Monday, June 15, 2009
Which Side are you on?
So, I installed my Garmin Zumo GPS on the new bike yesterday. It was a relatively simple project considering I also installed a bus relay to connect it to. In connecting the relay wire to the source, I removed the windscreen. Again, not a big deal – however what I failed to notice is that the brackets that hold the front of the windscreen, which also allow it to pivot, were different between the right and left. When I was reinstalling the windscreen, I had to stop and figure out which one went on which side. German engineering, being German engineering – they were actually marked R & L, telling me which one went on the right, and which one went on the left. Of course, me being me, I had to over analyze it and question… is that the right and left when sitting on the bike, or the right and left when facing the bike??? Right and Left are relative. I figured that relativity was in relation to sitting on the bike and the installation of the windscreen went flawlessly. However it made me think of my old sailing days. Sailboats, or any boat for that matter, have a Port Side and a Starboard side. Port and starboard are not relative, they are a specific side of the boat, no matter if you are facing the bow or facing the stern. Port always remains Port, and Starboard always remains Starboard – even if you are taking about a different boat out on the water. With cars we tend to rationalize right and left by defining “driver side” and “passenger side”, this is of course exactly the same way of viewing port and starboard. Albeit, they would technically be opposite if you were in England, Australia, South Africa, or India… but we won’t go there. On a bike however there is no driver side and no passenger side, unless you are talking about front and back. Even the drive side on a bike isn’t universal; my bike has a right side drive (while sitting on the bike), while most others have a left side drive. I wonder if we should come up with some common terminology for describing the sides of a motorcycle. Maybe Throttle Side and Clutch Side? But certainly we could come up with something as unique as Port and Starboard that would make those who ride have that extra little sense of mystery about them, just like those who sail. But then again, I guess we always have the wave.
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