The Beginning

I spent the winter months of 2006 searching the internet for articles about motorcycling and reading books like Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well by David L. Hough. A great book full of motorcycle riding information as well as a guide of riders do’s and don’ts that is really helpful for the beginner rider.

 

How to Learn to Ride Properly 

The first major suggestion is take a motorcycle safety course. Find a good Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) affiliated school.

We found a local MFS school conducted by the Calgary Safety Council and we signed up for the first spring course in April 2007.

The Motorcycle course they offer is 20 hours in length, 17 hours are riding on a motorcycle and the other 3 hours are classroom time.

You must bring, for all motorcycle riding classes:

a.  Helmet (Department of Transport, D.O.T. approved)

b.  Eye protection

c.  Sturdy jacket (jean or leather)

d.  Pants (jeans or some type of durable material)

e.  Footwear (must cover ankles) – hiking boots or cowboys boots (runners are NOT acceptable)

f.  Gloves (leather or work glove)

g.  Rain gear is strongly recommended

If you are a novice rider you will gain knowledge to help avoid accidents during the first six months of riding.

You will learn:

How to ride a motorcycle

Anticipating hazards

Making yourself more visible

Collision avoidance

Riding in adverse conditions

Slow speed control and balance

Accelerating and braking

Turning and obstacle negotiation

Emergency braking

Selecting safety apparel and equipment

Basic mechanics and maintenance

Skills to pass the Class 6 Motorcycle Test

On our course a helmet and motorcycle was provided and we had the opportunity to do our class 6 Motorcycle class licence on the Calgary Safety Council course for the cost of the test.

My wife was injured on the hill stop/start ramp during a rainy snow filled afternoon so she was given the chance for another course later on once she healed.

The course they used at the time had a poor setup for the hill stop/start. They took a 4×8 plywood sheet cut in half sloped in the middle to form the hill which was covered with roofing singles for grip. A lot of the shingles had torn away so only bare plywood was left which made for a very slippery surface.

Now I’m all for challenges but this was a little much considering they sent two riders on the ramp at the same time to speed things up. When you rode up the ramp the rider on the left had to put their left foot down as you were holding the rear brake with your right foot. When my wife put her left foot down she was so close to the edge that she lost her footing and over she went off the side of the ramp resulting in an injury to her ankle.

The folks were good to offer her a course at a later date but it really shattered her confidence and all could have been avoided if the ramp was setup properly. I’m sure they were concerned that someone could possibly take legal action due to the poor condition of the ramp hence the fast offer for another course.

The next course my wife took was the three-day all day course on a new course setup in Airdrie, Alberta that had a really good hill setup. It was an actual paved hill on the course lot.

Although the safety course was done during nice warm summer days, on a nice new course, a lot of the woman on the all day course never gained the confidence to take the Class 6 test my wife included.

At least they all gained the experience that in the event that the driver became incapacitated they could reach over and get the bike stopped safely. As well they gained the knowledge in what to watch out for and be an extra set of eyes to warn the driver of possible dangers.

Anyway I managed to completed the course and passed the test on the first try thanks to the excellent training on the course.

Next challenge would be what type of bike to purchase.

What Bike To Buy

During the previous winter I search the internet for reviews on everything motorcycle from bikes to gear.

We really wanted a bike we could ride around town as well as the highway. We wanted to be able to able to carry purchases from the grocery store as well as ride two up through the mountains and on vacation. I really wanted a bike that would require minimum maintenance that was easy to clean.

I did not want to spend my summer cleaning and fixing a bike and I certainly did not want one that would break down on a long trip.

After a long search I decided that the Honda PC800 Pacific Coast would fill the bill. Honda built this bike with the commuter in mind. You were going to be able to ride to work, find parking easy and then open the trunk and pull out your laptop and briefcase, then put in your helmet and riding gear. This bike could do all that, get great gas mileage, required hardly any maintenance, and was completely closed in so cleaning was a snap. This is a perfect commuter bike that never did catch on.

The PC800 Pacific Coast is a touring motorcycle made in Japan by Honda between 1989 and 1998. Over 14,000 were sold in North America, Europe and Japan, with a three-year hiatus between two production runs. The bike is noted for a single integrated trunk straddling the rear wheel, full bodywork, and distinctive two-tone paint.

The PC’s beauty goes beyond skin-deep. The engine, the slightly re-worked mill from the 750 Shadow, is an 800cc 64 bhp 45-degree V-twin with two spark plugs per cylinder. It is smooth, durable, and efficient, but hardly dramatic. It will go 120 mph, but you will a good stretch of road to get it there as the acceleration is a little slow.  Like almost every Honda it has proven over time to be a virtually bulletproof power plant.

Like all Honda motors, it is quality through-and-through. It is common to find owners who have racked up in excess of 150,000 miles without any major repairs. The current record is 300,000 miles.

It’s happy sipping 87 octane at a rate of 40 to 50 miles per gallon, depending on load, speed and aggressiveness.

The only major negative point is the look of the backend. It is often referred to as a pregnant scooter due to its unattractive wide bottom and lack of an integral upper box like the Goldwing.

