Passes & Canyons Blog

This is going to be interesting. Earlier today I picked up a pair of glasses equipped with a microphone and digital camera, for testing on my motorcycle. They’re like a helmet camera except they go on your face like any glasses. And they have both clear and dark lenses, so the name on the box is “Video Sunglasses.” The brand is DigaNET.

The way I see it, these things have a lot of potential. Many times I’ve ridden through Glenwood Canyon and wanted to get pictures for the website that do it justice, but the only way to do that would be to stop on the highway–not a safe move. A helmet cam has come to mind more than once.

Plus, when I’ve been out shooting pictures for the site, on more occasions than I can count I have ridden along thinking “That might make a good shot” but by the time I’m saying that I’m already blasting past the point. How nice it would be to just see the great view, look at it, and presto, it’s been photographed.

So anyway, I’m going to be testing these things in the next week and will have a report for you soon after. The first thing I can tell you is that they won’t work with a full-face helmet. I tried and there is no way to get them on after you have the helmet on or to put them on before donning the helmet. So that’s an issue. Maybe the manufacturer can come up with a design that does work with a full-face helmet. I’ll be doing my testing with my half-helmet. Obviously, if you don’t wear a helmet there’s no problem at all.

One other interesting thing about these glasses: They were originally designed with covert surveillance in mind, and it is only due to interest shown by motorcyclists that the company has turned their attention in our direction. They contacted me via the Passes and Canyons website asking if I wanted to carry their ads on the site. I said I want to test this thing. And that’s how we got to where we are now. Stay tuned.

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Biker Quote for Today

If you’re lost, you’re most likely off the beaten path and that’s the best path to be on.

I ran a post on Examiner.com awhile back about Mike Corbin, the well-known custom motorcycle seat builder, retiring and putting the business up for sale. Just the other day now there was a comment posted on that article from someone identifying herself as the sister of the Gentry in the name of the company, Corbin-Gentry.

The surprising thing for me was that the company I had written about was Corbin-Pacific. It seems, as Gentry’s sister explains, that Mike Corbin started out in 1968 in the Corbin-Gentry company and then, “In the mid ’80s Corbin split, taking 1/2 of the business with him to California leaving Gentry with the other 1/2.” Thus Corbin-Gentry and Corbin-Pacific. I didn’t know this.

Gentry’s sister writes with what seems to be a bit of anger, though it’s not clear at what. Possibly she still harbors resentment toward Mike, or perhaps she just gets annoyed when her sister is ignored and forgotten. Just to air her concerns, here is the full text of her comment.

Quite interesting there is a book out about Mike CORBIN, King of motorcycle seats. It fails to mention that there was a Queen of seats, being GENTRY, CORBIN/GENTRY. This neighbor he talks about sewing his 1st seat for him was my sister. She was not a neighbor but his partner who was called Gentry. TOGETHER they formed and built the business into what would be known world wide. Without Gentry there would have been no Corbin. Gentry was by his side at every turn in the road. Corbin/Gentry was based in Connecticut and thrived from the ’60s to the ’80s. My husband worked for them as a salesman for years working the East Coast.

In the mid ’80s Corbin split, taking 1/2 of the business with him to California leaving Gentry with the other 1/2. So before Corbin rides off into the sunset saying he’s king of the seats let it be known that without Gentry he could not be saying this.

So now, what was it that Paul Harvey used to say about “That’s the rest of the story” or something like that?

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Biker Quote for Today

Life may not always be sunshine and rainbows, but what you live through will make you a better person and a better rider.

For 10 years my Kawasaki Concours has fired up for me immediately every time, not counting the times when the battery was shot and needed to be replaced. Those weren’t the bike’s fault, that was the battery, and all batteries die eventually.

So I was a little concerned while I was up in Keystone, CO, covering the International Women and Motorcycling Conference that on two mornings I had to turn it over repeatedly before it caught. Still, it got cold those nights, my whole bike was covered with frost each morning, and I chalked it up to cold.

When I was back home later, and tried starting it, you can imagine that I was considerably more concerned when I had trouble again. Something was clearly wrong. Just what I need, a mechanic bill.

