Ducati Recalls 1098 for Engine Stalling Problem

Ducati has issued a recall of certain 2007 1098 models.

On certain motorcycles, the electronic control unit (ECU) ignition timing and idle mixture were improperly set during production causing the engine speed to drop and stall the engine when the temperature of the cooling system exceeded 180F. If the engine stops while the motorcycle is being driven, it could increase the risk of a crash.

1516 units are affected.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Australian Moto-GP tour

No rides at the moment however I preparing to leave in one week for my tour south to Phillip Island, Melbourne, to attend the 2007 Australian round of the Moto-GP.I am in no rush, so I am taking 2 weeks to ride down and back. The journey is the destination for me so I plan to ride no more than 600km per day (easy on a motorcycle) which means I can stop as I please to enjoy the sights along the

Are Motorcycles Safer than Horses?

The old motorcycle helmet debate may be shifting to the equestrian world where many horse riders are being seriously injured since they don't wear helmets or protective apparel. Here's a quote from globeandmail.com:

"Hour-per-hour in the saddle, more riders are seriously injured riding horses than motorcycles.

That is the surprising revelation of a new study from researchers at the University of Calgary.

Equally surprising is that those being hurt and killed are not rookie equestrians but, in large part, veteran riders." -- ANDRÉ PICARD

Read more.

Offer your own comment below.

10 Motorcycle Riders Create Art by Burnout

Last Monday, an unusual art exhibition was held at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York City. It involved 10 motorcycle stunt riders who rode for seven minutes on 288 panels of painted plywood. So much smoke was expected that a special test run was done with smoke machines to confirm that the air would still be breathable. Here's a quote from the New York Times article by Carol Vogel, entitled, "After Test Runs, an Armory Is Ready to Declare, ‘Artists, Start Your Engines’ ."

"Look, it’s going in the right direction,” said Doreen Remen, a founder of the Art Production Fund, a nonprofit organization that presents unusual public art projects. With her co-founder, Yvonne Force Villareal, and the artist Aaron Young she gazed upward with relief as the smoke began filtering out the open windows along the rafters."

At the actual show played to 500 invited guests including members of the Hells Angels, art history was made. Read more.

First summer ride

One of the best views from Beechmont - that few people know about...Phew - what a scorcher today turned out to be - and as usual I struck out with my winter jacket.Actually is wasnt that bad, in the mountains the leather jacket was fine and a mesh jacket may have been too cool. It was really just the afternoon run home where I was hot.I wasn't going to ride, I should be conserving my tyres for

Good Motorcycle rides #39 Binna Burra

Green high country
Binna Burra

I have written briefly about this previously. The Binna Burra road from Beechmont isnt a long one so I have held off on posting it as a stand alone ride having already written about Beechmont which you need to ride to get to here. I didnt want you to think I post up just any old bit of tar.

I have changed my mind today after seeing a good number of motorcycles

Alpinestars Jeans

I am now the owner of a new pair of riding jeans made by Alpinestars.These are not yet available in Australia (well not in Brisbane so far as I know), I ordered them from the USA via ebay. Similar jeans by Draggin cost $199 here, so at $99US these might be good value.The have a lining in them that is not kevlar so they are more comfortable - tear wise however I do not know how this liner

Kate Harrington was the fastest women round the TT course as a sidecar passenger

Well the content just keeps on coming on www.inter-bike.co.uk.

Read journalist Tammy Milsom's interesting article on motorcyclist and side car passenger Kate Harrington who is reputedly the fastest woman around the Isle of Man TT course in a sidecar!

Ride safe!

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

2007 Harley Davidson XL 1200N Nightster road test

"So is it really a new bike of just another variant?"

Read Ian kerr's insightful road test of the new Harley Davidson XL 1200N Nightster on www.inter-bike.co.uk, with a great picture slide show with stunning pictures of this new model from Harley.

Ride safe!

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

Something different

Here is something you won't see everyday.A German bike with an Italian number plate - in Australia.I ventured out yesterday into the northern hinterland again. I was invited by a friend to meet a couple from Italy who were here on their honeymoon and had brought their BMW along!It was a real pleasure to meet and talk with Antonio and Laura. (I hope I have spelling correct) They have just

Two Motorcycle Worlds

This week finds me somewhat between two motorcycle worlds. A few days ago I received the new riding schedule for the 2007-2008 Polar Bear Grand Tour. It’s my job to convert this schedule into something readable on the Polar Bear Grand Tour Web site. Then when the season starts, I take pictures at each run and post them on the site. The season doesn’t start until October 28th, the last Sunday in October. However, over 500 participants will be looking for the new schedule shortly so it’s important that not a lot of time goes by before it’s posted. Unfortunately my wife and I were scheduled to attend a state rally here in NJ for the GWRRA (Gold Wing Road Riders Association) so all work on the schedule stopped.

