Start of the Winter Season

It seems as though the start of the winter season here in S.C. has been pretty decent so far. There have been a few chilly days and a fair amount of rain but most of the time it’s been really nice just a little nippy in the morning on most of my riding days but I haven’t had to break out the snowmobile gloves yet. Next week I think I’ll install the winter liner in my riding suit and try to locate those winter gloves just in case it turns really cold and stays dry.

<motopsyco's Joe Rocket jacket>

It’s Dec. 5th and I may have to put the insulated liner in sometime soon.

Yes all of your supposedly sane friends look at you like some kind of idiot or freak when they see you riding around on a motorcycle in the winter time, even here in the deep south. There are occasional times when I wonder about myself for doing it, but it’s just so much fun to ride a motorcycle! Not to mention the maintenance headaches I save from not winterizing or having to do start up service in the spring. If by some chance I were to move to a location where the snow and ice would make it dangerous to ride the bikes would go into storage for the winter but here in SC we have way too many 60 degree days for me to do that.

Life has been going really well around the farm lately, and I picked up a new shop truck to replace my semi-trusty old van. Just plain white regular cab Toyota work truck. Of course since I live by the motto, “stock sucks” the modifications have already begun starting with a tonneau cover and some cargo control updates.

<white Toyota Tacoma Regular cab>

I couldn’t forget the blogs web address!

<skull & crossed wrenches motopsyco>

Deer Hunting season went really well this year & we’re stocked up on meat for the year, so now it’s time to do a bit of cool weather trail riding. The last 2 stroke dirtbike I had was a Kawasaki KD100 that I got when I was 12 or so. Since then it has been all big 4 strokes until this year when I picked up this little blue Suzuki. This was supposed to be a restoration project but it has turned out to be such a hoot to ride just like it is, that I’m reluctant to get started on it. All of these years I was never a fan of so called “ratbikes” but now I am forced to admit there is something very liberating about riding a motorcycle on which the cosmetics just don’t mater! Tree limbs, briars, mud, dirt, dust, or dropped objects in the shop as long as it fires up with the next kick or push of the button who cares. I still love, admire and plan one day to own more beautiful bikes, but everyone should try living with at least one rat for a while.

<motopsyco suzuki ts185>

in the woods Dec. 5th 2014 8:30 a.m.

I have developed the tendency to blast around my neighborhood without any gear, kind of a throwback to the time when I wouldn’t have been caught dead on a motorcycle wearing a helmet. Yes I still get fully geared up for serious riding but I still understand why some people wont. To each his own, live & let live or die, c’est la vie, etc.

Well that’s the start of the winter season for me, it’s just like summer but with colder shorter days and fewer ravenous biting insects. What is it like for you? Do you ride your motorcycle or do you put it away & wait for brighter days?

The Fog Thief A Psyco Product Review!

<Fog Thief brochure outer>

Hello Everyone,

I was contacted and asked to review a rather unique device designed to prevent face shield fogging. Since cold weather riding is the best test of anything that claims to prevent fogging inside of a helmet, I told the maker to ship me one to test and in their generosity they also sent me one to give away to a lucky reader. I’ll tell you how you can win a Fog Thief of your very own at the end of this review.

<Fog Thief brochure inner>

We start out on a chilly Good Friday morning, according to my local weather babe on t.v. my hometown was supposed to be at 34 degrees Fahrenheit, but I think whomever keeps that particular thermometer must keep it under a heat lamp. Here is a shot of my car’s rear windshield at 6:30 a.m. 34 degrees my ass.

the weather girl lied

thick frost on my car windshield this morning.

Yesterday when I got home from the office a fedex package from Montie Design the firm that is helping to develop and market this product, was waiting for me with two samples of the Fog Thief. It is a very simple design, imagine if you will an upside down snorkel. The mouth piece seems to be directly modeled from a scuba mouth piece, but instead of a hose leading to a tank there is a u shaped plastic snorkel that simply points down and out of`the bottom of your lid. Such a simple seeming idea you wonder why you have never seen it before.

<the fog thief>

Now if you are not used to using a snorkel or scuba gear this will take some getting used to. Initially it would trigger my gag reflex after a few minutes, but I got used to it. The mouth piece is top grade neoprene rubber and very tough, I am sure you could eventually chew through it, but you can really clench your teeth on it without any damage to the mouth piece or your teeth.

<fog thief bottom view>

The company brochure claims that it will work with all helmet designs and it worked with mine but it was a very tight fit, that shifted the position of the Fog Thief in my mouth. On the plus side the tight fit meant that it was not necessary for me to keep my teeth clenched to keep it in place.

<fog thief mouthpiece>
A product of FunProjex!
For this test I decided to try a different approach and go offroading instead , this mint condition ’99 Arctic Cat 300 4X4 just happened to be sitting in my shop this week. This is as fine a utility atv as you can find on the planet and makes a great trail crawler.
With your helmet on the Fog thief is barely visible.
99 Arctic Cat 4X4

the Motopsyco on a 300 4×4 Arctic Cat

With your helmet off or open the Fog Thief looks kinda ridiculous.

fog thief close up

Can you spot the walrus in this picture?

Does it work as advertised? Yes it does, as long as you remember to breathe through your mouth. A couple of time I got excited and forgot to do this & fogged up my shield. Readers with a sharp memory will remember that I used this helmet to test an anti-fog spray a few weeks ago, but to make this test fair I cleaned the shield with plain soap & water to remove the anti-fog spray. After about twenty minutes or so I was able to relax & get used to it but occasionally did have to stop and wipe away some saliva that leaked out around it. Chances are that if you use an open face helmet with a shield, or any other helmet that has enough room for the Fog Thief to sit squarely in your teeth this probably will not be a problem for you. I really think the fitment and usability will be different for each individual and the only way to find out is to try it for yourself.

It worked well for me but I did not always remember to breathe correctly, every now and then I’d have these little moments and forget. You know how it goes, you spot a little hill & get a little air, Yeehaa! Then you forget and exhale through you nose, oops fogged up again. Oh well you can’t do too much playing like that on this kind of atv anyway.

coming home on Arctic Cat ATV

coming home on the Arctic Cat ATV

Every new item has it pros and cons, let’s start with the cons;

1. Definitely requires some getting used to especially if you have never used scuba or snorkel gear.

2. Fits better under some helmets than others

3. Requires a certain amount of self discipline or nose plugs to use successfully

Now let’s go with the pros;

1. If you do your part it works as advertised!

2. Top quality materials

3. Made in the U.S.

If you are a serious cold weather rider, snowmobiler, or or any kind of racer and you have trouble with the face shield fogging this just might be the solution you are looking for. For more information or to purchase one to try see the Fun Projex website

Now for the give away; I have here a brand new never used Fog Thief that I will be giving away on April 20th 2013. All you have to do is click the Facebook link at the upper right hand corner of this page and like the motopsyco.com Facebook page and leave a comment with the words Fog Thief in it. Alternatively if you do not have a Facebook account or don’t want to use it you may leave me a comment below, but please remember that comments are moderated and may take a day or two to appear. If you have already liked my FB page & would like to enter the drawing, you can just leave a comment as described above.

On April 30th my lovely assistant will draw one lucky winners name from a hat and I will send that person a Fog Thief of their own to try out!

Peace Y’all

‘Psyco

Peace Y’all

the moon Good Friday 2013

I took this shot while out test riding the Fog Thief & wanted to share it with you.