Merry Christmas

Gear

Good gear...

My FirstGear Kilimanjaro jacket is probably 13 years old. Aerostich Darien pants about 11 years old. Alpinestars Web GoreTex boots at least 10 years.

Helmets and gloves get used up faster.

Just packing up for a little trip and thought that was interesting enough to post.

A Thankless Job

It is good to remember the fun things in life. It is nice to be able to share those things with others. 

If they can't be there, at least they can watch a video. 

No, the cool air, cold rain, flying mud, and overall excitement isn't the same as being there. At least you can share the sights. 

It takes a little work to capture, view, and decide what is shared.

-just a little work. 

Here I am preforming my camera operating duties while out in the woods having fun. 

 

The FZ6 was ok

But this... Yep.

Skate Punks

Feeling a bit nostalgic for the old skate-punk days I took LMR and the Misfit to the park. 

The secret skate park.

Late at night. 

And yes, the whole thing was caught on video. 

A Wet One

We ride the trails in the Tahuya State Forest all year. It does get a little wet in the "winter." How wet? Well, this is a typical post-ride ritual...

White Rim Road (Shafer Canyon)

After all the tarmac, it was nice to find a bit of dirt to ride in Utah.

I meet a 3 KLR riders who had also travelled from the Pacific Northwest to Southern Utah. Two on KLR650s and one travelled from Oregon on an old KLR250. Once on the dirt I was jealous of my KLR's younger, lighter 250-er cousin.

 I'm posting part 4 of the 6 part "monotonous helmet cam along the canyon" video. -I figure that I won't subject you to a 6 minute helmet-cam-iMovie-soundtrack video. If you want more, it is there for you.

 

The Road To Canyonlands

It was my first trip to southern Utah. Turning off the main highway this was my the view as I rode into the National Park.

The Long And (not so) Winding Road

The ride from Salt Lake City west on I-80 to the Bonneville Salt Flats was a long one on the KLR. It seemed even longer heading east. I have a 16 tooth sprocket on the front of the KLR, but I was wishing they made a 20 tooth... 

I-80 between SLC and Nevada is a long, straight stretch of road. 
The videos don't quite capture the ride. The mountains reflecting off the smooth water pools, the salt sparkling in the sun like Edwards skin...

Four videos, about a minute each. 
(I think I'm running out of iMovie background jingles...)

I-80 East: 1 of 4

I-80 East: 2 of 4

I-80 East: 3 of 4

I-80 East: 4 of 4

Starting Right

MotoBum, LMR, and I started the holiday weekend right by closing down Naked City Brewery last Wednesday. 
After beer, hard cider, food, and a lot of talk of wheelies and burnouts, there wasn't much left to do but break out the video camera... 

Salty Dog

I took a ride in August, a round trip; Seattle to Moab. It was me and the KLR for a week on the road. 
I stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats to see the legendary place. 

No, the KLR will not break any land speed records, still, it was fun to see others speed down the salt at top speeds. 

 I did have some fun on the KLR just racing my own race along the flats. 

 -Riding the Salt Flats
   

-Salt Flats on a KLR  

-Leaving the Slat Flats

IMS Ahead

The International Motorcycle Show is coming up and TDC's discount code is now available. The schedule for all US shows is at motorcycleshows.com.

Big Air

Fun at Tahuya last summer. Video proof that Ghostface KLR and the EC300 can fly!

Sunday Muddy Sunday

Went for a birthday ride last Sunday. It was a little wet to say the least. Here is a little video clip of Shotgun Ruthie showing us how wet it was!

Be a Swamp Monster

It's a good thing we didn't know about the information contained in this Shane Watts video a few fateful years ago. Otherwise, Swamp Monster would never have gotten his name.

DirtWise Riding Tip: Drowned Dirtbike video:

1000 Wheelies Project: The End / The Cake Ride

The 1000 Wheelies Project is over. It's done. It's complete. There are no more motorcycle wheelies to pull in this project. And it's taken two years to record this feat. October 19, 2010 - October 28, 2012 are the official dates for the, count them, one hundred Moto Morning Wheelie Sessions (MMWS) that made-up the 1000 Wheelies Project.

