Trip'n with Tom.

DR Rear Rack

2011-08-31T08:28:00.000-07:00

I was looking for a rear rack for my DR and didn't really see anything that grabbed my attention. I wanted something light and simple that I could strap a tail bag to yet be strong enough to mount a case to if desired.

Since I like making things, thought I give it a go at making my own. I dug around in my scrap pile and found a length of 1/2 4130 that my late father in law had left over from one of the airplane he had built. I borrowed a 1/2 bender and started doing stuff.

A few more bends...

A weld and a grind or two later, I had the basic shape.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/DesertSkies/DR%20Rack/IMG_8604.jpg[/img]

I cut two lengths of tubing and saddled them out to fit inside the the thing I just built.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/DesertSkies/DR%20Rack/IMG_8605.jpg[/img]

After making a couple spacers to get the clearance and angle where I wanted, I taped them to the thing I made and set it on the bike... TLAR.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/DesertSkies/DR%20Rack/IMG_8609.jpg[/img]

Now, I need someway to keep it from falling off the bike when I rode. Didn't figure Duct Tape would cut it so thought I'd use the mounting points where the Grab Handles bolted and make some bits to bolt there.

I dug back in the scrap and found some 3/4 stock, cut four 1" lengths and went over and played on one of my shop toys and produced these...

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/DesertSkies/DR%20Rack/IMG_8607.jpg[/img]

With them mounted, it's time to fab a couple struts and tack them in place...

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/DesertSkies/DR%20Rack/IMG_8612.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/DesertSkies/DR%20Rack/IMG_8614.jpg[/img]

So far so good...

Guess I need a place to mount the turn signals so I split some 1.5 square tubing an ended up with a pair of these...

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/DesertSkies/DR%20Rack/IMG_8619.jpg[/img]

All struts and mounts tacked in place...

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/DesertSkies/DR%20Rack/IMG_8620.jpg[/img]

Still fits...

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/DesertSkies/DR%20Rack/IMG_8622.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/DesertSkies/DR%20Rack/IMG_8624.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/DesertSkies/DR%20Rack/IMG_8627.jpg[/img]

Built a jig to keep everything in place so I can take it and a rack of Miller Lite to a buddy to coax him to fire up his TIG...

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/DesertSkies/DR%20Rack/IMG_8628.jpg[/img]...

By now, its now 103°F in my shop, time for a break.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/DesertSkies/DR%20Rack/IMG_8630.jpg[/img]

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R1200GS Wheel Carrier R&R

2010-12-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

Achtung!!!

Das Gelände Straße hinterrad flansch gebrochen hat.

-or-

Watch for cracks in your rear wheel flange...

I was brought to light on this issue last year and sure enough, my rear wheel carrier (flange) also had one of the lobes that carries the rotor cracked. Knowing this would be an issue, I kept an eye on it. During a FD service prior to a trip to the Ozarks last Oct, I looked again and saw one more crack that has been there (crack was stained) and one new. Although not sure, this may also be an issue with any bikes with the newer style FDs (link on top) and not just the GS. Do yourself a favor and take a look at yours. At least one of the failures I saw, the rotor broke free during a low speed maneuver. Can't imaging the outcome had it been at speed.

Got to looking for parts and was surprised the local dealer (Gulf Coast) had a competitive price to the internet. Looking a little more, Chicago BMW had a 20% off sale with free shipping so I was able to save $100 vs buying local and paying taxes. I usually try to support the local business but hey, that's a pretty good savings. Also purchased was a ABM stainless wave rotor from Beemer Boneyard at a reasonable price.

Although it took three weeks to get the flange (lost in space somewhere) I finally had parts and needed to gather some tools. Things needed that most may not own are:

External snap-ring pliers.
Axle puller with draw screw. (Can get from Autozone but has no draw screw. I got a piece of 5/8 all-thread and a nut and made one.)
Center for axle. (Can buy from BMW but have a lathe so I made mine.)
Propane torch.
Infrared Thermometer.
T40 long shank bit. (Need this for rotor removal and re torque)
Torque wrench.

Looking at the RepRom, I started by removing wheel, caliper, rotor and snap-ring. I mounted the puller on the flange and center into the axle. I made sure to adjust the mounting bolts to get the puller centered by watching as I rotated the flange and watch the run-out of the draw screw. I adjusted the three bolts mounting the puller until no run out was visible. I then tightened draw screw good and snug. Don't expect any movement as this is an interference fit and will require heat.

Make a mental note of how the splines look at this point. Here is how mine looked.

I cut a piece of thin aluminum to fit between the flange and FD to shield it from the next step.

I heated the flange on the area where the wheel meets the flange (do not get the axle hot) while rotating it using the puller. I was careful not to use the torch up near the top where the ABS sensor is but rather at the aft most point. As I heated, I would check with the IRT, looking for the release temp of 100°C. Once there, I noticed the splines have moved a small amount. I popped the tranny in first and started tightening the draw screw and was pleased to see the flange pull right off the axle with very little resistance.

I inspected and cleaned the seal area. With the shield and torch placement, it felt like heat transfer was minimal into the FD.

Failure Emanate!

I looked at the two parts to see any differences and only found the seal shield is pressed on rather than machined . Other than that, I could find no differences (other than the new one didn't have four cracked lobes).

I put the new part in the oven and set it to 225. After a good soak, I tested it with the IRT and had it to 110°C so I dawned my welding gloves and carried it out to the bike. Is didn't slide right on so I tested it again and it had fallen to 85°C. With it in place, I used the torch to bring it back up by heating the face in a circular motion, keep the flame in the indention where the verbiage is. Once at 100°C, I tapped on it with a block of oak and it started sliding on the axle so I drove in on home until it shouldered up on the bearing race.

After cool down, I reset the snap-ring in its groove (make sure this happens otherwise the flange is not seated properly) and re assembled brake components using torque specs from the Rep Rom.

