Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2021 i Motorcycle Mojo Magazine

As we creep past the coldest time of the year here in Canada, I’m sure many of you are dreaming of the day when you can throw a leg over your bike and get out on that first ride of spring. Maybe some of you are looking online for a new jacket, helmet or other components for your personal protection. Or maybe you’re checking out the newest farkles for your ride to either dress it up or make it more practical. Whether we’re looking for personal protection or bolt-on parts for our bikes, most of us would be doing at least some of our shopping and dreaming at the motorcycles shows across the country had they taken place this year. Doing your research online for accessories is fine and a…

Fresh fried fish and chips are friggin’ fabulous at the Off The Hook Fish and Chips truck located on the corner of Reid’s Lane and Old Bonne Bay Road in Deer Lake, Nfld. The food is even better when you can enjoy it on a 23 C day in October! (A rare occurrence in these parts.) Off The Hook is a great place to get a bit of grub before heading to the Northern Peninsula and Gros Morne National Park or other places in western and central Newfoundland. I’ve never been disappointed with my meal. The cod tongues are delicious too! Got a favourite restaurant or pub? Send us an email to editor@motorcyclemojo.com and tell us why.…

It’s easy… no… practically inevitable that we fall in love with the bikes we own. We experience some of our greatest and most profound moments while riding them. After all, we bought them in the first place because they sparked something in our hearts. Often, when we make a big purchase, the emotional side of our brain overpowers our critical thinking – perhaps we may not be making the wisest choice, but we get an overwhelming sense of happiness. But, occasionally, as time goes on, there seems to be a moment when your critical voice begins to overpower your emotions. Does this lead to a decision to abandon the love you once felt so strongly about a particular machine? Robert M. Pirsig wrote in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle…

It is worth noting that refitting new inflators to the Helite and Klim/In&motion systems is simpler and costs significantly less than for competing Alpinestars and Dainese systems. A replacement Helite CO2 cartridge costs between $45 and $60 while a Klim replacement canister is $129.95. Both can be replaced by the owner. Klim recommends a maximum of three inflations to its airbag, and as mentioned earlier, the system requires a monthly subscription. Alpinestars and Dainese systems, meanwhile, must be repacked by a professional. The former requires deployed air bags be sent back to their American headquarters for repacking at a cost of US$300 (plus shipping) while Dainese wants you to take it back to an authorized dealer like our friends at Riders Choice who charge between $315 and $350 depending on…

LIST PRICE $5,499 WARRANTY 12-month, unlimited mileage CONTACT kawasaki.ca ENGINE TYPE Air-cooled, SOHC, 4-stroke single cylinder DISPLACEMENT 233 cc POWER N/A TORQUE N/A BORE AND STROKE 67 x 66 mm COMPRESSION RATIO 9.4:1 FUEL DELIVERY Electronic fuel injection TRANSMISSION 6-speed FINAL DRIVE TYPE Chain FRONT SUSPENSION 37 mm telescopic fork REAR SUSPENSION Uni Trak with adjustable preload WHEEL TRAVEL Front: 220 mm (8.7 in.) Rear: 223 mm (8.8 in.) BRAKES Front: 265 mm disc, 2-piston caliper Rear: 223 mm disc, single-piston caliper WHEELBASE 1,380 mm (54.3 in.) RAKE AND TRAIL 27.3 degrees/116 mm TIRES Front: 2.75-21 45P Rear: 4.10-18 59P WEIGHT (WET) 134 kg (295.4 lb) SEAT HEIGHT 885 mm (34.8 in.) FUEL CAPACITY 7.5 litres FUEL ECONOMY (OBSERVED) 5.4L/100 km FUEL RANGE (ESTIMATED) 140 km…

MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES Because of its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, mountains and rivers, Squamish is known as an adventurer lover’s four-season paradise. The area offers rock climbing, mountain biking, kite and wind surfing, hiking, trail riding (of course) and so much more. A COMMON SIGHT IN THESE PARTS Mount Garibaldi, probably Canada’s best-known volcano, is about 65 km north of Vancouver. The mountain, a young stratovolcano that last erupted approximately 10,000 years ago, lies among the volcanologically active Cascades Range. FAMILY-ORIENTED RIDING CLUB The Squamish Dirt Bike Association’s core values include promoting safe and responsible riding as well as rider equality, training and education. The association operates in the Sea to Sky Corridor’s Lava Flow area, which features more than 22 km of single-track trails and deactivated logging roads, and…

