What a beautiful bike! I ran across this on a Triumph Bobber website I hadn’t come across before. In my humble opinion, this is one of the most elegant, and beautiful Triumph Bobbers I’ve seen. Good job guys!
Here’s a link to the Falcon Motorcycles gallery for The Kestrel:
http://www.falconmotorcycles.com/gallery/2-The%20Kestrel%20.html#0
I ride my bike to work nearly every weekday. I say this with the confidence that comes from learning to live with a single car and a motorcycle to share between my wife and myself. The car is hers, she can have it. My Buell is mine, and she can ride on the back whenever she wants to.
Since we moved to Dallas, TX back in April of 2010, I’ve only had the bike to commute on, so when it rains, or ices (contrary to what Texans say, it does not snow, it rains ice that sort of, but not completely resembles snow), I either work from home, borrow the car (which she rarely allows… yeah, so I’m whipped), or her and the boy will drop me at work, and pick me up in the evening.
That said, we’ve reviewed the number of days I’ve not ridden, and we’re quite certain it’s less than 20 days in the past year and a half. To say it again, in roughly 380 possible days of riding (figuring in vacations, etc.) I’ve ridden 360 of them. To me, that says a ton about how good the weather is down here! It also says that anyone who really wants to ride can’t use weather as an excuse down here… there’s only been one day when I really got soaked, and I simply planned ahead for it.
Having ridden nearly every day for the past year and a half, I’ve seen the good side of it (haven’t spent more than $11/week on gas!) and the bad (is it bad when your legs burn because you’re riding 15 miles at 26 degrees, with just jeans on?). The only things that I now think are mandatory for doing this, are:
A few more items that I suspect would make the riding much more pleasant:
And there you have it… my list of what I’ve found to be essential to make riding everyday possible, and even enjoyable.
What would you add to the list? Any specific gear suggestions?
A guest post by Brian Turner:
The nostalgia and romance of a vintage car are like nothing else. They speak of times that were simpler and more family oriented. They remind us of the Big Band era, highways that were not so crowded, and cleaner air.They take a person back to all that was good about living in a certain time and place.
Finding and restoring those treasured old cars can make a great hobby, or even a respectable income. But caution is advised. Much has been learned about the safety of substances since these old beauties were designed and produced. Some of the materials found hidden in their workings can prove deadly if not handled with sufficient care.
Chief among the hazardous materials is asbestos, which is known to cause mesothelioma, a highly aggressive form of cancer. The brake pads, drums and clutch plates of old cars were lined with this heat-resistant material. Normal use causes the asbestos to flake off and form dust found in the wheels and brake pads. Other parts that could contain asbestos include hood liners, gaskets, valve rings, and valve stem packing. Wear an appropriate filtration mask and handle any dust with care.
Another potentially lethal substance commonly found in older cars is lead. This was used on electrical connections and batteries, in soldered joints, and in bodywork repairs. Lead is associated with brain and kidney damage, nervous system problems, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and reproductive problems. Lead is released as dust when restorers sand the car body.
Older paints used on cars contained lead chromate and a variety of other toxic materials. Cadmium, which was used to produce yellow paint, can quickly prove fatal to a person who unsuspectingly inhales the substance when working on restoration projects.
Vintage cars with high mileage have also accumulated a highly toxic coating of grease, oil and dirt around the axles, drive shafts, engines and transmissions. Among the deadly substances to be found there are phenol residues, which are readily absorbed through the skin. For this reason, it is extremely important to wear latex gloves when working around old automobiles.
When restoring an old car, it is imperative to wear proper filters to protect the lungs from inhalation of asbestos and several other chemicals. A simple dust mask is not sufficient protection. Vinyl gloves will also help to prevent health consequences.
A classic vehicle is a grand old lady. Treat her with respect and care, and know how to protect your health while working with her. She’s well worth the trouble, and so are you.
Brian Turner is a staff contributor to the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog where he posts about the cancer risks that toxins such as asbestos pose. He is a hot rod, and muscle car enthusiast, and researches and writes about the inherent toxic hazards in automobiles. You can read more from him here.
Merry Christmas! I’m enjoying the evening, doing some coding, and wanted to announce, formally, a new project site I’m launching.
Delicious, the social bookmarking website? sunset-ed by Yahoo!, who purchased it back in 2005. I’ve been using it for storing by bookmarks across computers (i.e. my home, and work computers) since early 2006, and think it was an outstanding service. However, with this announcement, and the uncertainty that follows, I decided I could build a simple, and better bookmarking tool. Thus, I’m announcing liink.it, a better bookmarking site.
To get an account, go to the site, and post your first link, or grab the firefox, or chrome extension (chrome extension donated by Dan Johnson, a great guy!), and add a link there. Read more on the about page.
Shameless(ful?) self-promotion… if you have a Brick and Mortar store, or have need for people to find you in the physical world, it would be worth your while to go over to www.pointerra.com and sign up for updates! Coming in the next weeks/months is a new tool for businesses (and events, groups, etc.) to easily help their customers find them in the physical world. Sign up now, and get an early invite to try the service out!
What with winter slowly approaching, I’m beginning to think about how the weather differs each day, from Minnesota. I don’t think we’ve ha our first frost here yet, whereas in MN it probably happened around the end of September!
We’re still loving it down here!
