It’s time to learn more about another Bike-urious reader – this time the Meet a Reader series continues with Ian Short! I’ve noticed some impressive comments from Ian over the last few weeks (including photos from a quick peek he had into Norton’s “works shop” at the 1990 Isle of Man TT) and I thought he would have some interesting answers to my usual questions:
How did you get started with motorcycles – how did you learn, and what was your first bike?
My dad started riding in the 1960s and in 1974 my dad and my uncle were the first two instructors to teach the Canadian Motorcycle Council Safety Course in our area. As a five-year-old I would sit and watch the training sessions and then after they were finished, dad would sit me in front, and we would go riding through the nearby fields. If I recall correctly the bikes used in the course at that time were Yamaha DT80s and DT100s. Dad taught me clutch and throttle control and how to shift gears. Even though I couldn’t touch the ground, after a few lessons he decided that I was ready and just stepped off the back of the bike and let me have at it.
A Yamaha DT100
I’ll never forget the surprise or sense of panic when he did that, but as long as I circled back to him all was well. I think I was eight when I got my first bike and it was a gift from my parents…1975 Honda XR75…a fantastic bike. I spent hours and hours in the fields and woods behind our house riding with buddies and then sneaking over to the gas station to fill up for a buck. It was also a great bargaining chip for my parents to get me to pay attention in school – while my grades never improved, my riding certainly did.
Honda XR75
I think the best all-round bike I’ve ever owned was my Honda VTR1000. The bike I wish I had back is my 1979 Honda CBX…it’s a long story.
What bikes do you currently own?
1996 Buell S1 Lightning – I’m currently installing a 1250 kit with 10-degree pistons that I’ve had kicking around for 5 or 6 years.
2003 Harley Street Tracker built by Mel Carey/Richard Pollock at Mule Motorcycles – I’ve installed some Andrews N8 cams and have a set of 883 heads being converted for the 1200 which will give it a much-needed increase in torque and horsepower.
2004 Honda XR650R (Big Red Pig) – IMS 16 Litre tank, Keihin 41mm FCR carb, Pro Circuit full exhaust. I have two complete front ends for the bike, one for a supermoto setup which includes a 2008 CR450 front fork with a four piston Beringer caliper, Beringer cast iron rotor and Brembo radial master cylinder. I have a set of early tubeless Alpina wheels from an Aprilia that I’m going to convert over at some point. I also have the stock front end assembly which works well and a set of Warp 9 offroad wheels. As it sits right now the bike is 54.5hp at the rear wheel. I’d like to get it into the low 60’s with the stock cam and that’s likely doable with some headwork.
2008 Harley-Davidson Street Glide Twin Cam – I’ll just go over the short list of what I’ve done to this machine – 103ci, head work and throttle body work, K&N intake, D&D Fatcat, Andrew 48h cam, 49mm front forks with Ohlins 25mm NIX kit, Ohlins remote reservoir on the rear, BST carbon fibre wheels, Beringer six piston calipers on the front, Beringer rotors and front master cylinder. This all started in 2018 with the BST wheels and kind of snowballed from there. The bike puts out 125tq and 117hp at the rear wheel on a good day and with the carbon wheels it punches above its weight class and has confused a few big bore Harleys and 600cc sportbikes as well.
2021 TM Racing EN300fi Four Stroke – Pretty much stock but have added Acerbis bark busters, an AXP skid plate with linkage guard and a Midwest Mountain Engineering shorty clutch lever. This lever does change the clutch master cylinder ratio and allows for easier single finger clutch operation. Tires are Dunlop AT81 on the rear and a Dunlop MX33 on the front. I am running the Tubliss system in the rear and will also do the front at the next tire change or flat… whichever comes first. The front and rear suspension was sent out to NR Tech just north of Montreal Quebec for a spring change and re-valve.
Assume for a moment that money is no object, and importation laws aren’t a problem. What’s the next bike you’d buy, and what would you do with it?
Moto-Guzzi MGS-01 – in my opinion it is in the top 10 best looking motorcycles of all time. I’d do track days with it, illicit back road rides and stare at it. Of course, a ’72 Ducati Z stripe might be the choice…definitely not an easy question to answer, Laverda RGS?
Editor’s Note: I sent Ian these questions months ago and have only been able to get this story done now. But since Ian answered me, he acquired a beautiful RGS1000 himself as noted in this comment on my “Don’t Trust AI” rant!
