Knowledge Base

Emergency Card

January 4, 2013 By Carol Carpenter

As I was filling out my forms to become a novice racer with WMRRA this year, one of the forms included a full medical information page which needed to be in your leathers in case of an emergency, I realized I needed to update my “In case of emergency” card I keep in my wallet while riding. Not that we are tempting fate, but in the event that something should happen you should have this information handy for medics so they can get you proper care. I am sure we all carry our ID when we are out riding, but all that changing from our everyday wallet to our smaller riding wallet, sometimes we forget, right? I know there have been times when I got home after a ride and realized in my rush to get out the door or even being distracted by the kids, I had been riding without my license, oops! It happens, life happens, so let’s be realistic and be prepared. The card just provides the basic information, your name, DOB, blood type, address, phone numbers, physician, emergency contacts and a spot to put your insurance information. I’ve included the document for you to print out, please fill it out and keep it with you in your riding wallet as well as your membership to the AMA (if you haven’t become a member, do, they are a great organization), they will tow your bike in the event something should happen. It is that reminder from my girl scout days to “Be Prepared”!!!

It’s been chilly out, but I hope to see you all out there! Vixens ride!

In Case Of Emergency

2 Things You Shouldn’t Skimp On…

November 20, 2012 By Carol Carpenter

This week is a short week so this will be my only blog for the week as we enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with our family and friends. I wish you all a very happy and safe Thanksgiving and hope that the weather is nice enough to get out and ride.

At the Women’s Maintenance Workshop on November 14, 2012 I asked a question: What are the two most important things on your bike, the things you should absolutely not skimp on? Well, for one, tires. That is the one thing that is gripping you to the road, without good tires it doesn’t matter how well you ride, eventually your luck is gonna run out. You need good tires! Traction and keeping both of those tires on the road are paramount, so check the pressure and wear of your tires regularly. Check with your dealership or the manufacturers suggested mileage on the tires and if you even are questioning it, get them looked at for an opinion.

The second thing is suspension. Why suspension? Well, as women we tend to be lighter and shorter than our counterparts so suspension is key to being able to feel confident on the bike. If a bike is set up from the factory for an average 175-200lb. guy who is 5’11”, I don’t know about you, but that bike is going to be hard for me to touch the ground, it will ride like a brick, and forget about confidence at a stop. I always joke that riding isn’t the hard part, when it comes to being height challenged, it is the stopping. Truth be told though, it is the stopping and the backing up, I find it incredibly hard to back into a parking space when I have no leverage. Suspension helps with all that, it helps to allow the bike to sag when you sit so you can touch the ground. When you are new to riding, not being able to touch the ground can be intimidating and will keep you from enjoying riding to the fullest. You have a bike, why not have it set up to fit you so you will want to ride it more? You wouldn’t consider wearing an outfit that didn’t fit properly right? You would get it altered to fit you and look good on you. Same applies for the fit of your bike except for it comes down to feeling confident on your ride. It is not very expensive, in fact quite reasonable, it depends on the type of bike and what it will require, but talking to a suspension specialist will give you an idea of what the total cost may be.

If you don’t do anything else to your bike to start with, these two things are huge! Of course, I could go into dynos, new exhausts, etc., but having good tires and a proper suspension setup will go a long way into you enjoying your ride. Everything and anything else you choose to do would be like icing on the cake and what girl doesn’t like icing? We are looking into a maintenance event that Nels puts on at his 2 Wheel Dynoworks shop in Woodinville, WA with Fluid Suspension Science for suspension sometime in January. If you are interested, shoot me an email with your name and kind of ride and let me know. We are trying to gauge how many women would be interested in this.

I will keep you posted as things come up and look forward to seeing you out on the road, Vixens ride!

Carol T. Carpenter

Ethanol Free Gas

November 7, 2012 By Carol Carpenter

Many gas stations carry gas with up to 10% ethanol added. For motorcycles, the higher the ethanol content, the worst it is for your ride. The government is currently considering making that percentage higher which would be terrible for our motorcycles and may actually cause serious damage to the engine and/or parts.

