A Gypsy Biker finds the Occassional Not-So-Good-Camp for a Road BIke ;)

I live on the road... whoever has read this blog or the site itself for any time pretty much knows that. Most of our camps have been pretty good compromises.

Far enough back for the solitude and privacy I admire... yet close enough to let the Raider roll with ease.

Parked up in Montana it was a short run from our boondock camp to the asphalt to make a few runs over Lost Trail pass...I rode the pass to go get a cup of coffee! ;)

In Utah we enjoyed Zion and were parked close to highway twelve up on the Escalante... and farther north I was close to the asphalt when we rode Arches National Park. Up in Wyoming we were parked smack in the middle of Yellowstone...

I rode Goin' to the Sun road when we stayed up in Glacier...

Perfect camps to day trip from

This summer has seen more times like now. Back in the early summer we found ourselves near ten miles of backroad from the nearest asphalt. The camp we found here near Steamboat is also nearly ten miles of rough road from the asphalt. I stick the truck in 4by just to handle the washboarded grades better, and it's still 2nd gear in a lot of places.

If I rode a dual sport it wouldn't be much of an issue. These guys rolling past below my camp this afternoon didn't appear to be having any issue with the dirt and the rocks. I suspect they came here Looking for bad roads to challenge their skills.

The Raider on the other hand is not a machine known for its abilities in the rough and rugged backwoods. :) Put her on a ribbon of asphalt and she gets with the program... out here... she's a mite out of her element... and I got a guy that wants me to ride with him clear to Prudhoe next summer.

Ah... I hate wussin' on a deal like that...but three hundred miles or so of rocky, tire slashin', butt thumpin' mud and potholes?... ooofffff... Not sure my Ol' butt has the ambition for that. The Yukon and Alaska again? You bet! but... fightin' mud on a ROAD burner? Even a rider with all the loose screws I enjoy is havin' some trouble seein' the fun in that! :)

*Watchin' the Dual Sports Roll by*

I don't mind the weather mind you... I actually smile when it's raining. On a road where I can figure on a bit of traction, I actually enjoy bad weather rides.

But... a road that throws up a challenge to even the dirt bikes with their skinny, knobby, rubber ( that would climb a tree if you twisted the throttle hard enough ) and has 'em wallowin' around in the gooey clay... is pure agony on the wide floatin' ski on the back of my Raider!

*Raider watchin' another storm rolling in*

I picked this camp 'cause I needed a good Free Boondock camp to setup for a while and work. To support my gypsy biker lifestyle I was needful of completing the work on my third western novel. That's done now; it's been published and In a few more days we'll pack up and be moving on.

I believe I'll see if I can't find something a mite closer to the pavement for my next camp so the Raider can show those Dual Sports what a road bike can do. ;)

Though this camp isn't the best for a Road Bike... it has been good for hiking and one unexpected thing...

I discovered something after this afternoons storm passed... it ain't gold at the end of a Rainbow...

*The Treasure at the end of the Rainbow ain't gold!*

It's a Yamaha Raider! :)

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Comfort and Motorcycles

Completed the refit of the Raider yesterday. The Tsukayu Hard Bags are on along with the Hard Chrome pipes.

*Yamaha Raider with the Hard Chrome pipes and Tsukayu Saddle Bags*

I also shaved the plastic sub fender under the tail light; relocating the license plate and shaving the turn signal lollipops since the new bags have built in turn signal lights.

In the process I've seen quite a few conversations on forums and had 'em in person where the subject of "comfort" always seems to enter the dialog.

I think ~ pure comfort ~ has somehow seized too big a place in peoples thinking. Especially when it comes to motorcycles.

The refit I did was not for comfort but for function and convenience. The Raider has always been sufficiently comfortable.

But... what is comfort? Do you climb a mountain to be comfortable? Is Riding a horse comfortable? Is golfing comfortable?

