Fun and Useful Lessons I've Learned from My Friends

Last week I wrote about choosing your riding partners with care. While both the good and bad experiences have taught me to ask certain questions about people before I ride with them, especially on a long adventure, my blog post didn't reveal the many fun and useful lessons I've learned from riding with some of my riding companions. This week, I want to encourage you to listen to, and observe, other riders so you can learn useful tips and gain insights, thus increasing the enjoyment of future experiences.

I have learned much from many different rider over the years, but five people stand out in my riding life:

1. Steve Metzger: sold me my first bike, a 1967 Harley Davidson Sprint; taught me to ride; but more importantly taught me basic mechanical skills, including the correct method for kick-starting my bike.
2. Ed "Tiger" Fauth: my favorite college room mate, with whom I logged many hundreds of miles riding, including a near-death experience riding in heavy snow in the Adirondack mountains one Memorial Day weekend; Tiger later purchased my 2000 Road King Classic.
3. Mike Russo: encouraged me to experiment on my Harley by providing a heated garage, an experienced eye, and any tools I needed.
4. Jeff "Cutter" Northcutt: the scout leader who knew where all the best places to lodge, eat, and drink were located.
5. Mitch Mitchell: the master of social intercourse who could extract useful information from just about anyone.

Here are some tips I learned from, or with, these gentlemen over many years and miles as we explored North America.

Steve

The internal combustion engine is actually quiet simple, in principle. If you are having trouble with your bike, systematically narrow the source of that problem by understanding those basic principles. For example, if the engine won't start, begin with the knowledge that one must have fuel (+ air) and a spark for ignition to occur. Analyze your situation one step at a time, beginning with the simplest possibilities first, e.g., is there gas in the tank? Is the gas reaching the pistons (or perhaps too much gas)? Pull the spark plugs to check for the presence of fuel; and check them to see that they're gapped properly and reasonably clean and operable. A rider can save himself or herself a lot of aggravation and money by a little bit of systematic troubleshooting.

Along these same lines, if you're bike was running great on Monday, you took it to your mechanic on Tuesday, got it back on Thursday, but by Friday it was having a problem, begin your investigation with what changed during that time. I had my stock handlebars replaced and noticed soon thereafter that my cruise control no longer functioned properly. A local dealer told me that I needed a new cruise control module at a cost of more than $400. I wasn't going to settle so easily. I began sleuthing the problem myself. It turns out  that the throttle has two cables, one of the them a return or release cable with a switch that was no longer able to close properly because the longer bars were stretching the cable too hard. I had another mechanic replace the cable for $80 and the cruise control problem was solved. Thank you Steve for instilling a hard-ass analytical attitude in me. :-)

Tiger

(Photo at left: me handing the key to my 2000 Road King Classic to Tiger in 2009.)

Tiger obsessed over cleaning his bike; I followed his lead. He had a beautiful Yamaha 650 that he rode all over. Tiger emphasized that cleanliness is next to Godliness. (He made for a really neat room mate.) Beyond the spiritual element, cleaning your bike regularly and thoroughly offers multiple benefits: (1) increased longevity of the bike; (2) safety through more immediate maintenance; and (3) the joy and attention of riding a shiny machine. I started these good cleaning habits with a Honda CM450C. I put more than 32,000 miles on that little two-wheeler before selling it. When I moved back to a Harley in 2000, those anal-retentive habits came in real handy with all that chrome to polish. On all of my bikes, Hondas and Harleys, I have discovered loose or missing fasteners while cleaning my machine. It's also a great time to check lubricant levels and air pressure.

Tiger taught me to be bold and ride solo when no one else is willing to ride with you, even for interstate trips. Because of him, I have grown comfortable in riding to Canada, for instance, solo when no one is available to join me. Steve and Tiger also introduced me to camping off the back of motorcycle. It's great, especially when I was younger and my body was more tolerant of a hard surface.

And Tiger also taught me to lean my bike way over in curves, that scraping your pegs from time-to-time is really fun--as long as they're the kind that pivot!

Cutter

(Photo at right: Left to right--Cutter, me, and Eddie Joe at the Elk's Lodge in Deadwood, 2006.)

Jeff "Cutter" Northcutt is the scout. He leads his compatriots to the best restaurants, hotels, and "joints" in the country. He taught me that when choosing a place to eat or drink, go with recommendations rather than appearances. My favorite was The Village Bar in St. Louis. It sits next to The Custom Wig Shoppe. You enter from the rear, passing through the kitchen to get to the bar. It's got great food and atmosphere.

