 Life
is like a sharp blind curve
From the small office in the back corner,
near the water cooler
July 26th, 2006
I always find the best friendships are
those built on complete understanding and upfront honesty. Certain
buddies are quite happy with riding once a month while others look
forward to weekly mini-excursions. Being the easy-going biker types
and not pushing anyone for more than they're willing to give has our
circle of friends happily wearing smiles and enjoying life.
But the reason contentment is
consistently the mood of the moment doesn't come from any illegal
substances, not that I would admit anyway, more from appreciating
and respecting each others preferences. No surprises or pressure and
consequently no frustrations.
How does this frivolous information
relate to Clutch and Chrome’s editorial column?
A few readers
seemed concerned that the column is only updated once a month, or if
more than a couple of thoughts manage to collect in this tiny brain
of mine, maybe even twice a month. Like most riders I’m not one for
conversation just to hear the sound of my own voice and certainly
not going to write a column to fill a space by a certain time.
It may be a bit of a leap, but
everyone at Clutch and Chrome considers the readers of this website
fairly intelligent people, knowledgeable in the world of motorcycles
and definitely able to form their own opinions. So why would you
need anyone imposing their views on a weekly basis?
Besides, everyone here is working hard
at adding to the ever growing information, news, articles and
reference material to make Clutch and Chrome the most complete web
destination for riders of all types. It seems much more important to
put the finishing touches on the latest article instead of dragging
out the soapbox and justifying my particular point of view in 300
words or less.
It's nice to see that this focused
effort seems to be paying off! At last count there have been 425
news
stories filed, 45 pages of
articles (this doesn't include the many, many pictures
featured in each piece) and nearly 3000
bike
nights and events in our database. We’re honored that so
many motorcycle clubs have allowed us to list them in the
club
database. Yep, things are certainly moving along better
than anyone could’ve anticipated.
We are always open to suggestions,
comments and feedback all of which can be emailed
here.
Number one Golden Rule
Whether the advice comes from a fellow rider or instructor during a
motorcycle safety course, the golden rule of going into a blind
curve is ‘expect the unexpected’. The advice has never been truer
than the last few months in the motorcycling world from a certain
un-helmeted quarterbacks encounter with a car (which was considered
the proverbial deceased, whipped stallion within three days of
happening) to most recently by Harley-Davidson’s unveiling of it’s
2007 models.
The company’s new engine design and the inclusion of six-speed
transmissions as well as fuel injection on all its models was a
breathtaking answer to the marketplace and all the well-designed,
quality competition. We wanted to bring the details to the readers
of Clutch and Chrome, line by line and pictures of the new
motorcycles in all their glory. A lot of time and effort was spent
in not just preparing the article but also coming up the it's
headline, 'The 2007 Harley-Davidson Throwdown!'.
It was a move to reassure the fans of
the American icon that Harley wasn't resting on their laurels and
seemed determined not to slip back into the darker days of Harley
when it felt like the entire world and their uncle was building a
better bike.
Interestingly enough at the same time as the new Harley models were
announced, the group that bought the rights to Indian Motorcycle
finally settled on North Carolina as the home of the manufacturing
plant, promising a line of Chiefs for 2007 (this would be the
actually year and not the model year). A wider selection of
motorcycles from different manufacturers is only good news for the
riding public. Never have bikes looked so good, run so well and been
enjoyed by so many!
It's the last part of that sentence
which can turn out to be a mixed blessing. Summers starting earlier
and lasting longer, rising gas prices and more affordable
motorcycles have seen new riders hit the roads in droves.
Unfortunately whether its from macho pride or sheer stupidity, too
many riders are jumping on their new two-wheeled transport without
so much as a look at a
MSF leaflet, let alone taking the
course itself.
Riding should be a brotherhood (this
includes the ladies too) something unique to those willing to face
the public roads on two-wheels and free-spirited enough to yearn for
some wind on the face. Just like the annoying cousin who may try to
pick a fight with the big ugly guy at the bar, even though you may
not particularly like him, as family you step in and try to save his
sorry butt from getting beaten to a pulp. This is the same in the
riding world. Regardless of how long or often you ride, keeping a
watchful eye for the new guy or maybe even giving a few words of
advice is nice way to welcome him into this family of the road we
should have going.
Rather than telling
him to go to a motorcycle safety course, explain the benefits. My
favorite has always been that you get to drop someone else's bike
when learning and not your own brand new baby!
Sure they may be checkbook bikers or
weekend warriors and you may have as much in common with them as you
do with that sniveling suck-up that seems to be in every workplace
across the USA. But we have to be in the habit of helping fellow
riders whenever we can and even in the smallest way.
After all, if we don't look after each
other, who will?
The Editor |
