Passes & Canyons Blog

I was on a ride with the RMMRC last week and, as has often been the case, Bob was in the lead. And then, as has often been the case, Bob did a couple things that I have wondered about. It dawned on me then what he was doing in one case but not the other, so at a stop I asked him about both.

The first question was one I’ve mentioned here before. I normally think of the leader of a group that is riding in staggered formation being in the left part of the traffic lane. The second person staggers to the right and the rest go back and forth. But on multi-lane highways Bob consistently positions himself, as the lead rider, to the right side of the lane. Why? I asked him.

I had my theory but it was wrong. I was thinking that if we were in the far left lane that he put himself on the right side of the lane so as to better see, in his mirror, traffic behind in the next lane over. Nope. He said he does it because he figures it’s safer when he’s passing someone in the next lane over. That they are more likely to see him in their mirrors if he is closer in to them.

There is some sense to that. The fact is that most people do not have their mirrors pushed out far enough, so the closer in line you are with their car the more likely they are to see you. Still, is that the best position? Bob said he didn’t know, that was just his presumption.

I did a little searching and came up with a different answer. In this article, for example, they argue that you’re better off in the left portion of the lane because that gives you more room to maneuver: “It’s best to stay out the side closest to the nearest vehicle. For example, while you ride in the far-left lane, you should stay to the left side of that lane. This gives you added protection and room to react if a car in the adjacent lane starts to creep over.”

So that’s not necessarily the indisputable answer but it is a different idea to also consider. But anyway, that’s why Bob does it. Question answered.

The other is a really interesting idea. There have been times, strictly on two-lane roads, when Bob has moved over into the center of the oncoming lane and just cruised there. I had always assumed he was doing that so he could better see the riders back at the tail end of the group. This time it dawned on me what he was up to, and he confirmed my conjecture.

We had gotten behind a very slow-moving vehicle, some piece of construction equipment. He and a couple others passed when they could but the rest had to wait. Bob moved into the oncoming lane. It dawned on me: by placing himself there he was making it absolutely clear to those behind that there was no oncoming traffic at that moment. If there was, he sure as heck would not be there; the fact that he was there was intended as a sign that it was safe for the others to pass, even if they couldn’t see what was up ahead. Brilliant!

So. You learn something new every day. Or at least you should try to.

Biker Quote for Today

100 Reasons not to date a motorcyclist: There’s a fine line between confidence and cockiness.

With temperatures getting into the 80s it was inevitable that the RMMRC would be taking a ride. Sure enough, I got the call from Roy. We’d be heading up toward Woodland Park.

Now, at first I thought he had said Winter Park and I was thinking that was pretty ambitious this early in the year. Then it hit me that, oh no, he must have said Woodland Park. Sure enough.

So there were six of us who gathered Monday morning, four BMWs, a Honda, and me on my V-Strom. We took off out Parker Road and down to Colorado Springs on CO 83, a short jaunt on I-25 before getting off and cruising through Garden of the Gods, and then west on U.S. 24. I hoped we would stop at least briefly at Garden of the Gods because I really would have liked to have gotten a picture there of the rocks with the bikes in the foreground. But we didn’t.

The destination this day was not Woodland Park, as might have been expected, but Green Mountain Falls. So where the heck is Green Mountain Falls? Who has ever even heard of Green Mountain Falls?

Turns out, it is right off U.S. 24, along a road that runs parallel to the highway. If you’re on 24 and you see the Rocky Top Motel & Campground you’re passing by Green Mountain Falls right now.

It’s worth a stop. We ate at The Pantry and it’s a really nice place. They have a lot of outdoor seating, which on this gorgeous warm day was just what we wanted, and the food was darn good. I have a suspicion we’ll be going back to this place in the future.

After lunch we continued on to Woodland Park and turned north on CO 67 up through Deckers to Pine and caught U.S. 285 at Pine Junction, then turned toward home. Along the way there were two things of note.

First, I was very interested to see that there are finally young trees popping up all over where that big Hayman Fire burned such a large area some years ago. I was starting to wonder if the area would ever turn green again but the young trees are now finally getting big enough that you can see them from the road. Nice.

And second, no surprise at this time of year but something to be aware of, there was a lot of gravel on the road, particularly north of Deckers. Ride carefully.

