Friday, November 30, 2012

Big Sioux Riders Update


Crittenton Center:

Dan Watson has made the arrangements – this Sunday, November 29th for the club to spend an hour or two at the Crittenton Center showing and talking to the kids about motorcycles.   Jim Johnson will be picking up some pizza’s to share with them.  Meet at the Center at 3:30 PM.  It is located at 3901 Green Ave in Sioux City.  Green Ave intersects with Gordon Drive at the stop light just east of HyVee on Gordon.  Turn north towards HyVee at the stop light and follow the street to the shelter care facility.  We would like to get a variety of bikes there, iconic H-Ds, uber-cool touring beemers, classic air heads, dual sports/adv bikes, and techie Jap bikes.  Please come join us.  Also, any interesting motorcycle items you can haul down to show the kids would be great.  There are currently 15 kids staying at the Center and we want them to see the possibilities of motorcycles and give them something they to get excited and dream about.  If you have any questions, call Dan at (712) 389-6257or skippy.223@hotmail.com.  You can read more about the Crittenton Center Shelter here: http://www.crittentoncenter.org/index.php/shelter-a-youth-development

Christmas Party:

The Big Sioux Riders 2012 Christmas Party is Tuesday, December 11th at the House of Q.  We have the back room reserved.  You are welcome to bring a desert with you to share.  Beverages can be purchased at the restaurant.  We will have our traditional gift exchange so bring a gift costing between $10 and $20.  The gifts do not have to be motorcycle related.  The dinner cost is free to paid members.  If you just want to pay for dinner, its $10/person.  We will also have a drawing for some door prizes.  Festivities start at 6 PM, dinner is at 6:30.  I will be collecting dues for 2013.

After dinner we will vote on the Big Johnson Award and elect 2013 officers.  Nominations for officers are currently:  Pres: Al Agrimson; V-P: Randy Roos; Treas: Steve Martin; Flower Person/Public Relations: Open; Secretary: Brion Hase.  If you want to run or submit someone, please drop me an email.  The group is pretty open to anyone willing to serve as a club officer for a year.

Big Johnson Awards:  We are also looking for 2013 Big Johnson Award nominations again.  Dan and Gary are current favorites, but there is still time to challenge them.  Nominate for your favorite rider or spouse by sending your nominations to Jim Johnson (jimj@urban-inc.net) and last year's winner Marc LaDue (marcl@awesomebikernights.com) along with a little explanation about why your nominee should win.  Non-members from the local/regional motorcycle community can also be nominated.

Prior Winners of the Big Johnson:
  • 2004 - Jim Johnson - Namesake - For getting lost, falling over, and then running out of gas during the club’s only Poker Run.
  • 2005 - Stan Stille - GPS Challenged.  For going to the wrong town for the Iowa Rally, even after Stan’s son Ryan had put the location (Marengo) into Stan’s GPS.  Stan went to the location of the rally the prior year (Kalona).  After loosing his sleeping bag and tent on the way, Stan spent the night in a hotel room in Coralville before find the rally the next day.  
  • 2006 - Doug Shonley - Adventures with Pickups.  Shortly after Nancy Rae got her new truck, Doug moved it out of the way to get his bike out.  Doug then proceeded to back into the truck with his motorcycle and fall over.  Nancy Rae was laughing to hard to assist with getting the bike back up.
  • 2007 - Steve Martin - Tent Stake Packing.  After arriving at the Spring Campout, Steve claims he had forgotten to have packed his tent stakes.  He loaned a few spare stakes from the others, and then fabricating the remaining stakes he needed.  The next morning Steve found he had not forgotten his stakes, they were under his tent and he had slept on them all night.
  • 2008 - Judy Walker - Turn Demonstrator. While demonstrating how to do a proper corner at a MSF class, Instructor Judy accidentally fell down and hurt her ankle.  Actually this happened on the course when class was not in session and Judy was practicing.
  • 2009 - Sue and Steve Lee - The Wild Berry Incident.  Sue vomited wild berry Tums onto her husband Steve while moving at speed as they traveled on separate motorcycles in Nebraska.
  • 2010 - Dale Nordlie - Torque Challenged.  Dale lost the back wheel off his GS motorcycle while on his way to Baxter Cycle Open House and Campout in Marne.  No one was hurt and there was no serious damage.  Dale now safety wires his wheel bolts on.
  • 2011 - Marc LaDue - Camping Prowess.  For his outstanding camping stories after purchasing and carrying his new camping gear on his Trans-American Trail trip...  and never using it.


