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I made it to Tuktoyaktuk NWT today. It was by far the most difficult road I’ve ridden to date. Now I’ve been as far north and south as you can ride in the Americas!

Nine days on the road (so far). Touring Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum tomorrow then heading to GA. Next up, cherahola skyway, deals gap, BRP, the snake and back of the dragon

Spent all day Saturday going over all three bikes. Servicing, going over bolts and fluids and a deep detail of them. So all three are as clean and ready for the season as they could ever be. Time to log the miles. Even though I've already had a Gap trip under my belt a few weeks ago and ready to make trip #2.

It's official. I have informed the company I am retiring the end of April.

Well, I can't say I did it today, but after years lovingly wrenching on my older bikes, chucking money aside for the better part of a decade, I bit the bullet on a machine I can trust to not leave me stranded, hammer my spine on bumps or be hopeless when gravel appears. I just completed installing the major farkles I wanted on this bike and so far, I love it to death. Claims it's boring are vastly wrong. Also, hey, I haven't been on this board in a long time. The last few years have been kind of...weird.

I’ll be heading back to Dawson and then taking the ferry over to Alaska. I’ll do the Dalton then, so I’ll be through Tok. Too bad you didn’t have time. It would have been a trip to run into you Nevin. And thanks. This has been a crazy road. Still not sure I want to do this last stretch to Tuk tomorrow. My leg still makes it hard to even walk. One fuck up and it could be bad. It’s probably stupid for me to be doing this shit still. It’s all I know now, and one of the few things that make me truly happy.

Picked up a new retirement project bike to ride the backwoods this fall.

Amanda and I had our maiden voyage on the RT. We took OH-212/93 to Roscoe Village for BBQ and then came home via 60/62/83 into Smithville/OH-21. Good weather. Good roads. Good food. Good day.

Weather for the start of the Arctic Circle journey was looking iffy so I did two things: I delayed the start a few days so I wouldn’t be riding through rain to start the trip, and I also booked a small cabin at Cannabis Creek Cabins in Luther Michigan. They are as affordable as a motel and includes a nice gift bag with some tasty treats! Should be a great end of the first full day’s riding on the 15th after an overnight stay at my Father’s. Sunny 2.0 is completely loaded and champing at the bit to get going. You’ll be able to track my progress through the Yukon and Alaska with this link to my Garmin Inreach Mini satellite tracker! https://share.garmin.com/HWJA4

Just back to Ohio where I’ll begin prep for YT and AK departure on the 12th. I attended the Horizons Unlimited travelers meeting near Appomattox and had a great time hanging out with like minded people that don’t think you’re crazy for cashing in and leaving “normalcy” behind to create your own normal. On the way home I was hosted by Lauren and Paul Brenner at Rainbow Farm near the New River Gorge in WV. Aside from running an organic chicken farm and riding the world in their spare time (check out their YT channel “the other end of the Rainbow) they run the Appalachian Motorcycle Adventure tour company. Lauren took me for an awesome 250 mile loop through some crazy WV dirt roads. They cater to all skill levels up to hard enduro (they have one day ride with over 100 water crossings!). If you’re interested in using their services (highly recommended), their web page is here: https://www.appalachianmotoadvtours.com/ Some pictures from my last week Mystery hole! friend and we’ll-known motorcycle travel author Sam Manicom publisher Michael Fitterling

Took the wheels off the Versys. Went to IP for a pair of Roadsmarts 3 to replace the knobbies. Bought new helmet. Expensive trip over $600 for everything.

Congratulations! I plan to inform my company next Friday. Tomorrow I'm going to look at a potential retirement gift for myself.

Home. 2468 miles, 5 states one province, two countries and 5 casinos.

On our third day of five days to the Ozark. Mrs. Durk is killing it averaging close to 500 miles a day. No complaints about speed or cornering too hard. She gets a little green feeling at times so does request at times to back it down a bit. MO 125, AR 125, AR 123, AR 7 are some good roads. Peel ferry is a cool deal, can’t believe it’s free. Did take a route around Lake of the Ozarks that was a nice cruise and had a fun little loop from Camdenton down towards Devil’s Elbow and back up to Bridal falls this morning.

Got it fixed! First I planned to pull the oil pan which meant draining the oil that had less than 50 minutes on it. Then I had to remove the exhaust and the lines to the oil cooler before the pan came off. The only useful thing I could see up there was that the part I needed to access was in the clutch compartment. So now on to removing the clutch cover and clutch basket. I probably could have realigned the shift shaft gear without removing the clutch but, WTH, I'm already this far... After removing everything, it was a simple job to align the shifter end and spring. Shifting seemed like Iike it was good, so I put it all back together. New oil and a ride around the neighborhood confirmed that it's fixed!