What’s the most memorable motorcycle trip you’ve ever taken?
I used to do a trip from my home in southern Ontario through New York state to some fantastic roads in central Pennsylvania. The overall distance was just around 1,100 miles and perfect for leaving the house Saturday morning and being home by Sunday evening.
I had done the trip a couple of times with some buddies and by myself but this time it was just my dad and myself. My dad and I had ridden together for a few hours at a time, but this was the first decent ride on the bikes. I was on my VTR1000 and my dad on his BMW K1. The pavement in that part of Pennsylvania always seems to be fantastic and the sweepers just perfect for that 85-95 mph range. It was two days of awesome riding, and my dad was able to tell a NY state trooper all about it just outside of Ellicottville, NY on the way home. The state trooper must have been enthralled or bored with my dad’s tale but either way he let us go with a warning. A quick stop in Buffalo for a dinner at a favorite restaurant and then back into Ontario. It was a good ride with great company.
Do you listen to music while riding? If no, why not? If yes, what are some of your favorite tunes when you’re on your bike?
I don’t listen to music with earbuds when riding, I feel it limits my ability to use all my senses for situational awareness. I may use the stereo on the Harley occasionally and if I do it’s usually the Grateful Dead or something similar…if I play Social Distortion it puts my license at risk.
What’s your favorite piece of gear?
Shop Gear – My electric/hydraulic 1,200lb lift.
Road Gear – Bell GP3 carbon helmet, a close second are Held gloves.
Off-Road Gear – Gaerne SG12 boots…quality offroad foot protection cannot be overstated.
You have $25,000 to spend on anything in the world of motorcycles – 1 new bike, several old bikes, track days, a trip, you name it. How do you spend it?
$25K – 1990’s Moto Guzzi 1100 Sport (De Tomaso era), Aprilia SXV, take my son and daughter over to the Isle of Man to experience the TT and use the remainder of cash to keep all my bikes maintained.
What do you expect from the future of motorcycling, good or bad?
Well, this may turn into a rant, but you gave me a platform……. The current state of road racing, World Superbike and Moto GP, is a disappointment to me. I want the primary control and decision maker to be the rider not a computer. Traction control, pitch and yaw sensors and aerodynamic aids are playing a far too significant role in modern road racing. As electronics have taken over road racing, I have filled the void by returning to my roots watching the World Hard Enduro series, the American Flat Track series and the European Supermoto S1GP series and haven’t looked back since. The Erzberg Rodeo is an amazing event and while Manny Littenbichler, Graham Jarvis and Billy Bolt seem to dominate it’s also great to see North Americans like Cody Webb and Trystan Hart on the podium when so many don’t even finish the race. Flat track racing seems so basic in nature but it’s such a chess match with the lines and track changing lap by lap and corner to corner. Some of the closest finishes in motorcycle racing can be found on the big mile tracks. For the life of me I can’t figure out why supermoto racing isn’t huge in North America. It’s a relatively cheap form of racing that can be held on most go-kart tracks and its slower speeds make it a great learning platform. Real road racing, IOM TT and Irish road racing series, will always hold a special place in my heart and the commitment the racers make to it cannot be overstated. I am exceptionally grateful that there are still places in the world that allow this racing to continue.
I’m not likely to be purchasing anything modern for the pavement in the future, what I have serves me well and I like bikes that I can work on myself. The new bikes seem to be “plagued” with all the latest rider defence systems that cars have, and it seems like more and more riders are concerned with their bikes ability to interact with their smart phone. I get it, sometimes it really is important to know exactly how fast you were going so that you can share that with the local magistrate, but most of us don’t ride much further than an hour’s radius away from home so is the latest GPS update really that important?
I’ve been fortunate to have been around some talented people in my area growing up. There have been a couple of exceptional mechanics over the years who were more than generous in sharing their knowledge and abilities with me. One is a good friend who does all my engine machining, dyno tuning and is always willing to give lessons on the importance of the flow bench. He has aided me greatly in turning money into noise. Motorcycles have helped me meet some pretty cool individuals and I have every reason to expect that to continue on into the future. An old guy once told me, “as long as you got two wheels, you’re doin’ fine”, I’m almost at the point where I can pass that wisdom along.