Passes & Canyons Blog

There are a couple things coming up very soon that I want to direct your attention to.

First is the 5th annual Civilian Top Gun Rider Competition. The non-civilian Top Gun competition is for motorcycle cops. That’s an annual exhibition that is really good, with those guys putting their big cruiser bikes through tight turns that most people can’t even do on a small bike.

So this other event is for the rest of us, but don’t think for a minute that that means the riding you’ll see is second-rate. You don’t have to be a cop to know how to ride really, really well.

This thing will be taking place this coming weekend, Sept. 20-21, at Fay Myers Motorcycle World, 9700 E. Arapahoe. And it’s free–no admission charge. Apparently it will be going on both days so cruise on down, and prepare to feel like you really aren’t that good a rider after all, no matter what your ego would like you to believe.

The other event is a week later, Saturday, Sept. 28. This is the Small Bike Ride.

Todd Wallis is the organizer of this event, which is in its fourth year. Todd is a guy who likes to restore old bikes, and he particularly likes the smaller ones. So he put together this event–it’s just a ride; go have fun–for old bikes with engines 250cc or smaller. Or, if you ride a pre-WWII bike of any size you’re welcome, too.

Riders will be starting out from a spot in Deer Creek Canyon, 9880 West Deer Creek Canyon Road, to be exact. The ride starts at 9 a.m. and will be cruising–rather slowly–through the hills, for about 100 miles.

So go have fun.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Only a biker knows . . .: Motorcycle wit and wisdom, #28

Biker Quote for Today

Think of your thumper as a big pump, happily sucking and blowing down the road.

Morgan Sansotta, a die-hard Springsteen fan, blogs on behalf of Jafrum.com. People never believe she wants to leave the Bay Area for her native Idaho.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not the Potato State — it’s the Gem State. And what a gem it is, particularly on a motorcycle. Idaho is, arguably, the most wild of all lower-48 states and, undisputedly, home to some of the country’s most majestic scenes and varied landscapes. In a single day you can zip from the sun-baked desert to a lush lake shadowed by towering peaks, past volcanic lava beds, through sprawling farmland and end up at a National Park. Unless you’re looking for the ocean or a shopping mall, there is something there for everyone.

As a young adult, I spent many years in the Idaho wilderness and plenty of those years cruising up and down hidden highways. Excellent roads, far-beaten paths and scenic detours are literally everywhere. It’s not hard to find your own slice of remote paradise, every few miles in some areas. The state is the one of the largest, and least populated, in the Union. With so many routes to choose from, I’ll just touch on a couple of my favorites.

Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway

Straight out of the capital city and on up to Lowman, Stanley and the Sawtooth Mountains, this is an extremely popular ride for motorcycle enthusiasts, hotspringers and all manner of outdoor recreators. Highway 21 is on a loop, making this literally, a round trip. While you will have to keep an eye out for rock slides and loose debris, keep both eyes peeled for the long list of wildlife calling this area home. Deer, elk, coyotes, foxes and birds of prey loom at every corner. Campsites are scattered everywhere on this jaunt, but don’t expect to see many roadside pubs or restaurants. If you have some spare time and a penchant for nostalgia, try your hand at panning for gold in the Idaho City area.

The Devil’s Tail

Hell’s Canyon is the deepest gorge in the country, a solid 2000 feet deeper than the Grand Canyon. No matter which direction you come from (Cambridge, ID off US 95 or the Oregon route through Oxbow) prepare for some gorgeous scenery. Be careful when studying maps, trying to craft your own trail – this is an extremely primitive area with loose dirt roads everywhere. Take a time out and let someone else do the driving – take a jet boat up the Snake River or a commercial raft down it. Or both (I’ve done it once and it was awwwesome). This can be a dangerous trail, all cliffs and blind curves, but the view of the Seven Devil’s mountains makes this a check-box on any biker’s list.

