photographyrich1965

[photographyrich1965]

War Pig

Have you ever looked through the modern day version of Little Nickel, i.e. FB Marketplace, with no ill intent. only a benign plan to kill a few minutes until lunch break is over or the ten hour workday draws to a close ?

Recently happened to me. my daisy fresh coworkers scanned away as I mentally willed the minute hand to eclipse 5:24 on the old Kronos. right around 5:16 I spotted a bike that'd been very much on my "own one day" roster - a Harley Davidson XR1200.

Harley does one type of motorcycle, the cruiser, extremely well. when they venture out of their box and try to compete against other genres..., well it's often a hard hit in the sales numbers. the XR1200 was an attempt in the late aughts to attract some of those sweet sweet Euro's the go-fasters of European lineage seem to eat up.

there's one type of racing Harley Davidson's have long dominated, dirt track racing. their XR750 has been many many winners weapon of choice. has to do with the way the V-twin's power pulses connect with the hard packed dirt, the ease with which the bikes handle, and other variables my shallow pool of dirt track knowledge has long drained. suffice to say, Harley figured, "why not design a fast (for a the type) street version of our race bike, using parts bin technology - most notably, the stodgy old Sportster engine filled with go fast goodies from the Harley owned, and killed, Buell.

All this probably looked good on paper. In reality the XR absolutely sucked eggs compared to any of the Japanese or Italian offerings. the Sportster engine is, after all, extremely antiquated technology. a Sean Connery James Bond in a lean and buff, steroid enhanced modern world. Where the Japanese motorcycles are smooth and mild mannered until they howl past 10K rpm, the XR vibrates too and fro at rest, followed by an a fussy pull off idle, then rocket like midrange that wants nothing more than to punt you into the side of the Explorer across the intersection.

The bikes redline, 7.5K, is nothing to write home about for anything other than a Harley V-twin. like granny on your fixie in San Fran, you expect to see parts spread down the highway once the shrieking stops. 70 mph is a relatively busy 4K rpm. this is a bike you ride with a full face helmet and earplugs, trusting the dialed down cacophony and Harley's engineers to hold together.

If this sounds like a whole lot of lame, stay tuned for part two where I'll tell you why the XR is so appealing, and why it's an especially good fit for crusty old me :-)

[photographyrich1965]

balance

Les and I’ve been talking about building a large garage/shop at the end of the house where my small, 2/3′s garage is now.

IDK, seemed like a great idea at the time but the more it rattles around my brain the more I picture a large monthly expense bundled with a whole lot of expectation to make the change worthwhile.  

The current shop is cramped, fairly disorganized, and full to the brim of metal working tools - yet there’s a fluid cohesiveness I find appealing.  a cloistering comfort that I can tap and manipulate into results bigger than expected.  

Think I’ll save the money and work to optimized the space I have.  Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in an itty bitty living space ;-)

[photographyrich1965]

a tale of two Harleys

it’s hard not to be impressed how well Harley’s managed to adapt their bikes to ever tightening emission and noise requirements.  the sparkling new 2023 models were released a few days ago, and the model closest to my 1996 Dyna Lowrider looks like a close relation if not direct offspring.

but boy howdy, these things are pushing 50-60 grand !  whatever “working man” ethos the mother ship in Milwaukee clings to ain’t nothing but lip service.  yes, my five grand’s been supplement with several more to arrive at dependable and comfortable - still five times less than a new one and I’d argue just as much fun.  more fun, actually.  the nineties Evo engines weren’t powerhouses, yet they’re known for being some of the most dependable and best sounding V-twins this side of a knucklehead. 

HD motorcycles really are unique.  a much different experience than any other bike I’ve had.  whatever cosmic force steered me to Craigslist one particular day last March knew that going in, just kinda odd they knew what was in my bank account as well. 

