Staying calm in a time of crisis.

Lucky, from The Great Motorcycle Pizza Tour recently posted about the trials and challenges we as bikers go through in certain situations. He said, " Things work out. I've had some bad experiences (who hasn't?), but they always turn around. Maybe I'm unusually lucky - it's not just my nickname, after all."

This reminded me of the many times I've had those kind of experiences of my own.

Here is just one example of staying calm during a crises.

One day while riding my Harley, my aftermarket Kuryaken forward controls shifter peg set up separated at the front ball joint where the shifter peg meets the shift rod lever and moments later, I ran out of gas. I was stranded, alone , and felt like panicking. The stress was killing me. But instead of panicking, I calmly assessed the situation. I looked at the separated ball joint. I'm not sure if it was defective, or if it just rattled apart or what. It was now like a dislocated socket. I was able to manage to put the two pieces back together, but I could not get the separated pieces to stay together. The ball joint needed a mechanical press or something like that to get the two pieces securely and permantly put back together. Of course I had nothing like this with me on the roadside, so I combed the ditches to see what I could find to temporarily fasten the two pieces together. I found an empty paper cup and straw that someone had discarded. I took the straw and used it as a tie to hold the shifter assembly together, and was so calmed down and relieved after that, I realized all I had to do now was hit the reserve and I should be on my way. Too bad I was unaware that my battery had also died. I was realizing that this was a comedy of errors. Before I left for this ride, I knew that my battery was dying. But I took the bike out for a ride to see if I could charge it up. I never anticipated that I would have a mechanical failure, and run out of gas, causing me to have to re-start the bike along the roadside. I was however, lucky enough that I had my cell phone with me. (I never ride without my cell phone.) So, I called my wife and asked her to bring jumper cables. She said she would be there as soon as she could. Now that I knew my wife was coming to my rescue, I was calm once again. I also knew that I have a bike trailer at home, and should the battery not jump start, I could rely on that as a last resort. I wasn't about to ask Mrs. M. to unload all the stuff out of the trailer, pull the heavy trailer out of the shed, hook it up and then drive it to me, only to find out after arriving that I could jumpstart the bike & ride it home. That might piss her off and may be way more work than necessary. It was a gamble either way, but I said just the cables were fine . I could always come back with the trailer if needed. I was just thankfull she was willing to bring me cables, and a ride home if I needed it. All that was left to do was wait for her. The Mrs. finally arrived, the jumper cables were hooked up to her SUV and my bike, and I was able to jump start life back into the motor.

Alas, I was finally back on the road with my wife following me home to make sure this comedy of errors did not go any more wrong than it already had.

In the safety and calmness of my own shop garage, including the right tools, repairs were made. The ball joint coming apart must have been a fluke, or not properly pressed from the factory or something, because it is still holding just fine today. A new battery was purchased, gas put in the tank, and the bike was back on the road.
Calmness, ingenuity & perseverance prevailed. (And yeah, the cell phone and wife as back up are always a good thing.)

Mrs. M.,
I know you're reading this, so thanks for saving that day for me!

How prepaired for a burglary, or house fire are you?

This is clearly not directly related to motorcycling.

I recently ran across a post on Unbreakable bonds , where someone’s home was burglarized. It made me think about sharing some good advice to all my friends/readers out there in internet land.

I am an insurance adjuster, and I have a lot of claims that I handle for losses of this nature. In cases of a burglary or a house fire, you run the potential to loose a lot of personal property at once. Remembering what was stolen, or in case of a fire loss, what was burned can sometimes be difficult, especially if the list is long, let alone try to remember how much you paid for it, how old it was, where you purchased it, and trying to prove you actually owned it. My best advice to folks is to take an hour or so, get a camcorder, and do a video diary of each and every little thing that you would claim in case of a major loss. I mean everything! I know this will sound silly, but even include all of the little things like your underwear. You don't need each and every piece, but a general shot inside each drawer, etc. It gives you and the insurance adjuster a good idea of what you had, and also helps to discredit that you might be exaggerating your loss. Be sure to take close ups of model #'s on electronics, etc. This will help when looking for a comparable replacement.

