Category Archives: Rants, Raves, & Stories

Where I write whatever I want too!

Old Bikes & Shop Updates

Posted on by motopsyco

It’s another Fourth of July, and while we’re celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I thought it was a good time to post an update on what’s been going on around here. Things are kind of hectic but I’m finally getting the shop back together and working on old bikes again.

old bikes 1964 Honda CA78

Originally my plan after moving to the new location was to close my shop to the public and concentrate strictly on restoring my stock pile of personal projects that have been gathering dust for some time now.

old bikes Cushman Eagle basket case

old bikes Cushman Eagle basket case

At this point I have no plans to offer any more services to the public, I currently have a large backlog of promised restorations that have been delayed so I’m not accepting any new commissions at this time. If I have already agreed to do a motorcycle for you, it will be done and it will be a show winning beauty. Once all of the other peoples motorcycles that are already in the pipeline are done, the plan is to restore the accumulation of cool old bikes that are gathering dust in the corners of my shop and other buildings on the property.

old bikes 1968 Honda CL90

Earlier this year I became very sick and was out of work for 2 months. While this was somewhat of a financial hardship especially after buying a new house and moving, it also led me to the realization that I’m now closer to the end of my life than to the beginning of it. The phrase “I have the rest of my life to finish things,” has become “I only have the rest of my life to finish things.” A sobering reality especially when combined with diminished physical strength and endurance.

Four and one half weeks ago I got approval from the county code inspector to get power connected to the shop so I could have sufficient electrical service to run the equipment and get back to work. As of today (7/4/2022) I’m still waiting on the electric company to come and connect the power. They’re probably waiting on the transformer that will be needed for the installation. Unfortunately all of American industry is designed and set up for a “just in time” delivery and manufacturing model that is no longer viable. We all have to be patient, adapt to our new reality and find away to work around the problem. Once my power is connected I’ll announce it here and open the shop back up.

old bikes 1982 Honda C70 & 1964 Honda ct200

Even though new blog posts have been scarce, (my apologies for that) before moving I was incredibly busy and turned out several very nice projects that Ill share with you in the coming months. Hopefully you’ll enjoy seeing them when I get them posted. In addition to restoring some more of the old bikes, I’ve purchased yet another new motorcycle and will be doing a brutally honest review of it very soon.

Peace, love and hope to everyone out there, the future may seem a bit murky right now but we’ll all get through it somehow and continue to be prosperous and happy.

Philippians 4:13

The Heretic

Posted on by motopsyco

This has been in the back of my head for a while and I’ve wanted to share it with the world but I’ve been a little afraid to, afraid of what some of my friends and fellow motorcyclists might think. What I’m about to confess to you may seem wrong but I can’t help myself. It’s time for me to go public with my point of view, damn those who might think less of me, I know I’m not the only motorcyclist who feels this way.

The Motorcycle Gospel of the Highway 1:29, states “Though must enjoy hustling thy motorcycle at maximum velocity down the gnarliest, curviest, most challenging mountain roads you can find.” To which I, Floyd The Heretic must reply, “fuck that shit.” Seriously it’s just not that much fun for me. Yes I’ve done it a few times but the thrill is gone after 1 or 2 trips down a road with no scenery except for road signs warning me about the next hairpin turn or switchback ahead of me. Doing this over and over is boring. B-O-R-I-N-G.

sign 11 turns 318 miles

I am The Heretic a sign like this is just fine with me.

Give me a nice Saturday morning with my wife on the back traveling down a nice country road full of idyllic scenery, through some small towns, historic districts etc. Maybe plan a stop at a restaurant or a bike show between 50 and 200 miles away. You know a good relaxing ride where you occasionally go slow enough to smell the roses, rotting roadkill animal corpses and the food at the diner on the corner in that little town that you’ve never been to before.

Even though I don’t want a road with endless curves to give me a total body workout a few nice sweeping curves are welcome. So is mile after mile of arrow straight 2 lane blacktop through forests, fields and villages. On a hot summer day in the south nothing beats coming across a long tunnel of trees throwing shade over a narrow blacktop road gently winding its way through the swamps of the Pee Dee & Low Country here in South Carolina. It’s like a little piece of heaven on 2 wheels. Another ride I really enjoyed last year was touring the Gettysburg National Park and surrounding countryside on my Honda Shadow. Great winding roads and lots to see along them.

As a frequent motorcycle commuter my rides to and from work are enough to get my heart rate up and scare the shit out of me sometimes so when I set out to do some recreational riding it should be relaxing. If I want to be tired, sore and drenched in sweat after riding a motorcycle I’ll ride a dirtbike or go do a track day somewhere. (Both of these are things I enjoy doing sometimes.)

There I’ve said it, now I hope someone out there understands how I feel. I’m not a Sunday morning squid out to prove myself against the mountain. Nor am I a barhopping biker riding with my friends from tavern to tavern. I’m just an ordinary everyday motorcyclist who rides because I love it and ordinary everyday riding is my favorite thing to do. If that seems like a heresy to anyone then I’m proud to be the heretic.

 

 

Bang the drum slowly

Posted on by motopsyco

I’m sitting here at my desk listening to random old folk music, enjoying my favorites Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Emmylou Harris, Allison Krauss etc. when Bang the Drum Slowly by Emmylou came on and sent me back down the primrose path of memories to one of my few early childhood experiences that I both remember and enjoy. Most of my early life is lost in a fog and I don’t really remember that much of it except for the exceptionally good times & the extremely traumatic events.

