Passes & Canyons Blog

Kevin coming down into the Flaming Gorge area.

I left to go on a motorcycle trip with Kevin very suddenly. Kevin has a way of calling and making me offers I can’t refuse. One time he called out of the blue and asked, “Do you want to buy a V-Strom?” So I did.

Last week Kevin called and told me he was meeting a friend from Boise at the Flaming Gorge and they were just going somewhere north. Would I like to join them? Well here I am in Cooke City, Montana, so you guess what my answer was.

The whole idea just thrilled me. It would be just like the early days of the OFMC: three guys, no plans, frequent camping. I have missed those trips for as long as it has been that we’ve had way too many guys on the OFMC trip to be able to just roll into some small town and expect to find enough motel rooms.

I rode to Grand Junction on Friday to spend the night at my brother’s, and then Kevin and I met up at the City Market in Fruita on Saturday morning. We rode on up over Douglas Pass, caught US 40 west at Dinosaur, turned north at Vernal, Utah, and cruised to the Flaming Gorge.

Kevin and I are both on our 650 V-Stroms and Jeff showed up later on his Moto Guzzi Le Mans. It was old home week for those guys, having known each other for 40 years, and I soon found myself looking closely for opportunities to get a word in myself.

Up the next morning and we came up with a general idea of heading to the Beartooth Pass. Planning beyond today was forbidden but as a general goal that’s a starting point. We’ll head in that direction. We cruised north into Wyoming, crossed over into Idaho, and ran up some roads none of us had ever been on. Heading back into Wyoming, to the Star Valley, there was the sweetest campground on this pass and we were all tempted. But we didn’t have any food so we needed to press on, even if we came back.

We reached a store and got food and beverages but decided to push on past Alpine Junction to some campgrounds the map showed along the Snake River. We ended up high up the canyon wall on a road of loose gravel that our V-Stroms are made for. As for Jeff’s Guzzi, as Kevin told me early on, “he’s not allergic to gravel.” He’s actually a heck of a lot better on gravel than I am.

So that made it Monday. We cruised on up to Estes Park, passed through Grand Teton and on into Yellowstone. We weren’t really there to see the park but both of those guys had to pay $25 to get in so we might as well do some touristing. (Of course, my senior pass got me in free. Jeff now has something to look forward to when he turns 62 next year.)

We exited the northeast entrance to the to Silver Gate and Cooke City and found a sign telling us that none of the campgrounds in the area allowed tent camping. The girl at the store in Cooke City told us someone got messed up by a bear several years ago and they still haven’t gotten past that. So it was time for a motel. Which is why I now have wi-fi.

Tomorrow we ride the Beartooth. From there the plan is to go north heading toward Missoula and Lolo Pass. We don’t know how long it will take us to get there or where we’ll be staying, but it’s a direction. The OFMC used to be like this. Now I get to be here and in another three weeks after I get home I’ll go out with the OFMC boys on that trip. The summer is shaping up very nicely.

Biker Quote for Today

Adventure is what happens when you thought you were going to have a good time.

Out on Cinammon Pass with Kevin back in 2010.

I was sorry to get the word from my friend Kevin Smith that he is shutting down Colorado Mountain Moto, his motorcycle rental business in Gunnison.

Said Kevin, “Seems I just can’t do enough volume here in Gunny. The good news is I can back to more riding and less working.” And yeah, we’ve already got some riding planned for the summer.

Kevin was the first one who ever got me out on the dirt on a V-Strom. He and I, with me on one of his V-Stroms, rode over Cinnamon Pass back in 2010 and to this day I swear that was one of the best days on a motorcycle I have ever had. It was the height of fall colors, a stunningly beautiful day, and what a total trip it was to be up in the mountains on this little dirt route having a blast.

Kevin is also the one responsible for me having my own V-Strom now. About two years ago he called me to say he had a line on a really good ’06 V-Strom that I could have very inexpensively if I wanted it. I said yes and a couple days later he showed up at my door with this bike on a trailer.

It’s too bad he needed to shut the business down, but I think I understand it. I did a post here awhile ago about the proliferation of motorcycle rental outfits in Colorado and at the time I quoted Ron Coleman, who runs Western Dual Sport Motorcycle Adventures, telling me that business is good and he just figures that the market is growing and there’s room for everyone, at least everyone who is out there now.

Presumably true, except that Kevin had one disadvantage: he was in Gunnison. Now you might think that would be an advantage because he’s right there in the midst of a lot of gorgeous riding. But in reality, most people who want to rent bikes to ride in Colorado fly into Denver and then pick up a bike from someone reasonably close by the airport. By the time they get to Gunnison they already are on two wheels.