I’ve been off grid for a while, riding the Denali Highway and camping. This is something you folks should make a bucket list item. It’s doable on a road bike if careful. Stunning scenery everywhere you look. Camp sites as far as the eye can see. I have lots of pics and video to download. Here is a cell phone photo from my tent last night Before hotels and motels Alaska had “Roadhouses”. There are some still around. Tonight I’ve got a room at Meier’s Lake Roadhouse near Paxon Alaska at the end of Rt. 8, the Denali Highway its raining hard. Relaxing and wondering what’s to come. Tomorrow it’s into Palmer Alaska and reuniting with a girlfriend I haven’t seen since 1989 !!!

Been on the road since May 5. Should be home tomorrow. Twisted sisters in Texas, cherahola skyway, dragon, moonshiner, blue ridge parkway, snake, back of the dragon. Whew. Who knew there were so many roads with funny names 🤣

Rescued this little guy from deep slumber in @bowdogs garage. so far we’ve established compression, spark and air but the fuel isn’t getting to the cylinder. ordering a carb rebuild kit, and air filter and have some snapped plastic anchor points to repair but should clean up and run good.

Went ahead and ordered a new converter because I was convinced that was the issue.... Hard launch might have worked the inside somehow. And what a difference between the stock 12" and the new 10" But as soon as I pulled the pan I was unpleasantly surprised with this mess. A whole lot of bushing material in the fluid....like.... A WHOLE LOT so I went ahead and with no previous experience I ripped the transmission apart. Initial inspection hard parks all looked good except the rear planetary, clutches are toast and every bushing is trashed. Ordered an overhaul kit, all three painless accumulators and a rear planetary rebuild kit. I really have no idea how the transmission was functioning properly outside of just noise and vibration. With the way the clutches look I would have expected this thing to be slip city. But then again I've only ever worked on dirtbike clutches before this 🤣

Finally it stopped raining long enough to get outside and change Sunny’s oil. Im leaving on the 21st for a week long trip down to Appomattox Virginia to attend the Horizons Unlimited Traveler’s meeting. There in addition to camping and hanging out with like-minded vagabonds, I’ll also be giving my first solo public presentation about my travels, and will also be doing a reading from my chapter in Sam Manicom’s travel anthology “the Moment Collectors”. Then the next day I’ll be doing a seminar on modifying and maintaining DR650 for extended international travel! nervous as hell but I’m sure it’ll be fun. And yeah Tony, this spring has sucked bad. Very few nice days. Really looking forward to the ride down. Staying at Mark Swepston’s in Kingston Ohio the first night out. Second night will be at the Koolwink!! hope everyone is doing ok

Worst spring ever!

I informed my company on Friday that I am leaving effective 3/14. I did give them an option to pay to retain me as a (very) part time consultant for 90 days to ease the transition. 50/50 if I want to stay on as a consultant or just be done. Wheels are in motion.

Bought this 2013 Kawasaki Versys. I am the 2 nd owner. 34,000 miles. Loaded with S & W moto extras. He had it set up for dirt. It has big block knobbies on it. Going to turn into a good street bike that can do back roads, but no off road. It’s 200 pounds less than my FJR.

Rode it to work Thursday and found this when I got home. Saturday I patched it.

Got New rubbers at wheelers

Yesterday I took Mystery for a ride up Hatcher Pass not far from their home in Palmer where I’ve been staying while resolving issues on the bike. With all systems go now, it’s time to explore a bit. As we ascended and descended the pass, I handed the Nikon to Mystery and she was the trip photographer. Summit Lake at the top of Hatcher Pass AK watching hang gliders descend afterwards, live music at the Palmer Alehouse

Made it to Seward Alaska and the best crab I’ve ever had!

Today Work on my new DR.650 Project. 1. Wind screen 2, Bark Busters. 3.Bar risers 4. Skid Plate 5 Peg/Brake lever Lowers. 6. Center stand 7. Rear Rack. 8. Sealed rear Rim & Installed Mitas E-o7 tire https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsBAaDfZkbxULiV3c5MohnA

Sorry couldn't update here as the forum was not loading for me. Some kind of error , ty again for coming out in the cold @Gpaw @durk @B-Mac so nice to meet familiar faces again. we got back Saturday night itself. It was a fun day getting to meet yall and riding with you again. Hopefully get to do it again in fall. missed meeting you @Tonikand @Pauly till next time

Done and done. Thank you Michelle! Thank you Procycle! So far I’ve only ridden probably 3-400 miles of dirt roads in the last week, and on only a few were under dusty conditions where I was following a pickup. I was surprised how much dirt made it into the fork seal area with those cracked boots. Much better now. Confidence restored. Heading NW towards the Carway border crossing tomorrow

