by Road Captain
No less than once every month, a potential new biker says to me “I’m looking to learn how to ride, want to take the (road test) and get a bike – what would you suggest?” Buying your first bike is not an easy decision – especially when you don’t know much about the pastime in the first place. Elements to consider are: 1. Cost – Your disposable funds 2. The type of cycle that you want- sport bike versus cruiser […]
Categories: Amazing Bikes
by Road Captain
I’m headed to Phoenix AZ to do a but of riding. I’ll be taking a 2012 softail Slim out for the day. I have put a lot of miles on softies over the past decade and look forward to spending a full day on one as opposed to a touring model. Below are the specs from the mo co: http://bit.ly/XIrich I’m looking forward to seeing how the machine handles 300+ miles, corners and picks up with stock pieces. My softail […]
Categories: Amazing Bikes
by Road Captain
Who has these? Do they work as well as everybody says they do?
Categories: Parts you Need
by Road Captain
I remember this image from the days following the Japanese Tsunami a few years ago. A man who one assumes lost everything standing along side his machine. I’m under no delusion that this thing would run or that he was in any way experiencing relief from the tragedy of days past but this image did convey some hope of normalcy in what was otherwise a horrific period for a region. I often wonder what ever happened to this man and […]
Categories: Letters from the Editors
by Road Captain
PACKING FOR A MOTORCYCLE TRIP Gear for a Motorcycle Trip Friends always ask me how to pack for a long motorcycle trip or a fly and ride. The only thing worse than being cold or wet is being dry and having your friends bitching because they are cold or wet. You can ride in just about any weather as long as you’ve packed right. Below is the list of items that are worth consideration when you pack for a trip. […]
Categories: Ride Preparation
by Road Captain
It’s that time of the year again. Gazing out at the snow thinking of tinkering with the machine. What can I add in the offseason that will make the spring that much better? Should I fix a small ailing problem on the bobber or clean it once again (yep, I did that at around midnight last night). Planning Sturgis because six months is not long enough to coordinate such a trip. Setting up an easier way for the HD shop […]
Categories: Letters from the Editors
by Road Captain
This is the stupid shit that happened in 2001. These people rake the forks so that they are unrideable. They drop so much cash into these machines leaving them completely broke that after a while, when they realize they actually might like to ride a motorcycle – So they post the bike on eBay and try to recoup some of their wasted money – by then it is too late. The aftermarket has come and gone and these DBs are […]
Categories: Amazing Bikes
by Road Captain
HOW TO NEGOTIATE TATTOOS AND PAINT JOBS – NOT WHAT YOU THINK A few weeks ago I was in Los Angeles for work before ultimately taking a ride to Frazier Peak and Pyne Mountain (NorthEast of LA). The night before the ride a few of us went out for some grub and a couple beers when we ran into an old school biker who had some incredible road stories from the past 35 years. A person like this biker truly […]
Categories: Letters from the Editors
by Road Captain
Sometimes you see a bike and it is in the right surrounding – the right time of day and the right bike that Norman Rockwell would be impressed. Americana at its best! This is an example I found a few years ago and it has stuck with me.
Categories: Letters from the Editors
by Road Captain
It’s the little things in life like this that make designing a motorcycle fun and interesting. This is a billet cover for an ignition switch on a road glide. The cost on eBay is around $40 or $50 but it’s one of those things that you’re going to see every time you start your bike and will be in your view mile on on the road – you may as well Make it look nice.
Categories: Parts you Need
by Road Captain
Bighorn mountain – this is what comes to kind when somebody says “open road”.
Categories: Rides & Destinations
by Road Captain
Got on the road toward the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). Monterey was cold but Carmel was beautiful. Stopped there for lunch and to watch some of the cars from the prior day’s concourse (at pebble) pass by Found PCH – Incredible road. Stopped at one place on the way to eat and met somebody riding an old ducatti – must be a blast to zip around that area all of the time. Kept moving down PCH – I could really […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Sturgis 2012
by Road Captain
1. Breakfast at the inn. 2. Rode through the Redwood forrest 3. Extremely hot, then cold, then hot then cold. The weather in the Redwood forest is really unpredictable and the roads slippery. 4. Rode through a tree 5. Felt rushed as we had dinner plans 6. San Fran felt like the coldest place in the world for a few minutes especially after passing through Napa.
