Motoblag

This Business Week article should be required reading before folks go spouting off about how unsafe Toyotas are.

The entire “unintended acceleration” issue reeks of a new American value: complete lack of personal responsibility.  It’s always someone else’s fault if things don’t go perfectly correct.  It’s certainly not the fact the person piloting a 3,500 pound pile of steel and plastic should know how to use the transmission or the dang off button or switch! It’s disgusting to see how American drivers not only get away with treating their vehicles like appliances but are almost encouraged to do so.

On the bright side, Ford stands to handsomely gain from Toyota’s hardships.  Until their recalls start happening again, but what do you think the chances are of the government putting a domestic’s feet to the fire?

One of the bulbs in my 599’s running lights burned out at the end of last season.  They are PIAA 004XTs and do a wonderful job filling in more light when riding, with the additional benefit of increasing conspicuity.

After some digging I found they can take regular replacement H3 bulbs, so I acquired two and replaced them.  Here are some photos of the job, so others can see how it’s done.  Click the photos for full sized version.

Start by gently prying at the drain hole with a screwdriver or appropriate tool.  The lens assembly is held in by three plastic clips that just pop out.  Here’s one:

Once out all the way, pry back on the spring shown here on the left.  This will allow you to rock the old bulb out:

Then, wiggle the light out:

Replace the bulb, making sure not to touch it with your fingers.  Reinstall the wiring and press the lens assembly back into the housing, making sure the plastic clips all properly seat.

Years ago, when I was single and under 25, shopping for insurance was painful.  I was excited to find a company that offered reasonable rates and promptly hopped on board.

In the end, they failed the test.  Making a claim was worse than pulling teeth.

After having a motorcycle-totaling wreck and subsequent performance award from the Idaho State Patrol, dealing with insurance was worse.  Here’s what I did:

• Called the local branch within 18 hours of the accident.
• Called the claims number the morning of the first business day with all the relevant and requested information.

And here is what they did:

• A claims representative emailed me stating an adjuster would call me within 24 hours.
• A different claims rep called me, stating the adjuster would call me at 4 PM the next day.

What actually happened over the next two days:

• (this space intentionally left blank)

I called my claims rep and left a message.  After not receiving a call back for over 24 hours, I called again and contacted someone on the “claims team.”  I received more information and was told to wait to be contacted by an adjuster.  However, if I think the bike is a total loss, I could either take the bike to a mechanic for an estimate or take photos of the damage and send that in to their in-house adjuster.

Four business days after the company knew about my accident and they just then told me a mechanic should be looking at my bike.

Within hours of being told I could document the damage myself, I had sent multiple high resolution photos clearly showing the damage to the adjuster.

At the end of the next business day, I called to check on the status of my claim since nobody had contacted me for almost a full business week.  Oh, the adjuster received the photos and will get back to me in about 24 to 48 hours.

Three days later I am contacted by the in-house adjuster and he confirms it’s a total loss, so he confirms some items on the motorcycle (yes, it has an electric starter, no, it has the five speed transmission, they never offered a six speed for the bike in question, etc…).

We’ll send this information off to the third party we use to get fair market values.  They should get back to us in 24 to 48 hours with a number.

If the third party company stayed true to their word, Liberty Mutual sat on the number for a while.

In the end, I received a fair price for the poor bike, minus my deductible, and was happy to cash in my check over four weeks after the incident and not deal with that horrid company ever again.

I am now paying a better company for insurance.  A friend had an incident with his bike and had a check in his hand within a business week.

Enjoy the time with family.  We’ll be back in 2010!

My interview for a job was held on campus.  Since I rode my motorcycle to campus any time there wasn’t snow or ice, this was no exception.  One snag, though: what to do with my gear?  Lugging around a Roadcrafter, riding boots and fullface helmet while wearing a nice shirt and tie didn’t seem like the most professional thing to do.

Solution: use what was available to me.  Namely, access to the university’s server room.  I popped in there, cleared off the desk used for my other job and unzipped out of my Roadcrafter to reveal my clean white shirt and tie.  A quick change into dress shoes later and I was off to the interview, feeling like James Bond.

And yes, I did the tie straightening bit after shedding the riding gear.

Note: I’ve had more than one person ask me about this, but to clarify, this was the interview for my current job.  I’m not in the market for a new one, unless someone wants to double my salary for a SharePoint programmer!

Last week I did something about the crippled operating system installed on my Asus EeePC netbook.  Easypeasy was installed, using their short and sweet installation guide.

Now I’m kicking myself for not doing this earlier.  I’ve got an actual usable environment now!  The ability to use Firefox 3, a recent version of the C compiler gcc and Python 2.6!  Not to mention the far better use of the wireless card.  Hello, autoconnect!

If you have a netbook and are still running the handcuffed operating system out of the box, give easypeasy a shot.  It’s easy to install, you just need a USB flash drive.

Harry Hurt, author of the incredibly important motorcycle accident analysis “Hurt Report,” died on November 29th.

In his honor, I am donating to the AMA’s fund for a new comprehensive crash report.  Please, do the same, even if you can only spare a few dollars.

It turns out the previous post was not correct.  Liberty Mutual sent me a bill then four checks after canceling my policy.

After canceling my policy, Liberty Mutual has sent me one bill, then three checks.  I guess nobody knows what’s going on.

Accessible via the usual page or this direct link.