Attention Custom Bike Builders and/or Riders

I follow several bike blogs, and see a lot of custom stuff. Most good, some not so good. Some just not my taste, but probably good anyway.

Then, there are some real head-scratchers. Things that make ya go "Huh?"

Can someone please tell me what the current fascination is with the narrow-ass handlebars? Some of them aren't as wide as an old school peanut gas tank. It doesn't look like you'd have much leverage, and if you have any shoulders at all, it just seems like you're gonna look like you're grabbing hold of a pogo stick when you ride.


Seriously. Someone please explain it to me.

n + 1

What is the ideal number of motorcycles to own? I believe it can be stated as a mathematical equation: n + 1, where n = (current number of bikes I already own).

Seriously, though. The “Perfect Garage”. We've all thought about it. Sure, most of Us Who Ride would love to have any number of motorcycles, of various makes, styles and vintages. There's a little bit of Jay Leno style hoarder in each of us.

I've definitely given it a lot of thought over my two decades of riding. When I daydream about winning the lottery, I don't think about mansions, yachts and jetsetting to Europe. Yawn. I think about roads and what bikes I'll use to ride them. Bear in mind that this list is in a constant state of flux, both in quantity and content.

Currently, I'm thinking my perfect bike stable would contain one for performance, one for style, one for long range comfort, and maybe even a sidecar rig – what I like to call a “biker's station wagon”.

Right now, I have a naked sport bike: a 2003 Suzuki SV1000 named “Suzi”. I love this bike so much it's the only one I've named. I've tried to name other bikes, but it never stuck. I don't know if that's significant or not; I'm just rambling. Of the ten I've owned, she's the one who's traveled the second most miles with me. Barring some horrible misadventure, she'll pass up the other one (a 1985 Honda Shadow 700) fairly soon. She's got great performance, but is easily held in check, too. Reasonably comfortable; though I really need an aftermarket seat for trips.

The cruiser. Ahhh, the quintessential American motorcycle experience. Barhopping, cruising the boulevard, looking for a date or showing off the one you have. Stepped seat, big front wheel, teardrop gas tank. The style I like best has a low seat, high-ish neck, drag bars on risers, mid controls with highway pegs. I'm not brand loyal, but imagine the bike Mickey Rourke rode in Harley Davidson and The Marlboro Man. Suzuki and Yamaha are both making some bikes with the right profile. See the Boulevard series and the Star Stryker and Star Raider. Of course, I wouldn't be averse to an old 70s or 80s 4 cylinder riceburner being modified to have that same profile.

I've never really been into touring bikes. Too much windshield and fairing between me and the wind. Too much bodywork. I prefer a bike to look like a bike. In recent years, however, I've warmed up to the idea of a bagger. Maybe I'm getting old? It's not a full dress tourer, more like “half-dressed”. Hard saddlebags, a small fairing, minimal bodywork and a cut-down windshield. It's the perfect compromise between a relaxed cruiser and a gaudy, overloaded dresser. You get a little wind protection to help your back survive 800 mile days, secure, locking, waterproof saddlebags to keep your stuff safe and dry, but no annoying bodywork covering up the focal points of its “motorcycleness”. I'm really liking the looks of the Kawasaki Vaquero, the Yamaha Star Stratoliner Deluxe, and the Harley Davidson Road Glide and Street Glide.

Of course, with a twelve year old son, an ol' lady and a baby girl, that sidecar combo is kind of appealing, too. Older BMWs just look right with a sidecar attached, don't they? Fun for the whole family, with lots of room to stash camping gear and stuff for a week on the road. You know, assuming I could convince the family to spend a week on the road with me...

I seriously doubt I'll ever have all these bikes – it's a daydream. But, it's fun to dream, ain't it? Sometimes maybe it's even more fun to dream about having it all than it would be to actually have it all. Besides, none of us will ever have the perfect garage, because as soon as that last bike gets put in its stall, the algebra kicks in again.

