Tread Life: a blog about motorcycles, riding motorcycles, and writing about motorcycles

Yeah, That's Right, I'm Talking to You, Ewan and Charley

2011-12-27T16:37:00.000-08:00

Rockin' and Rollin'

2011-10-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

And I thought it was cool having a radio on my Gold Wing. This guy has live music.

Back In The Saddle

2011-09-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

Crater Lake National Park I took my first long ride on the new Gold Wing this past weekend, a quick run down to the little town of Gerlach, Nevada, for an annual gathering of long-distance riders. It was a shakedown run for the both the bike and me. I haven't ridden much more than 75 miles in a day for the past few years because of problems from old injuries. But events conspired to bring me

A Really Big Addition To The Garage

2011-09-09T17:45:00.000-07:00

Lead Wing. Hondaminium. Hondapotamus. Go ahead, laugh. I've heard 'em all. I don't care. I love this thing. I've put just two tanks of gas through it and I'm already addicted to the stereo and the cruise control. Contrary to my long-standing custom of not naming motorcycles, I've begun to refer to this one as Jumbo. I once rode a real, live elephant. This is sort of like that, except it's

Project Gift Horse: Whoa, Nelly

2011-07-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

I got a phone message this afternoon from––let's call him Bob––my guy at the Oregon state DMV office in Salem. It ain't looking good for Project Gift Horse. I had contacted Bob several weeks ago about the local DMV office's refusal to inspect the VIN on Project Gift Horse unless the bike was "substantially complete." No amount of argument from me to the effect that there are only two VIN

Project Gift Horse: The Genesis

2011-07-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

Leafing through old bike magazines last night looking for something else, I found this in the Oct/Nov 1986 Cycle Guide. The pic is of the first SR500 I owned, the one that made me want another one.

Thunder at CAM: Classic Coast

2011-06-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

photo by Philip Koenen As a resident of the southern Oregon coast for more than 20 years, it never ceases to amaze me that there are so many stashes of classic motorcycles located here in an area so well-known for rust, mildew, salt-air corrosion, and overall environmental animosity toward metal. But there are, and some of the best examples of several of these collections are on display at the

Project Gift Horse: The Inside Story

2011-05-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

Short and sweet report today. Top end looks good. No scoring on the piston or cylinder, no galling on the cam or rocker arms. Looks like a well-cared-for, low-mileage engine. Score!

Project Gift Horse: But Wait, There's More

2011-05-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, while out riding the V-Strom, I decided to pay a call to Philip Koenen, owner of Grand Touring Garage. Philip and I were introduced by a mutual friend some time ago, and we subsequently discovered both of us had connections through the motorcycle industry. Although most of his restoration and custom work has been with cars, he has built some outstanding bikes, a few of which you can

Project Gift Horse: No Going Back From Here

2011-05-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

The engine came out this morning. The Haynes manual said, "The engine is not particularly heavy, but is difficult to grasp." The grasping part is easier if you leave the kickstarter on and use it as a handle. The engine sure felt particularly heavy yesterday...before I found the wiring harness and the oil line I'd forgotten to disconnect. Once I did that it just about fell out of the frame. The

Project Gift Horse: Oh, What The Hell

2011-05-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

Notwithstanding my unwillingness to spend money on a bike I can't yet register, I put some sweat equity into it yesterday and started pulling the engine. If you didn't already know the 500cc single is a real boneshaker, you'd suspect it right away based on the number of places it's bolted solidly to the frame. Along the way I took photos of every part of the bike, zooming in on where the wiring

Project Gift Horse: The Paper Chase

2011-05-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

Well, that sucks. I took Gift Horse's California pink slip and bill of sale to the local DMV office a while ago. I'll spare you the back-and-forth, but the gist of it is this: I need to contact the last person on the bill of sale (which was signed off in 1992) and get him to sign the bike over to me. The way I do this is to write him a letter; if the letter comes back with answer, problem

Project Gift Horse: And So It Begins

2011-05-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for a way to make a few hours fly by unnoticed, start taking apart an old motorcycle you want to rebuild. This afternoon I took off the gas tank, rear fender, ignition switch, headlight shell, and instruments, and put all the small things in labeled zip-lock bags so I don't end up with one big box full of unidentifiable stuff when it's time to put it all back together. The gas

Project Gift Horse: Prolog

2011-05-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

Blogger burped yesterday and sent this post into the ether, so here it is again, my latest project. Feast on its bedraggled spendor. Marvel at its melange of mismatched componentry. More later...

