How do you tune up an electric motorcycle?

I can tell you that having an electric motorcycle constitutes far less maintainance than my gas-powered motorcycles have in the past. In fact, the most I do is give Dorothy a nice bubble bath and give her the equivalent of some moisturizer with a little chain lube!  So, if you found out that your field rep was coming out to give your beloved electric motorcycle a tune up, what would you think?  
What I thought and what actually happened were two different things. Dorothy got her tune up on a lap-top…. LOL.  Dave put the laptop on her seat, hooked her up, and waited for the program to load. I guess you could say that she got a program transfusion! Then he did a complete check up to make sure everything worked. She was better than new! 
 

Dorothy loves “Dr. Murray”!  He takes such good care of her…..

Lady Godiva on wheels……glad the doctor makes house calls!!

Dorothy gets her “fix” at Starbucks…

I had a meeting with my friend, Mary Nunnenkamp of the The Randall Lee Nunnenkamp Scholarship Foundation, at my local Orenco Station Starbucks.  It had been a perfect day to ride and having got caught up in the lovely weather, I wasnt thinking about how far I had taken Dorothy on our route to the meeting. We had really taken the LONG way there and when I arrived, I realized that I was going to need to plug-in and recharge!

I went inside and started scouting out an outlet. One was perfectly located just inside the window where we were sitting! How perfect for me!  I grabbed myself a little iced coffee pick me up and asked about a little electric refreshment for Dorothy.  The girls behind the counter were in total amazement and wanted to know everything about the bike. That got all the customers going and during a 30 minute conversation, we cracked the window and hooked Dorothy up. I was able to go through the entire process for all to see. I even got a round of applause when I started Dorothy up and she made the familiar hummmmm. She had wowed the crowd again! 

Mary arrived and joined us at the table.  We had a lovely time talking about the “2010 4th annual Randy Cares Ride” coming August 21st. The proceeds from this event are used to fund education for young people who would otherwise be unable to secure money to go to school.  They are considered the ones that have fallen through the cracks!  Mary and all the people involved with the foundation have worked tirelessly to continue giving to the communities youth, in Randy’s absence. Read his story at “Randy’s Story”.   To anyone in the area of Hillsboro, Oregon or anywhere in the world, this is a worthwhile cause and deserves attention. If we can educate our youth, they can prosper and give back to society in a positive fashion. Hey, they may be taking care of us one day!!  Keep up the wonderful work, Mary.

After the meeting, Dorothy was revved up and ready to go. A special “thanx” goes out to the sweet girls that helped me out that day. I got my “pick me up” and so did Dorothy.  THANK YOU, LADIES!  See, you really can plug-in just about anywhere.

Lady Godiva on wheels…..

Guess what I did 4th of July weekend… Part 1; Author Christina Shook.

This weekend was one of those weekends that happen every now and again and you have to keep pinching yourself to believe that its real. Then you look at all the pictures and realize that you don’t even have to embellish to make this weekend look good….
First thing to happen was that I was fortunate enough to host a four-day stay in my home for my friend, Christina Shook, and her two darling little girls.  Christina was on her “West Coast Book Tour” for her photo expose book of female bikers called “Chicks on Bikes”. That meant that where she went, I got to follow!! And, follow I did…

Christina spoke and signed books at several locations. Her first stop was Cascade Moto Classics http://www.cascademoto.com/map1.html here in my hometown of Beaverton, where she was welcomed by patrons and invited to the monthly breakfast meeting of the local Triumph riding club, Triumph Riders Association of Portland, and the Moto Guzzi National Owners Club of Oregon, both sponsored by Cascade. The next morning, we joined the group for a great breakfast and more QandA. The group was such a nice bunch of people and we both enjoyed them all.

Next up was MotoCorsa in North West Portland http://www.motocorsa.com .  This event was a bit of a surprise to Christina, especially when she was presented with a bottle of “Corsa Vino”, MotoCorsa owner Arun Sharma’s signature wine www.corsavino.com .  The love of motorcycles and the taste for enjoying a fine wine, made the atmosphere at MotoCorsa a real pleasure for Christina as it is for everyone that visits the shop.

And, last but hardly least… the 2nd Annual Latus Harley Davidson “Wall of Death” event for 2010 in Gladstone, Oregon http://www.latus-hd-motorcycles.com . Christina was awesome with some slide shows and QandA complete with some wonderful stories told by Cookie Crum, the “Queen of the Hell Drivers” and eight year veteran on the “Wall of Death” in the late 40’s and 50’s. I will have much more to say about the day we spent with some wonderful and incredibly interesting people in my next couple of posts.  

