Archive for the ‘V-Strom’ Category

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Kebler Pass on the V-Strom

Wednesday, July 24th, 2013
V-Strom on Kebler Pass

V-Strom on Kebler Pass.

It’s not a challenge in any way but I’ve now ridden Kebler Pass on the V-Strom.

After spending the night at Powderhorn, at a ski condo, we ran over Grand Mesa and down to Cedaredge and turned east. At Hotchkiss all the other guys headed south through Crawford, to the north rim of the Black Canyon, over to Gunnison and up to Crested Butte. Me, I kept going at Hotchkiss, through Paonia, and turned off to ride Kebler Pass to CB.

I told these guys Kebler is a great gravel road but I had no idea just how great it would be at this time. My friend Kevin, in Gunnison, who I called once I got here, said they went hog wild with the mag chloride on Kebler this year and it’s practically paved. I would agree. Heck, there was even a guy on a bicycle. You don’t ride bicycles on really bad gravel roads.

Of course I’ve been on Kebler before, too, so the only thing noteworthy about this whole thing is that once again I’m getting out on unpaved roads–the reason I bought this dual-sport bike.

I did have a little trepidation heading for Kebler, however. Talking with a guy at a gas station at Cedaredge, he told me they had had a lot of rain lately and there had been mud slides and roads had been blocked. He thought Kebler Pass might be bad. He told me to take it easy because I might come around a curve to find a boulder lying in the road.

Then I pulled off at a station in Paonia and spoke to some guys there who were on dual-sports and they said they had just been over Kebler recently and it was the best they’d ever seen it. That was reassuring. And they were right.

So it wasn’t an adventure, but it was fun nevertheless. And of course it was gorgeous. Kebler Pass runs through some terrific country and if you haven’t been up there you owe yourself that treat. And if you’re on a Harley, do it anyway. You won’t find a gravel road in better condition.

Biker Quote for Today

You’re a biker wannabe if you won’t ride down a gravel road.

Tags:
Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, Dual sport bikes, V-Strom | No Comments »

Finally Getting Some Real Time on the V-Strom

Monday, July 22nd, 2013

The V-Strom on the road to Pagoda.

There is no better way of getting truly familiar with a new motorcycle than living on one for a week. Today is Monday of our OFMC weeklong trip, having left on Friday, and I’m really getting to know this V-Strom that I bought two months ago.

The first thing that hit me was that I have got to get some highway pegs on this bike. After a few hours on the road I’m looking for a place to move my feet to in a different position, and where the heck are those highway pegs? I’ll probably need to put on a case guard–which won’t be a bad thing–and then attach some pegs to that. That’s what I did with my CB750 all those many years ago and that’s still how the bike is equipped today.

The second thing to hit me was that I need a throttle lock. Again, after a few hours, your hand is starting to protest against hanging onto this grip all this time. That one will be easy and cheap to address.

We headed out on Friday, meeting up in the Poudre and that gave me an opportunity to try out the bike’s capabilities a bit, too. I rode up the Buckhorn road, over through Stove Prairie to the Poudre, and was heading up the Poudre when I saw for an instant, a couple curves ahead of me, two bikes. Not just any two bikes, but two Harleys with suitcases mounted on top of the top bags at the rear. Nearly all these bloated OFMC biker types have those on their luxocruisers these days.

So I figured I needed to catch up and see if it was really who I thought it was. Now there were a couple cars between me and them but these are motorcycles, so even if the center line is yellow a quick flip of the wrist and two seconds later you’re ahead of the guy you used to be behind. And I was. So it was a pleasure to see that the V-Strom had that pep. And it had it in spades.

I caught up and it was indeed Brett and Jason and they recognized my jacket, even though the bike was unfamiliar, and pulled off. When we took off again I was in the lead and they said it was about 15 seconds before I was gone out of sight. This bike is so light and agile that I just blasted up the canyon and it was fun.

Nothing particular to report about Saturday, just a few passes and then a night in Dillon where one of our group is the sax player in the featured band at some summer festival they do in Dillon. We left there Sunday morning, headed up CO 9 along the Blue River to Kremmling, west over Gore Pass, up to U.S. 40, and then for them, to Craig and down to Meeker.

Not for me. I saw that a road heading south out of Hayden looped around through some little nothing town called Pagoda and met highway 13 coming down from Craig somewhere north of Meeker. And there were about–by my judgment–8 miles of gravel. I went that way. As it turned out, there were closer to 11 miles of gravel but no problem. I was riding a dual-sport bike and it likes gravel.

So I got to see more of Colorado that I’ve never seen before. In this case, high cliffs on both sides with a lush green valley down the middle with a few ranch houses, some hay fields, some cattle, some horses, and a stream meandering down the middle. Nothing special, just the typically beautiful thing that ranch valleys normally feature. Has anyone ever noticed that ranchers live in some of the most beautiful places imaginable?