About 1971 while I was attending kindergarten at one of the many conformity factories that the government forces children into, we went to visit my father at the army base where he was having his annual National Guard training at the time. It was a terrific day for me; Daddy showed us around the base and introduced us to the guys in his unit. All the vehicles were on display and my brother and I were even allowed to touch them. My favorite was the tanks of course and it was the thrill of my life to climb up to the top of the turret for a look inside.

Another terrific thing that I remember was that he bought me my own little BDU uniform complete with a hat and an embroidered nametag with our last name on the chest just like his. I remember wearing it to school sometimes. It was kind of cool back then but I can’t help but wonder if a small child would even be allowed to wear such a thing to school today.

I remember his duffel bag being packed & ready but didn’t really think anything of it until years later when my mother mentioned that he had been on 24 hour notice to report for duty, and how thankful she was when Nixon finally brought that little war to a close.

Another favorite memory from that same time period was learning to shoot his old shotgun. Since I was physically too small to hold it up, he rolled down the window on his old 1966 Chevy II station wagon so little young me could prop the barrel on the windowsill while aiming at the target. Later that same rusty, off white station wagon would carry us and the dogs on many enjoyable bird hunting trips.

He taught me to ride a motorcycle on that wonderful Christmas morning when my brother & I got our first dirt bikes. If you read this blog you know what influence that had on me.

For a while he restored cars for people to pick up a little extra money on the side and I truly loved helping him with that. It made me proud to look at those beautiful Mustangs and that big old red Cadillac convertible & say to myself, “my daddy did that.”

My first car was a beat up pile of junk Mustang II with cracked heads & a slipping transmission. Over time we fixed it up even to the point of rebuilding the engine, which by the way we did sitting on the tail gate of his truck on a nice spring day. After we got it all back together & I finished hooking up all the wiring, driveshaft, etc. he had me fire it up and we set the timing. He slid behind the wheel and we rode around for a bit before he turned down the deserted country road where several generations of local street racers went to prove their machines & their mettle. Pulling up to the “starting line” he pulled the shift lever back to first and floored it, running it up to 5500 rpm in first & second on the 3 speed automatic and when he passed the finish line (approximately but not exactly a ¼ of a mile) I looked over at the speedometer & the needle was on 105 mph. After slowing down to a stop he checked all the gauges and listened to the engine a minute then he turned to me and said, “ You know that if I ever catch you doing this I’m gonna have to whip your ass.” Of course he was grinning like the Cheshire cat when he said it. To this day I’ve never been able to figure out how he got that little Ford up to 105 in that distance, because the best speed I could ever get up to in that same place was 100 mph.

Good memories of my dad.
My dad, one of my grandchildren & myself doing what we seemed to enjoy the most, fixing something broken.

Later I watched as he became one fine grandpa & great grandpa for my daughters, nephews & their children. He wore the mellowness of his advancing years well, and I’m glad they got to experience that with him.

He fought through several bouts with cancer but seemed to pull through each time. When it was time for my mother & he to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary he looked good and we fully expected to have him around a lot longer than we did. But the big C is a relentless enemy and after being banished from his prostate and his lungs it waited a while & the launched a massive counter attack on his lymph nodes. While in the process of treatment he had a simultaneous stroke & heart attack and was gone by the next morning. I still have a hard time processing it but writing and sharing this with you helps, so does good music.

As the angelic voice of Emmylou Harris fills my head with this song my eyes began to water up and I am very thankful to have a private office so that no one could see me cry. No my dad was not a fighter pilot who was laid to rest in Arlington like hers, he was medic in the National Guard and he was cremated & the family scattered his ashes in the waters of his favorite place on this earth, Murrells Inlet SC, but her song takes me back to all my memories of him.

Through all the good & bad, he was my greatest teacher, he wasn’t perfect but he was my Daddy.

“I meant to ask you how to plow that field
I meant to bring you water from the well
And be the one beside you when you fell
Could you tell.”   Emmylou Harris & Guy Clark

The CARGO CAMPER EPILOGUE

Posted on by motopsyco

In my last post I showed you how I added the all of the modifications to my cargo camper to make it suitable for sleeping in along with being a useful cheap toy hauler. Today I’ll just point out a few finishing touches that were needed to make it even more useful & comfortable.

The Cargo Camper / Cheap Toy Hauler in use on a happy day!
at Umstead State Park in N.C.

While not like having all the advantages of a full featured RV, this trailer is still a great place to sleep for the night. We still do some tent camping once or twice a year but as I’ve gotten older sleeping on the ground has lost a lot of it’s appeal to me. This way I have a warm (or cool) dry place to sleep, a way to brush my teeth, wash dishes, while still maintaining a little of that primitive camping experience.

Looking out the back door of the cargo camper
Looking out my back door!

One thing you will notice as you look at all of these pictures is that I’ve mounted a number of small d- ring tie downs to the walls and a couple of spots in the floor. This gives me multiple options for cargo control. there’s even a couple of them up close to the ceiling at the front that I put a clothesline on to dry towels & washcloths on. Later on I added a couple of them to the outside to be anchor points for my shade canopy.

cargo camper cheap toy hauler interior
A decent place to spend the night.

