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I've had that happen for several independent and intermingled reasons: - old battery, doesn't hold its charge well. Note that vehicle batteries last about 4-5 years on paper. - charging system is weak. Over time, apparently stators begin to burn out (possibly due to electrical and/or grounding...

I often rode with long-distance sport-touring tires (PR2's, Z6's) down to about -10c without a problem. Respect that your tires won't have great grip (sand, salt, cold), don't try to get a knee down (Barna!), watch for black road surfaces (black ice, or just plain wet, where dry pavement is...

For -16c, I found I was very comfortable with heated gloves and a jacket liner from Warm 'n Safe, my usual 3/4 length textile riding jacket, heavy wool long johns under a typical pair of jeans, heavy riding socks under a pair of TRQ-Tour (Goretex) riding boots. Did about 60km 3 days in a row...

I use Warm 'n Safe "Ultimate Touring" gloves. They're reasonably water resistant, heat well, and offer some sport-glove-ish protection like knuckle guards, etc. I will often take them with me on fall rides even when I don't have my heater cables, just to enjoy dry hands in case it rains. Warm...

Still riding. Haven't bothered with the heated gear yet. When I asked my BMW mechanic to mount my TKC80's on the K13S, he urged me not to ride the new bike through winter this year, something about salt and heavily-computerized bikes. Sigh. Anyone have a cheap 650gs twin for sale? :)

I strongly recommend knopftours.com, in Heidelberg. They rent bikes, ship them, arrange your insurance, etc. I shipped over a bike and store it with them.

The last few weeks, just Ontario (Chatham, London, St. Catherines, Barrie), and Germany (Heidelberg, Bremen, Magdeburg, Paderborn). Counting since the date of the first post however, add England, Scotland, Wales, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland.

I've placed a few orders with their web site so far, and their service has been fast and accurate. No complaints here!

I've only dealt with Budds' BMW in Oakville so far, and my experience is mostly-positive. Stephan Crouch is a so/so salesguy that could improve his customer service skills; not the best at returning calls, and sometimes gives answers that could have used some more research. I've had better...

I think we've all been in this position (or at least I am about 20 times a year); you want to get around the car, hoping to sneak in front of the truck. But you chicken out at the last second because the gap was smaller than you expected and/or you can't be sure that the truck didn't drift to...

My personal opinion, based on about 30000km of European riding, 15000km of US riding, and 25000km of Canadian riding in the past two years alone, is that Ontario drivers have some of the worst attitudes. Lane discipline is nil, there seems to be a feeling of entitlement, and they lose their...

Everyone in Russia is a better driver than us? When did this happen?

I've put maybe 42000km into a pair of Dainese TRQ-Tour Goretex boots, and I love 'em. http://www.dainese.com/us_en/motorbike/st-trq-tour-goretex.html I tend to wear them all day long when I commute to work or I'm on a tour. Spent 7 weeks riding and walking around Europe with these boots as...

Unfortunately, I've had several run-ins with insane drivers in pouring rain when I've filtered past them. It is like they go beyond just wanting to scare me, to outright trying to remove a couple limbs to "teach me to wait my turn".

Last summer, prices were (after currency exchanges) between CAD1.71/L (Andorra, essentially duty-free) and CAD2.46/L (Italy). The average for fillups around central and western Europe for me was CAD2.11/L.

Amazing pictures of the Barrier Reef, Gene!

That looks very similar to my REI Half Dome 2, though clearly larger. It is indeed a great tent, and at a decent price. The 2-man is a perfect 1-big-person-with-hardboxes size, fast to set up even in the dark, reasonably durable, no problems with rain getting in, free standing (one of my...

You moved INTO Toronto and got a rate cut?! That's not how it usually works. :o

I hate change.

For note, Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island has camping spaces reserved for motorcyclists. But don't expect to find one empty if you show up in the evening. They're always busy, and you won't find a campsite if you don't book ahead.