I asked our resident mechanic and his presumption was much like my own: carbs need cleaning. Ouch. I’ve had that done and it’s not cheap. What’s more, I just had it done not that long ago so if that was what was needed again I was not going to be happy.

So I went over to Vickery Motorsports, my local dealer and the place where I bought the bike, and told my story to the service manager (sorry, I didn’t get his name). He asked how long it had been since I’d had a tune-up. Oh yeah. Too long, I had to admit. Well, do this then, he said: clean the air filter and replace the spark plugs. If that doesn’t work, check back.

Great. That wouldn’t cost nearly as much as cleaning the carbs and I could probably do it myself. I went upstairs and bought the plugs and thanked him again on my way out. “Be really sure to clean the air filter,” he repeated, stressing that part. I read that as meaning it was particularly important.

Now, I’m no great mechanic. I don’t generally work on my motorcycles beyond lubing the chain on my Honda and checking the tires and changing the oil. And I quickly found out that replacing the plugs on the Kawi requires removing the gas tank to get to them. That’s out of my comfort zone. But I checked my tech book and getting to the air filter was no problem.

I pulled out the filter and followed instructions on cleaning it and put it back in. Then I turned the key and pushed the start button. Vrrooom! Instantly. And it has started instantly every time since.

So wow. That is so nice. Yes, I’m still overdue for a tune-up, and I’ll get to that soon, but isn’t it amazing what even simple maintenance can do. And of course this makes me feel good about continuing to do business at Vickery. Thanks guys.

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Biker Quote for Today

If the bike ain’t brakin’ properly you don’t start by rebuilding the engine.

I have some heated motorcycle gear I’ve been given by EXO2 The Heat Inside to test and do a product review on, so I was looking for some cold weather here in August. Not the easiest thing to find, except that in the mountains it gets cold no matter what time of year it is. At least at night, and up real high.

I already had plans to be up in Keystone one evening for the return of the Adventure for the Cures “Dirty Dozen” riders from their seven-day cancer research fundraising ride. Fine, I figured I’d stay as late in the evening as I cared to and then return home over Loveland Pass. At 11,900 feet, especially at 11 p.m. or so, I figured it would be pretty dang chilly–perfect weather for testing the gear.

So it got late and it was time for me to head home and I put on the heated vest and gloves, connected the wires, pulled on my leather jacket and helmet, and set off up the pass.

The gear worked fine. I’ll tell you all about that later, once I have more time to do more testing, but I certainly had no complaints that night. I did have some concerns setting out at night in the mountains that I might encounter deer, because they can be deadly if they run out in front of you and you are unable to avoid them. But none of them showed their faces.

What I did not anticipate was issues of equilibrium. Let me set the scene.

It’s a dark night. Cloudy, so no moon or stars. No electric lights going up over the pass, and no guardrails with their reflectors. On top of that, on the lower stretches of the road up the pass, no horizon. The blackness of the trees and mountains blended totally with the blackness of the sky.

What could I see? White and yellow lines. White and yellow lines that curved and rose and fell, all in relation to . . . nothing. In just a short while this started playing tricks on my equilibrium. Am I leaning or is the road curving? I know I’m leaning because I’m in a curve, but am I leaning too far or is the road rising through the curve? I could not tell. There was no point of reference. It was downright scary.

I got over the pass by going about 15 to 20 miles per hour and being super, super cautious, and I was glad I only encountered one other vehicle along the way. That ride was not fun. I’ll be restricting my gear testing to daylight from now on.

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Biker Quote for Today

I always slow down if my riding buddy in front of me disappears or launches skyward unexpectedly.

Riding motorcycles as I have for more than 20 years you’re guaranteed to learn a few things, mainly by direct experience. I recently concluded a series of 12 posts on Motorcycling Lessons Learned on Examiner.com and now I’ve put these all together as a booklet that you can download.

For the most part, I was able to use real-life situations that my buddies and I have experienced to show the value of these lessons. Not incidentally, I don’t always look so smart in these situations, but that’s how you really, truly learn a lesson. I’m fine with you laughing at my stupidity if it gets the point across.

