********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 09:48:39 -0500 (EST) From: Bill Wagaman To: pc800 Subject: Newbie My name is Mr Bill. I live in eastern PA. I presently do not own a PC but have some riding experience on one. I am presently baby-sitting a 1989 PC for a friend who is getting back surgery. He normally roade his bikes all winter long as compared to putting them in storage in Spring. How he rode during last year's winter I'll never know. Anyway, my"job" is to ride/run the bike at least 1 time per week until warm. My riding experience is limited. I started late in life, age 40. My first bike was a 1985 Suzuki GS550L, my present bike a Honda Helix. The Suzuki was traded in on the Helix, the Helix is 2 years old. Conditions are such that I need a bike bigger, faster and heavier than the Helix. The first time I rode the PC I was amazed at how stable it was on the highway. I am used to the lightweight Helix which reacts to me sneezing. I believe that most of my riding will be local, maybe a long ride of 100miles plus 1 time a year. I find that the bike's weight an asset on the highway but detrimental to local riding. The ergonomics are for the most part excellent. If I were to buy a PC, the stock windshield would have to be exchanged for 1 at least 2" taller. Question. Does anyone else out there have problems with accessing the shift, brake pedals? I would like it better if the pedals were either 0.5-1" longer or were the same length but further out from the body. This really showed up last time I rode with my winter boots which are slightly bulkier than my normal boots. Question. How do you know if the bike needs to have the carbs syncro- nized? Some of my riding was with the bike in high gear and at 2000 rpm. When I wanted to accelerate, it went but seemed to chuff-chuff until it hit 3000 rpm. My Suzuki did the same thing, felt like the bike was fighting itself until I got the carbs synced. Is it that I am lugging the engine at 2000rpm in 5th gear, and should have down shifted? Fuel economy is very good by the way in it's present state, about 50mpg. The bike has 12,000 miles on it and has only needed oil changes so far. Any feedback would be appreciated. My friend will be amazed that I am able to communicate with other PC riders by way of the Internet. (They just got cable TV 2 years ago). I will be buying a new-old bike come springtime. If my friend can continue to ride, which I hope, he will continue to ride on the PC. If not, I have told him several times to make me an offer for the bike. The local rip-off Honda dealership has a 90 PC with 6000 miles on it. It was in beautiful shape. I can only imagine what they are asking for the bike. They tend to put the list price when new on the used bikes. They dicker down from there. Hope to hear from you-all. Mr Bill ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** From: kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu (Kent Polk) Subject: Re: Newbie (from Bill Wagaman ) (at Wed, 04 Jan 1995 09:48:39 -0500 (EST)) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 95 09:33:54 CST To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Hi Bill (Bill Wagaman), in on Jan 04 you wrote: > heavier than the Helix. The first time I rode the PC I was > amazed at how stable it was on the highway. I am used to the However, with all that plastic, the bike gets blown around a bit more in a crosswind than a standard bike. > my riding will be local, maybe a long ride of 100miles plus 1 time Don't worry, you'll be itching to hit the road before long :^) > a year. I find that the bike's weight an asset on the highway but > detrimental to local riding. The ergonomics are for the most part But its very low C.G. more than compensates for it's weight (IMHO) and allows it to handle like a much lighter bike once you get it rolling and up until you get past cruising speeds. > Question. Does anyone else out there have problems with accessing the > shift, brake pedals? I would like it better if the pedals were either The only problem I've had was getting my boot stuck between the shift lever and the pavement. > Question. How do you know if the bike needs to have the carbs syncro- It starts running rough. Further off sync, there will be hesitation when rolling off of idle and it becomes harder to start (as in requires the throttle be opened a bit when starting). I ride about 15k miles a year and sync mine about every 8k-9k miles. Usually the same time I put new tires on it. > rpm. When I wanted to accelerate, it went but seemed to chuff-chuff > until it hit 3000 rpm. My Suzuki did the same thing, felt like the Rpm's are too low - you are lugging the engine