Saddlebags for My Raider Motorcycle and other Alaska Ride Preparations are Movin' Along...

The Osprey Ltd. Bags are here... and I think they'll work! Though I won't know for sure, for another few days... The Raider is down in Lakewood getting its' Bitchn Stitchn Custom Seat done... to match the passenger seat I had done a while back... and ready it for the comin' 9000 mile journey!

I wanted a fairly plain Motorcycle Saddlebag... and I wanted Leather, genuine, full grain... REAL, leather... when I went looking for Saddlebags for my Raider...

I also needed 'em to be a bit smaller. Like I said... I'm one of maybe three riders in the world, who actually like the factory pipes on a Raider! :o) ... but, 'cause they run so high... they do take up some space... these bags are just a touch over 12" tall.

I'll have to set 'em a touch higher than usual, to clear the pipes sufficient... but if my calculatin' is right... they'll fit... and if' my visualizin' is workin' too... the lines of the bags will fit... I'm hopeful... 'cause it's gettin' late!

The maker at Osprey Ltd. sent me along some loose conchos to mount... 'cause I wasn't tee total sure where I wanted to put 'em... I really like these conchos.

But... with the bags settin' here... I think I've got that figured out already... I just have to punch the strap mounts on the lids... which makes for good "balance"... and they'll cover over the strap rivets at the same time.

Though the Saddlebags are pretty plain, and clean... they are dressed up a touch with a braided binding on all the seams...

The sacrifices with Leather bags are that the seams are NOT waterproof... and you can't lock the bags... but then... I pack my gear in waterproof stuff sacks... and if you think your gear is safe... locked in an ABS plastic box... with most having lids which can be bent up by a palsied four year old...

 ... then your perception of the world I live in... is juuuuust a mite different than mine! :o)

So... at this point I'm pretty happy with 'em... but let's give it 10,000 miles or so... and see if I'm still grinning!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Couple of Days Closer... And I Pulled the Trigger...

Gave my Notice at the Day Job Wednesday afternoon. Wasn't really any option. Heidi and I are leaving the 8th for about a two week circle with the rig... to places west and Ouray... That's followed by a month... at least... making my long awaited Alaskan Ride...

The plan, following all that is a lil' foggy... but the thing is... we're leaving. We're heading out, chasing what we started out to do, three years ago... and have been blocked at every turn...

So... I'm sayin' ... To hell with it... we're gone! :o) One way or t'other... we'll find a way to keep gas in the tank and beans on the table... but First... I'm gonna Ride a Raider Motorcycle to Alaska!

The gear ain't ready... the Bike ain't ready... and times a flyin'... but I'm pretty much committed!

Took the bike back to Bitchn Stitchn for its' appointment to have the drivers seat reworked with the custom cover, gel pad... a lil' custom shaping, etc. Want it ready for the coming ALCAN ride.

My saddlebags from Osprey arrived yesterday... While I was riding down to Lakewood. I'll put 'em on next week when I get the bike back.

Then it's tinker with gear and work out how it'll all pack for the ride.

It'll  likely be a similar arrangement to what I used on the V Star. Hell, I may even use the same bags, though I'm still snoopin' around for a tail bag that would work well...

All I know is... the road is callin'... and my gypsy nature is ready to roll... only thing holdin' me from leavin' today... is circumstance.

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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New Motorcycle Boots for the ALCAN Ride

Bought some new boots... and of course... went to my Favorite place for Outside kind of gear... Bass Pro.

Been looking for some sort of a compromise boot. Something that would work well for riding... and still do a good job, for when I pull in somewhere and want to take a hike up the mountain.

Well... they sell a boot called the Iron Horse... sounds a bit right for a biker don't it? :o) ... they're built with one of the waterproof membranes, are lace up... and have the side zipper... one of the varieties of what some folks call "Duty Boots"...

These look a lot like those from Bates, and Danner... and other Brands well known for making the Duty Boot style... But... they're the Redhead Brand from Bass Pro... so they leave a lil' more in your pocket...

