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M our le T cyc tor Mo
NOVEMBER
Motorcycles, Travel & Adventure
Crank to Crate Tour Following a Victory from Assembly Line to Asphalt
2013
Volume 19 No. 11
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W H A T ’ S
I N S I D E
M ON T HLY COLUM N S FREE WHEELIN’.................................................................................4 WHATCHATHINKIN’..........................................................................5 POSTCARDS FROM THE HEDGE .................................................6 ON THE MARK ..................................................................................7 THROTTLE BLIP.................................................................................8 BACKLASH .......................................................................................10
FEATURES CRANK TO CRATE - FOLLOWING A VICTORY........................25 BORED, STROKED & PORTED ....................................................42 DOING THE BACKROADS THING ..............................................43
MOTORCYCLE REVIEWS KAWASAKI 2014 ............................................................................40
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD....................................................12 INDIAN NATION - INDIAN CHIEF CLASSIC.............................45 INDUSTRY INFOBITES...................................................................14 MYSTERIOUS AMERICA...............................................................16 BIG CITY GETAWAY........................................................................18 WE’RE OUTTA HERE .....................................................................20 GREAT ALL AMERICAN DINER RUN ........................................22 WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE .......................................................33
PRODUCT REVIEWS ARAI DEFIANT HELMET .................................................................9 R&G ALUMINUM RADIATOR GUARD .......................................13 AEROSTICH ROADCRAFTER FOR WOMEN ...........................32 MOTORCYCLE MARKETPLACE...................................................42
UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR ..............................................35 Brian Rathjen • Shira Kamil ~ Publishers Contributors: Jeff Bahr, Mark Byers, Dave Erfer, Bill Heald, Mark Moran, Mike Stackhouse, Dr. Seymour O’Life
BACKROADS • POB 317, Branchville NJ 07826 Motorcycles, Travel & Adventure
Phone 973.948.4176• email editor@backroadsusa.com • web www.backroadsusa.com
For Advertising Sales Information: 973-948-4176 BACKROADS (ISSN 1087-2088) is published monthly by BACKROADS™, Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. BACKROADS™ may not be reproduced in any manner without specific written consent from the publisher. BACKROADS™ welcomes and encourages submissions (text and photos) and suggestions. Include phone number with submissions. BACKROADS™ will only return material with enclosed sufficient postage. The written articles and opinions printed in BACKROADS™ are not necessarily those of the publisher and should not be considered an endorsement. The Rip & Rides® published are ridden on the sole responsibilty of the rider. BACKROADS™ is not responsible for the conditions of the public roadways traversed. Please respect the environment, read your owner’s manual and wear proper protective gear and helmet. Ride within your limits, not over them.
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BACKROADS • NOVEMBER 2013
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NOVEMBER 2013 • BACKROADS
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FREE WHEELIN’ BRIAN RATHJEN
Thuggery Today is a Monday and the last day of September. Yesterday was Sunday and, as the famous Bruce Brown movie was titled, ‘On Any Sunday’ there are thousands of motorcyclists enjoying the day out on the road. This movie showed what a great sport and lifestyle motorcycling should be. It portrayed our chosen recreation for what it really is - a happy, fun, family-like endeavor that we can all be proud of. Yet, this afternoon I got the first of a dozen e-mails with an embedded video from Manhattan’s West Side Highway filmed the day before. By the time you read this you might have seen it yourself. The helmet-cam video shows a large group of riders, part of a gathering of street stunters, heading north on the highway. As the video continues you see this erratic group getting caught up with a black Range Rover SUV that has no place to go and, if I am not mistaken, a driver who is extremely nervous of all the motorcycles running to his left, right, rear and directly in front of him. It quickly goes down hill from there. One rider actually stops within feet in front of the Range Rover, driven by 33 year old Alexian Lien, along with his wife and small child out for a Sunday ride celebrating their wedding anniversary. A second later the SUV slams into the bike knocking the rider and machine to the pavement. The entire group, as I said LARGE group, stops on the highway and surround the SUV and begin to pound at the family, attempt to slash the tires and, finally open the door to drag Lein out. At this point, fearing for his safety and that of his family he panics and stomps on the gas running over even more riders who have sought to block him in. As he speeds away he is pursued by nearly 30 angry riders up the West Side Highway.
The insane chase continues more than 50 blocks north, and was recorded on the video, which went viral the next day and that we have all seen. At one point, the riders blocked the SUV again when he got caught behind another vehicle. Then another rider tries to open Lien’s door once again. Lien accelerates the Range Rover again and manages to get away after knocking another rider and machine to the ground. Finally, traffic forces the SUV to stop on West 178th between Wadsworth and St. Nicholas Avenues. One rider then rips off his helmet and uses it to bash in the driver’s side window as the video ends. The crew then beat Lien in front of his wife and child, police sources said. The event that these riders were coming from saw the NYPD arrest 15 of the riders and seize over 50 motorcycles. No one has been arrested in connection with this mayhem and subsequent beating in upper Manhattan. These riders, and I say that with my eyes rolling, are nothing but thugs. They instigated this entire fiasco. Even if the driver had no intent on hitting the first rider any contact between a motorcycle and a Range Rover, and I don’t think that was this driver intention, is going to have the same outcome. What we had here was a bunch of young riders who let a lynch-mob mentality control their group. Our posting on the Backroads FaceBook page, asking opinions on this incident, drew thousands of hits and dozens of comments, 98% blaming the motorcyclists for the entire debacle. Great that we had a consensus. We here at Backroads have had nothing but scorn for stunt-riders who use the public streets and highways as their personal arena from the first time they rode onto the scene. They are nothing but a nuisance and a drain on the riding community. We have seen too many bad things happen when machines are ridden with total disregard for civilians around us - Flash back to the mother and child killed in a strip-mall parking lot a few years back. (Continued on Page 7) 2013 Trophy Whatever the distance, you’ll cover it in style and comfort; the generous, luxury seats and ergonomically designed riding position mean the miles melt away barely noticed.
