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From: Eiron on 7 Apr 2010 16:19
On 07/04/2010 20:07, David T. Ashley wrote:

> Motorcycles are a bit different. It hasn't escaped my notice that if a
> wheel falls off, my life could get a lot worse very quickly.
>
> So, I pay pretty close attention to structural issues. As you might
> remember, I ordered a new rear axle a few years back and had the
> dealership install it just so I could look at the old one.


Are you Datesfat Chicks by any chance?
It's difficult to believe that there are two of you.

--
Eiron.
From: Road Glidin' Don on 7 Apr 2010 16:27
On Apr 7, 2:19 pm, Eiron <E1...(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
> On 07/04/2010 20:07, David T. Ashley wrote:
>
> > Motorcycles are a bit different. It hasn't escaped my notice that if a
> > wheel falls off, my life could get a lot worse very quickly.
>
> > So, I pay pretty close attention to structural issues. As you might
> > remember, I ordered a new rear axle a few years back and had the
> > dealership install it just so I could look at the old one.
>
> Are you Datesfat Chicks by any chance?
> It's difficult to believe that there are two of you.

Yep, you guessed it. Not hard to tell, is it?


From: Road Glidin' Don on 7 Apr 2010 16:32
On Apr 7, 1:07 pm, "David T. Ashley" <dash...(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> "Road Glidin' Don" <d.lan...(a)gmail.com> wrote in messagenews:c1c0188e-3374-465b-890f-85752f44f735(a)5g2000yqj.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> >You need to stop worrying.  Normally, I'd suggest someone like you get
> >a motorcycle and ride it, but that doesn't seem to be helping in your
> >case.
>
> Hi Don,
>
> Surprisingly, my little Honda Shadow is almost due for its 24,000 mile
> maintenance.  I bought it with 1,350 miles on it, so I have done a bit of
> riding.  : )
>
> In all seriousness ...
>
> I don't care much about car maintenance.  I have it done, or course, but
> there are four wheels and if one falls off ... not necessarily a huge deal,
> especially the way I drive (like an old lady).  I do whatever the dealership
> recommends I do, and I don't think about it too much.  I do pay close
> attention to steering and brakes, naturally.
>
> Motorcycles are a bit different.  It hasn't escaped my notice that if a
> wheel falls off, my life could get a lot worse very quickly.
>
> So, I pay pretty close attention to structural issues.  As you might
> remember, I ordered a new rear axle a few years back and had the dealership
> install it just so I could look at the old one.  Between the dealership and
> the helpful posters here, I satisfied myself that the thing was reliable.
> The dealership also assured me that they've never seen an axle break in
> service (although they have seen people strip the threads off them).  Same
> thing with the front axle.  Last time I had tires put on and they had the
> wheel off, I grabbed the front axle, wiped it off, and looked it over very
> carefully (looking for any cracks, mostly).
>
> Whenever I have the trim off near the steering tube, I look over the welds
> very carefully.  (I've also noticed that there are a lot of welds and that
> Honda has welded additional material in there to add strength.)
>
> After I had one of my mishaps (low-sided the motorcycle at low speed in a
> parking lot), I brought it to a dealership and asked if there was anything
> up front that needed to be inspected.  They inquired about the character of
> the mishap and whether I struck anything or just slid the bike for a few
> feet.  The service manager then explained that they are built well enough
> that a low-side slide at parking lot speeds won't do anything (the speeds
> need to be a bit higher or I need to strike something).  I was satisfied
> with his explanation.
>
> So all of the questions in my post are relevant to me ... just curious if I
> ever need to look anything over or how hard I need to whack something ...
>
> I do ride it.  It is just that I'm keenly aware that structural integrity is
> important ...
>
> : )

Well, I know you won't believe this, but (having met your kind before)
the chances of you getting killed on a motorcycle are far, far, FAR
greater than a normal person with his head screwed on straight.


From: Rob Kleinschmidt on 7 Apr 2010 16:36
On Apr 7, 8:35 am, "David T. Ashley" <dash...(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> 2006 Honda Shadow 600 ...
>
> The other day I was maneuvering the motorcycle at the gym (turning it around
> by forward-reverse-forward-reverse-repeat) and nearly ran into a brick wall
> going forward at maybe 1/2 MPH.  I was on the brake at about the same time,
> so I stopped about 1 cm short.  But I thought ... what if I had hit the
> wall?
>
> Other times I've been slow on the brakes and hit a parking stop (those silly
> cement things about 4-6 inches high) at well under 1 MPH.  Essentially I was
> coming to a stop just as the front wheel touched.
>
> Other times I've taken the motorcycle over a curb by positioning the front
> wheel against the curb, standing on the pavement with my but off the seat,
> and then applying power and walking with the bike to get first the front
> wheel then the rear wheel over the curb.
>
> I was just curious about a few points ...
>
> First, what are motorcycle front ends stressed for?  What do you have to do
> to do damage?  My common sense tells me that the activities listed above
> wouldn't do any damage because they don't generate as much stress as braking
> hard and/or hitting a pothole with the front wheel.

You typically damage front ends by running into stuff
at speed. This is a bad riding habit to get into.

You will be able to tell when this happens because you
will notice the impact, the forks will no longer be straight,
the wheel will no longer be round and you will likely have
been catapulted over the front of the motorcycle.

Try to avoid doing this.

> Second, when is it wise to inspect things?  How bad does it have to be
> before you'd want to look at things carefully?

Never ever hurts to inspect things.
> Third, what is the inspection protocol for front ends?  What do you look
> for?

Look for escaping fork oil, looseness or binding in the steering
head bearings, non-smooth operation of the suspension and
blisters or bulges in the tire sidewalls.

> Fourth, is it possible to have invisible damage where you have to remove the
> steering stem and have a look?  Looking at the mechanical system, it looks
> like (because you have upper and lower bearings) that any overstressing
> would get the welds near the steering tube first, then the fork holders
> second, and that you wouldn't succeed in doing invisible damage internally
> where you had to tear things apart.  

For anybody else but you, I'd say there'd be noticeable
symptoms first.

> What goes first?  Can anything be
> invisible?

Almost anything could go first, especially when the
damage is invisible. Beware the unknown evils lurking
in the heart of your motorcycle.

> Sooner or later I will bump something harder than I'd like ... so just
> curious.

When you do, if the worst you have to worry about is
the bike, consider yourself lucky.

>
> Thanks.

From: David T. Ashley on 7 Apr 2010 17:05
"Road Glidin' Don" <d.langkd(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:13e1f7f7-6495-4c1d-ba1b-7ca6964ce7c3(a)z4g2000yqa.googlegroups.com...
>
>Well, I know you won't believe this, but (having met your kind before)
>the chances of you getting killed on a motorcycle are far, far, FAR
>greater than a normal person with his head screwed on straight.

Perhaps I'd agree with you if we could standardize on a definition of
"normal".

Aren't you the guy who has the videos on his website involving a guy wearing
a bearskin and making bear noises?

That may pass for "normal" at the local Tim Horton's, but ...

Here is a video that a "normal" person makes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFs6JsQDkmQ

: )


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