Been wearin' 'em now for about a week... and so far... They're doin' the job... haven't got the boots real wet yet... but I expect they'll keep me dry, as they were built to do... and they're un-insulated... so summertime wear shouldn't be an issue.

The only thing I can say... having never worn a side zipper boot before... It sounds good... but I don't think the reality measures up to the expectation. I was thinkin' that I'd be able to leave the boot laced up... and simply take 'em on and off, using the zipper...

Well... ain't gonna happen... I end up using both... which is ok... and still a lil' quicker, as I don't have to loosen the lacing near as much... otherwise, what with the good price... I'm happy with 'em... and actually, I'm thinkin' of buying a second pair... so I can alternate wearing them, letting the other pair "Dry Out"... significantly extending their life span...

So... Zip up your Biker Boots...

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Frogg Toggs Rain Wear Should be Just Right For A Raider Rider Heading for Alaska!

Shouldn't it?

 I mean... Froggs oughta know 'bout gettin' wet... Don't ya think? :o)

... and I wonder... how many other Star Raiders... have made the ALCAN journey? Doubt it's so... but it would be cool... to be the first to put my knees in the breeze on the ALCAN... on a Star Raider!

anyhoo... I've been using my old hiking/packing rain gear... 'cause it's lite and will pack down pretty tight... but it does have some failings...

The pants keep me dry... but are split full length on the outside of each leg with zippers...

Considering that I usually wait 'till it's already raining hard, and I'm already soaked 'fore I stop to suit up (hoping it will be 'just a short lil' shower)... and I find myself tryin' to climb into those light pants... as they're flappin' six different directions in the wind...

...I often look like an old lady who's had the elastic in her drawers fail... walkin' down the aisle in church...

... and finds herself trippin' an' dancin'... tryin' to get 'em pulled back up 'fore ever'body gets a look at her 'treasures'!

Add in that they're just a lil too snug to fit decently over my chaps... plus the jacket has a hood too heavy to slide under my helmet... and you'd agree... I needed new Motorcycle Rainwear...

Before... I pull out headed for the Great, Wet, North!

OK... yeah... I Do... I ride -GASP!- A Jap Bike... and Wear a - OH LORDY, The boy's A Girly Man Too!! - HELMET!

But that Raider hauls my lil' D.A.V. Butt down the road a whole lot faster than that Highway patrolman told me is legal... gets better'n 45 mpg most of the time... with reliability... few other builders can boast of...

and I look good doin' it... at something like 30% less Dinero... than its' only real competition...

So... ya'll ride what ya'll like... an'... I'll ride what puts a bug catchin' grin on my face. (if I didn't wear that helmet!) ... and I promise... I'll wait up for ya! :o)

... and as for the Helmet? ... makes me a girly man? ... well... I don't do the stuff that got me to bein' a Disabled Vet... any more... much...

and though I have been accused of bein' a lot of things (they just couldn't prove it!)...  bein' a wuss... ain't one of 'em...

Got the broke bones, scars and dislocated spine to prove it! :o)

The thing is... there's so many of you ugly muggs ridin' around gettin' the front end of your heads all chewed up on bugs an' asphalt... that I just felt it my American Duty... to keep my Bee-U-tiful self... as pretty as I could... for all the Gals ya'll been scarin'!

So... back to that Motorcycle Rain Gear...

I found a set of Motorcycle Rain Gear, built by Frogg Toggs... Named the "Road Toad Action Rain Suit" ... in the Classy Color of ... BLACK! at Bass Pro, down in Denver.. for the princely sum of $65. Don't know that, that is a really good price... but I went in expecting to have to pay something like twenty bucks more... so I won't complain... and Frogg Toggs has a pretty good reputation...

Now... unlike some folks that are into colors, that blind low flyin' pilots... I like, Outside of the paint on a Motorcycle... more subdued colors...

...Like the Black of this two piece Motorcycle rain wear outfit I bought today.

