Road Tested
10 Days, 2500 Miles
10 days on a motorcycle. Sound like fun? It is, but
packing the right gear is critical.
In June of 2005 I took a 10 day motorcycle trip that took
me through Washington, Oregon and the tip of California. The length of the trip
would be 2,500 miles – 800 of that was off road. Riding time during most days
was 8-12 hours and 7 of the 10 days involved primarily off-road riding.
Several things were going on during this trip. The first
order of business was to pre-route the various recommended rides for the
upcoming 2005 Northwest Dual Sport Rally. I
learned some time ago you don’t send riders out into the dirt without having
tested the route ahead of time.
The next order of business was to have a little two wheel
r & r which I did by spending two days with Bruce Hansen’s new book, Motorcycle
Journeys through the Pacific Northwest. More on this in a moment.
Finally I had an opportunity to go ride the
Oregon Backcountry Discovery
Route with two other riders and two 4x4 enthusiasts.
It was the perfect recipe to hit the road and test lots of
new gear that I’d been amassing through the winter and wet spring months. All in
all it was a grand ride and what follows are the results of what some would
consider rigorous testing.
Chamois Butt’r – One thing is for sure, when you’re
on a bike 8 to 10 hours a days, you’re sitting on your butt a lot. When you’re
riding off-road you’re up and down on your seat all the time. Chamois Butt’r is
popular in the cycling market for long range road riders. Unlike Anti Monkey
Butt Powder, which is meant to reduce friction with a dry powder base, Chamois
Butt’r does it in a lotion form by placing a film of lubricant between you and
your first layer of clothing. The product worked flawlessly reducing all the
friction to my butt significantly. It only needs to be applied once in the
morning, lasts all day, washes off easily with soap and water and doesn’t stain
your undergarments. After 10 days in the saddle I can honestly say, butt ache
was not an issue. We liked it enough to add it to the SR!
online store.
Rich’s Custom Motorcycle Seat – I ride with a lot
of road riders and dual sport riders. I’ve seen people invest in an after-market
seat that has nothing to do with the shape of their body ergonomically. For a
little bit more than the price of some off-the-shelf aftermarket seat, you can
have Rich O’Conner custom fit your motorcycle seat to fit your body. A lot of
people all over North America swear by Rich’s seats, but what was unknown was
how one of his seats would perform off-road as well as on the highway. Off-road
riding requires the rider to be up and down off the seat constantly. When Rich
fitted the seat for me on my 1988 Honda NX650, we discussed this issue in detail
before he drew the final lines of the seat. On and off road, the Rich’s custom
seat worked excellently, and again - after 10 days in the saddle I can say, butt
ache was not an issue. For more information on Rich’s Custom Seats visit the
website at
www.richscustomseats.com, or give him a call at (206) 524-2274.
Andiamo! Padded Skins – Okay, just one more thing
for the butt and then we’ll get off the subject. The older you get, the more
butt ache becomes an issue. Here's yet another item from the cycling industry we can
retrofit to motorcycling. Andiamo! Padded Skins are a first layer that includes
a padded crotch. Made with a Hydratech synthetic fabric, the skins wick moisture
away from your body as you sweat keeping your body cooler on warm days and
warmer on cold days. They clean up easily and dry in about 1/6th the
time it takes for regular cotton underwear. $24 a pair may seem a bit steep, but
a couple of pairs is all you need for a mulitday trip since you can wash and dry
a pair overnight. More information at the SR! online store.
Dual Star KLR Carrier Deck – Well, okay, I wasn’t
on a KLR, but I needed a tail rack that would work for the Honda NX650 I was
riding. Now you try to find one specific to the model. Not. So I was in a pinch.
The idea was to mount my Nelson-Rigg RTB 500 bag to the rear of the NX, but the
stock rack was too small to provide the support needed. The solution was
literally in my back yard (Mountlake that is). I purchased a KLR Carrier Deck
from Dual Star, retrofitted the mounting holes for the NX and bingo I was in
business. During the Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route I did indeed drop the
bike twice during some less-than-friendly two-track sections. The rack never
bent and actually provided support keeping the rest of the bike in better shape
than one could have hoped for had the rack not been there. The rack has all
kinds of mounting points so you can adapt bungees, Rok straps or compression
straps across it in various configurations. If you have a KLR, Dual Star makes a
lot of goodies for you besides just the carrier deck. More information at
www.dual-star.com.
CycoActive Atlas Case – CycoActive has created a
case every touring rider needs. The see-through atlas case is well-stitched and velcroed on the open end. It provides enough room to fit two full size atlases
into it and keeps the water out. During the trip I also kept my reading glasses,
a few pens and my Orisko plateware inside. I found it convenient to bungee it to
my Rigg bag and be able to look at the map inside while I was riding – even when
it was raining. It’s available through the SR! online store.
Motorcycling Journeys Through the Pacific Northwest
– I had reviewed Bruce Hansen’s Motorcycling Journeys Through the Pacific
Northwest back in June of this year. Now was my chance to hit the road with it
on some roads I hadn’t ridden. The nice thing about this book is it opens the
doors to riding some of the better roads in Oregon. The first chapter, Lower
Columbia Basin Sampler, provides details about riding through areas like
Heppner, Condon, Fossil and Shaniko – roads I had yet to discover. I used the
book to navigate my way through and found information on the land’s geology,
where to eat and area history useful in giving me a better look at where I was
riding. A good book to own if you're planning interstate riding through
the Northwest and available through the SR! online store.
...to be continued
TM/Summer 05
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