Saturday, May 29, 2021

Song of the Day: Lowland Hum - Don't Give Up (Peter Gabriel cover)

Following up from two days ago, here is the second of two Lowland Hum songs from their "So Low" album, honoring the 35th anniversary of Peter Gabriel's "So" album.

Don't Give Up


Lyrics, from AZLyrics.com:

"Don't Give Up"

in this proud land we grew up strong
we were wanted all along
I was taught to fight, taught to win
I never thought I could fail

no fight left or so it seems
I am a man whose dreams have all deserted
I've changed my face, I've changed my name
but no one wants you when you lose

don't give up
'cos you have friends
don't give up
you're not beaten yet
don't give up
I know you can make it good

though I saw it all around
never thought I could be affected
thought that we'd be the last to go
it is so strange the way things turn

drove the night toward my home
the place that I was born, on the lakeside
as daylight broke, I saw the earth
the trees had burned down to the ground

don't give up
you still have us
don't give up
we don't need much of anything
don't give up
'cause somewhere there's a place
where we belong

rest your head
you worry too much
it's going to be alright
when times get rough
you can fall back on us
don't give up
please don't give up

'got to walk out of here
I can't take anymore
going to stand on that bridge
keep my eyes down below
whatever may come
and whatever may go
that river's flowing
that river's flowing

moved on to another town
tried hard to settle down
for every job, so many men
so many men no-one needs

don't give up
'cause you have friends
don't give up
you're not the only one
don't give up
no reason to be ashamed
don't give up
you still have us
don't give up now
we're proud of who you are
don't give up
you know it's never been easy
don't give up
'cause I believe there's a place
there's a place where we belong

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Song of the Day: Lowland Hum - In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel cover)

So it's been 35 years since Peter Gabriel released "So."  Fabulous album, start to end.

In honor of that, Lowland Hum has released "So Low," an album covering the whole Peter Gabriel album.  I'll post two of the songs here on my blog, two of the songs I love the most.

I love how they capture the essence of the songs, without duplicating what Gabriel did.

Here is the first of the two Lowland Hum songs I'll post.


Lyrics, from AZLyrics.com:

"In Your Eyes"
(from "Say Anything..." soundtrack)

Love I get so lost, sometimes
Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
When I want to run away
I drive off in my car
But whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are

All my instincts, they return
And the grand facade, so soon will burn
Without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

In your eyes
The light the heat
In your eyes
I am complete
In your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
In your eyes
The resolution of all the fruitless searches
In your eyes
I see the light and the heat
In your eyes
Oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
The heat I see in your eyes

Love, I don't like to see so much pain
So much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

And all my instincts, they return
And the grand facade, so soon will burn
Without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

In your eyes
The light the heat
In your eyes
I am complete
In your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
In your eyes
The resolution of all the fruitless searches
In your eyes
I see the light and the heat
In your eyes
Oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light,
The heat I see in your eyes
In your eyes in your eyes
In your eyes in your eyes
In your eyes in your eyes

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

"I just got a new bike!" Or "The VFR Rides Again!!!"

I just got a new bike!!!

Well, not really, but it feels like it.  This is my 1994 Honda VFR750, back on the road yesterday after over a year in the garage.  I've owned it since I bought it new on Tuesday, May 24, 1994.  Yes, I remember the day well.  It was four days after I finished grad school (at RPI, in Troy, NY), and I spent much of that week on the phone, calling dealers, banks, and insurance agents back in Wisconsin instead of studying for final exams!

The VFR has been over the Golden Gate in California (ridden across the country from Atlanta) and up to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan.  It's been ridden over mountain passes in Colorado when there was still snow on the ground, through tornado warning winds with driving rain in Tennessee, and through pelting hail in Wisconsin.  It's been ridden the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Tail of the Dragon, and all the great roads off Skyline Drive in California.  It's been around.

I've written about my VFR before...

Why out of action for over a year?  Broken plastic.  Honda does a lot of things really well, but designing plastic is NOT one of them.  The rear plastic on this bike is very flimsy, with thin mounting tabs that break easily.  It looks good, but under the skin it's very fragile.