Some think those fluorescent, eye burning, colors make you safer... I hold with the idea that; if the cagers can't see the 80,000 pound semi... they T-Boned... They wouldn't see me if I had a million candle power, flashing red light... sticking out of my butt!

So... I ride like I'm invisible... I... depend on... ME... to keep me safe.

This set of rain gear was built by Frogg Toggs specifically for Motorcycle Riders on the Open Road. It's got the same reflective piping that my leather does (my mind ain't totally closed!)... has the zippers where you need 'em, to pull the gear on over boots and such... and is still light enough to pack down snug into the supplied stuff sack, making it an easy thing to tuck it into the top of a saddlebag or such, available for quick access...

... if the bug catcher behind the bars... gains enough sense to stop and gear up... before... he's wet!

But... the key question remains the same as in that old movie; "Who'll stop the rain?" :o) and will these Frogg Toggs stop it?... I'm confident... but won't know... till it's raining... and I've got my Frog Skin on...

I'll let you know how that turns out! With a road test... as my Raider runs the ALCAN!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Everybody Else's Motorcycles Seem to be Leaving For Alaska...

While I'm still stuck here gettin' ready! ... and seeming to be doing that, three steps forward... two steps back...

First... a word of warning to anybody that's got, or is looking at getting, the Factory Backrest for a Yamaha Raider...

It's a good piece of equipment... if pricey... but there is One Thing to pay close attention to... Locking that Sucker!

Last week, I took the Backrest off for a short... while I bolted on the Saddlebag mounts we fabricated... When I reinstalled it... I ... apparently failed, when I snapped it into position, to insure that the locking mechanism was fully and completely engaged...

Damn! It took three days to vibrate/bounce off... but managed to do it without me noticing... and then took an hour and a half of driving back down the road, in the dark, to find it... once I realized that high dollar piece of Motorcycle Jewelry was gone!

How I didn't notice it leaving is a mystery to me... the thing took a nasty chunk out of the paint on the rear fender as it was leaving! ... I've not got one idea what the hell I was doin'... to not notice! geeze... I wonder if this is one of the early stages of "Old Timers Syndrome"... You don't notice big parts fallin' off the vehicle you're ridin' on!

The Back Rest is pretty road rashed and will require some dinero to get Re chromed... and the back pad on it that I'd already had custom covered is ate up... but at least I didn't totally lose it!... So... make sure, when you install the Yamaha Raider Backrest... that you double check the lock... to see that it is fully engaged!

Rolling on to more cheerful news... I got my saddlebags ordered from Osprey Limited yesterday afternoon. They were recommended to me by Kerry, up in British Columbia... who has a set of their bags and told me the quality is there... and considering the price ... $400+- for a pair of full grain leather, ABS reinforced bags... I'm looking forward to getting them on... Next Week!

Yup... Next Week!... I managed to time my order just when he was starting a couple sets of the style I'm getting... so he just added a third to the run... and will ship in a couple of days!

So... passport is on the way, saddlebags are on the way... drivers seat gets customized for 'Long Riding' next week at Bitchn Stitchn, and... picked up some new "Iron Horse Duty Boots" at Bass Pro too! ... waterproof... side zippered... comfortable... and Bass Pro's label... so a good price as well...

Progress is bein' made... though the hole in my wallet can't get much deeper... before it hits bottom!

So... I better get goin' and start fillin' it back up! :o)

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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How Can You Ride Two Motorcycles?

I am sometimes jealous of the guys who ride two or three Motorcycles... I see so many sweet machines, and think I'd like to have a couple or three... but I hit a wall... because of a personality trait of mine...

The guy writing this, is a biker who willfully, deliberately and eagerly engages in Anthropomorphism. :o) Pretty much every truck or bike I've ever owned... had a name... It wasn't just "The Dodge"... or the "V Star"... it's "Big Red" and "Slick"... they all have names...

The Raider I'm riding now... is resisting being named so she is, so far, just referred to as the "Red Head" :o)... but she is still referred to as... SHE!