and this is hard on the main bearings, etc. The PC is cammed for low-speed torque and will produce power down that low (where most bikes won't). Maybe keep the rpm's above 3k when you accellerate. Less is ok if you don't need any power - i.e. cruising. Kent Polk: Southwest Research Institute Internet : kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 11:20:34 -0500 (EST) From: Bill Wagaman To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Subject: Re: Newbie thanks for the info Mr Bill ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** From: Bryce Ulrich To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Date: Wed, 4 Jan 95 16:19:31 TZ Subject: RE: Newbie <> My bike started doing the same thing and I'm long overdue for a good tune-up. I suspect it's carb synch as well and/or possibly cold weather (just started happening with the cold weather). I noticed the problem tends to go away when the engine is really warm and parked but comes back as the engine cools while riding. I'm scheduled for a tune-up end of the week so I can let you know the results after that and what the mechanic had to say. BTW: I have the problem below 2000rpm. Regarding your Helix: Way cool! I was a scooter rider myself (Elite 250) before getting my PC. There's a great national club called Scoot-Tours that publishes a fun newletter and organizes a national rally every year. Good mechanical and accessory information as well. They can be reached at 314-IC-SCTRS or 217 Meadowbrook Ln. Overland, MO 63114. Several members have PC's and Gold Wings while the spouse rides a Helix so with our without the Helix you'd fit in. Enjoy the cold.... I'm riding in Seattle and have more wet than cold. :) -bryceu --------------------------------------------------- Bryce Ulrich - bryceu@microsoft.com - 206/704-3205 Product Support Engineer: Microsoft Corp. '89 Honda PC800 "Pearl" AMA 332198 HRCA HM711115 --------------------------------------------------- ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** From: kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu (Kent Polk) Subject: RE: Newbie (from Bryce Ulrich ) (at Wed, 4 Jan 95 16:19:31 TZ) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 95 08:57:57 CST To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Hi Bryce (Bryce Ulrich), in <9501050036.AA05711@netmail2.microsoft.com> on Jan 4 you wrote: > weather (just started happening with the cold weather). I noticed the > problem tends to go away when the engine is really warm and parked but > comes back as the engine cools while riding. I'm scheduled for a Definitely needs the carbs sync'ed. Classic indication. Kent Polk: Southwest Research Institute Internet : kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** Date: Fri, 6 Jan 1995 07:49:27 -0500 (EST) From: Bill Wagaman To: pc800 Subject: when do I need a tune-up? Hi When can you tell if a tune-up is in order? What are the symptoms? The PC I am babysitting seems OK but slightly off. It starts easy and seems to run pretty good. What is normally done at the tune-up? New plugs, check carb sync, what else? What kind of time is involved to do this? My friend had his back surgery yesterday and is doing well. He had fusion performed on the lower part of the spine. He will be in a body cast for 3-4 months. He is very lucky in that his son-in law is a surgeon and could recommend the best surgeon on the East coast for his back. I hope he recovers and can ride his PC again. Mr Bill ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** From: kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu (Kent Polk) Subject: Re: when do I need a tune-up? (from Bill Wagaman ) (at Fri, 06 Jan 1995 07:49:27 -0500 (EST)) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 95 08:47:09 CST To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Hi Bill (Bill Wagaman), in on Jan 06 you wrote: > When can you tell if a tune-up is in order? What are the symptoms? > The PC I am babysitting seems OK but slightly off. It starts easy and > seems to run pretty good. What is normally done at the tune-up? > New plugs, check carb sync, what else? What kind of time is involved > to do this? Check the mileage against the mileage checks in the user manual. Make sure those items are done at least as often as the manual recommends. Oil changes a lot more often. Most of the regular maint. can be done at home with fairly simple tools (if that includes a metric socket set) Keep a running log of everything that is done on the bike in the back of the manual, along with the mileage (and possibly date). Keep receipts for all work done on the bike and parts (filters, etc.) in case a warranty item comes up. Especially