EDITOR AT LARGE
“Although motorcycle riding is romantic, motorcycle maintenance is purely classic.” – Robert M. Pirsig
S ome people rue the winter months. The cold, snow and salted roads mean their motorcycles are put away, hooked to a trickle-chargers umbil- ical, blanketed, and held hostage by Mother Nature. For others, it opens a window of opportunity. To fettle, to tune, to modify, to fix. This is the camp that I find myself in, and I can’t wait. Boxes and boxes of bits and pieces have been stacked and stored throughout the warm and sunny months, just waiting to be put to purpose. With the road calling and available, I tend to speed through the job. Things get missed or skipped in the process – Sure, I could have used new wheel bearings in August, but I needed tires to make a trip happen! Winter slows us down; we need to appreciate that. Socked-in with snow and cold, I’ll have time on my side. I will bury my head in a book or two, flip pages in a Haynes manual, and commit to some research. I’ll order the right tools for the job, instead of making due with what’s laying around, and suss out how they work. And I’d argue there’s no better way to spend an afternoon than in a garage, covered in grease, oil and grime while learning about the myriad of things that make your bike tick.
Pulling things apart, bagging and labelling the fasteners as I go, scouring YouTube and forums for advice when something goes wrong and learning the hows and whats behind the fix are all experi- ences of equal import to dragging that first knee or riding through a water crossing unscathed. Just like those new tools, each of these experiences only add to my repertoire Suspension upgrades are due for one ageing bike – a set of fully adjustable drop-in cartridges should liven it up – while an even older one is being brought into the mid-20th century via the ability to use a proper spin-on type oil filter. Yet another needs new steering head bearings and while I’m at it, I should probably take what I’ve learned about forks and think about rebuilding these ones as well. Sure, I tinkered with the idea to make them week- end projects throughout the riding season, but as all Canadians know, those days are precious and better enjoyed riding than wrenching. And as I sit here writing this on an early morning in early November, I’m promised yet another glorious warm and sunny day. So the parts will stay boxed and the tools will stay clean. Winter isn’t quite here yet, but I know it’s coming and a large part of me can’t wait.
MATTHEW NEUNDORF Editor At Large | VICARIOUS
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