Archive for the ‘V-Strom’ Category

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A Very Different Year-End Mileage Tally

Thursday, January 8th, 2026

My only remaining bike, this 2006 Suzuki V-Strom 650.

Every year I total up all my motorcycle mileage and compare it to my car mileage, but this year is radically different than any previous year. Two years ago I had three bikes and one car. A year ago I had two bikes and a car. This year I have one bike and a car. Plus, it was a decidedly not-normal year. I knew all mileage was going to be low this year because there was a four-month period when I was under doctor’s orders not to drive.

The last time I put more miles on my car than on my bikes was 2014. Since then I have frequently put more miles on a single bike than on my car. Before I did the math I suspected I might have put more on the car this year. I totaled the V-Strom miles and it came to just 2,605. I checked the car and it had added 2,858 miles in the last 12 months. Dang.

But then I remembered. My Honda CB750 got smashed in June but I rode it at least six times–at least once a month–before that happened. How many miles did I put on it? I don’t know because when I went to visit it in the tow yard I did not think to check the odometer. But at least six rides? Just for a round number I’m going to guess 50 miles each, coming to 300. Add that to the V-Strom miles and you get 2,905. So that just slips past the car’s 2,858. Did it again! I guess.

I’ll tell you one thing, I intend to blast way past that number in 2026. I missed the whole summer riding season last year and I intend to make up for that. And who knows, maybe come this time next year I’ll be listing the mileage on two bikes again. For now that is a total unknown, but it could happen. We’ll see.

Biker Quote for Today

The world is a book, and bikers read the best chapters.

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Posted in Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | No Comments »

Errands Become Exploration

Monday, January 5th, 2026

Is this shot in January? July? Who knows, this is one reason why we love living in Colorado.

It’s so much about the weather this time of year. On Sunday it was about 70 degrees and the forecast was for progressively cooler all week. It only made sense to get in my first (and you never know, maybe last) ride of January. I had a couple errands I needed to run and when possible I like to do them on a bike rather than in a car.

My first stop was Swallow Hill Music. That meant heading west on Hampden and then north on Downing to Yale, then west to Swallow Hill.

I was in no hurry and when I’m poking along I like to look more closely at the neighborhoods as I cruise along. There on Downing was the first interesting thing I spotted. There was a house with an exterior of brick up to about waist height and then wood up from there. And they had painted the brick turquoise. Yeah, that will catch your eye.

The funny thing was it didn’t actually look terrible. The terrible it brought to mind was when, in 2024, Judy and I were on a road trip in the Midwest and we routed ourselves through Decatur, Illinois, because that was where my family lived when I was a senior in high school. We drove past our old house and could not believe it. This wood-siding house has been painted blue. Rough wood that had been stained dark brown–now bright blue. Ghastly! The turquoise brick is nowhere near as bad.

From Swallow Hill I headed north on Broadway as far as Mississippi, turned east, north on Logan to Alameda and east to University. Then north to 3rd and east to the wine store we always shop at. Nothing much of interest to be seen along this route.

From The Vineyard I continued east on 3rd to Colorado and then south. Normally I’ll take Colorado to I-25 and take that home. This time I decided to stay off the highway and turned southeast on Leetsdale. I had gone about 10 blocks when I came upon a scene that reminded me I had seen the news about this. There had been a big fire on the north side of Leetsdale, with a four-story apartment complex that was under construction reduced to a total ruin.

And the road was blocked. Nothing to do but follow the detour sign and go south. Well, along with everyone else, I was looking for a cross-street going east, but there was none. I turned into a condo complex and there was no exit except right back onto the street I had come in on. Continuing south you had no choice but to turn west. OK, this is called exploring. There was no choice but to follow that road all the way back to Cherry. I guess I know why I’ve never been into that neighborhood before.

The rest of the way home was no problem. So I got in a ride, ran two errands, and saw a few interesting sights. I’m fine with that as a first ride of 2026.

Biker Quote for Today

In a world full of followers, be a biker.

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | No Comments »

Super Day For The Last Brass Monkey Run

Thursday, January 1st, 2026

You couldn’t ask for a nicer day for a December 31 ride.

Hey, this year (last year now) people actually got to ride to ABATE of Colorado‘s Last Brass Monkey Run. Always held on December 31 as the last ride of the year, it’s no surprise that many times riding is just not an option. But this year Denver came just one degree short of the record high and it was a warm, sunny day. Yahoo!

