Ducati Recalls 1098 for Engine Stalling Problem

Ducati has issued a recall of certain 2007 1098 models.

On certain motorcycles, the electronic control unit (ECU) ignition timing and idle mixture were improperly set during production causing the engine speed to drop and stall the engine when the temperature of the cooling system exceeded 180F. If the engine stops while the motorcycle is being driven, it could increase the risk of a crash.

1516 units are affected.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Are Motorcycles Safer than Horses?

The old motorcycle helmet debate may be shifting to the equestrian world where many horse riders are being seriously injured since they don't wear helmets or protective apparel. Here's a quote from globeandmail.com:

"Hour-per-hour in the saddle, more riders are seriously injured riding horses than motorcycles.

That is the surprising revelation of a new study from researchers at the University of Calgary.

Equally surprising is that those being hurt and killed are not rookie equestrians but, in large part, veteran riders." -- ANDRÉ PICARD

Read more.

Offer your own comment below.

VIRGINIA - Fred's Car Museum

Fred's Car Museum
Highway 24 East
Appomattox, VA 24522
(434) 352-0606
Features: More than 65 classic and antique automobiles made from 1906 to 1980 are on display under one roof.

Jumbo Antique Fire Engine Museum
500 North Augusta Street
Staunton, VA 24401
(540) 332-3886
Features: This facility is home to the last remaining 1911 Robinson Chemical Fire Engine. The museum, founded in 1982, houses a collection of fire service items, some from the Civil War era.

Luray Caverns Car & Carriage Caravan Museum
970 U.S. Highway 211 West
Luray, VA
(540) 743-6551
Features: The museum is an exhibit of milestones in transportation, including authentically restored cars, carriages, coaches and costumes, dating from 1725 to 1941. The centerpiece of the collection is the 1892 Benz, one of the oldest cars in the country still in operating condition. Other highlights include a Conestoga Wagon, a 1908 Baker Electric, a 1913 Stanley Steamer, and Rudolph Valentino's 1925 Rolls Royce.

Morgan-McClure Motorsports Museum
26502 Newbanks Road
Abingdon, VA 24210
(276)628-3683
Features: Exhibits include the 1994 and 1995 Daytona 500 winners, as well as numerous other racing related exhibits. Features at the Museum include the Morgan-McClure Motorsports Race Team from the early years to the present. Other exhibits include a pictorial history of past drivers; past and present uniform display and pit equipment display.

Roaring Twenties Antique Car Museum
Route 1, Box 576
Hood, VA 22723
(703) 948-6290
Features: Displays cover cars manufactured from 1900 to 1935, and include most major American marques as well as some seldom-seen ones such as the '52 Henry J seen here. Facility also is an antiques center.

Wood Brothers Racing Museum Shop
21 Performance Drive
Stuart, VA 24171
(276) 694-2121
Features: This Patrick County is dedicated to one of the most successful racing teams in NASCAR history, located 30 minutes from Martinsville Speedway. Wood Brothers Racing is one of the oldest continuously operating teams in NASCAR.

10 Motorcycle Riders Create Art by Burnout

Last Monday, an unusual art exhibition was held at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York City. It involved 10 motorcycle stunt riders who rode for seven minutes on 288 panels of painted plywood. So much smoke was expected that a special test run was done with smoke machines to confirm that the air would still be breathable. Here's a quote from the New York Times article by Carol Vogel, entitled, "After Test Runs, an Armory Is Ready to Declare, ‘Artists, Start Your Engines’ ."

"Look, it’s going in the right direction,” said Doreen Remen, a founder of the Art Production Fund, a nonprofit organization that presents unusual public art projects. With her co-founder, Yvonne Force Villareal, and the artist Aaron Young she gazed upward with relief as the smoke began filtering out the open windows along the rafters."

At the actual show played to 500 invited guests including members of the Hells Angels, art history was made. Read more.

Two Motorcycle Worlds

This week finds me somewhat between two motorcycle worlds. A few days ago I received the new riding schedule for the 2007-2008 Polar Bear Grand Tour. It’s my job to convert this schedule into something readable on the Polar Bear Grand Tour Web site. Then when the season starts, I take pictures at each run and post them on the site. The season doesn’t start until October 28th, the last Sunday in October. However, over 500 participants will be looking for the new schedule shortly so it’s important that not a lot of time goes by before it’s posted. Unfortunately my wife and I were scheduled to attend a state rally here in NJ for the GWRRA (Gold Wing Road Riders Association) so all work on the schedule stopped.

