Motorcycle Views

Happy New Year 2017!

Every new year is a blank canvas. I pray that each of you will accomplish much and ride much, while also loving your families, friends, and associates. Fill your canvas with as many new things as possible. Keep learning and contributing to the world. That's what I'll be doing, too.

I expect to finish and publish my memoir, Normal Secrets, this year (first quarter 2017). This will be my fifth book. My first four books all had motorcycle-related content. My memoir does discuss how motorcycles became part of my life, but the memoir is much more. It is a book of secrets that I did not know as I grew up in Normal, Illinois. Secrets were all uncovered after my dad died. I was 54 years old. It would be another seven years before all the secrets were known. This book will be available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback editions. There will be an Audible audiobook edition later. I may be trying some fiction next, only tangentially related to motorcycles.

• Ducati Recalls 2015-2016 Scrambler Motorcycles Since a Side Stand Pivot Nut Can Detach, Potentially Causing the Side Stand Position Sensor To No Longer Function Properly
  

• Yamaha Recalls 2015 XC155F SMAX Scooter For an Insufficiently Clamped Speed Sensor Lead Wire That May Cause the Wire To Fatigue and Break
  

• Suzuki Recalls 2012-2016 DL650 Motorcycles Since the Alternator Stator May Have Insufficient Heat Resistance, Resulting In a Short Circuit Of the Stator Wires
  

• CSC Recalls 2015-2016 Cyclone For Possible Lack Of a Supplemental Label That Reminds the User To Clean the Brake Reservoir Before Adding Brake Fluid and To Use DOT 4 Brake Fluid From a Sealed Container
  

• KTM Recalls 2015-2016 1290 Super Adventure and 2013-2016 1190 Adventure and Adventure R Motorcycles Since the Wiring Harness Can Fray and Contact the ABS Modulator. If the Brake Line Is Electrically Conductive, the Brake Line May Overheat and Melt
  

• Indian Recalls 2014-2017 Chief Classic, Chief Dark Horse, Vintage, Chieftan, Chieftan Dark Horse, Springfield, and Roadmaster Motorcycles Since the Fuel Rail May Contact Other Components and Result In a Fuel Leak
  

I have begun updating my Makes and Models feature with 2017 motorcycle models. In previous newsletters, I have completed: Harley-Davidson, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Kawasaki.

With this newsletter, I have completed the remaining makes and models: Triumph, Ducati, BMW, Indian, Victory, and Zero Electric.

Meet an Expert Motorcycle Mechanic

I just saw an article on my Facebook feed about a motorcycle mechanic who has worked in New York City for many years. His name is Armen Amirian. I had the good fortune to meet him at a rally in Lancaster, PA in 1991 or so. He was quite talkative and seemed to really know a lot about motorcycle maintenance. Well, 25 years have passed and I found him again on Facebook. He was being interviewed by Corinna Mantlo. You can read the interview and, best of all, you can see the 37-minute interview in a video and learn a lot about how to maintain your bike. I watched the complete interview and I think you'll gain a new perspective on maintaining your bike if you watch it too. (I noticed that occasionally the video would stop but the sound continued. If that happens to you, just move the video forward a bit.)

Read the story and watch the video.

I am featuring five (5) of my Motorcycle Terms in each issue of the newsletter.

• Basketcase
• Engine Guards
• M/C
• Scooter
• Touring Bike
  
  
• All Motorcycle Terms

Motorcycle Picture of the Month - January 2017 - 2008 Harley-Davidson Dyna Glide Low Rider:
See the latest Picture of the Month and previous pictures. If you'd like to be considered for Picture of the Month, send me a picture and description of your bike. Submit Picture.

See the latest received pictures by category. (Send me a picture and description of your bike.)



"This is my 1995 Honda Shadow ACE VT1100C2. Some of the accessories . . . more. -- Gordon B"

I wanted you to know that I'm writing a memoir. I started thinking about this more than a year ago and have been writing almost fulltime on it for all of 2016. It covers much of my life and reveals some secrets that almost no one knows about me. In fact, many I didn't even know myself until recently.

You'll also find out how fate changed my course in life many times as I struggled to find out who I was, what I wanted to do, who I would love, how I came to become both a motorcyclist and a moto-journalist, and how I came to become an author in my seventies.

It's a story that begins in the Midwest and spans more than a hundred years. It's my true story and it's almost ready to publish.

I had seven people reading it. So far the reviews have been very favorable. I should have the memoir available on Amazon by the end of the first quarter of 2017. The Audible audiobook version will take longer.

The title of the memoir is Normal Secrets.

The cover is shown below:

I'll have regular updates on the memoir here in the newsletter.

I hope you will take a look at my four motorcycle books, available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.com. These books make great, inexpensive gifts. In fact, you can purchase all four for less than $30 total. I have reduced the price of my four Kindle editions to $0.0 (FREE) IF you also first purchase the corresponding paperback edition. That way you can always have the book with you if you have a tablet or smartphone with you. None of the paperbacks has color pictures in them owing to the high price of producing a book with color. However, every Kindle edition has color pictures, so the Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle and Motorcycle Haiku Poetry Kindle books are in full color.