I don't know if this had any bearing but I tried to run the slack out of the rear caliper by cycling the pedal but nothing would happen. I then turned on the system and tried to use the servo. This produced a "Brake Failure" warning and the self test would not pass. I cranked the motor and cycled the pedal. At first, I heard no servo then after a few more tries, I could hear R2D2 whine. I cycled the ignition and the servos tested and passed this time. My guess is I should not have tried to take the slack out with the pedal but let the system do it. Dunno...

Disclaimer. I am not an expert nor do I claim to be. I supplied this information as an FYI on an as is basis for any to use at their own risk. Your result may vary...

.

Big Bend via The Hill Country

2009-05-18T05:57:00.000-07:00

Little did I know, leaving Ohio 30 years ago could bring me full circle from what was call back then "Enduro" to the now more descriptive "Adventure riding". Now that the children have grown, I felt that my 20-year riding hiatus was long over due for a re-kindling. I started back with an 1800 Goldwing and after seeing one up close, fell in lust for a GS. Well, in October of 2004 I convinced myself (and Desert Wife) I needed one and now had a R1200GS parked in the garage beside my Honda.

After one weekend molestation of my new ride, I stopped at a local cruiser bars for a cold one before I made it home. A fellow sitting there with his feet propped up, lit up as I got off my Euro style ride in the midst of the sea of black and chrome and headed for the bar. "Nice 1200" I look in shock to think that someone knows the bike, let alone what the displacement is. "I have an 1150". Cool, I think, and starting shooting the shit with him. Seeing the BMW roundel on his vest then the red Honda wings I ask, "Is that you 1800?" pointing at the red Goldwing sitting in the lot. After admitting to that I told him I had one as well. After talking a little, I find that he is a transplanted Buckeye as well. The world is small.

Thinking that it is time to get some real dirt on this GS, I start planning a winter ride to West Texas. Browsing the GSpot forum I see a response to one of my posts from a fellow with the handle ThirdCoast that claims he met me a Cruisers (a little biker bar on 2004 south of Santa Fe). Remembering him, I ask if he was up for a trip to Big Bend the end of February. "Name the date" was the reply, so off we go.

Before we leave on the 18^th, the group grows to 3 riders. Me on my 1200GS, ThirdCoast on his 1150GS and his friend, Ken, on his FJR1300. I meet ThirdCoast at Wata Burger in Alvin TX at 6:30 and we head out to meet up with Ken in Sealy by 8:00. 100 miles into the day we need to stop and discard some coffee. Heading back to the bikes, I don't know if Ken (far right) is trying to get his hands warm or rehearsing the next pattern like a Blue Angle pilot.

We ride on, find a little rain and get sandwiched in between some chrome and leather heading to the Gypsy Rally that is in Boerne that weekend. Boy is that going to be a mess in the rain.

After a coffee break and gas we head west on I10 and stop in Hunt TX for a petite but tasty lunch at Elaine's Table. We ride west on TX39 along the south fork of the upper Guadeloupe, south on 187 past Lost Maples SP then west on one of the Three Sisters, FM337. We make it to Leaky by around 3:30, grab some rooms at the Frio Canyon Lodge then head back over 337 to look at some of Allan Johncockâ€™s beautifully restored bikes at the Lone Star Motorcycle Museum in Vanderpool.

This Black Shadow is headed to Mexico this month for a Vintage Ride Rally.

Allan does race some of these bikes.

Ken finds that the lady behind the counter rides a 650GS and a RT and also in a previous life has rafted many of the wild rivers he has. Day's end finds us back in Leaky for a good meal and a nice buzz from Crown on the rocks.

DAY2:

I wake around 05:00 to the hissing sound of tires rolling across wet pavement outside my room. Stick my head out the door, yep, it's raining. Well, that's part of riding, you're gonna get wet sometime or another. After the rest on the crew gets out and about we start looking around to see if we can forage some grub. Our search leads to the only place in Leaky TX open for breakfast, which is a BBQ joint that made me a kick-ass omelet. I guess the other guys liked theirs, didn't see much left on their plates.

Soon we are gassed-up suited-up and are carving a path through the fog and light rain headed up another of the sisters legs, Ranch Road 336. Shame it was so foggy, there is some nice scenery on that twisty road. We did get to see quite a few deer, including some white ones.

Hitting TX41 we head west to Rocksprings, a short jog west on US377 until we turn south onto Ranch Road 674 headed to Brackettville. This is another fine twisty piece of tarmac and by the time we get to Brackettville, the rain has let up and the mud on the road turns to dust by the time we get to US90.

Time to onload some petrol, offload some coffee and tank up with a fresh hot brew. Now it's time for some boring straight-line miles. Ken takes the lead and as I watch my GPS I keep wondering when the Gendarme is going to pop up for 85 in a 70. We slip undetected through Del Rio, cross Lake Amistad (which I was glad to see up to level) and then take a google stop at the Pecos River Bridge.

Starting to get a little hungry we burn some more miles and take a lunch stop in Sanderson. Sitting at the Stage Stop we see a couple GSs heading east. As we sit down to eat, a HD bagger goes by headed west and lets up sample the dBs emanating from the rear of his ride as he waved.

We gas-up, saddle-up and point em west. A few miles down the road we catch the HD and have to pass him. Ken later laughs about how him gray beard blowing up in his face look like he had a badger sitting on his face. Hell, if it weren't for my chin-bar, the same could have been said about me. He falls in behind us and drafts us all the way to Marathon where we stop to look up Ken's friend who hasn't got there yet. After a short stop to peel some layers we are soon on our way to Alpine to stay for the night.

We find a motel that has a few bikes parked at the office and pull in. We get to talking to them and take a couple shots of Rienars cherry R90S.

He is here on loan as an Airforce security guard over in Alamogordo NM and riding with some retired gents from El Paso, two on FJR1300s and one on an RC51. We talk and have a few with these riders before turning for the night.

DAY3:

As usual, up before dawn and start scrounging up some coffee. Today's plans are ThirdCoast and I are heading for the dirt and Ken is going back to Marathon and hang with his riding bud. Packed up we say our goodbye and TC and head west to Marfa for gas and grub. Sky is clear blue, temp is crisp, sun is at our backs and wind in our face,,, shit, it don't get any better that this.