Now if you are the kind of person who want’s to be able to lounge around all day in luxurious comfort, then a cargo camper is not for you. For those of us who just want a place to lay our head at night after a days adventure exploring the world around our base camp it makes perfect sense.

cargo camper couch bed

Let’s talk a little bit about the equipment added to this trailer, in addition to the extra tie downs already mentioned. At first we slept on an air mattress for a couple of trips and it was nice until one trip where it went flat on the first night of a 4 day motorcycle rally. After that I did a bit of research and bought this Milliard Tri-Fold foam folding mattress. It’s far more comfortable than an air mattress, and when folded up and slid up to a wall makes a usable albeit low to the ground sofa. In fact it is so comfortable that my wife & I slept on it for a couple of months while we were stuck in the process of moving from one house to another for a long period of time. I highly recommend the Milliard Tri-Fold over any air mattress for an application like this.

cargo camper cheap toy hauler

Some places we camp have power hook ups & some don’t, so we always carry an extension cord and a couple of RV electrical adapters just in case we run into a situation where there is not a standard 15 or 20 amp receptacle to plug into. Of course if you really want to you could always carry a small super quiet generator with you. Later this year I am thinking of adding solar power to keep phone & computer batteries charged up as our off grid trips seem to get longer & more frequent.

Another thing you have to consider is what to do about using the bathroom. So far everywhere we’ve camped at has at least had porta-johns for us to use. Even so I bought one of the Reliance Products Luggable Loo portable toilets just so that my wife & I could have a place to go pee in the middle of the night without having to leave the trailer. On an extended trip in an area without toilet facilities I’d probably keep it outside in a small bath tent, but just to take a leak once a night for 3 or 4 nights it’s perfectly fine in the trailer. Being the cheap bastard that I am instead of buying the expensive odor neutralizing products the sell for it I just use kitty litter and heavy duty kitchen trash bags to control the odor and facilitate easy clean up.

Cheap fire pit carried in Cargo Camper
an inexpensive portable fire pit

In addition the the requisite camp stove, cooler, coffee percolator, folding tables & chairs etc. I grabbed this relatively inexpensive portable folding fire pit for when visiting places that do not have permanently installed fire rings. It’s cheaply made & kind of flimsy but as long as you remember this and use it within it’s limitations it’ll be just fine. One great advantage to this style of camping is that you can bring along your sturdier, more comfortable, less expensive, but much heavier folding table & chairs . Whereas when tent camping (especial on a motorcycle & when back packing) may require you to bring along lighter weight specialized equipment or to do without some things.

This cargo camper trailer has been serving me well for a couple of years now and some of information contained in these posts reflects updates that I’ve made to it over the years. Should you decide to build one of your own plan it out carefully and decide what you can & cannot do without in your cargo camper. If you are just joining us you may wish to check out part one of this series here; and then part two at this link.

Cargo Camper Part 2

Posted on by motopsyco

Design & Building of the Cargo Camper

In my last post I spoke of the purchase & special order specifications of my new cheap toy hauler / cargo camper. My plans were simple, no fancy fold out beds or anything like that just a good place to throw an air mattress, with a way to brush my teeth, wash my face and fix coffee & breakfast in the morning. Part of my goal was to keep the modifications as light as possible since I’m pulling this with a four cylinder Tacoma that only has a 3500 pound tow rating. I deliberately got a v nose trailer so that I could have my storage space & sink in the nose without losing any of the 6 x 10 cargo space.

Cargo Camper v nose shelving & cabinets
Framing in the shelf & counter

To keep it light I framed the counter in with 2″ x 2″ lumber and covered it with 1/4″ lauan plywood. Since all I am using for water is this Shelf Reliance water jug I built the top shelf out of heavier wood and the afterwards set my big water jug on it so that I could center the sink under the spigot. Although I wont show it here for my grey water tank there’s a 6 gallon bucket, under the counter that connects to the sink with a piece of flex hose connected to the trap on the sink. The sink was a cheap little RV lavatory sink I bought online.

cargo camper folding table & sink

I wanted to be able to put my camp stove at the window for ventilation purposes but didn’t want to give up any floor space for hauling bikes & gear so I came up with a nifty little folding extension for the counter. A short piece of 2″ x 2″ wood along the wall supports the back side. To save weight I used a 1′ x 2″ piece for the leg. to keep it rigid when folded down I added this block wit a locating pin at the bottom of the folding leg.

cargo camper folding table

Then I marked the location where it would be straight & drilled a matching hole halfway through the floor.

cargo camper folding table locating pin

Then I added this double ended snap hook and some screw in eyelets hols the folding counter in both the up and down positions. Although it’s very lightweight & inexpensive it can handle any of my camp stoves without any worries

cargo camper folding table

“Shore power” is a nice thing to have even though I don’t need full on RV style electrical functionality it’s nice to be able to plug up at a campground or use a small generator occasionally so I added a couple of 20 amp 120 volt receptacles to the front of the counter. I decided against trying to install any type of breaker box in the trailer itself and simply used the appropriate size wiring and a matching electrical inlet box. Most campgrounds have a 20 amp receptacle with a 20 amp breaker for it anyway. I almost always have a volt meter in my truck in case I need to check the outlet before plugging my trailer into it.

cargo camper electrics
cargo camper electrics
cutting a hole in my brand new trailer

Installing the electrical inlet meant cutting into the exterior sheet metal of my trailer. This was actually done using a Dremel tool. After removing the insulation a drill and a reciprocating saw were used to finish the opening. Be sure to use a good high quality sealant around the hole any time you go through the wall of your trailer for any reason.

cargo camper electrics
Make sure to seal around the inlet well.

