On a motorcycle, the rider is not contained in a sealed compartment. We are out in the elements, wrapped around a motorized, moving two wheeled machine, hurtling headlong through time and space, completely exposed to the environment. We feel the wind, road irregularities, temperature changes, the vibrations of the mechanical monster we are riding.
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Splitting the wood took all day and made me horribly thirsty so I kept the garden hose running and drank often, which helped wash the beer out of my mouth because when we went woodcutting that was what my dad brought us to drink. When the wood was split I fired up the old Honda Trail CT-90 and rode down the street to the nearby empty field for a celebration run. Sometimes I wore a helmet, sometimes not, because of all the things I did as a kid growing up, riding a motorcycle was probably the safest.
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As Neale and I talked, he made a beautiful observation- “Think about our Road Dirt crew and community. We’re as diverse as they come. Some of us are people of faith, some of us are not. Some of us lean a bit left, others a bit right. We come from across the country and around the globe. We come from all kinds of backgrounds and lifestyles. We ride all kinds of motorcycles, and we’ve ridden in all kinds of conditions. We are quite the diverse lot, I must say. And yet the tie that binds us all together is our collective love for motorcycles, and the love of riding them. Whatever our differences, that’s our common love, so therefore, our common love for each other.”
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To uncover where the passion runs deepest here in the U.S. of A., we recently came across an interesting study of the states with the most motorcycle registrations per capita. Compiled by motorcycle parts specialists Monster Fairings, the report analyzed some recent (2023) Federal Highway Administration motorcycle registration data, comparing both the total number of bikes on the road, and the total number of (known) bikes per capita. Examining over 8.7 million registrations nationwide, the study revealed which states are more saturated with motorcycle ownership and registration, which ones drive the biggest markets, and how geography, culture, and population shapes American’s moto passion.
The results were surprising, actually.
Much trust is placed on those black donuts, much more when compared to automobile tires. Whereas a motorcycle has two oval contact patches roughly a credit card in size, passenger cars have four square contact patches, each about the size of 4” x 6” picture, or larger, and consequences for motorcycle tire failure are more disastrous. No driver has ever lowsided their Ford F150 after tucking the front end while trail braking into a corner. No driver has ever highsided their Honda Accord with too much throttle application on corner exit.
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