The Lolo Pass

Cut across the middle of Idaho on Highway 12 all the way over to Montana (another state chockfull of beautiful byways). They say that Lewis and Clark took this path, more or less, straight through the Clearwater and Lolo National Forests. This road is notorious for its rural curves. Some bikers have even complained that the 60+ miles of switchbacks gets monotonous. Be warned, there’s a 75-mile stretch in the middle with virtually nothing but Evergreen trees and gushing water. No gas, no food, no kidding. Also, be wary of the western half of the journey (towards Lewiston) – truckers and wide loads aren’t looking for you, but that’s nothing new. Idaho law doesn’t require riders to wear helmets. But please do. Other than that, make sure to bring your camera so you can take a picture of your mug next to the famous “Winding Road Next 99 Miles” sign.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Only a biker knows . . .: Motorcycle wit and wisdom #28

Biker Quote for Today

We are born without a road map and a choice of many trails.

The first thing just about anyone who buys a motorcycle does is customize the bike to fit their own specific needs and/or wants. I generally haven’t ever gone very far down that road but I always travel it to some extent. I’m extremely pleased to say that I now have a top box on my new V-Strom.

It’s a good thing to have photos–specifically that one above–because these things don’t seem to go by any clear-cut name. I call it a top box, other people call it a variety of other things. Whatever you call it, from what I’ve seen they get the most use as a place to quickly and easily stash your helmet or your jacket–both if it’s big enough–when you get off the bike. Also a good place to carry odds and ends you might want during the day so you don’t have to go digging for them in the bigger side bags. (Presuming, of course, that you have side bags.)

It’s also a good place to put the stuff you’re carrying to work if you’re riding to work, which I do. I can wear my riding boots to work, take them off and stick them in the top box while putting on shoes that you can actually walk in, and switch back at the end of the day.

Sure the V-Strom came with side bags and they’re huge, but that’s part of why I wanted the top box. The side bags are so huge that they make parking the bike in the space I have for it a difficult thing to do. I ended up taking the bags off each time I came home before I parked, then putting them on when I was going somewhere. Now the side bags can just sit in the garage except when I’m traveling. Traveling is the only time I need anywhere near that much space.

Of course, getting the top box mounted was no easy feat. Theoretically it might have been but reality dictated otherwise. Fortunately I had the assistance (read: he did almost all the work) of Ron Coleman, the guy who runs Western Dual Sport Motorcycle Adventure. Ron has been a great help in getting this bike fixed up and because he runs a fleet of V-Stroms he knows far better than I what needs to be done. And he has the tools.

So what theoretically might have taken an hour, hour and a half, ended up taking four hours. The actual mounting was not that bad, it just took drilling out some of the sheet metal in the mount so the bolts could go where they had to go. But the trunk (that’s what some people call these things) has LED lights on it to give you greater visibility, and hooking those up was the real bear.

After putting it all together it didn’t work. So we tried one thing after another, and in the process disassembled almost the entire rear end of the bike. You can see that in the other photo. We did get it done, though, and hot diggety! I’m really pleased. Thank you Ron. Now just a few more mods and I’ll have this bike just the way I want it. Stay tuned.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Only a biker knows . . .: Motorcycle wit and wisdom #28

Biker Quote for Today

There’s roads and there’s roads and they call, can’t you hear it? Roads of the earth and roads of the spirit. The best roads of all are the ones that aren’t certain. One of those is where you’ll find me till they drop the big curtain. — Bruce Cockburn

This is a guest post provided by Amy Moczynski.

With two-wheeled transportation becoming more popular because of gas prices, more people are making scooters and motorcycles their primary form of transportation. Bicycles or walking might be the preferred way of transportation in cities that allow for it, but the majority of people will need some form of motorized vehicle to get them from point A to point B. With most scooters offering nearly 70 miles per gallon, scooters not only help you save on gas but also help lower your carbon footprint.

If you’re considering switching to a scooter as your primary mode of transportation, there are some things to consider before making the switch. Aside from making sure you have the proper license and training to ride said scooter, you should consider how scooter friendly your city is before making the switch full time.

For anyone unsure of how to determine how scooter friendly a city is, here are some considerations to keep in mind.

Scooter Repair and Retail

Just like any automobile, you’ll need to take your scooter in for periodic tune ups. You’ll also need to make sure you purchase any gear before hitting the road (a helmet is a must, and you might want to trick out your scooter with some sweet swag). Consider how close you are to repair shops and retailers so you know where to turn if you need something last minute. For example, the website for Bintelli scooters has a store locator so you can see if your scooter’s retailer has a nearby location.