Furthermore, watching the video after a loss while filling out a personal property loss worksheet with your adjuster, will help jog your memory and help you realize what might be missing that you would maybe not realize until much later when you go to look for it and use it. Many times these types of things get brought up long after the claim is settled because people forgot they had it until they went to use it and it was gone. You can’t possibly remember everything. As best as possible, getting all or most of your items listed right away without forgetting anything is important, because insurance claims do have statutes of limitations for coverage. Sometimes claims are limited to one year from the date of the loss for replacement cost coverage to apply, and two years for coverage to apply at all. Such is the case for the state that I'm in, and for the company that I work for.

Once you have the recording done and burned onto a CD, give the disk to your insurance agent to put in your file for safekeeping, or put it in a safety deposit box, or better yet, make an extra copy and do both. Saving receipts and owner's manuals is also a great idea.

Finally, remember to do an update disc about once a year. You don’t have to do the whole thing over, just video newly purchased items. Also, if you know you no longer own something previously recorded, make a verbal or written note for your file. This is also good for putting credit to your honesty in settling your claim.

I know this may sound like a headache, but believe me, if you ever have one of these losses, you'll be thankful you put the time in on this.

I know I spoke plenty of insurance jargon, and if you don’t understand something, please feel free to ask. You can ask me through comments, or my e-mail address is 1mrmotorcycle@gmail.com. Though I admit I don’t have all the answers, I’m happy to solicit any advice I can for free on what I do know.

Mr. Motorcycle

Variety is the spice of life.

WTF kind of bike is this????



They say variety is the spice of life. Well I guess not all of us can be content with just owning a bike for fun.



One of my friends, Scott Storms , owner/operator of Stormy Custom Bike Works actually owns this miniature Submarine, and it actually works. How cool is that!



I was at the shop a few days ago talking about what we were going to do with my license plate set up, and just had to take a few pictures, seing as it was at the shop. I had heard him talk about it several times before, but was amazed at how cool this thing really was once I got to see it with my own eyes.



He is having talks with the MN DNR, last I heard and it sounded like they were going to rent use of it once in a while.



I tried to talk him into painting it yellow. He wouldn't bite! LOL!

DOT Vs. Snell approved helmets

What is the difference between Snell and DOT approved helmets?

This is really interesting. I thought you should know.

First off, for this post anyway (SMF) will refer to the Snell Memorial Foundation, NOT Stupid Mother F*cker. LOL!

There are two key differences between a DOT and Snell approved helmet.
First, is the testing standards the helmets go through, and second, is the verification of the results.

The Snell Memorial Foundation (SMF) was founded in 1957 just after William Snell, A.K.A. Pete, died from massive head trauma from a race car accident. (SMF) is a non-profit organization that focuses on learning more about the components of head injuries, & how to prevent them by using helmets. Through their research (SMF) has developed the Snell standard for approving helmets. It is continually tested and updated every five years.

Although both testing processes are very similar, (SMF) requires their certified helmets to withstand a greater impact and absorb more force than the DOT approved helmets.
Both (SMF) and DOT standards drop the head forms on flat and round shaped anvils in order to simulate different types of impacts. However, Snell also uses an edged anvil that specifically tests the integrity of the helmet's shell.

DOT and Snell test each helmet two times at four different impact zones. DOT drops their helmets from 6 feet on the flat anvil and from a 4.5 feet on the round anvil. Snell drops the helmets from 10 feet and 7.5 feet on both anvils, which simulates a more severe impact.

While there is no guarantee that a DOT approved helmet has actually been tested, the purchase of a Snell approved helmet ensures that the product has been evaluated under scrutiny. A Snell-certified helmet also meets and exceeds the DOT standards.

Motorcycle Helmets and helmet laws

I've been looking around for a while now for just the right motorcycle helmet. I want the "look" as well as comfort, and function. There are a million styles. Let the journey begin.

Yeah you heard me, I'm giving in and buying a brain bucket.

On my internet quest, I stumbled upon this great site that has a detailed map and breakdown of helmet laws, and provision's per state. (U.S. Only). Sorry if you are one of my non U.S. visitors.

For those who tour regularily, or not so regular, it may be something you want to check out. I thought this was too good not to pass on.

Check out the helmet law page link that I found.

This is a good one to add to your favorites, unless of course you always wear a helmet anyway.