I headed west on the V-Strom and while it was warm and the streets were clear in east Denver, where I live, I wondered about out west by the foothills. Golden. But out there it was just as warm and the streets were just as clear. Considering we had a bit of snow just three days ago this had not been a certainty.

As always, it was good to see the folks. I used to attend my ABATE meetings each month but have not done so for a few years, so I only see folks at events like this. The Last Brass Monkey Run used to be an actual poker run but these days it is all held in one place so you get your sheet and then move from station to station picking up your cards. I did well. I got a full house, queens over nines. Could be good.

But no. It was best five of seven cards and both the first place winner and the second place winner had four of a kind. So much for my full house.

They also hand out door prizes. Last year my ticket was the absolute, very last one to be drawn. Think about it. Someone has to have the last ticket drawn, and last year that someone was me. You don’t get much to choose from when literally everyone else has already taken all the good stuff. This year I was still late in the draw but not the very last. I got a card game that we hope our seven-year-old grandson will like. That’s OK, you don’t go to these things looking to bring home a bounty. That’s just a bonus if you do.

Heading home I couldn’t help but notice as I pulled up at a red light that the guy to my left was on his phone. Illegal in Colorado these days. His lane moved faster than mine so I watched as he drifted out of his lane to the left. You dip. Hang up and drive!

But I got home safely and got out of 2025 alive. Obviously you did too. Congratulations to each of us. Here’s to an even better 2026.

Biker Quote for Today

Live Free and Ride

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Posted in ABATE, Biker Issues, Colorado motorcycle rides, Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | 1 Comment »

This Is Not Where I Was Going

Monday, December 15th, 2025

Blue sky, sunny day–a great day for a December ride.

Have you ever started out heading to a particular place and found yourself somewhere else, asking, “How the heck did I get here?”

That was me on Sunday.

Sunday was sunny and warm and there was no way I was not going out on the V-Strom. A lot of other people had the same idea. I saw you out there.

I was very uncertain which way to go other than I clearly was not heading into the hills. That’s over for this season.

So I concocted a route, a pretty standard route. I would go out Parker Road to Parker and the go west on Main Street. At Motsenbacher Road I would go south and follow it to Crowfoot Valley Road, to Castle Rock, and then get on US 85 (Santa Fe) going north until I reached Sedalia. Then some route home. Simple.

Except one thing. As many times as I’ve been on the Crowfoot Valley Road I still have trouble finding it on the Parker end. It’s easy on the Castle Rock end but trickier up in Parker. But I figured now I had finally got it clear in my head.

I did what I planned. I got to Parker, turned onto Main Street, and then turned south on Motsenbacher. Nothing to it.

But then Motsenbacher ran out at a T intersection at Todd Drive, a street I was not familiar with. I took the turn to the west and soon ended up on Jordan Road. Fine. I turned south again on Jordan Road.

And then Jordan ended at a T with Hess Road. I turned west again and found myself a bit later at Hess Road and I-25. What?

It’s only now, looking at the map, that I see where I went wrong. I knew I wanted Motsenbacher but that road is one of those that stops and then picks up again later. I needed to pick it up further south than Main Street. If I had it would have simply flowed into and become Crowfoot Valley Road. Or I could have gone east on Hess and gotten back to Motsenbacher that way.

Anyway, no matter. Once I got to I-25 I crossed it and was on Castle Pines Parkway, which I followed to Daniels Park, then I turned north to home. It was a really nice ride.

There’s a quote I’ve seen, I believe it’s from The Lord of the Rings, that says “All who wander are not lost.” Nope. But sometimes they’re sure as heck turned around.

Biker Quote for Today

Riding a motorcycle is an art; every twist and turn is a brushstroke.

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | No Comments »

Getting Aggressive On V-Stroms

Monday, December 1st, 2025

This trail is nothing compared to what some of these folks in this ADV thread have done.

I’m down to only one motorcycle these days, and that one is my 2006 Suzuki V-Strom. I keep telling myself I will buy a second bike, presumably some time in the next year, but I don’t actually feel very motivated because I really like the V and it can do just about anything.

Of course, there are a lot of things it could do that I won’t try to make it do, primarily at this point because I don’t have the right tires for that kind of thing. I’ve quit running those 80/20 Shinkos because they don’t hold up to highway travel all that well and I do a heck of a lot more highway riding than off-road riding.