We stop at the Marfa Lights viewing platform for a photo opp.

In Marfa we find that we have to go to all four corners of the town to find the only place to have breakfast. A little hole in the wall called KT's Kafe. It was a good stop.

Soon we are headed south on US67 looking for our turn off onto Ranch Road 169. We ride the nice peaceful portion of 169 until it turns to dirt. Now we're talkin'. Road was well maintained with lots of loose stuff and some moderate sand in the low water crossings. One had some water in it and TC tried to bail it out. Hell, it just filled up again don't ya know.

After stopping to water a cactus, TC catches me catching up.

We continue on south and without a map make all the right turns and end up on Ranch Road 170. The wet winter has produced some nice color in the desert early. Remember yanks, this is February.

A dusty GS is a happy GS.

For anyone that has not ridden this road, it was voted the #1 road in Texas by Ride Texas magazine follow by #2 FM337.

I ride the 12 onto some tailing piles and play in the loose stuff before we hop on 170 and head east towards the park. The GS feels a little funny to me, which I attribute to just coming off gravel. I start noticing a sight tuck in right-handers and the first thing crossing my mind was the final drive. Gun shy I guess. I give the bars a little wiggle at speed and feel a slight walk. Ok, I give the bars a good whack and then it shows up. The only thing missing was Chubby Checkers singing the Twist. (Sorry 30 somethings, I don't have one for you). I find a level place to pull off and inspect the rear. FD looks good; I step on the rim and see the tire is damn near flat. I put it on the center stand and while I'm getting the tire repair kit out TC runs the tire and finds a small whole. I ream that sucker, goop up a rope plug and stuff it in.

While we are waiting for the plug to set, we hear a boxer coming down the road and then; putter, putter, putter, there goes Rienar followed by his elderly riding buddies headed west. God bless em¦

By now it is getting pretty hot, high 80s, so we start thinking about a cold one in Lahitas and hit the road. We stop to take some shots.

I snap a few from the saddle.

This quaint little piece of scenery is a movie set from Streets of Laredo with James Garner.

In Lahitias, we hit the mercantile and soak up a couple cold brews and eat a couple slices of Pepper Jack I had talked the storekeep out of.

After a short trip to Terlingua, we check into the Big Bend Motor Lodge, clean up and head to the Basin Lodge for supper. Nice day!!!

Sunset on Mexico:

DAY4:

Wake before dawn, this time there is coffee in the room. I pack up the GS in the morning moonlight while listening to the coyotes serenade me.

"Sip",,, life is good.

After gas and breakfast (which I am sure will give me gas) we head into the park and a trip down Old Maverick Road. It is dry with a few ruts and some loose stuff but fun to ride.

We get to Santa Elena canyon and snap a few shots.

Trelingua Creek.

We have a long day ahead to get to Sonora but still stop to play around on River Road West.

Later, this picture shows up in Ride Texas Magazine:

After gassing up at Panther Junction, TC and I swap mounts and head out of the park. After giving the 12 back to me outside the park he said, "Why did you make me ride that thing?" Not sure what he meant.

We burn the asphalt and make it to Sanderson by noon so stop at the Stage Stop for another burger. One thing about these parts, not much variety but what is there is damn good. A fellow in the Stage Stop informed us the road along the Devil's River has low water crossings the were under water. We look at each other and think, cool, river crossings. Sure enough when we get to Comstock and turn north on TX163 we see a sign !ROAD CLOSED 40 MILES AHEAD!

TC sees a woman standing in her yard and asks if closed really meant closed. She told us that only when they get a lot of rain is it really closed. We decided to try it and were glad we did. I have never been on this road and it was a pleasant little desert twisty that snaked in and out of Diablo Canyon and crossed the river several times. Here is a sample.

TC making waves:

You can see by the water line, this wouldn't be possible a day or so ago.

By the time we get to Sonora, our asses are dragin' so we find a motel, supper and some beer to wash the day down.

DAY5:

Again, before dawn and start scrounging up coffee. Get packed, eat breakfast and point em toward the house. This day promises to be a non-event super-slab ass burner. And it was just that. Last gas stop before home, TC points at my bike and tells me I might get arrested for removing something fom a national park. Turns out this little fellow hitched a ride and was on there for at least 800 miles. The only rocks I remember like that were the tailing piles I rode on near Presidio.

He now lives in Desert Wife's flowerbed.

All in all, this was another great trip, with a couple great guys on great machines. The only complaint I have is the amount of time we had didn't leave much time for dirt. Till I can do it again.

2009-05-11T06:31:00.001-07:00

Yet another shot from TxMotoFoto.com. This shot was at the same curve as on the GS but with Ja on the Wing. Sure had a good time that weekend running our favorite Hill Country roads.

Rust in Peace.

2009-04-02T11:52:00.000-07:00

Aint much to it but until I can take some time off, this is the kind of riding I am stuck with, beside, any riding is better than no riding, right?

On this cold gray day, I met up with ChuxterB for some coffee and breakfast over at our flying club. After a good BS session with the old farts, we decided to depart and get on with the days rat kill'n. Bruce had to get back home and log 20 miles on his bicycle to finish his 100-mile/week quota. I had a full tank of gas and an empty memory card so I took the back way back to the house.

I see this sign with an open gate (well somebody knocked it down) and a little road leading back into the woods, open invitation I think.

Appears this place was at one time a place of business.

Lots of piles of jugs around.

Anyone looking for a restoration project?

I have no idea what this piece of equipment was.

Some kind of home brew cultivator.

Old tank truck.

Now this would be fun to bring back to life.

There is a maintainer in there somewhere.

Nothing a little paint and nail, maybe a match or two wouldn't fix.

Funny thing, I kept hearing banjo music.

Yeah, I love old stuff, like this old grader,

and this old Fordson.

If it wasn't for Desert Wife, my place would look like Fred Sanfords yard.

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A little trip on the wing.

2009-04-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

We took this trip a while back, I just now got it copied to my BLOG. Enjoy...

