Passes & Canyons Blog

It occurred to me on this latest OFMC trip that I was road-testing various articles of gear for the first time. That is to say, the first extended test, as opposed to going for a two-hour ride. So what’s the scoop?

Riding Pants
I had tried out my new riding pants on day rides but this was a quantum leap. I brought only one pair of jeans and the rest were lightweight, comfortable pants for in the evening. I planned to ride each day with the riding pants and only underwear underneath.

When I tried them on at home before the trip, though, it was the first time in warmer weather and thus the first time I didn’t at least have long underwear on. I found the armor in the knees rubbed uncomfortably on my knees. So I took an old pair of socks I was throwing away and cut off the toes. Then I pulled them up over my knees, with the heels covering my knees and then tried the pants on. The socks worked great.

This system got more of a test on the trip because a couple days I forgot to put the “knee socks” on. And the armor rubbed uncomfortably. So I’m sold on the socks. Plus, I’m sold on the pants. For one or two days on the trip I decided to wear the jeans instead. You know, I never noticed before how tight and constricting jeans are, at least compared to these looser fitting, very comfortable riding pants. I’m sold.

I will say, though, that at times when we were standing around and it was hot, these riding pants were definitely hotter than jeans would have been. Kind of like keeping your jacket on.

Riding Jacket
Oh yes, the jacket. That was new as well.

I like this jacket. It’s mesh with a zip-in liner. On the hot days it was so nice to have that cooling air movement passing over me. On cooler days, with the liner in it still needed assistance, such as a sweat shirt, to be warm enough but that was not hard to address. And pockets? I mentioned pockets previously and there are so many I didn’t even use all of them.

The jacket is definitely comfortable all day. With the armor it doesn’t compress as compactly as I might like so it wasn’t always possible to stuff it into the top bag at stops but I can live with that. I’d certainly rather have the armor in case it is needed.

Tank Bag
My newest acquisition was a Wolfman tank bag for the V-Strom. Though not as large as the tank bag I’ve had on the Concours for many years, this little baby proved itself to be extremely useful.

There are always a variety of smaller things you want to keep handy on a bike and up till now I had been keeping them stashed in the top bag on the back. But that was never ideal because in order to get in there I need to dismount, take the key out of the ignition, and open the thing. Then do the reverse to get ready to ride again. With the tank bag, I just unzip, do what I need to do, and rezip.

I kept granola bars, my camera, sunscreen, a cap–all sorts of stuff in that bag. Plus, at stops, I would stash my gloves in it. This tank bag is a big winner.

Top Bag
Speaking of the top bag, I’ve definitely road-tested it well over a period of years but this time out I ran into an issue. The bag is mounted on two rails on the bottom, with four bolts. In the six years I’ve had the bag the bike has been dropped at least four times that I can recall. Apparently, that impact has caused those bolts to rip through the rather cheap rails and/or the even cheaper plastic connection points on the bottom of the bag.

As I was packing to go I noticed that it wobbled a bit on its mounts and an inspection showed that it was only attached by two bolts, not the four as originally. It has probably been this way for awhile so I didn’t see any immediate issue but I figure the next time the bike gets dropped that bag is likely to come completely off, with no good way to put it back on. Still, just for insurance, I decided to stabilize it a bit using a bungee cord.

The problem there was that I kept undoing the bungee when I needed to get in the bag and then forgetting to reconnect it after. So I would be cruising down the road and realize that the cord was hanging loose. Now, if it was hanging loose over the side that could be a real hazard but I found that it was always just sitting there on the seat behind me. Still, there was always the danger so I finally figured out to hook the loose end to my handlebars so there was no way I could ride away without remembering to reattach it.

Bottom line, though, is that I expect I’m going to need a new top bag at some point in the future.

So there we go. A bunch of new gear and I’m very pleased with each item. Cool.

Biker Quote for Today

Don’t let the fear of what could happen make nothing happen.

I’m developing a bit of a love-hate relationship with the electronics I (try to) ride with.