if you do your own work. (Honda will accept the receipts as a record in place of a dealer record) Plugs on modern (electronic ignition) well maintained engines can last a very long time, so you probably don't need to worry much about them. I usually replace every 25k miles just for the heck of it and because plugs are cheap. I still keep a spare plug in the toolkit, but I think it's been over 15 years since I needed to use a spare plug. IMHO, the main thing you need to be worrying about is fasteners coming loose. I've always found that the best way to discover such problems before they become a real problem is to set aside some time to wash and clean the bike carefully, on a regular basis. Check fasteners as you clean. On the PC this tends to get extended out to about once a month for me :^) :^( Sit. Relax. Enjoy. Observe. Just last month I noticed my trunk was beginning to squeak a bit. Couldn't figure out where it was coming from so I cleaned the bike. Found I had lost one of the trunk cage mounting bolts up underneath the right rear bumper protector. The same bolt on the left side was loose. Kent Polk: Southwest Research Institute Internet : kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** From: kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu (Kent Polk) Subject: Engine mods to the PC800 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 95 09:48:56 CST To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu With 38k miles on the bike, I figure it's time to start wrenching on the PC800 engine... My goal is to get at least 1k more rpm out of the engine. In talks with flat-trackers who race the same basic block (lots of changes) they all agree that the block is seriously overbuilt and with the proper mods, could easily handle another 1k rpm with minimal investment. The race engines they run redline around 11k, which is 2k more than what I'm asking for. There appear to be two main problems: 1) valve springs. 2) fuel starvation above 7200 rpm. (camming, intake, exhaust, etc) Actually 'fuel starvation' is a bad term. Basically, the engine appears to not be able to breathe much above 7200 rpm and has to opened up a bit. Called Two Brothers Racing about what they did on the PC800 they were racing for a while. The guy answering the phone came to work there after the PC experiments, but agreed to check the library for what was done. Will get back later this week. They are also willing to build a pipe. Will get a price later. I told him I wasn't looking to build a sport-bike :^) and he understood that I'm looking for the rpm increase in order to improve throttle steering, which for me appears to require 7k+ rpm operation for adequate control, and is right where the PC engine falls off the curve, making for some rather interesting situations, as Joe Senner (cc'ed) can attest to as he likes to ride behind me for some good laughs :^) I'm hoping to get away with the following: - new valve springs - fit the valves - port and flatten the heads - new exhaust - retune carb Maybe use an ignition computer or FI at a later date... Since the ignition box on the PC *only* drives the ignition, it appears to be good candidate for replacement. New camming appears to require more of an investment than I am willing to shell out at this moment, unless Two Brothers comes up with a much cheaper way to do it. Right now it appears I'd have to completely tear down the engine to perform the appropriate mods. I don't want to go that far and I don't want the bike to be down that long. I really don't want to go further than pulling the heads at this point. --------------------------------- I'm certainly still in the information-gathering stage at this point, but suspect that if I get the right answers for the right price, it'll happen pretty darned soon. Is there anyone else interested in doing something like this? Kent Polk: Southwest Research Institute Internet : kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** To: pc800@tcamc.uh.edu Cc: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Subject: Re: Engine mods to the PC800 Date: Thu, 12 Jan 1995 23:23:24 -0600 From: Jason L Tibbitts III KP> With 38k miles on the bike, I figure it's time to start wrenching on KP> the PC800 engine... Funny, with an auto you'd start thinking about it at 100K, but you'd probably trash it instead and buy a new one. KP> My goal is to get at least 1k more rpm out of the engine. That seems modest. I know nothing about modifying an engine, so I'm curious as to why your goal isn't some arbitrary number of horsepower. KP> Called Two Brothers Racing about what they did on the PC800 they were KP> racing for a while. I've been told