Just so you’ll know in advance what you’re getting, here are the titles and links to the individual posts on Examiner.

#1 – Have riding buddies
#2 – Signal your intentions
#3 – Ride your own ride
#4 – Don’t hesitate to ride alone
#5 – Carry proper gear
#6 – Know your bike
#7 – Get training
#8 – Assume you’re invisible
#9 – Take your time
#10 – Explore
#11 – Be opportunistic
#12 – Know how to pick up your motorcycle

Biker Quote for Today

It’s a friggen motorcycle, it’s not supposed to be comfortable, quiet, or safe. The wind noise is supposed to hurt your ears, the seat should be hard, and riding it should make you shit your pants every now and then. Suck it up.

I went to Steele’s Salvage and replaced my saddle some years ago when it was getting totally ripped up. To my dismay, I recently noticed that this newer saddle was starting to tear. Bummer.

Then I saw an ad for a product that I figured would be worth a try. It’s called Liquid Leather. With shipping, it cost me $8 from Amazon. I tried it out this weekend and this is my report.

For starters, as you can see in the photo, it was a very small tear. That may mean this is not as good a test as it could be, but I didn’t want to wait for it to get bigger just for the sake of doing a better test.

The package comes with eight different colors of repair goop, an applicator, and several texture sheets that help the repair blend in better. So following instructions, I cleaned the area really well, made sure it was completely dry, and then smeared the goop on the spot. Obviously, you want to apply it fairly evenly. Then I slapped on the texture sheet and that was it. Wait 24 hours, peel off the texture sheet, and you’re done. Couldn’t be simpler.

So how did it work? First let me make a couple points. These may not have been optimal conditions. For one thing, the tear was right at the ridge where the passenger portion dips down to the rider portion. For another, it’s winter, so even sitting for 24 hours out in the cold may not be enough. Still, if that is an issue, they really ought to tell you so. Third, if you use it several times you may get better at doing the job.

So here’s a shot of the finished product.

As you can see, it doesn’t look perfect. And depending on the light it can be pretty noticeable. But that’s why I think with a little practice I could do better. This being my very first time I do think I have the ability to learn from experience.

While it’s not perfect, it’s definitely better than just leaving the tear to get bigger. What I really think is the most important thing here is how well this holds up. Only time will tell on that count and for that reason I don’t consider this a final. I’ll touch back in on this in about 6 months to tell you how it’s holding up. Or sooner if it just all falls off a week from now. Likewise, even if it comes off and the repair fails two years from now I’ll let you know. But at the very least, I’ll check back in at some point with an update.

Biker Quote for Today

Maintenance is as much art as it is science.

Saturday was very cold, so of course I went for a ride. Three rides, actually.

Cold weather was what I wanted because I had just received a new pair of fleece-lined chaps and I wanted to try them out. Here’s the full disclosure.

Lorna Reed, over in Palisade, had contacted me awhile back to inquire about advertising on the Passes and Canyons website. Lorna, through her company, Colorado Chaps, makes and sells chaps for bikers, horsemen, and anyone else who wants them. Long story short, she offered to make and give me a pair if I would try them out and then write about them in this blog. Mine to keep, regardless of whether I liked them or not, but she’d prefer if I didn’t write about them if I didn’t like them. Lorna was confident I would like them, however, and her confidence was well placed. I definitely give them a recommendation.

So let me tell you about my testing methodology and the results.

First I went out for a fairly short ride, with just my jeans, to get a feel for just how cold it was. It was cold! As soon as I took off down the street I felt the cold cutting through the jeans and my legs were not happy. Even after that brief ride I had to sit at home and warm up a bit before the next ride.

For my second ride I put on my trusty leather chaps that have been my standard cold weather gear. These are really top-quality chaps, with really thick, heavy leather. If leather chaps were going to keep me warm, these would do it.

Leaving the house it was immediately noticeable how much warmer it was than with just my jeans. Other parts of my body were cold but my legs felt fine. I took a much longer ride this second time, most of it on the highway, to give the cold a chance to do its stuff.

