Studio711.com – Ben Martens

Lemme Hear Those Pipes

Ever since I bought my motorcycle, I've wanted to do something to fix the pipes. The previous owner had blued the pipes (overheating) and it really detracted from the look of the bike. I was at the Kawasaki dealer the other day and asked how much it would be for new pipes. He replied, "$800. I suggest you check out eBay." Why hadn't I thought of that?

I ended up getting pipes from a 2003 Vulcan (mine is a 1995) for under $100 shipped to my door. These new pipes are significantly bigger and longer, but they fit on the bike without too much trouble. The only disappointment is that they are a bit quieter. My old pipes were borderline obnoxiously loud so I'm sure my neighbors will appreciate the new pipes.

The good news is that the bike looks great now. Bling bling!

benmartens August 20, 2007 Commentary, Motorcycle

Deception Pass

We're back from the big camping trip, and I happily declare it a success. There were some doubts about the weather, but the worst we got were a few sprinkles here and there. Thankfully Tim bought one of those tents that goes over the picnic table and that really saved the day. It kept stuff from falling on the table and gave us a respite from the rain when we needed it. Our days were filled with walks on the beach, a catamaran boat trip, a Flexi-straw challenge, and general laziness around camp fires.

I've been told that I don't post enough pictures, so this time I posted around 70. That's about 20% of the photos that were taken. Between Chelsea and I, I don't think anything was left undocumented.  It's a beautiful area. You'll need to book early to get a camp site, but it's worth the effort if you get a chance. Try to snag site #30. We had complete privacy. Nobody could see us while we sat around the campfire.

We also took a bit of video which again seems little a good match for stuff you find on YouTube. There's no editing or anything like that, but it might make you chuckle.

I walked around the campsites and saw license plates from all over the United States. When I was at Mt. St. Helens, I listened to the crowd shout out where they were from, "New York! Japan! Texas!" It makes me smile to know that I only had to drive an hour or two to get to these places.

[Photos] [Video]

benmartens July 24, 2007 Outdoors, Travel

Ben Vs. Wild

Today a plan hatched in January comes to fruition. Seven month ago, we made reservations for the oh-so-popular Deception Pass State Park campground. This place fills up faster than a Bon Jovi concert in Atlantic City. The park is located in Puget Sound about 10 miles south of Anacortes. Translation: gorgeous.

We might have a few showers to contend with, but after surviving the monsoon camping trip, I'm not too worried. When it's not raining we'll be playing cornhole, watching Tim play with the fire, and inspecting the quality of some adult beverages. I'm really looking forward to this trip. We start today and don't come back until Monday so that will give us two full days on the site.

Have a good weekend!

benmartens July 20, 2007 Outdoors, Travel

Lost My Marbles

If you want to feel out of place, walk into a craft store in your motorcycle gear and ask where the glass marbles are. I did that this afternoon to prepare for my first motorcycle modification.

I'm not really into modifying my vehicles. Upgrades to my motorcycle consist of a new seat and a little stick-on clock so I know what time it is. So what's the first real change I made to my Vulcan? I shoved a marble in the engine. Let me explain…

My bike has always popped/backfired when I decelerate hard. The exhaust pipes were also really blue when I bought the bike. After searching around on the web the other night, I learned that this is a common occurrence with Vulcans. It's caused by an EPA addition to the bike that allows extra air into the exhaust system upon deceleration to burn any unused fuel and reduce emissions. Side effects are an overheated exhaust (blue pipes) and loud popping.

The solution is to remove the gas tank, change some air hoses, and remove that valve. The easy solution is to remove the air filter, find that the vacuum hose that controls the valve, and shove a marble in the end. This seems to be a pretty common solution. As one forum poster put it, "You don't need to buy marbles. Just go find any other Vulcan owner. They probably have a bag of 99 marbles laying around."

I was more than a little nervous about the change. After studying some websites and reading the maintenance manual, I was about 90% sure I had the right hose. So I shoved a marble in the end and reassembled the bike. As I turned the key, I had visions of a marble bouncing around in the cylinder, but it all sounded ok. The engine purred as I flew down the road spewing gas droplets into the environment and killing wildlife for 100 miles in all directions.

