Zen and the Art of Cleaning a Motorcycle + Upcoming Stuff

But Why Do I keep putting it Off?

Goldie Clean and Detailed

If like me you're very good at putting off things, then it might seem a normal thing to do to just not clean your motorcycle. But at the same time you probably also feel guilty that your bike doesn't look as clean as it should. I know I certainly do. So, I finally got round to it today and I feel in someway renewed or more complete and I really enjoyed the process of wiping away the grime, seeing the shiny chrome and the paint looking pristine again. So, I guess it is a bit Zen like and perhaps the garden behind is a hint, flowers in the background the sense of calm and maybe that's what you need to be able to do this. Certainly a lot of the time there always seems to be something more important. or something that somebody is telling you to do and I know I certainly have got lots of things that I need to do but, today my set aside the excuses and I actually got the job done. I also put an Carnauba wax on the tank, mudguards and painted areas which felt like the cherry on the cake. The wheels which were replaced under warranty recently are now clean and shiny, but I still need to apply some wax coating to them for summer protection. My favourite job though was shining the stainless steel exhaust which was looking grimy and dowdy and now has a shimmering finish. I know that finish wont last, but it still gave me pleasure to work on it.

I suppose the question I'd ask you is; do you put things off or are you one of those organised people who has everything on a rota? I can remember one biker who used to go so far as using cotton buds when detailing his bike. That's a bit extreme but what tricks and techniques do you have up your sleeve for dealing with those tedious jobs ,you know cleaning spokes and things like that. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this matter because sometimes I wonder whether I'm constantly reinventing the wheel every time I clean my bike.

Thanks for bearing with me today and as a reward for getting to the bottom of this rambling blog post, here's a selection of images from forthcoming Vlogs which will be on my YouTube channel shortly.

Maeving RM2

Honda Rebel 1100 DCT

Scooter Boys

Want to Enjoy Cornwall But Avoid Tourists?

My Latest Video Now Live on the 'Tube Will Help You!

OK, so I'm being unkind to Tourists (well somebody has to😉) but in the Summer it can be a very real problem finding the less crowded roads so your ride can be a pleasant one. As I've now been resident in Kernow (Cornwall) for some 20 years, I've got to know some of those destinations that aren't subjected so much to over Tourism. You know the kind of thing, drivers in big cars unable to reverse, filling all the car parks and hogging the restaurants, all the while moaning that Cornwall isn't like where they came from. Well if that's the case, why not go back there? 😔 So here's an antidote as I head out on a route that finds places that should still be bearable even in the height of the Summer Season. I can't guarantee they will be totally tourist free zones, but with me you've got a much better chance of avoiding Summer season gridlock. 

Now, since you've been such a hero by visiting this Blog in support of my channel, here is a bit of a sneak peek of something coming soon(ish)  to whet your appetite.😊

If you DO watch this video, please do hit the 👍 button and if you have time put a comment below and then subscribe. If you really like it, channel membership is only 99pence per month and if 100 of my subscribers paid this minimal amount, it would make my creative process that much easier by allowing me to obtain the kit desperately needed to sustain this small channel. 

Thank You, Andy😁

My first Ever Easter Egg Run

In aid of Some Very Deserving Charities

But I nearly didn't go, courtesy of an iffy weather forecast coupled with reluctance to exit my toasty warm bed. I was so glad I did go in the end, but the attendant lack of planning nearly derailed the whole event for me as I ended up furiously charging every recording device needed for vlogging that morning. Miraculously, I succeeded and early on a cold and blustery morning headed towards Davidstow airfield. There, I was greeted by the sight of 100s and 100s of motorcycles lined up on what remains of the WWII runway. It was cold and every hollow was filled with pools of rainwater from a recent cloudburst. But everyone was in ebullient mood, and with good reason as after a long and very wet winter we were all  dead keen to get on our bikes and ride in aid of a good cause. So, I did and you can look at the resultant gallery of images, by clicking on the image below.

At Bowden Perra

Video from the day is still in production and may be a while as I have a lot to work through currently. However, you can also click on the short clip below which will give you an idea of the scale of the meet. 

At Victoria

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Celebrating 1800 subscribers 🎉

 Running a Small YouTube Channel is Hard Work

Thank You!

There are costs involved that viewers don't see like equipment, subscriptions to ancillary services and just time. Plus the infamous algorithm doesn't promote small channels, so the number of people that get exposed to what we do is tiny. Therefore we need every ounce of support from that core and dedicated group. So, a huge and heartfelt thankyou goes out to each and everyone of you. Small acts like clicking the like button and putting a comment on are also vital and for us as small content creators are the main reward for what we do. One other thing that also helps is the new Hype button which was designed to give small content creators a leg up, so if you see that, do give it a hit. The monetary support from Ad revenue although welcome is minimal at this level, so anything you can do is warmly received. Heck, if you want to give ongoing support, channel membership is just £0.99 (or equivalent in local currency) For people who want to provide a one-off donation, there is the Buy me a Coffee link below every video😁

A Nice Ride Out

We Finally Had Some Decent Weather, So it was time to Ride 😃

Vlog is in preparation, but just for now, here are a few sniplets to munch through with your Sunday brunch... 