Cutter finds these places by being adventurous. Once, when we were in Deadwood, South Dakota during the Black Hills Motorcycle Rally (aka "Sturgis"), I observed Cutter and his lifelong friend Eddie Joe entering a bank building after business hours. I figured I had to see what they were up to; I wanted in. We were either all going to end up in jail or have a really good time. Either way, if Cutter thought it up, it had to be interesting. I entered the same door they did and found a single path: a long straight set of stairs to the second floor. A the top were two doors, one on the left and the other on the right. I tried the left and it was locked. I tried the right and walked in. It was some sort of bar. There sat Cutter and Eddie Joe drinking beers. I walked up and the bar tender pushed an open binder to me. It contained a sign-in sheet. Without hesitation--and without much thought--I signed in and ordered a beer. Were these boys surprised to see me! We had all become honorary members of the Elks.

Mike

Mike Russo seems to own, or has owned, every tool out there. He also has decades of experience building and repairing machinery. As long as we're experimenting on *my* bike, he is creative and very helpful. We've used everything from a hammer to a hacksaw on my bike. We had some scary moments in his garage, but it always turned out OK.

Mike also made me aware that many Harley guys do in fact pack heat. It's not just a myth. He has a conceal-and-carry permit and usually has a small 9mm with him.

Mitch

(Photo at left: Mitch at Orange County Choppers with a group of bikers from Ontario getting autographs. That's Vinny signing in this picture. Mikey also came out and signed autographs. ca. 2004)

Cutter may be the scout, but Mitch is the master communicator. Mitch has taught me the value of engaging people in conversation wherever we go. It's been amazing what we've learned and experienced. Here are four examples:

(1) When it's time for a meal, stop in at a gas station, motorcycle dealership, or other local business. Ask someone who looks like they might have a clue, "If you were going to eat breakfast/lunch/dinner right now, where would you go?

"What do you order when you go?" It's very important to emphasize the word "you," because the goal is to get an honest opinion. This method is proven to yield a very high success rate.

(2) When it's time to locate a hotel, also ask the locals with an emphasis on "you." Sometimes the answers can actually surprise you. Mitch and I were in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan a few years back. We stopped at a convenience store in Bergland and encountered a fellow barefoot in ripped cut off jeans and no shirt. As he was the only one around, we asked him: "We would like to stay at hotel in town. Where would you stay of you were us?" He looked at us with a most confused expression and replied: "You want to stay in this town?" We picked up on his emphasis on the word "this" and quickly adjusted our question: "No, we were thinking of staying in Bruce Crossing or some other place along route 28." "Oh, yeah, stay in Bruce Crossing," he replied in a tone of apparent relief. We hadn't been impressed by the hotels we'd seen so far, but this fellow's honesty validated our concerns beyond what we were used to.

(3) Mitch had a habit of telling most people we encountered where we were going and inclined to want to see. So one day, we were in the middle of North Dakota on our way north and then east through Fargo and on to Duluth and the UP. I decided to put the Mitch Method into practice. I mentioned to the cashier at a gas station that we were headed up US83 to Interstate 94. He grunted ever so briefly, "Wouldn't go that way." His response was so clipped and quiet I needed a few seconds to process what he'd said. My brain seemed to switch to autopilot and I asked, "Why not?" "Construction," he replied, now a bit more engaged. "What route would you take?" I asked. (Note again the emphasis on "you.")
"County road."
"How far is that?"
"Right up here at the light. Take a right. It'll take you to 281, which you can north to the interstate."
"Is it fast?"
"Faster than construction."

I thanked him and we were on our way. It paid off. We made great time.

(4) Speaking up can save you money. Back in 2006, Mitch and I were in the Harley dealership near Kingman, Arizona on our way to the Grand Canyon. As usual, Mitch was chatting with everyone in the store. There happened to be a group of Canadian guys and they had passes to the park with several days left on them. Mitch worked a deal and got two for $10 each. They sold for $25 apiece.

One more thing about Mitch: he is the master of packing. Nobody packs a bike more efficiently than Mitch. Packing your bike is a topic for another time.

Bonus Tip

Here's a bonus tip, something I learned from younger guy banned Siim: You can use a handlebar-mounted GPS device to track rain fall in the area and ride around it. That's the kind of ride leader I like!