that they found that there really wasn't much to be done to hop up the engine, but I never talked to them myself. KP> Will get back later this week. Please let us know what they say. KP> They are also willing to build a pipe. That should be a fun one. Isn't the stock PC pipe the strangest thing? I wonder what benefits a pipe change could possible have. KP> Is there anyone else interested in doing something like this? Unfortunately mine is still too pristine to be messed with. I'm still saving up for some suspension mods and good tires. I would be interested in a new pipe and carb tune if there's any benefit to it. (Or is that the squid way out?). Engine teardowns scare me. --- Jason L. Tibbitts III - tibbs@tcamc.uh.edu - 713/743-8687 - 221SR1 System Admin: Texas Center for Advanced Molecular Computation 1994 PC800 "Kuroneko" DoD# 1723 GM/CS/S d--- -p+ c++++ l++ u+++ e+ m---(++) n--- s/-- h* f+ g+ w+ t- r- y+** ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** From: kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu (Kent Polk) Subject: Re: Engine mods to the PC800 (from Jason L Tibbitts III ) (at Thu, 12 Jan 1995 23:23:24 -0600) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 95 09:11:48 CST To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Hi Jason (Jason L Tibbitts III), in <9501130523.AA00993@tcamc.uh.edu> on Jan 12 you wrote: > Funny, with an auto you'd start thinking about it at 100K, but you'd > probably trash it instead and buy a new one. At 38k miles I've pretty much figured the thing out and have an idea of what I can get away with vs. what I'd like to see. > KP> My goal is to get at least 1k more rpm out of the engine. > > That seems modest. I know nothing about modifying an engine, so I'm > curious as to why your goal isn't some arbitrary number of horsepower. 'Control' is the keyword here :^) Funny thing about the bike and horsepower is that I manage to scoot around on it pretty good. People who ride with me and then ride the bike can't figure out how I get it to act like it has a lot more horsepower than it does. While more horespower can always be nice, I'm more interested in fixing things I'm having trouble with. In particular, throttle steering... The PC engine doesn't flatten out at high-rpm well, causing the rpm range which would normally be used for fine steering control 'at speed' to be very unstable and with little allowance for required changes. This means that you have to *very* carefully determine in advance what maximum speed to take a corner at - allowing for the very small adjustments provided. Well, this gets a little old when other parts of a corner allow it to be taken substantially faster. > I've been told that they found that there really wasn't much to be done to > hop up the engine, I find this very hard to believe. The only difference between the PC engine and the engines that are heavily modified for flat-tracking are the cams, the carbs, and the exhaust. Swap those out and you are ready to start creating a flat-track engine which redlines at 11k rpm... > KP> They are also willing to build a pipe. > > That should be a fun one. Isn't the stock PC pipe the strangest thing? I > wonder what benefits a pipe change could possible have. Honda offers a header for the PC. *If* you are rich enough to be able to afford it. The stock pipe is very restrictive. Opening that up and retuning the carbs should offer a noticable boost in performance, and improve how the engine breaths. If you stay off the throttle, it would probably raise your gas-mileage a teeny bit also. > Unfortunately mine is still too pristine to be messed with. I'm still > saving up for some suspension mods and good tires. I would be interested > in a new pipe and carb tune if there's any benefit to it. (Or is that the > squid way out?). Engine teardowns scare me. I'll let you know about the pipe if something happens. I suspect it would be a good investment. Without stiffer valve springs, I wouldn't trust the stock valve action above the current redline. Remember that I've already floated a lifter on the bike once while below redline... :^( And if I'm going to the trouble of replacing the valve springs, it would be pretty stupid to not go ahead and spend a few more bucks on the ports and valves, since the big money and time would have already been spent getting that far... Kent Polk: Southwest Research Institute Internet : kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** Date: Tue, 17 Jan 95 11:35:40 EST From: m14494%caasd1@MWMGATE1.mitre.org (Michael J White) To: pc800@tcamc.uh.edu Subject: Considering a PC800 Hi. I'm new to the list so please forgive any errors. I'm thinking about a new