Parking and Storage

Parking might seem like a breeze if you own a scooter (it’s small, so it can fit anywhere, right?), but in certain cities, there isn’t dedicated parking for scooters. Instead, scooters have to use regular size parking spaces, and that often means they need to purchase parking decals also meant for full-size automobiles, so there’s no cost savings involved.

Something to consider is the number of (or presence of) parking devoted just to scooters or motorcycles. San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati are several cities that have created special parking areas just for scooters, and the mayor of Boston has designated free parking for scooters and motorcycles, offering scooter owners in this city an added benefit of scooting as opposed to driving.
You’ll also want to consider where you will store your scooter, both overnight and during the seasons you won’t be driving it. Is the area you live safe enough to leave your scooter outside overnight? Do you need to park it in a garage like a car? If you need to park it in a garage, that’s an extra expense to consider.

Weather

If you live in an area with consistent rain throughout the year, you might be less inclined to purchase a scooter. The same goes for areas that have several months of snow and ice in the winter, or places with pretty steep inclines and rough terrain. While that’s not to say you can’t enjoy your scooter in the warmer seasons like spring and summer, consider how much use you’ll get from it throughout the year before deciding to purchase. Clear, sunny days are made for scooting, so make sure your city offers plenty of ways you can take advantage of the climate.

Also make sure you know how to ride your scooter in not so favorable conditions. If you live in a location that is prone to sudden downpours, you might not have the option of only traveling when it’s clear and sunny. Make sure you feel confident enough driving through these conditions when needed.

Incentives

Are there incentives for owning a scooter in your city? For example, Austin Energy offers $50 to $300 incentives for people who use two-wheeled electric vehicles. See if your town offers any sort of credit or rebates when you switch to a greener form of transportation.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Another day going separate ways from the OFMC

Biker Quote for Today

Speed bumps never seem to make me go any faster.

Cruise control is nice, but pricey. I’ve always had a throttle lock on my bikes and now I have one on the V-Strom and it could not be a simpler device. That’s it at the left end of the grip in the picture above. And that’s all there is to it. You open the jaws enough to slip it onto the grip and then it rotates easily in what from this position would be forward, but does not slip in the other direction.

What that means is that when you twist the grip to speed up, the device rotates with the grip in a counter-clockwise direction. You then get up to cruising speed and, with your thumb, push the device in a clockwise direction until it is pressed against the brake lever. You can then let go of the grip and the device–pressed against the brake lever and therefore immobile–stops the throttle from rolling clockwise, backing off on the speed. When you do want to slow down you just roll off on the throttle manually and the device easily slips back to where it no longer comes into play. Rinse and repeat.

So how well does it work? Pretty darn well. First off, you need to twist the throttle a little beyond where you actually want it to sit because it does back off a little once you release it. So if you want to cruise at 70 you might get up to 73 or so, move the throttle lock into position against the brake lever, and let go. As for manually rolling off, you don’t even feel that the thing is there.

As with any throttle lock, if you don’t touch it you will slow down on uphills and speed up on downhills. What’s nice about this one is that if you have it set at a pretty good place you can just twist the throttle to speed up going uphill and it doesn’t affect the positioning, so as soon as you let go it goes right back where it was. If you don’t mind going a bit fast downhill you just don’t have to touch the thing once you’ve got it set.

This kind of thing is so much preferable to the other option I was looking for on this bike. Oh, and before I go any further, let me mention that this device is called the Go Cruise Throttle Control and it cost about $20. So anyway, on my Honda I have a throttle control that loops around the bar and has a flange that catches on a bit of hardware to hold it stationary. Then to engage it I flip the thumb tab down and it grips the throttle and holds it steady. I have the same thing on my Concours but there was no place for the flange to butt against anything to hold it in place so I had to experiment with various glues until I found one that would hold. That has worked on that bike for about 14 years now.

Neither of those options was going to work on the V-Strom. The only other workable unit I found would have required loosening things like the mirror to move it over to make room, then attaching a clamp around the bar over there, with a spanner that connects with a clamp on the grip. Again, you push the thumb clamp closed and it holds the throttle in place. But what a pain to do all that.