Have you ever heard of Ethanol free gas? It increases the performance on your bike with the added benefit of better gas mileage. It is a bit more expensive, but well worth the cost. There is a website www.pure-gas.org that will list out the benefits of ethanol free gas as well as listings for stations in your area nationwide. They have an iPhone app for finding these stations with an Android app coming soon. It is not only for bikes though, it is also great for your high performance car, try it and see. You may find you get more miles per gallon than you are getting now. The benefits far outweigh the cost. In addition, for those who have plastic gas tanks, it keeps the issue of expansion to a minimum. Some motorcycle manufacturers are going to aluminum tanks to avoid this problem in future models of their bikes, check to see if your tank is made of plastic or some type of metal.

If you live on the Eastside in Washington state there is a station in Issaquah, WA called The Grange. It is located at 145 NE Gilman Blvd., Issaquah, WA 98027 and their website is www.grangesupply.com. I schedule my rides sometimes to hit the station on my way back to the house so that I am filled and ready to go the next day. I also tend to keep a 5-gallon jug just in case, for the times I can’t go out of my way. There are several stations in Snohomish, Everett and Seattle look them up at www.pure-gas.org. Our rides take good care of us, let’s return the favor…Vixens Ride!

Carol T. Carpenter

Why is a Dyno important?

October 30, 2012 By Carol Carpenter

I met Nels this summer at his shop in Woodinville, WA during a maintenance event that included suspension setups with Fluid Suspension Science (FS2) in addition to Nels performing Dynos on your bikes. Nels stated that with the upgraded Termignoni exhausts I had, the only way to get the maximum performance out of my bike was to purchase a power commander with O2 optimizers. He explained that trying to reprogram the present stock ECU would only temporarily change the system as the newer ECU’s will automatically reset to factory settings, basically undoing everything he would have done. It would require 3-5 days depending on the timeframe the bike would need to be at Ducati to install the power commander and then it would be trucked to him to do the dyno. The results were phenomenal, I fell in love with my bike all over again, it ran so smoothly, my clutch wasn’t slipping, taking off from a stop was no longer a required skill of keeping it right in that friction zone to keep it from stalling, the acceleration was immediate and for once I felt confident with riding my motorcycle. I didn’t feel as if there was going to be some new surprise or “feature”I would just have to accept and work around, my bike just worked!

Carol T. Carpenter

The following is an explanation of why a dyno is important for every bike straight from Nels himself:

You only have so much talent

When riding a motorcycle, we have so much to think about sometimes it can be overwhelming. We are so used to hopping in our car, closing the door, turning on the stereo and then we pretty much check out from there. It doesn’t require a lot of talent or concentration to drive our cars, especially when we have so much experience driving them. A motorcycle is much different, if we all didn’t share such a crazy love or obsession for this dangerous sport, getting from point A to point B would be much easier and safer. So the goal is to explain the importance of setting up your motorcycle. I specialize in getting the motorcycle to do what you tell it to do, when you want it to do it.

Every person is only given only so much talent (consider talent a balance in your personal bank account). We can improve on that amount of talent with practice and lessons (adding to the balance) but we also have to be aware of some of the things that require some of the little talent we have (drawing from that balance) to ride a motorcycle. For example, having bad tires, bad suspension, improper chassis setup and engine performance all rob some of your talent (drawing from your balance again) not leaving you much to figure out how to ride the bike. If you have bad tires, your focus will be on not slipping around and paying extra attention to corner speeds and road conditions (get the idea?). If you have bad suspension your bike will not properly stop, turn, or stick to the ground. If your chassis, handle bars and rear sets are not properly adjusted to you, you will be uncomfortable and not able to reach your controls or you will find your hands and feet falling asleep. In conclusion, if your engine is not running right, with the best tires, suspension and chassis setup, it can require all of your talent (your entire balance) to take off from a stop light and just get the bike just down the road (possibly putting you in the negatives in your account). If we can eliminate all the variables that rob little pieces of your talent, you can focus more on the building of your talent (being in the black, instead of in the red) and the enjoyment of riding your bike.