The cold did do its stuff. Aside from the fact that my fingers were turning to ice, the leather got cold and I could feel that cold through my jeans. The chaps were blocking the wind but that wasn’t enough to keep me warm. Nothing we don’t already know, of course. Leather is not a cold-weather insulator, it just blocks the wind and offers good protection if you go down.

Back at home again I really had to warm up before my third ride. Under other circumstances I would have ridden my Kawasaki so its fairing and engine heat would keep me warm, but today I had deliberately chosen the Honda because I knew it would be colder. The sacrifices I make to bring you good information . . .

OK, so I put on the Colorado Chaps fleece-lined babies and off I went again. Same route as the last time. I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t get cold. On a day like that you’re going to get cold no matter what. But the difference was clear. That fleece lining made a big difference. Plus,the heavy-duty Cordura nylon shell didn’t get as cold itself as the leather had, or at least it didn’t manage to transmit that cold to my legs.

The chaps were snug but not so tight as to make it hard to bend my knees. As with the leather chaps, around the top where they ended, the breeze got in and was chilling. But lower down there was no air infiltration and I stayed reasonably comfortable. I was pleased. I’ll definitely be putting these to use. Thank you Lorna.

So here’s the plug. Lorna runs a small Colorado business and she produces a good product. Plus, the price is definitely affordable. The heavy duty Cordura like mine costs $75 for a pair, plus $35 for the fleece lining. For $25 more you can get Kevlar in place of the Cordura. If you ride a Harley or some other bike where you risk contact with hot pipes, $20 will get you a “pipe patch” to protect them. And there are other extras you can order. Each pair is made to fit so you need to take your measurements with your riding gear on. Visit the website for the full scoop, or call Lorna at 970-464-5803.

Biker Quote for Today

May the sun be at your back, the wind in your face, and the bugs in your teeth.

I made a run over to Steele’s the other day. In case you’re unfamiliar with the place, Steele’s Salvage at 2025 W. Union, is a junk yard for dead motorcycles.

Mind you, Steele’s is a lot more than that. They sell used bikes of all kinds, they do service, and they sell both new and used parts. But it’s the salvage yard — to use the more PC term — that is totally fascinating.

There must be a couple thousand motorcycle carcasses parked row on row on the property. Many are just rusty hulks, others have clearly been consumed in flames, while many are in perfectly fine shape, ready to donate an organ to keep the brother you’re riding alive. All of them are in a greater or lesser state of disassembly.

I ride an old bike, a 1980 Honda CB750 Custom, so it’s no surprise that I have done business at Steele’s. At one point my saddle was so torn and ragged that I came to Steele’s for a replacement. It’s a pretty easy guess that dealers don’t carry replacement saddles for 20-year-old bikes, but that’s why God invented salvage yards.

Another time I needed a fusible link. In the case of the CB, this is just a small, slotted piece of copper that makes all the difference in the world as to whether the bike will run or not. You could probably put a box with a thousand of them in your pants pocket but you won’t find a single one at a Honda dealer these days. At least not one for a 1980 model bike.

At Steele’s I asked at the counter and they didn’t have any in stock, but they pointed me to the part of the yard where the Hondas reside and invited me to help myself to any I might find.

Not surprisingly, the spot in the wiring where the fusible link goes was empty on all the bikes I checked. But the factory sent the bikes out with spares. Inspecting the storage area on several bikes, I found half a dozen and laid claim to them all.

So I’m probably set with fusible links for the life of the bike. And when it finally dies it will probably end up at Steele’s or some place comparable, along with a few spares. They may some day serve to keep someone else’s old beast on the road.

I know there are plenty of folks who only want the latest, the hottest, and the fastest bike available, and for them, Steele’s is irrelevant. But for those of us who ride and love older bikes, Steele’s is the difference between the life and death of an old friend.

Plus, it’s just fun to wander around through all those old junkers.

Biker Quote for Today

It’s an old motorcycle. The wind is supposed to blow your head around, it’s supposed to leak oil, the brakes should suck, and every now and then, it should scare you so bad you piss your pants.