It’s no secret I’m blind in one eye. I have been since birth. And while being monocular is perfectly normal to me, I also recognize that it brings limitations with my peripheral vision. Simply stated, I can’t see past my nose. So it should come as no surprise that I rely quite heavily on ambient sound to assist me in perceiving my surroundings. It helps tremendously for me to hear the cars, trucks, and other bikes, next to me.

Societally we are trending toward the idea of being “green.” This brings with it a new challenge for me. That is, hybrid cars are simply too quiet and I just don’t hear them when they are right next to me. And this of course, limits my ability to accurately understand the things by which I’m surrounded.  Not good…

In spite of the fact that I’m monocular, I simply cannot believe that I am so unique that I’d be the only rider who finds this just a tad disturbing. I wonder how many of the engineers at Ford, GM, Toyota, Nissan, and any other manufacturer, actually thought about ambient noise and the integral part it plays in the safety paradigm for those on the road. Consider that there are reasons for sirens on emergency vehicles and that every motor vesicle made has an audible horn.

My hope in writing this post is that it finds its way to the product management or customer advocacy teams at the auto manufacturers and they use it to correct what I consider to be a terrible problem with the design of hybrid vehicles. Note here, this is not a rant against being green. I happen to support such a movement. But when it brings with it new challenges my hope is they will be addressed swiftly. Simple.

More later…

General, Rants

It wasn’t a nasty fall… but a fall nonetheless. I was leaving Long Beach and riding along 7th avenue headed toward the 605 freeway. It was rather warm so I stopped at a local coffee-shop to remove and stow my leather jacket. Once done I headed out. I was in a rather long parking lot and by the time I made it to the driveway to get back onto 7th, I was moving at (I estimate) about 25 or 30 MPH. That’s when I saw him. A bicyclist on the sidewalk emerged from my blind-spot and in my effort to avoid hitting him I went down.

Picture a guy laying on his side, still straddling his bike and shouting at the jack-ass bicyclist who was riding on the sidewalk. Okay… so I shouted a few choice expletives at the guy about how it was wrong to ride his bicycle on the sidewalk and this apparently inspired his ire, ego, or whatever else comes with a infusion of testosterone. He actually turned around, got off his bike and approached me. By the time I was on my feet and after I shut down the bike, he was in my face. The guy actually had the nerve to shove me while asking “What did you say to me?”

Now… let me state here that I am not an advocate of violence… but the guy shoved me! So I did what any other red-blooded man would do. I beat his ass! Okay maybe it wasn’t a total beat-down but I did manage to bloody his nose and after an exchange of a few blows, and a head-butt he was on the ground. And the only thing I could think to say at that point was, “Now get up and help me pick up my bike!” Of course he did not. Instead he muttered his own expletives, got back on his bicycle and rode off.

So I learned two things from this little experience. First, at the tender age of 49, I can still fight. This does a hell of a lot for my ego. The other thing I learned is my bike is too damn heavy for me to lift on my own. I tried… I even exercised the appropriate technique when lifting a bike . Fortunately a passerby, who had witnessed the whole thing got out of his car and helped me lift the big ole beast.

Finally, I was clearly filled with a lot of adrenaline because I didn’t feel my back until this morning. Right now I’m sitting in my office, in absolute pain, and can only attribute that to one of two things. Either I wrenched my back when I went down, or when I tried, unsuccessfully, to lift the bike on my own. All in all…. it was awesome!

Oh and for those who want to know… my bike is just fine.

General, Rants

How to stand your bike

I don’t know if it’s the California culture or the “big city” culture or what, but it absolutely amazes me the selfishness of people. Such that it leaves me with the all too real belief that if something were to happen to me while on one of the many crowded freeways here, I’d be left completely to fend for myself. Then again, I don’t consider myself so unique that I’m the single representative of humanity who would stop to help another who is in need. So perhaps I’m living proof that there is still hope for the rest of the world. Read more…

General, Rants

The road is no place to race.

Too often we see people racing their motorcycles on the freeways, in residential neighborhoods, near schools etc. When you consider the many different obstacles on the open road it’s a wonder anyone would be so stupid. 

The video linked here gives a pretty good idea of what that means. Beware, if you don’t want to see motorcycle accidents it may not be the video for you. But if you do watch it… watch to the end so you can get the message. The road is no place to race

General, Rants

Published November 4, 2009 in San Bernadino’s The Sun, the Hagarty Insurance group performed a study by interviewing 10,000 drivers and asked what their pet peeves were about other drivers. Not surprisingly, the top spot of the list goes to those who drive while talking on the cell phone. Further, in my personal view, none of the items on the list are surprising or controversial.

Top ten drivers’pet peeves:

1: Cell phone users
2: Driving slowly in the fast lane
3: Tailgaters
4: Those who weave in and out of traffic
5: Accelerating to prevent others from passing
6: Not using the turn signal
7: Road rage
8: Lane-splitting motorcycles
9: Grooming while driving
10: The guy who forgets that his turn signal is on

What I find aggravating is the fact that the only mention of weight is given to the number one item.