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BACKROADS • NOVEMBER 2013
W H ATC H AT H I N K I N ’ SHIRA KAMIL
Come and go This is a tale of things lost and found. Some once, some repeatedly. At last Americade, up in Warrensburg, I purchased one of those magic magnetic bracelets. I don’t really hold any hopes that the magnetics will work to heal my aches and woes, but I really did like the design and colors. I’m not a jewelry person (lucky Brian) so this was somewhat of a big deal for me. I snapped on the extra heavy duty magnetic clasp and away I went. This bracelet lived on my wrist for the rest of the summer. I really was amazed at how strong that magnet was. It would catch hold of any silverware in the vicinity, clink onto the metal railing in our office and grab hold of any loose nut or bolt within eyeshot. This was a permanent fixture on my body. I suppose that it may have alleviated the nagging kink in my neck or my carpal tunnel syndrome of my right arm, but I never gave it much thought. Until…… Last month I mentioned the gravity storm I rode into. A day or so later, I realized that this little bauble on my wrist was no longer there. I was saddened, as I had grown accustomed to its attractive powers, and thought I must have lost it on that gravel road. I made a mental note to look up the vendor and replace it when we returned home from our sojourn in Maine. I didn’t mention this to Brian, as it didn’t really warrant mentioning. During our week’s travel in the Downeast portion of Maine, I hitched a ride or two on Brian’s bike, usually at night when we went in search of dinner. Nothing unusual. We were home for a couple of days when Brian came into the office holding something. He said he had found my magnetic bracelet while cleaning something out of his Jesse bags on the GS. It had been stuck to the inside bracket and he wondered when and for how long it might have been there. My eyes got wide and my face held a big grin. I told him about my losing
Page 5 it on the first day of our trip to Maine and couldn’t believe that it had been stuck on his Jesse bag for all that time, over 1,000 miles. It was none the worse for wear, still as shiny as the first day I snapped it on my wrist. Fast forward to our next little outing for crabs in Maryland. We would be hopping a ferry to Tangier Island in Virginia for a night, returning the next day on the 4pm boat. Once there, we realized that we could see EVERYTHING that we need to in one afternoon and queried about an earlier ocean voyage. We were told we could hitch a ride on the mail boat at 8am – done. Upon docking in Crisfield, all the men started jumping off the boat onto the dock. I thought it strange that no gangplank was pulled up, but I could jump as well as the next guy – almost. It was not a pretty sight, but I made it and was walking down the dock when one of the ferryman yelled out, asking if someone lost a bracelet. Sure enough, my wandering wrist ornament had taken hold of the ferry railing. I thanked him and snapped it back in place. Somewhere between that trip and yesterday, this little magnetic trinket took another walkabout. I had no idea where or when, but I just looked one day and it was gone. I figured the third time was the anti-charm and I found the vendor and sent off an email, asking about a replacement. This time I would buy several, as I thought the charm couldn’t possibly be found in every one of these. Just yesterday, while pulling my Honda 919 out for the shots for the Aerostich Roadcrafter suit, Brian looked down in our gravel driveway and saw a shiny ‘something’. He handed it back to me. ‘No way!’, I exclaimed. How the hell can this thing keep finding its way back to my wrist. Must be meant to be. This has nothing to do with motorcycles or riding. Or does it? For all the years that you’ve been riding, have you ever felt that you’ve ‘lost’ something? The connection with your bike, the skills to follow just the right lines in a turn, confidence that you are an experienced and well-trained rider. These things may come and go for no apparent reason. But there is a way to keep them snapped firmly to your brain, and that’s with constant riding and practice. When your concentration becomes unhinged, shake it off and focus on what is giving you trouble. That little magnetic bangle will click back into place and you’ll be ready to go.
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NOVEMBER 2013 • BACKROADS
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P O S TC A R D S FROM THE HEDGE BILL HEALD
Poof! There are many times in life when we pause for reflection, and although this varies dramatically among individuals I think it’s safe to say some experiences function as universal catalysts that spur contemplation on how we’ve arrived at where we are. A few weeks ago I journeyed out West via large, jet-powered conveyances to do two things: one was attend a press launch in San Francisco, but far more important was to stop and see my father and other family members in celebration of his 90th birthday. That’s quite a landmark event, obviously, and as he moved to Denver from Texas a couple of years ago to be close to his beloved mountains (and my older brother who has been looking after him), it seemed like the perfect time for a visit. While the age of 90 might conjure images of a person incapacitated by the ravages of age, my padre was in amazingly fine fettle. He had been through some nasty medical complications in the last year or so including a collapsed vertebra, but the miracles of modern medicine got him up and around and in a surprisingly short span of time he was taking his daily walks around the facility where he had an apartment. When I arrived, he looked impressively well considering the mileage. While we had talked on the phone semi-regularly the last few years, this was the first time we had seen each other face-to-face in quite some time. It happens. We have both had many things going on in our lives, and due to a myriad of circumstances in mine I haven’t been able to get out to see him in way too long a period. But there we were just outside of Denver, and while we had both aged considerably the last few years we were enjoying each other’s company as al-
ways. I was also visiting with my brother and sister-in-law, who were and are the ultimate hosts and had been doing an exemplary job looking after not only my dad’s health but his affairs as well. Ultimately my niece and stepniece arrived for this merry meeting, and on dad’s birthday we had a longoverdue (in my case) reunion. Before the girls turned up, though, we went on a special trip up to the Georgetown Loop Railroad, where (with thunderstorms in the area-this was just before all the nasty flooding) we rode an immaculately restored train through the mountains that was pulled by a Shay’s steam engine that was manufactured the same year as my father: 1923. There’s nothing like a train, especially one of the steam variety that employs such elegant yet effective technology (which in this case was pulling around 330 tons including the weight of the steam engine itself). Such hauling was an amazing feat, considering the 4% grade and the altitude. It was great being with my family on this short but satisfying journey, and pondering all the things both my father and this stout locomotive had seen in their 90 years on this planet. While my father was never an avid motorcyclist, he did take me on my first ride when I was quite young. I think the bike was a Honda 305, and it was a new purchase of our neighbor’s and my dad took me on a brief, slow expedition around the block where I rode in front of him on the tank (I was a very wee lad at the time). I can still remember the clocks on the bike in front of me, and it clearly made an impression on my young brain for years later I started having dreams of riding a bike, with those instruments in front of me and a wide, empty stretch of serpentine road ahead. I guess the die was cast because I kept having that dream at regular intervals until I finally started riding and got my own bike. My father was always supportive about my riding (and pretty much any other interests I had, which where numerous) and it’s wild to think about that first ride now after decades of it not crossing my mental transom. (Continued on Page 11)
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BACKROADS • NOVEMBER 2013