So let’s get to the part I do…the engine is the heart of the motorcycle and it’s critical that the motorcycle does what you tell it to do. I will help you to create a relationship with your bike that connects the rear tire directly to your wrist, there should be no reason that your motorcycle does not do exactly what you ask it to. So, that is where I come in. My primary tool is called a Dynamometer. Everyone calls it a “Dyno” for short. The dyno is a diagnostic tool that allows us to simulate riding the bike on the road in a controlled setting. While riding the bike on the dyno, I hook your bike up to numerous computer systems that allow me to see exactly whats going on with your engine and engine management system. With a few extra tools and parts we can make changes and make the bike run better. By dyno tuning the bike, I am simulating riding the bike and making changes to the engine management system until the bike runs perfectly. My goal is to connect your wrist to the bikes rear tire and get it doing exactly what you tell it to when you ask it to smoothly and without hesitation.

-Fuel economy, ride-ability and power in same program

By dyno tuning we can obtain better fuel economy, ride-ability and extra power all at the same time. Dynos are not just about making the bike faster like most people think, it is about optimizing your bike’s various functions. Horsepower is translated to energy, but it is the only measuring tool I have to see if the changes I made are correct. If I am dyno tuning and the horsepower goes up and gets smoother, I know I’ve made the correct changes. If the horsepower goes down, then it is an indicator I made an incorrect adjustment. The benefits of increasing the horsepower are not just to go faster, it will enhance all throttle inputs and help you in all riding conditions. For example, if you are riding on the freeway and it requires 20% throttle to maintain 60mph, by increasing the horsepower through dyno tuning, it may only require 12% throttle to maintain the same speed. With that said, fuel economy will be substantially improved.

-Confidence building

Dyno tuning your motorcycle can help boost your confidence. On most modern motorcycles, when you take off from a stoplight, the bike will chug, vibrate the handlebars and at times even stall. This requires you to twist on the throttle, rev the bike and burn the clutch just to get it going. It can be very unnerving to deal with a problem like this, especially in a parking lot at slow speeds. An example of a bike needing dyno tuning is when you are on the freeway or in a corner and the bike will surge, causing you to go on and off the throttle back and forth just to get the bike to do what you want. Dyno tuning can fix these issues and give you the confidence that your bike will respond to you, allowing you to smoothly let out the clutch and take off with very little throttle. Imagine cruising on the freeway, with barely any effort, holding one constant speed, relaxing and enjoying the ride instead of trying to just stay at the right speed. That is how dyno tuning can help you build confidence with your ride.

-Less service and maintenance

With a properly dyno tuned bike, you will not only make the bike run better but can prolong the time period between servicing and maintenance. Your current tune-up, parts, oil change, tires, brakes, throttle cables, and engine can last substantially longer. With the engine running smoother and now burning the proper amount of fuel, we have seen oil changes for as far as 5000-10000 miles, spark plugs go 25,000-30,000 miles and engines seem to last indefinitely. We can also use the dyno to diagnose problems and even forsee future problems. It can tell us if we need spark plugs, valve adjustments, problems with a slipping clutch, timing belts and engine rebuilds.

Dyno tuning usually requires purchasing programmers, resistors or parts but is worth it in the long run. On all bikes, no matter if they are brand new or in complete stock format, dyno tuning is important. The more mods you put on your bike, the further away you get from the stock exhaust and other components, the more critical dyno tuning becomes. When you have combined purchasing and installing performance parts, programmers and dyno tuning, you will find it will enhance your riding experience so much you will fall in love with your motorcycle all over again. That is the ultimate goal: To get more people on their bike and loving the ride.

Nels with 2Wheel DynoWorks

425-269-5332

2wheeldynoworks.com

WINTERIZING for Modern Motorcycles

October 29, 2012 By Carol Carpenter

There is an easy way to winterize your bike (my favorite way), take it to your dealership or if you don’t know where to take it you can call Ducati Bellevue (425-882-4300) and get an estimate on what it would cost to winterize your bike and have them do it for you! However, if you wish to get your hands dirty and really get to know your bike or if you have a friend, relative, significant other, etc who is mechanically inclined and wants to help you, then here are the steps. If you know someone who owns a bike and could use this blog, you can also send them a copy of this post for their reference on how to do it properly, this applies to every type of bike and was prepared by David Rookaird, Service Manager of Bellevue Ducati.

