I’ve had every king of bike from all segments and the absolute worst fuel economy I ever registered was on my ’97 Honda Valkyrie at about 35mpg. Those are numbers most people on four wheels would kill for, yet I was disappointed. My current Aprilias get 40+mpg and have about six galllons each (read: 240 mile range).

All this being said, it might be a wise move for the State and Federal governments to incentivize transportation via motorcycles.

On the State side, they could implement some monetary perks such as a reduced plate/tag fee…much like they do for alternative fuel vehicles. Second, the State gov’t could also enable better traffic management by allowing things like lane-spitting and lane-sharing. Yeah, it would take some getting used to, but wow does lane-splitting work.

On the Federal side, tax credits could be offered for all new purchased motorcycles made by a major manufacturer (I know – where do you draw the line?). The problem is that whenever a government entity touches something it has a quick transition into something worse with several unintended consequences and layers of bureaucrats.

I don’t have all the answers, but I do know that motorcycles are efficient…very efficient when you compare them to a cage with four wheels. Two ways to solve the fuel shortage: increase supply or reduce demand. Since one political party has all but neutered exploration, decreasing demand is where the answer lies. Motorcycles offer a small piece of the overall solution by providing an economic and fuel efficient transportation alternative.

I would also go so far as to say that this year is better than F1 racing. F1, to me, is boring to watch due to the limited opportunity to pass. Truth is, I’m not a big NASCAR fan but its much more exciting than F1 because there is always action.

If you have watched MotoGP in the past years, there is one name that you will know – Valentino Rossi. He has won the past five years in a row and usually its a matter of ‘when’ he will seal the title win versus if. No so this year.

In a predominantly European field and fan-base, this year is much different. A yankee named Nicky Hayden, is leading the points race after three rounds. To me, that is truly amazing. Yet he has not won a race. His success has been consistency – always second or third and not crashing.

If Nicky can hang on to the lead for a while, this will do wonders for the attention to the series in the US. Although the US has 4-5 riders in the series now, the performance has not been top notch as of late. Nicky string of podium finishes has changed that for the moment.

There is a race this Sunday from Shanghai, China to be broadcasted on SPEED TV. In fact all of the races are shown there, not live, but usually on the Sunday of the race weekend. I would encourage all race fans to check out one race. I am willing to bet you will find it very exciting and full of action.

I am hardly an environmental kook, but I am putting forth a little effort to conserve fuel. Now don’t give out the ‘awwww’ just yet. My main motivation is my wallet, and keeping as much cash in it as possible.

I consider myself frugal overall, but will not normally sacrifice the quality of life for a few bucks here and there. And while I do shop around in general, I will not drive across town to save a quarter on a gallon of milk.

Frugal I call it…except for one thing…GAS. I am a complete penny pincher when it comes to paying for gas. I will drive a little out of the way to save a couple of cents per gallon. Part of this is that the result is transparent – I drive somewhere. The other part is that I HATE giving money to the foreign entities that produce the oil that produces the gas.

So here I sit with my decision. My car gets 28mpg combined on my commute and my bike about 40mpg. I am trying to balance fuel / commute cost with my personal misery index.

IS 12MPG WORTH SUFFERING THROUGH THE BLAZING HEAT ON THE COMMUTE HOME???

No matter the season, the morning commute is nice, but at 5pm its pretty darn hot in the summer. Strictly on the matter of principles, it is. Take into account the extra cost of high tire wear, more frequent oil changes, and me being a sweaty mess when I get home, and I’m not so sure. 115F ambient is where the radio and a/c are really, really nice.

I will likely ride into June sometime, but ultimately wuss out shortly thereafter. Time will tell, but I have another six weeks to hope for gas prices to come down…yeah right.

Using Wikipedia for all the info, just take a moment to check out these fine citizens and what they stand for. Their axe to grind is homosexuality as a broad topic. Yet somehow, they have drawn the parallel that our military supports it with the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. OK, but at a funeral? I’m not going to post the pics of their protest banners because they are offensive, but here is the link to Wikipedia’s info on them. Here’s an excerpt about the roots of the protests at soldiers’ funerals.

Soldiers in Iraq
On October 29, 2005, the church put out a flyer saying “Praise the Lord for 2,010 Dead Soldiers in Iraq” and stating “We humbly pray to God to please kill many more”.[32] It should be noted that Westboro was supportive of Saddam Hussein’s regime, claiming it was the only Muslim country where Christianity could be openly preached on the streets. Phelps Sr. had even made a journey to Iraq at Hussein’s invitation.

Needless to say, I immediately joined. I’m not going to turn this into an advertisement for the PGR, but go to their site and check out what they stand for, what they do, why they do it. I still use “they” even though I am a proud member. I feel very fortunate that my services have not been needed in my local area of Phoenix, AZ to date.