So one note here: If you have an interest in a V-Strom or dirt bike, Kevin is now in the process of selling his. Drop me a line if you’re interested and I’ll put you in touch with him. I hoped to list here what he has for sale but he hasn’t replied to my query as of right now.

Update four hours later: Kevin just told me the only one has left now is “an 09 strom with 20k on it. it is orange and is lowered. Comes with tank bag engine guard ,skid plate, and soft panniers. Askin $4500 obo. ”

Biker Quote for Today

Dirt is for riding. Pavement is just to get you there.

Ron Coleman putting the new chain and sprockets on my V-Strom.

I consider myself very fortunate to know and deal with motorcycling people who are a lot more adept at some things than I am. Such is the case with Ron Coleman, who runs Western Dual Sport Motorcycle Adventures.

It’s not that I don’t have a mechanical bent, but I do not have the tools to even try doing some of the work it takes to keep a motorcycle running. Ron recently helped me get a new rear tire on the V-Strom as well as a new chain and sprockets. He also replaced the air filter. Out of all these tasks, the only one I could conceivably do myself is the air filter. Having seen it done twice now I’m actually thinking I could do it.

For the tire, forget it. I don’t have a tire changing machine and I know from experience how tough it is to change a tire without one. Ron does and he made short work of getting this new Shinko on. Now I have matching Shinkos front and rear and can’t wait to get out in the dirt and see how it feels. I was on the dirt a little when we went to the Black Hills in July and the bike was very unstable. When you figure that I had a nearly bald street tire on the rear it’s no surprise. Now I’ve got real rubber back there.

The one thing I did see from the tire change was how to take the wheel off the bike and put it back on. I might be able to do that, which could be a good thing if it ever came to needing to take the wheel and tire somewhere to have someone else do the tire replacement.

And there is no way I’d ever be able to replace the chain and sprockets myself. For one thing, getting the old chain off entailed using a grinder to cut away the heads of two pins in the chain, so as to open up the loop. Replacing the sprockets was pretty straightforward but even then the fact that Ron had the right tools made the job so much easier than it might have been. Putting the new chain on also required cutting away an extra link and then using a specific tool to pop in the connecting links and peen (as in ballpeen hammer, I presume) them to spread the ends so they don’t slip out.

I watch this all going on and I see exactly why I generally pay someone else to do it. I don’t mind getting dirty, and I’ve always enjoyed taking things apart and fixing them and putting them back together, but this is just out of my league.

To get to the air filter it is necessary on this bike to remove the gas tank. That stopped me once in the past when I was going to replace the spark plugs on my Concours. I had no idea how to remove the tank. I still don’t.

On the V-Strom it just takes removing a few screws and then raising the tank up on a hinge while disconnecting the fuel line. Best to do this when you do not have a full tank–all that gas is heavy. So you lift the tank off and then take four or five screws out to remove the housing and presto–there’s the air filter. Lift it off, put a new one in, replace the housing and drop the tank back on. Put the screws back in and voila!

It really is good to know people like Ron. I’m very indebted to him for everything he has helped me with on this V-Strom. Ron knows V-Stroms really well because he has several that he rents along with a bunch of other bikes, including his latest, a Yamaha Super Tenere. After the work was all done we went for a ride and I rode the Tenere. I’ll tell you about that shortly.

Biker Quote for Today

There is no physical training regimen so strict that it can’t be undermined by a rigorous program of deferred motorcycle maintenance.

Kevin Smith of Colorado Mountain Moto was one of the first rental folks I ever went riding with.

I’ve been in touch recently with Ron Coleman, who runs Western Dual Sport Motorcycle Adventures, and I asked how business is doing in the motorcycle rental field here in Colorado considering that so many more companies have gotten started in the last few years. I said I hoped there was enough business that people don’t start folding left and right.

Ron’s reply was that business is good and he just figures that the market is growing and there’s room for everyone, at least everyone who is out there now.

That is so great. Before I ever bought my first bike my roommate and I decided one day to rent a bike just to see how much we might get into riding. We naively went to a nearby shop and found that there was nothing. No one rented bikes back then. What were we thinking?

Times have changed a little, haven’t they?

So I thought I’d do a run-down here of the rental places I know of here in Colorado. I’ll make note that I’m not going to go into the list of Harley dealerships because I think pretty nearly all of them do rentals. Just add them to the list of the others.

