Last night I wanted to buy some new bars for my Ninja since they got bent up in the high side I was involved in last week. I instinctively typed “ninja650r.com” to go to my old favorite forum to try and find the old posts I made about the bars I had bought over three years ago.

I was shocked to see that the domain was no longer registered! Well, not incredibly shocked. The previous manager of the forums wasn’t very dedicated. Since then Ninja 650r enthusiasts have moved on to BRP’s Forum who runs a great shop where I bought some replacement parts. Has always been helpful to me with my questions throughout the years. RiderForums.com seems to have a fairly significant section for 650r owners to talk as well.

So ANYWAYS, I don’t really think I should start a new forum, because there is already a wealth of knowledge out there in existing forums, but I didn’t want the domain to go to waste and be bought up and parked. So that leaves me wonder what I should do with Ninja650r.com.

Perhaps it can be a central hub for photos, videos and stories about people’s experiences about their Ninja 650r. I don’t know. I’m in no rush to do anything with it right now. Just going to think it over, but I welcome suggestions from you guys.

What would you like Ninja650r.com to represent?

I took a scary fall off my motorcycle and luckily sustained a minimal amount of injuries. I was doing some maintenance on my Ninja 650r and typically after doing any chain lubing or tension adjusting I take it for a spin around the parking lot in my apartment complex. I took a left turn and the rear wheel spun out to the right. The bike high sided and threw me off the bike like a rag doll. I instinctively stretched my hands out to brace myself, my right knee slammed down, and my chest and followed causing my face to whiplash into the pavement.

This would have been trivial if I was wearing gear because I was traveling around 15MPH. But I wasn’t wearing my gear. This is in fact the only time I don’t wear gear, when riding around the parking lot to see how the bike rides after maintenance. The following video was taking about an hour after the incident:

I hope this serves as a reminder to people about the risks of riding without protective gear. In the spirit of reinforcing the motorcycle safety mantra, “All The Gear All The Time” (ATGATT) I hope this candid video convinces those who think about compromising safety for the sake of comfort.

I am doing much better and healing up pretty quickly. Thank you all for the support and wishes to get better. It’s really been overwhelming.

Ride safe everyone.

I am going to be giving a talk at the Overland Expo this year about video blogging. It will be similar to a talk I gave at the PodcampAZ Conference on “Motorcycle Vlogging” (see videos here if you are curious). The discussion will be more general but naturally there will be an emphasis on motorcycles given my background.

“Overlanding” is what this expo is all about. The people at Overland Journal describe this activity best:

Overlanding is about exploration, rather than conquering obstacles. While the roads and trails we travel might be rough or technically challenging, they are the means to an end, not the goal itself. The goal is to see and learn about our world, whether on a weekend trip 100 miles from home or a 10,000-mile expedition across another continent. The vehicle and equipment can be simple or extravagant - they, too, are simply means to an end. History, wildlife, culture, scenery, self-sufficiency - these are the rewards of overlanding.

You can learn more about overlanding and the philosophy behind it here.

Ted Simon and Lois Pryce will be presenting at the Overland Expo as well. I recently reviewed Ted Simon’s famous book, Jupiter’s Travels which recounts his travels across the world for four years on a Triumph and Lois Pryce gave a great talk last year (see snippet here). I am really excited to meet Ted Simon and see Lois Pryce again.

The expo will be held just south of Tuscon, Arizona in April on the 16th, 17th and 18th. You can register and find out more details at the Overland Expo’s site:

http://ovexpo.com/Details.html

If you are registered, my talks on Video Blogging will be on April 16th at 3:30pm in Seminar Room 2, and again on April 17th at 3:30pm in Seminar Room 2. Hope you can make it!

Here’s a short teaser:

I am sitting in a Volkswagen dealer while I wait for service to be completed on my girlfriend’s car. A bored salesman chats with me sporadically, and I make the mistake of saying, “I don’t own a car”. His eyes light up like I’m fresh meat. For the next ten minutes I try to convince him how much of a motorcycle nut I really am and it goes something like this…

You must miss the AC during the summer months here in Phoenix.

I deal with two months of hell and enjoy the other 10 month of riding. I’m not going to buy a car that I use two months out of the year only.

Pretty dangerous with all these crazy drivers.

I’ve gotten used to them and keep a close eye on other drivers. You just have to maintain your space, be attentive and you’re fine.

You need balance though. Can’t have just a motorcycle.

I find balance in my checking account with the extra cash that isn’t going to a car payment every month.

You only live once though, ya know.

That’s why I bought a second motorcycle

He tried to get me to go on a test drive. He even said he would drive while I continue to play on my laptop, but kept giving him a disinteresting “Nah.” After a while of these games he finally gave up and walked away defeated.

I know he was just doing his job, but I thought it was a funny exchange, and a glimpse into some of the reasons why I prefer motorcycles over cars.

The following post was written about two years ago. I found it in my blog’s drafts and decided to share it after all this time.

A coworker of mine died last Saturday in a motorcycle accident. The rider was traveling too fast while a car made a left turn in front of him. I went to go see where it happened, partly out of respect, but mostly out of morbid curiosity. I saw the road damage before I noticed the street sign. The white dust they thrown down to soak up the oil was still clinging to the asphalt. I walk around the site and noticed broken cable from a turn signal and shards of the plastic fairings. The sight of a broken foot peg, sends chills up my spine.

I’ve been riding for two years now. My worst fear is being lulled into a false sense of security. I read accident reports, statistics and look at gruesome photos from riders involved in crashes to remind myself of the realities. The stories incite sympathy. I analyze the statistics with a detached curiosity and I wince at the photos.

All of those combined didn’t add up to the sight of that snapped foot peg.

Cars making left turns is the single greatest cause of fatal motorcycle accidents. At every intersection you have to scan for this threat among many others. “Does that left turner see me?” “Does the truck behind me see me?” “Does the driver to my left see me?” “Does that kid near the crosswalk see me?” We all take our invisibility pills before you hop on our bikes. Perhaps I never needed one. I’ve felt isolated throughout most of my life. I go unnoticed and blend in throughout the day.

Now my life depends on people acknowledging my existence. You are utterly alone, and the only recognition the world gives you is a head on collision, a side swipe or a rear end.

On the way home from the scene I trail behind traffic and spot a left turner waiting to make his move. As the last car passes he accelerates quickly and he whips a U turn as I rock on the throttle and swerve to the right. Not a close call, but I make sure it didn’t turn into one. After every close call I don’t feel angry anymore. To be angry implies that it should have been otherwise, but wishing it wasn’t so won’t save you from all the negligent drivers on the road. Instead I smile and congratulate myself on another successful maneuver and then scold myself for not doing better so I don’t lull myself into a false sense of security.

After looking at this entry my perspective two years ago seems foreign to me. At least now a days I can say that I’m not as negative and don’t feel as disconnected and defensive about the world and my fellow drivers. We’re all out there trying to survive in one way or another.