One thing we did not encounter was snow. Not just not on the road but almost none to be seen anywhere except a little bit in some deeper shadows. Winter is over.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if your trailer has more miles on it than your bike.

Yes! It’s on! I finally have a top bag on my Kawasaki Concours.

Tom, who designed and built the rack for me to mount this bag on the bike, gave me a call a few days ago to say he had it ready. I rode out to his place and he put it on and voila! There she is!

I had been really naive in contacting Tom to do this for me. My mechanic, Joel, had mentioned that he had a friend with a Concours like mine who had built a rack for his own bike. Not really thinking it through, I figured he could just do the exact same thing again to help me out. What I didn’t consider was that the bags were different, and therefore required different mounting equipment. Essentially, Tom had to come up with an entirely new and different design than what he had used to mount his own bag.

Let’s just say that I was pretty generous in recompensing him for his time and effort. Plus I made sure to tell him sincerely how very much I appreciated what he did for me. Everyone likes to have their efforts appreciated and recognized, right? And I truly, truly appreciated Tom’s efforts.

If you look at the bracket it at first seems to be a simple four piece crosshatch design. What you don’t see is that he used different material on the back cross-member so it would elevate the back and give it just the right pitch. Also, for the same reason, the two pieces coming front to back were bent upward just the right amount. Really great work. Thank you so much, Tom.

So, as you can see, this design definitely puts the weight of the bag on the bikes rear fender bodywork. I had been concerned that doing this might be a bad thing, either because the bodywork might break under the weight or the shift in balance would affect the steering. That concern was mostly allayed after I spoke with two people–Tom being one of them–who had put racks on their Concoures with no ill effects. I just figure if it is usually mostly empty, leaving room for helmet and jacket when I stop, the only time there will be excessive weight is when the bike is not moving. That’s what I’m hoping, anyway.

So Yahoo! I can’t wait to show up at the next ride and have my buddies gather around saying, oh look what Ken put on his bike. I’m pleased.

Biker Quote for Today

We know you’re a poser if all your leathers match.

It appears I may yet need to get my carbs cleaned on the Concours.

The weather Monday was fabulous, high in the mid 70s, so I had to ride despite a considerable breeze. Besides, I had been wanting to get back out on the Concours to see if it really was that simple to get it running well again, i.e., just pour some carb cleaner in the gas tank.

It wasn’t. Yes, the bike fired up and ran well but it struggled as I tried to ride away, though not as much as before. And this time by the time I’d gone two blocks it was running pretty much OK. So that’s definitely better. On the other hand, while I was out it stalled three times when I came to stops.

In addition to that, when I would pull away from a stop I had to rev it a bit to get the rpm up so it wouldn’t stall out of me. That kind of hesitation can be dangerous, such as when you’re waiting for an opening in traffic to pull out, you get your opening, and you start to go but the bike falters and you’re suddenly looking at a car coming your way in a hurry. I don’t like that feeling.

So I may end up needing to call Joel to come take care of it but there is another option I want to explore. Roy is always billing himself as a top mechanic and while I have doubts that he’s as good as he claims, I figure he may well be fully qualified to clean some carbs. I wouldn’t hesitate to do it myself if I knew how; if he’s willing to help me do it I should hopefully learn how so next time I can just do it myself.

In the meantime, I’m going to fill the gas tank and put in more carb cleaner and at least give that a chance to do the job. Hey, it helped a lot the first time. Maybe a second time really will be the trick. But I’m not holding my breath.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: Motorcycles don’t care about how many other motorcycles you have.

I find it interesting that we motorcyclists are sorely divided on one particular topic: lane-splitting. Most riders in California, the only state where it is legal, swear by it. Many in other states wish they had it but many also consider it insanity. My inclination is with those who are most familiar with it, the Californians, plus the fact that I have seen it in wide-scale operation in Europe. If it seems crazy to you, you don’t have to do it. For those who wish to do it, I believe we should have that option.

But how does all this shake out in regard to lane-filtering? Just to clarify, lane-splitting usually means passing down the middle while traffic is moving, even moving quickly. Lane-filtering generally means slowly slipping past cars that are either stopped or moving very slowly. Utah Okayed filtering a while ago and now Montana has done so as well.

