Useful Links
Weather in the Riding Area
Forecasts:
Weather Office - Environment Canada's view of the weather. Click here for animated satellite image of BC.
The Weather Network - The Weather Network's opinion of BC's weather. Click here for their West Coast Satellite map.
Intellicast - Intellicast's forecast for Vancouver.
Yahoo - Vancouver Weather.
Webcams:
Weather Office Webcams - Excellent site with summary views from these cities (Port Alberni, West Vancouver, Hope, Manning Park, Lytton). There are East and West views for each city. Thumbnails are clickable to full size images.
Bluenose Webcam - Wide angle panoramic Webcam pointing east from New Westminster. The Coast mountains to the north and Mt Baker to the south are visible on clear days.
Whistler Webcam - Current weather indication for Sea to Sky rides. Includes Whistler forecast.
Jericho Beach Looking North - Webcam from Jericho Beach.
Downtown Looking West - View direction changes occasionally.
USA-CANADA Border Line-ups - Not exactly weather but usually just as depressing...
Road Reports:
Ministry of Highways Road Report - Scheduled activities on BC's roads.
Vancouver Historical Climate Data
This data may help you decide when to ride or when to park your bike!!!
FWIW, it tells me the riding season is April to October. If you want to extend the season, consider starting early in March rather than riding late into November. March is warmer and dryer with twice as much sunshine.
In either case, December and January are brutal months for riding...cold, wet and miserable. Memories of sunshine are faint echoes from summer. November and February aren't much better. All in all four months better suited to snowmobiling than motorcycling.
Technical Links
Motorcycle Tips and Techniques - Excellent collection of riding tips from experienced users. Don't believe *every* word but there's still a lot of good information.
Suspension Setup for Sportbikes - A simple rule of thumb is to set sag (via spring preload) to about 1/4 total travel (around one inch), increase compression damping until the wheel starts to lift on bumps and increase rebound damping until wheel "packs down" when riding over series of bumps. If you want more than that, then go to this site.
Battery Tech - FAQ type info providing the basics on motorcycle batteries.
Automotive Bulbs - Lot's of good info including specifications for common automotive bulbs.
Tire Info - Basic tire info from Dunlop.
Motor Oil Tests - An article comparing common motor oils. For more info, here is a basic introduction to how oils work. Also, if you don't know how to read an oil can label then this and this will de-mystify impenetrable phrases like "SAE SG/CD 15w-50". And if your eyes haven't glazed over yet read this for more details on oils, additive packages, specifications, tests and other techno-geek stuff. Finally, if you really have no life, then check out the manufacturer's data sheets. All the major manufacturers provide this information although they unfortunately substitute marketing speak for hard data at all the critical points.
Plasti-Kote and Color Rite Automotive Paint - Major suppliers of touch up paint. Lordco and Canadian Tire have a good selection. They also provide custom spray cans if you can't find a match in the standard cans. A paint code isn't required since they can match your existing paint using a nifty little machine. I'm about to repaint my Goldwing's saddlebag lid using a custom can of Plasti-Kote made up by Lordco while I waited (Kingsway near Metrotown). A 340g custom matched spray can (more than plenty) in about 15 minutes for $22 -- not too bad !!.
Miscellaneous Useful Stuff
How To Become A Motorcycle Roadracer - If you want to race, this FAQ will help get you started. And be sure to check out the local racing scene (Westwood Race Club) where there is a dedicated group of racers trying to keep racing alive in BC. AFAICS it's expensive, time consuming and at times painful. But for some the adrenaline rush is worth it. Even crazy fast riding on the street is slow compared to a real race track (especially in the corners).
ICBC Motorcycle Licensing and Learning Guides - Info from ICBC about getting a licence and learning to ride a motorcycle. For those too lazy to pick up the study pamphlets click here for the "Road Sense for Riders" guide and here for the "Tuning Up for Riders" guide.
Used Bike Buying Guide - Practical advice when buying a used bike.
Short Bikers - Real world info for short bikers.
Buy & Sell - No motorcycle link page would be complete without it. And there's Craiglist too.
Cycle South Motorcycle Transport - A local company (based in Langley) that will ship your bike. Both short and long-haul.
Motorcycle Rental Companies
(Vancouver rental choices are very poor, if you know of a place with a decent selection please let me know.)
Cycle BC RENTALS - Located in Victoria and Vancouver.
Local Clubs, Organizations and Bike pages
VROM, Vancouver Riders Of Motorcycles - Mainly sportbikers, they've had their ups and downs as a local site/club and are still trying to find their niche. Sadly the principles, Julia and Bog, died in separate motorcycle accidents. Bog and Julia touched many lives and their passion for riding and the motorcycle community will always be remembered.
Langley Roadriders - They don't say how big they are but large enough to have a website I guess. No obvious bike affiliation. A full ride schedule is usually listed. They meet regularly in Langley.
The Coast Riders Home Page - Virago Owners Club - These folks indicate around 100 members and meet regularly in Coquitlam. Presumably they ride a lot since their website was mostly unfinished when I last checked.
XL Riders: A Sportster Riders Group - The club is sponsored by Trev Deeley Motorcycles and focused on Sportsters. They have weekly rides, newsletters and other social events. I've heard good things about them but have no first hand experience (I'm not sure they'd let me in anyway given my Bandit 1200.)
Free Wheelin' Canadian Women's Motorcycle Club - Approximately thirty members centered in the Lower Mainland. A long standing club just for women with regular rides, newsletters and social events.Speedybikegirls - SpeedyGirls site oriented towards women riders who fancy a bit of adrenaline. SpeedyGirl is into racing so if you're a women who likes (or might like) to race then it's probably a must see. Includes a message board.
The Greater Vancouver Motorcycle Club - One of the oldest clubs in the Lower Mainland.
Bee Cee Beemers - Local BMW oriented club.
BC Sportbikes - Main local website oriented towards sportbikers.
BCCOM - BC Coalition of Motorcyclists - BC's motorcycle lobby group.
British Columbia Safety Council - A major motorcycle instruction program in the Lower Mainland. Pacific Riding School is another. There probably are others but you can't go wrong with either one of these.
Westwood Motorcycle Racing Club - The main (only?) road racing club in the Lower Mainland.
PNWMA - The site for the Pacific Northwest Motorcycle Association. Focused on off-road riding. An excellent calendar of events.
Miscellaneous Links
Links keep changing so if its broken let me know and I'll delete it (it's not worth my effort to keep tracking changing links)
Canadian Biker - The online version of Canadian Biker magazine.
Canadian Motorcyclist - Ontario based group linking motorcyclists across Canada.
motorSmart, Canadian Online Autowreckers - Links to salvage yards including motorcycle links, BC rides and other motorcycle info.
Bikelinks, A-Z of Motorcycling - Extensive motorcycle links.
Classic & Motorcycle Mechanics Magazine - Dedicated to bikes of the 60s, 70s & 80s.
Ronnie Cramer's Motorcycle Web Index - One of the standards in motorcycle links.
