one of my favorite harmonica players who is coming to T-town this weekend. Bikes and blues. And beer...

Forks, generators and Flash2Pass

Well, I made it through the weekend. Big snowstorm, so I didn't get down to Backus' house for the suspension project. Matt Wiley at Race Tech is the bomb when it comes to motorcycle suspension. Anyway, the bike is there. Richard started tearing the forks down on his own and I'll join him one night this week to install the emulators and shocks. It will be pretty damn sweet when it's done. So instead I started the process of removing the generator on my 73 Guzzi Eldorado. Oh, here's an article about it. Won't charge and makes a horrible sound. My guess is brushes and bearings. I got the seat and the tank off. I'll pull the generator this week and take it to the local repair shop. Can't work too fast, that ruins all the fun. Old bikes were made for piddling. And spending time in the garage. Nice...

I told you I would mention some of the things that I saw at the 2010 Dealer Expo. So here's the first. The Flash2Pass Garage Door Opener System. I guess because I'm older now and I like the niceties of life. Put the transmitter in your headlight bucket. It's small, about 2 inches square. Wire it to any hot wire controlled by a switch. They recommend the high beam. Replace your button inside the garage with the Flash2Pass receiver. Voila! Pull into the drive, flash your high beam twice, door opens. No more fumbling for the remote in your pocket. Or getting off the bike, going inside, opening the door and rolling the bike in. Easy. You can buy extra transmitters for multiple bikes. Or your car. Or extra transmitters for multiple homes. If you have that. It has all kinds of encryption and other cool stuff to make it secure. $79.95 for the transmitter, receiver and installation hardware. $34.95 for an extra transmitter. Up to six for a single receiver. If you need that extra receiver for that extra house? You probably don't care about the cost. Check out all their stuff at http://www.f2ptechnologies.com/. Whew! I gotta get me one of these.

Next time, more on the suspension project. Maybe a picture if I'm lucky. Hoping for warmer weather soon. of course, if it's too soon neither of these projects will be done. Then I'll be forced to ride my girlfriend's Buell Blast. Oh yeah, it's a real blast...