... So... climbing off one bike... to Ride another... is too strangely like cheating to me... makes me feel... Off.

Some might think such an emotional attachment to a machine is just a lil' wierd... but then... yeah... I'm a lil' wierd! :o)

But... when something, anything, blesses a man with the emotional impact that a Motorcycle does, for So Many Riders... how can you say it's Just a Machine? When a machine possesses an almost mystical power, to push away all the miserable entanglements of life... for even a little while; replacing them with feelings of serenity and All is Right In My World.. for at least those few miles she carries me, Knees in the Wind...

... How could I NOT accept and believe in the Mythical, Healing Power of a Motorcycle on the Open Road?

I now own two bikes... My old V Star and My New Raider... I ride one, the Raider... My wife, is now partnered up with Slick, the V Star.

After all the miles that Star Motorcycle has carried me... through the mud and the snow... and the times she kept me out of trouble... when physics said she should have low sided... or high sided me when I snapped her out of a near low side...

...I just have difficulty not thinking that somewhere, hidden inside those castings and bolts, crankshafts and valves...

...there is something living. :o) Something that I'm in Love with...

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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The Colorado Canyons... I like to Ride...

The fella who made this video... likes a lot of the same roads I do...

Rist Canyon, Big Thompson Canyon... and I'm bettin'... the Poudre Canyon too! Though... his sport bike pulls 'em a lil' bit straighter than my Raider Cruiser...

I need to get the equipment and start building my own videos!



But... until I do that... these are some of the Canyons I'm riding... when I'm talkin' 'bout Poudre Canyon... and the Big Thompson...

... and all the other Canyons leading up into the Front Range of Colorado... Sweet Rides!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Communicating on an Alaskan Highway Motorcycle Tour

Now... there's plenty of folks that will tell you; "Turn the damn phone off... and RIDE!"... and I'd have to agree with 'em... for most people...

Me... I have another lil' issue that makes keeping my commo lines open kind of important... Me bein' a big shot blogger and website writer ... Uh... a goodly part of my income has started coming from my sites/blogs... so... I need to keep my laptop... hooked up!

I use Verizon... for both my phone and my air card... and there lies the problem... for the most part, Verizon... ain't in Canada. They've got some "roaming agreements" with some companies up there I guess... but the only thing I can find is .49 cents a minute... or a doubling of the price of the 'plan'... for crossing an imaginary line on a map... hmmm...

I'm too cheap to pay it!

But... I figure there is an answer... It won't be as convenient... but, with just a lil' bit of surrendering to planning, I should be able to deal with it... and that answer is WiFi...

From ever'thing I can find, there are is a good and growing number of campgrounds and other establishments in the far north that are setting up WiFi hotspots...

I've found a couple of lists of WiFi locations... and expect to find more... this list seems to be about the most complete so far... but I'll keep looking...

So... my plan is to try and use WiFi enabled campgrounds... or cafes along the way as I cross Canada... to upload the posts of my Alaskan Highway Travels...

Once I cross the border into Alaska... I should be able to turn the phone and air card back on... without going broke! :o) Verizon claims to have regular service up there... just not in Canada.

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Rollin' Along on the Alaskan Ride Preps...

The replacement for my missing birth certificate came Friday... so... early this week, the passport paperwork will get filed... takes about 4 weeks... I've got six... maybe almost 8, so I should be good...

Got the Saddlebag Mounts fabricated yesterday...

When I bought the bike, the guy who'd had it before me, had put on some Nasty, throw over bags... and these support bars were bolted in place. I would only take the Raider... if those gawd awful bags got taken off! :o) ... but I still had the saddlebag support bars.

A friend, who is a pro welder... unlike my... looks-like-peanut-butter-but-it-sticks-in-place, metal burning; set four 3/8 nuts in place, on each bar, to serve as mounting bolt points.

Just had time yesterday to hold 'em in place... and they look like they'll fit... find out in a lil' while... when I try to bolt 'em in place...

