ENTER TO WIN

For the past two years, Ride West customers have done EXTREMELY well entering the Motorcycle Industry Council "Revive Your Ride" drawings designed to promote motorcycle riding.  We?ve had lots of winners and it?s that time again.

What's the best thing about home Husky and Seahawks football games?  For many of us, they take 60,000 people off our favorite riding roads!

by David Preston

Considerations of gloves:  As the rains return, temperatures begin an inexorable slide from "bracing" to "nippy" to "Damn, it's cold!" This is a great time of year to check the gloves you wear on your motorcycle.

First of all, I'll assume we are all in agreement that you should never ride any motorcycle without wearing gloves. Your hands are extremely complex, and are critical to most of us for our jobs, not to mention daily living.  A fall at almost any speed on any surface brings a level of risk to your hands that is simply not acceptable.

Like so many other subjects, glove selection seems simple and yet can be quite complex.  First of all, where are you in your motorcycling life?  Those just starting out may have difficulty spending $200 on a pair of gloves for a motorcycle that may have cost only twice that. Lots of us started out with whatever we had on hand (Bad pun!). That is better than nothing.  Another idea is to check out the Ride West gear swap coming up December 9th.  You might be able to find what you want and need in some used gloves for a very good price. I'd have to say, however, than in looking over gloves for sale at our last 7 of these events (there are two a year) a lot of the owners have a vastly inflated idea of what used gloves are worth.  Those trendy red and blue racer gloves from 1988 are not, in fact, worth $50!

Most people think of a pair of gloves, but it might be better to think of a selection of pairs of gloves.  Our weather changes often, and at times drastically. I usually go off for a ride with one pair on my hands and a 2nd pair and often a 3rd in a tank bag.  For simplicity, let's stick to gloves for riding on paved roads, as most "street" gloves can also be used off-road unless you are tackling some really challenging mud and water conditions. If you are, you're most likely experienced and have what you need, or at least know what you want!

For street gloves, consider the time of year, the length of your ride, and the equipment you have on your bike.  If your bike is wired for heated gear, for example, you can add electrically heated gloves, although you do need to consider the maximum available electron output available from your bike's system.  If you have heated grips, and most of us in this part of the country do, and are not going to be out all day or days, you can get by with less in the way of glove heat retention.

read more! 

by David Preston | Ride West emeritus

I was spoiled beyond belief to be sent to the inaugural AIMExpo Show held in Orlando from October 15th - 21st.  The first three days were reserved for media and industry attendees, while Friday night through Sunday afternoon hours were for the public.  I had an amazing time!

Caveat 1:  I was not spending my own money for the most part. 

Caveat 2: although I've attended 20 or so Seattle International Motorcycle Shows, I've never attended an industry expo previously.

On the way to the airport I shared a ride with a fellow who was off to attend a convention on the assassination of President Kennedy. The 50th anniversary is upon us, and this man has been fascinated by the event for the entire half a century. Spending your own money for air fare and hotels to attend a convention on an "unsolved" murder seemed a bit odd to me, and then I remembered. November of 1963 was just after I had my first ride on a motorcycle and I've been fascinated by my own special interest ever since. How much time and money have I spent on motorcycles in the past 50 years?  Not that I would trade with him...

My flights there were relatively trouble free, and a shuttle van dropped me off at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando - one of several Rosen hotels.  All of them are huge.  This one features 1334 rooms on 24 floors and all of the amenities you could imagine, and some you could not if used to a more mundane existence. Like me.   I was greeted at the desk and handed an envelope with my name typed on it, and it was explained that I would be staying in a "VIP" room on the 23rd floor. My room pass card would allow the elevator to reach that floor, and a lounge on that floor that would begin serving afternoon treats in about 5 minutes. Further, the sky bridge on the 2nd floor would take me to the Convention Center.

Reeling from my first exposure to VIP living, I unpacked, passed on the lounge, and went out for a walk.  I meandered over to the Convention Center, which is several times larger than anything I've seen in Seattle, and went it to retrieve my entrance credentials.  The first thing I saw upon entrance was a display for the famed "Ace Café" in London - bikes and large posters and - wow - not a representative from the Ace, but owner Mark Wilsmore!  This was my first indication that this was not your average motorcycle show.  Later I had the chance to speak with Mr. Wilsmore, shake his hand, and thank him for what he has done for my sport.  He seemed a little confused, and I'm sure that most people he meets want to get his autograph or have a picture taken. I've never been into autographs, and I would rather shake a hand and have a conversation. It was a nice moment.

read more! 

GONE TROPPO

PARTS MANAGER | DARREN THACKERAY | DARREN@RIDEWEST.COM

I'm just back from five weeks of bright and sunny, Spring-time weather Down Under. The nights were balmy and warm, perfect for sleeping with the windows thrown wide open, at about 60f degrees, with daytime highs often topping out near 95f! The pristine Gold Coast beaches are within a half an hour of where I was staying with water temps near 75f. The playful and majestic grey whales were migrating southward to cold, Antarctic waters for birthing of 900-pound calves, and there were plentiful sightings of them spouting and performing full breaches from vantage points like Point Danger in Coolangatta, Queensland and Byron Bay in New South Wales. I even managed a five-day, 2,000-kilometre camping ride on my classic K100RS through the hinterlands of SE Queensland at the Bunya Mountains, southward and inland across the plains, and then back towards the coast on the fast, twisting Gwydir Highway from Inverell to Grafton, NSW. The Gwydir starts in the outback and after crossing pastoral lands, descends rapidly through subtropical rainforest to the temperate coastal region. Come in and have a squiz at more of the photos when you get a mo'. 