We decided that the PC800 Pacific Coast was what we needed so I searched the internet and we found a very low mileage Pacific Coast (6700) in Englewood Co. a suburb of Denver Co. at a reasonable price. After communicating with the owner Tony I was able to set up a viewing.

I’m very fortunate to be a pilot for a company that has an office in Denver that is visited quite often so on the next trip I arrange to have Tony come out to the airport and see the airplane while my friend who was on the trip looked over the bike for me. After just a few minutes my friend Dwayne called and said that all he could find was a small scratch on the top of the front fender, I said that’s it and he started to laugh saying it was like new so I asked if he would give Tony the deposit I sent and get a deposit receipt.

Tony had already told me that he was willing to keep the bike in the garage until we could get down with the rest of the money and a trailer to haul it home.

I had no experience riding so I was a little nervous thinking about riding it home to Calgary from Denver and had never done an import of a vehicle so I figured that trailering was the answer.

After numerous emails to Tony regarding the possibility of the bike fitting in the back of a van a date was set for pickup. We were so pleased with the bike and all the help from Tony. He provided step by step photos and instructions on how to remove the windscreen along with measurements that confirmed it would indeed fit into the back of the van.

Once we knew it would fit in the van we found steel ramps on sale that would ease the loading process and straps to tie it down.

During the winter I found an article on trailering a PC800 and the equipment to use. They suggested a wheel chock and a handle bar strap. Reviews stated that the best motorcycle wheel chock a Condor and the best handle bar strap a Canyon Dancer would ensure no damage during transporting.

Two weeks later my wife and I were on our way with a borrowed van from my father along with loading ramps, tie down straps, a Condor bike wheel chock, and Canyon dancer handle bar strap.

Upon arriving in Englewood Co we found the seller Tony had the windshield removed and was ready to help load the bike into the van. After quickly setting up the ramps we rolled the bike in the van. We had to lean it over quite a bit to get it through the back door but once it stood straight up and rolled right into the wheel chock. The Condor wheel chock worked so well we could have hauled it home without the straps. The Canyon Dancer strap made sure it didn’t tip at all, they are an excellent designed strap.

While searching for PC800 related items online I learned that there was a windscreen manufacture just outside of Denver in Pine Co. by the name of Clearview Shields. I made a call from the hotel to confirm they had PC800 windscreens in stock and got directions to the Clearview Shop.

After loading the bike we drove out to Pine Co to visit the Clearview Shields, a small shop in a small town producing a very good product at a fair price. I managed to find a discounted tinted shield with a vent at a very good price. Along with a tour I received instructions on how to remove and install a five position vent as well. Go by the shop and visit some great guys and get a great savings on shipping and enjoy a really scenic drive in the mountains of Colorado.

The PC800 did not have a backrest so I ordered one online and had it shipped free to the office in Buffalo Wy where we would overnight and visit with a friend.

Prior to leaving the hotel in Denver we had faxed the required export papers to U.S. Customs and first thing in the morning in Buffalo I called to check if everything was received ok and they stated that it had been cleared already. The next thing we need to do is import it into Canada. It was our first time doing so and everything went just fine.

After getting the bike home I had to search around for somewhere to have the tires changed, have an out of province inspection done and get it insured and licensed.

It appears that almost all service shops want to work on newer bikes and have so much work that older bikes can be ignored. I paid a shop in Airdrie AB over four hundred dollars to have two tires changed. Then I paid another shop $120.00 for an inspection which I had to wait all day for. Seems like the bike shops in Calgary are doing just fine.

Shortly after getting the bike licensed I learnt my first lesson in moving a bike by hand. As I was moving the bike around in the garage after installing the backrest I let it get too far away from my body, then it started to show its weight and then over it went. I just couldn’t hold it so the lesson is keep it tight against your hip or straddle it.

Thankfully nothing was broke and only a little scuff on the mirror occurred, the old saying goes “there are some that have and some that will”.

How to Start Out

I started out on the country roads that were fairly less traveled by other motorists applying all that was taught on the course and what I had learned in David Hough`s books . I also went to empty parking lots practicing the handling exercises taught during the course and those on “The Ride Like a Pro” DVD by Jerry “Motorman” Palladino

It took quite a while before I was riding two up as I wanted to be sure I knew what I was doing. The last thing I wanted to do was scare my wife and then not have her wanting to ride along.

My brother-in-law was a metric bike dealer and my wife and I had been exposed to motorcycles through him so we did have somewhat of an advantage over others learning but we still didn’t want to die doing what we enjoyed.

We live fairly close to the outskirts of the city so we would take the back roads and old highways to the mountains during the week when traffic was light. We would get into the mountains and found ourselves total amazed at how it felt, how quiet it was and how beautiful it looked when viewed in the open that only a motorcycle can provide.

Within a very short period of time we both started feeling comfortable and longer day trips started to take place.

We were well on our way to more than just weekday jaunts. Full days of motorcycle touring and long distance travel across Canada and USA are in our near future.