Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2020 i Motorcycle Mojo Magazine

I mentioned in my column back in the May issue that there may be some parts of our distribution chain that might suffer due to the circumstances happening in our world. That said, I apologize to those of you who received our May issue later than you should have, or in some cases, who received the May issue on the same day as the June issue. I received my May issue several weeks late; just a few days before my June issue, which did arrive on time, so hopefully these delays are a thing of the past. In this issue, Alan Cathcart sent us his review of the brand-new KTM 390 Adventure, which should be in dealerships by the time you read this if KTM’s delivery timelines are on schedule.…

One of the most important matters that is often cause for anxiety on any major trip is the overnight accommodations. This is important because after a full day on the road, where you lay your head is crucial for a good night’s sleep – you want to be well rested when you get on the road again in the morning. Do you book accommodations in advance when you’re planning your trip, or do you deal with it as you go? The time you decide to book often comes down to whom you’re travelling with. For the past 10 years, I’ve been touring with the same core group, with occasional additions. The majority of our trips consist of booking accommodations as we go. We have yet to camp on any of…

For those of us who like taking the roads less travelled, we dream about exotic adventures such as riding the Baja, exploring backcountry roads in British Columbia or that epic “Around the World” odyssey. I applaud those who have followed their ultimate adventure dreams. Realistically, most of us are limited by time constraints, family commitments and/or financial limitations, so even squeezing in an overnight ride once or twice a year is difficult. Although I have been fortunate to experience a few longer riding treks in the past, they required at least a year of planning and budgeting in order to make them happen. Not to mention the graciousness of my obliging and co-operative spouse who, having ridden motorcycles in the past, understands my need for the occasional escape. The rest…

One feature that has been appearing more and more often on motorcycles is the quick shifter. In reviews, a quick shifter is described as allowing a rider to shift gears on a manual transmission without closing the throttle or pulling the clutch lever. On the road, there’s no real benefit to using a quick shifter other than perhaps convenience; but on a racetrack, shifting with the throttle wide open and without pulling the clutch lever can cut tenths of a second off lap times. Another benefit is when riding off-road, where in tight, technical situations the time saved using a quick shifter allows a rider to maintain critical momentum, which may make the difference between completing a difficult section or stalling the engine. But how does quick-shifting work? To understand…

Once again, ethanol-laced fuels are in the headlines. The governors of Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming are all asking the Environmental Protection Agency to allow them to sell ethanol-free gasoline. Now, an eagle eye will spot that all five of those states are oil producers. In fact, one could say that all five depend rather heavily on the sale of crude to shore up their bottom lines. So, before I head off my meandering anti-ethanol diatribe, understand that I am under no illusions that their petition is any way altruistic or that they care about the inner workings of either of my motorcycles. Oil prices are in the dumpster, and recouping the 10 per cent – that’s the amount of fuel that oil companies can’t sell because it’s blended…

The older gentleman on the back of the bike is Claire McCutcheon, circa 1977. Claire was a resident of the Dufferin Oaks Long Term Care Home in Shelburne, Ont., and was a great friend to all of the kids in the area. Claire was in his 90s at the time of this photo and he jumped at the offer to go for a ride on a motorcycle. The smile on his face says it all. Submissions to Remember When? are always welcome. If your photo(s) is printed we will send you $25.00 High resolution digital photos are acceptable as well as prints. If you wish the print back please include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Send to: editor@motorcyclemojo.com…

If you’re considering taking some track riding courses, note that top-quality riding schools may have their own focus and different methods of delivering the information that they choose to teach. While some of the information may sound contradictory among different schools, it’s actually often the same technique being taught, but just using slightly different angles and approaches. People sometimes ask me if it’s true that instructors at the California Superbike School don’t teach trail braking, and that we teach that all braking should be done before turning into a corner while the bike is upright and straight. Then our school is compared with other riding schools, and sometimes people mention that those other schools recommend trail braking only before a corner. So, which method is right? Here’s the thing: I…