By contrast, this Go Cruise thing took about 15 seconds to install, and about 10 seconds was spent just getting a good enough grip to spread the jaws far enough to slip it on. I wasn’t quite sure at first that I would be able to get it on, it was that snug. But it has to be snug to work in the way I’ve described, and it did go on.

So now I’m set, and I like it. I know some guys ride without any kind of throttle control device and while you may be able to do that around town, if you’re out on the highway going hundreds of miles, that gets painful for your wrist. Me, I want a throttle lock. And now I have one on the Suzuki.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
OFMC dips into New Mexico

Biker Quote for Today

I am taking the advice of all those people who told me, “Hey kid, why don’t you go play in traffic!”

I was in my car on my way to work Tuesday when a guy on a sportbike blasted past me and a bunch of other folks as well. We were on west 6th Avenue, which is a freeway, so we weren’t going slowly, but he wanted to go faster. With the fairly thick morning commute traffic this meant that he was doing some serious weaving in and around a lot of cars and trucks.

I watched him go and wondered if he was just having a good time or if he was in a hurry.

Back when I was first getting into riding my friend John gave me what I have always considered a terrific bit of advice. He told me that weaving in and out like that was a dangerous thing to do and the best thing I could do in traffic was to stay put so that the guy in back of me and the guy in front of me both knew I was there. Of course, that still leaves the people on either side who are only there momentarily and may decide–without looking–that they want your lane. That’s a whole other issue.

Still, zipping in and out like that can be fun, and you have the speed and the agility to do it on a sportbike. So I hoped the guy was having fun.

It wasn’t long and he was out of sight up ahead and I forgot about him. Then I got off at the Union/Simms exit and there he was, waiting for the light. The light turned and we all turned south onto Union and once again he wove in and around the other traffic. Four blocks later, at 2nd Avenue, we got stopped by a red light and I was right behind him. Then he turned off at 1st.

The point here, in my mind, was that for all his zipping and weaving and efforts to get ahead, he hadn’t accomplished a thing that I hadn’t also accomplished by taking it easy and just staying put in one lane. And to the extent that it is a risk to ride like that, he had put himself a lot more at risk in the process. Again, I hoped he was at least partially doing it because it was fun, because it sure didn’t get him where he was going any faster.

What I did notice when I pulled up behind him was that the bike was new, with a dealer tag still on it. That tends to support the idea that he was doing it because it was fun, but it also suggests he may be an inexperienced rider. That’s not a good combination. We’ll wish him luck and hope he lives long enough to look back and shake his head about the silly things he did a long time ago.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
OFMC heads home, more dirt en route

Biker Quote for Today

New bike beats having medical issues hands down!

I hate it when I get so busy that I miss out on things I wanted to do. That happened this weekend when in the middle of Saturday afternoon I was plowing through old emails I had put aside to get back to when I had the time. I opened one from Grand Prix Motorsports and it was announcing a demo days event on Friday and Saturday, with the opportunity to ride some Zero electric motorcycles.

I’ve ridden Zeros before but they keep getting better and I definitely wanted to check out the latest ones. Rats. I guess in the future I need to at least put things on my calendar as soon as I hear about them.

Zeros have been of continuing interest to me in more ways than one. I was working on a story for Rider magazine recently and one particular Zero was at the center of it.

It started out that I approached Rider editor Mark Tuttle about doing a piece on Craig Vetter and his Craig Vetter Fuel Economy Challenge. Mark was interested so I spoke with Craig and it turned out the timing was really good. This year’s Vetter Challenge was coming up shortly at the Vintage Motorcycle Days event the American Motorcyclist Association puts on each year in Ohio and Craig was very excited about one particular entrant.

Craig had been working with Terry Hershner, prepping Terry’s Zero S to ride cross-country. Craig was handling the streamlining that would enable Terry’s electrical power to carry him further, while Terry was amping up the electrics, adding extra batteries and charging units. By the time they got done Terry could go 150 miles or more at 75 mph between charges and, with the proper charging units, could recharge in an hour. Craig figured Terry was going to be a break-out winner in the Vetter Challenge and what a momentous event that was going to be.