Do riders who oppose lane-splitting feel differently about lane-filtering? I don’t know, and if anyone wants to offer their thoughts or knowledge, please do. But let’s look at it. As a comparison, think about right turn on red. Time was when that was unheard of. Now is there any state that does not allow it? But some people thought it was a crazy idea.

I was riding with a group out in California a number of years ago and while we never did any splitting, we did come to a point one day where it was obviously a filtering opportunity. We were in a city, in traffic, and we came up on a red light. The only car in front of us had stopped a little way back from the intersection, seemingly expecting motorcycles to pull past and in front of them. The three of us in the lead looked at each other, used some hand signals, and nodded in agreement. Then we pulled around in front. Easy as pie, and totally safe. We sped off quickly when the light changed, causing the driver no inconvenience or delay.

Why would that not be OK? Another time, I was headed out on I-70 and coming down Vail Pass traffic was stopped. I was not with anyone but there were a couple other riders right there, too. It was going to be a lengthy stop so we got off and were talking. Someone suggested we ought to pull out onto the shoulder and go past all these cars and see if there was some way we could escape this snarl. We noted that it was not legal but three of us decided to do it.

We pulled out, going past another rider who yelled to us that we were risking a $300 ticket. We went anyway.

Along the way we passed a number of other bikes and some of them joined us. When we finally got to where we clearly could not go any further (the highway was closed due to a vehicle on fire) we stopped. By this time there were about a dozen of us. So we waited until traffic finally was able to move again, slipped in ahead of about two miles of traffic from where we had been, and blasted off. Again, the inconvenience, if any, to the folks in cars was totally minimal. Why should we not have done that?

So I haven’t been to Utah since they legalized filtering, and I certainly haven’t been to Montana since they did, but it will be interesting the next time I am. Realistically speaking, I don’t expect there will be much need or opportunity for filtering but it will be nice to have that as an option if we end up in that sort of situation.

Hooray for common sense.

Biker Quote for Today

Accept no one’s definition of LIFE. Define and design it yourself!

It is officially spring and riding weather is upon us, at least on some days. So, maybe you’ve been riding for a long time and you really can’t understand why more people don’t do this. Whatever the reason for that, there are always some people who do want to ride, and we can help them by teaching them how to ride motorcycles intelligently. And make some extra cash in the process. Anybody want to become a rider instructor?

Colorado’s Motorcycle Operator Safety Training (MOST) program sent around a periodic notice recently looking for rider instructors. Here’s your chance.

Let me tell you a little about the training program. I took the course several years ago and back then I had to pay $450 for it. Nowadays MOST pays for it, if that hasn’t changed without my knowledge.

We took several days of classroom learning and also went out on the course, working through the program on each other. Then for the finale we took a real class through the paces.

Let me tell you, this was no breeze. I knocked myself out and barely passed. I was so discouraged by the whole thing that I chose not to pursue actually working as a rider instructor. But that was me. Your mileage may vary–I just wanted to warn you that this is a serious training program.

But if you pass and you do go on to teach there are substantial rewards. For one thing, from what I understand, the pay is pretty nice. You can make a couple hundred dollars in a weekend and you can generally work as much as you like, so it can add up to real cash.

More importantly, you get the joy of seeing others get it, and get enthused. And sending them off on their riding careers knowing they are prepared to be competent, safe riders. That was really what I wanted to do, why I wanted to be an instructor, and it was the big disappointment when I concluded I was not cut out for it.

Anyway, just putting the idea out there. Maybe it’s just what you were looking for.

Biker Quote for Today

I didn’t fall off the back of anyone’s bike–I ride my own.

The RMMRC rode up to Bruce’s in Severance a few weeks ago and while there we got in a conversation with our waitress.

It turns out she and her guy ride motorcycles and they were planning a trip in a couple weeks, going to Florida to visit family. While there they planned to rent a bike and cruise over to Daytona for Daytona Bike Week. But, oh man, the regular rental places were in full mercenary mode.

In addition to the usual high price of about $175 a day, they wanted more because it was Bike Week and they knew they could get it. As in an extra $500. It was kind of like when I went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. We got there a week before the official start to the event and ate every morning inexpensively at this particular restaurant. One morning we showed up and there was a new menu with all the same items but double the price. We asked why and the waitress told us, “Oh, that’s our carnival menu.”