n + 1

Don't Judge My Book By Its Cover

Don't Judge My Book By Its Cover

by Worth Cadenhead on Monday, December 20, 2010 at 9:20am

I saw the way you looked over at me, you snug in your minivan with your wife and kids, me on my motorcycle, face exposed to the elements. You had that look that mixes fear with revulsion. I'm sure you've seen too many movies and bad TV shows and you have no idea who I am or what I do. You probably think of me as somebody who travels through life unencumbered with the trappings of "normal" life: steady job, family, children, and morals - somebody who doesn't bother with the concerns of others.You may see me as some drifter, wandering place to place, leaving wanton destruction in my wake. Again: Hollywood.
You don't know me, and all you see is what you consider a reckless and incomprehensible vehicle to be using in December.What you DON'T know is everything. See, all those entrapments of "normal life"? I have them, too. I've worked at the same job for thirteen years, and yes, I've been married twice, but it doesn't mean I love my son any less, or the daughter who's on her way to this world. You also don't know that my girlfriend and my son were in the car behind me.
Some assumptions you probably made are true. It's winter, so you couldn't know for sure because of my jacket, but yes, my arms are covered in tattoos. And yes, to be honest, there was a pistol in my pocket.
There was a specific reason I was exercising my Second Amendment right that day, and a specific reason my other half and my son were in the car behind me. Even a very specific reason I was riding, and not in a car with the heater on. See, we, along with my motorcycle club, delivered toys and food and a gift certificate for a grocery store to a family who otherwise would've spent Christmas with nothing to distinguish it from any other day, and maybe even not knowing if they'd have enough to eat the rest of the week. All the motorcycle clubs in Austin did the same thing for at least one family that day. I carried a weapon because the neighborhood wasn't exactly the safest and I wanted to make sure the gifts made it to those they were intended for. We rode, because the kids get excited when they hear the bikes from blocks away, then see us park in front of their house or apartment. My girlfriend and son were in the car partly because she's pregnant, but mainly because we needed the car to act as a stand-in for Santa's sleigh.
I helped share the true holiday spirit with complete strangers in true need this year. Like every year. What did you do? Buy your kid a new expensive updated version of the electronic toy you gave him last year?
Don't judge the book of my life by your opinion of its cover.

Mid-day Stress Relief April 15, 2010

Mid-day Stress Relief

If you ride, you'll understand this. If you don't, chances are you're just not going to get it.

So, anyway, I was all stressed, frustrated and frazzled at work today. I didn't even bother with my break, because I couldn't relax. Then, I got to where I couldn't focus on my work, either. So I went outside to walk around for a 15 minute break. As I was walking through the parking lot, there was my "other woman" - my bike. Out of instinct, out came the key, and I got on and fired 'er up. No helmet, no gear, nothing - just impulse. Just took off. Went around the parking lot of the shopping center for a minute or two, then said "Fuck it" and rode off into the street.

As I was thinking about turning around, on a sudden impulse I took a turn onto an almost invisible residential street. Within fifty yards, the busy street was out of sight and out of earshot. This was a residential street, but the houses were set way back from the road, with lots of trees and shrubs in the yards, so it was almost like a deserted country road right in town. It's been rainy recently, and there was this neat "swishy" sound coming from the wet road surface under my tires. I just rode this windy, tree lined, wet, peaceful street till it hit another busy street a couple miles away, then made a U turn and re-rode it.

Funny thing is, by the time I got back to work, all the stress was gone, and I was relaxed. I don't know why I've never done this before, but I can tell you I'll definitely be doing it again.

Instant gratification? Hell, yes!

(Originally written by Worth Cadenhead on Sunday, August 8, 2010)

So, yesterday as we were about to head out on our ride, a brother commented on the price of his bike. Not bragging; he just called it a $20,000 vibrator. I got to thinking about that later, and about all the crap bikes I've had over the years. I also thought about how I've never had a really good paying job; never finished a college education.
I started wondering if I'd done it all right. Maybe I should've buckled down and focused on that degree after I got out of the Navy. Maybe I should have deferred all the little enjoyments until later and I'd have been able to do them "bigger and better". Instead, I joined a motorcycle club not long after I got out of the Navy, and didn't pay much attention to studies. With no education, and no real marketable job skills (I was in intelligence in the military, which doesn't translate to much as a civilian), I wasn't exactly able to be choosy in my job choices, but I tried to be anyway - I only worked at jobs that had me at work day shifts Monday to Friday, leaving my nights and weekends free. Again, that lack of education left me with little pay if I wanted to limit the jobs I was wiling to accept. Little pay translated into eating cheaper food, drinking cheaper booze, smoking cheaper cigarettes (shouldn't have smoked at all, of course), and owning cheaper bikes and cars (when I've even had cars).
I look at people who really focused on their education, and on "getting their lives on track". Sure, they're able to have nicer things. Sometimes. But, sometimes, "the right time" just never comes along, does it? A lot of folks put that kind of thing off until "the right time" (whatever that is), only to never do it.
Even if the time comes, in their late 30s or so, and they buy that nice, high dollar bike (or boat, or RV, or whatever), here's the thing that finally occurred to me: While they were looking forward to their top of the line Gold Wing, Winnebago, yacht, etc.....I was RIDING my crappy bikes. I was doing what they were looking forward to. Sure, it wasn't in luxury, and sure, I had some lemons, but I also had brothers from other mothers and sisters from other misters who understood and helped and got helped along the way. So, does the yuppie who buys his $25,000 Harley Davidson have any more fun on it than I do on my $6000 Suzuki? No, I don't think so. Matter of fact, knowing where I stand, and where I've been, I may even enjoy it more. And I started it a long time ago, so I get to enjoy it longer.

So, I no longer have any regrets about "not doing the right thing" and deferring my enjoyment of life. I've had rough spots, but hell - that's where stories come from! I've spent a lot of time thinking that I was missing something, but the truth is, I've had a great Ride. And I'm gonna keep on riding. Come on and join me. If you've been putting off, stop waiting and start living.


So......we gonna Ride? Or are we gonna dick around all day?