With the way the weather has been lately (i.e. rainy shit), I put away the bike and took the time to stop by the Moscone Center on Sunday to visit my friend and fellow blogger Evan Miller to catch the tail end of the Wondercon: the semi famous, comic-book, sci-fi and fantasy convention. For those of you who don’t me well enough, you should know that I am an absurdist geek.

Batman had a motorcycle, Iron Man is the ultimate mechanic, and it breaks my heart that at present, the technology required for the Speeder Bike in Star Wars doesn’t exist. But I’ll tell you one thing, every time I suit up to go for a spin, I feel like a real-live superhero.

Cons are great because it allows a forum of like minded people to come together and talk about the things they are passionate about, without getting that glazed look in their eyes if you mention super obscure trivia regarding the life and times of Phil Ken Sebben or the virtues of Miskatonic University (Both in fact, fictitious).

It was great when I came across the Morpheus Protypes guys promoting their 3D print rendering service for concept development, because I have never had the proper opportunity to have an in depth discussion about a particular idea I have for the KTM.

Since my bike is rare, and finding replacement plastics is next to impossible, I’ve been trying to figure a way to be able to manufacture replacements on my own. These kind of body modification projects can be so complicated. Establishing a starting point without a formal background in product design had seemed impossible up until this point. Shawn Zindroski was representing Morpheus and he took the time to explain that I could feasibly take the existing fairings on my bike and map the specifications using a 3D scanner into a program called SolidWorks. Once the specs are recorded, you can store the file on a computer and when the time comes, simply plug the data into one of their printers and simply print out a new set.

At this time, the technology is still pretty new and pricey. But the prospect of being able to store the information of certain motorcycle specs on file and access detailed files on your own is fantastically futuristic. I’m going to do some more research and maybe take some classes for 3D mapping. Since I want to make a new set of plastics or even some nice carbon fiber ones for the Duke, I think I may be one step closer to the evolution of motorcycle development.

Until then, beam me up Scotty.

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Round, Black and Not Cosmetics.

For most automobile drivers, tires aren’t thought much of until they have become either flat or are in dire need of replacement. Motorcyclists, however, tend to be very anal when it comes to tires. If you think about it, they’re almost the only things between the rider and the road. Furthermore, motorcyclists only have two tires connecting them to the road, where auto drivers have four.

Riders get very passionate when it comes to what type and brand of tires to put on their bikes. Sportbike riders are among the worst of the bunch. We demand grip, longevity, and compliance, all at a competitive price. Not a tall order to fill at all, is it?

When it comes to choosing tires, if people hear Avon, they first think cosmetics; tires are the furthest thing from their minds.

Today I will review the Avon Viper Sport AV 59 120/70 front tire and the Avon Viper Sport AV 60 190/50 rear tire. The Avon Tire Company is a British tire manufacturer that’s been producing car tires since 1885 and motorcycle tires since 1911. Though not as well known as Bridgestone, Dunlop, Metzler, Michelin, and Pirelli; Avon is gaining ground among sportbike enthusiasts. The AV 59 and AV 60 tires will be evaluated on the following: ride quality, grip, turn-in, steering precision, braking, wet weather grip, mileage, and confidence.
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