[photographyrich1965]

timing

I’m suffering from a bad case of “time-is-right-itis”.  not so much procrastination or laziness, more of a persistent scheduling snafu that punts things like blogging, easy house projects, and other second tier projects to a perpetual inert purgatory.  

in my energetic morning state it’s much more appealing to play with cars or motorcycles, planning to do other things later in the day - when darkness or cold preclude more quality time in the garage or outside.  once I land at “later in the day” I’m depleted and most anything is daunting.

I need to work on jumping into tasks the moment they cross my mind.  if I’ve learned anything about morning Rich, he promises a lot more than he can deliver. 

[photographyrich1965]

first of the year FAQ

Since I’ve been gone so long it makes sense to have a little Q/A session.  so here goes....

why haven’t you been posting for oh, like a year ?

blogging became kind of a chore.  just wasn’t feeling it and my entries were lazy and far apart.  for whatever reason I’d lost that mischievous bent and odd cadence that characterized my early posts.  Tumblr became a place to vent about politics and current events - boring even myself as I wrote more for personal therapy than public consumption.

so you feel differently now ?

I do.  my life’s settled into a pattern I’ve been enjoying very much.  whatever demon’s being battled are mostly slayed and my focus is narrowed into things I can control, leaving the heavy lifting of generalized worry at the doorstep.

what are you focused on then ?

for many years my only hobby was photography.  it reached the point where I was taking pictures of the same stuff week after week, occasionally switching cameras for a change of pace.  ultimately this proved unsatisfying.  

...this changed when project cars re-entered my life.  following soon after, motorcycles.  I’d enjoyed working on this stuff back in the day, gradually deciding I was too old, or mature, or whatever to modify or fix cars on my own. one day, in a moment of clarity, it became clear the process of working in the garage held the same cathartic properties as photography afforded me in the beginning.  every weekend you can find me welding, grinding, and banging away in the garage with a little motorcycle ride sprinkled in between.

how about religion, relationships, and the controversial ?

in my mind, it’s all settled science.  as I get older it’s more and more clear ya gotta do whatever gets you through the day.  not my place to sway anyone, and you really can’t.  we’re pretty much fully baked - a waste of time and breath to think otherwise.

Les and my marriage has been open for over ten years.  it still works great, our relationship is closer than ever.  she spends a few days a week at Michaels while I remain happily “secondary less”.  whatever I needed to prove to myself or experience was accomplished long ago.  suffice to say the topic is far from the top of my mind these days.

so what can we look forward to here ?

writing and photography with an occasional motorsport flavor.  the break was much needed but I’ve been ready to dive back in for several weeks.  there wasn’t going to be a better time than now, new year’s, so here I am.  as always thanks for reading !

[photographyrich1965]

Happy New Year ! This is as good a time as any to start anew posting on my long abandoned Tumblr. Don’t forget to dance, dance, dance.

[photographyrich1965]

electric Ave

have to admit it, I’m guilty of cognitive dissonance when it comes to cars, global warming, alternative fuels... though if you’re aware of your cognitive dissonance is that really what it is ?

I’m conflicted - there, that’s a more apt description.  you see, I really love cars, motorcycles, and things that go.  a desire that lay dormant until Connor and my musical Subari with the old XT.  in the last four or five years I’ve made up for the mechanical inactivity of the previous twenty.  wrenching, welding, tuning, and whatever trouble I can unearth in the confines of the garage or infinite stimuli of the internets.

yet I know there’s a cost to this hobby.  a run around the countryside on the Harley is therapeutic and enjoyable, but it doesn’t do a thing to mitigate my share of the emission pie - thin though that slice may be.  and it’s only a matter off time before the internal combustion engine, ICE for short, is removed from the new vehicle market, eventually regulated away completely.

so what then for an avid enthusiast ?  well I’m not convinced there isn’t enjoyment to be wrung from Volts and Amps.  recently replacing quality ICE yard equipment with comparably powerful rechargeable variants has given me a glimpse of renewable energy upsides.  namely a quiet, effortless sort of power and the satisfaction of simply pressing a button to commence blades spinning and lines whipping.  the onerous cold starts and gelled gas a thing of the past.  who knew tossing gas cans could feel so liberating ?!