Here are a couple of pics of front of trailer with the wood work done but before staining & sealing. Any surfaces that may get wet need to be thoroughly sealed with a good waterproof polyurethane before use.

cargo camper v-nose extras
folding counter down
cargo camper v nose sink counter
folding counter surface up

Now it’s time for wheel chocks! I used the Pit Posse recessed wheel chocks. These come in two sizes 16″ & 24″ I ordered one of each size just in case the smaller wheels on my scooter did not clear the longer (taller) chock. The 24″ chock fit perfectly between two of the steel cross members of the trailer

cargo camper wheel chocks

After laying out the location of the wheel chocks I cut a couple of great big holes in the bottom of my brand new trailer. As mentioned earlier the 24 inch chock fit perfectly between the floor cross members but for the 16 inch I had to compromise and only bolt 1 end through the steel of the trailer frame

cargo camper wheel chocks
More holes in my brand new trailer.
cargo camper wheel chocks
locating the tie downs

Above you can see how the chocks and tie downs are located.  I used 6 recessed heavy duty tie down ring with backing plates. These are stout pieces that are well worth the money. When your tie down rings are anchored to wood like this you really need the backing plates to spread the load & prevent them from pulling out

The next couple of pictures show you how the chocks & tie downs look from underneath the cargo camper. Before you ask yes I did consider using e-track for this trailer but decided against it just for the sheer ease of being able to fold everything into the floor and unfold my bed. No need to stow anything away or reassemble it to leave, just fold it down & then pull it back up to load bikes & go home.


cargo camper wheel chocks
Wheel chocks attached to frame cross members

cargo camper wheel chocks
Heavy duty backing plates for tie downs

The basic construction is done, I bought myself a cheap indoor outdoor carpet to put under my bed, with the recessed chocks & tie downs the floor is almost perfectly flat.

cargo camper details
Chocks down & carpet rolled out
cargo camper wheel chocks
Ready to load bikes & travel

I still have a few finishing touches to show you in the next installment of Motopsyco’s Cheap Toy Hauling Cargo Camper!

YOU CAN READ THE NEXT INSTALLMENT BY CLICKING HERE!

Motopsyco’s Cheap Toy Hauler

Posted on by motopsyco

 It all started out innocently enough,a couple of years ago I was headed down to Eustis Florida to participate in the Destination Eustis Motorcycle Show & Swap Meet. Since I was going alone to this event, I borrowed a 5 X 8 enclosed trailer to pull a single bike for the show. My beloved wife didn’t accompany for this one & I didn’t feel like paying for a hotel room so I packed an air mattress & a sleeping bag so that I could sleep in the trailer. You could say that this was the inspiration for the Cheap Toy Hauler.

This particular trailer was a completely uninsulated cargo trailer and that weekend it was freezing cold down in Florida at night & I was freezing so about 2in the morning I got up and fired up my butane cook stove just to warm the place up a little bit. Once I did this sleep was possible. Overall the experience wasn’t terrible but it could have been better. I learned three very important things on this trip, one is that an uninsulated cargo trailer is miserable during anything but ideal weather; two was that a 5’ x 8’ enclosed trailer is a 1 bike trailer for full size motorcycles. The third lesson was that if you’re hauling motorcycles, atvs or other wheeled toys is that a ramp door is also essential. It was okay for one time but hauling ramps around all the time is just silly.

motorcycle in 5 x 8 trailer
One motorcycle in a 5 x 8 trailer

After discussing this with my wife who was wholeheartedly behind the idea of converting a cargo trailer to a camper, after looking at mini-campers, teardrop campers, & travel trailers, we visited a couple of local trailer dealers to see what they had in stock. This was a bit disheartening due to the high prices and lack of selection available. My local dealers stock was mostly 5’ X 8’trailers with no options, and the prices were equal to or greater than what I eventually bought my fully insulated 6’ X 10’ cargo trailer for. The other problem was that my local dealer was closed during the hours I had available for shopping so there was no way I could talk to them about special ordering a trailer to my specifications.

I came home& got on the web to research custom ordering a new cargo trailer built to my specifications. There are regional distributors and manufacturers all around the country so look them up and find one near you. For me the choice was plainoltrailers.com out of Georgia. Their current base price on a 6’ X 10’ v nose trailer is $1925 (November 2018) picked up at the factory in Georgia. The reason that I chose this size was due to the weight limitations of my tow vehicle. I called the phone number on the website to get the weight of a couple of different trailers & the 6’ x 10’ was just over 1100 pounds empty, leaving me a little over 2000 pounds for add-ons & cargo. So I got back online I speced the trailer out with all the options I wanted including full insulation, RV style side door, a window directly opposite the RV door & electric brakes on the 3500 pound axle. And it still came in less than the local name brand dealer wanted for a plain 5’ x 8’. The only catch was it was a 10 hour round trip from Darlington S.C. to Pearson Ga. to pick it up, but I saved enough money to make it worth every mile.

