I have never seen a bike that is this ugly or cool (I have not decided).  This is Honda’s DN-01.  Inside this odd bike there is a 680cc liquid-cooled engine with a HFT continuously variable, hydromechanical two-mode automatic transmission.  The transmission also has a six-speed manual mode that I can picture it being clunky like an automatic transmission in a car. 

This motorcycle appears to be new for 2009.  I’m looking forward to seeing this bike in person.  From the picture it looks like this bike could be quite comfortable to ride while still giving the sporty bike appearance.  The handle pars appear to be raised and allow the rider to sit fairly upright.  However the windshield does not look like it will do much for a ride who is sitting up.

I can see this bike as being a fairly good motorcycle for touring.

While looking at riding gear at motorcycle superstore, I stumbled upon this Icon backpack.  It is unlike anything I have ever seen before.  The overall concept of having a highly visible riding backpack is a great idea.  I’m going to try to track one of these down in a store where I can take a close look at it, but I’m afraid that Icon did not spend enough time looking into the organization beyond the helmet and face-shield compartments.  When I’m commuting I typically have a computer, pens, paper, power supplies, extra computer cables, phone, books and or files.  I am waiting for someone to make a good riding bag with places for all of that.  I hope this one comes close.  I’ll let you know if I find one in a store.

Sun

day KT and I enjoyed a nice escorted ride through the back roads of southwest-lower Michigan.  The ride was the first annual benefit ride for my college alma mater.  For $25 we received a shirt, free lunch and a nice escorted ride.  And it all the proceeds went to a good cause–architecture missions project fund.

As far as bikes go there was a fairly diverse selection of motorcycles there.  Everything from the Road King, Sportster, Shadow, and Rebel to sport bikes like the GSXR, Hibusa, R6, Katana and CBRs to name a few.  The Kawasaki Ninjas were probably the most popular motorcycle there.  I think of the 25 motorcycles that went there were probably four or five different Ninjas.

The Sheriffs department escorted the ride through the back roads of southwest Michigan.  The rout took us around small inland lakes, through wonderful ripe vineyards, past apple orchards being picked and into corn growing farm country.  We stopped at an ice cream shop called the Hayloft.  Fitting being it was in the middle of farm country.  Good ice cream and a nice place to eat it. 

Returning the sheriffs department lead us buy the Cancer Society’s ride to support cancer research.  That was a larger group of people, probably 100 bikes.  It was fun having the groups going opposing directions on the same road.  There was a lot of waving and honking.

I think you will see another blog post about this ride next year.  The feedback from alumni, students and other community people that went was very positive. 

I just wanted to let everyone know I have not abandoned my blog.  I have been very busy at work and have not done anything motorcycle related in several weeks until yesterday–I rode my bike to work.  I know–­a fascinating, insightful piece of information that I’m sure you could not live with out.  On the upside I have plans for the weekend. 

My college alma mater is holding it’s first annual fundraising ride.  This should be an interesting experience.  KT wants to ride it and it’s for a good cause so if everything works out Sunday evening I should pictures to share.  The proceeds are going to support an orphanage in South America.

That was exactly my reaction while riding on some nice curvy roads in southwest Michigan.  Three small deer crossed my path causing me to slam on the breaks.  Naturally I thought, “Hmm…I’m glad I did not hit them that would hurt.”  Then I wondered how many people actually hit deer.  It turns out that the deer population is growing.  Every eight minutes someone in Michigan hits a deer.  Ouch.  While looking for some information on deer related accidents I found this clip:  www.metacafe.com/watch/2011/deer_vs_motorcycle.   I hope I never end up hitting a deer or any other animal. 

Today’s ride was wonderful despite my pondering the deer.  I suppose it is a good reminder to always wear the protective gear.

I just want to take a moment to encourage everyone riding this holiday weekend to be careful and have a great time.  I hope to get a few miles in, but I’m afraid most of them will be in a car.

I went into bike shop to look at some saddlebags for my bike.  As I was walking in a red bike caught my eye.  It was the Ducati Hypermotard 1100 S.  I’ve seen pictures of this bike before, but it looked so much better in person.

What attracted me to this bike was the cross between an off-road styling and a sport bike.  It has an aggressive, mean look to it and with an 1100 cc engine to back it up I’m sure it’s a great ride. 

If you have ever ridden this bike let us know how you like it.

Over the weekend I had an opportunity to put a few bugs on my new Shoei RF-1000.  Here are some of my observations and opinions. 

What I like…

The RF-1000 is very comfortable.  It is soft and light weight.  The cheek pads are removable for changing and washing.  The quality of the assembly seems to be very good with a lot of attention paid to the details.

While riding the RF-1000 is quite quiet.  I normally ride with earplugs, but around town I don’t feel the same need for earplugs with this helmet.  On the freeway I still prefer the earplugs because wind noise becomes much louder at higher speeds.  I think the noise level of this helmet is largely due to the tight seal that is made when the visor is in the down position. 

The visor is simple to remove and replace.  Shoei sells several visors to fit this helmet.  I’m particular to the silver mirrored visor, but for now I’ll stick with the clear visor.

The chinstrap is padded, a nice feature, but I find that the padding eventually moves to the side of the strap.  I may remove the chinstrap padding if I continue to find that it is always to the side.  I have not experienced any discomfort as a result of the chinstrap padding being off to the side.

The chin curtain and breath guard were both easy to install and latched in nicely.  Once installed, they share a similar fit and finish to the rest of the helmet. 

The bad…

For speeds up to 65 mph this helmet is just fine.  While I was riding at freeway speeds, 70+ mph, I found that this helmet buffeted around allot when I turning my head to the side.  It was even bad enough that I felt I needed to tighten my chinstrap to make sure this helmet was not going to come off.  I could feel lifting of the helmet when I was looking behind and to the side.  While facing forward this helmet was as smooth as I would expect from a good helmet. 

For the most par this helmet is very nice.  I think that buying helmets is a lot like buying a new pair of shoes.  Just as you get them to the perfect fit and comfort it will be time for a new pair.

After returning my Icon Airframe I was still lacking a helmet.  So I set out on a quest to get a new Airframe.  Ryan and I went down to Turn 1 Motor sports in Plymouth, Indiana.  They have one of the largest selections of helmets around here.  Unfortunately they didn’t have my size.  I tried on several other brands of helmets thinking I may be able to find something different than the Airframe.  I ended up bringing home a Shoei RF-1000.

Price wise the Shoei was about $80 more than the Airframe.  But the dealer at Turn 1 said that it is a much better helmet.  From my reading I would concur.  My first impression was the Shoei feels lighter than the Airframe.  Unfortunately I haven’t had enough time in to properly check it out.  I’ll write a complete review of the helmet when I get a few bugs on it.

A few days ago I reported that I had contacted Icon about my Airframe helmet.  I was told I needed to return it to the place of original purchase.  I picked up the helmet at Performance Motor Sports in Holland, Michigan.  Yesterday I took a trip up there to take the helmet back.  I was a little apprehensive thinking this could be a big hassle. 

I was amazed at how easy this process was.  I took the helmet in and they took a look at it.  They instantly found the problem with the cheek pad.  Unfortunately they did not have a replacement helmet in stock so they were going to order one and have it drop-shipped to me.  The helmet was back-ordered from Icon.  I asked if they would refund my money and let me pick up the helmet at another shop that had it in stock.  To my surprise I received a “sure, we can do that.”  That’s what I call service. 

If you are in need of a place with good service I recommend Performance Motor Sports.