but still, where the much needed serotonin from planning, fabricating, and implementation ?  glad you asked.  I have a mostly nice Subaru SVX just about to need a transmission replacement.  the canary’s in the coal mine and he’s gagging and coughing.  up until a few short hours ago I’d planned to find a manual replacement for the problematic automatics.  the transplant no small feat as this particular sports car wasn’t available with a factory five speed.  

since I’ll be engineering solutions and forging paths, why not sharpen the machete and gut the entire drivetrain in favor of batteries, motors, and controllers.  from reading forums and watching the YouTube it’s entirely doable. right now the electric conversion market is a toddler than just learned to walk and found his dad’s half empty snifter of scotch.  a Wild West amalgamation of parts and ideas that are only limited by the ratio of weight to performance divided by cubic dollars.  

if I eventually make sense of it and proceed I’ll have a unique car that’s future proof, virtually maintenance free, and faster than the stock iteration.  not to mention the fun I’ll have tearing it down to it’s bones.  

here’s to joyrides on motorcycles, carbon neutral during the week.  may the conflicted mind soon settle.  

[photographyrich1965]

birthday

turned 57 today.  well, I think.  there’s bit of selective memory going on concerning my age.  not so much dreading each passing year, more like it’s pretty irrelevant once the milestones of youth have passed... although I do find a certain benign interest in the quality of the year compared to the classification of numeral. 

by this baseless logic, I determined prime years were doomed to be lame.  and as the divisors increased so would my fortunes.  high hopes for 55 turned on their head as covid continued its wet blanket like ways.  56 was nice - seeing me turn the “all out of f*cks” to eleven and get back to motorcycling.

born in ‘96 Dyna turned 26.  hope it’s a good year for her as to a large extent, our fortunes walk hand.

[photographyrich1965]

Patriot Shames

Can you imagine being a fourth grader, all of what 10 years old ?, hunkered down among dead classmates - limbs severed and entrails spilling from gaping holes in their slender torsos.  Beyond terrified, you phone 911, quietly pleading for officers to storm the school and stop the carnage.

It never happens.  Oh, the SWAT team is right outside.  A SWAT team that interestingly enough makes up forty percent of the town of 16,000′s yearly budget.  They remain outside for over 45 minutes, keeping hysterical parents in line as occasional gunfire kills more of their kids, waiting for the janitor to bring a key(!).

Let’s analyze this for a moment.  This SWAT team had practiced this situation in the very same school weeks earlier.  And what SWAT team ever doesn’t love to blast through doors, hell they do it all the time if there’s an innocent black man on the other side.  Oddly enough a few police did broach the school’s walls - rescuing their own children.  When you hear the (highly exaggerated) far left “defund the police” mantra, this is the situation of which they speak.  Ultimately a border patrol agent crossed the barrier, ran into the school, and shot the shooter.

The Grand Old Party (of the firearm), increasingly bored of offering “thoughts and prayers” had no time to text anyway - the NRA’s firearm mass... er, convention was days away.  Interestingly enough, only a few hundred miles from the latest slaughter.  

What crazy reality are we in were we allow this to happen ?  Other countries, after one mass casualty event, quickly decided “fuck no” - gathering and destroying weapons that no hunter in any universe have use for.  

I suppose you can’t destroy what you worship.  In the good ol’ USA that’s the gun.  it’s more important than the sanctity of life.  Well to some.  Seems around eighty percent of Americans are fine with laws curtailing the sale of automatic firearms, and I’d imagine not too many fewer perfectly ok with adopting an Australia type ban entirely.  