As I’m thinking about winter riding again with the Polar Bears, I see many riders in the north starting to think about slowing down their riding and putting their bikes away. Of course, most riders will prolong this until riding just gets too cold. The Polar Bears see no benefit in putting their bikes away and so don heavy protective clothing, most opting for electrically heated vests, gloves, pants, and even socks as the temperatures drop into the 40s, 30s, 20s, and lower.

Meanwhile, the GWRRA rally turns out to be a pretty late rally falling this year on September 6-8. That’s after Labor Day so people have stopped thinking about vacations and are now concentrating on school and jobs. That means it’s hard to attract people to attend. Next year, this rally will be held in early August.

The GWRRA gathering we attended was small and most of the participants knew each other. Although the organization is divided into chapters located across the state and nation and even internationally, there is considerable interaction of members among chapters. That makes many GWRRA gatherings seem like family reunions to outsiders. That’s what outsiders have remarked after seeing so much hugging and kissing going on as member couples run into each other at functions. Often it’s difficult to go from point A to point B without getting stopped by other couples for lengthy conversations. After one conversation ends you almost immediately run into another couple which starts another conversation. And so it goes.

Of course, historically, GWRRA tends to attract husband and wife riding couples who ride two-up on the same motorcycle. Lately, however, in the last five or six years, I’ve seen a steady increase in the number of women riding their own bikes. Thus, where ten years ago, almost no GWRRA women rode their own bikes but instead chose to ride pillion, now many GWRRA couples have two bikes, a Gold Wing for the husband and a separate bike (not necessarily a Gold Wing) for the wife. The couple concept remains except one bike has been replaced by two in some cases.

There has also been an increase in the number of riders preferring to ride motorcycle trikes. Again, within GWRRA the Gold Wing motorcycle is the basis for the trike with the rear wheel removed and replaced by two automotive wheels and an automotive rear end. The trike part has extra trunk space needed since the normal saddlebags have been removed. Again, in keeping with the need in some cases for both the husband and wife to ride their own motorcycle, some couples have opted to ride individual trikes. Such is the case for my wife and me.

At these small GWRRA gatherings, the standard rally activities occur such as seminars, bike contests, people games, bike games, organized tours, self-guided tours, vendor sales, light parade, entertainment, and awards dinners. There’s plenty of time for socializing, admiring bikes, and eating too. The gathering we attended was heavy on ice cream, birthday and anniversary cakes, laughter, fun, eating, and picture taking. There wasn’t much drinking except for soda, tea, and coffee. That may be the reason that you won’t find many underweight Wingers. Along with all this socializing, the Wingers are very safety conscious taking skill improvement courses all the time to learn how to be safe on the road.

I’m not giving away any inside stories here. If you want to participate in all this fun, you’ll have to join your local GWRRA chapter and go to a rally on your own. However, what happens at GWRRA gatherings can be pretty tame. It’s certainly family oriented. I saw quite a few children who attended with their parents and even two girls who appeared to be about 9-10 years old who won youngest passengers arriving on a motorcycle.

Now, I’m back from the rally and need to get back working on that Polar Bear schedule. Of course, all 500 of us Polar Bears are continually having to explain to outsiders that we don’t go in the water on New Year’s Day. That’s those “other” Polar Bears.

Polar Bear picture by Walter Kern. Cake picture courtesy of Barbara Malone.

Got any comments about your own motorcycle gatherings? Post them below.

Motorcycle Camping

In order to enjoy your camping you have to pack your bike to the nuts with all the things you may need to make life comfortable. Saddlebags, trunk, and a tank bag can accomodate a lot of your stuff, plus you can pile more on top if need be. Thats where a good supply of bungee cords or cargo netting strap comes in handy.
When planning for motorcycle camping, smaller is better and most camping outlet stores have smaller items that are perfect for motorcycle camping. One burner stove, small lantern, folding fry pan, pots with folding handles, paper plates and plastic cutlery will all do the job for you. Think small and buy accordingly and you can pack everything you need.


I even manage to carry a fold up camping chair with me, because one my pet peeves is that when you arrive at the campsight the only place to sit is on the ground or at the picnic table.

NEVADA - Imperial Auto Collections

Imperial Auto Collections
Imperial Palace
Las Vegas, NV
(702) 794-3174
Features: More than 250 cars are displayed in the 125,000 square foot showroom. Among some of the models on display: Elvis Presley's 1929 Duesenberg J Derham Phaeton, Marilyn Monroe's 1959 Cadillac Fleetwood, and such rarities as a 1933 Pierce Arrow Silver Arrow and a 1961 Aston Martin DB4/GT Zagato valued in excess of $3 million.

Don Laughlin's Classic Car Collection
Riverside Resort & Casino
500 South Casino Drive
Laughlin, NV
(702) 298-2622
Features: This free-admission collection includes a changing array of rare and unusual vehicles, from limos once owned by notorious historic figures, to movie cars, to the battered motorcycle Steve McQueen rode to get away from it all.