For years I was the hold-out who still didn’t have a cell phone. Now I do and so when I ride I want it with me in case I have trouble and I want it to work. But I want more from it than that.

I have this REVER app on my phone that will track your rides, which for someone like, me who blogs about my rides, it’s really convenient so I can show the routes, such as that one above. But to use it you first need a cell phone with power and you also need to remember to launch the app and start tracking.

I did a ride with the RMMRC recently over Guanella Pass and had intended to track it but when I turned my phone on to start tracking I saw I only had about 19% power. First I figured I’d start tracking and let it die at whatever point it did, but then realized I had not brought a camera, needed to shoot at least one picture, and if I ran the battery dead I would have no picture. So I turned it off so I could get a photo, no tracking today.

Then I went on the Ice Cream Ride and this time I tracked. That’s the map above. But REVER uses GPS and that sucks a lot of juice so I brought along a back-up power source to supplement. Between the phone battery and the back-up I barely made it home with any power left. But I did.

I also found on this ride that they have upgraded REVER so that it now automatically powers down when you’re stopped and starts itself up again when you start moving again. That saves power (I guess, maybe not, the GPS must still be functioning) and it saves you having to constantly turn it off and on again. So thanks guys, that upgrade is appreciated.

Then this past Saturday I went on this dual-sport ride and definitely wanted to track it. And this time I took my camera along so I wouldn’t have to depend on the phone for pictures. So we started out from Performance Cycle and it dawned on me I had not started REVER. Oh well, I’ll fire it up at Sedalia when we stop there.

At Sedalia I pulled out the phone and pressed the start button and nothing happened. I pressed and held it and it came alive, started booting up, and shut down. Somehow I was down to about zero power. How the heck did that happen? Did I leave some app running that sucked all the power? Who knows.

So now I’m going to add a new item on my prep list: make sure all electronics are fully charged the night before the ride. I had done that with the camera, but that’s not even so important because with that I have a spare battery I can easily swap in. But I need to make sure that dang phone is fully charged and also that back-up power source. And then I need to bring them both! And then I need to remember to start REVER!

I may eventually figure this out.

Biker Quote for Today

I pull out the choke and turn on the key, I squeeze the clutch, press the button and I’m free. — Nsmith82990

My friend Jungle was for many years a big fan of the Kawasaki Concours. He owned several and put many miles on them. Of course, I ride a Concours, too, so that may have contributed to our bonding.

A few years ago I had the chance to test ride a then new Concours 14. I didn’t like that it had a smaller gas tank or that it was heavier than the old one but the ride was wonderful. I loved it.

So of course I had to tell Jungle about it the next time I saw him.

He surprised me telling me that he would never own one. His issue: they use a key fob, which, as a security measure, makes it impossible to start the bike unless the fob is nearby. I know a number of bikes have these now but Jungle is dead set against them.

His complaint is that it is electronic, and anything electronic at some time or another will not work. As he said, at some point you will try to start your motorcycle, everything will be in perfect working order on the bike itself, but the fob will fail to work and you will be stranded. Inevitably, in his estimation. It will happen, sooner or later.

That conversation comes to mind because in the latest issue of Rider magazine that showed up in my mailbox the other day there is a letter about fobs. The letter writer encountered a fellow walking along the road with a helmet in his hand and figured something was definitely amiss.

Long story short, this guy was one of two who had rented bikes for a few days and at one point they decided to swap and ride the other bike. This guy left his running and got off. His friend turned his bike off. The friend jumped on the running bike and took off. When the first guy tried to start the other bike it wouldn’t.

They had not traded fobs. Once the buddy realized his friend was not behind him he stopped to wait. Turned off the bike. When his friend did not show up he decided to head back to see what the matter was, but the bike would not start.

The letter writer was the savior in this misadventure.

Not exactly Jungle’s postulated difficulty but one to keep in mind.

I remember when I bought a new car many years ago and was considering whether to pay the extra for a car with extras, such as power windows. I was convinced that sooner or later those windows would fail to work–it was just a matter of time.