As an overview, the task was for me, MotoBum, to get good at pulling respectable motorcycle wheelies. All that really needed to be done was to transition the bicycle wheelie skills to motorcycle wheelie skills. It sounds easy on paper. In practice, it's a small bit tricky. 

See, the rear brake on a motorcycle is under the right foot -- the toes no less. A bicycle has a nifty handbrake to control such details. Just squeeze with the right index finger. Easy. Using the right foot compared to one finger is like having cerebral palsy, or so I'm told. And use of a rear brake is mandatory in executing choice wheelies.

Body english plays a big role in a wheelie. For example, on a bicycle, one can pull on the handlebars quickly to make the front tire come a foot off the ground. Try that on a motorcycle. You'd be lucky to get the suspension to uncompress half an inch. So, on a motorcycle, as the rappers say, "you've got to pop-the-clutch, yo." While that's not exactly a fact. It is the truth, in philosophy. A good hard launch of power on a motorcycle is something that just really isn't possible on a bicycle. It lofts the front effortlessly.

Which brings us to throttle control. Yeah. Like, how many throttle cables per year does the the average Joe stretch beyond manufacturer specification on a bicycle? Zero. Right? Zero. And that's the real obvious difference between a bicycle and a motorcycle. Motorcycles have throttles and bicycles have nada. Nothing. No throttle. No power. No gas to modulate.

I've overcome all these issues.

These past 1000 documented motorcycle wheelies have taken me from hopeless uphill balance-point chaser to bonafide semi-pro motorcycle wheelie puller. I have sponsors. Just check out Righteous Stunt Metal next time you need an easy-pull clutch lever. That's all I have to say.

And riding over a cake on one wheel during your 1000th wheelie is something that I can highly recommend.

Moto Morning Wheelie Session -- MMWS -- Log (All 1 - 100 sessions):
coming soon...

The Last 10 Wheelies Video with The Cake Ride:


Special thanks go to T-Bird, rug rat Maja, Josh RSC/Righteous1 Miller, Last Minute Ryan, Ghostface KLR, Swamp Monster, E-rock, Superstar Wendy, Shotgun Ruthie, and Mrs. Moore for enabling this life-long motorcycle addict with time, parts, labor, garage space, tools, tequila, cake, rock and roll, wifi, photography, passion support, and the 10 minutes here and there to pull the 10 wheelies or so required to pull off a stunt like this. 

See Also:
1000 Wheelies Project: The Intro
1000 Wheelies Project: 250 In
Hard Brake to Hard Break
1000 Wheelies Project: 750 In

And...
Another 1000 Wheelies

And...
Third 1000 Wheelies

The 996th Wheelie

The 1000 Wheelies Project Cake

The 1000th Wheelie with The Cake Ride

Wheelied-on Cake

Two-year-olds Love Wheelied-on Cake

WE LOVE WHAT WE DO [Superretards 2012 Motivation Speech]

This is an inspirational video by our European motorcycle club friends, the Superretards.

ADVstunt1 Gets a Bar

After two years of KLR accessories sitting on my garage shelf, just waiting to be bolted-on, I got around to mounting them.

ADVstunt1 now sports:

• Magura X-Line EX enduro bend aluminum  1 1/8" handlebars
• Rox Speed FX 2" Pivoting bar Risers
• Rox Speed FX 1" Lock Spacer
• Pro Grip Rally grips
• Symtec Motorcycle Grip Heaters (low heat only on a KLR; high not enabled)
• Custom grip heater switch in dash 
• Barkbusters with Storm hand guards; Magura mounting
• Repositioned SW-MOTECH cigarette lighter
• RSC Righteous Stunt Clutch lever in And Then Some length in bead blasted "color"
• Moose Racing clutch perch cap with mirror mount 

I also went the extra mile and did:

• Fresh spark plug
• Fresh oil
• Fresh oil filter
• Clean air filter
• Clean crankcase breather hose filter - only found on ADVstunt1

I must say it's nice having really high bars. They're skinnier too. And lighter. And stronger, no doubt. I wish I'd mounted them years ago, before all that ADV Commuting and all those trips. Man, I'd've been more comfortable.

Heated hand grips are a must for every motorcycle that gets used year round in the Pacific Northwest. I remember putting my first cheapo set on a CBR600. It totally transforms motorcycle riding. 

