Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2021 i Motorcycle Mojo Magazine

For most of the country, this issue kicks off another season of riding. There is a lot to think about when getting back on the road after a few months away from our favourite motorized pastime, so it’s no wonder that May has been recognized as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month for many years. Check out the articles within these pages to help you get the gears moving inside your head and think about what you need mentally and physically to be safe out on the roads of this vast country. Be sure to check out Emily Roberts’ article on page 38 about inspecting and possibly upgrading your personal riding gear. But keep in mind that having safe riding gear is only one part of the equation. Consider enrolling in a…

45.3 The percentage of how much safer full-face helmets are than open-faced helmets. This number comes from Prof. Dietmar Otte, a German researcher who produced one of the most in-depth motorcycle helmet studies of our time. 100 Founded in 1921, Moto Guzzi marks its 100th anniversary this year. Carlo Guzzi, Giorgio Parodi and Giovanni Ravelli were the three young men planning the new motorcycle company when Ravelli died in a flying accident. The open-winged eagle in the company’s logo is in memory of Ravelli. 3,406.17 The longest distance in kilometres anyone has ridden in the span of 24 hours. Carl Reese made the Guinness World Record at Continental Tire Proving Ground in Uvalde, Texas in February 2017. 1,500 The initial number of 1969 CB750 Fours that Honda planned to produce…

As a riding coach, track-day enthusiast and former pro racer with more than 20 years of experience, I spend a lot of time at the racetrack. I also enjoy riding and touring on the street. With all the riding I do, I sometimes get tired. However, there are a few tricks I’ve learned over the years that help me kick fatigue to the curb. One of the most surprising things that helps protect me from extreme tiredness is the use of earplugs. Now, let me preface this by saying that I used to be completely opposed to earplug use. For years, I scoffed at the idea of wearing earplugs while riding. I simply thought it would cut out an important sense from the riding equation. I thought I had to…

Alan Cathcart brings us the most lust-worthy bikes from around the world California is crammed with can-do customizers who ask ‘why not?’ instead of ‘why?,’ all competing to create the ultimate ultrabike or the perfect four-wheeled vehicle. So it’s no coincidence that so many major manufacturers of both two-and four-wheeled machines maintain SoCal design studios and engineering shops; out west is where unorthodoxy reigns, where the improbable achieves reality, and where today’s alternative design becomes tomorrow’s convention. It’s hard to imagine the Feuling W3 Cruiser, brought to market 20 years ago in February, 2001, by 56-year-old Jim Feuling, being built anywhere else. That said, it’s not exactly true to say no one had produced a radial three-cylinder bike engine before the W3 - Moto Guzzi built just such a prototype…

editor@motorcyclemojo.com LEARNING ONE OF LIFE’S LESSONS Emily, in your March column (“Learning to Let Go of Love”), you have transitioned from a pretty good writer to a very good writer. You took a personal experience and did a wonderful job of making it both relatable and entertaining to your readers (like me). Nice job, kiddo. Not to put too much pressure on you, but the inevitable outcome of this is that you have made us all the more looking forward to your next Brappy Thought. Thanks, eh? MAX BURNS VIA EMAIL MICHELIN FAN, FOR THE MOST PART ANYWAY For years, I have been an advocate for Michelin tires. In recent years, my tires of choice have been Michelin Pilot Road 4 GTs. I was very interested in Emily’s positive review…

I magine that you are on tour a long way from civilization, and your bike needs repairs if it is to carry you any farther. Here are some tips that may help you when you can’t call CAA or anyone else for help. But be careful – some roadside fixes may get you going again, but they may not be safe. If you are stranded, though, these are some last-resort methods you can use to fix your bike, so you don’t have to set it on fire to send smoke signals. Running out of fuel: The gas station you hoped would be there isn’t. I now carry a siphon hose, but years ago I didn’t have one while riding in Northern Quebec. To help a stranded rider, I removed my…

This past summer, I was grateful to stay local and spend more time in the dirt. I’m pretty critical about wearing all the gear, but one particular day I threw caution to the wind and neglected to put on my elbow pads before a ride. As the sun climbed higher, my riding buddies and I were getting into some more serious off-road terrain as we rode up steep loose and rutted hills littered with rocks. As I climbed one of the trails, my front wheel veered sideways and I was thrown from the bike. I quickly picked the bike up and finished the climb. Once I had made it to the top of the hill, I looked at my elbows and saw blood had soaked through my jersey. I could…