-- 
"The thing about quotes on the Internet is that it is difficult to verify their validity" -- Abraham Lincoln

Brion "Frump" Hase
'06 R12GSA ("Pig"), '03 K12RS ("Dagmar") & '04 DL650 Strom ("Piglet")
BMW MOA #100603
IBA Member #22484

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Upcoming Sales At BAK BMW


      Just reaching out to everyone to wish them a very Happy Thanksgiving. Hope all is well and that the year has treated you well, so that you have much to be thankful for.
      We'd like to invite you to take advantage of our upcoming sales. From now until December 31st, we are offering 10% off your entire purchase if a motorcycle cover and battery tender is included in the purchase. This coming weekend on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday we are having a seperate sale for 10% off parts, apparel, and accessories. Great way to save some money on gifts for the rider in your life.
      There are some upcoming events that we hope you will join us for. On December 12th we will be having our Christmas party and have wine and cheese and also some other foods. If you attend and bring something to donate to the Support Siouxland Soldiers you will receive 10% off. January 18th we will have game night and have the projector set up.  This is a great way to meet some fellow MXers. Our movie night will be February 8th, we would like some of your inputs as to which movies we will be watching.
      We hope to see you all at some of these events and sales!

David Bak

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Where To Look, courtesy of MSF

Where To Look
 
Every Second Matters
Surveying your environment the correct way as you ride involves several aspects. First, you should be in the habit of maintaining a minimum 2-second following distance, while assessing a 4-second immediate path and a 12-second anticipated path. To maintain a 2-second following distance – necessary to ensure you have enough time to react if the vehicle in front of you stops suddenly – pick out a fixed point ahead, like a signpost or pavement marking. As the vehicle ahead passes the fixed object, count off “one-motorcycle-one, two-motorcycle-two”; if the fixed point has not been reached, following distance is at least 2 seconds. Use a longer following distance as roadway, traffic, or weather conditions dictate, or if you’re simply more comfortable having more space and time to react.

Next, scan a 4-second immediate path. Anything within 4 seconds of your path is considered immediate because a quick response is required if something should go wrong. Four seconds provides time and space to swerve or brake for hazards such as potholes or someone/something entering your path. Finally, a 12-second anticipated path means to look ahead and assess an area it would take that long to reach. It provides time to prepare for a situation (road construction, traffic jam, disabled car, etc.) before it becomes immediate.

With the constant scanning of the near-to-far areas, never fixating on one spot, you’ll notice the hazards in your path before you’re literally on top of them. You don’t need to stare down at the pavement directly in front of your front tire, nor do you need to fix your gaze far in the distance in order to detect the variety of potential hazards that await you.

Safe riding requires you to maintain a complete 360-degree picture of your surroundings. Focus on your path ahead, as described, and occasionally glance to the sides to detect if vehicles are pulling out from driveways or side streets, and glance at your rear-view mirrors to see if any vehicles are bearing down on you from behind. Maintaining this picture minimizes the need to rely on your emergency maneuvering skills. In that way, riding a motorcycle is more a skill of the eyes and mind than of the hands and feet.

Passengers, courtesy of MSF

Passengers
 
No Need To Go It Alone
There are basic adjustments operators should make to their motorcycle and their riding style when carrying a passenger. Adjustments to the tire pressure and suspension settings are usually required. And, be sure not to exceed the weight limit (total of operator, passenger, accessories, and cargo). Refer to your owner’s manual for those details.

Regarding riding style, the extra weight of the passenger will tend to make the motorcycle slower to respond to steering input, may require more throttle and clutch finesse to start off from a stop, may require greater pressure on the brake controls, may reduce cornering clearance, and may increase the time and space needed for passing. A lighter motorcycle may be affected more than a heavier motorcycle, because passenger weight will constitute a bigger percentage of total loaded motorcycle weight.