Cargo Camper Cheap Toy Hauler
The Cheap Toy Hauler!

After getting it home I put my 2 biggest bikes in it, took a bunch of measurements,figured out what all equipment we wanted in it and of course how to do it all as cheaply as possible without compromising quality. In the next installment of this series of articles we’ll look at how I installed a little sink, electrical outlets etc. in the v nose of the cheap toy hauler.

If you really like this idea & want to follow along please sign up for email notifications in the upper left hand corner.

CLICK HERE TO READ PART TWO OF THIS BUILD.

Vintage Motorcycle Gifts for the Collector

Posted on by motopsyco

Hello everyone! It’s that time of year again, yep Christmas is fast approaching and you know that as a vintage motorcycle nut you will not receive any appropriate Vintage Motorcycle Gifts such as a 6 pack of 10mm sockets to replace all of the ones that have disappeared into the black hole behind your work bench.

Instead you’ll ooh and ahh over the latest tie and ugly sweater or sincerely thank the person who at least remembered that you ride a motorcycle and bought you a beanie at the Harley shop even though all you own are classic Bultaco dirtbikes or antique Marusho & Lilac motorcycles,  because it means they at least have a vague peripheral idea of why you spend so much time in the garage. Of course if your vintage bike of choice is a Harley Davidson this wont be so terrible but I’m sure it’ll have a picture of a Milwaukee 8 on it and not a Panhead.

That’s why I decided to make this list of vintage motorcycle gifts. Copy this link and send it out to your significant other, and all other family members & friends who spend lavish amounts of money on things that will gather dust in the back of your closet. Since research is a large part of any motorcycle acquisition & restoration let’s start this list with a fine selection of books.

Now if you’re a vintage motorcycle nut like me you are most likely a twisted mechanical genius. After all keeping a several decades old motorcycle running, requires love, dedication, enthusiasm, skill & most of all tools. I often tell people that I’m a tool collector and that the motorcycles and cars are only there so that I can rationalize my real addiction, buying tools.

One battery powered tool brand that I sincerely recommend is the Ryobi One+ series 18v tools. Unlike some other big name tool brands, all of the batteries from any year Ryobi One tool series will work in any Ryobi One tool ever made. After throwing away a whole set of perfectly good tools from a “leading national brand” because the batteries were no longer available, I made the switch to Ryobi and have been happy ever since. Hopefully this year Santa will drop the 1/2″ impact in my stocking.

Now a lot of you may already have all of the electric drills & impact drivers you need so here are some other motorcycle specific tools we could all use. Now a lot of this stuff below is metric but if you know what your looking for click on this link for Harley Davidson specialty tools or if your dealing with an ancient British motorcycle you should check out this lineup of Whitworth tools.

This is only a partial listing and yes most of these items are tools that I already have. In full disclosure this is a blatantly commercial page & hopefully some of you will at least begin your shopping from here and help me make enough commission to pay for the web hosting  for all of the awesome do it yourself motorcycle restoration content on this site.  Plus if it helps one of you get a vintage motorcycle gift you really want this holiday season it was worth it. Share it around & tag the people who love you and buy gifts for you.

The Rightsizing of the Motorcycle Industry

Posted on by motopsyco

Rightsizing of the Motorcycle Industry

As I drove around last Saturday to hand out flyers and solicit door prizes for the upcoming Rails and Roads Vintage Motorcycle Show (September 16th 2017 in Winnsboro SC) I stopped at a few dealerships and a few independent shops. In all places the welcomes were warm, but I noticed something very strange. In most cases there was almost no one in the stores besides the employees. When I worked at my local Honda dealership, every Saturday was a madhouse; an empty store on a Saturday was unheard of. It must have been inevitable that after decades of main stream success that it may be time for a rightsizing of the motorcycle industry.

Of course the recent news that Harley Davidson was going to layoff some production workers was something no one could have imagined 10-15 years ago. Before that Polaris announced the shuttering of their Victory motorcycle brand. The one bright spot in the market for Polaris is the success of the Indian brand that merged the solid technology of the Polaris company with an old legendary American brand name.

It’s not just cruisers, sport bike sales are off too. All across the market things are not as exciting as they used to be. The big 4 Japanese manufacturers are fortunate enough to have the ATV & side X side UTV market to keep them going, but even that segment has been affected by the tightening of the consumers spending habits. And this seems to be a global slide as the Nikkei Asian Review recently published an article entitled “The Motorcycle Becoming Thing of the Past.” According to this article, motorcycle sales in Japan are only 11% of what they once were. It’s sad to think that motorcycling is going away in the country that proved to the world that it was possible to build reliable, oil tight, powerful & lightweight motorcycles.

The bright spot in the world market for motorcycles is the increasing demand in India where according to the Times of India demand for 500cc and up motorcycles has increased at a 23% calculated annual growth rate from 2014 to 2017. This has led to a number of large players building factories there to pry some of this lucrative business away from Bajaj & Enfield.

Another happy trend is the vintage motorcycle industry. Although it is in very real danger of falling victim to the same over-exposure & over-saturation as the “American Chopper” crowd from a few years ago, right now the demand for genuine vintage motorcycles whether restored or customized in either the “café racer or “Bratstyle,”is extremely high.  Now when you buy that old Japanese 4 or even small displacement twin you have to pay real money for it, if you don’t someone else will. A lot of motorcycle manufacturers have noticed this trend and now offer ready to ride retro style machines to allow you to experience the joy of vintage motorcycling without the misery of actually restoring a vintage motorcycle.

