Passes & Canyons Blog

When people and vehicles share the very narrow street like this you better believe everyone is careful and nobody drives recklessly.

We just spent five days in Barcelona (Spain) and as always, I observed the traffic scene–i.e., the two-wheeled type–closely. I’ll tell you two things: No non-California city in the US is ready for this scene, and it is then a good thing that no such city will soon be experiencing this.

Barcelona streets are packed with traffic so vehicles frequently move slowly and even when they move fast they are slow by our norms. And because traffic moves so slowly, the filtering and lane-splitting are constant.

We took a cab one day. The right-hand curb lanes on busy streets are reserved for buses and taxis so those types of vehicles can make better time. Of course motorcycles use that lane a lot. And apparently they’re allowed to, either officially or unofficially.

Let me make a side note here. In Europe they tend to use the word “motorbike” and that’s actually probably a better word for them. The highly dominant two-wheeler is the step-through scooter, like the Vespas of old. There are also real motorcycles but anything over 500cc is rare. Baggers are non-existent.

But you also have plenthy of the stand-up scooters that have become popular, plus lots of power-assisted bicycles–ebikes. And of course plain old people-powered bicycles and skateboards. All of these, for our purposes, can be grouped under the term “motorbikes.”

OK, back to the narrative. I was saying we took a cab.

The one problem with taking the right-hand cab and bus lane is that both of these conveyances are prone to making stops. And when they do you can end up sitting a while before they move again.

The obvious thing to do is go around them but that means merging into the next lane and on our cab ride, as the cab would start to insinuate its way in, the motorbikes behind the cab would dart into the opening and block the cab out of the space it had created. We missed getting through red light cycles a couple times for exactly that reason.

Our cab driver stayed totally cool, showing no frustration or aggravation. I’m sure because he deals with this all day every day. And he was vigilantly watchful for these scooters and all.

How do you suppose a typical American driver is likely to respond to something like this? Rhetorical question. We know the answer.

So no, no non-California city in the US is ready for this but it’s not going to happen anywhere any time soon. In Europe motorbikes are everywhere by the thousands. Until Americans take up two-wheeled travel in those kinds of numbers that kind of scene cannot develop. And hopefully, as it will happen gradually–if it ever does–we’ll all have time to adapt to it just as gradually. Until it feels normal.

How crazy would that be?

Biker Quote for Today

Why did the motorcycle stay at home? It was two-tired.

Is anyone surprised that South Dakota ranks first in terms of people per motorcycle?

I saw an interesting chart the other day showing motorcycle ownership per person in each state. It’s not really information you can do much of anything with, it’s just interesting.

Colorado, for instance, ranks 14th with 173,120 bikes spread among 5,047,692 people. That comes out to one motorcycle for every 29 people. Of course, with people like me owning multiple bikes the actual number of motorcycle owners is necessarily lower. Still, the figures give you a general indication of the level of motorcycle interest per state. And it should not be a surprise that Colorado ranks high considering our weather and all the great places there are to ride in the state.

First on the list is South Dakota, with 69,284 bikes spread among 816,598 people, for a total of only 12 people per bike. It would be interesting to know how the bikes are concentrated across the state. Does the Sturgis area have, say, 3 people for each bike, while the eastern part of the state has something like 20 people per bike? There’s an awful lot of flat, wide-open country in South Dakota once you go east from the Black Hills.

At the other end of the listing, the District of Columbia has only 3,523 bikes for 604,912 people, leaving them with 172 people for every bike. I’m not at all sure how to interpret that. Is it just that a dense population with decent public transportation discourages people from owning their own vehicles? Who knows; surely I don’t.

In case you presume that more southerly states have more motorcycles simply because they have better weather for riding more of the year you would be wrong. The number 2 state with the most bikes per person is New Hampshire. There, they have 79,266 bikes amongst 1,316,807 people, for a ratio of one bike to 17 people. Is that related in some way to the Laconia Rally?

Filling out the top 10 are (rank, state, # of bikes, population, people per bike:
#3 Iowa: 173,929; 3,050,202; 18
#4 Wisconsin: 317,276; 5,691,659; 18
#5 Wyoming: 30,351; 564,554; 19
#6 North Dakota: 32,654; 674,629; 21
#7 Vermont: 30,070; 625,909; 21
#8 Montana: 46,996; 990,958; 21
#9 Minnesota: 240,288; 5,310,658; 22
#10 Alaska: 30,983; 714,146; 23

On the bottom end, leading to DC, we have these states:
#41 Kentucky: 98,475; 4,347,223; 44
#42 Hawaii: 30,098; 1,363,359; 45
#43 California: 801,803; 37,338,198; 47
#44 Utah: 59,355; 2,775,479; 47
#45 Maryland: 120,069; 5,785,681; 48
#46 Georgia: 199,586; 9,712,157; 49
#47 New York: 345,816; 19,395,206; 56
#48 Texas: 438,551; 25,253,466; 58
#49 Louisiana: 67,486; 4,545,343; 67
#50 Mississippi: 28,067; 2,970,072; 106

Does it surprise you to see states like Kentucky, California, Utah, Georgia and Texas so low in the ranking? I’d love to see some information explaining what factors lead to that result. I don’t think we’re likely to see that kind of info though so we’ll just take it for what it is.