Needless to say, I’ve put more than a few kilometres on my Suzuki Gladius SFV650. This past summer, I rolled over 75,000 km and experienced some of the best riding I’ve ever done. The roads were the same, but the tires were different. I rode on a set of Michelin Road 5 tires – a new model for the brand at the time – and the company boasted the Road 5s provide exceptional performance on wet and dry surfaces along with significant longevity while touring. The Michelin Pilot Road 4 model, the Road 5’s predecessor, was a fan favourite because it offered longevity and all-round performance. However, the company thought it could do better. I didn’t take tires into account very much for most of my riding days. (I know…

GASPÉSIE Regular travel contributor Jeff Davison embarked on a ride this past October to realize a lifelong dream: tour the Gaspé Peninsula by motorcycle. He had anticipated that trip since he was a kid leafing through National Geographic magazines. The people and the scenery did not disappoint. BIMOTA TESI H2 Thirty years after the first Ducati-powered hub-centre Bimota Tesi 1D was introduced comes the Bimota Tesi H2. Kawasaki acquired 49.9 per cent of Bimota, opening the door for a new, radical hub-centre steering model using Kawasaki’s 239 hp H2 supercharged engine. Alan Cathcart was the first journalist to ride the bike and he gives us his unique evaluation of the Tesi H2.…

111 Pierre Cherpin’s racer number. The French motorcycle rider suffered major head trauma after a crash at Kilometre 178 in Stage 7 of this year’s Dakar Rally. The 52-year-old Cherpin, who was passionate about motorcycling, was participating in his fourth rally when he crashed. He passed away on Jan. 14 while being flown from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to a hospital in Lille, France. 74 Number of vehicles (cars, trucks and motorcycles) that finished the first Dakar race. The race began with 182 vehicles. 6 The number of rear tires that motorcycle racers in the Dakar Rally were permitted to use during the rally. This is a new rule, which caused some riders grief because they had to ride on worn tires long past their prime. Toby Price used duct tape…

There’s a difference between riding street bikes and dirt bikes, and I’m not talking about technique. I’m talking about how many times you hit the ground. Crashing sucks. However, for the past few years, I’ve been riding street bikes and motocross without crashing at all. I’ve gotten used to not hitting the ground. But that changed this year. Without the ability to travel and ride the way I’m accustomed to, I had to switch things up. I began taking my YZ125 into the woods and began riding single-track trails. Along the way, I’ve met a lot of incredible people and have had a blast. But I’ve also crashed – a lot. Most of my crashes were relatively minor, like tipping over because I’m too short to reach the ground or…

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE AIRBAG Airbag vest and jacket technology was first invented and patented in 1976 by Tamás Straub, a Hungarian motorcycle enthusiast and inventor. After Straub’s patent expired in 1980, Japan-based Hit-Air began developing the personal airbag system and launched its first airbag in 1999. Italy-based Dainese has been developing its D-Air system since the late ’90s, while California-based Alpinestars has been working on its Tech-Air system since 2001. HIGH-TECH WEARABLES Today’s personal untethered airbag systems use cutting-edge technologies that employ accelerometers, GPS sensors, gyroscopes, advanced algorithms and microprocessors to detect an accident. The system takes readings from those technologies 1,000 times every second in order to detect a crash situation. If a crash is detected, the airbag system is deployed in just 20 to 40 milliseconds.…

Island BMW - Victoria, BC Tel: (250) 474-2088 High road Vancouver - Vancouver, BC Tel: (604) 731-5505 High road langley - Langley, BC Tel: (778) 366-1999 Kelowna Motorrad - Kelowna, BC Tel: (250) 860-1111 Argyll Motorrad - Edmonton, AB Tel: (780) 435-6811 Blackfoot Motorrad - Calgary, AB Tel: (403) 243-2636 European Motorrad - Saskatoon, SK Tel: (306) 934-3717 Wildwood Motorsports - Winnipeg, MB Tel: (204) 477-1701 BMW Motorrad Barrie - Barrie, ON Tel: (705) 881-1420 Budds’ Motorrad - Oakville, ON Tel: (905) 845-3577 BMW toronto - Toronto, ON Tel: (416) 623-4269 Maranello Motorrad - Toronto, ON Tel: (416) 238-7898 Wolf BMW - London, ON Tel: (519) 951-9482 Ottawa Motorrad - Ottawa, ON Tel: (613) 731-9071 Gabriel BMW Moto - Montréal, QC Tel: (514) 712-7777 Moto Vanier - Québec, QC Tel:…