Yet the Republican’s, this chunk of population that's gamed the Supreme Court and can’t wait to save unborn baby’s lives, considers kids outside the womb expendable.  “The cost of freedom” they tout.  Yeah, freedom to keep receiving kickbacks from arms manufacturers, freedom to keep the kool aid drinking masses terrified of criminal immigrants and government overreach.

it’s not the kind of freedom I want.  When you can be killed at the mall, movie theater, casino, concert, church, and most likely of all, school..., well that’s not freedom at all, just a shameful reflection of a broken country.

[photographyrich1965]

the unrelenting march of time

its been four months and a handful of weeks since I’ve posted.  not only that, but its occurred to me I’ve never posted a thing about our Mexico trip - my first foray onto foreign soil, less the unimpressive neighboring Canada.

not that things haven’t been happening.  on the contraire, I’ve been busy puttering on what's turned into two motorcycles, hanging with family and friends, and mostly throwing people into the tube at work.

you’ll notice “taking pictures” and “writing” are absent... immediately before the Mexico trip I’d formed the idea my current cameras were wholly inadequate size wise, and needed replaced with a smaller system.  the thought wasn’t well formed, but I rode the crippled pony out of the barn - selling what I had to finance pretty much the very same thing in a smaller format at greater cost.  

to be fair, the new system worked great on the trip and keeps working great when I find time to give it a chance... hmm, lets correct that, when I decide to give it a chance.  I’m tired of chasing a magical elixir for photographic excellence, refusing to let myself sell yet another perfectly fine system at great loss to re-acquire the tools of days gone by.

so the last two months I’ve aimed the Subaru towards fall splendor only to have enthusiasm wane while passing the nearest Starbucks.  I beat myself up about a lot of things, this wasn’t one.  patience the motto of the day - I’d nary taken a picture until the bug bit hard in the early ought’s.  it would either flare up or I’d live my life pursuing other hobbies.

it proved a solid plan as the hankering has breeched the surface of my apathetic baseline.  happily for the blog, this newfound enthusiasm brought writing along for the ride.  I’ll try to pump life into this comatose web address.  if you’re one of my stalwart readers, thanks again for your patience and dedication.  hopefully saving the bookmark proves to be a fortuitous choice ;-)  

[photographyrich1965]

basso

the special edition Stornello comes (came) equipped with an aftermarket Arrow exhaust.  louder than factory pipes, I wasn’t completely happy with the tone... more of a putt than rumble.

to solve this acoustic dilemma the internet was consulted and soon a two inch hole saw excised the dread “decibel killer” from the muffler’s tip.  an aural circumcision if you will.  

my elation at the newfound rumble was tempered after the shakedown ride rattled windows, shattered crystal, and instilled a certain shame inside as I bleated around on a not quite Harley in heat.  I’d have to find a compromise.

my solution to slightly modify the small, perforated section of pipe that acted as a secondary sound wave diffuser.  less length and more holes resulted in a deep but tolerable note.  the trick now to anchor this insert, previously welded, into the muffler’s outlet.  after a lot of thinking and no good answers, I simply jammed it in the orifice, finding a firm friction fit.

sadly, on the shakedown ride my more gentile tone gradually rose back to the brutal bark.  seems my lady the Guzzi shot the piece of exhaust from her tailpipe like a poisoned dart in the savannah.  hopefully it’s not adorning some plebe’s Corolla grill.

back to the drawing board, and hardware store.  I may be down - I’m not out.

[photographyrich1965]

Moto Guzzi

Connor and I drove to Lacy this morning to pick up an especially nice 2016 Stornello.  it’s a middle weight Italian V-twin that has the tiniest of off-road aspirations.  mostly too heavy and short sprung to be more than a gravel road bike, conversely smooth and comfortable on the street.