Honda CBX 1000

Six Cylinder Beauty

My Grubby Goldie, ready for the off

In Ebullient mood

Beaford Bike Show

 This looks like a fun day out in the glorious Devon Countryside. Who else is going???

I nearly Died Roadtesting the DJI OSMO 5 Pro & Mic Mini

 Well Almost...

You see I was out on my BSA giving my new wireless Vlogging setup an initial run, first without any external microphone, then with the DJI Mic Mini attached to the nose guard inside the helmet. This was just the first option I tried as after a scan of YouTube and the Internet in general, there appears to be almost as many solutions as there are people using this set up. But, what is the ideal set up for me? I'm acutely aware that getting both good quality audio and video from a motovlogging setup can be a tricky task. In fact, it's almost a black art in itself. However, as you can see from this initial run I was actually moderately pleased with the quality of the output and of course the horizon stabilisation is very good indeed. So, no real worries about the video quality and the sound was acceptable, despite both the tentative location of the microphone

Taking a break at the historic Bodinnick Ferry

and me having the remnants of a particularly nasty cold which made my voice muffled anyway. Motovlogging can be something that's quite distracting when you're trying to mentally compose yourself and deliver your thoughts to camera whilst riding a motorcycle which in itself is an activity that requires 100% concentration. However, I was sufficiently alert when a man in a red Ford pulled out from a side road in front of me to slow down to a safe speed and avoid him with no issues and the other oncoming car was also able to slow down. Clearly the driver of the red Ford was aware neither of myself on my bike, nor the oncoming white car. This is not an uncommon situation, as in Cornwall where I live drivers often perceive themselves as having a right way from an adjoining road to a main one and this can result in some alarming situations. It's certainly a lesson that to visiting tourists need to take on board because traffic in this part of the world is A: slow moving and B: doesn't look out for hazards in the same way as you might do in a busy city centre or urban location. The belief that traffic levels are low enough for everybody just to amble along safely is quite deeply embedded. Of course, having on board video is an excellent safety device. Now I already have the Aocci C6 pro which does already do that but most people don't have on board front and rear dash cams so a vlogging camera such as the Osmo is a valuable safety asset. If there had been an accident, I could've produced that footage in my defence or in order to prosecute a driver who is driving carelessly.

So, to be exact what are the benefits of this type of setup? well in a word, wireless That's right there are no dangling wires, no gaffer tape and no uncomfortable lumps in your cheek pad.

Osmo Action 5 with mic Mini

But of course there are limitations and restrictions all of its own. Namely you need to make sure you've got a good connection between the microphone and the receiver which in this case is the Osmo Action 5 Pro. Now, it does appear that after some years of evolution with this type of way of transmitting sound that DJI have more or less nailed it and the results you can get are really very good indeed. What it doesn't do of course is takeaway wind noise outside your helmet or how badly or well your helmet transmits that wind noise and indeed how well it dampens noise coming from any other location such as road noise, induction noise, engine noise, exhaust noise and so on. You get the picture, there are a lot of variables to manage and although there is noise reduction and decibel level reduction, at the end of the day the best thing is to have a clean signal in the first place. So a primary need is to place the microphone somewhere that you'll get the cleanest signal from the voice with suitable input from background or other sources such as engine or exhaust which complement the ability to deliver what the person is saying without drowning it out. A truly professional set up would involve multi channels and then use of a recording engineer to balance it all out and I'm sure this is what professional production companies like the BBC, ITV and so on do when they're creating videos from moving objects such as cars, motorbikes planes etc. In fact, even with all those facilities it's still often the professional choice to add back the road noise or other sounds so when you go to the cinema in that DOLBY surround, not much of what's coming out at you was actually present on the day. So without the ability to add oodles of special effects and other things before and after, what we have to do is try and get that clean signal which means placing the microphone somewhere where you get the verbals and some background noise but not enough to overwhelm it because simply limitations of physics state that it can only record what's there and without separate channels you can't decode it completely. That being said you can add the second microphone to get another channel which could be managing exhaust or road noise or induction noise but that's it and there are tricks you can do in post production to separate channels and add a surround sound element but that takes time and skill. Balancing sounds as I said it is a skill which most of us don't possess. So the final quality is never going to be 100% perfect. But what it needs to be is good enough so that the listener in this case doesn't immediately switch off. So, this has been a first iteration of a wireless microphone and vlogging camera set up. It has done away with the wires it is a clean set up there's still a few things to fettle and that there probably will be several more iterations of placement of microphone and so forth before I get the best quality obtainable from this particular setup. What that means to you is there should be clean sound, really good quality video and a better viewer experience.

So, what are your thoughts on the matter? I'd be delighted to hear, so pop a comment below or even better go to the YouTube video which I've put the link to above and leave a comment there. Some of the things I'd like to know about are: how important the sound to you? and, are you interested in in what the Vlogger is saying or actually do you just want to hear the engine noise and watch the visuals? It would be really helpful because you can't decide what to do in a vacuum. More on this subject coming soon.