Passes & Canyons Blog

I dropped the Concours and busted the left mirror when we were in Angel Fire so I’ve been looking to get that fixed.

I checked online and a replacement is available from about $95 to $150, depending on if its new or used and who you buy it from. I wondered if I could get a better price from a salvage yard. Time to check with Steele’s. They have a website and on the site they tell you you can send them a message asking if they have what you need. I tried that but after no reply over a week I just got on the CB750 and rode on over there.

First I checked in at the front desk and the guy checked in their computer to see if they had one listed in there. No. So he told me I could go look around the yard myself. He told me not to just take something off one of the wrecks, but to shoot a photo and come back to them and they’d decide who should do what.

I don’t know if you’ve ever walked around in a motorcycle salvage yard but it’s kind of like a fantasy land. In fact, after I’d looked at what they had out front and didn’t find anything I was about to leave when another employee asked me if I’d checked in. Yes I had, but I didn’t find anything. Oh, there’s more, he said. It goes all the way around the building. “Have fun.” So I went and looked further.

I did find three Concourses but they were all in almost totally stripped-down shape. No mirrors, except on one. And these were not the stock mirrors, they were clearly aftermarket. This suggested to me that busting a mirror was not all that uncommon, and some people opted not to replace with stock.

Around back I found shopping cart after shopping cart filled with assorted side panels. Many years ago I did lose one side panel off my Honda but I found a replacement. Still, it is from a different year so it doesn’t actually match, even though it fits. I figured if I came across the real thing I would at least ask what they wanted for it. No dice. Lots and lots of side panels but not the one I want.

Different parts of the yard were devoted to different things. In one section there were lots and lots of wheels. There were great numbers of stripped frames. And there were all kinds of bikes in all kinds of condition just in pieces everywhere you looked.

There were also the proverbial junkyard dogs, although during business hours I guess these guys are friendly enough. They were rough-housing so hard and so obliviously that twice they crashed right into me as they chased each other around, having a ball.

I didn’t find anything. I’ll have to get something online. But it was worth the run over there.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: If your motorcycle doesn’t look good, you can paint it or get better parts.

The OFMC has discovered that it is nice spend more than one night in a place. First we started staying two nights and playing golf the non-travel day. Then we found it was nice to spend three nights and play golf one day and do a day ride the other. This is what we continue to do.

So we got to Espanola and settled in for three nights. Our first full day there was the golf day. You might not guess it but they have an extremely nice municipal course there. We had a good day.

The next day was time for a day ride. I had a thought in mind but wondered about a connection I only hoped might exist.

The idea was first to go north on the High Road to Taos, which we had planned to ride but took a wrong turn two days earlier. No getting on the wrong road this time. So up the High Road to the south end of Taos, then east on US 64 over to Angel Fire, then south on NM434 all the way down to the little town of Mora. My question: might there be a road connecting Mora back to Espanola so that we would not need to go all the way down to Las Vegas and then take I-25 around to Santa Fe before completing the loop back to Espanola?

Yes there is. Nice!

The road you hit at Mora is NM518 and if you go west out of Mora it brings you back to the High Road at Penasco. That leaves you backtracking on the High Road from Penasco back to Espanola but that’s fine. So our route was set.

We headed up the High Road (NM76) and just before we got to Truchas I spotted something I had been thinking about: a cemetery with a motorcycle-themed grave marker. I had seen this marker as we rode past years ago and really wanted to stop and shoot some pictures but I was with the group and it’s just not easy to decide to halt the entire group so you can shoot a picture. So with deep regrets I rode on past. This time I was determined to stop, and we did. That’s that picture up above.

We continued on our route, to Taos, then over to Angel Fire, and I pulled into a tourist information center so we could have a pit stop. When we were leaving I needed to either roll back or I could pull forward and do a U-turn. I’m a pretty competent rider so I figured I’d just do the U-turn. Bad choice.