I rode the bike back from the dealer, getting my share of traffic, road construction, and all things other than the twisty country roads that make biking fun.  once underway my nerves settled right down.  honing my chops on the fussier Ducati every weekend kept this mornings ride on the boring side of the clenched bun’s scale.  my psyche remained healthy - not so much the left hand as stop and go traffic gave the old clutch fingers a solid workout.

why two bikes ?  no real reason... why two kids, why two cats, why two flatscreens ?  one bike is lonely in the garage, two bikes serve up a delicious dish of variety.  The Ducati is a business jet to the Guzzi’s Beach Staggerwing, all quivering, gurgling, and popping.

of course the largest slice of piechart, to give Connor something to learn on and  perhaps road trip together.  

...and while it hasn’t been said out loud, I’m well aware there’s an element of danger that can’t be completely mitigated.  the thought of my kids getting hurt or worse is unbearable, but keep in mind this is a independent soul that loves rock climbing and snowboarding - both fractionally dangerous pursuits.  and, like myself, someday he’ll run across a motorcycle - whether or not I’m involved.

I’m doing my best to introduce him to the sport in a measured, intelligent way.  it stands to reason a foundation of knowledge and nurtured skills will give him a fighting chance to experience a wonderful hobby safely - life is risky, insert whatever cliche you’d like, I won’t natter on any longer... another hot Italian beckons from the garage.  who am I to deny her ?   

[photographyrich1965]

coming or going

an idea sprung into my little birdbrain, if one reasonably priced motorcycle is fun, maybe two would be twice the fun.  I mean it still falls far short, price wise,  of any new car.  like one third the price of a cheapo sedan.

since I have a lear jet in Raquel the Ducati, why not a piper cub for putting around the gravel backroads.  the India sourced Royal Enfield (top) has a strong YouTube following as an inexpensive, fun, adventure tractor.  in England they're more popular than crumpets and tea.

being a new model, and 4995.00 factory fresh, I almost put down a deposit today... before any promises were made via text I braved onerous Greenlake traffic to speak with my man Kevin in person at the dealership.  

good thing I did - as peeling back the veneer of vagueness to expose the fees below was, to put it mildly, shocking as f@ck.  before tax and license I was looking at another 1500 of freight, assembly, and assorted miscellaneous wallet thinners.  no way.  the motorcycle must be one of the few widgets that’s advertised at prices you’ll never pay in the flesh.

kinda irritated me, but that’s ok.  if new motorcycles are a crazy ripoff, used bikes are just as deranged in the opposite direction.  so many clean, barely ridden machines at great prices.

I still can’t believe how far Harley has fallen in the supply / demand curve.  the HD “Deuce” (second picture) is a premium factory custom that bumped 20 large a few years ago.  found three or four on Craigslist that live in the 5-6000 range.  very tempting to buy one as a taste of the cruiser life and possibly a future collectable.

but whatever.  my little brush with overt fee reality burst the second bike bubble.  I’d do well to wait a month or three and see if this “reunited and it feels so good” moment lasts - or if it’s simply two wheeled NRE.  once motorcycle compatible weather gives way to rainy Seattle reality those craigslist deals might transcend good to great.  

[photographyrich1965]

Ducatista

bwaaap, click, bwaaap.... two speeds in, I’ve no idea the redline.  not that it really matters on a vehicle that’ll do 70 miles per hour in second gear.

things I need to research about my bike range from trivial - how do I reset the trip odometer - to the more weighty specs.  the above mentioned redline, what the tire pressure should be, oil change intervals... 

it’s not surprising the details are gauzy as an October morning.  I did a piss poor job researching the Duc’s nuances before promising the wife and BECU I’d be good for the IOU - hell, I was extremely relieved to find the 2005 bike has fuel injection thusly saved from the sticky butterflies and onerous synchronization sessions dictated by dual carburetors.

not that I’m a total newb - in my former motorcycle crazed life I lusted heartily for a bike with the Ducati’s torque laden V-twin.  take the rumble of a Harley, mix it with the power and quick revving nature of a four cylinder Japanese sport bike, and you have the sweetest spot of any Venn diagram.  

