Note from Phil

Time to get it done

Hey Guys,

reg's 600 Being the ultimate procrastinator it seems like I’m always playing catch up on chores. I’d planned on spending the off months getting the bikes cleaned up and serviced in December. Now here it is the first of February and of course I’ve got a garage full of filthy bikes that need oil changes, tires, batteries and various stuff done to them

The first CLASS sessions are just a couple of months away. So now is the time to get busy. Check your service schedule, if you bike’s due for service, get it done. Be sure and check you chain and sprockets. If they look worn change them out. Don’t take a chance on breaking a chain on the track.

It’s also a good idea to have the suspension serviced. Ohlins recommends shocks be serviced every 18k miles. Don’t forget to replace your fork fluid. Forks internals are very sensitive to any debris or seal material that can end up gumming up the holes in the dampening rods.

If you haven’t done it already pick out some CLASS dates and get signed up. Then order some new Dunlops and hide them in the garage, I like to keep 2 or 3 sets of tires stashed away just in case. I mean you never know when there could be a tire famine or some other disaster.

How about your gear? Get your leathers out and clean them up. While your cleaning them look for any stitching that’s coming apart. Check the zippers make sure there aren’t any broken teeth and that they’re functioning ok. Now is the time to get any repairs made. Check all the stitching and fasteners on your gloves and boots.

Or just do like Hugo and buy a new bike.

See You Out There,

Phil

Hey Phil: That picture at the top is what Regs bike looks like today as I received your email so I added it. You guys are on the same wavelength! Cheers, Gigi

Phil Cowden: Force 5 Envoy & Now CLASS Instructor...

Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.

Those words have run through my head at least a hundred times since last March (2009). That’s when Reg called me and asked if I’d like to go back to MSR in Texas and help out by becoming an instructor.

HOLY COW! Drive half way across the country, pulling a trailer loaded with motorcycles; to track I’d never even heard of, to instruct a bunch of people I’d never met on how to ride a motorcycle. I remember I hearing myself saying “Absolutely, Reg, thank you. I’d love to go” but I was actually thinking “Really, Reg? You really think this is good idea to make ME an instructor?” But too late, I was loading up and trying to figure out how to get to Houston.

Well, I made it to Texas and back. I lived through Ted, Gary and Jeff’s initiations and I didn’t kill any students. I figure I could have done a lot worse. Now some 8 months and better than a dozen schools later I feel like I’ve started to get a handle on this instructor thing. Although I still can’t believe how exhausting it is to spend all day riding around a racetrack.

You know, when I first thought about what it was going to be like to be an instructor. I thought about all the track time I was going to get. And it’s true I get (have) to ride all day long. It turns out that riding all day on the track is incredibly exhausting and at the end of the day. When I start thinking about being careful about what I wish for and I start to think about the how the day went. I don’t think about how fast I was or how well I rode. I think about the students I talked to. I think about whether I’ve actually helped anybody be a better rider. I always wonder if I’ve made a positive difference to somebody. Hope so.

Phil