Making lots of Money with Ads on a blog, Can it be done?

In general, I think those days are long gone due to the amount of people now blogging and advertising. It sounds ironic, because the mass amount of people blogging is a huge viewer ship for our eyes to see advertisements. Almost everyone I know who blogs has a Google Ad Sense, Amazon, or both on their site's side bars. It's Advertisement flooding. Most people who read blogs, have blogs, and have ads of their own, so they don't click on the Ads on other peoples blogs. As much as I read blogs, I've never clicked on a google Ad once, let alone purchased anything from one of their ads. No Amazon either. If I want something from Amazon, I know their website, and I know how to search for what it is I want specifically. Maybe I'm just not all that into Ads. I take it back. When I first got my blog going, I clicked on Google Ad Sense, and Amazon, to get their gizmos on my site. By the advise of some people I’ve read posts on to boost your rank, and traffic, the less cluttered your site is with nonsense ads, the more likely people will come back to visit your site. So, I've since removed them. I might put them back on someday. My traffic has increased substantially. The more I blog, the more content is out there to hit on through Google searches, etc. I don’t really think it has anything to do with having or not having Ads. on your site. Plus if I have more traffic from not having Ads., what difference does more traffic make?
I must admit, I do check my stats from time to time just out of curiosity, but the longer I blog, the more traffic I get, & the less I seem to be caring about stats, and trying to make money blogging.

Quite honestly the only thing I've ever purchased through a blog is a really cool Sturgis T-shirt that I got from The Beach Cruiser. Had it been on a Google Ad Sense Ad, or Amazon Ad in the side bar of their blog, I would have never looked at it, let alone purchased the shirt. I saw it through their Sturgis Store because it was a post, not a side bar advertisement. Side bar advertisements seem a little over rated to me. I could be wrong, but have chatted with some pretty big players in the blogging world, and they seem to sometimes have trouble making any dough doing this as well. Let me know if I'm wrong here. Hell, I'd love to be wrong on this one. I'd love for someone to tell me how I can make all this money blogging without it becomming my new full time job. Just some side mulah would be nice.

For now, I’m going to continue blogging for free and as a hobby. I make nothing doing this, but its fun, & entertaining.

I hope you all enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy reading yours. Because of blogging, I get to talk with some of the greatest people on this planet (for free).

Are any of you making any money???? If so, I’d love to hear about it.

Disclaimer…..If anyone wants to give me money, I’ll gladly take it!
LOL!

Vertical Vs. Horizontal #2

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Biker joke.........Too Little, Too Late

Doug Klassen from Fourty Years on Two Wheels had recently posted his rendition of what a biker means in What's in a name. http://40on2.blogspot.com/2008/08/whats-in-name.html

According to his image of a Biker, the 60's version of a ruffian hoodlum on two wheels, here is a very fitting joke.

A regular Joe is at the Pearly Gates, hoping to be admitted.

St. Peter says to the guy,

"I can't see that you did anything really good in your life, but you never did anything bad either. I tell you what, if you can tell me one really good deed that you did, I'll open Heaven's Gates to you."

So the guy says,

"I was driving down the road and saw a gang of bikers assaulting this poor girl. So I pulled over, got out my car, grabbed a tire iron and walked straight up to the gang's leader--a huge ugly guy with a studded leather jacket, bald head but with hair all over his body, and a chain running from his nose to his ear.
Undaunted, I ripped the chain out of his nose and ear and smashed him over the head with the tire iron. Then I turned around and, wielding my tire iron, yelled to the rest of them, "You leave this poor, innocent lady alone! You're all a bunch of sick, deranged animals! Go home before I teach you all a lesson in pain!"

Impressed, St. Peter says,

"Really? I can't seem to find this in your file. When did this happen?"

"Oh, about two minutes ago."

Best bike for sale advertisement I've seen yet!

Minnesota State Fair

10 days and counting!!!!!





The Minnesota State Fair is one of the Nations largest and most attended State Fairs around. It runs this year August 21st through Labor Day September 1st.





Each Year it averages Aprox. 1.5 to 2 million atttendees. It is some of the best people watching on the planet as ALL walks of life visit this fair each year. This year, 2008 should be no different.