Rox Risers with a sweet bar "make" a KLR

That RSC clutch lever makes the one-finger-pull a half-finger-pull

In-dash grip heater switch looks factory

The Storm hand guards on the Barkbusters fight the coming storm

Enough about music - I went for a ride

Inspired by an email thread a few hours ago, I decided to head north out of Mount Pleasant for a few minutes and I found the intersection of Seafood Rd and Beehive Rd.  It was exciting.  Across the marsh is Capers Island.

Dirty Crew music post

It is necessary to post about music this week.  On Tuesday, there were two new releases that must be mentioned.  First, E-Rock's friend Ryan's band put out a new album and they played a tune from it on Letterman last night.
Here it is:
http://youtu.be/JWFCCIucoAE

Also, The Dirty Crew likes the Ramones.  One of E-Rock's favorite bands is called drivin' n' cryin' and they just released "Songs About Cars, Space, and The Ramones" - it rocks.
http://www.drivinncryin.com/

1000 Wheelies Project: 750 In

The Moto Morning Wheelie Sessions continue and ADVStunt1 (that trusty Kawasaki KLR650) continues to launch me skyward day in and day out. By the wheelie log, this project has now hit 750 wheelies. My skills are higher. They're not quite bicycle-level yet, but they're getting better every day with each one-finger slip of the clutch from idle.

With wheel-up experience comes grace, or rather, being graceful. I no longer panic when a wheelie isn't going exactly like I imagined it would - I just correct it. The more I do this, the more I realize that a motorcycle is just a big bicycle. You just ride it. And the really amazing thing is that once a motorcycle is at or just over the balance-point, the weight disappears. Riding motorcycle wheelies are a great pleasure. I plan to continue performing this action long after this project comes to a close.


 And what will it take to close this project? 250 more motorcycle wheelies in 25 more Moto Morning Wheelie Sessions. Stay tuned.


See Also:
1000 Wheelies Project: The Intro
1000 Wheelies Project: 250 In
Hard Brake to Hard Break

Point Break

http://charleston.craigslist.org/bar/3216625212.html

Ryan's 2012 BMW Triple Black F800GS

LMR got the machine. It's good for expeditions, wheelies, and ADV Commuting.

WABDR Prep - Tires

Swamp Monster busts some tire irons during the 2012 TDC WABDR Run Prep.

Trailer -4"

Trailer -4"

FZ6 tour

Time to see how the FZ does on a longer trip.  330 miles to Atlanta on Sunday, 5 ATL commuting days, and 330 miles back to 29464 next Saturday.  Strapped on the dry bag that has been to the Arctic Ocean and I'm ready to roll.  First, though, need to test it with the original wind screen or without one at all.  It's noisy with the tall Yamaha screen.

This make we want an old Yamaha two-stroke twin! (And a vacation in Europe)

It Worked!

It worked!

Anodizing

Trying some home anodizing.

NAMTRIP on "MotoBum grabs a KLR"

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NAMTRIP has replied to your comment on MotoBum grabs a KLR: Nice Motobum,KLR! That smile at 0:59,you look like the mad scientist,I have the 03-KLR to hit on just the expensive Mods @ Lexx pipe,Corbin saddle,Scotts damper,465 series shock with RAP,prog.fork springs,fork brace,Garmin GPS,every part for a KLR Eagle Mike sells,Why,just today,Im doing the lowered front fender,and changing all bulbs over to LEDs Way more stuff,but you get the Idea,Be safe,Enjoy your new KLR!!! "Peace man" (Its time for a few bong ripps.) To reply back click here. To see all comments on this video click here.

E-Rock back in the saddle.

...and here. I'm finally truly under 30ft. 

It's all about a few extra inches here....

Sunday Hooliganism

Last Minute Ryan and MotoBum got their streetable motorbikes out of their respective garages on Sunday and hit the streets, parking lots, parks, loading docks, and shaggy allies of North Seattle. It was reportedly so much fun that every non-dirt-rip Sunday is to include a block of time dedicated to pure mayhem, pure hooliganism. Smoking tires. Shredding grass. Flying bark. Riding embankments. Jumping. Mega wheelies. Rowing through gears. Roosting gravel. Getting sideways. Going full throttle over and over and over again.

