So Long, Grodsky

Motorcycle Saftey Expert and Rider magazine columnist Dave Grodsky died in a collision with a deer this week.

In the November 2005 issue, he listed changes he had seen since he began riding in 1970. Number 5 was Deer:

"Unbelievable as this may sound, nearly one of every 200 vehicles in the United States will collide with a deer this year! In 2005 they roam the neighborhood the way dogs did in the days before leash laws. Unlike inattentive drivers, who invade our space from well-known coordinates, deer explode at full gallop out of anything vaguely green. It's a game of chance, but the odds are markedly better for the who manage their speed and who understand where and when deer are most active."

We *will* miss him, indeed. I've always enjoyed his articles in Rider and I took his death to heart. My wife and I were out in the fields and forests for a ride at dusk just last night, and I thought, "What the hell am I doing out here in deer country at this time of day?" We pulled up to a stop light at the next town, and I leaned over to ask my wife how she was doing. She said she was fine, but she was thinking about Grodsky through that last stretch. I told her her head was in the right place, dialing it down and watching for deer. I suppose as I continue to ride I will collect these little momentos, these little memory triggers. Like I think of target fixation every time I pass that spot I fixated on a patch of gravel and set it down. And now I'll dial it down and watch for deer, in memory of Grodsky, when I ride in deer country or in the deer hours.

Flaccid Brakes

I am not happy with the feel of my front brake on the V30. It works, but the lever travels farther than it seems like it should. My wife's V30, by contrast, has a very solid response when squeezing the front brake lever. Her brake lever travels less than mine before reaching a "really tight squeeze".

I noticed my front brake was flaccid when I resumed my daily-commuting schedule this month. I did not notice it during my shorter New Years Day ride, or any of the half a dozen short rides I squoze in during the first three months of the year.

I just rebuilt my caliper and master cylinder a year ago this month. I bled my brakes again this morning, at the banjo bolts and the bleeder valve, and got nothing, no change in brake feel. The brake fluid looked fresh and clean -- unlike what I took out of it a year ago, which looked like Guiness.

I have not noticed any fading. The brake feels the same whether they are hot or cold, whether I've applied them twice or 14 times.

I rode 30 miles to my brother-in-law's for Easter Sunday dinner. While there I asked him -- he used to race bikes professionally -- and he said it felt fine.

My brother-in-law thought I could just be feeling the difference in the rotors or pads between my V30 and my wife's. I will measure them to see if there is a significant difference. Somehow that doesn't seem right to me; I thought the hydraulic brakes would self adjust for wearing of the pads and rotors -- isn't that the whole idea?

Could I just be feeling the need to replace the brake lines? Could mine be swelling and her brake lines not?

What are your thoughts? (Meanwhile, I'll continue to research it...)


ATGATT...Daily Rider - I love my V30

1984 VF500C V30 Black "Raven" (my own)1984 VF500C V30 Red "Katie" (my wife's)

Daily Rider

37 degrees, 7:30 am Wednesday, April 5, 2006.

I ride to work when it's over 35 degrees, and once the trip can be done in daylight. I don't want to be riding to work in the dark on black ice. It's a little nippy in the morning, but the afternoon trips home are heaven.