I bought that car anyway and I drove it for 207,000 miles. The windows always worked perfectly. Then I got another car, and this time thought nothing of the power windows. Well, I have about 71,000 miles on this newer car and . . . drumroll . . . one of the power windows no longer works.

Bottom line: you never know. At least with user error you can think ahead and avoid it (swap your fobs!).

Biker Quote for Today

Anybody who could ride a 500cc GP motorcycle well enough to qualify on Grand Prix grid is a hero, Anybody! because these things are the most evil devices if your treat them wrong they will bite. — Julian Ryder

If I have one motorcycle that has plenty of storage space it is the V-Strom, especially now. I just put on a tank bag.

The V-Strom already has a pair of really large Givi side bags. These things are so big that when I travel one-up I don’t even need to worry about packing, I just throw stuff in and never get them more than half full.

Nevertheless, awhile ago I added a top case on the back. What that enables me to do is leave the side bags off most of the time while still giving me cargo room. I mean, who needs to be riding around with those huge, empty side bags all the time?

Now the tank bag takes that a step further, adding a lot of convenience in storing smaller items such as a camera or gloves or such.

I had no idea how this tank bag was supposed to attach and I don’t recall that there were instructions, which now strikes me as somewhat odd. But it is made by Wolfman, and I knew that Ron Coleman, who rents V-Stroms and equips most of his bikes with Wolfman bags would be able to help me out. So I headed up to Boulder for assistance. I mean, heck, what more excuse do you need for a ride on what proved to be a beautiful spring day?

It turned out to be super simple. If I had known what to do I could have done it myself easily. One of the things that confused me was that the bag came with four identical straps, but for some reason I’m sure makes sense to Wolfman, they were laced together in the package. I looked at that funny thing and had no idea how you would put that to use. Answer: you separate the pieces and hook each one up separately. Doh!

So all it took was to loop each strap around a bar at each end of the gas tank, slip on the snaps, and presto–tank bag mounted. Heck, I thought we were going to need to raise the tank so as to feed the straps under it. This was so much easier than I expected.

Not that I headed home right away. It seems Ron and Jacque recently took a three-week trip to Vietnam where they rented motorcycles and hired guides and did some serious touring of that country. And of course Ron had all sorts of stories to tell and photos to show me.

Anyway, thanks for the help, Ron.

Biker Quote for Today

Go soothingly on the grease mud as there lurks the Skid Demon.

It should be no surprise that this mesh jacket, by Viking Cycle, is not for winter riding. I received it for review a couple months ago but it was only recently that it got warm enough to take a ride in it. And even that was a little cool. Of course, that bodes well for summer wear, which is what is intended.

So this jacket you see in the photo is a Warlock Silver Mesh version. The basic Warlock comes in different colors and looks. I chose the silver mesh.

I put this jacket on as soon as I received it and found it extremely comfortable. I ended up wearing it around the house for half an hour or more–it just felt good. I have other mesh jackets and they are very bulky and feel pretty clunky. Would that translate into better protection in a crash? Maybe–I don’t really know. The armor in the Warlock does not feel unsubstantial.

The first thing I noticed about the Warlock was that it has one heck of a lot of pockets. Initially I counted 11, which is four on the outside, three each on the inside lapels, and another one low on the inside on the left. Then I unzipped the liner and found another on the lower right side. So there are 12–I think. Maybe I’m still missing one or two.

Now, the very top pockets on both inside lapels are small and I suspect are not intended for storage; they have–I don’t know what to call them–rubberized passages for earbud wires that correlate to similar passages in the main outside pockets. So you put your phone in the outside pocket, pass the wire through the passage and on up into your helmet. Plus, there are rubber protrusions that hold the wire in place inside the jacket.

So while I’m discussing the pockets I have to make this point: the big ones, both inside and out, are not optimally sized for full-sized wallets. You know, normally you would drop your wallet into the pocket vertically, but in this case there is not quite enough room. You can lay it in horizontally and it fits, but it just feels odd doing that. The pockets do fit your cellphone just fine in the vertical position. Just a minor nit.