I mean... sure you don't want ill fitting shoes to go hikng in. You don't want jeans so tight they put your feet to sleep. You don't want to wear a heavy down coat when it's 95 degrees. But, it seems the FIRST thing that enters peoples mind when they start doing ANYTHING is Comfort!!!

Not the experience of LIVING... but... doing it without risking being ~ GASP! ~ the least bit un-comfortable.

I've heard people say; "That bike is too uncomfortable for me"; yet when asked, they've NEVER even ridden the bike they're criticising! ... Huh? ...

I've heard people say; "It was raining... it's too uncomfortable to ride in the rain... it's too hot... it's too cold... it's this or it's that"... and on and on and on...

The thing that has come home to me is that "society" has devolved to where anything that is a risk... any risk at all is WRONG... anything that is less comfortable than a flotation topped mattress... is WRONG. Anything that provides SENSATION of the world around you is WRONG.

Anything that provides a tactile sensation of actually being alive is "Un-Comfortable" ... Oh Boo Freakin' Hoo!

If COMFORT is your controlling motivation, which must be satisfied BEFORE all else... what the hell are you doing on a Motorcycle? Get yourself a chauffeur and one of those limousines with climate control and a hot tub... I'll bet you can even hire a waitress to serve you as you ride around... we don't want to see you get strained by having to pour your own seltezer water... and make sure you keep the windows rolled up... Don't suffer the discomfort of Wind in your face!!!

I guess a "Good" Motorcycle is supposed to roll you through the west with No wind, No rain, No heat, No cold, No traffic, No fuel stops, No dust, No skeeters... No No No No No No...

No Freakin' Sensation of Life!

Geeze... You might as well just lay in one of those sensory deprivation tanks and just look at post cards with a triple insulated flashlight... held by someone else of course... We don't want your hand to be subjected to the discomfort of having to hold up a heavy, lumpy flashlight.

Yeah... a postcard with a PICTURE of a Motorcycle being ridden in the wind and rain... and you can read the lil' blurb on the back that TELLS you what it feels like.

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Making Progress on My Tsukayu Saddlebag Install

The only real obstruction is we're parked in Fort Collins and the bike is in my kid's garage way down in Northglenn... about a 75 mile commute. ;)

A pretty efficient way to do a saddlebag installation! It adds juuuuust a mite to the cost of a custom saddlebag installation! :)

But I am making progress on it.

*New pipes and Old Saddlebags*

*New Tsukayu Saddle bags on and waiting for Paint*

*Old Bags and Plate Placement*

*New Bags and Plate Placement*

The bags have been mounted to test fit and placement. They'll come back off today to prep for painting... as soon as I work out the wiring placement and a few other lil' odds and ends.

I did a mediocre job of shaving that factory plastic bit that carries the plate and turn signals... That's what happens when you have a brain fart and you start cutting on the wrong side of your scribe line! :) It will go back on today. The saving grace is that the "rough" part of my mod will be tucked up under the fender... but... sheesh! what a squibb move.

With those bags set a couple inches lower and tighter to the fender... and all that junk NOT hanging off the fender... To MY eye it looks MUCH better! It's gonna perform far better for my Long Rides to boot!

* Easy access bags will be SWEET on the Road!*

I discovered a secondary function of the Tsukayu Designed Motorcycle Saddlebags... With the gas cylinder lid lift system they make pretty fair Air Brakes! :) Get too crazy on the throttle of that big 113 cid V-Twin and you'll need all the help you can pulling that big Yamaha back down below the sound barrier... :))

That original cast aluminum chromed back rest has been sold and will ship out in a couple of days. It's replacement is a steel  powder coated unit that is "lighter in appearance and is going to fit into the whole design scheme a lot better.

The bags are to be painted Tomorrow morning by my Son-in-law... They'll be a version of Yamaha metallic grey with a matte finish... the idea is to match the engine case/frame color...

Gotta head for Denver... again... and pick up some wiring bits along the way... so I'm in the wind again... though this time behind a dodge windshield.