Of course there’s Ron with WDSMA. He used to run strictly Suzuki V-Stroms but now also has Suzuki DR 650s and a Yamaha Super Tenere. He used to have a BMW GS800 but I don’t see that mentioned on his site so maybe he got rid of that one.

Kevin Smith, with Colorado Mountain Moto, runs V-Stroms out of Gunnison and he also now has at least one Honda XR650L.

One of the newcomers is Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Adventures, owned by Paul and Marsha Minock. Unlike many of these folks, I don’t know them. Their website says they offer BMW F800GS and F700GS.

Colorado Motorcycle Adventures (do you start to see a theme in the names and the types of bikes rented?) is run by Scott Lee. I rode with him earlier this summer and had every intention of doing so again sometime soon but boy the summer is flying by in a hurry. Scott has a whole herd of bikes, from KTMs to BMWs to Triumphs and Kawasakis.

Ben Kriederman has been operating House of Motorrad for a few years now. He specializes in BMWs, as the name suggests, and recently opened a store in Boulder. I haven’t ridden with Ben but he did fix me up with some good gear for my V-Strom.

Colorado Sports Rent is run by Brad Pester. Brad rents a lot of recreation gear and dirt bikes are just a small part of his offering but they’re the only bikes he has. I spoke with one of his employees recently who told me they were considering getting a couple street bikes as well.

Another outfit that has a whole stable of different bikes is Colorado Tour Bike Rentals and Sales. They have a lot more road bikes than the others I’ve mentioned so far. I don’t know much else about these folks; I’ve never met or talked with them.

Of course along with all the Harley dealerships there is also EagleRider. EagleRider rents mostly Harleys but they do have other bikes as well. I’ve met the manager of the Denver location several times but can’t remember his name just now. I’ve also rented from EagleRider and was on a media tour with them once. Recently another EagleRider location opened Grand Junction.

Another one I really don’t know anything about is Extreme Rentals. They appear to have a number of Honda dirt bikes.

MountainADV.com is out in Durango and they rent KTM and BMW dual sport bikes.

The folks at San Juan Backcountry rent some dirt bikes plus ATVs and Jeeps.

And finally, there is ScooTours, a scooter rental outfit in Denver. This is run by David Howard. David and I went out scooting one day. I keep intending to touch in with him to see how business is going. Scooters are fun, you know. One of these days I’m going to buy one.

So those are the ones I know of. If you are aware of any rental outfits I haven’t listed please send me a note. It’s just amazing to me that all these companies have gotten going and they’re all staying in business. That’s just great.

Biker Quote for Today

A ride on a summer afternoon can border on the rapturous. The sheer volume and variety of stimuli is like a bath for my nervous system, an electrical massage for my brain, a systems check for my soul.

The new SW Motech crash bars and skid plate make my V-Strom much more prepared for riding off the pavement.

I’m not much of one to add stuff to a motorcycle. The V-Strom is proving to be the exception.

Besides the throttle lock and top bag I already added to that bike, I’m now pleased to say that I have added crash bars and a skid plate. Next up is highway pegs, although that has proven trickier than I expected.

I wasn’t planning to take the V-Strom on the OFMC trip last week but the Concours had a rear tire that was so on the cusp of whether it would make it or not that I decided not to chance it. But I didn’t want to go on another long ride, like last year, on a bike with no highway pegs. We’re talking about you, V-Strom.

The problem was, there is nowhere on a stock V-Strom to attach highway pegs. A related problem with the V-Strom is that the radiator and oil filter are just hanging out down there, fully exposed to anything flying up off the road. I don’t understand Suzuki’s thinking on that. That’s just too vulnerable, especially if you go off the pavement.

Fortunately the solution to one problem provides a solution to the other. Put on crash bars, which gives you a place to attach a skid plate, and that protects the radiator and oil filter. It also gives you something to attach highway pegs to.

Thanks very much to Ben Kriederman at House of Motorrad, I got the crash bars and skid plate on on Thursday evening before we left town on Friday. I’m truly grateful to Ben for putting these things on for me because there was no way I was going to be able to do it myself.

I did try. The problem was, although attaching the bars was pretty simple, just four bolts on each side of the bike, busting those bolts loose was beyond my meager tools. I had an allen wrench and an extender but I quickly saw that if I applied enough pressure to bust the bolts loose, all that would actually happen would be that I would bend the heck out of my allen wrench.

It’s wonderful having the right tools for the job. Ben did and he quickly took care of the bars, but then the skid plate even gave him some trouble. It seems the (supplied) replacement bolts fit fine but the (not supplied) washers were just too small for the new bolts. They had to be drilled out.