... 'cause I need 'em to be ready... Looks like I'll be test fitting my Motorcycle Saddlebags sometime on Thursday... :o)

With all that in place it'll be in good shape for the seat rebuild at the end of the month... Yes sir! Things are cookin' 'round here... 

Brought all my camp gear back from the storage shed yesterday... gotta go through it all... make sure ever'thing is squared away and ready for rolling up the ALCAN!... used to call it "Ruck Time" in the army... and often the 7 P's...

P-roper P-rior P-reparation P-revents P-iss P-oor P-erformance! :o)

As soon as I'm done conjuring up my Hard Saddlebag setup I can sort out the top pack arrangement... and then... spend some time, goin' through my gear, to see where it's gonna fit best, scattered through those bags... on a 9000+- mile Alaskan ride!

... and though 'some folks' have tried to tell me "You picked the wrong bike"... and don't seem to be able to accept my reply; "Put a Cork In It Sparky!" That big Red Scooter is gonna make a Sweet Ride, rollin' through Canada! Hoo! Ya!

I've got something over 3000 miles on it now... and am glad I waited on the handle bars... They actually seem to be fitting me pretty well, on long rides... with the coming seat mods... it'll likely get fine tuned to perfection... for me! and though Yamaha only claims 42 mpg... I've been getting upwards of 50 the past couple of weeks... that won't hurt either... though, loaded up with all my gear I expect that to drop a mite.

Better grab my tools and put those mounts on!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Now... THIS... is a Custom Motorcycle Seat!

A reader of the blog sent me this picture... Not sure if Robert took the pic or he just found it... but that don't change the fact that... This is a pretty awesome seat! :o)... and... uh... just a mite unique! Suh-Wheet!

Yes sir! Hmmm... would appear to be the perfect Custom Motorcycle Seat for an Old Cowboy Biker wouldn't it? :o)

... and to answer his question... Yes... I do believe that Bitchn Stitchn could build a seat every bit the equal of this one! :o)

Wonder how far you could ride... before one of those fellas... ridin' 'round in that sheriffs' cruiser, sittin' in the background... wanna have a "discussion" with you?

Kinda lets a rider know that a lil' inspiration can go a long damn way... don't it? :o)

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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A lot to do... and only a Month to Get It Done... to Have the Alaskan Raider Ready!

Whoooeee! I may have stuck my foot in it this time! I've went and pulled the trigger on a few things... and now I've gotta get all the Prep done or there'll be hell to pay! :o)

I've got a month to have the bike ready, and not much more. We're leaving on an RV Circle in early July... so there won't be much time there to do any prepping of things that still need doin'... so I have June to get my keister ready for the Great Alaskan Raider to hit the Open Road, burnin' up the ALCAN Highway at the end of July! Hoo! Ya!

Not really a whole lot to do, directly, on the bike... get the saddle bag mounts fabricated, final choice of bags, and bolt 'em on... I need to track down the dry bag I'm going to add to my outfit... Looking hard at an Ortleib option...

... still waiting on getting a "paperwork" SNAFU sorted out... and hoping Passport issues don't derail the whole damn thing... aaaarrrrrgggghhh!

I'm kinda figurin' I should try to pre-arrange a tire or two, or at least make sure they're available. That 210 on the back end might not be real common up there in the North Country, Northern British Columbia... or the Yukon!... and maybe even the 21" on the front! :o) ... kinda hard to travel very fast on the rims!

...the 24th of June, Dan Ballard, at Bitchn Stitchn is gonna get to finishing up my seat rebuild/recover...

My camp outfit has been pretty much complete for a goodly while... I'll spend a day or so sortin' out how and where things will pack onto the bike, once the bags are in place...

A few things to deal with on the rig... for my absence... and I expect a thing or two will pop up over the next few weeks...

... but... you know what? There's two choices to be made... Do it! ... or NOT!... and I've let NOT! be the choice too damn many times...

This year...my Mantra is... "Screw it - Let's Ride!" :o)

So...

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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