But the motorcycle companies are not the only ones that suffer from a soft demand for motorcycles, the Touratech company makers of some of the finest accessories for the adventure touring market filed for bankruptcy protection this year. This is yet another symptom of the rightsizing of the motorcycle industry. According to the Touratech U.S.A. blog operations will continue as normal during the company’s reorganization.

Motorcycle magazines are another thing hit hard by the rightsizing of the motorcycle industry. The audience is fickle even when times are booming it’s tough for publishers. Two of my all-time favorite motorcycle magazines came & went during the nineties at the height of the motorcycling boom in the U.S. The Old Bike Journal was one and the other was Twistgrip. Both of them came and went pretty quickly, The Old Bike Journal lasted longer because it had a broader audience, but both of these publications came and went during relatively good times.

Recently on Facebook, Buzz Kanter the publisher of American Iron Magazine shared his thoughts on the state of the industry giving some examples of how tough it is to survive and thrive in today’s market. I am going to share his exact words with you in the succeeding paragraphs. (Yes he generously granted permission for all to share them.)

“Call it Industrial Darwinism if you wish. But the business world is really all about the survival of the fittest. I have questioned for a few years how the motorcycle industry could support so many manufacturers, distributors and magazines. I now believe we are about to have a serious shift and downsizing.
I predict a growing number of changes in the motorcycle industry in the next year or so.
Too many motorcycle-industry businesses are over finanically over leveraged and will not be able to carry the debt. Others seem to be poorly managed. But others look healthy, creative and sustainable.
I expect more consolidation of big name motorcycle industry brands, some companies going out of buisness, and a very significant reduction of motorcycle magazines.
Paisano (Easyriders Magazine, V-Twin Magazine, Wrench Magazine, Road Iron Magazine) has announced they are folding all their motorcycle magazines except Easyriders, which they are reducing from 12 to 9 or 10 issues a year.
Bonnier (Cycle World Magazine, Motorcyclist Magazine, Hot Bike Magazine, Baggers Magazine, Sport Rider Magazine, etc) has been cutting back on their magazines’s sizes and frequencies. They just announced they are folding Sport Rider, and I expect more radical cuts in staff and product there.
So what does this all mean? I believe the motorcycle industry is ripe for a “rightsizing” where there will be a rebalancing of supply and demand. As demand for motorcycles, motorcycle parts and motorcycle services continue to decline, so does the financial support of those who serve these markets.
We at the growing family of American Iron media (American Iron Magazine, American Iron Garage, American Iron Salute, and American Iron Power magazines, plus our growing on-line operations) are working hard to understand and react to these changes with strategic and creative ways. We’d like to thank everyone involved with the amazing world of motorcycles for your support as we move ahead into the future.
If you have read this far, I’d appreciate your reaction and suggestions, also please feel free to share this post.”

This is sobering stuff from an acknowledged industry leader. The cuts at Bonnier especially bug me because Cycle World is the only one I subscribe to and is the current home of my favorite motorcycle writer of all times Kevin Cameron, but time and the economy march on relentlessly so we must all adapt or die.

Now this all sounds like a lot of gloom and doom, but there could be a lot of positives to the rightsizing of the motorcycle industry. As motorcycling has grown and become more mainstream the many of the long time hardcore motorcycle enthusiasts (especially American motorcycle loyalists) have resented being taken for granted and seemingly being pushed aside as the dealers and motorcycle companies ran chasing after the hordes of trend followers who saw motorcycles as cool fashion accessories to be discarded when the next big thing comes along.

Another advantage is that the companies that survive the rightsizing will be more competitive and have a sounder financial footing for the future. I just hope the ones that do can produce products that I like and still stay in business.

Part of the problem with the motorcycle industry is enthusiasts like me, people with eclectic tastes in motorcycles that no one else but me really wants. The problem with modern motorcycling for me is there are so few motorcycles available that I would have. The short list in order by desirability is;

  1. Triumph Bonneville Street Twin (Yes the 900cc version I’d never miss the other 300cc.)
  2. Moto Guzzi V9 Roamer or Bobber (I prefer the Roamer with its chrome and 19” front wheel)
  3. Honda CB1100 (This bike can do no wrong and would actually be my first choice for a cross country ride, it just blends into the background too easily.)
  4. Honda Africa Twin (Only adventure bike I’d want)
  5. Royal Enfield Bullet (Love the style, riding position etc. but I’d have to keep a Honda in the garage next to it, you know just in case.)

    a real 2012 Royal Enfield Bullet

    a real 2012 Royal Enfield Bullet

Look at this list other than the Triumph does anybody else want one? I must not want one too badly either, the newest bike I own is a scooter an 01 Honda Helix, the next newest one is a 1980 CB650, & the others are from 1964, 1971 & 1972. Too many people bitch on the internet about what they want but when someone builds it they don’t go buy it. I plead guilty as charged to that. Prices are too damn high, income is down, and my 37 year old ratbike is just as roadworthy & reliable as anything I can buy.

