Motorcycle Views

I've been seeing lots of beautiful tributes to dads today, especially on Facebook. I thought I would do the same for my own dad here in the Newsletter. My dad died in 1992 so I can't talk to him anymore. But, if your dad is still around, don't forget him today. Call him. The following is what I just posted on Facebook:

"I don't have any pictures of Dad here with me today, but I was able to find one I already put on Facebook. The picture was taken 76 years ago and includes me.

Dad died in 1992 at the age of 84. I started riding motorcycles for the first time in 1989 at the age of 51. Dad was then in a nursing home in Illinois.

Dad didn't smoke, but he had an occasional beer, knew how to cuss (but never in front of me), and knew everything about cars from driving them to fixing them. He was a great fixer of everything. He spent 50 years as an expert machinist including factory work during WWII. Plant officials came to him when they needed a new part, and no one else could figure out how to make it. He knew I was just starting out with motorcycles. He knew nothing about motorcycles and never rode one. Dad only made it to the fifth grade before he dropped out, worked on his stepdad's farm, and then ran away from home at 19 and drove to California with a cousin in a Model T Ford.

Dad eventually settled in Illinois and married a young woman of 19. She became pregnant. One day, Dad and his wife were returning home in dad's Buick when a couple of men fleeing from a crime scene, in another Buick, came storming into town and plowed into his car at an intersection. His wife and baby were killed instantly, and he went to the hospital for a week. He stayed with her family for a while but then gradually found his way and met my mother four years later at a card party.

Dad was not one for telling his kids about his first wife and the tragedy he had suffered. We found out about it shortly before he died. Also, we found out that his mother, my grandmother, had been married three times and also had a liaison with another man. That relationship resulted in my dad's birth in 1908. When dad was two years old, my grandmother got married to a farmer named Kern. They never bothered to adopt dad, and he just assumed their last name. I found out after dad died that his real last name should have been that of the man my grandmother had the liaison with. In fact, I was able to find dad's birth certificate—with some difficulty—and saw that man's name there. I have since had a Y-Chromosome study done to prove dad's paternity, contacted members of that family and met with them to establish another branch of the family. I told my kids about this, and their response was, "Does that mean we all have to change our names?"

"No, kids. I was born a Kern, and so were you. Too late to worry about the past."

Maybe you have some family irregularities of your own. Hopefully, you have resolved them as well.

Dad had a technical life that included cars, radios, electricity, machinery, and technical manufacturing work in support of several wars.

He never rode a motorcycle, but he knew I was riding.

I only saw him in a suit a few times. I remember him wearing a suit when I graduated from college and when my mother died.

But, he gave his children what we needed to have successful lives.

Dad never lived long enough to see my first book on motorcycling come out in 2011, 19 years after he died. Within the last year, I have completed two more books on motorcycling including an audiobook with me doing part of the narration.

Hopefully, Dad is looking down as I continue living a life he started, but probably never imagined how it would play out. All I can say is that I am proud that he was my dad and provided me with all the basics needed to energize my life to continue to achieve my goals in life.

Happy Father's Day to my dad and all the dads out there reading this tribute."

• Ducati Recalls 2014 1199 Panigale R, 1199 Panigale S, and 1199 Superleggera for an Improperly Manufactured Rear Shock Absorber
  

How do motorcycle parts work together?

When you get the urge to ride a motorcycle, you start asking lots of questions. Simple things like, "How do I start a bike?" or "How do I shift gears?" Of course, these questions always involve talking about basic motorcycle parts and how they work together.

Just to give the steps to start a motorcycle on a hill involves a tremendous number of motorcycle parts. A brand new rider may not even know where to look to find a motorcycle part. Once the motorcycle parts are identified by a new rider, they can begin to learn the basic procedures to operate the machine.

To get you going, we'll give you pictures of a motorcycle and point out these major motorcycle parts that you need to know. You will then be able to click on links to gain additional information on the particular motorcycle part.

I'm using one of my motorcycles, a 1994 Harley-Davidson Sportster XLH 1200, for the pictures. Now, Harleys can be a bit different from other bikes, and I'll try to point out these differences to you. Not all bikes have the same motorcycle parts in the same places. Each bike has its own terminology for naming motorcycle parts and even the way that the parts are interconnected may be different from bike to bike.

Learning about motorcycles can be a lifelong pursuit. Learn about how the major parts of a motorcycle work by clicking the following image or link:

How Do Motorcycle Parts Work?

Chop, chop, chop to create a minimalist machine - the Motorcycle Chopper

Just what is a motorcycle chopper? Like the bobber, the chopper is created by removing or chopping off unnecessary components from a motorcycle. Who needs a windshield, front fenders, big headlights, crash bars, and big seats? Create a motorcycle chopper. Chop off those components and make the motorcycle lighter.

Bikers started raking the front end of their motorcycle choppers, so the angle of the fork to the ground began decreasing allowing for a greatly increased wheelbase for the chopper.

The handlebars on the chopper were raised high and called ape hangers.

The front tire was made small, and the rear tire was made fat.

Some bikers even removed the battery and used a magneto to reduce chopper weight.

The gas tank on the chopper became small as was the headlight.

Anything deemed unnecessary was removed. This made for a bike style that was unique and tailored to the rider.

Each rider decided just what needed to be done to his motorcycle to create the chopper he desired.

Choppers have a long history. After soldiers had returned home from World War II, they seemed dissatisfied with the motorcycles that were available to them from Harley-Davidson and Indian. They remembered the machines they had seen in Europe that were lighter in weight and seemed to have more excitement. The soldiers started to hang out with their motorcycle buddies to regain the camaraderie they had felt in the service. These groups of buddies soon decided that their motorcycles needed changes. Motorcycle choppers were born.

First, they either removed or shortened (bobbed) the fenders on their motorcycles. This reduced the weight and made the bikes look better in their eyes. These bikes began to be called bobbers. Changes kept occurring, but it wasn't until the late '60s and early '70s that the bobbers gave way to the choppers.

After release of the seminal movie Easy Rider in 1969, a whole new movement began. Riders wanted a motorcycle like the one ridden by Peter Fonda in the movie. They wanted a chopper.

As always occurs, this rise of the chopper created by individual backyard mechanics, soon was followed by talented designers whose choppers were sought after. An individual didn't need to do the work himself, just express what he wanted to a chopper designer. Arlen Ness was one of the first such designers.

Chopper creation slowed a little as many motorcyclists started customizing their bikes instead of chopping them. Then in the 1990s the chopper seemed to become more popular. Choppers are not just indigenous to Harley-Davidson. Numerous choppers have been built from British and Japanese bikes.

If you own a chopper, please take a picture of it and send it to me along with a description of the bike. We will then include it in the Chopper Gallery.

I am running one new Motorcycle Views Poll in the newsletter for each issue.

Here's Poll No. 16: Do you wave at other riders?

The latest Motorcycle Views Poll also appears on the front page of the Motorcycle Views website.

ALL Motorcycle Views Polls

Today's How-To:

Motorcycle Picture of the Month:

My Book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, is also available as an Audiobook (Audible) Edition on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible. The audiobook edition makes a great Father's Day gift:

Here are the Five Most Popular articles on the Motorcycle Views Site. Take a look:

• 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.
  
  
• Motorcycle Recalls: Gives all motorcycle recalls for the last ten years by make and year.
  
  
• Women on Motorcycles: These women ride their own bikes.