Well, our late spring riding vacation arrived. To save some time riding across the HOT West Texas desert, we decided to put the touring trailer in the pickup, hook the WHORE wagon on the back, strap the Bird on her and haul-ass to Carlsbad. This in all would give us 2 extra days to ride the Rockies. After backing the trailer with the bike on it into the garage, I go to pull the truck back into the drive and... clunk, clunk,,, gggrrrruuunnnt,,, clunk,,,I smell smoke. Seems the starter decided to go titts-up. Frantically trying to figure what we were going to do, my daughter suggests we call our nephew and trade my wife's FX35 for his F150 for the week. He was reluctant to "trade-down" but I guess he felt sorry for the old folks. Thanks Ronnie.

After a day blazing across the vast state, we make it to Carlsbad and unload the bike and tag-along and get ready to ride out first thing Sunday morning.

Sunday:

The first town out of Carlsbad is Artesia where we hung a West and headed for the mountains. We stopped to take a couple shots of these bronze sculptures. The artist was Vic Payne; this one called Partners and either one these fellows I could have known when I worked in the oil patch back in the 80s.

This one was called Derrick Floor.

A few miles down the road, we come upon a couple on a full-dress Ultra standing along the road. We stop and ask if they were all right and he replies, "Flat". I stop and offer to help and we proceed to try to plug the Rear tire. I find a 3-corner hole in the center of the tread of his almost worn out tire and stuff a plug in. I start pumping and ask how much pressure to which he says 40lbs. After letting the little compressor run for 5 minutes or so, we check the pressure and see 30lbs. We start the compressor back up and in a few seconds, BOOM!!!, the whole sidewall let go. His first thought was "Damn, sure glad I wasn't riding it". As luck would have it, his riding buddy had gone back to Artesia and called the HD Road Service and they had a wrecker coming out of Roswell. We wished them luck and headed for Cloudcroft where we stopped to have lunch at The Western Bar and Grill. Twentyfive years ago, we shot pool here the night I asked my girlfriend to marry me, now she is one of the best riding buddies I have.

Downtown Cloudcroft, where I finally detect the smudge of sunscreen on the lense:

We travel on to Ruidoso stop on the top of a mountain on NM 84, take a break and knock back a cool one and enjoy the view.

Coming up on evening, we find a Best Western in Santa Rosa, grab a sixpack and watch the sun go down. Well there wasn't really a sunset, more like a monsoon.

Monday:

We have breakfast at the Route 66 Restaurant before heading west on I 40 to catch US 84 to I 25 and then into Santa Fe. Stopping to get gas, I realize I am in the wrong business. Man, if you can give this kind of discount on a car wash, they must be pricey out here.

This little fellow seemed quite content with his job in the gas station parking lot.

I start to feel vibration between 50 and 60 mph and can see the left trailer wheel hopping so I have to keep the speed at 65 and up. We stop in Chama NM for gas and to get the tires balanced.

Eddy, squatting, was a great fellow and has a small Yamaha, which he had fit the fattest floatation knobby on the back I had ever seen. He said he and his daughter ride a lot up in the mountains. The rest of the way to Pagosa Springs and on into Durango was smooth as silk if, you don't count the scattered showers and hail we had to ride through. Ja (short for Jamargret) was all snuggled up behind me with her face shield and all. Mine was packed in the tag-along so I grabbed a leather mask out of the trunk to stop the pain of the pea sized hail that was penetrating the slipstream of the Windbender and smacking me in the cheeks.

We make it to Durango around 6:00 and stop for a room and a nice meal before calling it a night. Had some old farts looking at my bike (after all, it is an old-farts bike, right?) in the parking lot so I stopped to chat. Well, all they could do was focus on how dangerous riding motorcycles were. I sure wanted to tell the one lady, not any more dangerous than shoving too many hamburgers down your gullet like you are obviously PRO at!. Instead I said, Yes mam, they sure are and went to my room.

Tuesday:

We head west on US 160 to Cortez and stop to fill up before heading down to Four Corners. I circle the monument before parking, just so I can say I rode through 4 states in under 10 seconds. Corny, huh?

One of the locals that sell souvenirs at the monument lives down there. No road, just a path up to the monument.

This country is rugged but at the same time, beautiful.

Lots of butterflies in the desert, here's my collection:

Stopping at Many Farms AZ for gas, a local approaches me while I fill the bike and asks where we're headed. I get a whiff of a been drunk for many moons reservation dweller. I tell him we are headed down 191 and plan to stay in Saint John. He starts giving me directions, I listen as I gas up and nod my head. After finishing, he asks me for a dollar for something to eat. Now I know that wasn't what he would do with it but gave him one and thanked him for his help anyway as we head out across the desert.

Rolling into Saint John around 3:00, we decide it's too early to give up so we top off the tank and shoot for Alpine. After leaving Springerville, we start climbing the mountain and it instantly starts getting cooler, trees get bigger and the air is sweeter. We stop at this small reservoir and watch the Arizona Bird and Turtle dude dump trout. This sure was a feeding frenzy for the bigger fish, Oh the humanity!.

We get into Alpine around 5:30 and check into the Sportsman Lodge. Frank , the owner, rides a R75 and seem like a swell fellow. His wife brought me a bucket with some towels and cleaner for the bike, says they do this for all bikers that stay with them. I would recommend this quaint little place for anybody traveling US 191 through Arizona that wants to stay away from the hustle and bustle. After dinner, I enjoy some longnecks and make needed use of the cleaning supplies provided by Frank's wife.

Wednesday:

I get up, make a pot of coffee and step out to watch the dawn in the 40-degree morning air. I can just make out the pasture across the road and as the sky gets lighter, I start to make out a large animal grazing with the horses. Soon I see, it's a bull elk! Now for a Texas Gulf Coast resident, this is as exciting a pole-dancer to an oilfield roughneck on Friday night. Something you don't see all the time. Sure hope these big bastages stay deep in the woods through the day though.

I accipurposely make enough noise in the room that my co-rider starts to stir. Soon we have our kit together and are mounting up. I check the lights on the tag-along by hitting the hazard flashers, damn it, the switch stuck in. I whip out my Buck and bust the tip off trying to dislodge the switch. Nothing left to do now but disassemble it, which I did. After mumbling and cussing,,,, and mumbling, and cussing some more, I get it back together and we were on our way to breakfast.

