Studio711.com – Ben Martens

Your Mileage May Vary

If you’ve used a GPS in your car, you may have noticed that it doesn’t match your speedometer and odometer. Just about every car on the market has about a 3% difference between your actual speed and the displayed speed. (You’re really going slower than you think.) Imagine the lawsuits if people were getting pulled over because their speedometer reported that they were going slower than they really were. The difference can vary by car, tire size, etc.

Since getting the latest set of tires on my motorcycle, I noticed that my speedometer was getting pretty far off. It’s annoying to do math just to figure out how fast I’m really going. An actual speed of 60mph was reported as something more like 63-64mph. It also means that you’re racking up the miles faster which devalues your vehicle quicker than it should.

Enter the Speedohealer. They make a little box that connects in between your speed sensor and the dash. (Vist the HealTech web site to find the correct wiring harness for your bike.) You tell it exactly how much your gauges are off and it will make sure your gauges read correctly. I did a couple tests on the interstate with a GPS measuring my actual speed until I got it dialed in correctly. The unit also comes with a little button that you can mount somewhere near your dash that will recall your max speed and display it on the speedometer.

Installation on my 2009 Concours wasn’t just plug and play. When the unit was connected, the bike got a little hitch in it’s giddy up at low speeds. The instructions with the unit (specific for my bike) said that I needed to send the unaltered speed signal straight to the ECU. That meant cutting one wire from the main wiring harness and splicing in another one. I had to make the cut right by the plug going into the ECU, so if I did something wrong, it would have been very difficult to repair. I finally took the plunge and made the snip with visions of a four digit repair bill if I screwed it up. Thankfully all went well.

I hesitated to post this because I wasn’t sure how legal it was to monkey with your odometer, but I couldn’t find anything that said it was illegal to calibrate it correctly. Either way, I’m happy to be able to tell how fast I’m really going and have my odometer read the correct mileage. I don’t usually carry a mapping GPS on the bike so when I need to make a turn in 17.4 miles, I’ll actually be able to find it now!

benmartens June 5, 2012 Motorcycle

Lake Chelan

On Memorial Day weekend, Tyla and I headed over to Lake Chelan State Park with her family. It’s on the east side of the mountains, so if you remember your Washington geography, you’ll know that it’s in the desert.

The park is more focused on day use than overnight camping, but we probably had the best trailer camping spot in the park. We bordered the woods on one side so we had some privacy. And even better, there was a small stream running in the woods behind the site that the guys named Pee Creek.

The park does have some incredible tent sites. Each site has room for one car to park along the road and then you carry your gear about 50 feet down to the water. Your tent gets set up on the banks of the lake. There’s no immediate water access since there are about 10-15 feet of huge rocks heading down to the lake, but it’s still a great view. If you have a boat, you can even rent a dock right by your campsite!

The lake itself is gorgeous. It’s 55 miles long and is the largest natural lake in the state. At 1486 feet deep, it’s the third deepest lake in the US and the 25th deepest lake in the world. The bottom of the lake is 388 feet below sea level! I couldn’t find any stats about the cleanliness of the water but it was amazing how far down you could see.

We had beautiful weather all weekend which let us enjoy a lot of time playing with Oskar down by the lake, go for a couple short hikes, and check out the small dam just down stream from the lake.

It’s a very popular destination which means there can be big crowds, but since it’s such a big lake, the boat traffic didn’t look too crowded. When I make my millions, it will be tempting to buy a house somewhere on the lake. Maybe this one will still be for sale.

In a three hour drive home, we went from desert lake to snowy mountain pass to wet coastal region. I love the Pacific Northwest!

A few photos are included below and more are in the photo gallery.

benmartens May 31, 2012 Outdoors

Michelin Pilot Road 3

The front tire on my 2009 Kawasaki Concours has been wearing out and after 9700 miles, I no longer had much confidence in it. The back tire still looked pretty good, but I shopped around and decided to pull the trigger on new tires. The tech at Waldron Kawasaki suggested that I take the old rear tire home as a spare in case something happens to this new one and I don’t feel like shelling out the money for another tire right away. 10,000 miles isn’t a lot, but it’s not too low for a sport bike or a “super sport touring” bike which is what the classification of this bike.

The Bridgestones that came with the bike weren’t great and the compound on the front tires for the 09 model is notorious for being too soft and wearing out quickly. I opted for the Michelin PR3’s after quite a bit of internet research and talking to the guys at the shop.

First of all, it looks visually like it might be some kind of rain tire. The tire is siped and can move a lot of water on wet days, but it’s still very durable for hard riding and will last a long time. When people see the tire, the general reaction is that there is too much tread and there can’t be enough grip. However, a UK magazine did a wet weather test and was able to lean the bike over in the rain and drag a knee. Another reviewer took them to the famous Spa race track, ran a bunch of laps, and then ran thousands of miles with them on normal roads. Not too shabby!

The tire is dual compound which means the middle is a harder compound for long life and the sides are softer for increased grip in the corners. Reviewers also say that this tire is incredibly quick to warm up and you get good grip almost as soon as you leave the driveway.