“…28.5% of those surveyed would like you to hang it up the next time you hit the road.”

If the top spot represents only 28.5% – less than one third – I wonder what the weight is for the number 8 item, lane-splitting motorcycles. And why wasn’t that included with the rest of the article? Could it be that including weights would actually indicate a small number? Consider that the top item is just under a third and there are 6 other items in between. Could it be that the author is attempting to over aggrandize the list?

Note here that I am not attempting to downplay the list. I’m merely asserting that the author, Michelle Pearl, is clearly attempting to inflate our perception of it. As if intelligent (or semi-intelligent for that matter) wouldn’t clue-in on that.

Rants

In early September I had my bike in the shop for what turned out to be a defective TPS (Throttle Position Sensor). This was covered under warrantee. However the experience with Southern California Triumph wasn’t without its problems. Specifically I am completely unhappy with their lack of quality service. In that episode of what has become the drama that is my bike, I pitched a fit. Loudly. I did this by stomping my feet at the dealership and by posting an article here. Well my fit seemed to have worked because they magically produced the correct part in a very short (too short) period of time, got the bike done and I was able to make a scheduled ride.

Today, my bike is exhibiting the same problem they fixed. That is, a very high idle. In my case the idle is hovering right around 4000 RPM where it should be right around 1000. Now this could be the TPS, or the Throttle Stepper or some other problem. But… it brings up a couple questions that I’m having difficulty reconciling.

First, do I take it back to them? I was not happy with their service and I pitched a fit. Such that I’m certain they were happy to see the end of me. Yet they are the shop that did the work, have all the notes on everything they did (or didn’t do), and should be held accountable.

But, in their response to my ranting (back in September) and their attempt to get the bike fixed, did they do something they should not have done? I recall when I picked up the bike, TJ the shop manager said, “You don’t want to know what we did to get this done for you.” In retrospect I should probably have probed that comment. Silly me.

Or could this simply be an excellent example of poor quality in their workmanship? And if so I’d be silly to go back to them.

So I called the folks at OTD Cycle Sports in Santa Ana (these guys have been awesome the couple times I’ve used them) and I put my questions to them. It should be noted here that (a) they know exactly who I am and what bike I have and (b) are very well aware of my experience with the shop mentioned above. After about 20 minutes of frank discussion with Chris (the shop manager?) I will be taking the bike to them this weekend. Now under normal circumstances it would be most prudent to take the bike back to those who did the original work but in this case, the relationship between them and I is likely to get in the way of getting any meaningful service from them.

So there you go. This has been the latest installment of the drama that is my bike. Stay tuned for the next article where we will examine the result of this new work to be done and whether or not my head explodes from the frustration of it all. Sigh…

Rants

Don’t get me wrong, I have a penchant for speed just as much as the next guy. Which gives some explanation as to why I chose the Rocket III. But when on a road controlled by traffic lights and congested with a lot of cars, the last thing on my mind is thumping it and flying down the road like some entitled adolescent who believes he owns the whole dam road! Nevertheless there are times where I feel as though I represent the minority.

I was on my way home [on my bike] and decided to pull off the road for a quick smoke (Now no one is allowed to bug me about smoking.) and stopped in a grocery store parking lot. While standing by my bike watching the traffic go by I heard it. The annoying scream of a sport bike revving really high and approaching way too fast from one of the side streets. He blasted through the stop sign and turned onto the main road, cutting off a couple of cars, swerving to avoid the center median and punched it. Hard! 

I was watching him head down the road, weaving in and out of cars, winding it out, followed by breaking hard, and it happened. He bumped the side of a car and that sent him into an uncontrolled zig-zag that had other cars stomping on the breaks and leaning on their horns. 

Owing to nothing more than dumb luck he actually managed to stay upright. And after he regained control of his bike he punched it once more and rocketed out of there. 

I thought “jack-ass!”

So I finished my smoke, got back on my bike and headed out. Not five minutes down the road there he was… Pulled over by the side of the road entertaining the nice cop by giving him his autograph on one of those wonderful little yellow slips of paper. 

Justice!

Yes… I’ve had my share of tickets but never for the crime of stupidity. The truth though, is even for those that are just plain dumb, I’m glad all he got was a ticket instead of a ride in an ambulance.

General, Just plain silly, Rants

I read an LA Times opinion piece by John Johnson Jr. (The Hog days of summer). In this piece he states his clear disdain for those who modify their bikes such that the mufflers produce a lot of noise. And I have to admit, I’m a bit pissed off at his ridiculous ramblings. He was not just speaking out against loud pipes… no… he was speaking out against bikers. It was just cleverly wrapped up in a prettier package. Read more…

Activism, General, Rants

Not long ago I posted an article titled, “Service at Southern California Triumph sucks!” Here I described my dismay at the quality of service i received from them with my current issue on the TPS for my bike. Well imagine my surprise when they called today and told me my bike was ready. YAY!