The plastic had been rattling for years, with various repairs attempted.  It already felt like a crappy Pontiac Grand Am from the 80s, just a loose connection of parts flying together in close formation.  When the tab holding the left rear turn signal housing broke, in addition to all the other cracks in the rear plastic, that was the last straw.  The turn signal simply would not stay in place.  It got to the point where it would fall out and hang by the wires.  Reaching behind me at every opportunity to grab it and gently put it back in place was not sustainable.

Other than the plastic, the bike has been mechanically wonderful.  In fact, it's better than new in some ways.  It has a much larger and newer regulator/rectifier (one of the weak links on this bike).  More importantly, it has massively upgraded suspension (stiffer springs, better fork damping, aftermarket Penske shock), all done by Traxxion Dynamics--can't recommend them more highly.

The reason it took a year is because getting parts wasn't easy.  They don't make OEM parts anymore for my VFR.  Several times I ordered parts, shown as available online, only to receive an e-mail saying, sorry, we don't have that in stock anymore.  I had a few searches set up on eBay, but they took a lot of time before the parts showed up for sale.

I also got lucky through an old contact on the VFR e-mail list.  He had a previous generation ('90-'93) VFR.  That generation had the same rear lights as mine ('94-'97) but didn't have the integrated turn signals.  The "turn signal" lenses on his bike were red and they were used to extend the brake light, and his bike had separate turn signal stalks (the standard ugly Honda signals of the era).  It was a popular mod back in the day to remove the rear turn signal stalks, order the amber lenses from the '94-'97 VFRs, and rewire the turn signal wiring to those bulbs.  Here is a picture of the '90-'93 VFR with the ugly turn signals.
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/aB4AAOSwpo9fhGjE/s-l1600.jpg

Long story short, this guy had saved the original red lenses, in perfect condition, from decades ago.  So I guess my turn signals are red now, not amber, oh well.  That was the final puzzle piece that recently fell in place.

So the old VFR is back!  Not perfect, lots of scars.  But it still flies, and it is *smooth*.  It's like getting a new bike!

People have asked me over the years why I don't just get rid of the VFR and buy a new bike.  I've thought about it, and I will at some point.  But not yet.  It's still a great bike.  This old article helps explain why:
https://www.cycleworld.com/2011/09/21/honda-vfr750f-best-used-bikes/

I actually hoped Honda would improve the VFR over the years, because I'd like to buy another 90-degree V-four (in addition to the VFR, I also owned a 1985 Honda V65 Sabre, which had a beast of an engine).  If you don't know, the 90-degree V-four is the world's most perfect engine (my opinion).  Sounds great, feels great, perfect primary balance.  It's the smoothest engine I've ever had the pleasure of riding--solidly mounted to the frame, no counterbalancers needed, no rubber on the footpegs, nothing.  And then there is the sound of the gear-driven cams, glorious.  I have never owned an inline four motorcycle, nor a parallel twin.  Only 90-degree V-fours and V-twins.

Sadly, Honda never did improve the VFR.  With the exception of the '98 and '99 VFR800 (fuel injected and slightly larger engine), Honda has actually made the VFR *worse*!  Yes, they added linked brakes (more weight and complexity).  They added VTEC (harder to do valve adjustments, bump in the power band) for NO GAIN.  Why, Honda, why?  And they eliminated the gear-driven cams.  Over three decades, Honda has gone backwards.

This article sums up the VFR generations pretty well:
https://motofomo.com/honda-vfr-generations/
The final lines of this site say:

But if you put up with minor annoyances (and all motorcycles have them), the VFR800 8th gen [2014-2017] is a lot of motorcycle for the money. I have thought of replacing it but I’d need to double what I paid for it to get similar enjoyability.

That's exactly how I feel, except it's just as true with my '94 (4th gen) VFR.

At some point I'll get another bike.  Maybe a Triumph Speed Triple or Street Triple.  Maybe a CB1000R.  Maybe a dual sport (far too many options to list).  Maybe an electric bike.  But not yet.   :)

...

In the background of some pictures, you can see my '04 SV 650 (also with Traxxion suspension!) and my '95 Acura Integra.  Both owned since I bought them new.  I like to think I've made some great purchases over the years.