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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I Don't have the Time... I Don't Have the Money... If I Can't Afford It... Why Am I Doing It?

Because I can not afford NOT to!

Everyone has Customizing they'd like to do to their Motorcycles. I don't know of a rider I've talked to that doesn't have "Plans" for Great Motorcycle Roads they want to ride... Some Day... only... It just never seems to happen, Right?

How many of you have said... Some Day?...  or Maybe Next Year... How many have you heard utter the words; When I have the time... When I have the MONEY?

Next Year never comes, there's NEVER enough time, and You'll NEVER have the money...

How many do you know... who DIED... with all those "Some Days" still waiting?

Two years ago... after saying next year for Too Many Next Years... I made my first ride to Alaska. Next summer :) I'm making my Second AlCan ride... this time with a friend. In the two years since I've split the wind over some fine roads from South Dakota to California. Arizona to Idaho. Colorado to Washington... I'm as broke as ever and living a joyous life I should have started 30 years ago!

Far too much time wasted with the words "Maybe Next Year" echoing in my ears.

A couple years back without the money to do it... (a little over three weeks of "subsistence" in the bank)... we packed up and left... We just hitched up and left! We put our rig and my Yamaha on the road and never looked back. I couldn't allow the lack of money to steal any more Precious TIME away from me. Since then, one day at a time, we've found the way.

But... it's a thing you have to watch close. It's easy to fall back into old habits; "I'll do it next year"... Never next week or NOW... That thought is toxic. "Next Year" is the biggest dream Killer I know.

Find those "Next Year" promises you keep making yourself. Throw a rope and drag them suckers up close. Do It Now... as in TODAY.

I was starting to let things slip that away, making all sorts of excuses. The only cure for such rationalizing procrastination is to Force the Issue. So Force it I have.

I started doing a couple of projects in the past few weeks. A fairly major customization of my Raider... Pipes and new Saddlebags (still waiting for them to arrive!) a few other odds and ends planned... and more recently (The past few days) cleaning up and starting a rework on my tired old Motorcycle Hauling and Fifth Wheel Trailer (My Home) toting Truck.

I can't afford to take away the time from the chores of making my living ~I have a book I sorely need to finish editing and get published ; as well as several other Bread Earning projects to complete...

But those aren't what I wanted to be doing just now... I couldn't afford what I've heard others call; "the Put Offs", any longer.

So... I Just DID those things I wanted to do for ME. The time wasn't there... the money wasn't there... but screw it... THAT is what I'm doing! If YOU don't set yourself in first place once in a while... ain't nobody else gonna.

Time is the most precious thing you've got. It's not a thing you can "Bank". You can stack up your dimes so that you can sit around in your old age (if you're fortunate to live long enough for old age) and count 'em in the nursing home. Time, is a completely different matter. It's here for a split second and when it's gone... it is GONE... never to be returned.. You use it when it's here... or you LOSE it.. You can always go produce a few more dollars...

This is something I think about a lot. I believe I fear letting the life I Have Today dry up unused ~ far more than losing some possible future life. I happened across this quote that says it in as shining a way as I've heard;

"I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time." ~ Jack London

You don't have time to waste. Grab something off your Some Day Bucket list... TODAY is SOME day.

Me? I'm working quietly (so that Murphy Bastard don't gum up my scheming) to make a nice, long, SWEET ride come August. Not NEXT YEAR!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Less is More...

 I frequently hold with that school of thought when it comes to "Aesthetic" design. Sometimes there's just too much "junk" in the way to see the real form...

There's a small little thing that a lot of Raider Riders do to shine up their ride... and I suppose it hurts the feeling of some designer sitting in an office somewhere that designed this lil' bit... but those Raider Riders shave off that lil' bit of plastic chrome flash on the tank...