I read travel stories for inspiration and ideas for my own future adventures or for the OMG! factor. Steph Jeavons’ Home by Seven falls solidly into the latter category. Which is to say I have no interest in wrestling a randy Iranian taxi driver, coming face-to-face with a hungry Antarctic leopard seal or sheltering behind a car from an angry Zambian bull elephant. But this book sure makes great reading! Jeavons’ tale, published in 2020, begins in an English prison – also not on my ideas list – where she comes to painful terms with her heroin addiction and makes the solemn decision that her life is worth more than that. Jeavons develops a clear vision of one day resting in the shade of a baobab tree, and begins to…

editor@motorcyclemojo.com APPRECIATES QUALITY I want to say how much I enjoy and appreciate the quality of your publication, the quality and calibre of its contributors, the stories and photos, and the fact that many experienced women are part of your team. The current trend of many of your competitors is to hire young contributors who have poor journalistic skills and seem more interested in the lifestyle and inherent bonuses of being able to ride all manner of machine, fool around doing wheelies and are less concerned about substance and relaying subjective information. Yes, you offer a refreshing alternative to your competitors and this old boy (71) with 55 years of motorcycling experience very much appreciates your efforts. Live long and prosper. RON LUCENKO VIA EMAIL OUTLAW DAVE RHODES Thanks for…

Most of us get into motorcycling because we want to ride. I once met a guy who had to learn how to ride out of necessity Scott worked in the movie industry as a transportation captain. If the script called for the actor to ride a bike, Scott had to procure one for filming. He didn’t have a motorcycle licence, so in order to be able to pick up bikes for filming, he took a riding course. That was more than 20 years ago, and Scott has since called me many times to rent bikes or ask me to ride as a background performer or train actors to ride. Sometimes actors will come to our school to learn to ride, but the more exciting times are when I travel to…

THE CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE In 1980, an apprentice monk arrived at the Vidette Lake Gold Mine Resort, claiming he had been sent by his Master Teacher to test an area that might be the Centre of the Universe. Through a variety of tests, the apprentice determined that this area was indeed the Center of the Universe and, to this day, it is visited by many seeking enlightenment. THE MOST PESKY OF FLYING INSECTS There are more than 3,000 species of mosquitoes in the world and they transmit more diseases than any other creature, including West Nile virus, encephalitis, yellow fever and dengue. While we don’t have a problem swatting at all mosquitoes, only the female has the necessary body parts to suck blood. These mosquitoes stab into your skin…

KLIM Those who have shopped for airbag gear will have noticed that I have not included any information about either the various “tethered” systems out there or Klim’s recent foray into wireless airbag vests. As for the latter, Klim’s system was built in conjunction with France’s In&motion and the combination most closely resembles the Alpinestars Tech-Air 5 since the former has a built-in back protector. The Klim vest costs less than the Dainese or Alpinestars alternatives, but you have to pay a monthly subscription to keep its electronics activated. HELITE As for tether cord-equipped vests, I’ve owned a Helite Vented jacket for about three years. It’s an excellent product, its main disadvantage being that it is slower to react. The wireless systems take 20 to 60 milliseconds to actuate, tethered…

When working on your motorcycle, one of the most valuable tools you work with is your shop manual. It contains detailed procedures on how to service your bike. It provides info on the fuel system, engine, transmission and drive systems, ignition and electrical systems, and chassis. It also includes wiring diagrams and service specifications. Most manufacturers offer printed service manuals, which probably are the best sources of information on specific models. Recently, I wanted to buy a factory service manual for Roxanne, my girlfriend, in order to service her Street Twin. Unfortunately, I discovered that Triumph does not sell service manuals. I couldn’t buy either a printed manual or a digital version. Instead, the company offers temporary access to an online service manual for a fee. Subscription fees begin at…

As you can read elsewhere in this issue, I’ve been spending a lot of time wearing airbag-equipped jackets of late. In fact, during last year’s COVID-infused riding season – which actually had me riding, given nothing is quite so self-isolating as riding a motorcycle solo while wearing a full-face helmet – I did not once sally forth sans supplementary inflatable protection device even once. Not to the corner store. Not to the gym. Not on any of my long rides to my wife’s cottage north of Montreal. If my butt was on a motorcycle seat, an airbag was protecting my back. One of the reasons I could do that is because airbag garments have come such a long way since they were introduced about five years ago. I’ve always been…