Here's Last Minute Ryan doing something wonderful - flying off a loading dock with his trusty Yamaha XT250 between his knees.

A Triumph

Fifty Years of Kicks

Shotgun Rocket Ruthie's KDX220 running better

A few(+) hours of TLC on Ruthie's KDX and it seems to be running much, much better. The previous owners had the carb all fuckered up. The Pilot Jet was completely clogged, so to overcome the bike's inability to idle, they'd simply turned up the idle screw. This forces the slide to always remain open more than at should at idle, completely throwing off the jetting. I also found the throttle cable to be so poorly adjusted that not only did it not have any slack, it was actually holding the throttle open in addition to the turned-up idle screw. Idiots.

The silencer was thoroughly packet with spooge and was quite likely not flowing very well. I drilled out a few rivets to completely disassemble it, clean it out, and repack it with fresh material. I was also able to hammer out some dents in the tail cap.

Now it's starting to run like a good KDX should.

Getting Your Bearings.

bearings_414
Originally uploaded by groader

Changed the front and rear wheel bearings on the CRF this week. There is something to be said for sealed bearings. The old bearings didn't spin to freely.
The bike is ready for the Stumpjumper's Desert 100. I am too.
The SPOT GPS tracker might be up and running for the Poker Run on Saturday, and the race on Sunday. -If I have time to set up a shared page.

No-Scuff tire mount/demount tool

I decided to order one of these. I'm tired of taking my wheels to the shop, where the $25 tire change turns into $40 after a bunch of hidden fees (Lake City actually charged me a "lubricant fee").

http://www.no-scufftiretool.com/Pictures.html

Shotgun Ruthie Has a Moto

Shotgun Ruthie & her 1998 Kawasaki KDX220

"Kawasaki KLR650 Motorcycle Crash"

In celebration of the one-year anniversary of MotoBum's backing it in crash during Moto Morning Wheelie Session #43, here's the crash-only segment of that ride.

The broken collar bone ended up healing well. But ouch, don't try this at home, kids.

"Kawasaki KLR650 Motorcycle Crash" video:

Shotgun Ruthie starts a bike

Youtube video

Yes please

E-rock's new used 2005 Suzuki DR-Z400S (right side)

E-rock's new used 2005 Suzuki DR-Z400S (left side)

Goodbye WR and KLR2

They were good bikes. They have both been sold in the past few days (the KLR just minutes ago). I imagine it won't be long before the XT has been sold by us (again). What one bike can I get that will fill the void left by these three fine motos? I will give the first chance to a DRZ400S. We will see.

Ahh, the trusty WR is gone... what a great bike

E-rock's Yamaha XT225 thriller is on the auction block

E-rock's "KLR2" 2009 model with Action Packer... bye bye

Tahuya... Another Wet Day - 2/26/12 Ride Report

On February 26, 2012, The Dirty Crew returned to Tahuya State Forest for another wet day on the trails. Shotgun Ruthie was along for the ride.

"Fran" measured the truck at the ferry. It was under 30 feet this time. She called us out for being rude. Ghostface KLR apologized (sans flowers).

Ride stats:

• Max Speed: 44.5 mph
• Moving Time: 2:57
• Moving Average: 12.3 mph
• Odometer: 36.6 miles
• Overall Average: 7.7 mph

Shotgun Ruthie Takes a Bath:

Shotgun Ruthie Takes a Bath

The mysterious Tahuya "Crop Circle" — worth investigating next time

Blue Agave got a test run for the post-ride meal. It was unanimous that we shall return.

The crop circle (crop wagon-wheel?) remains a mystery. We passed close on this ride and plan to investigate further next time.

Back in Mexico City

Didn't take too many pictures today (Sunday). Route was Taxco - Malinalco - Tres Marias - Mexico. Ready to do this again. I'd rent again from Oscar at Mexico Motorcycle Adventures www.mxmotoadv.com - he delivered and picked up the bike, and it ran flawlessly.

Tahuya... One Wet Day - 2/19/12 Ride Report

In this episode -- Ghostface KLR flies The Finger, Swamp Monster tops off the CRF, and Last Minute Ryan stuffs it in a puddle...

