September 2022

by Gary Klinker

How many of you have asked yourselves, “Where did the summer go?” It seems to go by faster every year. The good thing is that here in Wisconsin we are approaching the best riding of the year. With cooler weather and beautiful rural scenery, it is time to get out and ride a lot before winter sets in. The big thing to remember is that farm machinery is prepared for harvest and will be on the roads, along with the deer moving more. It is a time to be more vigilant while riding.

I know I always get more miles in the Spring before classes start and in the Fall after the training season. Unfortunately, that is why I am forced to replace a back tire that has about 4,000 good miles left on it. For the past few weeks, I have noticed it is losing about 4 pounds of air per week. I gave it a good inspection and found a suspected foreign object in the tire. It was so small I had to spray it with soapy water and watch it. It did not bubble like most tire leaks would. After a time, it was more like a small spot of foam. The metal is probably a smaller diameter than a paper clip. The point here is that without regular tire pressure checks-at least weekly if not before each ride, the tire could have been down by 12 pounds or more in a short time. That is not only dangerous, but also costly. Low tires wear a lot faster, and you all know what they cost. Could I get the metal out and plug the tire? Sure, and it may hold for a long time. However, plugging the tire would also make the hole bigger and if the plug did not hold it could lead to a fast loss of air at speed. Plugging motorcycle tires is never recommended, except to get in off the road. No motorcycle shop would do it for liability reasons and you should not do it for safety reasons. Like I am about to do, bite the bullet and replace it. With several long trips planned for September and October it will be peace of mind. Remember check those tires often!

On the Safe Rider side of things, the season is winding down, so we are already planning for next year. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), whose curriculum we use, has developed another new BRC curriculum. Since I started teaching in 1988, this is about the fifth different curriculum I have worked under. This new one will require a lot of work to re-write brochures and the web pages. Along with that, new certification will be needed for Rider Coaches. On the good side, there may be cost and time savings. I will report more as we get into it more.

For now, get out there and ride and please don’t be one of those completely avoidable single vehicle crashes. Ride your own ride and ride within your limits. I hope to see many of you in Des Moines for Meeting of the Minds and in Shawano for the annual meeting.

Ride Safe,

Gary