This friends leads to the real reason for the “rightsizing of the motorcycle industry”, the customers just aren’t buying. There are a million reasons why not. In my case personally it’s the value of what you get versus what you pay. I can sign the line and get any motorcycle I want, but quite frankly to me they’re not worth the cost. Others just simply don’t see anything new that they want even though they don’t mind spending the money. Plus many vintage bikes especially the Japanese ones are damn near as reliable as anything made today for a fraction of the cost once they get fettled properly. Combine this with a general decline in interest in the experience of driving by younger people it’s easy to see why the industry as a whole is downsizing. The customers just aren’t buying.

Dear Craigslist Sellers,

Posted on by motopsyco

One of the best things about the internet is how easy it has made it to search for vintage vehicles and parts, and let’s face it we all love Craigslist, and the other similar for sale sites. That being said, I’d like to talk to you about some of the bullshit that sellers do that just really annoys the hell out of me. In fact I am counting down a list of my top 5 Craigslist pet peeves. So let’s proceed with Dear Craigslist Sellers.

5. When you sell an item and don’t delete the posting. Having sold a few things on Craigslist I know you can’t always make it back to your account settings to delete an item as soon as it sells, but don’t just leave it there. Nothing is more annoying than to call about a bike or a part and hear, “I sold it two weeks ago.” Seriously, just delete the ad at the first chance you get after making the sale.

4. Asking really stupid high prices. Pricing it up a little bit for negotiating wiggle room is one thing, but your hacksawn spray painted bobber is not worth five grand. Likewise just because a fully restored 1969 sandcast CB750 will bring thirty thousand bucks still does not make your 1975 that’s been leaning up against a tree in the back yard since 1977 after it scared the piss out of you worth more than one hundred dollars. Sorry, I usually don’t even reply to such ads because I hate for people to think I’m insulting them just for telling them the truth. Do a little bit of basic research and find out what your stuff is really worth in the condition that it is in. https://www.hagerty.com/valuationtools

3. No pictures or really lousy pictures. Usually a sign of a scam, normally no one in their right mind will even open such an ad. If you are a legit seller and can’t post a picture please see if someone you know can help you.

Dear Craigslist Sellers

Honda Manga for sale?

2. Really lousy descriptions that say “Motorcycle for sale” but nothing else, usually with no picture or really lousy pictures, see item 3 above. Once again this tends to be a sign of a scam, but if you really want to sell your motorcycle list the year, make, model, size, odometer reading and title status. I promise you’ll sell it faster if you do.

1. Dear Craigslist Sellers, This is the biggie, my number one most hated thing that advertisers do, deliberately putting a very low price into the Craigslist form and then putting the real price in your description. Dealerships are especially bad about this. Please be clear about one thing when I sort by price from low to high, I don’t want to see your brand new 35 grand FLHDWUCE bagger or your brand new SuperGranTurismo 1400CC racer replica. AND NEITHER DOES ANYONE ELSE. When sorting low to high I am desperately trying to find OLD motorcycles such as KE100s or CB200s and don’t want to waste my time scrolling past a bunch of shiny new overpriced crap. In fact I make a point of remembering which dealerships do this so that I can make sure that they never get a single nickel from me, ever. In fact I want everyone who reads this to contact Craigslist support and request a legally binding stipulation that whatever you sell has to be sold at the price listed in the price box shown on the listing page.

jackasses

Holy Shit look at all the $1 Harleys. I’mma go buy $20 worth of them and resell them for 5-10 bucks each.

Dear Craigslist Seller’s here’s a little reading material to help you out.

Safety Nazis & White Knights

Posted on by motopsyco

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Safety Nazis & White Knights

There’s a group of people out there on the internet who seem bent bound & determined to ruin it for the rest of us, and they seem to be especially vocal in motorcycle pages, forums, and groups. You know who I’m talking about all those Safety Nazis & White Knights that are ever so eager to either protect you from yourself or to protect others from you.

Let me vent a little here, nothing drives me crazier than for someone to post a video or a ride report and say something like, “ I was cruising along on I-20 into Alabama at about 80 plus,” or the video camera catches a glimpse of a speedometer that’s a little north of the posted speed limit. Not because I mind a competent adult driver exceeding an often arbitrary speed limit, but because I know that the next post or two will be some jerk who will write a two page sermon on the evils of speeding and how he or she always drives 1 mph under the speed limit because they are saints, while the rest of us are horrible evil criminals who want chaos to reign, as we meet our end in a fiery blaze of glory leaving our children as orphans and taking as many innocent people as we can straight to hell with us. We do realize that excessive speed on the roads is dangerous but in most places you are much safer to move with the flow of the speeding traffic than to become a rolling roadblock. Quite frankly most of the speed limits in America are lower than they need to be especially on interstates and a lot of highways out in the boondocks, not for any real safety reason but to enhance revenue collection. I could go on and on and yes I will admit there are places where restrictive speed limits are reasonable, and that there is such a thing as driving way too fast. What exactly defines driving way too fast has more to do with road conditions, traffic, condition of the equipment and the skill of the operator, not necessarily some numbers nailed to a post beside the road.