National Auto Museum
10 South Lake Street
Reno, NV 89501-1558
(775) 333-9300
Features: This is the famous Harrah Collection, which includes period street settings and clothing to enhance the classic auto displays. In addition to a large number of classic cars, there also are numerous celebrity-owned models (such as James Dean's 1949 Mercury Series 9CM 6-passenger coupe seen here) and vehicles featured in various films.

Nevada Vintage Race Car Museum
250 SunPac Avenue
Henderson, NV 89015
Features: The museum contains vintage races cars from different eras and includes sprint cars, midgets, Indy Race League (IRL) cars and engines, as well as aircraft models depicting various eras in aviation history. It also has an extensive gallery of motor sports and aviation photos, artifacts, trophies and memorabilia.

Carroll Shelby Museum
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, NV
Features: This facility, located at the entrance to the speedway, honors the racing legend who set record as a driver, owner and race car developer. Shelby set land speed records in 1954 at Bonneville, won the 24-hour Le Mans in 1959, created the legendary Shelby Cobra, and then, in 1991 after heart transplant surgery, created the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation dedicated to providing assistance for acute coronary and kidney care for children in need.

Sunbelt Classic & Antique Automobile Museum
Bruce Street & Washington Avenue
Las Vegas, NV
Features: An esoteric collection of such unusual display models as Frazer, Willys, Jeep, LaSalle, Hudson, Crosley, Dual Ghia (seen here) and other models along with the usual Ford, Chevy, Chrysler and other familiar makers' works.

Logan Pass-Going to the Sun Highway

[Click on pictures for full size version]

Ian, Darcy and I met up at Grants house in Calgary and started our five day-three-state-two province tour which would include Logans Pass, also known as "The Going To The Sun Highway".

With fresh faces and no lasting hang overs, we assembled the packed and ready bikes and crew for the obligatory line-up and photo op. Seems to be some one missing, never mind he is taking the photo.


We burned a lot of rubber heading south out of Calgary on Highway 2 heading for our lunch stop at Fort MacLeod. I held the big Silverwing back and took up the rear riding position as I expected to have to stop and pick up Yamaha and Harley parts along the way.

Nanton was our first breather stop where we could stretch our legs, scratch our butts and take a picture of an airplane on a stick.

After crossing into Montana, which has some of the best motorcycle roads on earth, we stopped to load the bikes with cheap beer, gas and smokes.

We entered Waterton National Park from the eastern side, stopped and had another photo op, after paying the $12.00 entry fee. I must have intimidated the attendant at the gate as he over charged me outrageously and then had to refund me twice.
The first few miles of the park are rather tame, but a scenic ride none the less.

This stopping point over looking the lake is your first hint of what is to come.

Lots of curves and twister's along the way but the amount of traffic thru the park curtails any canyon carving.

The road that was first blasted thru the mountains in the thirties slowly descends along some sheer cliffs and even the local mountain goats get nervous.

Lots of bike traffic carving its way past the tunnels and waterfalls along the route. Even if you had the road to yourself you would be going slow gawking at the marvelous scenery.

Lots of little pull offs to take a peek over the edge and shoot some pics.

Had a little construction delay that only amounted to about 10 minutes. Had to curtail my nasty smoking habit as there was a fire ban on with a no smoking in the park policy and the cruiser behind us looked ready to enforce the law.

Even the construction stopping spots offer up a great view. They were rebuilding some of the retaining walls.

Logans Pass has to be one of the most scenic rides you will find anywhere, with deep gorges and towering mountains.

After the pass and a night in Kalispel, we headed west towards Libby and Bonners Ferry, Idaho where we consulted the map and looked for the most scenic route.

Great stopping spots along the Thompson Lakes region on Highway 2, Montana.

North of Newport Washington where we found a great little road that took us back up to Canada. Highway 41 north is not a very heavily used road but it was a surprise to us as what a great motorcycle road it turned out to be, if you get the chance check it out.

We wimped out when we made it to Fernie B.C. and stayed in a motel for the night rather than taking a camping spot. In the morning a photo op presented itself and we indulged.




After getting back into Canada the ride to Creston B.C. was another great motorcycle road.

Last day heading home we stopped for a break, some were reluctant to come this route through the Crowsnest Pass as the last time we were thru here in September we were stopped two days in a motel with no power because of an early snow storm. Thankfully this year there was no snow and we made it through.

Just short of Longview Alberta we stopped to suit up as it had been threatening to rain and the low dark clouds ahead had lots of rain in them. We ended up riding the last two hundred miles home in a steady down pour.