My route was probably half the miles that everyone else rode but I got to Meeker about 10 minutes later than they did because I was going slow on the gravel and they were blasting on the asphalt. That suits me just fine. It was a really nice ride. I love how I have so many more options now.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re becoming addicted to riding when you find yourself gravitating to the center of the lane, only to remember that you are not sitting in the center of the vehicle!

Tags:
Posted in OFMC, V-Strom | No Comments »

Finally Some Riding on the New Bike

Monday, July 8th, 2013
V-Strom at Red Rocks

The new bike in an exotic place, even if it is close to home.

I hate how this business of working 40 hours a week interferes with my riding time. I may have been broke most of the time while I was a full-time freelance but at least I got to ride plenty.

This weekend was looking like more of same. Saturday went by with every hour claimed and I was determined to get out on the V-Strom on Sunday. But Sunday came and every hour seemed to be claimed as well and I was getting pretty disheartened. And I said no.

I decided that no matter what else didn’t get done, I would ride. And I got on and off I went.

It wasn’t any kind of big deal ride. I had wanted to head up into the mountains and take some gravel road I’d never been on on a bike before, but I didn’t have that much time. Instead I just cruised west through town, doing what I could to dodge raindrops. I actually put my rain jacket on at one point but was pulling it off again five minutes later. Hot!

Made my way out to Golden and then turned south. At Morrison I decided to run over to Red Rocks and get some pictures. I wanted to be able to say “see what cool places I’ve been on my new bike.” Sure, Red Rocks is not exotic, unless you’ve never been there. Chances are someone will read this who has never been there and will look at that picture above and think, “Wow, that’s not exotic? What kind of incredible place do you live in?”

But I have an ambition now. On Adventure Riders they have a “Wee-Strom” thread (that’s for the 650cc V-Strom as opposed to the 1000cc V-Strom) with the title, “Let’s see your Vstrom OFFROAD!” On this thread a lot of guys have posted a lot of terrific shots of their bikes in some fabulous places. I want to add a bunch of my own photos to this thread. I just have to go shoot them first.

Anyway, I headed back home, having been out for two hours. It wasn’t much but I did ride the dang bike! I guess the first serious miles I’m going to get on it will be on the OFMC summer trip which is coming up very soon. None of the guys have seen the new bike yet. Time to do something about that.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Only a biker knows . . .: Motorcycle wit and wisdom, #27

Biker Quote for Today

Everyday is a good day for a ride! But Sunday is perfect!

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Posted in V-Strom | No Comments »

Plate for the V-Strom: Ins and Outs of Motorcycle Registration

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013
V-Strom with license plate

It took four trips to Motor Vehicle but I finally got my plate.

No, I did not get a plate for my new V-Strom on Friday as I expected I would. I had so much to learn!

I did get it registered and got a plate today, as you can see in the photo above. Maybe you already know all this; maybe my experience can save you some trouble when you go to register your next new bike.

My first mistake on Friday was to head out without the proof of insurance slip. I was halfway to Motor Vehicle when I realized I had left it at home but I went on anyway. Maybe I wouldn’t need it.

I arrived just after the office opened at 8 a.m. and there was a long line of people already filing in and taking numbers. The manager of the office was greeting people at the door and explaining the process to them again and again. She gets good marks for customer service.

I asked about the insurance slip and she urged me to go ahead and take a number because they might have already received notification from the insurance company. I didn’t know that happened. But they were serving numbers 1 and 2 at that point and my number was 44 so I decided not to wait and then find that they had not heard from my insurance company.

Work was slow that day so I left early and swung back by Motor Vehicle just in case I could get through the line quickly, but at 3:30 p.m. there were a lot more people than had been there in the morning.

Friends had told me by now that Monday and Friday are the worst days to go to Motor Vehicle. So I decided I’d go again on Tuesday, even earlier and with my proof of insurance.

Come Tuesday there I was. My number was 8 so I didn’t have to wait long. I handed my paperwork to the clerk and he sorted through, then asked for the VIN verification. The what? Well, it seems that if you are registering a vehicle that comes from another state (Tennessee, in this case) you have to take the bike and the title to either a dealer or to an emissions check facility to get the VIN verified. No registration and plate for you today!

On my way home that night I swung by Vickery Motorsports to inquire. They guys there were very helpful and said I just needed to bring the bike by with the title and they’d do the verification. But, I asked, how do I do that? It doesn’t have a plate on it. We all kind of went, “Hmmm,” and then I said, “I’ll take the plate off one of my other bikes and put it on.” The Vickery guy grinned and said, “I didn’t hear a thing!”

So the following day I went to work early so I could leave early and have time to get home and take the bike to Vickery. I got to Vickery, “You’re totally legal, right?” he chuckled, and the VIN verification form was completed. I asked while I was there what kind of payment Motor Vehicle wants. Do they want cash, check, credit card? I was told they do take checks and cash and only recently started taking credit cards, although they add on a 2-3 percent fee if you use a card. I’d rather pay by check anyway.