Biker Quote for Today

A clean visor is a wonderful thing.

As long as the roads aren’t like this you always have back-up transportation if you have a motorcycle.

For obvious reasons, transportation was an issue for me after this idiot totaled my car a couple weeks ago. The issue was quickly resolved for a while when my insurance company got me a rental car, with them paying $30 a day and me picking up the remainder, about $10 a day. But then I bought a new car and before Judy gave me a ride over to pick it up we took my rental back.

Before I could pick up the new car my insurance company called to tell me the one I was buying–a used car–had a recall on it and until I could get that warranty issue handled they could cover me for liability but not for comprehensive and collision. OK, that’s a real issue and a couple quick calls later I had an appointment to get the new car in for the warranty work just a few days later. But still, driving at all without comp and collision made me extremely uncomfortable.

Judy said I was welcome to use hers any time I wanted but as we looked at our schedules we quickly saw there would be some conflicts where she needed her car and I needed to get somewhere. Not a problem, I told her, I can ride one of my bikes.

Of course this ability is always contingent at this time of year on the weather. But at this time we were having some beautiful, warm weather. So one day I needed to run up to the salvage yard in Commerce City where my old car now resided because I wanted to get my old plates to put on my new car. I rode the V-Strom.

Later that day I needed to run some paperwork to my insurance agent so they could process my claim and cut me a check. They’re way down south but it was a beautiful day so of course I’m happy to run down there on the bike. Motorcycles ARE transportation. They just happen to also be fun.

The next day I had a dental appointment. Again, the V-Strom got me there and as long as I was out I made about three other stops.

Eventually we did get over to pick up the new car but even just driving it home and parking it and then driving it to get the warranty work done without coverage had me very uneasy. But the sales guy told me the law requires that in a situation like this the insurance company has to extend your previous coverage to your new vehicle for a minimum number of days, not sure how many. I checked with my agent and he confirmed this is correct. So why didn’t they tell me that when they said I had to get the warranty work done before I’d be covered?

Anyway, I got the car, the weather turned nasty, and I was able to use the car without worrying. And now probably by the time you read this the warranty work will be done and all will be back to normal. But it sure was great to have the bikes to turn to when I didn’t have a car to use.

Biker Quote for Today

I’m not afraid to go fast, it’s crashing and burning that sucks.

This is where your bike ends up if there’s no one to fix it and keep it running.

How’s this for a scenario: Your dealer where you bought your motorcycle 12 years ago just told you that it’s too old, they don’t want to work on it any more. You’ve just been fired as a customer. Fine, you’ll go find some independent shop where they work on old bikes.

But each shop you go to tells you they can’t work on your bike because it requires specialized equipment and knowledge that the manufacturer deems proprietary information. You now have a very heavy, very expensive paper weight.

Does that sound a bit extreme? Maybe it is but that part about proprietary information and equipment is very real, as is the whole business of being fired as a customer. What can be done about this?

Both the AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) and MRF (Motorcycle Riders Foundation) have sent me emails recently urging me to contact my Congressional representative to push them to support H.R. 906, the “Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair Act or the REPAIR Act.” I’m passing this on to you.

I thought for sure one of the emails had more specific information, something about it coming up for some vote or something, but for the life of me I cannot find any such email. Dang.

Well, nevertheless, here’s the scoop. Quoting the MRF:

The REPAIR Act ensures that vehicle owners or repair shops are not denied access to the information, software or tools needed to work on vehicles. The proposed law also establishes rules regarding vehicle data access. This commonsense law will help preserve consumer choice and a fair marketplace.

Then there is this from the AMA:

Do you believe in the Right to Repair your own motorcycle? Politicians in Washington want to limit your ability to repair, maintain, and modify your motorcycle.

The AMA is working closely with members of Congress to fight for your Right to Repair, the simple idea that when you purchase something — like your motorcycle — you should have the right to repair it or seek an independent repair shop to do the work, and manufacturers must make the parts and information needed for repairs available to the public for a fair and reasonable price.

In the House of Representatives, the AMA is advocating for passage of H.R. 906, the REPAIR Act (Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair). This legislation will ensure that motorcyclists and independent repair shops have access to the tools, parts and information needed to repair motorcycles.

