Anytime people gather together around a mutual interest you’re bound to learn things.  At the last Piston and Pints gathering two weeks ago I learned some things about chains, wax, cleaning and lubrication efficiency.  All things I might add that have little application to a Vespa.

Another Ducati appears though it’s owner shied at the idea of a picture with someone standing on the saddle.  I’m certain concern over the well being of the model was foremost in his mind.

Despite rain earlier in the afternoon and an ongoing threat of more there were still a respectable number of motorcycles and riders in attendance.  As the days grow shorter and the temperatures begin to did below 60 at the end of the day some discussion ensued about how long Piston and Pints will persist into the fall.

This BMW comes equipped with a natural gas furnace and bearskin rugs to allow riding far into the cold season.  All modern BMW motorcycles come with automatic outriggers for fall protection when riding in snow and ice.  They aren’t often talked about in BMW circles because the technology was lifted directly from the Honda Goldwing.

Ken Hull’s moto-hang barn is centrally located just off the Diamond in Boalsburg.  On some evenings there are a half dozen or more bikers down the street at Duffy’s Tavern, their Harleys parked out front of the colonial inn.  I keep hoping they don’t find out about Piston and Pints and feel a need to ride over and kick our asses.

I think that’s what bikers do.

Ken’s 80s vintage Honda Reflex in a sea of machinery.  I thought the Honda Reflex was a scooter.

ALERT:  Dave Dix finally made it to Piston and Pints on his BMW.  He’s nearly invisible on all other two-wheeled forms of transport.  He’s showed up on so many non-BMW machines that I figured I would see him on this night on a Segway.

John lost in thought as he considers alternative routes to climb about his tall Yamaha XT1200 Z Super Tenere Regal Deluxe.  Seems he left the ladder at home.

John brought his son along to “help the old man” onto the motorcycle.  John’s son holds the honors for youngest rider ever to attend a Piston and Pints event at age 16 (I think).  I thought I overheard Ken Hull saying that award comes with a $250 gift certificate for Aerostich and a three year supply of donuts.

He’s riding a Suzuki DRZ650 (maybe, I’m terrible with this stuff.  I wrote it down but who knows where I put the index cards).

The real learning took place late in the evening as riders piled on with their own magic recipes for keeping chains clean and lubricated.  Some even described techniques involving sable brushes and salamander oil.

It’s an eclectic bunch and Piston and Pints.

ATTENTION — SCHEDULE CHANGE: Because of heavy rain forecast for tonight the date and time  has been changed to Thursday, September 20 from 5 to 8pm.

For directions check this link to Google Maps.

A stop on the way to the grocery store to get milk.  Day fading and in a hurry —  the iPhone was the perfect tool to record the scene — launch the Instagram app, press the shutter button, done.

Looking at recent pictures has me wondering if I have the complete digital tool in my pocket. I wonder.

Often.

The morning dog walking ritual at times done half asleep.  I don’t want to drag a big camera along with me but there are moments I don’t want to forget so I use the iPhone.

Arguments of quality rattle through my brain as I point the iPhone at a subject — “Use a real camera fool, get the high res file, be professional…”

I tell myself I should use a better camera.  Give myself more pixels to work with but I don’t. And then I find myself somewhere special — the light, the forms, it’s all working and all I have is the iPhone.

The big digital SLR sits on a shelf as the Vespa rockets (poetic license) down the road and I accept a sacrifice in photographic quality using the iPhone compared to every other digital camera at my disposal. Still — the iPhone is easy, present, available — it makes pictures that otherwise would not exist.

A piece of chocolate cake at lunch with a friend; a quick photo with the camera phone before devouring everything short of licking the powdered sugar from the plate.  I think I understand my dog’s obsession with tennis balls better now. I’ve embarrassed to admit how many times I have looked at this image.  There’s something powerful at work in my head with cake.

