I soldered a new battery into the rear temperature sensor on the Concours when I changed the back tire last year after picking up a puncture. The front was starting to get sluggish when connecting wirelessly, suggesting the battery was dying there and the front tire was due a change, so I did it in the fall. Unfortunately the sensor didn't pick up signal again on that bodge. Rather than beat up that old sensor again I went looking for alternative options. I love a good hack, and Big Red walks you through one here on how to take aftermarket tire pressure sensors, program them to your stock Kaw ..read more

  Saw a guy on a GS flying down the 401 towards Windsor today, which conjured fantasies of fleeing the nagging winter to warmer climes. I'd eventually come back when winter lets go... maybe. When it warms up I'd complete the loop: https://maps.app.goo.gl/cdPdK2kD3rzwjEnN6 ..read more

The 'Idle Speed Control Valve Housing' (Part Number: T1241064) continues to be a pain in my ass. This housing sits behind the throttle body on my 2003 Triumph Tiger 955i and it seems Triumph isn't supporting them anymore. My local dealer shrugged and said it isn't available any more, so I went further afield. Blackfoot Motosports in Calgary's site seemed to suggest that they could provide this complex plastic piece that doesn't enjoy Canada's extreme temperature swings (I've gone through 2 of them so far). So I ordered it! Guess what: That an O-ring should take 3 weeks is one thing, but the ..read more

 At the end of November I attended the Global Conference for Cyber Resilience in Accra, Ghana. I was on a tight schedule with work expectations so I flew in and out in the same week, but had I the time and resources I would have ridden out. Mapping a route out of the African west coast to Europe is interesting. I got my Ghana visa quickly as part of the conference, but had I ridden out I would have had to do some legwork to get the other countries in order. To ride from Accra to Europe out of Africa would have also needed visas for Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Western Sahara and Morocc ..read more

If you follow the blog you'll know I'm on a mission to get my 2003 Triumph Tiger 955i to roll over into six figures on the odometer. I picked up the bike with under forty-K on it and have done the majority of the now high miles on it. Over that time I've had an ongoing battle with the early fuel injection on the bike, but other than that it has been my preferred ride even as a series of other bikes passed through the garage. Once again the fueling has gone off on the bike just as I was hoping to push it over the 100k mark in its 20th year on the road. If I lived somewhere that wasn't trying t ..read more

 Alas, the Tiger's fuel system is acting up (again), so it's all Concours14 this fall, but the big bike is doing the job. It handles two up without breaking a sweat and when I want to ride it like a sports bike, it never misses a beat. It's heavy, but once it's in motion it seems to loose one hundred pounds. It's no Fireblade, but it's surprisingly willing in the (few) twisties we have around here. This time of year the fall colours mean you can enjoy a ride even on our tediously straight roads ..read more

If you've read this blog you know I've written a historical fiction of my granddad's time in the RAF during World War 2. The two books I've done already are about his time behind Nazi lines in France in 1940, but after he escaped he got sent to Africa and spent the the next chapter of his time overseas crossing the Sahara (in 1940s vehicles!) and fighting in Egypt and Libya. I'm keen to eventually trace his steps but when am I ever going to be on the east coast of Africa? The Allies didn't have control of the Mediterranean in late 1940 (remember Guns of Navarone?), so the Royal Navy took Bil ..read more

I've been watching the inestimable Austin Vince lead his latest VINCE trail riding adventure in the Spanish mountains on Facebook. Austin's Mondo self funded world trips have gotten me through many a long Canadian winter. The chance to ride with the man himself through some of the most beautiful and remote parts of Spain would be epic. We drove through Northern Spain last winter but it was in a rental Kia. This is Spain next level! Puebla de Sanabria in a very empty Northern Spain in December. The mountains with Austin next ..read more

 No pride here at TMD. The other weekend I went out for a ride with my lovely wife and we stopped for a snack. The parking lot wasn't even but the bike was full of fuel and had the top box on and it was a very windy day. I had to lean on it to get it to stand up and thought it would be ok - you might see where this is going. I was once told that bikes fall over, it happens to everyone, but I've never had it happen before. I'll be more cautious next time. My best guess is the road behind the restaurant channeled the wind making for even stronger gusts and it toppled the bike. We were arou ..read more

262ish KMS I grew up next to the sea as a kid and miss it everyday. Sometimes I've just got to see some water. The nearest/nicest way to do that which actually hits the odd corner (I get what I can take in the corner desert that is SW Ontario) is over to the Niagara Escarpment and up it to Georgian Bay. Saturday was a 24°C perfect August day, so off I went. Some quiet time on the trails at the end of Beaver Valley in the woods and then it was an hour blast back through the tedium to the maddening crowds ..read more