There are friends I don’t hear from much anymore that still frequent this site, and their signatures on my bike are a steady reminder of fun times in the past. So I’ll keep updating here as well So I decided to stay an extra night here in Pettibone ND at Chris’ cabin in order to do a maintenance day on Sunny. There were a few things to address, namely getting the horn working and a few other things. Well, things never are as simple as that are they? During cleaning and inspection I see multiple cracks all over both front fork boots. These boots are criticize keeping dirt and grime away from the fork seals. I contacted Procycle and they are shipping no cost a new set a day ahead of me where I can do the install (which requires both fork legs to be removed). So guess where I’m heading tomorrow? A long day SW to Custer South Dakota where I’ll be visiting and staying with friend and Moto-author (and fellow contributing author with me in the Moment Collectors book) Michelle Lamphere !! I last saw Michelle when leaving Denver heading back to Ohio right after getting out of the wheelchair! Also will be visiting friends Shana Sanderson and her husband Eugene where I can do the work changing out the fork boots. So all in all a productive day. Horn repaired Chain cleaned and lubed Carb breather filter cleaned Small section of fuel line replaced with one the correct length Two pounds of bug guts removed. Yuck lol. Highway peg pivots cleaned and lubed so much blood disassembly begins horn now works again

Random campsite in MN near the ND border. One week out

Well so far seems the transmission if fine! I didn't see anything online about doing it but, I pulled the fuel pump fuse and cranked the truck over to prime the transmission pump and cooler before I started it, sucked up 8 quarts REAL quick. Taking a total (including what I dumped in the TC) of 12.5-13 quarts. New transmission mount is way overkill. Attached some beefy scrap angle iron to the core support with stainless rivnuts and put some rivnuts in the angle iron to mount the cooler directly to it. Forgot to take a picture behind the bumper, but here's what it looks like from the front. Next up I'll work on getting a scoop for it to mimic the aftermarket ones for the typhoon and Syclone heat exchanger, since it's mounted in roughly the same spot. Took a pretty rowdy spina round the neighborhood after running it through all the gears on jackstands and saw 132°F so I think it's going to need more airflow or a bigger cooler (this is the B&M 20,000btu cooler) The ONLY issues are... The 1-2 shift is a little soft for my liking but, I'm sure that's because I went from the trans go 1-2 spring setup to the sonnax OEM replacement spring and the converter probably doesn't help that. 2-3 and 3-4 felt very solid on the jackstands, only hit the 2-3 once in the neighborhood and I still have some pretty aggressive torque management on that one. The second issue is... I messed up the shifter cable yesterday trying to adjust it... Now I can only hit reverse and neutral from park. Only thing it hits from drive it park, ordered a new one since there is only one place in Florida to get the stupid extra long C4 shift cable for these trucks 🤣 And of course I had to check and make sure the rattles and clunks were gone on hard acceleration https://youtu.be/std3CxQgZS4?si=VfYN3kPvYn_wiiUK

Oil/filter change on the RT. It's ready. Goldwing alternator gave out last fall. I replaced it with 90amp unit. 13+ VDC at idle. Way better than OEM 40amp. Oil/filter change will be wrapped up this weekend.

I bet you hear that a lot.

Maybe I'll jump in this conversation. So I'm at the point where I "could" retire early. Way different circumstances from most of you all. My situation is I am debt free, have almost five times my annual salary in my 401k, almost 29 years of pension build up, and I have a sugar mama that is about to get promoted. That last one is the key for me. I've worked my entire life at a bullshit corporate industrial job to raise my family and put food on the table. Many you probably remember me posting in the past about working all weekends and barely be able to get away and do things. Years ago my wife wanted to go back to school and so I worked so much overtime and weekends to make that happen. The agreement was that I could retire early and she would take care of me in the future. So then last year she went back to school again to get her master's degree in healthcare administration. And in the very near future the manager of her office is retiring and my wife should be a shoe end to take her place which also comes with a substantial pay increase and benefits. And while the thought of retiring early is enticing I'm just happy that I'm at a point to where I could just walk away and say fuck it at any time. I mean that peace of mind is paying dividends as we My work is so slow right now and they're actually talks of layoffs. and it doesn't bother me in the least a little bit. I'll stick around as long as I can or as long as I feel like. I mean let's face it, every year I work is more pension dollars and 401K savings(which I'm currently stashing 30% of my paychecks into my 401k) At this point my income is the play money, and we like to play. So that's where I'm at, debt free, a nice nest egg, empty nesters and a spouse that loves what she does and doesn't mind doing it. Now when I actually do pull the trigger and retire, I don't think I would retire completely either. Would absolutely want to pick up a gig that I like or love. Maybe bounce around different jobs like motorcycle shop or parts counter or even just turn wrenches in my own garage.

Hell, yeah, I'm gonna sniff it!

No, there is a law against them being close to casinos. Uber to Planet 13, it isn't far from the Bellagio. It's huge and cool as hell. It's like a Walmart for weed.

End to end clean run on the good part of 16 this morning. Dry, clean and great pavement. Lunch then 353, 209 and 208 and all that.

Replace oil cooler that ate a stone, oil & oil filter change, air filter change, replace spark plugs, check/top-up transmission and final drive fluids. Should now be ready for another few 1500+ mile trips.

Arrived in Red Lodge MT last night. Sadly, Beartooth pass (the reason I’m here) was also closed again last night near the MT/WY border due to two feet of fresh snow. Onwards towards Great Falls tomorrow and then the border crossing at Carway.