Add fuel stabilizer
Change your oil and filter
Charge your battery and have battery charger leads installed
Tire pressures and tires inspected
Lube all pivots/ chain
Clean

Add fuel stabilizer to a tank of gas at least a half or more full, then run it up to the service station (yes, with it in your bike) and fill up the rest of the tank. Run home and begin the process of changing your oil and filter. (Reason for changing oil when hot; all the contaminants are now suspended in the hot oil and will mostly come out with the oil change). Add oil and run the bike for a few moments and then let sit and recheck the oil level and top off as necessary. If your bike is a carbureted bike, then the next step is to be done regardless of how long you are going to let it sit. Drain the carburetors, at the bottom of each carb is a drain screw, open this and let drain into a old rag. (Be careful gas is highly volatile and will ignite into a big “OH S**T” :0 moment!) If you truly have a modern bike with fuel injection then the fuel and tank system is done.

Clean your bike and remove the seat to clean under that too. While cleaning make notes of how things look under the seat. (this is important since some areas have issues with mice or rats and they like to hide and chew things up under and around seats, you want to be able to see if these issue’s are occurring and take care of them before it’s too late). Now, you should have a battery tender, some newer bikes have leads installed others require installation, ask if you are unsure. The best charger I have found is the C-tek charger and is available at most motorcycle stores or Amazon. It will come with different hooks ups to charge your battery properly. Keep it on the charger all the time it won’t cook the battery. If you choose to ride occasionally then you still want the battery on a tender/charger leads. One of the biggest misconceptions of winterizing the bikes is to run them every week for brief periods to keep the juices flowing, this in fact can be bad for the motor and electrics. This is particularly bad for the motor if you don’t run the bike up to operating temp’s properly, then condensation will occur inside. In addition, what can happen is that the battery will get discharged and never really become recharged properly during that brief run time.

Now is a good time to walk around the bike and look for any issues. Reason? So when the weather does become nice and you want to ride, your ride will be ready for you… Clean and lube the chain, clean the bike in general, you would be surprised that when cleaning the stuff you can find wrong. Fill the tires up to normal pressures recommended by the dealer and in today’s times with radial tires it is not necessary to lift the wheels or bike off the ground. In the old days and with bikes that use bia-ply tires, this becomes a issue. The weight of the bike will sometimes flat spot the tires and cause a slight out of round issue but typically will go away with a few minutes of riding. Clean and lube all pivots, clutch and brake levers, switches and side stand and center stand if so equipped. Lube all the locks. Clean again. Take a old rag and dab it with WD-40 and wipe the fork tubes down, be careful not to get WD-40 on the brakes and tires.

Your bike is now ready for a hibernation period that can last anywhere from 1 week to a couple years, just depends on how the weather is and how much you want to ride in the colder temperatures.

Carol T. Carpenter

Ducati Bellevue Services

October 19, 2012 By Carol Carpenter

Did you know Ducati Bellevue offers services on bikes other than Ducati’s? Well, they do and their prices are better than you may think. For example, if you purchase tires through Ducati Bellevue they will mount those tires for $30, if you bring in tires you have bought the fee would be $50. I encourage you to shop tire prices elsewhere then call them for a quote, I believe you may be surprised.

Ducati Bellevue will also service all models of bikes for:

Brakes: Front – $50 + parts
Rear – $35 + parts

Chain & Sprockets: $150 + parts

Brake Flush All: $50

Coolant Flush All: $50

Take care of your ride, your ride takes care of you…

Visit www.DucatiBellevue.com

Vixens Ride!

Carol T. Carpenter

Sales of ‘girl’ motorcycles rev up

October 19, 2012 By Carol Carpenter

I recently came across this article in the LA Times and I am stunned that women are being relegated to “girl” bikes, what an absolute insult to our intelligence and abilities. Those of us that have chosen to ride, ride on guy bikes, plain and simple. There are no bikes scaled down for women, so why put us on the less powerful 250cc – 350cc bikes? What a complete put down. Sure 9 out of 10 motorcyclists is a male, but does that mean that we can’t or shouldn’t ride? NO! If anything, as women we have always had to overcome these prejudices, it is just a fact. What we can do is empower women to become better riders, give them the information they need to make decisions, educate and give them options, encourage them and remind them they can do whatever they want.