It was a tight turn and I dropped the bike. Dang, I hate when I do that!! I suffered some inconsequential bruises, and two weeks later I still have a knot below my right knee where I believe my leg hit the end of the handle bar on my way over, but basically I was OK. Can’t say the same for the bike. The left mirror was busted so it just hung limply to the side, as you can see below.

So we headed on south out of Angel Fire. The last time we had ridden down NM434 it was this tiny little road, not even two full lanes wide in many spots. Back then they were doing some “improvements” but it was a really sweet little road that I wished could just stay as is. Nope. Now they are engaged in fully expanding it into a full-blown two-lane highway, complete with shoulders. This means carving big chunks out of the hillside and things like that. So sad.

It also means we got stopped for nearly half an hour by construction. During that time we were joined by a young guy on an Aprilia who was on a lengthy tour alone. To say his bike was in rough shape would be putting it mildly. But he was out there loving it and we all wished him a great trip. Then another guy on a Gold Wing came up. When they let us go the two of them took off ahead of us and within seconds they were out of sight and we never saw them again.

We got to Mora and it was time for lunch. We sat on the patio at this place and also on the patio were two people who obviously belonged to the two bikes we had seen in the parking lot. They were an older couple and the really odd thing was that the guy ate his entire meal without taking off his helmet. And this was not a half helmet. Bizarre.

We watched them as they left and the guy loaded their two little dogs into a carrier that he strapped onto his passenger seat and the woman got on her bike, putting on a helmet but otherwise in shorts, T-shirt, and sneakers. Away they went. To each his own.

We headed west on NM518 and were just getting out of town when we saw a blockade up ahead. The New Mexico State Patrol was conducting a stop-all drunken driver check. The lady trooper asked me nicely if I’d been drinking, I said no, and she smiled and said “Have a nice day.” I had been stopped at a similar blockade in New Mexico years ago and it had been really creepy with a bunch of dudes skulking all around my car, peering in the windows to see if they could see anything to harass me about. Maybe this kind of stop is just something New Mexico does.

On we went and this was a very nice road, except that it clearly had been the scene of a forest fire not long ago. But it was a really nice road and a road we had never been on before so that made it really cool.

Just a little ways before we got back to Penasco to rejoin the High Road and started backtracking I kicked my right leg up to rest it on my highway peg . . . and the peg fell away out of sight. What the heck?

I couldn’t stop right there but as soon as I found a space where three bikes could pull off I did. Miraculously, my highway peg was hanging suspended from the fairing and it hadn’t even lost the bolt or washer. Apparently the last time my mechanic had had to remove it to work on the bike he had not tightened it securely. Or maybe he has never removed it and it just worked loose after all these years. Either way, it truly was a miracle that I didn’t lose it or the bolt and washer. But putting it back on would be a hassle because that would entail removing the body work. Not something to be done on the spot.

We made it back to Espanola much later than originally expected and by that time the fourth and final member of our party had arrived. Bruce is someone I have met through the RMMRC and I had invited him along on this trip. The three of us had agreed long ago that four would be a better number than three so we were glad to have Bruce join us. Welcome to the group.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker when you feel like every car is out to get you.

On our second day of the OFMC trip we were looking at a short ride, just 96 miles south on US 285 from Alamosa to Espanola, New Mexico. That was just not going to happen.

So we headed east on US 160 to Fort Garland and then turned south on CO159. Besides being more scenic, it was a much less busy road and it led us down to even more good riding. I had suggested we go down to Questa, in New Mexico, on what became NM522 when we crossed the state line, and then go east around the mountain to Red River, Eagle Nest, Angel Fire, and west to pick up the High Road to Taos, which goes to Espanola. That was a bit more riding than Bill wanted so we nixed that but did continue on 522 to Taos, where we intended to catch the High Road.

But things got interesting before that happened. Looking at the map I saw that if we took a right turn onto US 64 where it intersects 522, and then very quickly take a left onto what I now see listed as Blueberry Hill Road, we could bypass Taos entirely. We’ve been to Taos plenty of times and we know the traffic it entails. Plus, there were signs warning of road construction in Taos, so all the more reason to bypass.