Now either they read my original post, or perhaps Triumph USA did. Either way they were suddenly driven to non-conventional methods for getting me the necessary part. And they got it done on time for my trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Now, I’d like to think it was my post that got attention and that in turn caused them to take action. And if this is indeed the case, I have to commend them for at least stepping up and taking care of a rather pissed off customer. If it was something else, well then I guess I owe someone a very big thank you.

Whatever the case, I have my bike back and now my Labor Day weekend will be filled with hundreds of miles of grins!!!!

General, Rants

Last June I had some major work done on my bike and it spent 5 weeks in the shop. More notable than that… I spent 5 weeks off my ride. Now, it’s in the shop again. The suspect: the idle-stepper. The problem here is that if the part were actually kept in stock, I’d be back on my bike after a day or two at most. But because of the bureaucratic red-tape, the bike has been there now 4 days and the part still hasn’t been ordered. And it pains me.

I’m not happy. In particular, the qualities of service I’ve received from Southern California Triumph leave me questioning my decision to have gone with Triumph in the first place. Here’s my personal experience.

June 2009. My bike was making a strange noise. This was diagnosed as the bevel-box bearings (part of the final drive assembly) gone bad and had to be replaced.  It took several days to get the parts in, less than an hour to actually install them. I received a call after the bike had been in the shop a week with “good news and bad news.” The good news; parts are in and installed. The bad news; they had misdiagnosed the problem and they explained I needed what us Rocket III owners know as the “upgrade kit.” This essentially means my transmission needed to be rebuilt. 4 weeks later I got my bike back. Total time in the shop was five weeks. FIVE WEEKS!!! Most of this time was spent waiting for the parts to come in.

Now it’s in the shop because the idle kept going up to 3000 RPM. I took it in on Saturday morning, right when they opened. 45 minutes later I get a call telling me that the bike is ready and that all it really needed was a simple adjustment to the idle-stepper. I remember telling my wife this was too easy. So I get back to the shop, sent my wife on her way, paid my $45.00 and got the key. I start the bike and it goes to 3000 RPM!!! WTF?! At this point the original mechanic who had inspected the bike comes out, fiddled with the idle-stepper and brought the idle back down to 1100 RMP (Right where it should be). But as soon as he let go, it jumped back up. More fiddling… more up and down on the idle. In the end he says, “Dam it… the idle-stepper’s bad.”

So I get my $45.00 back and am told they need to now put it through the Triumph warrantee process which means they’d need to call, get authorization blah blah blah. Here’s my problem; they, once again, misdiagnosed the problem. AND I get to deal with the red-tape now. By the way, did I mention that in just a few days I was to be taking a 1000 mile weekend with the bike? Clearly I’ll be taking my road trip in my car. I am not happy. To replace the idle-stepper would amount to no more than a half day worth of work. Now it’ll be more than a week. Why? They don’t stock this part either.

Note something here; the first time the bike was in the shop was because of a “known issue” with the transmission. This time, the high idle, is also a “known issue”. How do I know? Because I happen to be a part of three separate world-wide forums of those who own the same exact bike as mine. And I have read enough to know these are common problems. But if you ask the guys at SoCal Triumph, they’ll say they rarely have to deal with these particular problems and consequently, they do not stock those particular parts. WTF?!

I’m pissed. In fact I was so pissed I actually went Harley shopping. Yes I said Harley. I’m sorry… it was a moment of weakness and desperation. I’m glad that I had my friends with me. They managed to talk me back from the ledge and reminded me that it’s actually good to have these things happen while the bike is under warrantee. They also reminded me that the real thing that pisses me off the most is the timing. If I wasn’t planning a now ruined road trip, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Perhaps that’s true but it still doesn’t do a damn thing about the crappy service I’ve been getting. THAT still exists.

So where does this leave me?

1. I’ll have to wait more than a week for what amounts to a half day job on my bike.
2. My road trip that was to have been a cool ride is now going to be a very long drive in my car.
3. I now have to find a new shop for work to be done in the future because I will not be taking my bike back to Southern California Triumph again.

Anyone have a bike I can use for the weekend?

Update:
Tuesday September 1, 3:48 PM

I just got off the phone with Trevor at SoCal Triumph. They had the required conversation with Triumph America and after exercising their suggested troubleshooting, they have determined that it’s NOT the idle-stepper but instead the problem is the TPS. Which is exactly what I told them it was when I took the bike in 4 days ago. And of course they expect to receive the part in the standard “3 to 5 business days.”

So I hope to have my bike back by some time next week. Of course this does nothing for my scheduled (and paid for) road trip but fine… I’ve resigned myself to that anyway. I’ll just be happy to be done with these guys.

Update:
Thursday September 3, 7:08 PM

I got my bike back! In time for my trip! Check it out!

General, Rants