Right now there are three Colorado representatives who have cosponsored this bill: Rep. Pettersen, Brittany [D-CO-7]; Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2]; and Rep. Caraveo, Yadira [D-CO-8]. If your rep is someone else maybe you could drop them a line and push them to add their name to the list. I need to do that with Diana Degette.

Go ahead and give your rep a nudge. They’re there to work for you. Make them earn their pay.

Biker Quote for Today

“Try to remember the reason you started riding a motorcycle in the first place. For me, it was a couple of things but mostly rebellion.” ? Sonny Barger

The Halycon 250 made by Janus Motorcycles.

I had never heard of Janus Motorcycles but I got an email the other day from Grant Longenbaugh, the company’s president, complimenting me on this blog. He said he had run across it while they were here in Colorado doing filming for a ride on one of their bikes.

“If you haven’t heard of Janus, we make ultra-lightweight, classic bikes in Goshen Indiana. There are about 1500 of ’em out there, and we’re growing every year!,” he said.

Well, I hadn’t but now I have. So of course I had to check out their website and see what these bikes are all about.

The first thing that is clear from the start with Janus is that this is not a large-scale, cookie-cutter operation. As you can see from that screen shot above, you can pick from 15 different colors for your bike. Does anyone else offer that kind of selection? As for other customization, they offer a wide range of options from seat to mirrors to luggage and more. One bit of humor: On the FAQ page they go through what can and cannot be customized. Here’s one: “Can you buy ‘just’ a frame, tank, etc? Yes, but all frames come with engines attached, and all fuel tanks come with frame and engine attached.”

That reminds me of when I first bought my 1999 Kawasaki Concours and rode it to breakfast with the guys. Leaving the restaurant I told them they needed to look at the new seat I had just bought. (We had recently taken a trip to California and it was a long ride on my CB750.) When I walked them over to the bike I told them, “Yeah, the seat cost one heck of a lot but they threw in all the rest of the bike at no extra charge.”

Janus currently offers three models, the Halycon 450, Halycon 250, and Gryffin 250. The 450 has two cylinders and the 250s each have one. These are retro-looking bikes that definitely have you thinking of early Harleys and others. Which is not to say the technology is old school at all.

At the same time, these are not extremely complex machines either.

Our motorcycles are designed to be simple to understand and work on. We encourage our owners to perform their own routine maintenance and get to know their motorcycles. We believe that knowing your machine deepens the enjoyment of riding. We have an ever-growing YouTube channel of maintenance videos, and if there’s something you don’t know how to do or don’t want to do, we can help you learn, or help you find a local garage that will service our motorcycles.

So anyway, it’s always nice to have new companies coming along to build a wider variety of motorcycles. If this particular style stokes your fires you now have a source.

Biker Quote for Today

Bike may be new, but not my passion for riding.

One of the rides I did last year.

I periodically go through the links on the Passes & Canyons website, testing them all and removing any that are no longer good. Far less frequently I go through my bookmarks in my browser to see what is still functioning and what is not.

Here are a few sites you may find interesting, as well as a few you have missed.

• Bikerpunks.com – Watch Motorcycle Videos, Sportbike Videos! — Gone. Yeah, there are plenty of videos out there, but it was nice to have a whole bunch in one place.
• blindspotcycles.com — Sorry to see this is gone. This was a guy who made a business of converting old gas-driven bikes to electric. I did a couple pieces about him and his bikes but I guess he has moved on.
• Colorado Front Range Tag-O-Rama — Not a site, but a thread on Adventure Rider. These guys go out and shoot photos of their bikes by some unique or odd building or natural feature or whatever, post them, and then the others have to figure out where this is and go shoot their bikes in the same place. Then the new winner posts another spot and it keeps going. I have participated in this but not recently so I’m glad to see they’re still going.
• Motorcycle Escape and Top Ten favorite rides and getaways — Another page on a bigger site, in this case Motorcyclist magazine. The title here is self-explanatory and the rides recommended are still good ones.
• Motorcycle Museums | Enginecycle® Motorcycle Directory—U.S. — Gone. Too bad. This was a directory to the motorcycle museums around the country. But I’m guessing others have stepped up to fill this niche. This site, Rumble On, looks good.
• Tilting Motor Works — I’m glad to see this guy is making it. He designed a two-wheeled, tilting front end for a few Harleys, Indians, and Hondas. None of this drives-like-a-car business of most motorcycle trikes. They’re not inexpensive, however.
• Motorcycle Travel in Hope, Whistler and the Sea to Sky Highway — Oh yeah, shameless plug. This is a link to a story I wrote for Rider magazine a few years back.
• Twisted Road — This one is definitely worth bookmarking. Are you going to be away from home and would like a bike to ride but don’t want to pay the high price of the big guys? Twisted Road is a peer-to-peer network where I could rent you my V-Strom, saving you money and putting some cash in my pocket.
• Byways — Subtitled “Exploring Our Nation’s Scenic Byways,” this site shows you some of the best roads in each state. Who knew there were 11 scenic byways in Kansas.
• AllPoetry.com — This one’s a bit different. It’s a poetry site and they have a page for motorcycle poetry. Check it out, there’s some interesting stuff here.
• Redleg (Dom Pacheco) is one of the most intrepid riders I know. He rides sidecar rigs and goes everywhere and almost totally ignores silly things like weather. And he chronicles it all here on his blog, A Redleg’s Rides.