And Blueberry Hill Road was really nice. It follows the ridge line through a very pretty area and at the southern end ties into NM240, which continues on down to NM68. Sweet road. Terrific to completely avoid Taos.

At NM68 I was set to go left when Dennis pulled up next to me and told me his GPS said go right to get to Espanola. Because of some unexpected turns in the road I was not totally sure of our location so I figured to trust his GPS. It turned out this road did indeed go to Espanola but it was not the High Road.

What it was was a road we had never ridden before. So with Blueberry Hill Road this was two new roads for us in one day. And it was a nice road, too. It runs through a gorge on the Rio Grande much of the way and then the terrain opens out into a valley with a lot of wineries. And then it does get down to Espanola and is considerably shorter than the High Road.

We still got into Espanola way too early and had to wait about three hours before we could even check into our hotel. Imagine if we’d gone straight down US 285! But now we were set for the next three days because this was our customary gambling and golf stop that we always make on this trip.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if your leathers still have creases.

It was a very auspicious beginning to this year’s OFMC trip. The day before the temperature had hit 100, but this morning it was about 60 and I put on a couple extra layers, and was glad I did.

We planned to meet up in Conifer so I headed out of town on US 285. Over the foothills there were clouds that seemed to promise rain right off the bat. I was ready to stop at any moment to put on rain gear but the drops never fell. Then, as I came down the hill into Conifer it was suddenly sunshine and blue sky, with not a single cloud ahead of me in the west. Sweet!

Bill and Dennis were there and we quickly got rolling. On out 285, over Kenosha Pass and down to Fairplay. West of Fairplay they’re replacing a bridge, so a detour sends everyone south on CO9 to Hartsel, where we turned onto US 24 and then west to Antero Junction to rejoin 285.

Then it was 285 nearly all the way. Through Buena Vista, Poncha Springs (with a stop at Bill’s daughter Jenna’s), over Poncha Pass, and down to CO17, which goes straight to Alamosa whereas 285 gets there but only by detouring over to Saguache and Monte Vista.

All in all an easy-going day with great weather and no problems or surprises.

Really, it’s such a different feel on the first day out on a trip vs. taking a day ride. There’s an energy and an anticipation you just don’t have on a day ride. We’re off!! We’re out for a week! Yahoo! And if the heavens are smiling on you, so much the better.

Biker Quote for Today

“On a motorcycle, you can’t really think about more than where you are. There’s a freedom that comes with that – from stress, worry, sweating the small stuff.” ? Laurence Fishburne

It’s been quite awhile since I looked at this thread on Adventure Riders but it’s worth checking out now and then. The topic is, what stupid questions have people asked you on your bike?

• The steer horns I have on the front of my bike have gotten some nice questions that seem to be rather consistent by region. Texas/Louisiana: ”that’s from a hunt you went on right?” New England: ”is that in case you run into any animals at night?”
• You ride that all the way here? Yep, it’s too heavy to push.
• I ride a KTM 950 SM. when asked “what kind of bike is that?” I reply, “it is a KTM.” their reply, “Oh, I had a Kawasaki when I was younger…”
• When people ask me how fast it is I tell them I’ve had it to about 195. And most of the time they believe it.
• When I turned 16 and got my license, my dad let me ride his (then) R1100S up to the beach. I pulled into the motorcycle parking and took my helmet off, only to have a 21-year old on a CBR come up and ask “What are those things sticking out from the engine? Are they superchargers?”
  I was dumbstruck until he pointed to the cylinders. When I told him that it was an opposed twin, a.k.a boxer engine, he told me I didn’t know what I was talking about and told his girlfriend that they were superchargers. She just laughed at him because of the face I made when he asked me.
• OP: Why’s your bike so dirty?
  Me: Because I like riding it in the dirt.
  OP: Yea, I get that, but why don’t you wash it?
  Me: I do sometimes, but then it just gets dirty again, so why bother?
• I was running late Monday night so I walked into class ATGATT (‘stich, boots, helmet in hand, etc.) At the end of the class, the guy next to me asks, “Schwinn or Huffy?”
• My fav “goin’ ridin’?” to which I reply “nope, Im taking a trip to the moon”
• At the grocery store, I usually get (whenever I’m ATG), “so, you’re on a bike, ‘eh??” And I usually respond with…” Nope…gonna get shot out of a cannon…..again!”
• While wearing my Olympia mesh 1-piece during the Summer I often run out for errands at lunch and keep it on while I run in for a sandwich or at the farm stand. I often get asked if I fly a plane or if I’m in the military. Sometimes I get asked if I was skiing – yep that’s right…I’m skiing in 92 degree weather in NJ in July 150 miles from the nearest hill!

