It's All About the Bike » Kawasaki KLR

Slideshow from Lakeside Daytrip

moto — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:53:41 +0000

Below is a link to recent daytrip around part of the Great Salt Lake. The IAATB crew consisted of Moto, Darth, Bartman, Han Solo, and @ScottSLC. We need to think of a good road name for Scott.

Here’s the link, if the embedded slideshow doesn’t work properly, as in, if you can’t view Flash.

July Wyoming Moto Weekend

moto — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:20:21 +0000

A wet June kept many plans at bay for a proper summer moto trip, but our crew finally got one together in mid-July, starting from Park City, Utah, and venturing up into Wyoming and Idaho. I’m always a little scrambled when we do these trips, trying to get the gear ready for the agreed upon roll-out time. Darth always seems to have his stuff ready to go. This time was no different. With a rather new BMW F800 GS under me which was fresh off its 600 mile break-in service (had it done the morning of departure), my plan was to strap all my gear on the back of the bike in a dry bag. Get home from work, throw the gear in the bag, and strap it on the back. Which normally works fine, but isn’t nearly as convenient as packing all your stuff the night before in boxes. On our first dirt road out of Coalville, Utah, at the top of Chalk Creek Canyon, one of the straps let loose, and I had to stop and redo the whole thing. Would have been easier to take my time and do it right the first time, and would have been a lot easier to throw all my gear the night before into side-mounted boxes. Oh well. The debate will continue over costs vs. convenience, adding weight to the bike vs. keeping it as light and nimble as possible. You get clarity on these issues after a weekend away from civilization. I’ll probably get some boxes. Check out some of the photos below. More can be found on our Flickr page, as well as Darth’s Shutterfly. We welcomed two new members to the crew on this trip, and nearly had a third who was ready to go Thursday night before departure, but canceled early Friday morning. Maybe the photos below will give you guys a taste of why you need to make it on the next one!

Dave’s KLR Test Ride Video

moto — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 06:27:28 +0000

After Dave sought and attained the necessary approval to proceed with his plan to acquire a dualsport motorcycle (for tips on how to do this, read How To Convince Your Wife To Let You Get A Motorcycle), we planned a half day ride for Father’s Day to get Dave out on a test ride of another friend’s Kawasaki KLR. It’s a tangled web. This video pretty much tells the story:

Last Day of May Mudfest

moto — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:59:41 +0000

A small posse made up of myself, Nato and Ben attempted to loop from Heber, Utah, up into the Uinta mountains. We motored up Center Street towards the dirt, and saw two big moose crossing the street right by the LDS church. Cars were off to the side of the road, people taking pictures, moose taking their sweet time. Not sure what I would have done if they came in our direction, we were only about 20 feet back. I think I would have layed the bike down in the road and jumped in the creek. Ever see two moose jump over a fence? Breathtaking. We didn’t get very far up the canyon before we encountered some snow patches. The first few were no problem, as some trucks loaded with ATVs had cut some nice deep tire ruts. Just get your wheels in the tracks and juice it. Eventually, we hit a nasty section where the snow was deep and as far as the eye could see, and it was pretty muddy too. The little KTM I was riding squirted through the mud just fine, but the BMW and the KLR looked like they were trying to burrow into the mud with even the slightest amount of throttle. It will be a few weeks of warm weather before we’ll be getting into the mountains thataway.

Spring Dualsport Ride in Hood River

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:03:19 +0000

Gary Huck, our Oregon correspondent sent this photo in of a spring ride in the Hood River, Oregon area. Gary is the proud owner of a Kawasaki KLR, fully outfitted for adventure with new Touratech aluminum boxes. Here’s his quote on his new KLR:
“The KLR is treating me well…its a little beast. Nothing sexy about it but will take me anywhere I want to go. All utility.”
Thanks for the moto photo, Gary. We’re looking forward to a trip from Utah where our posse can meet up with the Oregon posse sometime this summer. Note the Rainier can perched on the saddle. That’s how you know this was taken in the Pacific Northwest. Doesn’t matter where you ride, as long as there is a cold one in there somewhere.

Photos are up on Flickr.

Tue, 27 May 2008 17:16:17 +0000

Keeping the posts updated on the road proved to be a challenge. Until I have a chance to go back and place images in the context of the posts, you can see a sampler of photos I took with an iPhone on Flickr:

Moto’s iPhone Photos

When Darth and Obi-Ben return to civilization, we’ll upload some of their shots and video.

2 Days Before Departure on Trans-America Trail

Fri, 16 May 2008 03:47:27 +0000

Lord Darth called a planning session for the upcoming Trans-America Trail trip at downtown SLC pizzeria, Settebello. Obi-Ben had just taken delivery of a pre-owned Kawasaki KLR, in cherry condition, I must say. Upgrades for the trip include new Continental TKC knobbies and a Wolfman Luggage tankbag. Much pizza was eaten, and not much planning was done, but duties were assigned: Darth is chief navigation specialist, Obi-Ben is chief medic and infantry, Moto is responsible for procuring grub and spirits, and Hans is in charge of keeping it all together for the first few days. It was decided that rollout will be early morning on Saturday, May 17th, after breakfast at the Blue Plate Diner in Sugarhouse.

Obi-Ben’s newly acquired Kawasaki KLR, with new rubber and tankbag.

Hans, Obi-Ben, and Darth Nater showing off his egg on a stick. Photo by Moto.

March 25: Fire Up The KTM

moto — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:24:21 +0000

Yesterday I fired up my KTM 640 Adventure for the first official ride of 2008. With a turn of the key and a push of the starter button, the 640 started right up. I rode from Park City past the Jordanelle Reservoir and descended into the Kamas Valley, through Oakley, Francis, then up Brown’s Canyon and back to the Chevron for some fresh gas. It was good to get it rolling, and the whole time I was thinking about a big trip being planned for May: Utah to the Oregon Coast on the Trans-America Trail. Seems like a lot of preparation will be needed for this trip, and not a lot of time to get it all sorted out. Trying to talk Bart into joining the posse. Darth Nater will hopefully post details soon. Had a brief meeting with Darth and Ben to “plan”, but we really only looked at a stack of maps and ate Thai food. Ben doesn’t even have a bike yet, so he probably has the most preparing to do. If anyone out there in Utah is selling a used KLR, leave a comment here.