ON THE MARK MARK BYERS oPBs OPBs - Other People’s Bikes. Some call them “used,” or by the ignorant appellation favored by the industry, “pre-owned.” Whatever the name, OPBs can be a real challenge. You never know how they’ve been modified, so the first time I tear into an OPB, it’s with the anticipation of Ralphie on Christmas morning, coupled with the fear of getting Aunt Clara’s handmade fuzzy bunny suit. Forrest Gump might have been talking about OPBs when he said “You never know what you’re gonna get.” Take my CB750. It is what it is: a forty-two-year-old bike. One of the modifications the previous owner made was a Kerker four-into-one megaphone exhaust. That’s not so bad, and had I made a café racer, it would have been an asset. Unfortunately, the genius attached the megaphone to the swingarm, meaning that every time the suspension traveled, it banged the megaphone on the lower part of the rear footpeg. Now the Kerker has a kink in it. It’s a kinky Kerker. On the front of the 750’s engine, a previous owner’s failed attempt at installing crash bars left a cooling fin near the engine mount broken. Fortunately, a teardown of the engine revealed the OPB idiocy was confined to the external parts and not the internals (although a better storage fogging of the cylinders and tank would have been appreciated). Overall, it will restore nicely, but it has OPB scars that will require some metallic surgery. Usually, the most egregious OPB shenanigans are found in electrical systems. Most owners make a variety of electrical modifications to their machines. Regrettably, most don’t have very high standards when it comes to the materials or workmanship of electrical alterations. A motorcycle is a lot like an airplane: it is subject to extremes of temperature, moisture, and vibration, so when I wire accessories to a bike, I use a plethora of shrink tubing, electrical ties, and anti-chafing tape. It is overkill, but it keeps electrical gremlins at bay. That’s not always the case with OPBs. A friend bought a used bike wired with accessory lights and power sockets. When a power socket failed to run the audio system, I was asked to investigate and found the connectors used to wire the socket would just fall off under moderate vibration. I pulled the seat and found the proverbial Aunt Clara’s bunny suit, because the accessory lights were wired with speaker wire and largely unsecured and weatherproofed. That OPB is an electrical gremlin’s playground. I have the same issue with the OPB dual-sport I bought. It started as a stock 2006 Honda CRF-250, but a previous owner wanted to title it, so he had a dualsport, street-legal light and accessory kit installed. Allegedly. Right now, the headlight doesn’t work and there are two mysterious spade connectors hanging out in the breeze by the headlight bucket that may be for a fuse, or that may be for the horn, which is missing. One of the rear turn signals is broken, but so far as I can see, no provision was made to replace it without cutting into the wiring harness. Brilliant. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve had great experiences with some of the OPBs I’ve owned. Some owners are meticulous about their hardware and you relish getting one of their machines. My R65 is one example. I bought it from a friend whose idea of relaxation is tearing old bikes down to parade rest, cleaning and lubricating every single part, and putting them back together again. That bike remains, to this day, one of my most reliable and visually appealing machines. I try to take that into consideration when I sell a machine. Given my checkered history with OPBs, I don’t want to be “that guy” who sells an electrical or mechan-
Page 7 ical nightmare to some hapless neophyte who will be unprepared to put the magic smoke back in the black boxes. If you buy a bike from me, therefore, it will be in running order and any modifications will be well executed. I am particularly adept at electrical modifications (to the point of obsessivenes, because of my hatred of electrical gremlins). The latest OPB I bought is blissfully free of first-owner mods, despite being 40 years old. I think the sole foray into accessorization is a well-installed rear rack. The whole machine is just as Soichiro Honda intended it to be and therefore, should be a very straightforward restoration rather than a profanity-laced tirade as I trace electrical shorts deep into the night. I think it’s a Red Ryder BB gun, but with OPBs, I’m always wary of looking like a deranged Easter Bunny. free Wheelin’
(Continued from Page 4)
We have said this before, but the events of September 29 make us repeat the obvious. These thugs are not us. And, when riders act like this, that is what they are – thugs. This continuing inner-city riding mentality is crushing any good feelings that have been fostered between responsible riders and the non-riding community in New York City and elsewhere. In this knee-jerk society I am sure by the time you read this the iron fist will have already dropped. To view the video log onto www.liveleak.com/view?i=319_1380522846
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NOVEMBER 2013 • BACKROADS
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THROT TLE BLIPS JEFF BAHR
iT’s noT aBouT The Bike Being the creative type I rarely use a title that’s been used before, but in this case I’d be hard-pressed to find anything more appropriate. Do forgive me. If you aren’t familiar, bicyclist Lance Armstrong (yes, that Lance Armstrong) released a book entitled “It’s not about the bike” in the year 2000. It catalogued the bicycle racer’s “journey back to life” after being diagnosed with brain, lung, and testicular cancer. Armstrong’s message in the book was poignant. Bicycle racing meant very little to the man during this most challenging stage of his life. Friends and loved ones took center stage above all else, and rightly so. To hear Armstrong tell it, it was their love, support and reassurance that enabled him to stay on point; to help him to summon the strength to square off with this beast called cancer and to ultimately emerge victorious. My story is a bit different than Armstrong’s even if there are some similarities. In my case the “bike” is not a bicycle but a motorcycle. As an inanimate object, it too is of little overall importance at this particular stage in my life. But the friendships developed while riding this hunk of steel, well, that’s a far different story. I recently received some grim health news. I really don’t want to bog this column down by going into details, but it isn’t a stretch for me to tell you that this is the most significant health challenge that I’ve ever faced. Anyone who has been through something like this will tell you that it generally plays havoc with your emotions – at least at first. Initially you are shell shocked and in complete disbelief. Then, many turn angry and ask “why me?” before moving on to a greater level of acceptance. If you’re lucky, family members and friends will rush to your aid with well wishes and an outpouring of love. If you’re really lucky, many of these friends will be fellow motorcyclists; a super loving band of brothers and sisters who, you now realize, have become as much a part of your family as
anyone; blood relatives included. That’s precisely the way that it went down for me. To say that I was overwhelmed by the love and support that came from my riding friends would be a vast understatement. Blown away is more like it. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in my rather checkered existence it’s to expect the unexpected. Murphy’s Law generally acts as the steering force in my life (Damn it!) but there have been a few blessings along the way. My fiancée’ Maria leads the charge on this front. But my motorcycle friends are right behind her! From phone calls when I’m feeling really down, to get-togethers that lift my spirits more than anything that a doctor carries in his bag of tricks, these people are the real deal. Just yesterday I spoke with a certain charismatic bald guy (you all know and love him) who is also facing a health challenge. As always, he selflessly ignored his own problems to talk to me about mine. His wife is currently going through a huge rough patch that involves his sickness, of course, and the recent passing of her dad. Nevertheless, she still manages to give me regular pep talks. If that’s not love, folks, I don’t know what is. This morning I received a super sweet greeting card (Meow!) from a pal and his wife who just so happen to be riders, too. They’ve been there from day one, and I love them for it. How about a concerned father figure? Yep I have one of those as well. Whenever this retired dentist rolls his Beemer out for a ride we always have a great time. Lately, his philosophical words of encouragement have really kept me on track. What a guy! So, then, make no mistake. This is a tale of love and hope, not one of despair and defeat. No matter how this thing plays out (for the record I’m fighting back with no holds barred) my life has been profoundly effected by the greatest friends I’ve ever known; those who prefer life on two wheels. We may not come from the same socio-economic background; in fact we’re often as different as night and day. But, damn it, we all love riding and being together. Bottom line: When the chips are down, this gang runs - right towards me as it turns out. I love you guys with all of my heart. Ride on.