Of course the jacket has a zip-out liner that extends all the way down the sleeves. Some jackets have liners that are just vests and don’t cover the arms. This one covers the arms.

Looking at the specs it shows the following:

• PU coated Cordura
• Ergonomic pullers and zippers
• Front air-flow vents and breathable design
• Removable thermal liner
• CE approved armor on elbows, shoulders, back and chest
• 6-point adjustment including lockdown waist adjustment
• Belt loops for pants attachment (I don’t see these; not sure what they mean here)
• Reflective piping on shoulders, chest ,and back

One thing you need to understand about this jacket is that it is an inexpensive one (listed at $79.99 on the website) and as such the trim and finish are not what you see in a more expensive jacket. You get what you pay for. If the trim and finish are things you don’t care about you should be perfectly happy with the Warlock.

For some years now I have had a Viking Warrior leather jacket and the same is true of it. I don’t care; it’s my favorite leather jacket and I wear it a lot. I suspect this Warlock is destined to become my favorite mesh jacket.

Biker Quote for Today

All girls like guys who are tough. Obviously, riding a motorcycle–I don’t want to say that there’s a bad boy quality–but there’s definitely a tough and macho thing about a guy who rides a motorcycle and that element of danger. That’s really sexy. — Marisa Miller

Have you ever watched the tread melt off your tire? I have. Not literally turning to liquid and dripping off, but being worn off in a matter of hours.

What you need to understand is that motorcycle tires are an entirely different critter than car tires. With car tires you have a broad, almost flat tread that the car rides on top off all the time. Motorcycle tires have a round profile because when you turn, you are leaning the bike. The round profile ensures that you always have tread in solid contact with the ground.

With only two tires, and those having very small contact areas, it is extremely important that you have good grip. Car tires have a hard rubber tread that will last 35,000 miles and more. In order to get a good grip, motorcycle tires use a very soft rubber. And guess what? That soft rubber wears away a whole lot quicker than hard rubber, generally not lasting much more than 10,000 miles.

Then there’s the effect of air pressure in the tires. It’s common knowledge that under-inflated tires wear out quicker, on cars as well as bikes. And while under-inflation can ruin a set of car tires in just a few thousand miles, that’s nothing compared to the soft rubber on motorcycle tires.

Which gets me back to my story.

In the early days of the OFMC, John and Bill and I went one year to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. While there I noticed that I was getting a bit thin on tread and mentioned it to the guys, who looked and agreed I would be needing new tires pretty soon after we got back home.

We only rode on to Page, AZ, the next day, which is about 100 miles. While unloading the bike I happened to glance at my rear tire and I was shocked. What little tread it had just a few hours ago was almost completely gone! I called Bill and John over and they gasped in amazement. Somebody had a tire gauge and when I checked my air pressure it was very, very low.

Of course I put air in, and it’s no surprise I was nervous the rest of the trip about the possibility of a blow-out. Realistically, I should have had a new tire put on right there in Page, but ever the optimist and a cheapskate to boot, I didn’t. And it did get me home safely.

But I tell you what, these days I have it on my calendar to check tire pressure on both my bikes and my car at the first of every month. And if I’m getting set to go on a trip I check the pressure before I leave.

This is really all just common sense, but it’s so easy sometimes to ignore common sense. It is far, far harder to ignore your own eyes when you see the tread vanish from a tire that quickly. We all learned a good lesson that day.

Biker Quote for Today

If you think it’s too dangerous, go home and cut your lawn, and leave us to it. — Guy Martin

It has gotten fairly cold lately but that doesn’t stop me from riding. Only icy streets and snow stop me from riding. So it makes sense that I have gear to keep my legs warm.

My legs actually get short shrift compared to the rest of my body. I have boots on my feet and electric gloves for my hands. I have an electric vest for my torso, and a helmet for my head. And of all this, the stuff I wear least often is the stuff for my legs. I don’t know why; maybe this year I’ll make more of a point of using these things. Anyway, lately I’ve made a point of wearing everything just to do a comparison.