Since this is the first time I’ve ever purchased new tires for a motorcycle, I don’t claim to be any kind of expert, but it’s cool to see how much technology and progress there is in the tire world. I was surprised that I could feel a difference when I rolled out of the dealer, but I don’t know if that was just because the tires were a different shape. The old ones were squared off a bit. Whether I’ll be able to tell a difference beyond that or not, I hope these last me for another 10K miles and beyond!

benmartens May 29, 2012 Motorcycle

Beware Of Bikers

It’s been almost four years since I wrote a post called “What Motorcyclists Wish You Knew.” While I still wish that every driver would read that post, I realize that there are always going to be bad drivers out there and it’s up to me to stay safe. I’ve been riding for seven years now and I feel like I’ve developed a sixth sense about traffic situations. 99% of people on the road follow a bunch of undefined social norms. The trick is to look for any car that is straying even slightly from the norm. It’s easy to spot the guy flying up behind you and weaving in and out of traffic erratically, but what about that car about a quarter mile up who keeps drifting slightly out of their lane or the person in the lane next to you who keeps slowing down to 50 before speeding back up to the speed limit. Those people seem more dangerous to me because they’re probably on their phones and are very unaware of what’s going on around them.

But if I could boil down that previous post to one item and share it with everyone, it would be “don’t ever enter a lane in front of a motorcycle.” That means don’t merge in front of a motorcycle on a highway or pull out in front of a motorcycle from a side street. It’s really hard to judge the speed of a motorcycle with a quick glance since the size is so different. Now if you turn on your blinker, wait for the biker to acknowledge you and wave you over, by all means go for it. But squeezing into that little space like you would between two cars is just not smart.

And while we’re at it, this applies to trucks too. I spent a lot of time on 405 in stop and go traffic and it blows my mind how many people will use the space in front of a semi to change lanes, even when traffic is coming to a halt. Why do you think that big space is there in front of the 30 ton behemoth? I’ll give you a hint: it’s not for you to cut into.

So be safe out there this summer! Pay extra attention to motorcycles around you and give them a little extra room. Yes, some riders are jerks, but the vast majority of us are just out to have a little extra fun on our commute. I’ll leave you with one little story from a ride a couple years ago. I was stopped in a line of traffic when a lady came whipping up the side and tried to cut into the spot that I was occupying. Thankfully she slammed on the brakes in time but she ended up close enough that I gave her a solid pound on her window with my fist. She rolled it down and started yelling at me. I waited for her to finish, flipped open my visor and said, “After you took this spot, were you planning on calling my wife to tell her why I won’t be home for dinner?”

benmartens May 28, 2012 Motorcycle

Drills

When I moved out on my own, my parents got me a 9V cordless Makita drill. It served me well through a ton of projects, but after 10 years, the batteries are worn out. It was either buy some new batteries or upgrade. After looking at the prices, I went with the latter and decided to keep the old drill around for smaller projects around the house.

I’ve loved using Tim’s 18V DeWalt drills. He works them much harder than I will and they’ve held up well, so that, combined with some online reviews, convinced me to stick with that brand.

DeWalt recently made a huge switch and broke backwards compatibility with their batteries. With over 60 million batteries on the market, that was a pretty big decision. I decided to buy into their new battery technology. It’s denoted on the market right now as 20v. Technically it’s actually still 18v but people were getting confused so it’s a marketing gimmick. The new batteries are lithium-ion and have a much different form factor that allows for smaller handles.

I ended up with the DCK280C2 combo kit which includes a compact drill, impact driver, two batteries, charger and a hard side case. Tim’s XRP batteries will last longer than mine, but I have the option of getting some “MAX Li-Ion 3.0Ah” batteries if I want. I’m very happy with the 1.5Ah batteries that were included though. On the recent deck project, I put in 250 screws with the impact driver before the first battery gave out. Each screw was going through 5/4” cedar into pressure treated support joists. Not bad! Each drill has built in lights that stay on 20 seconds after you’ve let off the trigger and that comes in pretty handy in dark spots. The lights on the impact driver work a little better because they have three lights around the chuck instead of a single light under the chuck.

Maybe impact drivers are old news, but I’ve only started using them in the last year or so. If you’ve never tried one, give it a shot next time you’re at Home Depot and you see the little demo setup. They are incredible. You’ll twist your mind trying to figure out how you can drive a screw all the way through a stud without exerting any pressure on the drill. It’s like a knife through butter!

benmartens May 25, 2012 Home Improvement

Home Depot Trips

They say when you buy a house, the three most important things are location, location and location. I have about a five minute drive to Home Depot so I’d say our location is pretty great! The people there are starting to recognize me, and well they should. Here’s a breakdown of my transactions at Home Depot since we moved got the house at the beginning of October.