The evening of the 4th brought LOTS of fireworks. The locals near my home do fireworks in a BIG way. It gave us a fabulous display to enjoy. We sat out by the fire pit and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows while the sky lit up all around us. My poor puppy, Turbo, a 150lb Rottie/Ridgeback mix, was less than excited about all the loud noises. He is pictured here being comforted by his new friend, Christina’s daughter, Marlena. She called the fireworks “booms” and when she wasnt taking care of Turbo, she was curled up in her mommys lap, enjoying the show. Christina’s older daughter, the very bright and lovely Ella, enjoyed the show as well.  

 The next day gave me enough time to make good on my promise to let Christina ride my Brammo Enertia electric bike. She took a spin around the town but, would have loved to have made it a day ride and get a real feel for the bike. It surprised her in many ways and she was amazed by a few others.
A few more pictures and a couple more laughs and that made it time for my friends to hit the road and make their way up to Seattle http://cretins.org/ for the next book signing opportunity. I sent them off down the Columbia Gorge to enjoy the sites of the Multnomah Falls and the wind surfing mecca of Hood River then across the “Bridge of the Gods” to Washington state. We had such a wonderful few days and are looking forward to getting together again in the future. Look for Christina’s wonderful photo journalistic book, “Chicks on Bikes” at http://www.chicksonbikes.us   

 So, that is just part of what I did this 4th of July weekend! Next up… the “Wall of Death”.           

 Lady Godiva on wheels…. savoring the unreal weekend!!

 

The perfect picture for Brammo…

This is a picture of my bike, while charging, at my son’s house.  He got a new camera and couldn’t resist!!
It would be perfect for a commercial about a new color for the Enertia… Black, aka  the “Shadow”…

Well, I think my son is a brilliant photographer! (Gosh, motherhood makes you blind as a bat!!)

Lady Godiva on wheels… lovin my boy.

The adventures of Dorothy; the first 100 miles, part two..

To refresh your memories, The adventures of Dorothy; the first 100 miles; part one, was about Dorothy’s purchase and arrival. https://mtajudy.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/the-adventures-dorothy-the-first-100-miles-part-one/ . Now that she has a home, see what Dorothy and I do with our days.

Dorothy, my Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle, is a fantastic commuter bike. The zero emissions makes it great for the environmentalist in me and makes my green-granddaughter proud! The bike is light weight, less than 400lbs, which makes it a perfect bike for the newbie rider and especially for we women since it is such a manageable weight. The fact that there is no clutch or shifter makes it the best motorcycle for learning to ride with confidence by putting some time in on the road, thinking only of learning to maneuver a motorcycle. Ask anyone who has learned to ride and they will tell you that in the beginning, before riding becomes a robotic act, there is a lot to think about. With this bike, there are a couple less things to add to the list. You can log lots of hours and ride with confidence before transitioning into a more long distance bike and still have the commuter for the short rides around town.  

Here are a few of the things Dorothy and I like to do when we are out an about:
We go to the bank drive through line. They really appreciate that the bike is so quiet!
I actually had a man chase me down and catch up to me in the bank parking lot just to ask me questions about the bike. It’s amazing how far this guy had to follow me around town before he caught me..LOL

We go to dinner with friends. It’s amazing how people look at me when I pull off my helmet and my hair falls down. It’s that moment when they realize I am a woman, and one of the over 50 group, and riding a motorcycle to a nice eatery! Here too,  I become very popular and have had my dinner interrupted by one of the patrons, saying, “Do you own the white bike in the parking lot that has a name “Enertia”?”  That started a conversation that ended up outside and took about 30 minutes. The gentleman was very nice and bought us all deserts for my time.

We hit the movie theatre!  This was actually the place that, while talking to a young man about wanting a bike for his wife, a leathered up cruiser rider walked past me and muttered, “I only ride American!” to which I commented, “Well then you should love this bike! Not only is it made in America, its made right here in Oregon.” He spun around and looked at the bike and asked, “Isnt that European?”  He was my funniest conversation, to date.  I even let him take a spin around the parking lot….. while I held the keys to his Harley, of course. LOL
 
We go to church. My pastor has given me a key to the outside maintenance room so I can plug Dorothy in during services and while I’m serving at the church. He is very much in love with the bike and would gladly have me make a nice donation to him in the form of…. yes, you guessed it.. Dorothy!!  There are some funny looks on the faces of my church family members when I stow my motorcycle helmet in the cabinets that are designated for ladies purses!  Or when I greet church members at the front door in my leathers.  The best is passing out communion in a shirt that has a motorcycle and rider on the front and states, “These are my church clothes!”.  I will sum it up with words from my dear, sweet pastor….” Only you, LaParne” as he shakes his head!!

