wantahertzdonut

So I've discovered Silver City is or should be on every motorcyclist's radar. There are a bunch of very unpopulated and very twisty roads right out of town, and if you have a dual sport, this is your paradise. The scenery is something else, from canyons, to mountain passes, to massive copper mines. Route 15 is just one road that I'll do a separate ride report, but its 44 miles one way of constant left-right turns. No traffic and no cops either. After 4 hours of riding out and back, I felt like I was at a trackday. The Dragon and its police presence can suck it! We also met up with some traveler friends who recommended coming here for several day hikes into the wilderness. It's a surreal experience and has been a blast. The activities make the troubles we had getting here well worth it.

I'm still wouldn't mind getting my hands on a 1990 VTR250. Any year grey market gsxr 250 or CBR 250RR would be cool too.

Glad to see y'all finally have decent riding weather, and on a weekend, no less!

We extended our stay in Albuquerque one extra week because we realized our travel plans were putting us one week ahead of the warm weather. Finally got some riding in up that way and did some other sightseeing as well. Today we drove to Silver City, NM where we'll stay a week before going to either Holbrook or Tucson, AZ before going to Phoenix. Planning on some riding in these parts as well as meeting up with travel friends we met while in Austin. Hopefully the fucking wind dies down. It's been sustained 20+mph wind in NM every day we've been here.

Bugger all. My plans have been forced to change. Dad is getting cancer treatment in May so I need to go to Cleveland for most of the month. I'm going to have to pass on riding with you guys. For what it's worth, we're going to Silver City, NM next week for one week. It's close enough to 191 I will attempt a ride myself next week.

We have the SMH10 as well. No complaints other than the speakers in my Shoei RF1100 helmet squeeze the outermost part of my ear which gets painful after a while. At that point, I need to stop, take my helmet off, and push the speakers back in place. It's rare so it's hardly a big deal. What is important is the sound is clear when communicating which makes couple rides more pleasant.

April Showers bring May showers! I feel bad for you guys. After living near that damn lake and putting up with the lake breeze until mid June, I'm happy as hell to be away. The last few winters were enough! And the fact that it only rains on the weekends in the summer was also maddening. Hopefully it'll come around soon, and actually be a summer.

Two of my sisters gave me a total of $100 in Gap ecards for Christmas, one for $75 and the other for $25. These are good at Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piperlime, and Athleta. I don't shop at any of those stores. I'd like to sell these both for $75obo, or I'd consider trading them for something I can use. I no longer live in NEO so anything local wouldn't be of use. Since they are ecards, I will send you the login info and passwords. All you have to do is print the form, or pull the message up on your phone and they can take the number at the store. Online orders simply need the gift card number entered.

By itself it doesn't look that bad, but that stupid backrest and (I assume) forward leg position would make for a weird looking and awkward ride. Then again, it says "Europe" in the video. So I assume its aimed at guys that wear pink shirts and pants that squeeze your balls. So maybe it'll fit right in!

Any word on the cause?

The puritan tyrany that made these dumbass liquor laws confuses me. No alcohol sales so that I'd go to church? You have to be kidding me. No motor vehicle sales on Sunday is even more perplexing. Indiana deserves every nasty word you said. You need not worry!

He wants to sell a bike AND give me the finger? I guess he can keep it! something tells me I don't want to see the girls he'd put in his ad anyway

Over half a million miles, no oil leaks!

Even if you're OCD about the crush washer, you'll be fine if you miss it once or twice. I've done countless oil changes on over a dozen of my vehicles and replaced the washer exactly twice in 19 years. Never had a leak from the plug. Just use a torque wrench. A good calibrated forearm works too if you don't have a torque wrench!

So I've left this alone for a bit because I had a lousy internet connection in Austin. FL isn't happening. They gave me an offer, and a start date 11 days out from the offer. No way could I get everything from TX, then get everything in storage in OH to FL, then get a place to live, and get through all the drug testing and background check BS. I asked to negotiate the date, they without so much as thinking about it rescinded the offer. I guess working for them has really got to suck, I dodged a bullet. We stayed in Austin and had a great time. We saw tons of great bands, met some of the nicest people in the world, and I even tracked down the only friend of mine from high school that I'm sad to have lost contact with; he lives in Austin and is a full time musician. Pretty awesome. While we were sad to leave Austin, we were ready to get back on the road. I was smiling as we pulled onto US290 and eventually I-10 heading west. We overnighted in Fort Stockton, then took US285 north toward Carlsbad, NM. We visited Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe National Parks over the course of a week, before proceeding to Albuquerque where we are now. We'll be here a week. Hoping to do some riding but it's super windy and temps are significantly below the forecasts. We'll explore anyway and either head south to Silver City, or west to Petrified Forest NP.

Is late May still a go? We're making travel plans and I want to make sure this is still happening.

That is our plan. We hoped to go there along with Guadalupe Mountains NP when we came to TX, but the weather was way too cold. Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

The FL job fell through. It turns out they like to make unreasonable requests of new employees, then not want to hear about negotiations. I passed and couldn't feel better about it. We're still in Austin and will start moving westward by mid March. I think we'll spend some time in NM before returning to AZ. Barring any life-changing events, making the ride in late May should be a breeze. Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

I'm crossing my fingers that an R version will show up sometime soon. I'd probably dump my Tuono for one if that happens.

I read the May issue of City Bike and it had a nice review of the new Moto Guzzi California 1400. Looks great but I'd have to ditch the floorboards. Has anyone seen/ridden one? Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Will let you know. I had an interview in FL the other day that went really well so I might be moving there. Maybe I'll have some vacation time and could make it out? Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

1990 VTR250 or an electric bike. May also consider a Tuono4 if it fits me better than my current Tyono Factory.

Arrived in Austin Jan 8. Much busier than we expected! I knew the city is growing exponentially but the flurry of people and traffic still caught us off guard. We've seen a few shows, made some friends, and did a little riding. Texas Hill Country offers a few curves but we haven't found anything that I'd call twisty yet. I have blog posts for Tucson that I hope to upload today if we make it to a library. I also have a job interview in Jupiter, FL. Not a place that I thought I'd settle but the company is growing fast. Plus, Palm Beach International Raceway is there, with track days. We'll see what happens.

When do you think you'll do the spring ride? At the moment I think we'll be back in AZ around mid March and I'd love to ride 191 with a group.

I'll check them out myself. My State Farm rates have been hard to argue with so I haven't felt the need to look elsewhere. You guys with Progressive and GEICO, though, better look into these guys. I don't understand why anyone goes with either of them. Their car and MC rates for me would be 3-4X as much as what I have through SF.