Danimal

Most touring-road oriented bikes aren’t comfortable going down trails in the woods.

I‘m sure the Wing is a great handling bike.

It’s just that my preferred riding “style” changed since back then Tony

 The last road bike I owned spent the last year of its long, long life exploring dirt and gravel roads that I had flown past for years while looking for the best twisty pavement. It was totally ill-equipped for what I put it through and when the next few bikes allowed me to explore those same roads more comfortably and confidently I was hooked. 
My bike will still sit at 75 on the highway all day, in relative comfort with the mods I’ve made. It has over a 450 mile range. It has over 11” of suspension travel and more than 10” of ground clearance (great for high curbs entering hotel lobbies in Mexico). And the highest-tech electronics on the DR is my iPhone. No ABS pump or sensors to fail. No fuel injectors to clog or fuel pump to fail. All positives when you live on your bike for extended periods. Like most of you, my longest “trip” was a week at the Gap every Summer. 

And I am by no means a great offroad rider. In fact, since my leg injury, I’ve turned around on single track and real bad roads more than a few times. When my DR is fully loaded it’s a beast to pick up for me with the bad leg. All luggage usually is clipped off first. Hell I’m thinking of getting a trail jack to help lift it. 
I can’t imagine trying to lift up a Gold Wing several times in a day. 
I’m getting antsy now to ride

The new Goldwimg could suck your dick while riding for all I care. Can’t see myself on one for any reason. 

Yeah I’m getting pretty excited. And having a new bike under me will allow a little leeway in how I treat it as far as pushing through some bad roads. If I hit the weather right, the roads between Inuvik and Tuktoyuktuk should be passable. If rainy, the 13” calcium chloride road base turns to the slickest snot imaginable, and clings and dries to a state that is almost not-completely-removable, even with pressure washers. 
So things I am studying:

Bear sprays and deterrence 

mosquito issues (100%deet required)

spares (I have friends in Palmer Alaska and I’ll be sending fresh tires to her along with chain, sprockets and brake pads)

pre-spraying the bike with various coatings to help with calcium chloride sticking  

upgrading my satellite com system from my old SPOT Gen3 to a Garmin Inreach Mini2

getting a new FOBO motorcycle TPMS that integrates with my CarPlay unit  

that’s about it

On 12/22/2023 at 8:20 AM, bowdog said:

Congrats man! I was in Alaska in June and wow what a beautiful place, you will not be disappointed!

Thanks man. Yeah it’s going to be epic. I really was trying to explore the northern limits in Quebec when the old bike gave up the ghost. There are thousands of miles of rugged gravel and dirt roads across Canada and there is a lot of excellent wild camping and fishing along the way. I intend on exploring both. There is little that tastes better than fresh fish cooked over a fire next to your tent by an unnamed lake. Throw in legal weed and good beer and that’s going to be like heaven. 
There are areas of BC near Banff I hear are spectacular as well. And that’s all before I see Alaska!

New decal will read:

Cycle South 2024

Ohio to the Arctic Circle on a motorcycle. 

5 hours ago, AlanSmith7 said:

Just wondering if there are any Motorcycle backpacks that offer water tanks. I checked the Viking bags and RevZilla but could not find any backpacks with water bottle/tank.

Like this?

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/klim-quench-pak?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA98WrBhAYEiwA2WvhOkwwiwtwNjjKvfBa93a7XiZcjSQ5OUG1XxGZUPnyt-WQ9dCEIF_ZihoCM8EQAvD_BwE&sku_id=1318863

Oh so close now. 

The 6” adjustable jaw is from Lobster in Japan. The skeleton wrenches and ratchet are from Asahi in Japan (their Lightool series)

the weird lockjaw pliers are from Knipex 

The Dakar version is too stiff for hand mounting etc on the DR and kind of overkill Brian. Still a great tire. 
 

tool roll almost complete 

New tires. New rear wheel (Warp 9 hub broke. They replaced hub and Woodys rebuilt)

new tool roll being assembled. Starting to get those feelings when a trip’s reality sets in. 
Tuktoyaktuk is a long ways away

Any of you guys considering a big ride up north in the spring let me know. 

I’ll be heading NE to Newfoundland, then west across Canada on the TCAT (Trans-Canadian Adventure Trail, 70% dirt across the country. Similar to BDR routes but a bit easier until the extreme NW territory ) to Tuk and then Alaska on the new bike and it’d be cool to not be solo the whole way this time. I’m getting older and the breakdown in Hudson Bay kinda made me rethink things a bit. ( I’m sure the feeling will pass once I’m back on the road)

Not a sprint.

No, it came from a pile of skins being sold at a gas station in Southern Argentina. It was much bigger for a while but has gradually tattered. I assumed it was sheep. In that area were tons of guanaco, a kinda cross between a llama and a deer. Pretty sure it’s not lamb. Last year when deciding to keep it or ditch it, I got a steel comb and tore into it and pulled off a ton of wool along with lots of dirt. That tattered it even further, but it’s still plenty big and now nice and soft and not matted any longer. It’s got a lot of miles on it 

Sunny 2.0 is nearly complete. 
I flew to Denver to attend services for TG Woody Witte, owner of Woodys Wheel Works in Denver who had recently passed away. The day I arrived in Denver I became terribly ill and ended up in the hospital for four days being treated for acute pancreatitis. Man that was fucking painful. Just discharged yesterday.
And I missed the services and memorial ride. Hundreds attended the ride from all over the world. Woody had a great influence in the world of overlanding motorcyclist. It began for sure with him creating wheels that can withstand years of abuse without fail, but evolved into his mentorship and deep friendships with so so many world travelers. Myself eventually included. Aside from supplying me wheels, he gave me a place to live for 18 months while recuperating from having my leg crushed directly after returning to the US from a year long lockdown in Brasil. Even with his own health failing he tried to take care of me in my wheelchair. It was symbiotic. When Woody heard that Sunny had died in Quebec, he not only was instrumental in helping find the low-mile DR that is now 2.0, he offered to buy it for me, wanting the original Sunny to have a place in his Museum above the shop. Not having the funds to totally recreate the bike from scratch, I declined both offers and bought it the next day myself. 
And here I sit now in Denver, getting on a bus tonight back to Akron. Thinking of him and our times together, and trying to think ahead to more crazy travels and next Spring’s conquest of Newfoundland, the TCAT, then north to Tuk and Alaska and the Arctic Circle. Woody approves.