My earliest acquisition was leather chaps. These don’t have any insulating properties and there is no armor but they stop the wind. Often that’s all you need. But when it’s really cold, your butt is going to get a bit chilly. And your legs, too, after a long enough while. But they’re quick and easy to put on and do offer protection in case you go down.

Later on I got a pair of fleece-lined CORDURA®︎ chaps from Colorado Chaps and these were really meant for colder weather. They stop the wind, and they provide insulation, but there is no armor and they probably offer less protection than the leathers. They are chaps, however, so once again, your butt can feel the cold. And after awhile you’re going to get cold just the same. In fact, that’s the case with all three of these things and the only way to get around that is electrics. That’s something I don’t have yet, electric pants liners. Maybe that’s next on my list.

For overall (non-electric) warmth, my Vapor 2 riding pants by REV’IT! are the winner. They have armor, they cover my butt, and with the liner and long underwear they are the warmest of the three. They’re also the most awkward to get on. (The fleece-lined chaps are the easiest to get on.)

So what’s my preference? I guess for really cold weather I’ll choose the Vapor 2s. When it’s cold but not so much, I think I’ll start wearing the fleece-lined chaps more. And I will probably continue not to wear the leathers very much. I never have worn them much, even though they’re the ones I’ve had the longest.

On the other hand, I’m looking forward to the summer now when I’ll be able to really try out the Vapor 2s as summer riding gear. Without the liner and without jeans, and with vents, they should be very cool and comfortable to wear while still offering serious protection. And that will be another update, in maybe six or seven months.

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

I mentioned previously that I bought a new pair of riding pants and now I’ve had more chance to try them out. This is an update.

As you may recall, the pants I bought were the REV’IT! Vapor 2s. Fact is, my primary interest was for some summertime pants that would offer protection and make packing easier because I would only need to pack pants to wear in the evening, after wearing the riding pants all day while on the bike. Nevertheless, I also wanted to see how they would do as winter pants, offering both warmth and protection. I actually see protection as a bigger issue in winter than in summer because in winter there is the possibility of ice or else sand laid down to counter the ice.

So it’s winter, or at least late fall if you go by the official season dates, so my testing has been to see how they do on cold days. First I rode with jeans on underneath and no liner, then with both jeans and the liner, and thirdly with the liner but no jeans, along with long underwear.

The first time, with jeans, I was comfortable but noticed some coolness on the backs of my legs. The fronts have armor so that does a great job of stopping the wind.

The second time, with jeans and the liner, my biggest problem was getting them on. It probably took me 10 minutes, and in order to snap the waist I had to remove my belt because the buckle was just too much. You might argue that I should have bought a size larger but if I had gone that route I probably would have needed to go to a different brand of pants. And who knows, maybe I should have. I went with a smaller size because the legs were so long and even then I had to special order the shorter legs option. If I had gone with a larger waist the legs would probably have been just too long. But with what I got, Judy made the very good point that I better not gain weight or the pants won’t fit.

Anyway, riding with both jeans and liner was totally warm. Really nice. Along with my heated gear it was just as comfortable as riding in much warmer weather.

The third time seems to have been the charm, though. Thermal long underwear made up for the lack of jeans and they fit better in the pants with liner.

I’m still getting used to the pants in that they restrict my movement a bit, but I just step onto the peg and raise myself up before swinging my leg over. On the Honda I don’t even need to do that because the seat height on that bike is so low. Once I settle onto the seat all is fine.

Overlooked in all this is the fact that I already had other things to wear on my legs for warmth. For many, many years I have had a pair of leather chaps and for a somewhat shorter period of time I have had some fleece-lined chaps. The leathers are meant for all-year riding while the fleece ones are specifically winter oriented. Just for a comparison I have been wearing them lately, too, and will discuss how they all compare in my next post.

Biker Quote for Today

Animals travel on all fours. Mankind on two. Motorcycling is not a means of transport but an ideology, a nomadic way of life. — Amit Reddy