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BACKROADS • NOVEMBER 2013
P RODUCT S POTLIGHT
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ARAI DEFIANT HELMET
In the helmet world, the Arai name certainly holds some weight. They have always been held in the highest regard for safety and impact energy management. Such is the case with their Defiant helmet, which takes aim at the urban rider, specifically the Ducati Streetfighter 848. Not that Arai would target one special market, they just saw the need for a new look and wanted to give urban, naked-bike riders the same great protection found in the rest of their line, with a design that fit their lifestyle. Arai’s new Defiant full-face helmet will be best suited for those with a mid-oval head shape and incorporates many of the fine features found in other Arai helmets: SAI MAX-Vision Brow Vent face shield with clear Pinlock anti-fog insert, Hyper-Ridge reinforcing band around the base which strengthens the shell and lowers the center of gravity, thus causing less fatigue, FCS (Facial Countour Suppoer) cheek pad design which hugs the face and reduces noise while making it easier for access to and egress of the helmet, 5mm peel-away temple and cheek pads provide a custom fit and removable/replaceable/washable comfort liner for cleanliness. After these, things are updated and new. The most noticeable is the front spoiler edge trim and pull-down chin spoiler. Working with the flared bottom edge trim, these features improve the Defiant’s aerodynamics while reducing wind noise and minimizing turbulence. The ‘air dam’ kicks turbulent air outward and away from that pocket between the rider’s shoulders and the bottom of the helmet where most wind noise is created. To keep the rider from sitting in a sweatsoaked helmet, Arai uses a water-repellent Dry-Max material on the cheek pads and neck roll. This material is hydrophobic and will not absorb water in a rainstorm. To keep the rider’s head cool, the rest of the
comfort liner uses a Dry-Cool material. Perhaps the most effective feature is the Defiant’s ventilation system. The fouropening, three-postion IR chin vent and large, slide-gate-closure IC-4 upper intake vents bring in more air than any full-face helmet I’ve ever worn. Fresh air is channeled past the temples and ears to fully circulate and refresh. On a hot day, this is the helmet I’d want to be wearing. I tested the Defiant while doing some errands around town on the BMW C600 with the fairing in the low position. The fit and comfort are impeccable, with a nice snug feel in the cheeks as a helmet should be. Although I prefer riding with my faceshield up, I kept it closed and, with the superior ventilation system, I felt as if I was wearing an open helmet. The air literally wooshed around my head, especially strong coming through the chin IR chin vent. While I usually wear custom ear plugs, this day I did not. The Defiant was not the quietest of helmets, but it certainly was much quieter than any other full-face helmets I’ve worn in the past. And ear protection, which should be worn anyway, would make this negligible. The Defiant, of course, is DOT and Snell compliant and is available in XXS through XXXL with five solid colors and six graphics options, as well as a Ducati-exclusive paint scheme. MSRP ranges from $619.95 (solids) to $749.95 (graphics). For more information, see your dealer or visit araiamericas.com ~ Shira Kamil
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NOVEMBER 2013 • BACKROADS
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BACKLASH Spring Break 2014 Hey Backroads, Another Backroads rally behind me now. I hate when that happens. You know the feeling; it’s Sunday morning, you’re finishing up breakfast, savoring those last moments with semi-annual friends you look forward to being with at these rallies. You retell, and embellish, tales of motorcycling daring do that allegedly took place the last few days. You and your friends laugh about some joke, comment, or incident that can only be appreciated by others who share the same love of motorcycling, travel and adventure. Before you mount up for your ride back home you check with your friends, asking “will you be at the spring rally? Is it just me, or have Backroads rallies become a thing of great anticipation. Something that enhances all that is good about motorcycling. Good friends, good food, great roads, natural beauty, wonderful stories, comfortable hotels and historic locations. I think it was Brian who once said “we’re not bikers, we’re motorcyclists”. I understand exactly what he meant. We have all been to Poker Runs, local rallies, club outings and motorcycle events like Americade, Sturgis, and Laconia. Often times once, maybe twice, is enough. They just don’t provide the camaraderie, talent and excitement of a Backroads rally. I have made so many good friends from these rallies, some will be lifelong friends. I have learned so much from these rallies; riding skills, maintenance tips, GPS routing (OK Ed I’m still learning). I have had so much fun on these rallies, listening to jokes and tall tales, sometimes laughing till the beer shoots out of my nose. I can only imagine how much time, effort and planning goes into each rally. Brian and Shira, thank you, thank you, thank you. Peter Miller Brian & Shira, Friends, good food and drink, and some of the best roads PA has to offer. Nicely done again!! Best Regards, Glenn Hoffmann
Letters to the Editor Hello Shira and Brian, Want to thank you for a great time in Williamsport. Loved the rides and plan on returning for more of those roads. Please take care of yourselves and add us to your email list if anything should come up. We look forward to meeting you again when there are any more Backroads trips or just on the road. All our best, Alma and David Hey Brian, Karen and I had a great time in Williamsport. We look forward to this Backroads rally so much. It is truly the highlight of our year, not to mention it’s the only time we get to see all our friends. In my opinion you and Shira do a first class job designing and organizing the event. If anyone tells you differently they are clearly out of their league. It was so nice to ride with you and Shira on the way home. We haven’t ridden together in a long time. I miss that. All the best, Ken Hilley Backroads, As I lay in bed here in Milwaukee. finally getting to read my favorite (and need I say BEST) motorcycle magazine, imagine my humble SHOCK at seeing my name mentioned by you in the same sentence, no less, as a ‘Good Rider.’ Why thank you! And right back at you!!!! Helene Darvick Dear Backroads, I have worked rotating shifts for the last 25+ years. My present incantation gives me one weekend off a month so after I get my to-do list started, my time on the road is slightly limited. However, my vacation time is mostly used up cruising up and down the East coast, and the Western deserts with my wonderful, patient wife. The Pacific coast and Alaska are next on the list, but closer to home we use our mind’s eye to travel with you to help keep our