Read the LA Times article here

Many women want to ride, yet they always tell me that bikes are too tall, too heavy, too scary, etc… So let me tell you that I am what they term “vertically challenged”. I am 5’4″ tall and I have found solutions to my “shortcomings” because for me there was never any question what types of motorcycles I wanted to ride. I presently ride a 2012 Ducati Monster 696, I have ridden the BMW S1000RR’s mostly on my tiptoes and a Ducati 848 EVO that was equipped with lowering links (on the balls of my feet). I don’t look at these challenges as problems, it just requires more creative tweaking. The desire to learn just has to be there and the mindset to overcome these minor challenges. Don’t let others put doubt into your mind (i.e. that bike is too heavy too powerful for you, etc.), educate yourself, practice, persevere. I knew I wasn’t a confident rider when I started so I fixed that, I researched and then attended a track school (track schools are not just for people who want to race, they are for everyone). It was the best investment I ever made, I made that investment in me, I am a mother, sister and aunt, I want to enjoy my sport without fear. Fear comes from being uneducated, so educate yourself and be a confident rider, you are worth that investment.

Read the LA Times article here

As for the motorcycle world, we can’t change Rome in a day. It will require many more years before manufacturers will listen, but they will if we express our grievances in numbers. When 9 out of 10 riders is male, we are small potatoes even though we are growing in number every year. Be patient things will change, we can be part of that change and pave the way for future women riders everywhere. I love liter bikes, I love the raw power, but I have yet to find one that fits me perfectly (I’d give to touch the ground on the balls of my feet). Maybe that will happen someday, but for now it forces me to be a better rider than a male counterpart who does not even have to consider all the issues I must overcome just to ride that same bike. Women riders are a special group of people, we don’t complain, we do. It is up to us to speak out and tell the industry what women want because I don’t know about you, but I would like to see more adjustability in suspension, more dealerships offer free setup, more knowledge in helping women enjoy their rides. Let’s make them start thinking for us, that is how we can get the ball rolling. But in the meantime, Vixens, let’s ride!

Read the LA Times article here

Carol T. Carpenter

More ‘Motorcycle Mamas’ Hitting the Road

October 9, 2012 By Carol Carpenter

A recent study showed that 1 in 10 motorcycle owners is a woman, and additionally, the number of female riders is increasing at a higher rate than men. TODAY’s Jenna Wolfe hops on and finds out who these fearless females really are.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

For all you future MotoVixens, I hope this video gives you the motivation to join a sport that we all love. With any sport, it can be dangerous, but with the proper education and instruction, it is safer than most people think. As motorcyclists we tend to be more aware of our surroundings and we are better riders and drivers because of this. Distraction is not an option when you ride, you have to be alert and scan for hazards at all times. It is challenging and rewarding all in one, I hope this brief clip encourages you to join us….MotoVixens ride!

Carol T. Carpenter

Motorcycle Setup for Women

October 3, 2012 By Carol Carpenter

This is an interview I had with Brian Trudeau of Fluid Suspension Science (aka FS2) at his shop at home in Spanaway, WA. When Brian first started working on my bike (2012 Ducati Monster 696 ABS) the front forks were very soft and the rebound was way too high (causing the forks to spring back quickly). Brian changed the fork oil to slow down the rebound, he changed the 7.5 wt oil to a 20 wt oil in the rebound fork (compression and rebound are controlled by separate forks) and in the compression fork he changed the 7.5 wt oil to 10 wt oil to take out some of the “sloppy squishiness” from the forks. On the rear of the bike, Brian found that the sag was too little and needed to be relaxed, he explained that I didn’t weigh enough for proper amount of sag and it needed relaxing. I mentioned that my ride was rough and my back end tended to skip when I took corners (READ: NO TRACTION LADIES – very bad!). Brian took 4 turns of preload out of the shock and checked for correct rider sag. I took the bike out for a spin and I was stunned the difference it made. I had always said I didn’t trust my bike, but after I had this setup done, I could honestly say that I not only trusted my bike, I could enjoy cornering at higher speeds with confidence.

Women riders really need to look at setup for their bikes, the fact is that bikes are dialed in for the average 175-200 lb. male and if you are lighter than that, your ride is definitely too stiff for you. The honest truth is that you have no traction ladies…no traction is bad! If you find your back end hopping or you have no rebound, you have no traction. Please don’t think that setups are only for racers, they are for everyone, get one done and see the difference it will make in your ride and confidence in your bike and how it will perform.

Carol T. Carpenter