I wear my helmet almost every time I sit down on a motorcycle now. At one time I would not have been caught dead on a motorcycle with a helmet but now when it’s time to mix it up in crazy commuter traffic or hit the road for a long haul not only is a full face helmet on my head, but I’m wearing a full riding suit with boots and gloves even in the heat of summer. At high speeds for long distances it’s actually far more comfortable. Even so I support the right of free adults to make that decision for themselves, and I really don’t care if you agree with me or not. As I said earlier I wear it most of the time, but on the odd Sunday morning my wife and I will take a long slow ride down the rural 2 lane roads that surround our country home without brain buckets. Sometimes we can go 20-30 miles at the time without seeing another vehicle. Yes I know it’s more dangerous than riding with a lid on, with the possibility of wildlife collisions, tire blowouts etc. but it reminds us of what it was like to be young and care free. Don’t preach at me, the kids are all grown, we have excellent health and accident coverage that we pay for and yes life insurance too as do the vast majority of riders that I know. Not to mention my equipment is immaculately maintained and I WORK at keeping my skills up and even improving them. These quiet country cruises we share together actually have very little risk and we minimize it well. Can’t deal with it? That’s your problem not mine.

Sometimes I can be a bit of a Safety Nazi & White Knight myself, on the subject of distracted or drunk driving but I try not to get too aggravating about it except that I’ll say these two things are almost guaranteed killers, usually of some innocent bystander. If you want to take the risk of offing yourself I’m actually cool with that, try to have fun in the process, but don’t take me or any other innocent people with you.  Even with the way I feel about these two things the World Wide Web has introduced me to folks who get so totally unhinged and paranoid about distracted driving that it’s enough to drive me to drink. For example there is one person who inhabits a certain Facebook group and watches for some someone to make a post about GPS, phone, or camera mounts so that he can preach the same stupid sermon over and over. For example when I posted a picture of the Ram mounts installed on the handlebar of one of my scoots, this fool was the second person to see it and he went ballistic on me.

Ram Mounts On Honda Helix

Ram Mounts are the best.

This is a double ball mount that hold my dash camera off to one side for a good view of the road, (I use the Midland XTC btw) and the other side holds my phone or GPS unit at a height where I can read my map and follow the navigation arrows without taking my eyes off of the road. No phone calls or texting while moving, just navigation. I actually regard texting and talking while driving as a hazard but using navigation apps or gear are not as long as you are not programming your route while on the move. In fact it may even make a trip in unfamiliar territory safer because you do not have to scan every single street sign to find out where your next turn is. I don’t miss the paper map in top of the tank bag one bit, the eye level GPS screen is much better and much safer.

Now let’s move on to another despicable creature that tends to inhabit the various for sale groups and websites on the internet, the White Knights protectors of the innocent consumer. Any time someone posts a price for any item that they feel is even a dollar too high the White Knights swoop in like a pack of vultures to fresh carrion to savage the seller and tell the whole world what a crook he is and try to besmirch his or her online reputation by telling everyone who will listen what a crook the seller is. In the last year a couple of the assholes have come after me for ads that I’ve posted to the point that I will not use any Facebook sale pages to sell any motorcycle or parts. Unfortunately the keyboard sociopaths dwelling in their parent’s basements or the unscrupulous online seller trying to shut down his competition by making them look bad will hammer the hell out of you. Here are 2 real stories that happened to me.

Example number one the Sportster; I bought a 65-70% complete Evo Sportster basket case. The complete engine was all there including the carb, along with frame, triple tree, miscellaneous, except for the wheels one fork leg, and sheet metal. At the time of purchase I took a bill of sale from the owner stating that the bike was an 883. So when I got home I took some pictures and posted it online for $1200 bucks. Yes that was high but I fully expected to be negotiating that price, nobody in their right mind would pay asking price for a project bike or parts pile. Too bad that time I posted it, a bunch of those pesky assholes pounced, posting that I was a rip off artist and a bunch of other crap so I got tired of their shit and pulled the ad. Over the next few days I got the paperwork straightened out and the bike turned out to be a 2002 XL1200, and I sold it to a coworker for a most excellent price far below $1200. It took him about 2 months to put it back together and now he rides it to work 2 or 3 times a week. So next time you see one of these “White Knights” giving an online seller hell, jump on his ass tell them if they want to buy, make an offer otherwise SHUT THE FUCK UP. Somebody out there missed a sweet deal on a 1200 Sportster from me because of these assholes.

Another time I bought an engine side cover for a Honda CT70 from an online seller but then traded the project before using it. My purchase price was 65 dollars plus shipping. The part is still in the original packaging, so I figured no problem right? Wrong! Some asshole who is an online parts dealer specializing in Honda Mini Trails, used his personal FB account to state that I was asking way too much and then he provided a link back to his aftermarket dealership website showing the same part for $50 and basically insinuating that I was trying to rip people off. Screw assholes like that, I paid $65 for it (from a real Honda dealer) and was simply trying to get my money back, and not a penny more. BTW I still have the left engine side cover that fits on a Honda CT70 and yes I will sell it to you for $50 plus shipping. It’s not correct for the early models but it will work if you are just fixing a rider. (sold to a friend later) Next time one of these so called “White Knights” gets online and tries to slander me I think I’ll sic a lawyer on them even if it costs me 20 grand to do it just to teach them a lesson.

It would be possible to go on and on but even if I do expect to recoup my investment in motorcycles and parts every once in a while but this is mainly about having fun doing some things that I love to do. Since I don’t make my living doing this anymore I don’t have to put up with assholes.

Until next time I wish you happy riding, wrenching, & horse trading.