A Motorcycle... uh... Roof... Sort of... Kinda... well... NOT!

 Seriously... a... motorcycle top... er roof... sorta kinda...

Let me explain...

Ok... I'm gonna step on a few toes and be politically incorrect here... but I can't help it...

We were in Quarzsite town this afternoon to get water for the rig. I'd filled my jugs and had pulled up into the driveway to turn back onto the highway...

... and I had to wait...

Wait... for the dumbest thing I think I've seen in... as long as I can remember.

I've seen some ugly rigs here this winter. I've seen some weird combinations of bits and parts assembled to be some sort of an RV...

I've seen Million Dollar Plus Rolling Mansion Buses... I've seen all sorts and types of rigs, and buggys and bikes...

And now today... I've seen a Gold Wing...

This Gold Wing had been modified... into a Trike... So... That's OK... right? I mean... I'm not a fan of trikes... they just don't suit me... just like sport bikes... and red leather don't. Those are all fine, just not my choice or style.

And tolerance of other sorts of bikes and styles is all proper and good... the way it should be... right?

But... isn't there a line... where, you can say... THAT... machine is at the top of the leader-board in the competition for the dumbest things ever done to a fine motorcycle?

...and wouldn't,  A Trike, a Gold Wing... that had been adorned... with Sort of a Rag Top? ... Qualify?

Sort of?

I Vow! This thing came rollin' by... There was some sort of a tube frame sticking up behind the "driver". Like, two "Hoops"... one right behind the driver... another right behind where the passenger seat is...

They stuck up maybe a foot over the "Drivers" head... a little higher in the passenger position... and then...

... and THEN ... and THEN! a piece of plastic sheeting!!!! maybe 18" wide... was strung from the top of the windshield up over those "Hoops" and attached to the back, behind the passenger position...

WHAT in THE hell was THAT? !!!!!

If you wanted a roof... and more wheels... you might as well add doors and call it a Freakin' Cage! :)

I sat there with my mouth workin' like a guppy havin' a heart attack... tryin' to say something... and all I could do was shake my head and choke! :) wish I'd had the presence of mind to catch a picture of the thing...

Yeah... I know... Bad Cowboy! But what can I say? I ain't bein' intolerant. I ain't! Fella can run down the road lookin' dumb all he wants... I won't ever tell him he can't... but... if you are gonna go runnin' around making an extra special effort to look like some sort of... Oh never mind... Just don't expect me to not laugh about it!!!

... and when I do something dumb... You have my permission to feel free to laugh... at ME!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Bad Cowboy! Do Your Own Maintenance!

The way I ride my Raider, I'm always in places where even if there is a Yamaha Dealer Of Sorts... When I ride up they want to know Who Makes It? !!! uhhhh.... You do?  ;)

... and finding 210 or 240 tires in the Yukon... or even, western Arizona has been something of a treasure hunt.

And of course, when you DO find a tire and a shop, they get full boat for the tires and then maybe another $80 bucks to work on that back wheel alone.

A couple guys kinda Poked me a lil' bit. Paul, The Wanderer, and Ara...

Now, don't get me wrong here, they were Polite 'bout it :) But they were still basically prodding me a bit... why wasn't I doin' my own work? My only response... if I'm Honest 'bout it... can be ... LAZY! ;) ah... poor excuse right?

And look... I already went back to changing my oil and filter... it just takes old pussguts a bit of time to be willing to admit they've been doing things a lil' bit wrong!

I mean... I get that if you're gonna be in love with a machine... and expect it to carry you for thousands of miles through all sorts of weather and difficulty... the least you can do is take care of her... Yourself!... Right? ;)

So... I got to looking around a bit and when this guy reminded me how easy it is to do your own motorcycle maintenance... if you have a few of the proper tools... which for the load we'd put on 'em with one guy working on his own motorcycle, the tools available at Harbor Freight will do the job and just aren't that expensive...



Fact is... A motorcycle lift/jack so I can get the wheels off for little hassle... costs less than the labor charge for changing out a single set of tires! The next set would pay for the tire changer at Harbor Freight! and that doesn't even count in the fact that Ara also sent me a link to a place where an Avon tire of the size in Question is $215 bucks... while the same tire at a shop is $260 or so... and MSRP a lot higher than that...

So... if dollars is an issue... and how many bikers is it not?... Doing your own maintenance is gonna keep more dinero in your pocket for gas and beer! :)

When I commented to Ara that I would change my own tires... except I'd still need to haul it in to town to get balanced (more excuses!) he came back with; "There is a solution to every problem... You!" :) ...  The guy has a way of tipping over that tall stack of carefully piled BS. ;)

Then he told me he had an easy method for balancing tires that he uses  all the time...

Well... I got a lil' more curious and did a quick search. I found another option that I believe I'm going to try... Dyna Beads. Little ceramic beads that "Float" in the tire and balance it Dynamically for the life of the tire? Seems too easy to be true... Almost seems like Magic...

but... what the hell... I'm game right now for a lil' experimentation... So...

