Qman

Remember...It is far better for a chain to be too loose than too tight...within reason. AND, there is no sense in lubing a dirty chain, if it is an O-ring/X-ring chain.

Some local flavor......

did he bring his own oxygen??

It took my little WR250R 40 minutes!

Pretty sure there's a throttle position change in there somewhere!

Right...no pressure until you're ready to shift. The less pressure you apply to shift, the less wear. Its very difficult to master a perfect downshift while braking...keep practicing!

You should only preload-shift when you are able to control throttle enough to sync rpms. Otherwise you'll be wearing gears and dogs. Some bikes, (like big, slow v-twins) are nearly impossible to sync, which is why you'll see cruiser riders take forever to shift, while pulling the clutch in completely, dropping throttle, then hammering the next gear, then slowly releasing. ... One reason I cant stand to ride those sort of bikes. when you are able to sync throttle, the throttle and clutch lever should barely move as you up (or down) shift, unless you are under very hard braking.

Gotta love the kind of woman who will always keep an eye out for ya!

You know what they say about guys with big feet.......they have big shoes!

Couple more pics...

The snow blocked our route a few times, had to turn around and find another way.

Back in Ohio, safe and sound. What a trip. We saw so many views in the backroads that few will ever get to see. About 1700 bike miles logged. No major issues; One flat tire (picked up a nail), and some minor gear malfunctions, but the Yamaha kept running. It took a beating with lots if first gear screaming up the sides of mountains, over bowling ball size rocks all day long. the temperature light came on once. Its now making a lot of racket, and My buddy thinks it may be the main crank bearing on it's way out. I may be looking for a wrench to rebuild the little 250. Any suggestions or help regarding this would be appreciated.

I believe that is Placer gultch.

Yes, thats snow in the background!

Camping at 10500 feet near wolf creek pass

FYI, that jacket makes my ass look big.....because the Gerbing heated jacket is tucked in the back! ?

Just a wee bit of snow left!

If you're gonna stay on pavement, you should come early to avoid the heat in the lower elevations....or later. Id rather deal with cold on a bike than heat...so will your tires!

We also like Colorado for the same reasons Danimal likely does!