Ben got ‘er done and even threw in an oil change while the bike was up on the lift. Nice guy.

The next day, on my way out of town, I stopped at Vickery and bought some highway pegs. I figured I’d put them on in Brush or in Chadron when I had a moment. Uh-uh. The pegs came with two sizes of strap to go around the bars, but the small (7/8″) was too small and the large, with the provided spacers, came completely together without being tight enough to hold the peg in place. So I made the whole ride without highway pegs again. Fortunately, this trip was mostly short rides so I didn’t miss them terribly.

I figure now the thing to do is put some rubber strips under the strap to both prevent scraping metal on metal and to take up room, making it possible to tighten things and have it hold in place. I was hoping to do that yesterday but it didn’t get done. It will get done this weekend.

Then, let’s see . . . what else does this bike need?

Biker Quote for Today

Money can’t buy happiness. But… it can buy a motorcycle. And you can’t be sad on a motorcycle.

This diagram will help you understand this procedure.

When I went to work on it Saturday morning I was surprised how quickly and easily I resolved the various issues with replacing the handlebar end weight that got busted off when the bike fell over a couple weeks ago. Here’s how it went.

First I had to figure out how to put the whole assembly back in and have it stay. I had speculated that the nut on the very end (#9 in that diagram above) must screw into something inside the bar. Nope. I shone a flashlight up in there and there was nothing at all. Then it dawned on me: That rubber stopper (#8) is sandwiched between the nut and that washer (#7). Put the whole thing together but don’t tighten it down too much, slip the whole assembly inside the bar, and then tighten the screw such that it compresses the stopper, making it expand outward until it forms a seal with the inside of the bar. Presto! Solid and secure.

Then I turned to the other problem: how to get the broken bolt out of the damaged side.

Looking at the assembly from the undamaged side, I could see that flush with the broken end of the bolt was the rubber insert (#5). Maybe I could just grab that with some pliers and pull it out and that would make it easy to grasp the broken bolt.

I first used some needle-nose pliers to grip it and pull. It seemed to be coming but when I released it it drew back in almost completely. Almost. I worked at it on the other side and once again it came out and stayed out just the barest amount. Going back and forth I got it out enough that I was able to grab it with some regular pliers and then I really went to work on it. I got a bit more out on one side, then a bit more on the other, until the whole thing slipped out. Then it was easy to grip and twist the bolt and as soon as the pressure was reduced on the rubber stopper that whole assembly slid right out.

I then had an issue removing the broken bolt from that thin metal sleeve (#6). At the outside end it was right where the bolt broke, and it got damaged, too. Ideally I would have gotten a new sleeve, but I didn’t have one and wanted to get this resolved now, not later. I stuck the thing–with the bolt still in it–in the vise and did my best to bring it back close to round so the bolt could slide out. That worked.

Then putting the whole assembly back together with the new bolt was troublesome, too, because of the misshapen tube. I worked on it some more with the vise and got it reasonably OK, and then tapped the end of the bolt to get it to go through. Some more shaping in the vise and it seemed acceptably good. It went together and slipped into the bar.

The next issue was that the handguard had ripped off when all this happened, and the inside end of the guard that used to have a hole through the plastic/rubber/whatever now was an open notch. But the bottom side was designed as an open notch and the outer connector was, too. I figured that in all three cases if I could just get that bolt to cover and grip a piece of the guard it should hold sufficiently well. It did. More success.

Then finally, with the handguard in the position it naturally fell into, the little throttle lock I use no longer cleared the guard. I experimented with twisting it into less natural positions and found one where there was no interference. I tightened the bolts securely at that point.

And the job was done. Now all that remained was to take the bike out for a test ride. I know, this is one of those “it’s a dirty job but someone has to do it” kind of things, but hey, I’m up to the task. And I’m not one to leave a job uncompleted. So yeah, if you saw someone out of a blue V-Strom Saturday it might have been me.

Biker Quote for Today

My favorite ride is the one I’m about to start!

Right after the fall, the busted end, the hand guard, and the end weight: conspicuously, no spacer.

OK, this should have been easy but you know what they say, “When all else fails, read the instructions.” In my case I guess I should have done some research before picking up the tools.

I mentioned earlier that my V-Strom fell over and busted off the end weight that dampens handlebar vibration. What I guess I should have done was to go to the Stromtrooper forum first before fooling around with things.