Now it’s back to Motor Vehicle.

I got up early again today to get there before the crowd but by the time I got in line my number was 32. And they had some clerks who didn’t come to work so they were short-staffed. It took an hour and a half but I finally got up to the window.

While the clerk went through my paperwork I found that my heart was pounding and my hands were shaking. I just had this dread that she would tell me something was wrong or I needed some other piece of paper or something. But no, it was all good. I wrote a check and she handed me the plates and registration, telling me I will receive the title in the mail in about six weeks. Success!

So I got to work way late but as soon as I got home this evening I put the plate on. Gosh, maybe I’ll go for a motorcycle ride this weekend. Or would that be silly?

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Where are the Ducs?

Biker Quote for Today

Bikes are better than women because motorcycles don’t care about how many other motorcycles you have ridden.

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Posted in V-Strom | 1 Comment »

The Joys of a Used Motorcycle

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013
Givi bag on a V-Strom

The Givi bags on my new V-Strom come pre-scarred so I don't have to worry about doing it myself.

My new V-Strom is new only to me; it has 17,000 miles on it from two previous owners.

That’s OK with me. As you can see in the photo above, this bike has gone down at least once so that means I can drop it myself and not feel that horrible pang of regret from having put the first scratch on your new baby. Not that I had a tendency to go down on bikes but I’m planning on getting off the pavement on this bike, and when you do that your likelihood of going down increases.

Heck, I’ve already dropped one of Kevin’s V-Stroms. We were going over Cinnamon Pass and came to a particularly tight switchback on what was at that point just a narrow gravel trail. I didn’t make the turn successfully. No problem. Pick the bike up, get it facing in the right direction, get back on, and go.

About two switchbacks later I came to another really tight one and this time I stopped to study it. I could see that the steeply sloping rock face that was the corner of the turn had tracks across it. I figured other people in this spot had just powered through and around, so that’s what I did. I gave it some revs, let out the clutch, and hit that rock face with power and just carved that turn around and was on my way up the trail again, all in an instant.

I want to do more of that kind of riding. That day was one of the best riding days of my life, and it was that ride that totally sold me on getting off the pavement.

So I took the new bike out for a ride Saturday. Not a very long ride at all, because I don’t have plates on it. But I took a little jaunt through the neighborhood just to get on it and get a feel for it. Fired up great and ran beautifully. Hey, oh boy–fun times to come!!

Biker Quote for Today

Adventure riding has been good for my attention deficit diso….Hey, what’s down that road?

Tags:
Posted in Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | 3 Comments »

My New V-Strom Is Here

Thursday, April 25th, 2013
Kevin and the V-Strom on his trailer

Kevin and my new bike were waiting for me at home on Monday.

I got home from work on Monday and Kevin was sitting in his truck waiting for me. I was glad to see him because I had had some fears that he might be stuck in a white-out on the prairie east of town. As it was, it was snowing and rolling that bike down Kevin’s narrow ramp off the trailer was made extra dicey by the fact that our footing on the trailer was very slick due to the snow.

But we got it down safely and wheeled it into the garage where it’s going to sit for awhile. I need to get it registered and get plates and that’s not going to happen right away because I don’t yet have the title. I’m buying the bike from Kevin’s brother-in-law in Tennessee and he hadn’t found the title by the time Kevin was leaving. They did find it, though, and it’s in the mail.

In the meantime, I’m in possession and that means I needed to get it insured. I logged in to my insurance company’s website and it showed me the policy I had on the other two bikes. I clicked on “Add a vehicle” and it stepped me through the process.

I was a little surprised when I found that the insurance on the new bike would be more than the insurance on the other two combined. I guess that’s because one of the old ones is 33 years old and the other is 14 years old. But I fiddled with the coverage, increasing my deductible a little, and knocked the total down enough to satisfy me. So I got that taken care of. Of course, it never hurts to shop around any time you’re changing your insurance coverage–you never know where you might find better coverage for less money.

Just as soon as I get plates on it I need to spend a little more money. As Kevin had told me, the front tire is pretty much shot and he says the chain is in bad shape. In my experience that means I’ll probably be replacing the sprockets, too. The really, really nice thing about having a job these days is that I have a paycheck coming in and that means I have the money to pay for these things. Hallelujah!

Of course then, the other thing that needs to happen is that it needs to stop snowing. I was talking to my friend Dan the other day and he was saying that due to two foot surgeries over the winter he hadn’t had the chance to ride in five months. Now he can ride and it just won’t stop snowing! One way or another though, he said, he’s leaving here on May 5 to ride to Maine by way of Florida. Can you tell he’s an Iron Butt guy?

My time will come. Patience is a virtue. And then I’m figuring on seeing a whole lot of Colorado I’ve never seen before.

Biker Quote for Today

There is something wrong about pics of motorcycles in the snow that is just wonderful….

Tags:
Posted in Dual sport bikes, Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | 1 Comment »

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