Now, with the persistent morning fog and chill of autumn firmly upon us, if you haven't already, it's high time to think about readying yourself for riding in the inevitably colder and wetter weather. Along with BMW's excellent street-riding Tour Shell and adventure-riding Rallye 3 and GS Dry jackets, we have the newest US-made Gerbing's heated jacket liners and heated gloves in stock in various sizes, with more variety arriving weekly. They provide such pleasant heat, extending your riding season, and wearing them while riding is incredibly comforting -- like standing with your back to a blazing fireplace.

If you've a need to clear out some older gear that still has some "shelf life" but has served its purpose for you, why not consider adding it to our biannual Parts Swap and let someone else have a shot a good deal? Plus, you'll free up some closet space. So grab your older gear stash and turn it into easy Christmas cash! We'll be accepting clean, useable motorcycle riding gear and new, as well as secondhand, motorcycle parts starting on Tuesday, the 19th of November, for the Parts Swap which occurs on Saturday, the 7th of December.

We hope you had a Happy Halloween, are looking forward to Thanksgiving, and like me, keep riding right on through the Pacific North Wet's infamous annual rain festival.

SERVICE MANAGER | BEN SEMER | BEN@RIDEWEST.COM

The cool weather has arrived and some of you are thinking about putting your bikes away for the season.  Not so fast my friend! There will still be plenty of great days to get out and ride.  

I'm sure all you commuters have already tested your heated gear and rain gear. If you're currently without this gear, stop in and the Parts folks can help you get the necessities you need  and the Service Department can get it all powered up for you. We will be offering some great and exciting specials over the winter months so keep tuned into our Newsletter. Have fun and when it's gray say what the hey!  Take your bike wherever you're going. 

Here are some of my favorite memories of the past few years.

When Keith and Ann were "head hunting" me after I'd been laid off from Cycle Barn, we had lunch a couple of times. Cycle Barn was hemorrhaging money and staff at the time, and although they were reluctant to lay me off they may not have much choice.  I was used to working for a company that had 5 or 6 separate locations and sold many different brands, in addition to snowmobiles, go-karts, race karts, generators, farm vehicles and I don't know what all, in addition to a crash repair and restoration shop. Cycle Barn had, at its peak, 257 employees.  I could scarcely believe Ride West, with a staff of about 20, could possibly have the resources available to hire someone who did not actually create ANY sales income that could definitely be pinned to his activities.  As such, I asked several "deal-killer" questions and brought up some things I thought would be hindrances. In hind sight, I have no idea why I seemed determined to shoot my own prospects out of the sky, but perhaps they found my naked honesty to be an asset.

read more! 

Jessica brings to Ride West a positive and eager attitude and a record of success, having run successful social media and marketing campaigns for BEARTREK, Chris Morgan Wildlife and various beekeeping sites.  In motorcycling, Jessica took a solo ride to the tip of Baja one year after sitting on a motorcycle for the first time!

Jessica lives in Seattle with honey bees and spends her free time reading, riding her bike, riding Bob the motorcycle (a 1988 R100GS), and teaching people to make cheese and soap (not at the same time!).  Jessica is also the original founder of Seattle Free School, a nonprofit run without cash donations of any kind.  In the first five years Seattle Free School offered hundreds of classes and served thousands of students, all without having a budget of any kind.

Jessica also spends time working on her 90 year old house, but would prefer not to talk about it! She writes for various publications in her spare time  - when she can find some.

Look for exciting things coming from Jessica for both 

Ride West BMW and South Sound! 

The dog days of summer are now behind us, and what wonderful dog days they were.  This past summer has to one of the best we can remember for riding weather in our part of the world; lots of sun, not too hot and endless dry pavement (and plenty of dry dirt as well).  Then came the September monsoons which put a damper on most people's riding.  At least, that is what the revenue figures for the store reflected.  This does not normally happen in September.  We have often claimed that our favorite riding months throughout the West are May and September.  Kids are in school, the weather can usually be counted on for fair weather riding, temperatures are moderate and the roads are lightly traveled.  But not this year for September at least.  And October was not much of an improvement.  Here again, the first half of October can be counted on for brisk travel and business, but not this year.  We checked around with many other dealers throughout the area and found they concur.

Matter of fact, many of the dealers we talked to throughout the country have experienced the same seasonal trend.  Seems like the weather everywhere is being exceptional (exceptionally bad!) this year.  So what gives with this?  Is it because China is pumping too much coal dust into the air?  Or perhaps it is because the Republicans and Democrats can not agree as to which weather conditions should persist.  Maybe it is just because Mother Nature is just getting frustrated with the way we humans are contaminating her world.  Whatever, we need to turn this thing around, or at least find that elusive good weather we need.  

We managed to accomplish that earlier this year with a 100 day motorcycle ride through Central and South America through our winter months.  Never did have to put on our rain gear throughout the whole trip.  Ok, we did have a few showers but it was warm enough to dry the moisture about the time it hit us.  And we did in fact have a few days of actual rain.  They just happened to occur on days that we were not riding.  This year I think we will find those good riding days during our winter months in the Southwest.  You can count on dry days and great riding temperatures from November through mid-spring, when the heat begins to make riding uncomfortable.  And the scenery throughout Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico is wonderful.