Archive for the 'motorbike' Category
Daphne
Equipment doesn’t make a photographer, but sometimes a change can serve as a source of inspiration. In the past when I’ve photographed the daphne, 
I’ve found it a bit of a challenge – whatever I do, it’s just flowers on a stick. Last year I skipped the daphne entirely, but this time I wanted to see if I can make something out of it with the 150mm macro. It is the 4th lens I’ve used on the daphne – if this didn’t work, then it’s time to give up on the flower!
I got lucky – I found this group of three blooms in the middle of the branch, so I could use the “stick” as a diagonal running through the frame. Every time you find a group of three of anything, composition is a breeze – three is the magic number! Add a diagonal and you really can’t go wrong.
* * *
I also got out for a spin with the Tricker. I took it all the way to the Voxnan river, trying to get used to the speed. I found my comfort level at 70 kph, but I’m sure I’ll be checking out the top speed (a not-so-whopping 110 kph) by the end of the summer. Then again, I didn’t get this bike for the speed. I got it for the forest roads, and the top speed becomes irrelevant!
120 kg
That’s how much my Tricker weighs. And I’m glad it doesn’t weigh a gram more, or I’d have been in a spot of bother. You see, this was my first time out on the motorbike on my own and unsupervised. I drove to the Loossjön parking lot to practise my turns on a gravel surface. I had my camera with me because I’m itching to get a good picture of the bike, so I picked a likely place, parked the bike and had a look around. And then I heard something fall behind me. It could only be one thing – the Tricker had just hit the ground. I looked at it in disbelief, cursing myself for forgetting the mobile phone so I was on my own. Only one thing to do – heave up the bike. So I found out that 120 kg is the absolute upper limit of what I can push up. Relieved, I surveyed the damage and it looks like the bike is none the worse off for kissing the gravel, except for a bent clutch handle. Not too bent though, I had no trouble using it.
I didn’t take the picture.
And I did learn to check the ground under the sidestand – it will have to hold 120 kg!
3 commentsGraduation
It was a dull and gray day with rain in the air, but I wouldn’t let that stop me – I was determined to practise my motorbike skills and get on the road. It turned out that I didn’t need a lot of training anymore – I remembered everything from yesterday, and I got the foot brake down pat at first try. So I just needed to polish my curve taking and I can’t say I excelled at it, but I passed the test anyway. There’s only so much you can do on a small practice track, so I graduated to the road because the only way I can learn now is by doing. With the weather what it was, I had to settle for a very short ride. But the weather will change… and the road will be there waiting for me!
1 commentTricky Tricker
(Well it’s an obvious post title, so better get it out of the way already.)
This was a momentous day – I finally got to ride my motorbike!
So, time for the confessions of an MC newbie. I’m sure that every MC rider will laugh at the problems I had, and I’m equally sure that I will laugh at myself soon! Initially I wondered how I could lift my feet from the ground, I was convinced that I would tip over as soon as I lifted my feet on the foot pegs. As it turns out, I didn’t tip at all – and I only managed to kill the engine once. It was just a matter of learning one thing at the time – a few rounds on first gear, then second, gear down, gear up… during the first session, I even managed to get up to 3rd gear, but then the old parking lot I was training on started to feel a bit small because I hadn’t learned how to brake yet! By then my left hand was aching so bad I couldn’t pull the clutch lever any more, so it was time for a lunch break.
The second training session was a bit faster, as now I was introduced to the front brake. A lot of riding on 3rd gear, but after a few km’s around the parking lot, I was actually getting a bit bored – switching direction makes it interesting for only so long. I’m itching to get on the road and just let it roll, but before I can do that, I will have to learn to use the foot brake. And I have to practise corners, my turn radius is still too wide. So I will have to nail those down tomorrow morning, then in the afternoon I will get my reward – the road!
1 commentMy Tricker
My Yamaha Tricker, in my garage, waiting for the snow to melt (that blueish stuff you can see in the window).
Tricker
Newsflash: I bought myself a motorcycle! It’s a Yamaha XG250 Tricker, like this one here. I’ll try to get around to snapping a shot of my own Tricker, even if it’s just standing in the garage waiting for spring right now…
I guess you could say that this is my ultimate camera accessory. The Tricker will get me further from home than my bicycle, and it will get me to places where the car can’t go. Plus, it’s infinitely more fun than a car! Until I break my bones, anyway…
I’ve wanted a motorbike since I was a teenager. Most of the time the bike dream has been dormant, but every once in a while something would happen that makes it surface, only to be dismissed again. But since one of my new neighbours turned out to be an experienced biker, I figured that this is the best chance I will ever get. He can teach me everything I need to know about motorbikes, and most importantly – he can teach me how to ride one!
5 comments