The much spoken-of but still undiscovered Australian Rider Factory must surely exist somewhere in the vast island continent to allow a country with a population of fewer than 25 million to produce such a consistent array of world title-winning riders over the past half-century. In the U.K., more than one-third of British Superbike grids often are occupied by Australasians – so, yes, Kiwis too – who have travelled to the other side of the world to pursue their goals of winning races – and championships – and all too often, they do just that. This book tells the story of how that came about. Although a healthy contingent of riders from Down Under had already become part of the Continental Circus privateer community in 1950s-60s Grand Prix road racing, it…

Although Joe Bolger’s name is no longer a household name in motorcycling circles, he made a big impact in motorcycling during his era. Bolger passed away on April 21 following a fall in his home in Barre, Mass. Joseph Earl Bolger, born in Charlottetown, P.E.I., on Jan. 6, 1930, moved to Massachusetts in 1946 and, still a Canadian citizen, served in the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953. Bolger’s motorcycle racing career began in 1956 on a 500 cc AJS. He went on to win the Canadian National Motocross Championship in 1959, the New England Scrambles Championship in ’64 and ’65, the Eastern USA versus Canada International Motocross Series in ’65 and garnered numerous motocross wins throughout the 1960s. Bolger was co-owner of a motorcycle dealership, during his post-racing career,…

STAYING SANE AND SAFE Glenn, your May editorial is spot-on. Screw it, lets ride! For me, getting out on my motorcycle is the most stress-relieving medicine I know of. Riding is something I have been looking forward to doing every spring for more than 50 years, and this year, with all the uncertainty surrounding us, getting out to ride feels more important than ever. That said, precautions need to be taken – the pavement is still cool and there will be areas where intersections still have a lot of winter sand. While the roads are a lot quieter than normal, that doesn’t mean we should be tempted to exceed the posted limits – hence the reason my Hayabusa will stay in lock-up for now. I got out for my first…

Deciding to ride alone or with a group comes with pros and cons. Solo touring can be very satisfying; you can stop whenever or wherever you choose. If a particular road was incredible, you can even retrace it and ride it again. On the other hand, the individual freedoms you enjoy when riding alone are restrained whenever riding with a group. Riders can have different tastes, fuel range, bladder volume, speed and passing comfort, following distances, preferred food and endurance. To help achieve group harmony, sitting everyone down for a riders’ meeting before letting a clutch out is a great idea. During this pre-ride chat, the route and type of roads – multi-lane highways or back roads – can be decided. If you’d like to make a touristy-type stop, this…

A factoid buried deep in the crevices of my mind, probably gleaned from a previous adventure in Key West, Fla., is that Ernest Hemingway spent the summer and fall of 1919 in the northern wilds of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula (LP) recovering from grievous First World War wounds sustained on the Italian front. I decided on a detour from my Northern Ontario ride on my Suzuki 650 V-Strom to see for myself what “Papa” Hemingway found so wonderful in northern Michigan. I crossed the narrows of Lake Huron from Tobermory, Ont., to Manitoulin Island on the Chi-Cheemaun ferry. After touring the world’s largest freshwater island I headed west on the Trans-Canada Highway 17 from Espanola before dropping south from Sault Ste. Marie into the U.S. I was not exactly planning to…

Seal Mate is, without a doubt, the most cost-effective tool in all of motorcycling. This seemingly innocuous little piece of plastic will fix the vast preponderance of leaky fork seals. We’re talking, according to some experts, of being able to repair more than three-quarters of gushing forks in less than, oh, about five minutes. And it’s oh so very simple. All that one has to do is remove the upper dust cap, then place the thin plastic strip vertically against the fork in question above the oozing seal. Then, making sure the curved “hook” end is facing down (i.e., into the seal), curve the Seal Mate around the tube, then force it down past the seal. Don’t worry; it can’t go too deep; it will eventually bottom on the seal’s…