However, may people who own V-Stroms do have knobbies and they do take their bikes all kinds of places. And there is a thread on Adventure Rider where the theme/title is “Let’s see your Vstrom OFFROAD.” I was looking at this recently and oh man, some of these folks are up for a lot more than I am. Or maybe they weren’t really up for what they encountered but they did encounter it.

Just to give you some idea, I started on page 80 of this thread (there are 91 pages at this point, with 20 posts per page) and I’ll describe a bit of what there is to see.

Right away, in the fourth post on the page, we encounter a couple standing amongst some bikes, giving a thumbs-up, with the caption “High spirits before.” If that is not foreboding nothing is. You scroll down and they’ve come down a steep, gravel hill that comes to a large pool of water at the bottom, with one bike coming through the pool. The next several shots are a bike on its side, having come through a smaller pool, and then a different bike up to the saddle in a deep pool and the rider trying to walk it through.

But they made it and I’m sure they were proud of themselves. I’m not sorry I missed that one.

Next come a bunch of shots of bikes in great-looking spots, people really pleased with where they have gotten to. Some real feel-good shots.

Page 81 opens with a shot of a guy splashing through a stream. Yeah, I’ve done that. Then more shots of cool places people have gotten to. And then it starts going a bit off. First a shot of a dirt road, followed by a path that is mainly marked by other people’s tires having passed this way, followed by a long stretch of muddy road. Then a V-Strom high-centered on a pile of rotting timbers that the guy thought he could get over but was wrong.

A little later (caption “Oops!) we see a V half-way on its side with the front on dirt and the rear in a mud puddle.

Next some more “look at the great place I got to” shots. Envy is what I’m feeling now.

Then there’s another high-centered bike, followed by another bike up to its axles in mud. And a bike on the ground, with a shot showing that they have come through a so-called trail that is nothing but water hole after water hole. Then more mud, more water holes.

It goes on and on. And this was just starting on page 80 of 91 pages. Worth a look for the entertainment value and to see some great shots of some of the great places a motorcycle will take you. If you have the right tires.

Biker Quote for Today

I’m not a thrill-seeker; I’m a thrill-giver to my soul.

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Posted in Dirt biking, Dual sport bikes, Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | No Comments »

First Cold Ride Of The Season

Monday, November 24th, 2025

Not the nicest day to ride but a good day on the bike just the same.

I wanted to ride Sunday but by the time I got stuff done that needed doing I had missed the window of warmth. The sky had clouded over and the temperature was dropping. So I got on the V-Strom and headed out. I’m no fair-weather rider.

I didn’t turn on the electric vest immediately but by the time I’d gone about two miles I did. Yep, gonna be a chilly one. Hope I don’t regret not having my heated gloves.

I had no idea where I was going. I’ve been heading to the hills as often as I could knowing the weather had to change soon, but this day the clouds over the mountains were looking threatening and I figured that was not a good idea. Instead of west I went south.

I still had no idea where I was going, though. On an impulse, I turned east on Belleview, through the south end of Cherry Creek State Park and it bends south to become Peoria. I went around Centennial Airport and to regain Peoria but hadn’t gone far when I concluded that yeah, it’s darn chilly. Maybe I don’t want to go too far from home. I turned west on Liberty Boulevard, which runs around the south end of the airport and over into the Inverness area.

Stopping to get a quick photo with the airport and mountains in the background I did see the only other biker I would see on this day.

Inverness Parkway took me north to County Line Road and I went west on County Line. Just because I didn’t want to get much further from home didn’t mean I wanted to head home. By now I was used to the cold and finding it brisk but pleasant. Thank you to the electric vest for that. Without it I would have been pretty uncomfortable.

I followed County Line all the way to Broadway and then turned north. What a lot of construction there is at the moment on County Line Road. I guess they’re expanding from two lanes to four in a long stretch of it. That’s probably overdue. Then going north on Broadway I hit a bunch more construction. These guys must be rushing to finish the work before bad weather sets in.

From Broadway I turned east on Belleview and headed back home. Not the longest or most scenic ride ever but it was good to be out on the bike for about an hour and a half. I still have a lot of making up to do from having missed the whole summer and I want to get out as much as I can, even when the weather is not the best. Sunday was one of those days.

Biker Quote for Today

The road is my stage, and my bike is my dance partner.

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | No Comments »

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