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Sturgis 2012
by Road Captain
This will be the first day riding with somebody on the back since starting this journey almost two weeks ago as I picked my girlfriend up in Portland last night. To start the day we repeated the ride to Cannon Beach that I had done the day prior. It was a scenic and easy ride that will welcome her to the ride. Before we left we had to tie all of our gear on the bike. My passenger packed lightly […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Sturgis 2012
by Road Captain
Day 11: A full day in Portland My day’s plans are simple: 1. Do a few hours of calls to get a jump on next week 2.Make the solo ride to the coast (aiming for Cannon Beach which is 82 miles West of Portland). The primary reason is to close out my coast to coast solo journey – my expectations are low but those are normally the best rides 3.Meet some old friends for a drink around 4PM in Hillsboro […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Sturgis 2012
by Road Captain
I’m one week away from starting a new job, so my mind is already getting situated into the new role. This morning I would have to make a few calls in preparation for next week’s start and trip to Europe. After the calls I’d head into the thriving metropolis that is Walla Walla. My breakfast was similar to the one I had in Boise but more than twice as expensive. Apparently Walla Walla isn’t cheap, a point confirmed when I […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Sturgis 2012
by Road Captain
Knowing that today’s ride would only be 250 miles I would have time to enjoy a proper breakfast. Foursquare indicated that a local spot on Main St would have great coffee as well as breakfast burritos. Both sounded great to combat the hunger that may have contributed to yesterday’s weakness. After packing and double checking my straps, I’d head over to the local restaurant only 3 blocks from my hotel. The 20-something girl behind the counter took my order: 1 […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Sturgis 2012
by Road Captain
On Day 8 I knew that I needed to do my laundry as I really only packed for a few days and have been doing hotel sink wash-loads pretty frequently. Luckily the hotel I had chosen in Jackson (the Lexington) had laundry facilities and if I was up early enough I could get all of my belongings done and be out by 10. The waiting time also gave me the opportunity to catch up on the Day 7 Journal entry […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Sturgis 2012
by Road Captain
Started the day as always – reaching and strapping my bag to the bike. It’s a ritual at this point but still has to be done right each time or there’s a good chance you’ll be missing something when you get where you are going. I got a few texts from Bert and Jamie (the utah guys who I met yesterday) saying they would meet me in Cooke City, a town 55 miles over the Bear Tooth pass and on […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Rides & Destinations, Sturgis 2012
by Road Captain
The decision to leave Sturgis and skip some live Sweet home Alabama was not easy but there is a lot of the country I haven’t yet seen, so I pushed on. There would be ~400 miles between my start and destination – Red Lodge. I had planned on taking 90 most of the way but am open to calling an audible based on time and progress. I’d rather not get stuck up in the mountains after sundown as cliffs without […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Rides & Destinations, Sturgis 2012
by Road Captain
I’ve got 2 nights booked in Rapid City- the only place on the journey where I can do that. It’s a little more relaxing and my body needs some rest. I woke up today with a pain in my back – right side only and have to assume the riding + ridiculous heat is taxing on the old kidneys. I’m hydrating like it’s my job right now – if that doesn’t work I’ll assume it’s a muscle pain and will […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Rides & Destinations, Sturgis 2012
by Road Captain
Woke up on Day 5 to recount day 4. I wrote a ton of detail but due to poor internet connection it didn’t save – complete user error as I tried to send it to Twitter before hitting save. Wish I had backed that up. To quickly detail the day I’ll keep it in bullets – quicker and I want to see Rushmore and Crazy horse this morning. Rode 600+ miles. Most ever on this trip or in my life […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Sturgis 2012
by Road Captain
This was a day of major ups and downs all the way through the end. The day started with visiting the Notre Dame campus and snapping some pictures of the gates, the Lou Holtz statue and Touch Down Jesus (sorry for the slight blasphemy but everybody calls it that). I even approached a groundskeeper to try and take a snapshot from inside the gates – i was quickly denied due to construction in the stadium. Normaly i would’ve left and […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Sturgis 2012
by Road Captain
Original Post 8/5/12 The day started out with a tremendous view of the falls and some welcomes misting on what was a muggy day. The first 50 miles were the toughest riding thus far due to a 30MPH south-north wind. I’m riding dead west so this makes stability a but of a chore. Quick stop for fuel, check the oil and I’m back out. Around 11AM it started to rain. This was a great chance to stop and actually grab […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Letters from the Editors, Sturgis 2012
by Road Captain
Originally Posted 8/4/2012 I left this morning at 8AM into the sweltering heat. The trip is for the most part solo but a good friend of mine, AP is accompanying me for the first few hundred miles. We stopped at a rest stop in Western MA and were greeted by a group of riders from Salem, MA. Great group of guys – headed out to Rome NY to pay respect to the family of a fallen brother. After that I […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Sturgis 2012, Trip Journals
by Road Captain
Over the next two weeks as I anticipate Sturgis 2013, I will be republishing some of the articles written during my road trip during Sturgis 2012 and the cross country solo ride that took 5141 miles for me to complete. I rode a 2008 Roadking Police that was pretty customized. Below is my mile tracker from the start of each day. The route took me from Boston to Niagara across the mid west from Detroit to the Harley Museum and […]
Categories: Cross Country 2012 Remastered, Sturgis 2012
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