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sanity. Needless to say, I was working the weekend of the 250+, but reading the story and recognizing some of the roads on the article’s map made us feel like we had been with you and your troops. Being the kind and benevolent riders that you are, I would ask for a text copy of the journey if possible. My GPS does not allow me to enter external data. Thanks for all your time and efforts and know that there are people out here with you even if we’re not out there with you, and appreciate the tough miles that you share with us. Hopefully, next year! Doug & Pat Brown Dear Editor, This is in response to reader Roger Parliman’s query about affordable touring bikes. We have had Ducati Monsters, and Diane still has her Honda VFR. As someone who is somewhat brand insensitive, I got Diane a 650 V Strom 5 years ago for her b’day. I rode it occasionally and liked it so much that I got a used one for myself with 24,000 mile on eBay in Augusta, GA. Our only maintenance has been oil changes, front forks, and replacing brake and clutch hydraulic fluids. We have gone through a pair of batteries and I just replaced my front and rear tires. We trailered them down to Nashville from Chicago for a 1 week ride through the backroads of Tennessee, Georgia & South Carolina. The following year we towed them out to Denver for a two-week ride through Colorado and New Mexico. About a month ago, we had them shipped to Tacoma and
PosTCards from The hedge (Continued from Page 6) I left Colorado after telling my father I’d be back again much sooner than I have been managing, went off to the press launch in California and then returned to the East Coast. I was amazed at how well my dad was doing, but I could see it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world for him to adapt that all the changes his advanced years had hit him with. Despite his age, both my brother and I were thinking 95 was a very real possibility, and maybe more beyond that. And as much as I’ve been prepared for the inevitable, I was a bit shocked when I got the news of his passing exactly two weeks after his birthday. He died of natural causes in his sleep. My favorite Harry Potter movie is the Half-Blood Prince, and in my favorite scene Professor Slughorn tells the story of the disappearance of his dear friend, his pet fish Francis, that had left him rather suddenly. He discovered this tragedy when he encountered an empty fishbowl: “One afternoon I came downstairs,” he tells Hagrid and Harry, “and it had vanished. Poof! But, that’s life, I suppose. You go along, and then suddenly, Poof!” That’s kind of how this hit me, for no matter how mentally ready I thought I was it seemed so brutally sudden, and you feel so utterly powerless to do anything about it. He seemed so alive, and very much still my father after over 50 years that I couldn’t even imagine him not being around; for the bowl to not be occupied. As I write this I still can’t believe it. But here we are. Now when I stare at the instrument cluster of any motorcycle, I’ll remember that first ride with my father. This last year or two has been a tough one for those of us fortunate enough to be a part of the Backroads family, as there have been losses of dear ones and medical nightmares galore. But the strength we get from those we’ve shared our lives with is present when they are not, and the bowl is full even though we can’t always see the occupants. Poof! is a difficult thing to deal with, but it is a sign of things proceeding albeit with a major change. However, it’s not the end of anything we truly care about for it’s just a change of state from the corporal to the spiritual. Keep enjoying the journey, and when you stop for the night never forget how you got there.
did a round trip ride east across the Cascade Mountains of WA, into Idaho and over to Glacier National Park in Montana. Bottom line is that they are stone reliable, and nimble and agile. They love the twisities. We have added Givi side bags & a small top box to lock up out Nolan helmets, they have modest ‘farkles’ including hand guards, crash bars to protect the gas tank & center stands. As a short 5’-6” inseam challenged rider, I lowered the bike using Koba Links (Boise, ID). Even at 5’-10”, Diane asked me to lower hers as well. Hopefully Roger can use some of this to make his decision on his next long term machine. Burt Richmond Vintage Motorcycle Festival – Tacoma
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THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD Three five oh’s Please OK, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, KTM, BMW, Ducati, Triumph, whoever is listening, here’s an idea. As much as the CBR250 looks sweet and however cute the mini Ninja is, I have a bit of a problem with them. I think; no, I KNOW, they’d be much better and, more importantly, more saleable if they were 350s instead of 250s. This isn’t a new thought for me so don’t think it’s because I’m a larger mammal than I once was. Even when I was younger, and daintier, I always thought the 250s were just a wee bit underpowered. I realize, in Europe, 250s are a mandatory steppingstone to larger motorcycles. And, to be fair, probably on the backroads of Italy they work fine. (The roads being very narrow, tight and crowded) In the states however, they always left me wanting. Think back to the early days. It wasn’t the CB175 that we lusted for. It was the CB350. A for-real motorcycle that a young man could saddle up and ride cross-country should he so wish. It wasn’t the RD 250 that was the giant killer (although they went darned good) it was the RD 350 that we all wanted to own. The 350s always seemed to have enough extra power that you could cruise the highways and byways without feeling like you were on a nuclear massager. Even in later years, there were bikes that could have been something special had they been 350s instead of 250s.
Kawasaki Goes Bigger
Mike Stackhouse The SRX250 Yamaha comes to mind right off the bat. This was the PERFECT beginner’s bike. It was extremely light, narrow, sweet handling, simple and (wait for it) slow…. Yep, watch out for those diesel VW Rabbits, they’d run you down if you weren’t on the ball. This was very disappointing because Yamaha, at the same time, had the stellar XT350 in the line up. Same basic engine only with snap! To give you an idea how much I liked the XT350 engine, I preferred it to the XT550. It was lighter, smoother and seemed to pick up the revs quicker. This made for a lot of fun. Had this engine been placed in the SRX, I think it would have made for an exceptional beginner bike and would have had more than a year or two run. The 350 motorcycle engine, historically, always seemed to be the perfect size beginner engine. They don’t have an overwhelming amount of power, but enough that, as your skills grew, you didn’t outgrow the bike in three weeks. In many cases, the 350s seemed to perform almost as good as if not better than their big brothers the 450s. The Ducati 350 Mark III Desmo was quicker than its big brother and it was smoother to boot. They were always faster than the 250s though. 350s just seemed to have the right combination of ingredients, whether it was a bore/stroke ratio thing or whatever. Now, I have owned 250s in my life. A certain little KLR250 comes to mind right off. However, that bike is a good example of what I mean. It was ALMOST the most fun I could have on (Continued on next page)
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KAWASAKI CARES: Always wear a helmet, eye protection and proper apparel. Never operate under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Adhere to the maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual. ©2012 Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. • Pictured is the Isle of Man: a closed track on otherwise public roads. PROFESSIONAL RIDER ON A CLOSED COURSE.
ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET, EYE PROTECTION AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING. NEVER RIDE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL, AND NEVER USE THE STREET AS A RACETRACK. OBEY THE LAW AND READ THE OWNER’S MANUAL THOROUGHLY. For rider training information or to locate a rider training course near you, call the Motorcycle Safety Foundation at 800-446-9227. CB®, CBR® and Gold Wing® are registered trademarks of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (01/13)
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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHTS MORE PROTECTION FROM TWISTED THROTTLE R&G has released a new range of super-tough, stainless steel radiator guards designed for today’s range of adventure bikes. These tough radiator guards protect your bike’s fragile radiator against rocks, sticks and all sorts of everyday debris. Damaged radiators are a significant concern for the increasing number of riders keen to explore the adventure side of their dual-purpose machines. A single stray stone can easily punch a hole in an unprotected radiator, potentially leaving a bike immobile and its rider stranded. Recognizing this risk R&G, the world leader in motorcycle damage protection, has complemented its existing lightweight pressed Aluminum Radiator Guards with a more rugged range of Stainless Steel Radiator Guards. Stainless steel is several times stronger than aluminum, providing maximum protection. Manufactured from 1mm-thick stainless steel sheet, each guard is lasercut and CNC finished. The smart, precise design maximizes airflow into the radiator, ensuring the guard has no detrimental effect on cooling. In addition, the stainless steel construction is completely resistant to rust – another huge concern for adventure riders tackling mixed terrain. No modification to the bike is required. All radiator guards can be installed quickly and easily. The R&G Stainless Steel Radiator Guard is available with fitments to suit an extensive range of popular European adventure bikes, in-
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ThoughTs from The road a bike. Almost. Mine was a whisker slower than my friend Driller’s. Driller’s KLR was a better runner than mine by about 5% and it was noticeable. Even with that little extra, I needed about 10% more oomph for it to be great fun. A KLR350 would have been the best. Not only would it have handled the highway drone better, wheelies and slides would have been much easier to do. And do at a sane speed. That’s the charm of a 350. As on a 250, you can almost stay out of trouble, while having a LOT more fun. So, what do you think? I think the new Ninja 300 goes a long way to prove my point. What about these 250 supermotards that Kawasaki and Yamaha have? Do you think they might live up to their clothing a bit better as 350s? Do you think that just maybe, a CBR350 single might be more fun than the new 250? I do. Look, a while back, KTM came out with what? A 350 enduro? The testers like it more than the big bore bikes as it almost has the power of the 450s but with lighter weight and better handling. Can you imagine a high-tech 350 Ducati Desmo belt-drive single mini Monster? How about a mini 350 Super Duke KTM? Triumph could do a 350 Cub (?) Classically styled like a mini Bonneville. I think, whoever takes the first step into 350land is going to have a home-run on their hands. Maybe I’m just being silly as its only 100cc’s. Somehow, I don’t think so. Come on big manufacturers, 350s please. Price them right and start counting the money. As they said in Field of Dreams, “Build it and they will come.”
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INDUSTRY INFOBITES HELPFUL HINTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS In another move intended to help make the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s safety tips and practical strategies even more accessible to riders, the MSF has released its first official educational app on iTunes for use with iPhones and iPads. Titled ‘Dr. Jim’s Riding Tips’, the app uses existing MSF self-paced safety lessons to help current motorcycle owners improve their riding skills, and is priced at $1.99 on iTunes. The app features Dr. James Heideman - MSF’s director of licensing programs - and incorporates Heideman’s 10-video series, which is based on the MSF long-standing publication, “You and Your Motorcycle: Riding Tips” It also allows motorcyclists to use their own motorcycles to practice basic maneuvering and braking techniques at low speeds in a practice riding area of their choosing. Additionally, the app shows the user how to properly prepare the practice area, set up the various paths of travel and conduct the drills. “MSF’s goal with ‘Dr. Jim’s Riding Tips’ is two-fold: to make accessing and understanding these basic motorcycling practice drills as easy as possible, and to help riders prepare for their state’s licensing test,” said Heideman. “The only prerequisite skill necessary is the basic ability to ride a motorcycle. Naturally, this includes experience using the brakes, throttle, clutch and transmission. But the mobile app is designed so that anyone with real riding experience, and an iPhone or an iPad, can implement these MSF safety lessons at their own pace.”
News from the Inside The Motorcycle Safety Foundation promotes safety through rider training and education, operator licensing tests and public information programs. The MSF works with the federal government, state agencies, the military and others to offer training for all skill levels so riders can enjoy a lifetime of safe, responsible motorcycling. Standards established by the MSF have been recognized worldwide since 1973.
RIDERS TRIUMPH IN D.C. A few dozen demonstrators attending a rally on the National Mall, once billed as the “Million Muslim March”, were vastly outnumbered by hundreds of thousands of motorcycle riders from across America participating in the “2 Million Bikers to DC” ride to honor September 11 victims and to counter the pro-Muslim rally that many said was inappropriate for such a solemn day in U.S. history. The American Muslim Political Action Committee scheduled the rally to draw attention to what it said is an unfair and ongoing fear of Muslims after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Among the bikers, however, the provocatively scheduled rally was considered an insult to the nearly 3,000 people who died on Sept. 11, 2001, when Islamic terrorists hijacked three commercial jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center buildings in New York and the Pentagon in Arlington. Another hijacked plane headed for Washington, D.C. crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Though the biker gathering fell short of 2 million strong, some estimates ran as high as 880,000 riders, and “What began as an idea on Facebook quickly turned into a national movement thanks to social media and dedicated
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bikers from around the nation,” wrote the Examiner.com; and as bikers from as far away as the west coast began their journey to D.C., Twitter lit up with photos and videos showing thousands of bikes overflowing out of rest stops and parking lots as the hastily organized ride gained momentum. So many turned out that plans to have them ride through the streets of the Capital had to be changed, particularly in light of the fact that local authorities denied a permit that would have provided the riders a police escort through traffic — a sore spot with organizers who believe the denial was for political purposes. “We didn’t need a permit in the first place,” National Event Organizer Belinda Bee told a local Fox News station, citing D.C. law; “it shall not be an offense to assemble or parade on a District street, sidewalk, or other public way, or in a District park, without having provided notice or obtained an approved assembly plan.” So the event went on — legally — without the permit, although the group apologized to the public that “What could have been a one or two hour ride through” tied up Beltway traffic from early morning into the afternoon.
Page 15 an object’s size affects distance perception - may be the basis explaining why car drivers miscalculate motorcyclists’ distance and speed. Many times, the brain interprets objects with a larger retinal image as closer. Since motorcycles are smaller than cars, DeLucia said the brain may use this shortcut to judge a smaller motorcycle farther away than it actually is. This size-arrival effect can lead drivers to misjudge when a vehicle would arrive at an intersection and could be considered a contributing factor in motorcycle/vehicle accidents DeLucia hopes to find funding from the Texas Department of Transportation to create an educational program to inform drivers of her findings and reduce the incidents of these types of accidents.