bike, and I'm strongly considering a PC800. I presently have a 1982 Yamaha Virago 750, which is a great bike, but the PC really appeals to me. I will probably end up with a used PC, so I would appreciate any advice on what to look for, any known problems, information on years of manufacture, colors, etc. Also any leads on where to find a good one for sale. Thanks. Mike White mwhite@mitre.org ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** From: kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu (Kent Polk) Subject: PC800 on www Date: Tue, 17 Jan 95 14:30:24 CST To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Joe Senner has a home page with two different trip reports which included different PC800's. Mine is featured in "The California Joust '94" trip report. http://www.onr.com/user/joe.html Kent Polk: Southwest Research Institute Internet : kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** Date: Tue, 17 Jan 95 16:38:03 EST From: m14494%caasd1@MWMGATE1.mitre.org (Michael J White) To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Subject: Re: PC800 on www Thanks! _______________________________________________________________________________ ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** Subject: PC800 on www From: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu at -smtp- Date: 1/17/95 2:30 PM Joe Senner has a home page with two different trip reports which included different PC800's. Mine is featured in "The California Joust '94" trip report. http://www.onr.com/user/joe.html Kent Polk: Southwest Research Institute Internet : kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** From: Bryce Ulrich To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Date: Tue, 17 Jan 95 15:56:37 TZ Subject: RE: Considering a PC800 Hi Michael, I found a '89 PC800 being advertised in the Seattle area Cycle Trader. The bike is actually at a Honda dealer in Salem, OR. Some of the details: "Pearl white s/teal pinstriping. 6500 miles. Passenger backrest. $3695...." The picture shows a VERY clean looking bike and no apparent damage to the crash bars on the side. Could be a good find.... 503-364-6784 As far as general info on the PC, there's been very few changes to the bike since it first came out. Some fasteners have changed but everything else has been price and color. Pre-90 was Pearl White, then came red/maroon, and >93 is black. Most people on the alias over 5'6" prefer a taller windshield than stock so if your taller you might want to negotiate a taller shield when purchasing. Good luck with your purchase! -bryceu --------------------------------------------------- Bryce Ulrich - bryceu@microsoft.com - 206/704-3205 Product Support Engineer: Microsoft Corp. '89 Honda PC800 "Pearl" AMA 332198 HRCA HM711115 --------------------------------------------------- ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** From: Bryce Ulrich To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Date: Tue, 17 Jan 95 19:49:36 TZ Subject: PC800 body parts available! Hey gang, I found this classified add in the November issue of the Honda Sport Touring Association newsletter. Sorry it's outdated, just picked it up at the Intl. Motorcycle Show in Seattle. "Parts for Sale: 89 PC800; Right side fron upper cowl, $75. Right side lower middle cowl, $50. Stock windshield, $25. New swing arm in box, $75. Please call Dave Evans 203-644-4504." -bryceu --------------------------------------------------- Bryce Ulrich - bryceu@microsoft.com - 206/704-3205 Product Support Engineer: Microsoft Corp. '89 Honda PC800 "Pearl" AMA 332198 HRCA HM711115 --------------------------------------------------- ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** Date: Wed, 18 Jan 95 08:20:12 EST From: m14494%caasd1@MWMGATE1.mitre.org (Michael J White) To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Subject: Re[2]: Considering a PC800 Thanks very much for the info. I'm in the DC area, so Seattle is a bit far afield. On the other hand, the ride home sure would be fun :-) _______________________________________________________________________________ >I found a '89 PC800 being advertised in the Seattle... ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** From: kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu (Kent Polk) Subject: RE: Considering a PC800 (from Bryce Ulrich ) (at Tue, 17 Jan 95 15:56:37 TZ) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 95 08:11:41 CST To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Hi Bryce (Bryce Ulrich), in <9501172358.AA08823@netmail2.microsoft.com> on Jan 17 you wrote: > As far as general info on the PC, there's been very few changes to the > bike since it first came out. Some fasteners have changed but > everything else has been price and color. Pre-90 was Pearl White, then Actually, there were a number of small changes for the '90 model. I used to have a list of them, but can't find it. Kent Polk: Southwest Research Institute Internet : kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** Date: Wed, 18 Jan 1995 09:26:38 -0500 From: GSMcQueen@aol.com To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Subject: Re: Considering a PC800 Mike, I'm sure everybody will let you know that '89 is pearl white, '90 was candy red met. and '94/'95 is black. A nice bike overall Kent will advise on suspension wobbles at insane speeds. Depending on hight and weight you may want more power and windshield. I ride 2 up most of the time on weekend tours and I love mine. It's an '89. Have you had the system send you a back log of mailings and topics? It makes for a good saturday of reading on the PC. Have fun. Greg McQueen HSTA- 5685 SU ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** From: kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu (Kent Polk) Subject: Re: Considering a PC800 (from GSMcQueen@aol.com) (at Wed, 18 Jan 1995 09:26:38 -0500) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 95 08:52:05 CST To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Hi GSMcQueen (GSMcQueen), in <950118092624_5057229@aol.com> on Jan 18 you wrote: > Kent will advise on suspension wobbles at insane speeds. I usually ride at reasonable speeds. I just don't slow down for corners :^) Kent Polk: Southwest Research Institute Internet : kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** From: kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu (Kent Polk) Subject: Engine mods update Date: Wed, 25 Jan 95 15:26:10 CST To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Well, bad news... Two Brothers Racing decided that the improvements they developed for the PC800 included techniques that they currently use and nixed the idea of giving out information regarding them. (as if I'd be competition :^( I did find out who purchased the old stock of Honda racing engines from the late '80's flattrack days. Am investigating... Kent Polk: Southwest Research Institute Internet : kent@eaenki.nde.swri.edu ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** Date: Tue, 31 Jan 1995 21:33:14 -0500 From: NThompso@aol.com To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Subject: Recent sighting. I was browsing the Cycle World area on AOL and did a search on: "Honda Pacific Coast" and found the following article. I think I recognize some of it from Rec.motorcycles. LEANINGS Tipping over By Peter Egan It was an almost-perfect illustration of Egan's First Law of Physics, which is: A falling motorcycle, once in motion, tends to remain in motion unless acted upon by three or four guys who have the presence of mind to drop their beers and streak to the rescue. Here's the scene: Nice summer evening, monthly meeting of the Slimey Crud Motorcycle Gang, this time at the home of our venerated president, Dr. Kenneth Clark, a person of remarkable sanity and clarity of thought, considering he has a PhD in Psychology, a pursuit which has ruined lesser intellects. At least a dozen of us are standing in Dr. Clark's driveway, admiring our bikes and the bikes of others while sipping on the various bottles of dark, heavy, "small label" beers and ales we each bring to these events in our never-ending search for Nirvana, as imagined by Bavarians and British dart players. Up rides long-standing Crud, intrepid muskie fisherman and police officer Mike Puls, who is also our road captain and supplier of huge dead fish for the ritualistic tribal dinners that mark these occasions. Mike is riding his new/used, very red Ducati 907ie, which he has just purchased that very afternoon. This is his first ride on it. We all gawk and admire for a while this new bike, which you will recall has fully enveloping bodywork, like a blood-red Faberge egg on wheels, and one of the nicest engines in all of motorcycling, with a V-Twin exhaust note to match. Soon the admirers are taking short test rides. One of them, who shall remain nameless because it could have happened to any of us (and has), returns from a short ride, attempts to turn around in the driveway while threading his way past other bikes and runs into the dreaded Ducati absence of steering lock. This causes the bike to do its traditional low-speed high-side tip-over. The rider makes a valiant attempt to catch the bike, but of course it's hopeless. The front wheel dollies out from under him and he lays it down in a small explosion of mirror smithereens