I couldn’t get the broken bolt out so I removed it from the other side so I could take it over to Fay Myers and see about replacement parts. I had checked online parts places and could tell they didn’t have what I needed. The stock bolt is shorter than the one you need if you have the hand protectors, which I do. Plus, when I pulled the other one off I found that there was a spacer that apparently got lost in the confusion, so I needed that as well.

I worked with Barry at Fay Myers and he was terrifically helpful but ultimately unsuccessful in tracking down what I needed. He even emailed Suzuki asking about the parts and they said they aren’t sold separately. What should have been a five dollar repair was starting to look like a sixty dollar replace-the-whole-thing-because-you-need-one-small-part affair. Don’t you hate that kind of thing?

So I turned to Stromtroopers. Quickly and easily I found someone asking the exact same question and the answer was simple: My V-Strom is a DL650; if you buy the bolt for the DL1000 V-Strom, that’s the size you need, 6mm by 140mm. Plus, as I was looking at the schematic I saw that the DL1000 also uses the spacer I needed. Problem solved. I order one space but two bolts because I suspect this could happen again, though next time I’ll know to pick up the spacer. That thing doesn’t break.

Only the problem is not solved. I tried to put the good side back together and can’t get it to work. I unscrewed the bolt and the whole assembly pulled out, but now when I reinsert it there doesn’t seem to be anything for it to attach to. Examining it closely I found that the end piece is an open nut that I postulated must screw into something inside the handlebar and then you screw the 140mm bolt into the other side. I was going to shine a flashlight in there but checking on Stromtroopers I find that that’s exactly the case. And of course, they warn you about just this problem. Which only does you some good if you read the warning before you operate.

So I haven’t gotten back to it to see if I can get it to happen. And I still haven’t figured out how to get the broken bolt out. What protrudes is too short to get a grip on with vise-grips so I’m going to have to try something else. But at least I’ve got the parts on order.

Biker Quote for Today

“I’m always amazed at how smoothly a bike can idle while lying on it’s side.” Feo y Gordo

The riding champion for 2013.

OK, this is embarrassing. While it’s not yet January 1, I’ve gone ahead and checked my riding mileage for 2013. I’m pretty confident I won’t be getting out on any bike in the next day. And the numbers are sad.

Last year, 2012, I rode my Concours alone almost 10,000 miles. In 2013 I only hit a total on all three bikes of 3,287. Yeah, I’m embarrassed.

For the Honda it was a piddling 327 miles. At least in 2012 I rode that bike 504 miles–not a lot, but a good bit more than 327. Of course, having a third bike means less mileage on the other two, for the most part.

The Concours really shows the drop. Hitting 9,437 in 2012, this dropped to only 666 miles in 2013. When I first figured that total I thought I must have read the odometer wrong and went out for another look, because I knew we rode further than that on the OFMC trip alone. But then I remembered I took the Suzuki on that trip. So yes, a scant 666 miles on the Connie. Ouch.

The champion for the year was the new bike, pretty much because of the OFMC trip. I rode the V-Strom 2,294 miles in 2013. And altogether, that comes to just 3,287 miles on the three bikes.

In comparison, I have so far this year–and the year isn’t quite up yet–put 10,077 on my car. That compares to just 5,061 in 2012 and 3,556 the year before. In those years I was putting double the miles on the Concours that I did on my car. Not this year. That’s what having a full-time job will do.

It would not be an impolite question to ask why, if I only rode that much, I think it necessary to have three motorcycles. I could–and will–offer the response of, “wait till next year.” I swear all those numbers will be higher next year. But when it comes to the Honda I’m feeling pretty conflicted. That is my first bike. Unlike nearly everyone else, I still own my very first bike. I’ve had it for a long, long time. And I love that bike. Nevertheless, if I didn’t have it I wouldn’t go out and buy it. I would feel the other two are plenty for all occasions. Plus, ever since I started riding the Suzuki, whenever I get on the Honda it feels old and slow. And so for the first time I’ve started at least thinking about letting it go.

It’s certainly not a money consideration. I’d be doing well to get $600 for the Honda, while insurance and registration only cost me about $150 total per year. Pretty small numbers on both sides of the calculation.

No, it’s just sentiment. So here’s what I’m telling myself: I won’t have any trouble justifying keeping all these bikes if I get out and ride each of them a lot each year. So what I have got to do is get out and ride each of them a lot. It’s a dirty job, and only I can do it. I accept this job. Now I just have to live up to my commitment.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcyclist prayer: Oh lord if I die, please don’t let my wife sell my bikes for what I told her they cost.