Mental recrimination about the iPhone and what it means to be a real photographer and the programmed obsession with sharpness, resolution, resolution and megapixels. Bigger camera equals better pictures. Or so the myth goes.

Fog on the way to work as I cut across campus on a farm lane and I wanted to remind myself later how great it is to commute to work and all I have is the iPhone.

A recent discussion with a photographer friend had him outlining his quality concerns with a Canon 5D Mark III (no slouch of a camera in the DSLR realm) and his decision to move to a Pentax 645D medium format digital camera (huge files and a $10K pricetag for the body alone). He showed me 18×24 prints that seem impossibly detailed with color, tone and texture not normally discernable to the naked eye. My hand fingered the iPhone in my pocket as I tried to not drool on my shoes. Beautiful prints.

Kim in the garden — another fleeting moment that I want to backup my memory in a digital form — the light, the place, a piece of our lives without the mechanical intrusion of too much photographic gear.  I know I could use a little pocket camera but the iPhone allows me to shoot and process the final images in moments and send it on to Flickr, Twitter, Tumblr…

Early morning in State College.  Another digital snapshot using yet another filter in the Instagram collection.  I can’t remember what it’s called.

I really should buckle down and take this stuff more seriously and shoot with a real camera and methodically process the images. It echoes in my head over and over.

But I’m not that photographer. My nature and personality chafe at the tyranny of that kind of process and I’ve accepted I’ll never be comfortable in that creative landscape despite how much I admire that kind of work.

Horses wander onto the horizon on a pasture at Penn State.  Their lazy movements under a gray sky remind me of something I can’t quite put my finger on.  A fast capture on the iPhone and I can think about it later.  A digital post-it note.

Moments pass quickly in life and on the road and the fuss-free performance of the iPhone makes it possible to reach into the flow and snatch moments at will. I consider these images sketches — snapshots that reflect a creative freedom not possible when I’m enslaved by the tyranny of photographic law.

But that’s me.

A recent ride with Paul and Gordon began at my driveway.  Paul wandered up the street to watch the sunrise.  I know that feeling.  The iPhone makes it so easy to remember.

While the iPhone is not the complete tool for digital photography I’ve been impressed how valuable a tool it is for me while I’m on the road, out in the world, engaging a life.

I’ll write about the downside of the thing some other day…

Most serious riders know what Aerostich means — riding apparel for adventures beyond the fray of mere mortals.  Trips to the north and south poles, rides through minefields and other militarized landscapes.  Snow, ice, blizzards, rain storms, sand storms, locusts, fire and brimstone.

All that stuff.

And the machines associated with such gear are monstrous mechanical conveyances labeled with BMW, KTM, Yamaha, Honda and Harley to name a few.  Raw power trembling between two wheels.

Imagine my surprise at seeing a 2010 Vespa GTS 300 Super on the cover of the latest Aerostich catalog to arrive in the mail.  My eyes went to the RoadCrafter suit and I almost missed the Vespa hidden beneath the type on the cover.  But there it was — a Vespa on the cover of the Aerostich catalog.

I guess Vespa has reached the lofty heights of adventure — no longer condemned to the marketing goals of Piaggio of the stylish urban transport system.

The rider is Kristen Rosza and was photographed by Oz Lang, a San Francisco based photographer, during the recent Scooter Cannonball Run — a ride across the United States held every two years.

Maybe I need to finally order that Darien jacket I’m been thinking about…

Almost forgot to post these pictures from the last Piston and Pints gathering in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania.  Lots of motorcycles and riders showed up on a range of machines and with varied experience.  Has turned out to be a good place to listen to stories.

All true.

Dave Dix made his first appearance (I think) on his ’98 Ducati 748.  Dave still has me confused because I have him fixed in my head as a BMW GS rider.  So far he’s shown up with a Honda CRV, a scooter, and now a Ducati.

Maybe the BMW will appearance next time.

