Tubeless Tires and Tubes

Spend much time on a motorcycle and eventually you’ll pick up a hitchhiker – in a tire. Pointy objects like nails, screws, wire and discarded Ginsu knives are native to every roadside and turnout in the country, even though they are considered foreign objects once they pierce the pliable carcasses of your motorcycle’s rubber feet. When that happens, generally one of two scenarios takes place. [Read more]

Escape from White Canyon, Part 4: Road Gang

(We left our tired riders having to cross a sandy chasm while the solid pavement of the highway taunts them from just yards away.)

The rain clouds are darker and closer as we dismount to examine the sand ledge in front of the culvert. What would be child’s play with a dirt bike looks too steep and soft to risk with heavy dual-sports. “Better get some rocks,” Kail says, as he starts kicking down the sand to decrease the slope. There’s no shortage of rocks in southern Utah, so it’s not long before we have a rough ramp set up. After unloading his luggage and carrying it across the creek, Kail makes the first run down the slope, across the creek and up the ramp. Roger and I stand by on either side of the culvert to lend a hand, but Kail cleans the section and parks his KLR in the escape tunnel. As usual, it’s easier than it looks. Roger’s next with another clean run and I make it three for three. We celebrate briefly, pack up the bikes and are soon on our way down highway 95, heading for the gray mass that hangs over the Abajos. [Read more]

Escape from White Canyon, Part 3: Lost and Found

(Part 2 ended with our party of three moto-men parked somewhere east of Hite, Utah, and north of Highway 95…and wondering just where the heck they are.)

The clouds to the north and east are getting darker, curtains of gray beginning to form in the distance. I know the area the best of any of us, and I’m pretty sure that rain is already falling on the upper reaches of White Canyon. I also know that the canyon lies between us and the highway. When I mention the potential for flash floods, it’s apparent that Kail and Roger have already considered the possibility, and with it, the possibility that we’re just a little lost. [Read more]

Red Wing 971 Boots

Black leather boots are a staple in my wardrobe. Being lazy and all, I don’t like changing my boots unnecessarily, so I’m particularly fond of boots that can be worn comfortably all day, on and off the bike. And because I’m hard on boots—scuffing them when lumbering my 200+ pounds down the sidewalk or dragging them in tight, fast corners—only those that are well-made get a passing grade. [Read more]

Escape from White Canyon, Part 2: Water, Water Everywhere

(At the end of Part 1, we had one smart guy taking a sure bet – pavement – while three riders with more bravado than brains pin their chances on the whims of the weather as they slosh their way across southern Utah.)

Dust isn’t an issue with the rain-damp surface, so we ride in a pack while sneaking peeks of the red rock the skyline. The desert is fresh and inviting, and we leave clean, clear TKC-80 tracks in the bright red soil. It’s all good for awhile, but the farther we go, the wetter it gets. Damp earth turns to small puddles; we splash on through. Then small puddles slosh together into larger ones. Water floods only one wheel rut at a time, so we slalom over the crest of the two-track to stay in the dry zone. Later, puddles on both sides force us to ride the crest itself, and when that’s below water level we navigate through the puddles, gingerly guiding the heavy bikes through several inches of water and mud. My KLR’s front end wiggles in the mucky bottom and the rear slides like a boot on a banana peel with the slightest throttle movement. [Read more]

The British Are Coming! The British Are Coming!

On the last day of March a big plane landed in Los Angeles and 22 Brits — English, Scottish and Welsh — arrived in the U.S. Next day they went down to the Long Beach seaport and liberated 21 motorcycles — 19 Triumphs and two Other Brands. And set off on a four-week adventure, beginning with a trip up the coast to San Francisco. This was all the doing of the Social Secretary of the South Essex branch of the Triumph Owners Motor Cycle Club, one Martin Kerwin. He had bought a container, outfitted it to carry 21 motorcycles, and club members rapidly filled it up. Since the container was going by sea, the bikes had to be in place by January 15th — but nobody with any sense is riding in England in mid-January. I met them when they overnighted in Morro Bay, and they were headed up to Big Sur for lunch, then to Carmel to meet Craig Vetter who was throwing a party for them that evening. [Read more]

San Jose Vintage Bike Show

Spring has sprung, and the motorcycle season is in full swing — as shown by the 23rd Annual Clubman’s All-British Motorcycle Weekend held at the fairgrounds in San Jose, California, the last weekend in March. Along with the 3rd Eur-Asian show, and the 1st American bike show. All vintage, of course. The Limey Lovers have put on a great show for all these years, and this time the BSA and Triumph triples were the featured models. A little, or a lot, of everything else from Ariel to Velocette was on hand, plus a good swap-meet. Three years ago somebody came up with the idea of adding old European and Asian bikes to the show, and the fairgrounds had an extra exhibition hall to rent. This year the aged Indians and Harleys showed up in yet another hall. A three-ring circus, so to speak, with scrambles bikes roaring around in the background. [Read more]

Escape from White Canyon, Part 1: Monticello or Bust

The A/C was on, the ranger friendly and the news encouraging when I walked into the information office at Hite Marina on Lake Powell to escape the heat. I’ve studied my maps of southern Utah pretty well over the years, but was surprised when the ranger asked, “Did you know that you can ride dirt roads all the way from Hite to Monticello?” [Read more]