My latest book (released December 1, 2015), Motorcycle Kick-Starts, also available on Amazon.com in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook (Audible) editions, contains a condensed view of motorcycling for new and returning riders. It's designed to whet your appetite for more while sticking to basic motorcycle information without overpowering you with details. The book starts out telling you what motorcycles are and showing you how you might learn to become an active, safe rider. Then ten short motorcycle stories, written by actual motorcyclists, are presented. These stories allow you to observe some unusual things that happen to people who ride motorcycles. Between stories, some practical advice about motorcycles is given in the form of ten motorcycle How-Tos and ten motorcycle Tips that you will need to know to become a proficient rider. Click the book cover to learn how to buy it on Amazon.com. The Audible audiobook edition is also available for immediate download on iTunes and Audible.

My book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, contains a collection of stories that originally were only available on my website. Fifty of these stories were selected, intensively edited, and compiled into the book. I wrote five of the stories. The book is available on Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook (Audible) editions. Click the book cover to learn how to buy it on Amazon.com. The Audible edition is also available for immediate download on iTunes and Audible.

My book, Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle, was first published in 2011 but only as a Kindle edition. It was revised in 2014 and also made available in a paperback edition. Click the book cover to learn how to buy it on Amazon.com.

My book, Motorcycle Haiku Poetry, also available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle editions, contains haiku poems about motorcycles. Haiku is a simple poem of three lines with five syllables in the first and last lines and seven in the second line. Each of the nearly 60 poems is coupled with a motorcycle picture and description related to the poem. I wrote seven of the haiku poems. Click the book cover to learn how to buy it on Amazon.com.

• Motorcycle Salvage Yards: Where you can find motorcycle parts.
  
• Motorcycle Seat Heights: Lists seat heights by motorcycle make.
  
• Famous Motorcycle Movies: The great motorcycle movies are discussed.
  
• 2016 Motorcycle Models: We give links to major motorcycle model pictures and specifications.
  
• Motorcycle Recalls: Gives all motorcycle recalls for the last ten years by make and year.
  
• Women on Motorcycles: These women ride their own bikes.
  
• 10 Ways to Be Safe on a Motorcycle: This article could save your life.
  
• 10 Motorcycle Myths: There are many myths about riding.
  

I now have a Motorcycle Views Newsletter Archive to store all my newsletters. The archive gives the year, month, day, and subject for each newsletter. Each newsletter contains many links to the Motorcycle Views website. A link to the archive will also be included on the Home page of the site and on the page where users can join the newsletter list.

Visit the Motorcycle Views Newsletter Archive

Are you relying more and more on your cellphone or tablet and less and less on your PC or MAC? Remember that all that great motorcycling information on Motorcycle Views is as near as your cellphone. It's also in a new format designed to fit your portable screen. Check us out anywhere you need motorcycle information.

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Since the last Newsletter, the Polar Bear Grand Tour has completed its eighth run to The Cabin, Freehold, NJ. This was the Christmas Toy Run to benefit the Valerie Fund. Click this link (or the picture) to see some of the pictures as they appear on Facebook.

All the pictures and videos for these runs can be found by clicking the following links:

Montgomeryville - Dec. 4, 2016
Appalachian Brewing Co. - Dec. 11, 2016
The Cabin (Toy Run) - Dec. 18, 2016

The Polar Bears consist of 550 riders from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Delaware, who ride each Sunday to a different prescribed destination where they sign-in and receive points. There is, usually, a restaurant at or near the destination. It gets cold, windy, and snowy on these rides. I've been a Polar Bear member for more than 20 years, and I built and continue to maintain their website.

The picture to the right was taken at The Cabin, Freehold, NJ.

The Motorcycle Views Website is here for you. We encourage you to submit a story, picture, poem, salvage yard recommendation, user review of your own bike, tattoo, YouTube video you made of your bike, motorcycle tip, etc. These will be evaluated for inclusion into one of our major features. Send us a submission today and share part of your motorcycling experience with our many readers. Read how to make a submission.

Thanks again for coming along for the ride in this edition of the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. -- Walter

Please understand that the Motorcycle Views Newsletter is NOT the Motorcycle Views website. The newsletter provides a few links to content on the Motorcycle Views website. Once you click a link in the newsletter, you'll be getting access to content on the Motorcycle Views site.

If you'd like to view any of our past newsletters, just go to the newsletter archives page.

Thanks for signing up for the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. Using this Newsletter, I'll keep you up-to-date with what's going on in the Motorcycle Views Blog, the Motorcycle Views Website, and the Motorcycle Views Forum. Not sure what a blog is? It's like a daily readout of what I'm thinking about, similar to a diary at times. Most often, I'm using mine right now to tell my visitors what has been added to the Motorcycle Views site.

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

The Motorcycle Views Website is also on your Smartphone or Tablet:

Are you relying more and more on your cellphone or tablet and less and less on your PC or MAC? Remember that all that great motorcycling information on Motorcycle Views is as near as your cellphone. It's also in a new format designed to fit your portable screen. Check us out anywhere you need motorcycle information.

END OF NEWSLETTER