the ST2-3-4 series of Ducati bikes is the “they and them” of the motorcycle world.  it knows what it wants to be, buyers were never quite so sure - high performing sports bike or touring steed ?  since the Italian marque was often purchased more for bragging rights than real word transportation the speediest of the speedsters - the almighty 916 found homes in tiled garages and well to do man-caves as the ST brethren languished on the showroom floors.  this stifled demand allows a pleb like me to find a reasonably cheap cherry,  nurtured and fed by a conscientious dude slightly older than myself.  

three days, three morning rides.  each ride I learn to release the tension from my back and shoulders, two decades removed, ancient reflexes refill the yawning chasm of anxiety.  I’m learning to relax.  what was a burning neck Saturday morn, becomes a slight tingle by Monday.  let the suspension absorb the bumps and relax against the buffeting wind.  

sixty and seventy are nothing for the Duc.  just like work, micromanaging gets me nowhere.  

[photographyrich1965]

rattle and hum

Connor and I found the Duc in a far away berg close to Portland.  like Auburn is close to Seattle.  almost at our destination, we drove through the oddest little river crossing.  an old industrial building, large in scale, lay sinking into the bank - like so much rotting wood intertwined with hearty vegetation.  Connor described it best, as an upside down island.

as expected from pictures, correspondence, and gut feeling, the bike was nearly perfect.  I hadn’t expected it to seem so large.  twenty years away from two wheels diminished the size of a modern street bike in my minds eye.

between the beautiful condition and intimidating stature I did some serious stalling before taking it from the garage for anything other than a quick around the block.  didn’t help the first weekend was unseasonably rainy while the next was, as Molly so delightfully described it, hotter than the devil’s a-hole.

years ago I would’ve been out in anything other than a monsoon or lava flow.  recalling this enthusiasm I decided the eighty degree morning sun was plenty tolerable and suited up for a ride East around my old hunting grounds.

once I relaxed and let muscle memory take over it was a great ride.  back in the day I waved at everyone except Harley and Goldwing riders as they seldom returned the gesture.  so excited to be back on two wheels I waved at everyone, no exceptions.  most waved back, my bike might not’ve been up to their standards, my enthusiasm was.

[photographyrich1965]

rebound

how long has it been since I’ve posted ?  the last comment, by my wonderful friend and dedicated follower of all things online - Shanna, was over a month and a half ago.  

since then each and every shooting synapse of blog inspiration was quickly followed by a thorough dousing from a galactic fire extinguisher of apathy... until tonight.  the idea of grabbing the laptop and slapping up a post not only seemed doable, darn if it’s not proving to be fun.

no surprise to family and IG friends, the big news in June, I bought myself a motorcycle.  wouldn’t say it’s a midlife crisis, that ship did the full Edmond’s Fitzgerald for the better part of ten years.  nor am I looking to recapture the sparkling drink of youth.

no, honestly I just really like the machines and wind in the face freedom... and the fact you can buy the Italian sports car of motorcycles for the tariff of a midrange mountain bike.

the Duc - what us in the club call Ducati motorcycles, sits in the garage patiently waiting to explore the backroads of Snoqualmie Valley, and a little later (hopefully) the roads down South.  In the meantime I’m content to have a nice piece of garage jewelry !

[photographyrich1965]

wrecked

the Lynnwood Pick and Pull on a drizzly May first.  Connor was looking for “less worn” pieces for his old Subaru.  Andy and I were thinking and dreaming.  hard to believe all these war torn refugees once new and desirable.

I’ve a few things to look forward to this week; finally bought a new iMac laptop to augment, scratch that, replace my sad old desktop.  as usual, the spiffy new Apple hardware is intuitive and satisfying... I processed these pictures and posted this blog moments after powering up.  hardest part remembering the myriad passwords.

being all mobile and stuff, I’ll be able to download and blog on a mini road trip coming up this week.  originally planned to be a four corners of Washington it’s being circumcised to three and a half.  one of my legs is closed until snow removal is complete.

no matter.  sure I’ll find enough to photograph and write about in whatever remains.