Big Air

Fun at Tahuya last summer. Video proof that Ghostface KLR and the EC300 can fly!

Sunday Muddy Sunday

Went for a birthday ride last Sunday. It was a little wet to say the least. Here is a little video clip of Shotgun Ruthie showing us how wet it was!

Be a Swamp Monster

It's a good thing we didn't know about the information contained in this Shane Watts video a few fateful years ago. Otherwise, Swamp Monster would never have gotten his name.

DirtWise Riding Tip: Drowned Dirtbike video:

1000 Wheelies Project: The End / The Cake Ride

The 1000 Wheelies Project is over. It's done. It's complete. There are no more motorcycle wheelies to pull in this project. And it's taken two years to record this feat. October 19, 2010 - October 28, 2012 are the official dates for the, count them, one hundred Moto Morning Wheelie Sessions (MMWS) that made-up the 1000 Wheelies Project.

As an overview, the task was for me, MotoBum, to get good at pulling respectable motorcycle wheelies. All that really needed to be done was to transition the bicycle wheelie skills to motorcycle wheelie skills. It sounds easy on paper. In practice, it's a small bit tricky. 

See, the rear brake on a motorcycle is under the right foot -- the toes no less. A bicycle has a nifty handbrake to control such details. Just squeeze with the right index finger. Easy. Using the right foot compared to one finger is like having cerebral palsy, or so I'm told. And use of a rear brake is mandatory in executing choice wheelies.

Body english plays a big role in a wheelie. For example, on a bicycle, one can pull on the handlebars quickly to make the front tire come a foot off the ground. Try that on a motorcycle. You'd be lucky to get the suspension to uncompress half an inch. So, on a motorcycle, as the rappers say, "you've got to pop-the-clutch, yo." While that's not exactly a fact. It is the truth, in philosophy. A good hard launch of power on a motorcycle is something that just really isn't possible on a bicycle. It lofts the front effortlessly.

Which brings us to throttle control. Yeah. Like, how many throttle cables per year does the the average Joe stretch beyond manufacturer specification on a bicycle? Zero. Right? Zero. And that's the real obvious difference between a bicycle and a motorcycle. Motorcycles have throttles and bicycles have nada. Nothing. No throttle. No power. No gas to modulate.

I've overcome all these issues.

These past 1000 documented motorcycle wheelies have taken me from hopeless uphill balance-point chaser to bonafide semi-pro motorcycle wheelie puller. I have sponsors. Just check out Righteous Stunt Metal next time you need an easy-pull clutch lever. That's all I have to say.

And riding over a cake on one wheel during your 1000th wheelie is something that I can highly recommend.

Moto Morning Wheelie Session -- MMWS -- Log (All 1 - 100 sessions):
coming soon...

The Last 10 Wheelies Video with The Cake Ride:


Special thanks go to T-Bird, rug rat Maja, Josh RSC/Righteous1 Miller, Last Minute Ryan, Ghostface KLR, Swamp Monster, E-rock, Superstar Wendy, Shotgun Ruthie, and Mrs. Moore for enabling this life-long motorcycle addict with time, parts, labor, garage space, tools, tequila, cake, rock and roll, wifi, photography, passion support, and the 10 minutes here and there to pull the 10 wheelies or so required to pull off a stunt like this. 

See Also:
1000 Wheelies Project: The Intro
1000 Wheelies Project: 250 In
Hard Brake to Hard Break
1000 Wheelies Project: 750 In

And...
Another 1000 Wheelies

And...
Third 1000 Wheelies

The 996th Wheelie

The 1000 Wheelies Project Cake

The 1000th Wheelie with The Cake Ride

Wheelied-on Cake

Two-year-olds Love Wheelied-on Cake

WE LOVE WHAT WE DO [Superretards 2012 Motivation Speech]

This is an inspirational video by our European motorcycle club friends, the Superretards.

ADVstunt1 Gets a Bar

After two years of KLR accessories sitting on my garage shelf, just waiting to be bolted-on, I got around to mounting them.

ADVstunt1 now sports:

• Magura X-Line EX enduro bend aluminum  1 1/8" handlebars
• Rox Speed FX 2" Pivoting bar Risers
• Rox Speed FX 1" Lock Spacer
• Pro Grip Rally grips
• Symtec Motorcycle Grip Heaters (low heat only on a KLR; high not enabled)
• Custom grip heater switch in dash 
• Barkbusters with Storm hand guards; Magura mounting
• Repositioned SW-MOTECH cigarette lighter
• RSC Righteous Stunt Clutch lever in And Then Some length in bead blasted "color"
• Moose Racing clutch perch cap with mirror mount 

I also went the extra mile and did:

• Fresh spark plug
• Fresh oil
• Fresh oil filter
• Clean air filter
• Clean crankcase breather hose filter - only found on ADVstunt1

I must say it's nice having really high bars. They're skinnier too. And lighter. And stronger, no doubt. I wish I'd mounted them years ago, before all that ADV Commuting and all those trips. Man, I'd've been more comfortable.

Heated hand grips are a must for every motorcycle that gets used year round in the Pacific Northwest. I remember putting my first cheapo set on a CBR600. It totally transforms motorcycle riding. 

Rox Risers with a sweet bar "make" a KLR

That RSC clutch lever makes the one-finger-pull a half-finger-pull

In-dash grip heater switch looks factory

The Storm hand guards on the Barkbusters fight the coming storm

Enough about music - I went for a ride

Inspired by an email thread a few hours ago, I decided to head north out of Mount Pleasant for a few minutes and I found the intersection of Seafood Rd and Beehive Rd.  It was exciting.  Across the marsh is Capers Island.

Dirty Crew music post

It is necessary to post about music this week.  On Tuesday, there were two new releases that must be mentioned.  First, E-Rock's friend Ryan's band put out a new album and they played a tune from it on Letterman last night.
Here it is:
http://youtu.be/JWFCCIucoAE

Also, The Dirty Crew likes the Ramones.  One of E-Rock's favorite bands is called drivin' n' cryin' and they just released "Songs About Cars, Space, and The Ramones" - it rocks.
http://www.drivinncryin.com/

1000 Wheelies Project: 750 In

The Moto Morning Wheelie Sessions continue and ADVStunt1 (that trusty Kawasaki KLR650) continues to launch me skyward day in and day out. By the wheelie log, this project has now hit 750 wheelies. My skills are higher. They're not quite bicycle-level yet, but they're getting better every day with each one-finger slip of the clutch from idle.

With wheel-up experience comes grace, or rather, being graceful. I no longer panic when a wheelie isn't going exactly like I imagined it would - I just correct it. The more I do this, the more I realize that a motorcycle is just a big bicycle. You just ride it. And the really amazing thing is that once a motorcycle is at or just over the balance-point, the weight disappears. Riding motorcycle wheelies are a great pleasure. I plan to continue performing this action long after this project comes to a close.


 And what will it take to close this project? 250 more motorcycle wheelies in 25 more Moto Morning Wheelie Sessions. Stay tuned.


See Also:
1000 Wheelies Project: The Intro
1000 Wheelies Project: 250 In
Hard Brake to Hard Break

Point Break

http://charleston.craigslist.org/bar/3216625212.html