It is is held on a 320 acre permanent fairground located roughly halfway between downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis, MN. It is marketed as "The Great Minnesota Get Together". It is indeed one of the largest state fairs in the United States. It is one of the most popular such events in the country. It boasts six stages of live entertainment, more than 700 free live performances, 1,300 commercial exhibits, and 300 food booths.





One of the best things about the fair is obviously the food. My family goes to the fair about 2 out of every 3 ears. We each have our own list of "must have" food items. Many of which are Minni donoughts, Sweet Martha's Chocolate chip cookies, Pronto Pups, Dino's Gyros, Corn roast sweet corn on the cob, etc. etc. etc. The list goes on.





I find it very interesting that just about everything comes on a stick of some sorts now days. At the Minnesota State Fair this year there will be approximately 59 differents foods on a stick. see youtube vid.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-5Lr2IhB_o



One of the many foods on a stick is the porkchop on a stick. a PORKCHOP ON A STICK IS REAL!




I've done my own sick and twisted homage to this.



***(CAUTION. DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!)****



MMMMMM, Tasty!

Biker or not?

What makes a biker?

I read a lot of other people’s blogs and comments about what makes one a biker and what makes one a poser, or just a bike enthusiast.

I think the word “BIKER” and what it means is subjective to opinions.

The term “bar hopper” comes to mind right off the bat. Many times, I’ve read: not quoted, but implied, that if you have a bar hopper, and don’t go touring that you are not a true biker. I’ve recently read a post where the blogger himself decided he was not a biker, just a bike enthusiast because of the way he looked, versus the way one of his friends looked. To me it is more, how long you've been riding, how much passion you have for riding, how much burning desire you have to ride, even when you can't ride. If you get in a motorcycle accident, and live to ride another day, do you ride, or hang it up? When you see a bike, no matter what kind, is there a part of you that thinks, “That’s cool, I love it anyway”? If the burning desire to ride, consumes the back of your brain while you are doing something other than riding, and if every ounce of your soul says “I am a biker”. Well then my friend, in my book you are a biker. To me that is more of a biker than not. If you judged a biker by the way they look, or how often they “get” to ride, then you may as well judge them by what they ride, the color of their skin, the price of their motorcycle, what kind of house they go home to, Etc. Etc, Etc……

Re: The above statement about judging a biker by their looks....

Those who read my blog regularly will likely think of the fact that in the past, I have posted and criticized about some bikers looks, or the way they choose to dress.

I'm human. I notice this stuff and I never said they weren't bikers.

If you look like a dork, you look like a dork. Weather or not you are a biker, has nothing to do with what you wear, or don't wear.

I post this because, I do own a bar hopper, but I go for long rides when ever the opportunity strikes, and pay the consequences in lack of comfort. I do not do long tours. I desire to, but my family life and job at this time, limits this. I am actually planning on one for next year (ON MY BAR HOPPER). I've been in three motorcycle accidents in my 20 some years of riding, and two were pretty severe, and I still ride. I can't imagine not riding. I tried to give it up after my first accident. That didn't last long before I couldn't stand it anymore. For me life without riding is not a life at all. When I do ride, although not nearly as much as I'd like to... I'll be soaking it all in and think to myself. This is livin. This is what it's all about. This is why I ride.

I am one of the people I described above.
Ladies and gentlemen, ……..I AM A BIKER; are you?

Biker joke

Friendship among regular folks:

.

A man didn't come home one night.

The next morning he told his significant other that he had slept over at a friend's house.

The woman called his 10 best friends.

None of them knew anything about it.

Friendship among Bikers:

.

A biker didn't come home one night.

The next morning he told his significant other that he had slept over at a friend's house.

The woman called The biker's 10 best friends.

Eight confirmed that he had slept over, and two said he was still there.

.

Fisherman's Picnic Weekend photos

The photos here, should have been attached to my last post, but I had my head up my arse.

These photos were taken by my wife. She so gracioulsy allowed me to borrow them, and post them for you to see.

I hope you like them. This is just a glimpse of the beauty that is Grand Marais, MN , and the Gunflint Trail.