*The Raider with the new pipes and still with the Tank Flash*

Since I'm working toward a more subdued appearance with this machine that tank flash had to go. I'd been thinking that for a long time... and to tell the truth I'd been hoping to even have the bike painted by now...

Something in the last week, not sure what, triggered me to start pulling the trigger on several of the "I'd kinda like to" jobs I've had floating around in my brain pan for a while. So yesterday afternoon I got out the credit card, some rags and 3M Adhesive remover and went to work.

I sat the bike in the sun for a bit to warm the tank up and then went to cutting the mounting tape under the Flash with an old, out of service credit card... which of course left a considerable amount of adhesive and foam residue on both sides of the fuel tank...

The next 45 minutes or an hour was spent soaking the crud with that 3M adhesive remover... squeegeeing the bulk off with the credit card and then scrubbing the remainder off with an old T-Shirt with liberal use of the adhesive remover.

The result is a clean tank!

*Raider with the Tank Flash Removed*

I'm liking the direction I'm going. Sometimes they put, IMHO, Too much "stuff" on a bike. Too much flash and Farkle. The chrome accents of the Heads and other bits and pieces work better I think against the matte black and red of the balance of the bike.

I want my new Tsukayu Saddle Bags NOW! :-/ My patience waiting for THAT order to come is not enduring well. :)

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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A Bucket List of Long Rides...

 Been working on a couple of projects while we've been landed in Colorado for the last few weeks. It goes slow though when you're workin' with a thin budget and waiting on parts to arrive from far across the Pacific...

It gets frustrating since...

... I've got two rides I'm trying to keep on the calendar for this summer... life and unexpected consequences keeps interfering with that schedule... but I'm stubborn so Something is likely to happen.

Next June I've got it penciled in the calendar to make a return ride to Alaska. I'm calling that Alaska II... This time I'd ride at least partially with another rider who is planning on riding the haul road clean to Prudhoe...

I'm not sure I've got the ambition to push a Raider that far on dirt and gravel with maybe 300 miles between fuel stations in a place or two... My Adventure level has degraded a bit with age to not wanting to wiggle and wrassle 900+ lbs of road bike, camp and biker cowboy too awful far from something that resembles asphalt :) but then... I've never been accused of exercising an excessively High IQ so... you never can tell. :)

The other guy is talking about taking the Ferry to Skagway to cut off some of the early miles and save some wear and tear for the haul road... I'm thinkin' I'd rather do the Ferry part on the comin' back leg... After my butt has started feelin' the miles... not before ;)

We'll see if I sell enough of my Western and Action Adventure Ebooks to finance another roll up to the Land of the Midnight Sun!

If course... I'm hopin' enough folks like 'em to help finance a few other rides...

One of the Bigger of several Long Rides I've got penciled out started out as what some call a Four Corners Ride, or a Border to Border or a Boundary Ride. I'd like to stretch it a touch with the Northern leg being on the North side of the Border... I think Canada will still let me in...

I'd like to start from where ever I happen to be at; Arizona or Colorado most likely... and ride out to some point along the perimeter of the ride.



Then just turn... uh... right or left, twist the throttle and roll!... Still have to decide which direction to run the ride ;) and then ride the 9500 miles give or take... probably add a few making a side ride or two along the way...

There's others... all sorts of "inspirations" for Long Rides... as if a rider needs a reason ;)

1. All the National Monuments west of the Mississippi
2. All the passes over 7,000 feet from the Continental Divide west (there aren't too many in Kansas!)
3. Every state of the "West"
4. All The National Parks of the West
5. Waterfalls
6 The ten Best Roads of the West
7. Route 66... the Whole Mother Road starting from Chicago and rolling west.
8. The Trans America Trail
9. Hwy 287 end to end
10. Hwy 89 end to end
11. The Continental Divide... zig zagging back and forth to see how close I can stay from Canada to Mexico

... and then there's always the Old reliable Inspiration; Walk out to the packed bike... Pick a Direction and just GO!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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