The PGR recently got a Federal Commendation via HRES 731 for “Commending the Patriot Guard Riders for shielding mourning military families from protesters and preserving the memory of fallen service members at funerals.” The text of the Bill can be viewed here.

It takes all kinds in this great nation of ours, but the country would be better off if some simply weren’t around. We don’t have our freedoms because of the pen of a journalist, the bible of a priest, self-service of politicians, or the keyboard of a blogger. IMO, we have the freedoms we do because of the gun of a soldier.

You do not have to support the war to act in a dignified manner when the families of fallen soldiers are putting theirs to final rest. This notion has escaped those in the Westboro Baptist Church. Yes, they have the right to be there (good news – laws are being written in many states creating a protest-free zone for fallen soldiers), but having the right to be there should not superced common decency…especially given the circumstances.

It is a sad time where a group like the PGR has to even exist. It is a sad time when people, in the name of God, would purposely disrupt the funeral as our soldier is laid to rest. What is not sad is that folks – bikers – had the stones to organize on a national level and do the right thing. I couldn’t be more proud to be a member of this organization and what they stand for: RIDING WITH RESPECT.

I think what has been key is the addition of some ‘proper’ riding gear. Knowing the golden rule of riding motorcycles -

There are two types of riders: those who have crashed and those who will.

- The likelihood of being involved in an incident is higher as you put on more miles per year. To this, I dropped some cash to protect myself.

I know, I know…I have an excellent command of the obvious. Admittedly, I would rather shell out hundreds on some sort of performance widget that I can feel versus something to wear…that was until late. I bought a Fieldsheer Highland oversuit that has a removeable liner inside, some Sidi weatherproof boots, winter riding gloves, and have grip heaters on both bikes. This stuff has allowed for comfort down to 34F in the morning commute.

Its funny to me how my opinion of the importance of comfort enhances the ride and the focus on it. I am not fidgeting with my hands any more trying to keep them warm by the engine. I am not freezing my buns off because I used to only have a jacket – a non-lined one at that. And for the really cold days, I wear one of those fleece pull-over neck-scarf-thingies (note: I am not a skier, but I robbed my wife’s stash).

In total I spent about $300 for gear, and while its probably not the top-of-the-line, it has high quality armor, solid stitching, and competitive materials. All of this dress-up in the morning adds about five minutes to the normal routine of commuting by cage. That said, I was humbled in an online discussion about commuting via motorcycle. The quote went something like this:

“You need to change your perspective if you think you have to commute on your bike. It should be considered something you look forward to”

This came from an elderly gentleman. Sometimes words of wisdom make a lot of sense.

I also have an Aprilia Caponord. What’s new with that? It’s now for sale. I like the bike, but I’ve never loved it. The ergo’s are great for comfort, but its simply the wrong segment for me. I am stil a sport bike guy at heart.

What’s new in the garage? Let me introduce my newest Aprilia – a nice and clean 2001 Aprilia Futura. The Futura is in the sport-touring segment with the Mille engine. The ergo’s are good enough for all-day comfort and the bike is sporty enough to tackle the mountain twisties to about 95% of what the Mille coud do.

Sure it’s a little heavier, but in my old age (heh – 34) comfort is king!

I learned this valuable lesson this past summer on my road trip out to Laguna Seca to see the MotoGP race. I loaned a buddy my Capo and I was piloting the Mille R. I found out that the speed through the twisties is much more dependant on the rider than the bike…including the segment. It was eye-opening.

That got me thinking of how to improve comfort but keep the sport. I also started commuting via motorcycle as a New Years Resolution to put some miles under my belt. I have an easy 36 mile (each way) commute of back roads with minimal stops. The Capo is great for this, but no sport.

You can see how I got to my latest acquisition. It seems to be an excellent choice as its fast and surprisingly nimble through the twisties and comfortable for the commute. I never say never, so I’ll end it this way: “It is highly unlikely that I will own another true superbike segment motorcycle” with as functional and capable as the bike in the sport-touring class are.

Well, here’s the update…

Remember this?

I located a part this afternoon in San Francisco and it will be shipped Monday likely to reach my door Wednesday.

Didn’t happen. Well, it didn;t happen correctly. The dealer sent me the wrong part. I can understand sending me the wrong part if they were similar, but they are not the same function or material. I requested that the parts guy go get the part and put it in his hand to ensure that it was in fact in stock. I sadi “its a plastic quick-connect with threads on one end…right?”. “Yep” he proudly responded. I have no idea what I’m going to do with thi aluminum nipple for a vacuum line. GRRRRR.

So I searched again. This time I was lead to the part…a chrome plated brass version… through McMaster Carr. I found the part in the online catalog and called them to order it on Thursday. I placed the order with the Los Angeles warehouse and said “I;m going to need to overnight that”. To make a long story short, the guy assured me it would get here (Phoenix, AZ) in one day with standard shipping, enough that I wnet with it.