When I arrived and saw Ken Hull doing Harley repairs I thought he was instituting some new tradition by providing mechanical services at Pistons and Pints.

No.

He was fixing a defective fuel shutoff valve I think.  Or showing off his mechanical skills.  Or maybe both.

No repair is complete without adding rocket fuel to the tank.  I think he was pouring a 20 year-old single malt scotch into the tank.  Harleys are odd machines.  Turned out it was 100 octane aviation gas or rocket fuel.  He’s like most Harley riders and thinks those tired old engines actually require something stronger than kerosene to run.

Bruce made an early departure on his Kawasaki Versys.  Nice red bike shining in the strong evening sun.

Jeff runs the local automotive repair facility in Boalsburg but seems to find time to change the appearance of his ’81 Honda CX500 Deluxe.  It’s looking more and more like a cafe racer to me but what do I know.  I ride a Vespa.

Cool bike regardless.

John ( I think that’s his name) takes the award for the biggest bike at the event — a 2012 Yamaha XT1200Z Tenere.  Thing seems huge.  He has a folding ladder in the sidecase to facilitate mounting.  Not sure how he gets the ladder back in the case after he’s on the bike.

I have a soft spot for these kinds of giant machines — the big BMW Adventure, the KTMs, the Vespa GTS — they all seem inspired by John Deere or Kubota.  Real do anything go anywhere motorcycles.

The highlight of the evening for me was eavesdropping on a conversation revolving around how to explain to their significant others that they would be ditching their current rides in favor of a Vespa.

Serious business takes place at Piston and Pints.

I’m going to screw up two names here due to my incompetence with a pencil and paper coupled with neglect is asking for names.

Reta (?),  kneeling with the red shirt, is a motorcycle mechanic at Kissell Motorsports with a special affinity for anything Ducati.  He’s been at the last two get togethers and I’ve watched how people pick his brain for free advice.

I’m waiting for an attorney and rheumatologist to show up.

Dave came with his 2004 BMW R1150 RT.  Another fine entry from the Teutonic motorcycle manufacturer.  My father “worked” at a BMW plant after WWII.  I never quite figured out what the US Army was doing in the place in 1946.  Should have quizzed him while he was still around.

Craig Kissell and his wife came in motorcycle style when they pulled up in Triumph Bonneville with a sidecar.

John Dickison pulled up a few minutes later with his BMW with an elaborate Oxford sidecar.  I’ve piloted three different sidecar rigs with a brand new URAL being the latest.  They are definitely an acquired taste.

John has taken a big bite.

Kris (left) and Jim made their second appearance at Piston and Pints.  Kris is an MSF Rider Coach and I heard a few people muttering something about having to wear a helmet.  I didn’t get the impression Kris would preach to the unwashed crowd in attendance.  She was one of three who showed up ATGATT.

She should talk to Ken though.  He still believes he’s 17 and indestructible.  Don’t tell anyone this but during a conversation some months back Ken expressed his freedom from helmet or gloves or boots while riding his Harley.  Or something about freedom.  When the conversation turned to a Ducati he said he would wear a full helmet, riding suit, the works.  When I suggested his choices about gear had nothing to do with safety or freedom but were all about style he went to the quiet place men do when confronted with uncomfortable realities.

Maybe I just imagined that.  But I digress.

Kris arrived on this orange 2009 BMW K1300S.

Jim came on this fine looking 2005 Triumph Tiger 955.

John Dickison and Ken Hull.  I think John has ridden around the world a couple times now.  Or at least has done some high mileage riding, Saddle Sore 1000, stuff like that.  His wife Tracy is an MSF Rider Coach but hasn’t taken a bite out of the sidecar apple yet.  She’s still on a BMW though.

The only other scooter was Paul Ruby’s ’65 Vespa All State.  Weird to hear a two-stroke motor with all the motorcycles.

So keep in mind, 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month from 5 to 8pm.  Always room for more bikes and scooters.