I know I’m dating myself here but Art Linkletter used to have a section on his show called “Kids Say the Darnedest Things.” You know what? People say the darnedest things. And there’s your proof.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: You don’t have to convince your motorcycle that you’re a motorcyclist and that you think that motorcycles are equals.

OK folks, this is serious. Unfortunately, the data I’m able to come up with are unclear.

I was on my V-Strom headed south on I-25 a few days ago and one of those highway message signs was saying something like “102 motorcycle deaths this year, be aware of motorcycles.” I swear it said 102 but now I can’t anything to support that number.

But that fired me up to look at the latest numbers. I mean, it’s only September and if we’re at 102 that’s a lot because whereas in 2016 the Colorado fatality rate hit 125, it had dropped to just (just!) 103 in 2017, again in 2018, and a third time in a row in 2019. And as recently as 2012 the number was only 79. So 102 in early September is a lot.

That’s not the whole story, though. In 2020 the number shot up to 140. That’s a lot! And in 2021 it was 137. Yikes.

Now, the most recent information I can find is saying we were only at 75 at the end of August. Something just doesn’t jibe here. I swear that sign on the highway said 102. And various reports I found said we’re up this year from last year, so in that case 102 now would make sense. Only 75 now would seem to suggest a downward trend. I don’t get it.

OK, I’m passing this along in real time. I just went to the Biker Down Facebook page and they have a photo of the sign saying 102, along with the note, dated September 7, “2 weeks ago, BikerDown Colorado was interviewed on Fox 31 with year-to-date statistics that 85 riders had passed on a motorcycle. Heading to DIA yesterday, the total is now 102.” Holy smokes! What the heck is going on?!

People, we’ve got to be careful out there. While it’s easy to point fingers at drivers on their cell phones there are riders at fault here, too. Jungle has always said that if you’re in a crash you were at fault. Yes, the other guy may have precipitated the situation but it is your responsibility to always be riding as though you are invisible and everyone else on the road is deliberately out to kill you.

It’s pretty hard to argue against that. Ride like your life depends on it. Because it does.

Biker Quote for Today

Cars have bumpers. Bikers have bones. Drive aware.

I’ve read more than once how one of the things bikers love about their motorcycles is customizing them and making them uniquely their own. Sometimes this means practical things like a more comfortable seat and other times it’s basically just farkles.
What the heck is a farkle? In a 2017 article by that name in Rider magazine, Jenny Smith offered this definition:

Farkle (n): A modification to a motorcycle that satisfies the following criteria: creates “bling,” serves a purpose (the usefulness of which is in the eyes of the farkler) and is most likely expensive. Often used among touring riders to denote or convey status amongst their peers. Ex: “I picked up a new farkle for my ST today: a GPS-based burger joint locator!” (v): To farkle; to accessorize one’s motorcycle with farkles. Ex: “Boy, John really farkled out his K1300GT; it’s even got a cup holder!”

I got to thinking about this the other day when I spotted a 1980 Honda CB750 Custom at 1 Up Four Down while getting a new tire on my V-Strom. Asking about the Honda the guy told me there was a problem with an aftermarket exhaust system. He then asked me if I still had the stock system on my Honda. Yes I do.

One thought leads to another–the proverbial train of thought–and that’s how we got here: a discussion of my own practices regarding farkles and aftermarket equipment.