As I’m thinking about winter riding again with the Polar Bears, I see many riders in the north starting to think about slowing down their riding and putting their bikes away. Of course, most riders will prolong this until riding just gets too cold. The Polar Bears see no benefit in putting their bikes away and so don heavy protective clothing, most opting for electrically heated vests, gloves, pants, and even socks as the temperatures drop into the 40s, 30s, 20s, and lower.

Meanwhile, the GWRRA rally turns out to be a pretty late rally falling this year on September 6-8. That’s after Labor Day so people have stopped thinking about vacations and are now concentrating on school and jobs. That means it’s hard to attract people to attend. Next year, this rally will be held in early August.

The GWRRA gathering we attended was small and most of the participants knew each other. Although the organization is divided into chapters located across the state and nation and even internationally, there is considerable interaction of members among chapters. That makes many GWRRA gatherings seem like family reunions to outsiders. That’s what outsiders have remarked after seeing so much hugging and kissing going on as member couples run into each other at functions. Often it’s difficult to go from point A to point B without getting stopped by other couples for lengthy conversations. After one conversation ends you almost immediately run into another couple which starts another conversation. And so it goes.

Of course, historically, GWRRA tends to attract husband and wife riding couples who ride two-up on the same motorcycle. Lately, however, in the last five or six years, I’ve seen a steady increase in the number of women riding their own bikes. Thus, where ten years ago, almost no GWRRA women rode their own bikes but instead chose to ride pillion, now many GWRRA couples have two bikes, a Gold Wing for the husband and a separate bike (not necessarily a Gold Wing) for the wife. The couple concept remains except one bike has been replaced by two in some cases.

There has also been an increase in the number of riders preferring to ride motorcycle trikes. Again, within GWRRA the Gold Wing motorcycle is the basis for the trike with the rear wheel removed and replaced by two automotive wheels and an automotive rear end. The trike part has extra trunk space needed since the normal saddlebags have been removed. Again, in keeping with the need in some cases for both the husband and wife to ride their own motorcycle, some couples have opted to ride individual trikes. Such is the case for my wife and me.

At these small GWRRA gatherings, the standard rally activities occur such as seminars, bike contests, people games, bike games, organized tours, self-guided tours, vendor sales, light parade, entertainment, and awards dinners. There’s plenty of time for socializing, admiring bikes, and eating too. The gathering we attended was heavy on ice cream, birthday and anniversary cakes, laughter, fun, eating, and picture taking. There wasn’t much drinking except for soda, tea, and coffee. That may be the reason that you won’t find many underweight Wingers. Along with all this socializing, the Wingers are very safety conscious taking skill improvement courses all the time to learn how to be safe on the road.

I’m not giving away any inside stories here. If you want to participate in all this fun, you’ll have to join your local GWRRA chapter and go to a rally on your own. However, what happens at GWRRA gatherings can be pretty tame. It’s certainly family oriented. I saw quite a few children who attended with their parents and even two girls who appeared to be about 9-10 years old who won youngest passengers arriving on a motorcycle.

Now, I’m back from the rally and need to get back working on that Polar Bear schedule. Of course, all 500 of us Polar Bears are continually having to explain to outsiders that we don’t go in the water on New Year’s Day. That’s those “other” Polar Bears.

Polar Bear picture by Walter Kern. Cake picture courtesy of Barbara Malone.

Got any comments about your own motorcycle gatherings? Post them below.

Good Motorcycle rides # 38 Teranora

I have another new excellent riding road to tell you about. A big thanks to the Motorcycle Paradise reader who suggested I look at Hogans Road Terranora. I have no name to credit this to which is unfortunate as this tip very much appreciated.

You could ride this either way but if having come from either Brisbane or Gold Coast then you might best do a loop like this:

Riding down from Numinbah

KYMCO Xciting 500i - Luxury scooter at an affordable price?

Read our latest scooter road test in inter-bikes motorcycle road test section

KYMCO Xciting 500i - Luxury scooter at an affordable price?

Read why with this luxury maxi-scooter you can have your cake and eat it!

Ride safe!

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

Classic Bike Provence

Ever fancied riding a Classic British Bike around the delightful roads of sunny Provence in France. Journalist Ian Kerr has and his evocative article of this amazing motorcycling experinece has just been posted up in inter-bike's touring section.

The article is entitled Classic Bike Provence and contains many stunning photo's of Ian' s rides on the various classic british motorcycles in the stunning Provence countryside. This tour was arranged for Ian by specialist tours provider Classic Bike Provence, should you wish to experience the same delights!

Ride safe!

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

The New Motorcycle Yearbook 3

If you want to know about every new motorcycle on the market then this could be the motorcycle definitive reference book for you. Read Ian Kerr's great review of this new publication on www.inter-bike.co.uk

Ride safe!

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

Quick Saturday Ride

Numinbah ValleyWeather forecast was rain rain rain for Sunday so I went for a quick ride yesterday and yep today not a cloud in the sky.Anyway was a good run again on a Saturday, few cars and no speed traps - bet there are at least 2 cameras and a mobile on the M1 today.I started as always doing the mildly boring ride down the M1. Its not as bad as people make out. I ride from the CBD to