 "$57." "Wait, did you say $57?" That's right. Ghostface KLR's truck and trailer combo was visualized to be under 40 feet in length at the Fauntleroy ferry departure pier by the attendant. "It's under 30 feet." It's always under 30 feet. It's measured with the roller and always comes up under 30, just. This time, the attendant measured three times, each with different measurement results -- all over 30 feet. Nothing good could come of this. Ghostface KLR threatened to just drive around (to the peninsula) unless the price dropped to the correct under 30 measurement. We watched the vehicle boarding gate close as the quibble continued. End of ferry boat story; it was leaving without us. We had to drive around. But not before Ghostface KLR threw a fit. Upon u-turn, his arm went out the window with a full left-armed The One proudly sticking up at the Washington State Department of Transportation's ferry system representative.

"Paninis are no longer on the menu." One of our favorite panini sandwich makers at the Belfair Safeway had to explain to us, loyal motorcycle/Safeway club members and all, that our pre-ride tradition of eating hot paninis was over... almost. The grocery store chain deleted them from the menu because, apparently, The Dirty Crew was the only panini customer. Our maker had saved us two loaves of panini bread, so she was able to satisfy us once last time. Next time we're bringing guns and gasoline, because if there are no paninis, the place is going down.

"Holy S**t! It started!" MotoBum was in disbelief that Swamp Monster's CRF started right up from cold. That bike has never run right... at least since the bike's second ride where it was submerged under water and Swamp Monster coined his nickname. He'd had adjusted the valve clearances to actually be within specification. And now it runs like a champ. Imagine that.

Last Minute Ryan kicked and kicked the XR250R's kickstarter. There was no life there. You could tell by the look on his face that he'd regretted eating his words about never wanting to ride it again. It turned out alright though. Once the engine was warm after a thousand kicks, it fired right up. It actually revved over 4000rpm on this day because Ghostface KLR had slid in a new air filter (with rim grease). Medivac could breathe. And with three remaining strands of throttle cable remaining, what could go possibly go wrong on this ride?

Bwaaa rraaahaa rraaarrhaarra. As MotoBum was following Ghostface KLR through a particularly sweet section of banked snaking trail containing nice tacky dirt, his keen senses could tell that Ghostface KLR was getting particularly friendly with the throttle of his extremely powerful Gas Gas EC300... uncharacteristically friendly. Then Ghostface KLR flew off the trail. What ensued next was something unseen since the Fauntleroy ferry terminal -- lots of swearing. The EC's throttle had gotten stuck open. Ghostface KLR was okay. After a throttle disassembly and reassembly, it was determined that... well... nothing was determined to be wrong. A slight clicking of the twistgrip disappeared after reassembly, but nothing was obviously the matter. Ghostface KLR rode the rest of the ride "cautiously."

MotoBum stuffs it in a puddle video:


About 1.5 seconds after MotoBum stuffed it, Last Minute Ryan did the same thing in the same puddle.

Margaritas and tacos were had at a bad Mexican restaurant in Belfair. It will never be frequented again as the food was bland.

The deer.

Max Speed: 72mph. Swamp Monster topped-off his Honda CRF250X on a dead straight dirt road. MotoBum had this idea to just go for it down an access road. So they did. Swamp Monster's bike actually hit the limiter in 6th gear!

The 2/19/12 25-mile Howell Lake loop:


Download this track (.gpx format)

Felix Cumpleaños MotoBum

Ride Something (tm)

Side bags? No thanks, just a top case. How will I squeeze between Volkswagens if I'm three feet wide? GPS? No thanks. Too easy. I'm not in a hurry anyway so I'm not worried about being lost. Note to self. When meeting someone early on a weekend, change your alarm setting from weekdays only. Oops. Mexico City traffic... It's there even at 8 a.m. Saturdays. Luckily there are not any traffic rules so it was easy to get through traffic and out of town. I wish I could have taken a thousand more pictures today. It took a while to get through Cuernavaca but the rest of the trip was on good roads through mountainous countryside. Made it to Taxco early this afternoon and got a room and secure parking at the Hotel Agua Escondida. Perfect weather, nice town, but it's on the side of a mountain so my feet are sore from walking all afternoon. Going out for dinner and a cerveza, then I'll plan tomorrow's route and hit the sack. Happy birthday MotoBum. I'll try to remember to raise a glass for you.