MORE CRASHES, FEWER FATALITIES DURING STURGIS RALLY Those visiting the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Aug. 5-11 were involved in more crashes than the year before, but fewer fatalities were reported as a result. During the weeklong event, 69 injury accidents occurred, an increase of 19 from 2012, the South Dakota State Patrol reported to the Rapid City Journal. Six people died as a result of those crashes, a decrease of three from the year before
REASONS TO CHECK YOUR TIRES EACH WEEK A New York rider who set out for a Friday the 13th motorcycle trip to Port Dover, Ontario told local CTV News that he was unfairly ticketed and pulled off the roads by Waterloo Regional Police in Canada. Jeff Selby of Elmira, NY claims the officers were excessive in their punishment after a routine roadside check found the tread on his motorcycle tires was .5 millimeters under code. Selby says he offered to drive his bike straight to a repair shop to have the tire replaced but the officers said no. “He goes it doesn’t matter. Your bike will be off the road as of today. We’re gonna take your plate, we’re gonna charge you and you’re gonna have to get a tow truck.” Selby told the news station that he understands the safety concerns but says he has a clean driving record and deserves a warning first, and that the five hundred or more dollars he’s now facing in fines, relicensing fees and towing cost is exorbitant. Police there say the law is the law and you can’t put a price on safety, adding that when it comes to safety there’s no room for warnings or second chances and it’s their responsibility that’s on the line. The legal regulation for tires on any motorized vehicle is that they have to have at least 1.5 millimeters of tread on the majority of the tires circumference.
ACCIDENTS POSSIBLY LINKED TO BRAIN MISCALCULATIONS Do yoU think? Incidences of cars pulling out in front of motorcyclists run regularly in headlines — locally, statewide and throughout the nation — and there could be a scientific reason. Recent research by a Texas Tech University psychologist suggests that the regularity of this problem isn’t necessarily a case of poor driving or carelessness, but may be related to a basic human judgment error. Pat DeLucia, the coordinator of the Human Factors Psychology Program, said her results show that small, near objects can appear farther away than larger, farther objects. The study is published in the peer-reviewed scientific psychology journal “Current Directions in Psychological Science.” An interest in softball prompted DeLucia to study how the human brain perceives objects, their size and motion and an object’s time to impact. Her finding - that
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Morton’s BMW Motorcycles Presents Dr. Seymour O’Life’s MYSTERIOUS AMERICA Mark Moran rohman’s inn: over the river, Through the Woods and Backwards in Time We go! If you ever find yourself across the Delaware River from NY and NJ, on the Pennsylvania side, and you’d like to see what bars looked like a long, long time before you were born, there’s a very unexpected place you may stumble into to grab a beer and a bite to eat. Winding down the shady wooded lanes in hilly northern Pennsylvania one day in early August, I found myself in the tiny town of Shohola on the banks of the Delaware, when I spied a place called Rohman’s Inn. Rohman’s looks just like an old time 1800’s hotel, and that’s because it used to be just that. These days though, you won’t see horses tied up to hitching posts outside, but you are likely to find a line of gleaming iron horses and stable of pick-up trucks. To set foot inside this place is to step backward in time. Pressed tin, rusted through in spots, covers the ceiling and walls. The wood floor is worn down from over a century of scuffs from shoes and boots. There is even an old timey upright piano that stands next to a coal burning iron stove. The instrument is missing ivory on many of its keys and is hopelessly out of tune, though the bartender assured me that there is at least one elderly customer who comes in that can play it and make it sound great. I played a few chords on it myself and much to my surprise and delight it sounded exactly like the pianos you hear in the saloon scenes of old Hollywood westerns! I kid you not. I had always assumed you had to put thumbtacks on the hammers of a piano to achieve that bright bangy, clanging tone, but the bartender swore the instrument had not be altered in anyway––it just sounded that way naturally from age. The wooden bar, which is original to the place, features lavish hand carved decorations around the mirrors. When a customer places a food order it is written up on a piece of paper which is then placed in a dark wooden dumbwaiter at the end of the bar and then hoisted up to the kitchen on the second story. Go through the doors at the other end of the bar, up the old hotel staircase, and you will find a real surprise on the second floor––a full-length four lane bowling alley. Without a doubt though, the most unique feature of the bar are the barstools––circular wooden seats which sit atop curved iron post and fold beneath the bar itself when not in use. Rohman’s is tucked away down by the river far off the main drag––if in fact you could call any road in Shohola a “main drag.” If you’re wondering why this old hotel would be located in such an out of the way spot, the reason is that things weren’t always the way they are today. You see, the train used to run right by the front door of the inn and a station was located directly across the tracks. Back in the heyday of the hotel throngs of people would come by rail to spend time in the area, many of them among the rich and famous of their day.
The building that Rohman’s Inn now occupies was built in 1849 and was originally known as the Shohola Hotel. It operated in that capacity until it was purchased by Art Rohman in 1909. He ran the place until he died in 1973, then the current owners took it over. We spoke with the daughter of the current owners, Kathleen Farrell, who has worked the bar for the past 15 years, and asked some questions about her family’s wonderful old saloon. The barstools are as odd as anything I’d ever seen. It seems there originally weren’t any stools. Then sometime around the 1930’s the control board said that the place was required to seat a certain amount of people to serve liquor. But the stools were going to take up space, so Art Rohman met their regulations by putting the stools in, but nobody actually has to sit on them––they can fold them in. They were conductor’s seats from a train or a trolley. Seems it got so busy that every inch of space was needed to pack in the patrons. It’s just common courtesy to push the stools forward under the bar when you leave. They used to just snap back on their own…they were spring loaded. There is still one down at the very end of the bar the does, if you get up quick enough it will snap forward. Many of the stools have an uneasy feeling pitch backward to them, which give you the feeling that you might just slide right off backwards. There is a trick to remedy this though. Kathleen showed me a handful of various rusty screws and nails with which patrons can level their seat to their own liking by wedging one in the joint at the base of the stand the seat rests on. Kathleen told me that the bowling alley upstairs was installed in 1940 and that it is one of only four in the entire country like it that is still in operation. If you’d like to bowl a few games be sure to bring your own pin monkey though, these lanes have no automated pin setting machines and must be racked manually. However, there is a unique device that aids in the process–
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–a foot peddle causes pegs to come up from beneath the lane. After the hollow pins are set atop the rods, they are retracted back into the floor. Still, the process must be a little laborious to repeat after every frame. Fortunately though, if you call ahead, Rohman’s might be able to fix you up with a local kid who will reset your pins for you for just $5 an hour. Kathleen pulled a thick spiral bound notebook from behind to show me. It was stuffed full of old photos, press clippings and pages from the old hotel register book. I asked her who some of the more noteworthy guests were who stayed at the hotel over the years who may have signed the book. She said that some former guest included: Greta Garbo, Gertrude Ederle (the first woman to swim the English Channel), Gloria Swanson, and Charles Lindbergh. Indeed, if you look in the scrapbook you will find Colonel Lindbergh’s signature. He filled out his address as “Entire World.” So why did so many celebrities visit the hotel back then, we wondered. “The area was a lot more populated,” Kathleen told us, “there was an amusement area in Shohola Glen, they had outdoor dances, clambakes, there was a gravity rail that took people from here and into the glen.” So do the rich and famous still pay visits to Rohman’s these days? “Robert De Niro stopped in one time, and Mario Andretti, the racecar
Page 17 driver, and Mary Stuart Masterson was here.” While Mary Stuart Masterson may not be Lucky Lindy, that still ain’t bad company for such an out of the way watering hole as Rohman’s. But for the most part the clientele is comprised mostly of local regulars during the week and lots of riders on the weekends, who’ll stop in during their runs. When the riding season ends, Rohman’s finds other enticements to bring customers in, like their annual Winter Olympics. Men 21 and over are eligible to participate, women can only spectate. Events include beer pong, horseshoes, turkey shoots, and golf chipping. There’s a triathlon that incorporates archery, BB gun marksmanship, and chugging a 32ounce beer. There are cooking contests and a keg toss (using the same keg for the past 27 years), a two-man saw competition, a bed race, and most popular of all, something known as “Polish skiing,” in which four men are all strapped into the same pair of skis. We asked Kathleen if the term “Polish skiing” has ever offended anyone. “Not yet. We have a Polish gentleman that comes and he’s well aware of it and he’s never said anything.” Today Rohman’s looks very much like it did over a century ago, and that’s just how the owners like it. They are proud that they are keeping the place as it has always been. Unfortunately the old train station that once stood across the street is long gone now, and while the trains do still occasionally travel the tracks, they are only freight lines that pass in the dead of the night without stopping. “Every year the industry around here gets less and the bar crowd falls off a bit.” Kathleen lamented. “But we like the fact that this is still the same place it always was.” I like it too, Kathleen. I encourage everyone to get on there bike and go see this rare, rustic and hidden gem of a saloon for themselves while you can––for though time may seem to stand still inside Rohman’s, it just keeps marching on everywhere else and there just aren’t many places like Rohman’s around these days anymore.