Grand Marais, MN Harbor


Grand Marais, MN Harbor


One of the many beautiful lakes in the Gunflint Trail


An alien creature spotted in one of our cabins


We went moose huntuing...(pics only). We do this each year.
This time we only managed to see this little jumper. But
notice, if photographed closely, even a grasshoper can be
beautiful in it's own way.

Grand Marais Fisherman's Picnic Weekend

Been gone for a while.

Thursday last week, I was cleaning up some loose ends at work. I took Friday off, and headed up north to Grand Marais, MN with my wife.

We went there for our now annual Grand Marais Fisherman's Picnic weekend to meet a few of my wifes friends, who have now become my friends. The scenery there is stunning. I'd like to retire around the North Shore someday, and lucky for me, my wife is totally on board with this

plan. We stayed in a quaint cabin just outside of downtown. We ate, we drank, and shopped in town, enjoyed the festival, had a camp fire dinner with our friends, and parted ways the next morning. My wife and I spent the last day there together, and just enjoyed each other's company. We saw some incredible scenery and views as we headed along the Gunflint Trail. I was so into the beautiful views in front of me, I was just, well, dumfounded, and too lame to take any pictures. I take that back. I have a few on my camera phone. Now if I can just find time to figure out how to get them off!

I got another souvenier knife.

I love knives, especially when I can tie it into being a biker knife, that makes it even better.

I got back from our trip to start work the following day. I spent the last two days in a training class, and got absolutely nothing done as far as my real job goes. Now I'm really far behind the 8-ball. I really don't even have time to be posting this. I'd like to lay blame on my temp. who did absolutely nothing while I was away, but... Oh wait.... I don't have a temp. All the work just piles up while I'm gone. As a matter of fact, I was even assigned more work while I was on vacation! Bastards. Nothing like job security right???

Please excuse my absence as of late, and in near future. I have much catching up to do. I'll try to catch up on my regular blogs I read, and we'll talk to you all soon.

Peace,

Mr. Motorcycle

A moment of shame that I had to bear for something I did not do.

I was at the Dodge dealership getting my Charger worked on for some maintenance.

The service writer, the service technician and I were going over what I needed to have done to my car. We started B.S.- ing about riding motorcycles, because they saw the Harley sticker on my car.

They asked, "Do you ride?", and the answer was of course, "Yes."

I asked, "Do you guys ride?" They both replied, "Yes".

Long story short....
The service writer was on his way back to the service writer's booth area to do some paperwork to put me in a free laoner for a few hours while they worked on the Charger. The Tech. lowered my car down from being hoisted, so I could get some personal belongings out of the car. While lowering the car, he asks me, "Do you have a Harley?" I proudly say "Yes."
He then replies, "I've got a bike, but it's only a Kawasaki." I say, "Only a Kawasaki?, You say that like you are ashamed of it." He says, "No, but it ain't a Harley." I told him, "Who cares! If you're into Kawasaki's, then you are into Kawasakis. You don't need to apologize." He said, "That's nice to hear from someone who rides a Harley. Because about 8 out of ten times I wave to someone riding a Harley, they don't wave back." I said, "That's Bullshit that that happens. People shouldn't care what you are riding as long as you are out there having fun. That's what it's all about, not what you're riding. Most guys I ride with, including me, don't give a shit about what anyone else rides. I love Harleys, but that's just me. I wave to people riding scooters."

At that particular moment, I truly felt ashamed to be associated with a crowd that acts this way. It's not what I see, but then again, I'm sure it happens too. Isn't what we preach that bikers help ALL bikers, no matter what? It's like an unwritten code of biker ethics or creed in the biker world. It is what the brotherhood of bikers is about to me. So why wouldn't you recriprocate this feeling of brotherhood to ANY biker waving to you? Any wone who snubs a wave for the sole reason of what the other person is riding, or not riding, should be completely ASHAMED! I guess what I'm trying to say here, is that we all have preferences on what to ride, and what we think is the best. But none of that changes the person who is riding it. We are all equal, even if we don't think the motorcycles each of us chooses to ride are. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Do I think Harley Davidson is the best damn bike on this planet... You bet! But just 'Cause I love Harleys doesn't mean anyone else has to. I give an honest and sincere statement here when I say, I don't care what you ride.

Peace to ALL riders!

Mr. Motorcycle