New(ish) research out of England sheds new light on why car drivers cut us off so often. According to the study – The “Saw but Forgot” Error: A role for short-term memory failures in understanding junction crashes – the real reason that cagers drive right through us in intersections isn’t so much that they don’t see us, but that even when they do, they forget we’re there. According to the paper’s lead author, Pete Chapman, researcher with the University of Nottingham’s School of Psychology, the problem isn’t the LBFTS – Look but Fail to See – problem commonly blamed for car/motorcycle collisions but rather something he calls SBF: Saw but Forgot. In a series of experiments that attempted to determine why car drivers fail to see motorcyclists, Chapman and his…

An entirely new engine powers the Pan America, and it’s the most technologically advanced mill ever produced in Milwaukee. The 60-degree liquid-cooled V-twin is a DOHC design, with four valves and two spark plugs per head. The cams feature variable valve timing, which broadens the power band without sacrificing top-end power. The cams can be removed for servicing without taking apart the cam drive, thus maintaining cam timing. Valves never need adjustment, as the Revolution Max engine incorporates hydraulic valve lifters. Compression ratio is 13:1, and the bottoms of the pistons are cooled with jets of oil. The engine requires premium fuel. Despite the engine’s 60-degree V angle, it has a 90-degree firing order due to crank pins that are offset 30 degrees. This gives the Pan America’s engine the…

Red Rock Garage Motorcyclists looking for a rest while riding on the scenic Highway 33, which connects the Boundary Country and Okanagan regions of B.C., must stop at the Red Rock Garage located at 5842 Highway 33 in the tiny community of Beaverdell, B.C. What a surprise when you step through the doorway – you can buy gifts, some remarkable homemade baking, coffee and cold drinks. There even is a small workshop and tools for riders in need of DIY repairs and, of course, gas pumps. The Red Rock Garage is truly a “Small Coffee Shop with a Motorcycle Addiction.” Editors note: the Red Rock Garage closes for the winter, but reopens on May 1.…

It has dawned on me that every core value I have about wearing gear while riding motorcycles was formed during my younger years, whether that was from teaching students, dirt biking or hearing news of another motorcycle crash. I learned that aside from being a well-rounded, receptive rider, you must wear all the protective gear for those instances that you can’t control. I was lucky to grow up with strong role models who promoted that being safe is cool and who ensured I always had the gear I needed. Although I believe that you should always wear the proper gear, sometimes I don’t. That generally happens when I forget to wear my elbow pads or a chest protector while dirt biking. During or after a ride, I always momentarily consider…

I have since ridden Ed’s Honda several times and made some minor modifications and repairs to make it more “streetable.” The day I picked it up, Ed pointed out a few glitches that required repair. Damaged brake light wiring and partially seized front caliper were easy fixes. When I first worked on the bike, I had set it up identical to my own CB750 with a stock cam, 836 kit and rejetted carbs with Dyna ignition. However, in my opinion, when Ed installed the 29 mm Race Carbs, its “streetability” was compromised. Yes, those carbs made for slightly better top-end power, but the bike idled poorly and lacked carb synchronization. Since these photos were taken, I have installed stock carbs rejetted with velocity stacks. Ed also loved electronic gadgets, and…

Most modern motorcycles are fuel-injected and equipped with ABS. While those two features are certainly welcome, they can pose some hurdles for home mechanics looking to perform their own maintenance. Unlike modern cars that use the OBD-II (On-Board Diagnostics II) interface exclusively to connect to a scanner or computer, motorcycles use a multitude of interface systems. OBD-II is the second generation of on-board diagnostics, and in 1996 the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) mandated it in North America, thus standardizing the system. This mandate did not extend to motorcycles, so most motorcycle makers use proprietary diagnostic interface systems. Fortunately for me, Triumph is one of the few companies that uses the OBD-II interface. This common system uses a standardized OBD port, into which a diagnostic scanner can be connected. On…