  • 72 total transactions consisting of 62 purchases and 10 returns. That’s one purchase every 3.5 days.
  • I end up returning 7.5% (by dollar value) of the things I purchase
  • There are only five weeks that I didn’t go to Home Depot. One of them was the cruise.
  • The most purchases I’ve ever had in one week is six, and that has happened three times.
  • The most purchases I’ve made in one day is three.
  • Sunday is the most popular day for me to make a purchase, followed in order by Monday, Saturday, and Thursday.
  • Home Depot stock has gone up 50% since we purchased our home and has risen to a 10 year high.
benmartens May 17, 2012 Home Improvement

Kirkland 5k

Tyla’s company operates a booth every year at the Kirkland 5k and they encourage their employees to run. This year Tyla, Chelsea, Nancy and Megan all ran. Tim and I watched from the side of the road and snapped some photos.

benmartens May 15, 2012 Commentary

Cleaning Your Camelbak

We gave nephew David a kid sized Camelbak for his 6th birthday, and it reminded me of a post I’ve been meaning to do for a while on how to properly clean a hydration pack. Before I met Tyla, I don’t know if I cleaned mine more than once or twice. Turns out she doesn’t like drinking moldy water. Who knew? We now have quite a few of these bladders and I’ve gotten a lot better at keeping them sanitary.

The big problem with these things is that if you crumple them up and throw them in a dark spot, they’re never going to dry out. It’s a petri dish. So the number one task after you use your Camelbak is to get it dried out. You can try sticking something inside like tongs to keep it propped open, but make sure you wrap paper towels around any metal so you don’t get rust inside. You can also break one leg off a plastic hanger and attempt to hang the bladder sideways. I ended up purchasing the hanger that you see in the photo. The hardest part is figuring out how to use it! I haven’t found anything better for getting it completely dry in a fairly short amount of time.

Camelbak officially recommends that if you’re using it regularly, you can just keep water in it, or you can get most of the water out and throw it in the freezer. That should keep you free from most bacteria. It looks like some of their new hydration packs even come with built in hangers!

You can also buy cleaning tablet and brushes specially made for cleaning out the main compartment. Camelbak also sells a lot of replacement parts so you if something gets too damaged or dirty, you can just replace it.

I feel like there are probably better hydration systems out there, but so far I’ve been content with our Camelbaks and we own a bunch of them. If you’re looking to save some money, there are a lot of websites and YouTube videos about alternative ways to dry and clean these things.

benmartens May 14, 2012 Outdoors

Crystal Air Bag

Crystal Mountain recently installed a giant air bag. They put it underneath a jump so that people much younger than me can practice their jumps without much fear of injury. I just had to know what it felt like so last weekend Tyla and I went down to Crystal along with a couple friends from work, Andy and Aim.

Andy and I tried to come up with excuses for most of the day, but eventually our egos got the best of us. We paid our $5 for 2 jumps each and signed away all our rights.

The ramp was about 9 feet high and it wasn’t just a big wedge. It had a curve to it. Seeing all of the other people going off it and throwing backflips should have been a clue that the jump wasn’t going to be easy to go straight off of. The first time off, I tried to lean forward but I still ended up far on my back. The landing was smooth though so I climbed back up the hill to try again. The second time was way worse. This time I crouched a little bit with a plan to hop right at the top. The little pop helps keep you straight in the air. But I really underestimated the force that the ramp would exert as it through me up into the air. My slightly bent knees compressed all the way so that my head was between my knees when I went off the jump. It actually knocked the wind out of me! Style for miles.

So I looked completely ridiculous, but I’m happy that I did it. When I finished I said I’d never try it again, but the pain is already starting to fade in my memory and of course now I think I should try it again but this time I should attempt a backflip. There’s always next year.

And since I have no pride, here’s a video. The skier is me and the snowboarder is Andy. He fared much better than I did. The noise you hear in the background is the generator running to power the fans that keep the bag inflated.

benmartens May 8, 2012 Skiing

Tulip Ride 2012

Last weekend, Tyla and I went on the annual Tulip Ride. This was my fifth ride with the group. The only one I’ve missed was in 2011 because we were on our 1 year anniversary trip. The first ride in 2007 was maybe 20-30 people and it has gotten bigger every year. This year the peak count was 162 bikes! The ride started in Redmond with about half the group starting there. We rode up 405 to Tulalip Casino in Marysville to meet up with the second half of the group. A police escort helped get us through all the stop lights up there by blocking of all the intersections and we made our way up to the tulip fields.

The organizer always calls the specific field where we stop and asks them to reserve space for us. He had planned on at least an acre of solid ground for us to park on, but when we got there they had room for maybe 50 bikes if we packed them tight. Tyla and I saw the mess and decided to just keep riding since there weren’t many tulips left and I was getting tired of riding in a pack.

We rode on and had our picnic lunch under the Deception Pass bridge, rode down Whidbey Island and caught the ferry back home.

The weather wasn’t sunny but it cooperated and we only got misted on from time to time. Photos are posted in the photo gallery. Some of them are a little blurry since it was dark and it was hard to take pictures on a moving bike! But it should give you a little idea of the ruckus we caused with all those bikes. Do you ride in the Seattle area? Join us next year! Watch tulipride.org for details.

benmartens May 4, 2012 Motorcycle