We go to the grocery store. Albeit, I only have a backpack to carry the groceries in, she is great for a stop to Whole Foods for my favorite sesame seed crackers that I can’t live without or the fantastic burger that exceeds any other and has spoiled me forever!! I really need to break down and get the saddle bags for the bike. I was talking to my field rep, Dave Murray, and he said they are discontinuing the soft bags and going to the hard lockable ones, seen (to the left) on the Enertias currently used by the police in Tokyo. Very cheeky!

My favorite trip with Dorothy was to my granddaughters middle school for parents day. My daughter was spending the day with her and I decided to surprise them at lunch time. You can imagine the ruckus that I created by coming into the middle school cafeteria with my helmet and leathers. When they found out I ride an electric bike, I was the bell of the ball!!  That’s why my granddaughter adores me.. And I adore her right back!

Well, that is the end of the story of Dorothy and our first 100 miles. But, fear not….. we are currently working on the third hundred and the adventure continues!! 

Lady Godiva on wheels…. goin for a ride.  Later all

Dorothy’s getting a make-over….

So, I send the panels to my beloved little electric bike, Dorothy, down to my buddies at Hellcat Customs in Chandler, Arizona.  I wait and I wonder… Jason, being one of the finest artists I know, is capable of such beauty.  But, what does he have in store for Dorothy’s make-over?  What could he be thinking?  Hmmmmmmmmm
Just to tease me a bit, he sends me these pics of his beautiful lady, Kelly Rogers aka FireyPinkGirl on Twitter, prepping the panels and the pink color that they chose.  As I expected, it was more than I expected!! 
Look and drool.

Thank you, Kelly, for the hard work and picking a fabulous color. Dorothy is going to be the bell of the ball!
Lady Godiva on wheels…. thinkin pink!!

The adventures of Dorothy, the first 100 miles..part one.

This story starts out with “once upon a time”….
Once upon a time there was a lady. She loved motorcycles. Her whole family rode them, street and dirt! So, she decided to start a “family” business and develope a motorcycle website. She wanted to provide information that her own family could use; maps, events, and lots of motorcycle information. She wanted to provide information about ALL types of motorcycles and so she decided to “surf the web” for all the latest news. She surfed day and night and, along with everything else, she found an article on a company called Brammo Motosport in Ashland, Oregon (http://www.brammo.com/home/). The lady was intrigued!!  As she read away she discovered that they produced an electric motorcycle called the Enertia. It was even made from recycled material.  Ewww…Ahhh. Her VERY green grand-daughter would think she was a hero. She had to see one, to hear one, or ‘NOT’ hear one, as is the case of an electric bike!
After much investigation, the decision was made to take a test ride on the bike. By that time, they were being sold at the local Best Buy store in Portland, Oregon, her hometown http://www.bestbuy.com/. What luck for the lady!! She made the trip to the store, located near the Portland airport. Just through the front door sat the beautiful Enertia electric motorcycle in all its glory. It was fabulous! The purchase was made on the spot, February 4,2010. The man in charge of the purchase, Chris Hertz, made the experience perfect.

As luck would have it, the weather turned bad. It toyed with the lady! She waited for days to go get her new motorcycle and bring her home to live. On the days when the heavens didn’t pour down on her, she would have to work and toil. On the days when she could go pick up the bike and ride her home, the rain came. After many…..and I do mean, MANY calls to Chris Hertz of Best Buy, there was a ray of sunshine on the horizon. Chris was so understanding and yet so tired of listening to the constant whining from the lady…she wanted her bike to come home so badly… that Chris needed to find a way to help the her and maintain his sanity.
One call to the Brammo company and a request for help brought the answer. David Murray, a Brammo tech for the same area where the lady lived, drove to the Best Buy store by the Portland airport, picked up the sweet little electic ride, tied it into the back of his pick-up, and drove it out to the ladies house! There, on March 2, 2010, the Enertia electric motorcycle and the lady were united. David Murray arrived at the house of the lady, lovingly unloaded the Enertia, went over all the aspects of the bikes elements, and even took the bike for a spin… just to make sure all was right. The lady was so happy!!
The end….. or is it? Not even…
I want to take this opportunity to thank all the participants in this little story… my story! Thank-you, Chris and Thank-you, David. My Enertia, Dorothy, and I are very happy together. We are commuter buddies and have been all over town together. And, that’s where the story goes next. Please hold for the sequel, “The Adventure of Dorothy, The First 100 Miles, Part 2..”.

Lady Godiva on wheels… all over town with Dorothy