We stop and take in the scenery:

US 191 heading down the mountain:

Tell me, does this bike make my gut look big?

Coming down into the copper mine in Clifton I stop and take a shot of the road going down the mountain, THANKS Gordy for mentioning this road to me. We rode Deals Gap 3 times and I like this road far better. It has just as many curves per mile, more elevation changes, WAY less crowded (saw only 2 cars and one truck in 95 miles) and you actually get to see down the side of the mountain.

Across from the overlook I see a marker and go to check it out. Looks like someone met their demise on this mountain.

Sure is a shame someone made themselves feel big by leaving their thoughtless mark.

Near the bottom of the mountain, you come on this huge hole in the earth. These pictures don't transfer the grandeur of this scene. I mean, those dots at the bottom are big Uke and CAT dumpers that are as big as a 2-story house.

Downtown Clifton AZ

Leaving Three Way AZ:

Ja waiting for me to return from photo op:

Well, now it's starting to get hot. We head up over the mountain through the Gila Wilderness on NM 152 before settling back down in the desert with a temp of 97 degrees. We started off this morning at 40 and now it's 97. Ja has drunk all of her water and is starting to get twitchy in her saddle so I open the TBs on the 1800 and eat up some flat desert highway. I see the fuel light come on but can see the town of Caballo NM across the desert about 15 miles ahead. By the time we make it to the station, my pillon is just about done riding for the day so we fill the Wing up and head north on I 25. Setting the cruise on 90, we make short work of the last 9 miles of the day and bring her to a halt in Truth or Consequences NM. Sure glad I had Eddy balance the trailer tires. All in all, this was the shortest day at 290 miles but was the longest day in the saddle. It's hard to make miles when most of the day was riding 10 and 15 mph switchbacks pulling a trailer, but hell, that's the good part.

Thursday

I do the coffee thing and step out to see what kind of a day we have and see this.

We get out on the road early to beat the heat and head south to Ls Cruces. We fill up and head up over the mountain on US 70 East towards White Sands. At the top of the mountain, we get stopped and pulled over into a waiting area. Luck would have it that we were going to get to watch them test a Navy missile in the desert below. Too bad that the sky is overcast. We get put at the front of the queue because we are on a bike. Soon we are joined by 3 other bikes ridden by some hardy looking adventure riders headed south to Big Bend for some camping. They had them loaded down and looked to have been on the road for some time. Sure looked like fun. Sure wish my R1200GS was trustworthy to treat like that and not worry about the wheels falling off or the CANbus system taking a dump and leaving out in the middle of nowhere.

My trailer and a sticker I got from some web forum:

Soon, we here "there she goes" and I struggle to get the digital Canon fired up to take a couple shots.

Soon we are on our way and leave most of the traffic behind, including to 2 fellows on the Beemers and the lady on the Vulcan. We stop at White Sands NP and have a snack.

Wonder why they call it White Sands?

We hop over to Cloudcroft and then take the south loop, NM 130 and 24 back to US 82.

Making it to Carlsbad and the Stagecoach Inn for the end of another fine day of Wing Riden'. Instead of going out we decide to slum it so Ja goes to the store for supplies so I will have something to do while I drink some beer..

Friday:

We make our way back into Texas and head down to Ft Davis to check out those sites. We ride up to Ft Davis State Park and picnic on what was left of the hot-wings for lunch

Later we stop at the Mc Donald Observatory for a look around.

Looks like a Ladybug orgy is in town.

We stop and take a brake and drink the last of the water. You'd think I would be smart enough to bring enough water. We hop on TX 70 down to Valentine to a little store, buy some water and a beer, which I consumed while looking at an old John Deere across the street while my wife goggled the new born in the little country store. She was after all, a neo-natal nurse for 20 some years. The storekeeps, a young couple from Roswell, tells us that they are trying to get gas, sure glad I had enough. This is the only other store in the region.

We make it back to Ft Davis and after a run to the local store and some time at the grill and drinkn' even more beer,

we come up with this. Love the low carb lifestyle

Saturday:

We get the truck packed and get ready to head home. I tell Ja that I want to ride if she didn't mind driving the truck, which she always agrees to. We head down to Alpine for a nice breakfast at the Penny Diner before heading east on US 90 then north on US 67 to I 10.

Early morning kicked-back desert ridin' as seen from my cager's view:

I 10 cruisin'. Damn, I need to trim my beard:

We came upon four Cushman riders on TX 46 south of New Braunsfels, Looks like the lead bike` was bored. Sorry for the half frame, damned Canon doesn't react very fast. I know, It is a poor craftsman that blames his tools.

All in all, 2400 miles on the wing, 1700 on the truck, GREAT week!

New at this...

2008-08-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

Thought I would start a Blog on some of the places I've ridden. Be it by myself, with my loving wife Ja or tooling around with some of my friends, I just simply like riding a motorcycle. There will be more to come as I figure this BLOG thing out...

Check out the archive and feel free to leave comments

A little fun on one of the "Sisters".

Winter Ride to Big Bend

2008-01-04T06:46:00.000-08:00

Once again, the urge to ride to Big Bend hits me as winter arrives. Ja and decide to go out to the Hill Country for couple days after Christmas then I will depart for a four day ride to meet some Dual Sport rides and get a little desert dust on the GS.

I start by removing the Anakees and replacing them with a little more aggressive tread.

After a wet start with Ja following me, we finally get out from under the clouds to meet blue skies as I fight a hard cross wind on I-10 so I opt for a back road way into to the Hill Country. After unpacking, I toss some dead animal on the grill while Ja puts a salad together and viola, dinner.

The River Inn is pretty empty this time of year so we enjoy some down time in front of the fire on a crisp night.

Mornings are spectacular here on the Guadalupe Rive this time of year.

We spend the next day blasting the Three Sister in Ja's FX, half of which she slept through, and had a ball.