So I wrote the piece and sent it to Mark, Craig provided some photos, and all we were waiting for was the event. After it was over I was going to add a couple follow-up paragraphs and Rider was going to run with the piece.

Then Mark and I both got an email from Craig: Terry’s wheel bearings had gone out on him on his way to Ohio. Originally built to carry a weight close to 500 pounds, with all the extra gear Terry had been running with more than 1,000 pounds. The wheel bearings had taken all they could. Terry would not be competing in Ohio. And Rider would not be running the piece, at least not at that time.

Can you say frustrating?

All is not lost, however. The next Vetter event takes place in California in October, and we’re counting on Terry being there. Of course this means I’m going to need to rewrite the piece a bit; a lot of it was focused on the (then) upcoming Ohio event. Oh well. Mark said he plans to run the piece right away on the website and then run a further revised and updated version of it in the magazine sometime next summer.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
OFMC day three brings a patch of dirt

Biker Quote for Today

Been there, broke that.

You can tell I’m either feeling lazy or uninspired–or maybe just in a humorous mood–when I fall back on this ADV thread: “What is the strangest thing you hit/almost hit?” But I am, so I must be one of those three.

So here we go once again into the wacky world of the stuff you don’t want to encounter.

• Late one night I was heading north on the 405 in Lake Forest, riding in the car pool lane. I have no idea what happened on the south side, but a car wheel came bouncing over the freeway divider and bounced not more than 10 feet in front of me. I was probably about half a mile up the road before I was able to clearly comprehend what had happened.
• Ridin’ along with a group of friends and we are bored just covering miles. We started playing “Catch” with an imaginary ball. I “Toss” the Ball to my Bud Mario and he stands up on the Pegs and “Catches” it. We were going past a golf course and he had in Reality CAUGHT a Golf BALL!
• Big wet wad of chewing tobacco right on my left shoulder with spray over my jacket and helmet. I do not like following pickups to this day. That was 40 years ago. It may have been different if it was my brand.
• Kitchen Table, between Bismark and Fargo. Car in front of me swerved and there it was….
• Riding along under the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto a couple of decades back in December after a snow, and the snowplow on the elevated section above me pushed a real nice windrow of snow off the edge of the expressway onto my lane. Got stopped, but it took awhile and I was horizontal. No injury, minor scuffing.
• Hit in chest by an exploding boat trailer tire as it passed me going the opposite direction. Ouch!
• During a group ride in the Fingerlakes region of NY a friend on a VTR ran over a squirrel, it stuck to his tire and was flung up in the air over the guy behind him only to land flat and soggy in my lap.
• Of course the scariest was the time I was following a pickup with a shell camper on it – the shell flew off and I swear it went over my head. On the other hand I believe my helmet was buried in the gas tank as I tried to hide behind the bikini fairing on the GPz550 so I didn’t actually see it go over my head – wonder how much protection that would have been?
• Meeting a smallish farm tractor, noticed it wobble and the rear wheel came off and rolled across in front of me.
• I rode through Portland just to take a look around and find a place to update my website. I was downtown in traffic, going about 30 mph lost in a strange city when a gust of wind picked up a newspaper page from the curb and wrapped it around my helmet. My thought was “oh no deadly cartoon moment!”. Coming to a stop blind in moving traffic was interesting as was the looks on the faces of people on sidewalk.

Yow! I’ll be happy to get through life without those sorts of experiences. But here’s one I did experience.

This was back in about January and I was in my car, not on a bike, but I was getting ready to go south on I-25 off of 6th Avenue. In the lane to my left just ahead of me was a pick-up with a load of logs these guys had probably spent the day cutting and trimming the limbs off. Then the tailgate gave way and almost all the logs poured out on the highway, right to my left. The guy right behind these guys was in a high-clearance four-wheel-drive and he had no choice but to go right over several of them. He was lucky he was able to.

The guys pulled over and secured the few remaining logs and took off in a hurry. I’m sure they wanted to get gone quick in case someone got hurt and they were held responsible.

So yeah, we don’t really need reminders, but do be careful out there. You never know what kind of craziness is just around the corner.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
OFMC heads for the slopes

Biker Quote for Today

“Me and gravity, we are really, really good friends.” – Streetbike Tommy