If you’re a novice when it comes to carrying a passenger, practice turning and braking with your passenger aboard in a low-risk area like an open parking lot before you take to the streets. Learn the needed skills gradually. Remember too that novice passengers tend to fear lean, so make turns, corners and curves more gentle (less lean) than you normally do. Remember that passengers new to motorcycling can experience anxiety and may want you to pull over and stop at times. If you do not have a helmet-to-helmet communications system, or if your system fails, you might try an old fashioned approach: When your passenger gives your arm three quick squeezes, it's time to pull over. It's a simple but effective signal, and just knowing there is a stop-option can help reduce your passenger's level of anxiety.

Your passenger should know to brace him/herself when you’re stopping to avoid knocking helmets together, keep their feet on the footrests at stops, and look over your shoulder in the direction of the turn to ensure he/she leans with you in a corner. And passengers should always wear proper protective gear, even for short rides.

Finally, don’t overlook the advantages of carrying a passenger. Two immediately come to mind:

More weight over the rear tire may increase the usefulness and stopping power of the rear brake, especially in quick-stop situations.

And most importantly, a passenger serves as a trusted companion with whom to share the joy of motorcycling!

Long Trips, courtesy of MSF

Long Trips
 
Taking Care of Your Bike, Taking Care of You
For multi-day trips not only do you need to prep and inspect your motorcycle to ensure it’s up to the task, but you need to assess your own condition. Motorcycling requires more mental focus and is more physically demanding than driving, so fatigue is a valid concern and a real threat to safety. This is especially true if you’re riding alone.

Maintaining a basic exercise routine in the weeks leading up to your ride will help prepare you. Focus on your arms and hands, since they’ll be doing most of the work. Push-ups or weight lifting (with light weights) for your arms and using a traditional V-shaped spring-loaded grip exerciser or rubber ball for your hands will help. And if you’re prone to carpal tunnel syndrome (characterized by painful wrist inflammation), which can be triggered by holding the throttle open and gripping the handlebars for extended periods, remember to bring any required medicines or dietary supplements. Just be sure they don’t affect your ability to operate “heavy machinery.”

While riding, wear comfortable safety gear, maintain good posture and, if your saddle allows, change your seating position occasionally so your spine doesn’t get locked into one position and your “bottom end” doesn’t go numb. Getting plenty of sleep each night during your trip is essential for both physical and mental stamina. When you’re on the road, take a short break every hour or so. Find a safe place to park and stretch. Close your eyes to give them a break. Take a long lunch break. Eating a light, protein-rich meal and avoiding caffeine and sugar-laden desserts will help prevent a mid-afternoon energy lull. Have frequent healthy snacks and drink plenty of water. Wear hearing protection, since constant wind and engine/exhaust noise can hasten your fatigue, in addition to the obvious risk to your hearing.

Finally, don't assume you can ride hundreds of miles a day, day after day. You should start off with a shorter day, and build up the daily duration only if your brain and body say “Hey, we’re fine with this, give us more!”

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Burgers at Bob's Bar on Saturday!

The temps are forcast to be in the 60's this Saturday.  So-o-o-o Autobahners have decided to make their "fall" run to Martinsburg, NE, for a burger and fries.  Riders will leave from Grandma Max's after breakfast. 

Friday, November 2, 2012

AMA's 15 Best Motorcycling Roads in America


The 15 Greatest Motorcycle Roads in America
  1. Beartooth Highway, Montana and Wyoming.
  2. Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina.
  3. U.S. Route 129 -- The Tail of the Dragon -- on the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
  4. U.S. Route 550, from Ouray to Durango, Colo.
  5. California Route 1, Pacific Coast Highway.
  6. Going to the Sun Road, Glacier National Park, Montana.
  7. Cherohala Skyway, North Carolina and Tennessee.
  8. California Route 36.
  9. U.S. Route 12, Lolo Pass, Idaho and Montana.
  10. Angeles Crest Highway, California Route 2.
  11. Natchez Trace, from Natchez, Miss., to Nashville, Tenn.
  12. U.S. Route 33, Harrisonburg, Va., to Seneca Rocks, W.Va.
  13. California Route 58, McKittrick to Santa Margarita.
  14. Ohio Route 170, Calcutta to Poland.
  15. Washington Route 129 and Oregon Route 3, Clarkston, Wash., to Enterprise, Ore.