Friday as planned, we part ways and again I am on the GS fighting a strong cross wind until I finally find myself in Terlingua and the wind has died down. I love old equipment so can't resist a shot of this Allis Chalmers sitting in front of the Terlingua Store. Wonder what kind of work it accomplished out here before finding it's current resting place?

After a little search, I locate Roger (A.K.A Uncle) 's place and pitch my tend in Posthenge.

David being David, is hard at work building something and damn, it sure smells good.

And, it sure was! Here's an ADV salute to your Crawfish Etouffee David. Euweeee, dem were fer sure some tasty viddles right there, I told you what!

Other than the lucky dogs, Roger, Dave, Elzi and Ed that have been here for a week or two, Big Don and Richard_ with family in tow arrive to share in Roger's hospitality.

I had to make fun of Don covering his GS to keep the "dew" from getting on it out here in the desert.

The next morning, I crawl out of my tent and look at the temp reading on my bike and am not surprised to see 28F. David has this down to a science and had the coffee pot rigged so all he had to do was roll over in his cot and plug it in.

We have a few cups then head over to Kathy's Cosmic Cafe for some great grub before heading out for a day of exploring. Ed and Elzi are headed out to hike the Lost Mine trail.

Lucky for me, Roger felt like riding some of his super secret (if I tell anyone where they are, some goons will show up at my door) roads and I was invited to tag along.

First stop into the trip was the Hilton.

Roger and David in front of the Hilton.

Supplies for the unfortunate traveler.

Not far into the trip, Roger and David, who knows a little about Roger's stash, were debating the "mostest-funest" way to head.

OK, just sit back and enjoy a couple shots of this awesome part of Texas.

Here, a hunting club has constructed a water catch for the local wildlife.

Roger enjoying what Roger enjoys most about this place. Upper right is where we are headed.

We stop and reflect on the ride so far at this creek, Sorry, can't tell which one it is but anybody that has been there, knows.

Here, I try to catch David but have my camera set wrong and almost mis him.

This place has some different scenery around each corner.

Back at the camp and time to wind down and enjoy a bowl or two of Elzi's tasty chili.

Next morning, 30F and Ed and the crew are discussing breakfast plans.

I opt out of breakfast, pack the bike and after a couple cups of coffee, a farewell and I'm off for the Hill Country. I have to get a couple shots of Roger's sentinel before departure.

Lunchtime catches me at Sanderson and I find the only place open on Sunday and am rewarded for my efforts.

As always, I have to swing through Langtree. I've never went South but did this time and caught a couple shots of Eagles Nest.

Pacos River crossing.

Where old US90 used to cross. Now, Lake Amistad lays claim to it.

Stop in the Hill Country for the night, find some refreshment and something for the grill.

Tomorrow, I head back to the Gulf Coast for the end of yet another awesome ride into that great part of Texas, till next time....

A little Sunday summer jaunt.

2007-08-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

Got some time to myself on Sunday morning. After a couple cups of java and a two rooster bullet omelet, I gear up and mount the Pyg and point it South. Now this is going to be quick, and I'm not going to feed you one photo a day just to bump the thread so here it is short and sweet.

Heading into sunrise.

Bet there's skeeters over there.

West Bay sure looks calm.

Statue at 25th and Broadway:

Flagship Hotel.

ZZ Top wrote a song about this place.

Waiting on the ferry.

Getting ready to cross the ship channel.

Bandit at 11:00.

Seawolf Park.

Bolivar Lighthouse.

Nice day for offshore.

Country lane.

Wana take a dip?

I think not!

Trinity River.

Are you talk'n to me,,, are YOU talk'n to ME?

Hartman bridge, damn, it's getting hot.

There, that's better

A little time at the grill and;

I think I'll take a nap now, that is all...

Spring trip to Yellowstone Days

2007-06-23T06:32:00.001-07:00

Well, it's time for a vacation. Ja and I decided that we've never seen Yellowstone so we packed the bike and some camping gear on the trailer, loaded the car and struck out in a northwest direction, we had three days of driving before we got to Yellow stone.

Day 1:

The first day was boring with half of it driving through the rain until we reached Lubbock to stop for the night. Standing out in the parking lot of the LaQiunta, I noticed that we were staying on Mac David Ln... in Lubbock Texas... guess what song gets stuck in my head the next day of driving?

After all, not much to keep you entertained out here.

Day2:

After driving for half the day, I decide it's time to roll the bike off the trailer and let Ja follow me for a while. That evening, we start to see signs of some of the terrain we were expecting.

Later that evening we stop and find a room in Leadville CO, a quaint little town in the mountains.

Day 3:

It's Monday morning, the temp is cool, great for riding so I decide to ride and have Ja following in the tow rig while we make our way towards Wyoming.

We head up to Vail and catch I70 West. The ride through Glenwood Canyon was great...

After riding for the first half of the day, Ja radios me and says she is falling asleep. We find a place to pull off and have a picnic lunch and I load to bike back on the trailer and do some more driving. We get to green river and cut a path towards Flaming Gorge. Heading up the mountain, I have a kid in in a ricer buzzing along behind me. I think he was quit surprised he couldn't keep up with Ja's FX35 that was towing 1800 lbs up the mountain. We stop in the gorge to take in the sights and the kid comes by and gives us a wave...

It turns out to be a good decision to tow the bike. As we climb back out of the gorge, we get on a mesa and run into about 50 mph winds and a driving rain. We continue on until night finds us in Rock Springs WY so we find a place to stay for the night...

Day 4:

It's Tuesday morning and I had already hoped to be in the Tetons but I guess we will be there today. We roll on all morning through fairly featureless terrain the first part of the day and make it to Pinedale WY and stop for gas. I have a friend that just moved there so I give him a ring but his voice mail picks up so I leave him a message and we move along. Later down the road he calls back but we are too far down the road to turn back. Sorry to have missed him.

We make it to Jackson WY a little before noon and stop at the Visitor Center and collect some literature on some cabin and head on up into the Teton National Park. We finally settle on staying at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake and rent a cabin for 3 nights. We unload the rig at our digs.