My next set of Motorcycle tires is going to be Mail ordered, Mounted and Balanced by me... and I can go down the road with the sure and certain knowledge that if my Scooter is screwed up... I know JUST where to find the Bozo that done the deed! :)

As well as... the sure and certain knowledge... that if I break down, anywhere on the road... no matter the conditions... if I've got a screw driver, some duct tape, a pliers and some windex... I will have the ability to discover that I'm in WAY over my head! :)

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Putting a Great Motorcycle in the Wind on Bad Tires

There's only one thing that displeases me 'bout my Raider... and actually, it ain't the bike... It's the tires.

Well, not tires really... just one... the 210 on the back end. At roughly $350 bucks for the damn things... They really don't perform very well...

My Old V-Star got maybe 14,000 miles on the tire on that end of the bike. Sometimes more if I was a good boy. But this Raider, I have to work hard to squeeze 9 or 10 thousand miles out of it... I read where a whole lot of riders only get three or four thousand...

You know... I pay about $175 for the tires on my truck and those suckers roll for 50,000 miles... I have just a lil' bit of difficulty believing that there's such a difference in cost to build the damn things... I mean let's face it, there's what, Four times as much material in the truck tire? Come on... something stinks in this deal...

Sometimes when I'm gettin' a Motorcycle tire put on... I start worryin' 'bout STD's and feel like I oughta walk out of the shop... PREGNANT!

So... Yesterday we took a ride, two up 'bout 165 miles or so. Rode from Bouse on up to Wickenburg for a late lunch, a lil' walkin' 'round and then the roll "home".

When we got home we were treated to a nice sunset...

*Arizona Sunset in our Boondock camp... after a day on the Raider*

While we were enjoying the sunset... I happened to spot this lil' bit of joy...

Now... you can see there's a hell of a lot of tread left on that tire. That tire actually only has something just under 4,000 miles on it. I've never locked it up. No burnouts... no real hot doggin'... just Cruising...

For $350 bucks? are you kidding me? WTF Metzler?!!!!!

... and with all that tread left.. there SHOULDN'T be a hole like that through to the steel belt!!!

Now... I know some folks don't like Metzlers. Till now, they've always done me well... but this... arrrrrrggggggghhhhh!

My problem is I've read that Avons, and Dunlops and some of the others are stickier. That generally means softer rubber and even poorer mileage...

 Considering the condition of my piggy bank... this didn't come at a real shiny time.

So... grrrrrrrr..... Today I'm NOT a happy biker.

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Living to Ride in the Desert...

... for the winter anyhoo... and the views from my front yard aren't too bad. I think I can handle it... I just need to be a lil' quicker 'bout gettin' the scooter unloaded when we pull in.

*Not a bad view from our "yard"*

The nice thing about this place, that beats riding back in Colorado in January... is... You don't see no snow do you? ;) ... yeah, I don't mind, not even a lil' bit NOT riding at 11 degrees! I can do it. I did it all winter for a few years... but... that still don't make it any fun!

Though I gotta admit it... made me giggle when I'd see the looks on peoples faces through their windshields... when a bike passed 'em with the thermometers in their cars claiming 10!!! :)

I rolled the Raider off the truck yesterday and ran into Q for fuel. That's what folks call Quartizsite, for the un-initiated refugees from the frozen North. After a year and a half of loading and unloading the bike on that Black Widow, 12' ramp, it's still doin' the job in fine form...

*12' Black Widow Ramp in the Arizona Desert*

... that time in Escalante when I almost rode it off the other side loading... don't really count! ;) at least it wasn't the ramps fault... it got me on top of the truck! :)

Twas a nice ride into Q across the desert in the sun and WARM of a Desert January.

Sorry all you northern boys. I escaped that chilly stuff and don't mind gloating! ;)

So... today we rolled back in two up to do some prospecting of future rigs.

The old fiver we're draggin' and that Ol' Dodge doin' the draggin' are NOT in their prime, so we're collecting intel to figure out what sort of a rig we want to house us for the Next ten years or so.

I expect, 'bout the time I'm bangin' on 70 years, they'll be tryin' to get me to QUIT runnin' that Yamaha Raider down Plomosa Road to Bouse at, Oh... the needle said it could see 130 gettin' close! ;)

Yeah, I know... Bad Cowboy Biker! No Beer! But, hey... when you can see for a mile or three 'cross the desert... and all that's on the road is me, my Raider... and the paint stripes... the only thing I threaten is me and maybe some bugs... so... shame on me! :)

Did find some real interesting rigs to cogitate on... as well as some good Blue Moon Brew and some fine Scallops of some sort at the Grubstake Saloon in Quartzsite. Then it was split the windy afternoon and bring us on home...

*Our home might not amount to much... but with that Bike, I'll Keep it!*

Planning on making a ride up to Wickenburg and then another over to the river at Havasu. It's a good life. Just write and ride and soak in the sun... Shining Times!

I should have learned to "write" a lot sooner so I could be where I am now... just a Biker... Free on the Earth! HooYa!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking

Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share...  Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your...  Great Motorcycle Roads