Innholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2023 i Motorcycle Mojo Magazine

It’s hard to believe that we are approaching the end of summer. I know it happens every year and, like winter, it always sneaks up on me and catches me by surprise. Maybe because I just don’t want to believe it. I’d have to say that April and May are a couple of my favourite months, when the countryside begins to green up after winter’s dull, grey scenery. That time of year also signals the beginning of riding season. Having said that, September is my absolute favourite month for so many reasons: the temperatures and humidity are more bearable, the cottagers and tourists on my favourite riding roads are all but gone, the bugs have dwindled down to nothing, and then, later in the month, the fall colours — at…

I am sitting here on the couch with my arm in a sling while writing today. I’m specifically reminded of my very first column in Motorcycle Mojo, “Life After an Injury” (August 2020). In my inaugural entry, I wrote about my long journey after injuring my shoulder, from the injury to the surgery, to healing. A few weeks ago I injured my “good shoulder,” as I’ve so fondly called it in recent years. I wish I could say my dislocated shoulder was caused by hitting a jump and having to crash because a bear was on the landing. No, it’s not nearly as entertaining. I was riding and rode up a small rock ledge, and I extended and moved the wrong way. I didn’t even crash — there was no…

I tried. Really. All through the twisting corridor of trees, tiny yellow road signs ordered: “SLOW.” Sightlines were limited. But the road was a grippy chipseal and Suzi Blue was begging me to get on the throttle and use all of the tire. As the speedometer and my adrenaline inched ever upward, we hugged the imagined centreline and I kept my eyes peeled for anything that might step out of the alders — four-legged or two. Sasquatch were rumoured to roam these woods. I had spent the summer riding my 2022 Suzuki V-Strom DL650XA through the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Alaska, and now I was homeward bound. But because the west coast was so far from my native Niagara — and because I wanted to make the most of it,…

When I first laid eyes on this bike it really needed help. It wasn’t even a motorcycle anymore; it was simply a very large pile of crusty parts on the showroom floor at Ontario Cycle Salvage. I must have passed that pile a dozen times while gathering parts for other projects and I was determined to just avert my eyes. Then, something came over me. The day before Paul, the owner, closed down for the season, I surrendered to the temptation, foolishly making a low-ball offer on the battered batch of Super Hawks. I was secretly hoping he would turn me down and release me from the stress of yet another restoration. Unfortunately, he took the cash, I had the stash and the die was cast. Yet another CB77 would…

You’ll remember that, in the April issue, I had written about choosing a new motorcycle. Well, I now own a brand-new 2022 Triumph Speed Twin 1200. While I love the bike, the affair stumbled at the start. I picked it up at my local Triumph dealer, Moto Montreal Cycle, last April. However, because I couldn’t get a ride there, I loaded it into my pickup and drove home. When I got home, I took it for a brief ride and accumulated 75 kilometres. A busy schedule kept me off the bike for another three weeks, at which point I pulled it out of the garage and fired it up. It idled fine, but when I popped it into gear and let out the clutch, the engine died. It started up…

I love people with strength, positive drive, goals and energy. I recently met one such person, Vanessa Ruck. Otherwise known as The Girl On A Bike, she’s a 36-year-old motorcycle rider, racer, adventurer, presenter, social media influencer and motivational speaker. In 2022, she also made history on her stock Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro as the first woman on an adventure motorcycle to finish the 1000 Dunas Rally, held in Spain and Morocco. However, it’s not just her current badassery that makes her fascinating, but also her deeply personal story of grit, determination, mental health crises, pain, physical recovery, and how she ended up as a motorcycle rider in the first place that is truly inspirational. Born and raised in England, Vanessa is a self-proclaimed go-getter and chase-your-dreams kind of…

Pioneers and trailblazers are seldom recognized in their time. How many great minds, for example, are only revered posthumously? For Elspeth Beard, it has only taken 35 years. Back in 1982, when the then-23-year-old first approached motorcycle dealers and magazines for support in her round-the-world endeavour, she was met with indifference, chauvinism, and derision: A woman on a motorbike? And you want to travel where? Their dismissiveness only made her more determined, but even after she completed her now-iconic two-and-a-half-year odyssey (notably without their help), the press was uninterested, and friends and family had little to say. In particular, her parents’ mix of disapproval and apathy was both bewildering and heartbreaking. So, she packed her journals and photos in a box and forgot about them, turning instead to her (eventually…

So sorry to do this to you, but this month’s column will be a morality play. Like so much of today’s politics, sports are being divided by conflicting calls for equality and equity. Now, one could write an entire column — okay, entire books — on the difference between the two but, in essence, the former represents the equality of opportunity while the latter lesser understood — is the equality of outcome. In even simpler terms, so much of the discourse that divides us these days is simply whether you believe we should always just let the better man win or whether we are better served by ensuring that everyone arrives at the same place — and at the same time and speed — no matter their ability. It is…

Among other things, I work for an Ontario tour company called Dualsport Plus, which is a touring company that manages shipping bikes, accommodations, meals and routes. I have been lucky enough to have been on every tour Dualsport Plus’s Clint MacBride has run, and I act as the sweep rider, carrying tools, first aid, and sometimes some riding tips. After 10 trips we have a very organized system in place to help out the riders. Some of the tours are very remote, so we carry satellite phones, tools, spare parts, first aid, a spare bike, extra tires, and fuel. My sons came on the trip that took place last June. I treated them to the trip as thank-you for more than 20 years of service at the off-road school. They…

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I suppose it happens to everyone at some point, to varying degrees: That stage in life when you just need to get away from the regular day-to-day of growing up, and into the stage of adulthood that comes with itchy feet and the need to explore. Jamie Smallwood grew up on the island of Montreal racing homemade go-carts down hills, defying gravity by jumping his bicycle over ditches and getting hurt — and, eventually, hot rods and girls came into the picture: You know, regular boy stuff. His family life was good, and he had a steady girlfriend, but after graduating in 1964 he had an uncontrollable desire for adventure and the thought of a motorcycle trip entered his mind. His understanding father helped him purchase a motorcycle and by…

RIDING THE NORTHERN FLORIDA WILDERNESS You have to admit that spending countless kilometres on a motorcycle while travelling for your job sounds pretty appealing. That’s exactly what Curtis Nickel was able to do in the wilds of Northern Florida. In-between his days travelling to different sites, he was able to explore the Ocala National Forest and the Harris chain of lakes. He survived alligators and other wildlife to tell us his story. MOVING TO THREE WHEELS? It should come as no surprise that a large number of motorcyclists are of an aging population and with that comes unstable knees and hips and, ultimately, balance or safety concerns. If you’re in that group and want to continue riding, it might mean changing your ways and moving to three wheels. We explore…