Seems we have a local hanging out at the cabins keeping an eye on us.

Still plenty of daylight left so we take a short ride around the park, man this place is gorgeous!

Some rain clouds descending through the pass.

We take the road up to the top of Signal Mountain and I look at what is in out path back to the cabin.

Luckily, by the time we get done messing around and head back to the cabin,the sun comes out and we avoid getting wet. After all, we didn't have our rain gear with us. Later that evening, after dinner at the Chuck Wagon I go down to the marina and snap a couple shots. Pretty place at sunset the place is...

Day 5:

As usual, I wake up as soon as daylight starts peeking through the window. I had left the window open on my side of the cabin and crawl out of bed to a cold environment. I dig into the camping gear and find my backpack stove, coffee pot and come grinds and head outside to make me some brew. They don't allow cooking in the cabins but I like the outdoors and this is as close as we get to camping the rest of the trip. I find frost on everything and find it is 25F degrees outside.

After I convince Ja to drag herself from her warm nest, we go down to the Chuck Wagon for some breakfast then back to the cabin to suit up and take in some of Yellowstone. This is her first time to get into all the cold weather gear I brought for her to which she says I made her look like the Michelin Woman. Although she had a little trouble getting used to the gear, she later told me she was glad she had it.

We hit the road and I stop to get a snap at the park entrance.

A little further into the park, we find some of the stuff we don't see down here on the Texas coast very often.

The next place we stop is what everyone comes to Yellowstone to see.

Sitting there we find an older couple with their grandson sitting next to us who are from Livingston Texas and live not too far from our little weekend place by the lake.

Before we leave to see some more sights, I call the office and have Roger get on the web and capture Ja and I (left of center on the boardwalk) just for kicks.

Everywhere you look, there is some cool/hot features to look at.

We see lots of waterfalls and snap a few.

More thermo features.

This steam vent has some hardy little plant growing in it.

Time slips by and we find ourselves on the North side of Yellowstone lake needing to get back to the Tetons as the rain catches us. We stop for a comfort stop at a roadside and as we are standing there, snow starts to fall. It didn't last more than a few minutes but was a novelty for us.

Another geyser but this one was full of sulfur and was quite pungent.

Stopping on the way back into the Tetons.

We get back to the cabin, get refreshed and head down to, you guessed it, the Chuck Wagon for dinner before returning to the cabin to enjoy this place of beauty and solitude.

More to come...

Tripn' in the Smokies I

2004-11-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

Well, Desert Wife and I planned a trip to the Smokies to see the fall colors. We normally don't trailer but lately, Desert Wife can't ride more that 4-5 hours before her back and hip starts to bother her. To maximize our time in the mountains, A friend and I built a trailer for hauling the bike to get us there and back quick and spend 4 days there torturing her on the bike. We are now true WHOREs (We Haul Our Ride Everywhere). To be a little off forum, we took the Goldwing and left the GS at home but still had an adventurous trip so I thought I would share.

With the GW sitting atop her humiliating perch and the Desert Wife's FX loaded with all the comforts of home, I put the GS on the center stand, locked the steering head and set the alarm. As the garage door slid down I could swear I could see a single drop of oil drip from her left jug and the faint cry of "why can't I go" as she went out of sight. Oh well, off we go.

Managed to get from Santa Fe to Tuscaloosa and decided to call it a day. I got the rig jacked-knifed in front of the room, unloaded what we needed and set the alarms on the FX and GW.

To make sure the alarm worked I booted the trailer and set off the alarm on the GW. After hitting the disarm on the key fob, the alarm kept going and then smoke started boiling from under the seat. WTF... Running around like a confused dickhead I finally managed to get the tool kit from the car, yank a side cover off and disconnect the battery. As the smoke cleared I turned to Desert Wife who was looking at me in horror of our vacation going to shit the first night and said, "Grab that bottle of Crown and pour me a glass of it over ice".

After gulping down the smooth Canadian treat to calm my rattled nerves, I started removing bits of the bike to see what damage was done. Turns out that a circuit I added to drive alarm indicator LEDs was wired wrong and burnt up when I disarmed the alarm. I removed its charred remains and put the bike back together and checked it out. Everything was OK so I buttoned her up and went back to the task of empting the Crown Bottle.

Next day we arrived at the cabin in Bryson City NC. The road to the cabin made me wish for the GS as it was quite steep and had a stretch of gravel to traverse and should be interesting on an 800lb touring bike 2-up.

Got everything unloaded and the car, bike and WHORE wagon situated,

Time to check the place out. The Hot Tub was already hot.

Monday morning is cool with patchy fog, suited up and riding through the clouds by 9:00 headed for the Dragon. As the sun started peeking through we came upon a nice little spot, time for a picture.

While enjoying the view, two pickups pull in and two locals get out with a yaggi antenna and start to sweep the mountainside. When I ask them what they were tracking, one said, "Ma dog, we lost eem huntn bar, ok. Taint as many bar tiss yar, ok. We kilt too many last yar, so thars nat as many bar tis yar, ok." Desert Wife really got a kick out of his accent but hey, he probably got a kick a out of our Texas Talk as well. Turns out this would be a common site.

Further down US129 we reach Deals Gap and stop at the store for some trinkets and a whizz. Now it be time for the Dragon.

Time for a dam picture;

Soon as we cross into Tennessee the road get real smooth.

Traffic is light as this is Monday so I dig the spurs into our mount and proceed to grind some of the chrome off the Kury Iso pegs. Within a little while we come upon a HD Bagger putting along and have to listen to him for a while until we come to a lake overlook and pulled off.

Sitting there we see 2 R1200GSs pull in with Louisiana tags so I strike up a conversation with them. We BS a little about their bikes and the one pining away in my garage in Texas and then continue north on US129.

A nice little spot to enjoy a snack.

We continue on into Maryville then head East on US321 and stop at a little greasy-spoon outside of Townsen for a bite. Our quite little lunch is interrupted by two RUB couples as one see my Deals Gap t-shirt and then proceeds to talk loud so that everyone in the diner knows they are on Harleys and how successful they are in life blaâ€¦ blaâ€¦ blaâ€¦ sheeeez, what a bitch. We did talk to another couple sitting in riding gear that rode in on a yellow 1150GS. Turns out they were staying in Bryson City as well. He then tells me that they have had the rear brake just flat quit working twice today. That donâ€™t sound like much fun, hope they made it back home OK.