and splintering, cracking plastic. Owner Mike, who is talking to me at the moment, says quietly, "Oh, no...." The 12 of us who are looking on do nothing, knowing from experience that we will be too late and picturing the futile mess of 12 dropped beer bottles on the concrete driveway. Tipping over, like injury in battle, is a small, personal moment of private hell. No one can undo it. The bill for this brief ballet will be $1100, on a bike that cost $5600 used. Faired-in mirror smashed, three separate body panels crunched, punctured or scraped. Seems an excessive price for such a brief misjudgment; almost as bad as sex in high school. We'll call the above unhappy incident Scene I. Roll the clock back a few months and return with me now to Scene II. It is last spring and we are in the Alps, Editor David Edwards and I, on the Cycle World/Edelweiss GP Euro-Tour with a dozen or more other riders. We are stopped at a gas station somewhere in Austria. David is riding a BMW R100GS-PD, the redoubtable Paris-Dakar Boxer with its 9.3-gallon gas tank. I have been riding a BMW K75S for the past three days, and we agree to switch bikes for the afternoon. I am standing around at the gas station, jawing with an Austrian passerby who speaks excellent English, when I suddenly realize that everyone is fueled, mounted up and leaving. Pulling on my helmet, I jog across the drive and make a kind of Hopalong Cassidy leap into the saddle of the very tall Beemer. I jerk the bike upright off its sidestand, and lo and behold it just keeps going (a falling motorcycle, once in motion...etc.). And going. I put one leg out for support, but the angle is wrong because I'm so high off the ground. The bike crashes to the ground with a sickening thud that can be picked up by anxious seismologists in San Juan Capistrano. Five or six of us and a team of horses manage to get the tall, top-heavy bike back up on its sidestand. It would be nice to have the excuse that the 9.3-gallon gas tank was full, but it was not. Typical of these bikes, David hasn't filled it since yesterday, and it's only about half-full. Maybe I could blame slosh factor, but mostly I've just Bozed-out by trying to be some kind of hotshot. Pride goeth before a fall. Inspecting the Beemer for damage, we discover--nothing. Well, almost nothing. There's a minor blemish in the paint on the crashbar that surrounds the cylinder heads...a small white rough spot on the end of the handgrip rubber...a nearly indiscernible scuff on one turnsignal. Nearly all evidence disappears with a little spit and rubbing with a rag. If it were my own bike, I could shrug it off and forget it, not replacing or repainting a thing. Frankly, I liked the outcome of this latter incident better than the Ducati scenario. Granted, a BMW R100GS is an extreme case in point, because these motorcycles are almost made to be dropped. But with the cost of body panels on fully faired bikes these days (and our subsequent insurance rates), I'm not sure it doesn't make sense to build in at least a modicum of tip-over protection on any bike that has a lot to lose by crashing to the pavement--pure racing machines excepted. Honda's Pacific Coast, with its padded bumpers built into the outer edge of the fairing, is a nice example of what can be done. When you consider the poor odds that any two-wheeled vehicle will remain upright during its many years of service, some constructive bet-hedging is not a bad idea. A little thoughtful engineering might go a long way toward mitigating the effects of Egan's Second Law of Physics, which is: An expensive new motorcycle that belongs to someone else is unstable in direct proportion to the number of people watching. Transmitted: 94-10-11 18:56:45 EDT ********** MESSAGE SEPARATOR ********** To: pc800@sina.tcamc.uh.edu Subject: Re: Recent sighting. From: kent@eaanu.nde.swri.edu (Kent Polk) Date: Tue, 31 Jan 95 20:53:17 CST > LEANINGS Missed it... > Honda's Pacific Coast, with its padded bumpers built into the outer edge of > the fairing, is a nice example of what can be done. When you consider the > poor odds that any two-wheeled vehicle will remain upright during its many > years of service, some constructive bet-hedging is not a bad idea. Think anyone would be impressed to hear that I've bailed out *twice* on my PC800 while it was moving, and only got a few scratches on the replacable bumper protector? One of those times the bike ran off down the embankment through about 10 feet of gravel and down into the grass-filled gully. Took a while to get all the gravel out of all those strange places it managed to find itself, but that was all the damage... -- Kent Polk: kent@eaanu.nde.swri.edu