Moto Archaeology

2011-05-08T20:39:00.000-07:00

Today I got ambitious and tackled a long-delayed clean-up in the garage. I had six or seven large boxes full of motorcycle stuff I've been carrying from house to house for years without looking inside to see if what they contained was worth keeping. Here's a partial list of what I found: • A complete valve-shim set for air-cooled, two-valve, four-cylinder, GS-series Suzuki engines • A 35mm

Movin' On

2011-04-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

One of the best things I ever did during my motorcycling life was to get involved with the Iron Butt Association. From it, and the people in it, I learned how to ride safely and efficiently, over long distances and short hops. I rode more than 1,000 miles in less than 24 hours just to see if I could do it, and found out I could, which was incredibly empowering. Lately, though, I'm beginning to

...And We're Back

2011-04-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

Life is what happens while you're making other plans. I certainly never planned to be writing about cars, but that's how it worked out. It's like this... When American Rider magazine went under in 2009, it blew a huge hole in my annual income from writing. The next year was not in any way fun. That I'd be still living in a house today, and not in a refrigerator carton behind a convenience

A Note To Tread Life Readers

2010-05-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

Cycle Guide Magazine is up and running, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to address all the loyal Tread Life subscribers who still check in here now and then. First, thanks for doing that. Second, most of my future blogging efforts will be directed toward making Cycle Guide Magazine better, so I probably won't be posting much on TL from now on. What I'd like to suggest is that if

Cycle Guide Magazine Returns!

2010-04-30T17:57:00.000-07:00

If you've been wondering what I've been doing instead of working on Tread Life, here's your answer. Cycle Guide Magazine is a digital upgrade of one of the classic titles from the golden age of motorcycle magazines. My partner in CGM is Dain Gingerelli, who is like me a former Cycle Guide staffer and a longtime professional motojournalist. Between us we aim to combine the immediacy of the

Coming Attractions

2010-04-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

In a few days I'll be announcing the start of a new blog that will bring back one of the classic motorcycle magazines of the print era, this time in digital form. I have a partner in this enterprise, like me a former employee of this magazine, and between us we're going to merge the immediacy of the Internet with the thoughtful, well-crafted journalism we both practiced there. Stay tuned for

American Rider Update

2010-04-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a report from Folio about American Rider folding, complete with circulation figures and quotes from people who are supposedly paid to see this sort of thing coming and keep it from happening. Part of me is even more bummed to read about this again, but another part is sort of gleeful that Tread Life scooped pretty much everyone else on this story. Small consolation, I know, but at times

It's Not The Write Time

2010-04-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

I've been away for a while, as regular followers of Tread Life will have noticed. Since my last post I've been hard at work trying to find more work, with little success, and haven't had the energy or ambition to post much here. In place of original material, I'll offer up a couple of older posts on the subject of writing for a living. Consider them cautionary tales in case you're thinking of

American Rider Magazine: RIP

2010-03-31T17:49:00.000-07:00

Just moments ago I got an email from Reg Kittrelle, my editor at American Rider magazine, informing me the plug was pulled on the title today. I wrote for every issue of AR, starting with the Winter 1994 issue, right up until the most recent one, the June 2010 issue. I'm sorry to see the title go; when you work for a magazine for that long, and invest so much of your energy into it, you can't

Blasts From Tread Life's Past

2010-03-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

I’ve been taking a break from Tread Life to make some money; while blogging nourishes my spirit, it doesn't do squat for my bank account. There’s still a lot to read here, though, especially if you’re new to TL. Here are a few suggestions from the archives to keep you amused while I attend to business elsewhere.Bikes I'd Like To RideBeing a motorcyclist means never having to

Video: Life Is Hard Inside An Engine

2010-03-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Here are two videos that show what goes on inside your bike's engine, or your car's. Watch them, and think about how fast all this happens at 11,000 rpm.