Passes & Canyons Blog

Just roll it on in here and plug it in, they told me, so I did.

The weather was nice a few days ago, with a forecast for a lot worse, so I planned to take the Concours for a ride. I geared up, rolled it out, climbed on and pushed the starter. Grunt, grunt, sigh. That motor is not going to start like that. So I hooked it up to my trickle charger and left it for a few hours.

Second try, grunt, nothing. Uh oh, I think I’m going to need a new battery.

I pulled the seat off and removed everything else you have to move to get to the battery and oh man, were those terminals corroded. I couldn’t remember when I put this battery in but clearly it was not any time recently.

First I had to struggle to disconnect the terminals. A screwdriver was not going to do it, and after dissolving away the corrosion they still would not budge. A screw bit in an adapter on a ratchet wrench–lots of leverage–did the job. OK, now I can go get a new one.

But as I set it on the workbench I saw a plastic holder with paperwork stuck on the side and when I looked at the papers I was stunned. I bought this battery in 2010. Thirteen years ago!

I remembered it then. I was writing for Examiner.com at the time and I rode out to Laughlin, Nevada, for the Laughlin River Run. When I was ready to leave home I had to charge the battery a bit to get it to start but didn’t think much about it.

Somehow I made it to Laughlin but once I got there the battery was giving me problems again. I was staying at a private campground and the only place to plug it in was in the club house. The guys who lived there told me to go ahead and just roll the bike into the club house and plug it in. So I did. That’s that photo above.

That really didn’t solve things so I bit the bullet and went to get a new battery. I paid what I recall being an exorbitant price for a new battery, but the guy told me it was a 10-year battery. I wasn’t sure I believed that but I was pretty much over a barrel. And then I pretty much forgot about it, apparently for a very long time.

When the bike was new it always fired up instantly as soon as I pushed the starter button and it has not done that in a long time. Now I see that what was probably going on was the battery was dying a slow, extended death. I put in the new one as soon as I got home with it, hit the starter, and it fired up instantly. How nice.

So now I have a new battery. I’m sure I paid a lot more for this new one, with a three-year warranty, than I did for the old 10-year battery way back then. Inflation. But now I’m going to mark it on my calendar and in three years or so I’m going to start looking around in advance to see where I can find another 10-year battery. Those things are worth it.

Biker Quote for Today

The only part you really need will also be the only part on permanent backorder.

I’ve been to the Sturgis rally for a few days but the Laughlin River Run is the first big motorcycle rally that I’ve gone to for the entire rally. Here are a couple thoughts on the event, as well as a vignette.

Money and Friends

If you really want to have a good time at a rally you had better bring a ton of money and come with your buddies. I stayed one night, at the beginning of the rally, at a hotel on the strip and it was cheap. The next night I needed to find other quarters because the $30 rate I paid went up to $160. That was why I brought my tent and sleeping bag.

Of course most people come with friends, so they can split that $160 per night five, six, seven, maybe eight ways. That’s a crowd in a room but people do it. And then you have buddies to cruise around with. Being by myself, I met some people and talked with some, but much of the time it was a matter of figuring out what to do with myself. It helped each day to have some objective. One day it was getting a new battery in my bike. Another it was finding a new place to stay. On still another it was doing my laundry. That’s right. When it comes to motorcycle rallies, I’m one wild, partying animal.

Laughlin in April

When we’ve been in Laughlin previously it was summer and at that point heat was spelled L-A-U-G-H-L-I-N. Why would anyone come to Laughlin in July when you can come in April and actually enjoy the weather? Unlike other times, I could walk around for hours and be perfectly comfortable.

More than that, April seems like a really good time to travel in the Southwest altogether. Far away from the rally on my way home I’ve been surprised with the number of motorcyclists traveling in groups who are obviously out on a trip, and not to Laughlin. What a great time to do it! You miss the peak of the tourist season and you don’t roast. The OFMC considered going to Texas last summer, but I raised the issue of heat in Texas in July. This is the time to do those trips.

Money for Nothing

Of course there were vendors all over Laughlin, Bullhead City, and even along the roads in the area set up to sell bikers anything under the sun. Late in the day Saturday I ran across a group of young entrepreneurs who I believe were making a killing.

These young guys, probably in their late teens, were at this point giving away bottled water. Free. Great, I took a bottle. You need to drink water when you’re in Laughlin, even in April. So I walked on and twisted the cap off and it just came right off. No ripping sound as the seal was broken. And I got to thinking.

You don’t suppose those kids collected a whole bunch of empty water bottles, rinsed them out, and refilled them to sell at the rally do you? Well, why the heck not? The product is free to you, there’s a huge market, and in a few hours you’ve made some real cash. I figure they had sold out most of what they had, they were feeling flush, and they figured there was no point in hanging around to sell the last few bottles. Give them away and let’s split.

By the way, I’m not squeamish so I went ahead and drank the water and I’m still alive and healthy.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Crime report: Biker revs motorcycle engine, makes noise at Laughlin River Run

Biker Quote for Today

Keep thy eye on the tach and thine ears on the engine lest thy whirlybits seek communion with the sun.

Biker Quote for Today

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a flat tire and dead battery.

So I put this quote at the beginning of this post, rather than at the end where it would normally go. Logic probably tells you there’s a reason for that, and it’s not too hard a guess.

There I was yesterday, ready to ride off to the Laughlin River Run, all geared up, and I pushed the starter button and the bike wouldn’t start. What’s with this timing?

Clearly the battery was dead, so I needed to charge. I recently bought a connector so I can hook my batter up to the charger without having to dig to the battery, so this seemed like the perfect time to set it up. Disconnecting the cables I found significant corrosion on the negative post and I’m sure that was my problem. So I charged for an hour and took off, bringing the charger with me just in case.

My only possible concern crossing western Colorado on I-70 was the two passes I needed to cross and sure enough, on Vail Pass the road was wet but not icy. Earlier or later in the day and it could have been ice, and that would have been treacherous. As it was, I made good time and arrived in Grand Junction around 6:30.

This photo, by the way, is of a road in the area where I’m headed now. Today I ride to the end of I-70 and turn south on I-15 to Cedar City, where I have arranged accommodations with a member of the Motorcycle Travel Network. This will be my first experience with this situation. I had also hoped to stay in Kanab, UT, on my way home with an MTN member but they are going to be gone, to a BMW rally in Moab.

So it’s on to Laughlin.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Laughlin River Run welcomes spring in the West