In short, I’m not much into farkles but I do modify my bikes to make better them fit me and my style of riding. When I bought my first bike, the Honda, I immediately added a windshield. I have never enjoyed the powerful blast of wind against my head and chest so I added that right away. Then Bill and John and I started going on longer rides and I discovered I needed highway pegs and a throttle lock. Plus I got a case guard to protect the motor in case of a get-off.

That’s it, that’s all I’ve ever done to the bike other than replacing the sissy bar pouch it came with when that rotted away.

Next came the Concours and another immediate purchase: risers. Stock, that bike had me leaning way forward and very uncomfortable. I got some Helibar risers that moved the grips up and back a couple inches and it was a night and day difference. I wouldn’t have been able to ride that bike without them.

Then of course I had to get a throttle lock. But adding highway pegs was a tougher project. There didn’t seem to be any good way to do it, and the not so good ways meant doing permanent damage to the body work. Then Murph save the day and came out with a cantilevered solution that allowed you to mount the pegs without cutting into your plastic. Done.

That was it for a long time, until last year I finally satisfied a desire and got a top bag with a good mount to hold it. And that’s all I’ve ever done with that bike.

Comes the V-Strom and it already had aftermarket Givi side bags so I didn’t need much. Of course I added a throttle lock but I also put on a case guard and highway pegs. Then a top bag and that bike is set. What more could I need?

Well, of course, I do have tank bags for all three bikes, just as I have saddle bags for the Honda but those are not added on as parts of the bikes, they readily come right off and would not go with the bike if I ever let go of one of my bikes.

Yeah, if the aftermarket depended on people like me there would be a much smaller aftermarket. But mostly that market depends on people like Dennis, who is now on his fifth or sixth bike in the 15 or so years I’ve been riding with him. Somebody has to keep the wheels of commerce turning and I figure better him than me.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker when your biggest decision of the day is left or right.

I’ll be leaving soon on this year’s OFMC trip and I plan to ride the Concours. So I got a new tire put on the V-Strom.

You have to understand, one of the best things about having more than one motorcycle is that if you’re planning to ride and find at the last minute that the bike you planned on has an issue, you just take a different one. I’ve run into that situation more than once.

Most recently, I was loading my Concours the night before departure on the Great River Road ride and found that the valve stem on the rear tire was totally rotted out. I immediately unloaded and moved everything to the V-Strom. I don’t expect anything like that this time but I wanted to be prepared just in case.

And man was that front tire in need of replacement. It wasn’t down to the cords or anything like that, but ever since I’ve had that bike I’ve run 80-20 Shinko tires that have an 80 percent bias for street riding but a chunkier tread that provides the 20 percent bias toward dirt. The thing is, in reality I don’t get off on the dirt all that much, but this tire doesn’t seem to like the pavement very much so it had a really odd wear pattern.

In fact, the guy at One Up Four Down, where I had the work done, commented on what an odd wear pattern it had, how the cupping was very unusual. Basically, the chunky tread along the outside was still thick but sloped down to almost nothing diagonally at an angle, while the inner portion of the tread was almost down to the DOT lines. Weird.

So I decided OK, I’ll just go with street tires. The guys next door at Let It Ride, where I bought the tire, recommended a Metzeler so that’s what I got.

In the meantime, while the guys were putting the new tire on I looked around at all the bikes they had in the repair shop. In the front of the shop, in an area where I was told the bikes were either ready to be picked up or were waiting for parts to arrive I spotted something very startling: A 1980 Honda CB750 Custom exactly like mine, except looking a lot more shiny and polished than mine.

It seems this bike, though, has an aftermarket exhaust system that has gone to crap and now they’re having a hard time finding something to replace it with. I still have the stock exhaust on mine and it works fine so whoever took theirs off and replaced it might have made a bad decision.

But there it was, looking very pretty and otherwise probably in a lot better condition than mine. I’m glad to see there are still others out there loving this old bike.

Biker Quote for Today

100 reasons not to date a biker: 38. “Am I dating an adult or a 10 year old” you’ll wonder sometimes.