At the suggestion of everyone in the dinner we decided to go down to Cades Cove. The road down was beautiful but full of cages. Had to take this shot 3 times to get it without one.

After getting to the entrance we saw a sign the warned of 2-3 hour stop and go drive time through the loop. It was getting late and we were getting low on fuel so we turned back and headed to Cherokee and then back to the cabin for a beer, a grilled steak and a soak in the hot tub. Nice day.

Tuesday morning we had usual morning mountain fog so I made a pot of coffee and went out and cleaned the bugs off the windshield while Desert Wife copped a few more Zs. As the fog started to lift I grabbed the camera and snapped a shot off the neighbors deck.

Finished breakfast and suited up and ready to ride again. I told Desert Wife that we would ride a short loop today so she could have time to browse around the stores in Bryson City this afternoon. We headed east on US74 then south on SR107 out of Sylva. After a short ride we hit a detour sign that sent us up over a mountain with some really neat 10 mph switchbacks and elevations changes. When we got to the top the GSP showed 5500 ft. We rode the ridge for a while which had some really nice farmland and then back down the other side with some more great curves and switchbacks. Sure was glad 105 had a major landslide, would have seen that road otherwise.

Stopped at a gas station to have a look at the map to see where we go from here. A local fellow came over to see if he could help. After asking where we wanted to go, he points out a route with much better roads and scenery than the one I had chose. I took his advice and again was not disappointed. The road didn't even show up on my map but had been resurfaced lately and went up and over 2 mountains before bringing up to Franklin. We continued up SR28 to us 19 and then west to the Nantahala Outdoor Center to eat our lunch and watch kayaks in the river. Being the weekday, there wasn't any kayaks so we just ate our lunch and watched the river flow. Desert Wife started talking about how much she like the Dragon so I said we weren't too far and would she like to ride it again so off we went. Headed up SR28 and stopped at Fontana Dam to have a look.

Power House.

Continued up 28 towards the gap and got stuck behind another loud bagger. Finding a spot I buzzed by him just before the road started to get steep and curvy again. Climbing a mountain I come into a curve only to find coming down the mountain, in the curve,,, in MY lane, a vintage Harley. I decided to test the ABS and was glad they worked. I got slowed down enough to let this douchebag by as he gave me that I'm on a Harley, Fuck You� look. You know, I like those bikes but the attitude it bring out in some of the people on them just puts a bad taste in my mouth to make me never want to be a part of that brotherhood, just like jet-skies, don't get me started on jet-skies.

We got back to the gap and rode north to the lake overlook, sat and watched a few posers arrive and depart and then headed back south back down 28 and back to the cabin. By the time we got back to town, Desert Wife is starting to get pretty uncomfortable, I can tell it as I feel her twisting in her saddle and I here the sighs in the headset. Heading up the trail to the cabin, she snapped this shot.

Time for a beer, some of my hot-wings and some more hot tub.

Tripn' in the Smokies II

2004-11-09T13:40:00.000-08:00

Wednesday morning I wake before dawn, as I do every morning, put on the coffee and open the door to see what the weather is like, damnit, rain. It doesn't look like it will let up as the morning goes on so I decide to we could do a little touring in her car. After all, on curvy roads, that thing is a pure hoot to drive. We head up to Cherokee and the hit the parkway. I hold the FX at the speed limit while using the on-demand shift feature ad get some nice Gs going through the curves. At the top of the first mountain we come upon three Beamers and have to slow to 35-40mph in the curves until they hit a pull off and let us by. I thought they were being cautious due to the road conditions.

Mid morning the rain stops and we take a few more snaps.

We get off the parkway at Waynesville to grab lunch, stop at an antique mall and the decide to get back to get back and use the rest of the day to poke around town.

Back at the cabin we put on the casual leathers and hop on the bike and head back down the driveway.

Out of our driveway we turn right on Fontana Road and head down the road to nowhere. This is a promise that was broken back in the 40s between Tennessee and North Carolina. NC built a road into the national forest and after going through a tunnel, stopped.

Well the road coming from Tennessee never made it so the asphalt dead-ends into the woods.

Oh well, back to the cabin for some beer, hamburgers and hot tub.

Thursday morning I am up making coffee before dawn and check the weather. No rain as of yet. This is our last day to ride this motorcycle heaven so rain or not, we were going to ride. After breakfast we get out lunch and snacks packed in the bike crank her up and off we go in just a slight drizzle. Before we get to town the rain has stopped and patches of blue are showing. We head back to Cherokee to do some of the Parkway on the bike.

We stop at the visitors center to take in some of the view.

Headed down towards Balsam Gap we grab a couple more shots.

Me again;

We continue down the parkway until we get into the clouds so thick we have to turn back.

See this phunny sign;

Riding back we get into one pretty good shower but don't stop for rain suites and the JR gear kept us dry enough. Stopping in Cherokee for gas, I get off and it looks like I pissed my pants as the rain had run down the front of my jacket and soaked my crotch.

Back in Bryson City we cruise up Deep Creek Road to check out the park and ride up some gravel road for a mile or so and turn back and head to town. As we get there we are in time to see the train come in so I park the bike and get some shots while Desert Wife takes in a few more stores.

Again, back to the cabin for beer, more hot-wings and hot tub.

Friday Morning I was planning to ride and let Desert Wife pull the WHORE Wagon but with a pretty good rain falling, I rode her (the bike, not Desert Wife) onto the trailer, packed the car and we were off like a herd of turtles. A good day and a half of caging lay ahead.

Saturday afternoon we get home and unpack everything and unload the bike. Desert Kitty (AKA Bubba Kitty) was so glad to see us he just keeled over.

Sorry for the non-dual sport report. Next one will be from my GS.

All you cat people out there; He really didn't die, he is just a lazy bastard.