No surprise then that these folks were not inclined to pay that much. She’s working in a restaurant in Severance, for Pete’s sake, they’re not wealthy. But they found an alternative: Riders Share.

I’ve written recently about Riders Share but I have never used the service or known anyone who has. But there she was. And presumably it worked out well for them. They had some nice cruiser bike lined up and as I recall it was going to cost them just around $100 a day for five days, with insurance included. You can’t beat that with a stick.

I’ve always found this concept interesting and seductive. I have three motorcycles. Why not make a little extra cash by renting them out on occasion? But that’s where you get into issues.

For instance, I have a 1980 Honda CB750 Custom. It’s an old bike, and not worth a whole lot. But hey! It’s the first motorcycle I ever bought. It was a dream come true, and I still love that bike. Sure, insurance would cover the financial loss if something happened to it but this bike is irreplaceable. It has so much emotion tied up in it. Exactly how horrible would I feel if someone else smashed it beyond redemption?

Well, what about my 1999 Kawasaki Concours? I don’t have the emotional attachment to this bike that I do with the Honda. And from time to time I have seen basically identical bikes in excellent condition for sale for essentially peanuts. The same is true for my 2006 Suzuki V-Strom 650. I love the bike but it could be replaced.

So for me it now gets to the question of what’s the point? There were a lot of years when I was scraping by and a bit of extra cash now and then would have been extremely helpful. But I’m retired now, and I’m doing fine financially. As I have said many times, if I needed more money I would not have retired. So no, I don’t think I’ll be listing my bikes for rent.

On the other hand, I do like having a bike to ride when I go somewhere, but I really don’t like the high prices the big companies charge. Something like Riders Share seems to me to be the perfect way to go. By the way, there is another company doing the same thing, called Twisted Road. If you’re planning a trip and want a bike to ride you might think seriously about checking out what is available on both these sites. I sure would.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycles are not all about speed. It is a feeling, and emotion, but also my therapy.

I’ve been trying for months to figure out how to mount this top bag on the rear of my Concours and I think success is near. I had asked my mechanic, Joel, if fabricating something to mount it on was something he could do and he demurred, saying that kind of thing is not in his realm of expertise.

However, the second time we talked about it he said he has a friend who also rides a Concours who has a bag mounted on a bracket he made himself. I asked if he would be willing to help me out and Joel gave me his phone number. That’s how I met Tom.

I called Tom and we talked and then just before the blizzard hit I drove the bag and it’s mounting basket to him. That gave me a chance to take a look at the bracket he has on his bike. His wife wanted a backrest up kind of high so his bracket elevates the bag quite a bit. That wasn’t something that particularly appealed to me.

Apparently, not raising the bag makes the whole thing a lot simpler. As you can see in the photo of the mock-up that Tom sent me, he’s figuring all we really need is a couple strips of steel bolted onto the bike, and then attach the basket to the steel strips. Then just slip the bag into the slot on the basket, secure it with its thumb-screw, and voila!

The one thing I’ve been concerned about, and I asked Tom about this, is that Kawasaki stuck a sticker on this rear fender area saying not to put more than 11 pounds of weight on it. Dang, by the time you get the bracket, the basket, and the bag on there you’ve already eaten up nearly half that weight. So I asked Tom if Kawasaki was just being overly cautious, and what his experience has been.

Tom said he has had his bag on his bike for nearly 10 years and no problem. On top of that, I ended up talking to Jungle yesterday, and Jungle is a mechanic who has owned several Concourses. He said he built a rack for a bag on one of his and he never had any problems with too much weight. He did mention that you don’t want to put a lot of weight up high way out back because that can throw off the suspension and affect your steering. But a little bit is no big deal.

Now, the truth is, what has made me envious for years is watching how my friends get off their bikes and take off their jackets and helmets and throw them in the top bag and walk away. Not having one, I’ve always had to keep my jacket with me, and that can be a pain. But the key there is, you can’t throw your helmet and jacket in the bag if it’s full of other stuff. So if you don’t put much in it then there’s not going to be a lot of weight. Then a bit of weight when you’re just parked is not a big problem. And you’ll remove that weight before you take off again.

So my concern has been mollified. Now I’m just waiting for the finished product. This is going to be great.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcyclists who don’t wear a helmet probably don’t have a brain to protect anyway.