After a 15 minute test ride, I think I'm going to declare this a tentative success. I was unable to get the bike to backfire and it ran well. The real test will be coming down off of Mt. St. Helens on the big Sunday ride. When I rode down Mt. Rainier last year it was backfiring like crazy.

benmartens July 13, 2007 Commentary, Motorcycle, Projects

I Conquered Gravity

On Saturday, Tim and I hiked up to the top of Tiger Mountain along the West Tiger #3 trail. I’ve read about it online and it’s often mentioned as one of the most popular hikes in the area. Tiger is the mountain (large hill) that stares you in the face as you get off of I-90 on exits 17 or 18 and when you leave my house and head down Trossachs Blvd. There are over 80 miles of trails on Tiger Mountain, but the trail we hiked was 2.5 miles and 2000 vertical feet one way.

As we started the hike, my macho goal was to not suggest any breaks and wait for Tim to get tired first. That lasted for about 5 minutes. I’m really out of shape after being on the doctor-ordered rest for 3+ months. It took us an hour and fifteen minutes to get to the top and forty five minutes to get down. We’ll see how much that time improves by the end of the summer.

Oh and this magnificent hiking is less than 15 minutes from my house. It’s just one of the many reasons I’m happy I live “way out there.”

benmartens July 9, 2007 Outdoors, Travel

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July! I hope you're remembering the significance of this day by eating lots of meat, drinking lots of beverages, and exploding gunpowder in the sky.

I just got back from a nice 100 mile motorcycle ride with Matt, Jim, and Simeon. In a couple hours I'll be headed over to the Gaulke estate for some grilling and fireworks. From what I've heard, his fireworks show rivals the one at Gas Works Park.

Enjoy the holiday!

benmartens July 4, 2007 Commentary, Motorcycle

Penrose Point Recap

Tim, Chelsea and I headed for Penrose Point State Park on Friday. It rained most of the day but stopped before we arrived at the site. We had just enough light to set up the tents before spending the rest of the night around the campfire. Saturday was full of cornhole, hiking, and sleeping. We packed up on Sunday morning and headed home. The weather was 75-80 and sunny all weekend.

It was a quick trip, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Expect to see more camping reports throughout the summer.

Pictures are posted in the gallery. I'll add more from Tim and Chelsea in a day or two.

benmartens July 2, 2007 Outdoors, Travel

Camping

I must say that I've been jubilant since receiving the good news from my doctor. This must be how Paris felt when she was released from jail… minus the withdrawal effects.

The first weekend of my summer begins with a camping trip. Tim, Chelsea and I are headed for Penrose Point State Park. The park itself doesn't seem all that remarkable, but there were only a few choices left since this was a last minute decision. Our goal for this trip is simplicity – no pots, no pans, no dishes, no stove. It's just going to be cooking over the fire, relaxing, reading, and playing lots of cornhole. I'll post some pictures when I get back. Have a great weekend!

benmartens June 29, 2007 Commentary, Outdoors

Cornhole!

A few weeks ago, I ordered some official cornhole bags, and Saturday I finally got around to building the boards. Since I helped Jay build his back in Jersey, I knew what I was getting into and was able to modify the design a bit. This time I used MDF for the surface boards and put hinges on the legs for easier transporting. Unfortunately it was pretty rainy so we didn't get to try them out, but I'm sure we'll get to play some night this week.

benmartens June 25, 2007 Commentary

Cornhole

What a weekend. I always forget how far away the east coast is until I'm sitting on a plane for 4815162342 hours. But I would turn right around and do it all over again. I had a great time.

Friday morning was the start of party preparations. We made trips to pick up a keg, CO2 for the kegerator, and supplies to make cornhole. We've talked about making cornhole ever since we saw it played up in Eagan. The game is kind of like horseshoes but with beanbags instead of chunks of metal, and you're trying to throw through a hole in a piece of wood. I might feature the game in an upcoming podcast, but suffice it to say, everyone loves cornhole. The game was in use for pretty much the entire weekend. Friday night, Talbot, Adam, Jay and I put a dent in the keg and stayed up until Lauren and Andy got in around 2:30.

Saturday was party day and there was plenty of meat on the grill, friends mingling, drinks flowing, and cornhole bags flying through the air. A huge thanks goes out to Jay and Juliet for opening up their house to us ruffians. You two have an amazing place and lots of great people to fill it. It was fantastic seeing everyone again (well, almost everyone.) I hope we can do it again soon!

Pictures are posted in the photo gallery.

benmartens May 21, 2007 Travel