Guess what – no part. I knew it. I had shipper’s remorse the moment I hung up the phone. So now…yesterday…I still have no parts.

I ended up making a temporary fix this morning that is very robust. I’m going to remove it when the fitting finally arrives, but the bike is back to burning fuel, oil is fresh, throttle bodies are synched, and the thing is shiny again. It just pisses me off when people commit to something and its wrong. Had I not had a version of the part I needed that could be modified, I would be helpless.

Sometimes, self-reliance is the best solution.

There is an charcoal vapor collector cannister mounted to the right bottom side of the engine that interferes slightly with the oil change process. The whole system can be removed in a couple of hours fairly easily. You end up removing the cannister, a bunch of vacuum line and a couple check valves.

Since this was the most internal job I wanted to do (it involves fuel tank removal and synching the throttle bodies), I chose this to knock off first. Everything went well as I followed the very detailed instructions a fellow Caponord owner wrote up and posted on the Aprilia Forum. The reassembly was almost done except to connect the fuel lines. These use the plastic quick connect fittings…you can see where I’m going with this. Yep – one snapped in half, the one that is threaded into the tank.

Three MAJOR problems:

1. My local Aprilia dealers are more a skeleton operation for the Aprilia brand. Its actually typical for Aprilia dealers, but let’s just say that they don’t stock anything
2. Aprilia USA is relocating from Atlanta to New York and is not accepting parts orders for another week.
3. I have a friend flying in next weekend to borrow my bike for a 5-day trip!

I located a part this afternoon in San Francisco and it will be shipped Monday likely to reach my door Wednesday. I really wanted to have the bike turn-key ready by the end of this weekend as to not have to rush anything for next weekend. We’ll see what happens, but I can still get the new rubber and gearing installed, but since I cannot ride it to heat the engine up, the oil change will have to wait.

This never happens where there is no vital schedule ahead…

Is there any irony to this story??? Aprilia USA just announced (news to me as of today in my search for the part) a recall on this plastic quick-connect fitting because “it can crack upon installation and removal”. Did I say “ugh” yet?

First, I would truly appreciate it if folks turned their brights off during the day. Being on a motorcycle, I cannot effectively ‘bright’ the person back since most motorcycle headlights shake a little giving a similar appearance. So I sit there and cook my eyes until we pass.

Second, (this might be an Arizona thing) please don’t pull off into the dirt shoulder to help me out by allowing me to pass. Imagine someone standing some 50 yards away with…say…7 1/2 shot out of a twelve gage and shooting at your legs. Its not going to kill you, but it hurts. Besides, hold your line and I’ll get around you just fine in the other lane.

The Aprilia engineer that approved the fuel gage on my Caponord should be shunned from the group. I have a 6.6 gallon tank and get 44 mpg. My fuel light comes on at 180 miles, and goes to triple “E” at 220 with the light blinking. I have never put more than 5.5 gallons in out of fear. Yeah, I’ve done the math, but that Caponord weighs some 600+ pounds. One day I will be traveling with a one gallon gas can in my top box…I’ll show you.

And finally, you hardened Harley guys need to lighten up wave back. I’m not the kind of guy that flails my hands or has expectations from the brotherhood across a highway, but on a two-way road, even the cool-guy head nod will suffice. But I know, its not a Harley therefore its not a motorcycle, and therefore I’m not a biker. I think just for the fun of it, maybe I’ll stick my toungue out next time.

But all is well at 44mph!

The problem with that bike and the Aprilia brand as a whole is simple – resale value. In order for me to get what I consider a reasonable amount out of that bike, it will have to be parted out. On one hand, its sad to see one of a veyr limited edition be dismantled, on the other emotion should not get in the way of sound fiscal decisions.

That bike with all of its bolt-on mods worth over $3k and lest we not forget Ohlins suspenders and OZ forged wheels, would get about $6500-$7000. In parts, it would get much more. If you do the math, have the time, have the space, and a bunch of boxes, parting out a bike is pretty simple and its a no-brainer.

Several years ago when I was single, I parted out bikes to pay for my hobby. It actually ended paying for two bikes which totalled about $15k. Its nothing new to me, just a little disappointing.

These are incredible bikes with excellent reliability. I have 12k miles on mine of twisties and it have never given me trouble. The Aprilia brand though simply is not household. We Aprilia owners are part of a small niche club who are in the know about how great these bikes really are.

I’m still undecided at the moment, but its a serious consideration. My track record for selling a bike that has gotten to this point in my thoughts is 100%. Oh, its worth mentioning that it has been ridden for a total of ZERO miles since returning from my road-trip to Laguna-Seca for the MotoGP races. That hurts.