OK, I’ve gone through about a third of my motorcycle bookmarks, and two things are evident. First, an awful lot of sites and blogs come and go. Second, considering I’ve been posting this blog regularly for 16 years I guess I must be one of the real old-timers. Dom is, too. We’ve both been blogging since 2006. Thanks for reading.

Biker Quote for Today

An engineering student is walking on campus one day when another engineer rides up on a shiny new motorcycle.
“Where did you get such a rocking bike?” asked the first.
The second engineer replied “Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, ‘Take what you want.'”
The first engineer nodded approvingly “Good choice, the clothes probably wouldn’t have fit!”

Even scooters are selling like hotcakes now.

Covid 19 has changed a lot of things. The real question is, will these changes last or will they stick around long after the virus is no longer an issue.

For instance, after being stuck at home interminably, people are hungry to get outside and do stuff. Judy and I like to camp but when we went out last year we had trouble finding a campsite because everyone else was out camping, too. And from the reports, this included a lot of people who had never camped before, not just those of us who have done it since forever.

Will this continue to be the case? Will all these new campers decide they really like this, and will they continue to jam the campgrounds? We’ll find out, won’t we.

A similar thing has happened in the motorcycling world. Motorcycle sales are through the roof.

In a report from the Motorcycle Industry Council, dated May 13, new bike sales increased 37.2 percent in the first quarter of 2021, compared to last year. And the increases were reflected in all of the on-highway, off-highway, dual-purpose, and scooter categories.

That’s incredible. And unlike camping, where lots of new campers can crowd out those who have done it for a long time, getting one new motorcyclist on the road doesn’t negatively impinge on us old-timers at all. It’s definitely a case of the more the merrier.

It could get a little congested on the off-road areas, however. The MIC report says that “Year-to-date sales of dual-purpose motorcycles were up the most, by 47 percent.” Wow. But maybe these folks are more like me, not necessarily wanting to go off on trails so much as just not wanting to pass by all these gravel roads and never finding out where they go.

There are so many ways that Covid has changed things and some of them are for the better. Let’s hope we can hang onto the good ones.

Biker Quote for Today

Look at that badass on that Can-Am Spyder said no one ever.

Some people get off on writing about the poetry of motion.

I was casting about for a topic for this post and I thought about motorcycle poetry. Was there something like that out there?

Turns out there definitely is. In fact there is even a Wikipedia page titled “Biker poetry.” According to whoever put up this page, “Biker poetry is a movement of poetry that grew out of the predominantly American lifestyle of the Biker and Motorcycle clubs following World War II.” Turns out there are even “notable biker poets.” I’ll let you explore those on your own if you’re interested.

So I started out doing a search for “motorcycle poetry.” That returned only, oh, about 22.5 million links. Really?

The top of the pile was allpoetry.com. This very broad site breaks out into subject matter and https://allpoetry.com/poems/about/motorcycle is where I ended up. Here’s a sampling of the titles.

• 2 wheel death machine
• Two Wheels To Heaven
• The ride
• Parade of Dog Voices
• Well, that’s what I gave you a key for, isn’t it
• Wear A Helmet
• Motorcycle Madness

There are a lot more. Are they any good?

I will say this: If you are a regular reader of this blog you know I close each post with a “Biker Quote for Today.” Reading through these poems I picked up a few lines that will be gracing that feature sooner or later.

But is the poetry good? Well, I would have to say, in my opinion, not much of it. No Pulitzer Prize winners here. But some of it is interesting, and the variety of subject matter is interesting as well.

For instance, that one I listed above, Parade of Dog Voices. The idea is of a biker going down the road and dogs in the yards he/she passes barking at the passing bike. Parade of Dog Voices–get it?

So anyway, if you’re interested to see what else is out there here are a few more links.

Hello Poetry (https://hellopoetry.com/words/motorcycle/)
Poetry Soup (https://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/short/motorcycle)
Poetry By Chuck (https://www.charlesallenjohnson.com/motorcyclepoetry.htm)
Triumph Rat (https://www.triumphrat.net/biker-hang-out/179739-best-motorcycle-poetry.html)

Biker Quote for Today

A poem is a verbal artifact which must be as skillfully and solidly constructed as a table or a motorcycle. — W H Auden