rohman’s inn is located at 100 rohman road, shohola, Pa 18458 (570) 559-7479
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Hanover Powersports Presents
BIG CIT Y G ETAWAY words: Jeff Bahr • images: Dave Erfer Jerry’s ClassiC Cars and ColleCTiBles museum 394 s CenTer sT, PoTTsville, Pa 570-628-2266 8 WWW.Jerrysmuseum.Com If there’s one thing I appreciate it’s a surprise. Not of the staged variety (Happy Birthday, dude!), I have little use for that kind of malarkey. I’m talking about discovering something worthwhile (usually while riding) that I never knew existed. Jerry’s Classic Cars and Collectibles Museum in the hilly Pennsylvania town of Pottsville is just such a place. Actually, strike that. Pottsville is a city in every sense of the word except for one. It’s a place that motorcyclists flock to rather than avoid. There are many reasons for this. First and foremost is the city’s visual appeal. With much of its commerce perched precariously on a steep hillside, and many of its buildings wonderfully preserved examples from the nineteenth century, it certainly has the look. But it also carries history of the more popular variety in the form of the much celebrated Yuengling Brewery. If you like to down a frosty one now and again (O’Life, listen up!) and have never visited this red brick home to hops, barley and fizz, you might wish to reconsider that decision. As America’s oldest brewery, operating since 1829, Yuengling Beer has become sacrosanct to devoted elbow-benders worldwide. Regular tours get visitors up close and personal with the suds. On the northern end of town, also set high above the valley below, another draw can be found in an equally unlikely form. The Schuykill County Prison is a fortress-like den of enforced solitude that was clearly built to intimidate. Accordingly, it lays claim to some macabre history. On June 21, 1877, six Molly Maguires (a super-secret group of Irish mine workers/labor activists who stood up to mine-owning bigwigs) were hanged here for various offences including murder. The executions, which many still believe unjust, helped fuel sentiment for the emerging American labor movement. The event stands as the largest mass execution in Pennsylvania history. While these are captivating places with interesting tales to tell, we’re talking old cars here. In this region, there’s no better place to cotton up to immense tailfins and shiny chrome bumpers than Jerry’s. Some quick history: Owner Gerald L. “Jerry” Enders has had a love affair with the automobile for as long as he can remember. In the 1960s, while still a teen, he worked at an Atlantic service station mostly to get closer to his four-wheeled objects of affection. The man had been bitten by the car bug, and bitten good, but even he couldn’t know then how deep his passion ran. Today, a fitting testament to Enders unending fascination with autos comes in two prominent forms; his mu-
daytrip ideas to get out of the daily grind seum and the Pottsville Cruise, a super popular annual car event that he founded some 20 years ago. The museum, located in a two-story brick building just beyond Pottsville’s main business district, has a little something for everybody. And I do mean everybody.
Let’s start with the cars themselves. On my last trip I spotted a 1952 Chevy pickup with a “three on the tree” shifter; a 1966 Ford Mustang with a super sweet aqua/white interior; a 1966 Dodge Charger muscle car that still looks like it would rule at stop-light showdowns; a 1958 Chevy Bel Air not dissimilar from the model that my father used to drive (Daddy, are we there yet?), and a funky looking 1951 Studebaker Commander “Land Cruiser” known to aficionados as a “bullet nose” because it features; yep, you guessed it. These vehicles and the many others that grace Jerry’s halls are surrounded by artifacts from every conceivable genre.
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An Atlantic gas station mural snares the eye upon entering. Given Enders warm memories of his gaspumping days; the brand choice is hardly a surprise. There’s also an old style soda fountain; a mock drive-in theater; a 1950s bandstand, and a millinery, library, kitchen and appliance store “for the ladies” as Jerry explains on his website. Old time signage is so profuse you’ll need to scan and re-scan the walls and ceilings to take it all in. I quit trying only after my eyes bugged out from the strain. It was well worth the effort, however. Sadly, Jerry has only one motorcycle on display but what a bike it is! Despite its recent pedigree, the 1970 Harley Davidson Super Sprint 350 is a model not often found in museums, or anywhere else for that matter. My pal Tony owned one of these babies. At 15, he was too young to ride it on the street, so it became his de facto trail bike until he got his license. For those that think of Harleys as boulevard bashers only, think again. This thing kicked some serious butt on back lots and forest trails. That’s the thing about Jerry’s place. With over 20,000 items on display, you never know just what you’ll find. But you do know that you’ll find something. So give it a whirl. But please avoid the suds at Yuengling Brewery if you choose to include it on your tour. Remember, drinking and riding don’t mix and the Schuykill County Prison always has room for one more. Cheers!
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Modern reincarnation of a timeless form.
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www.Powersports.Honda.com Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri: 9am-6pm • Thur: 9am-8pm • Sat: 9am-5pm SUNDAY: CLOSED - GONE RIDING honda.com ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET, EYE PROTECTION AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING. NEVER RIDE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL, AND NEVER USE THE STREET AS A RACETRACK. OBEY THE LAW AND READ THE OWNER’S MANUAL THOROUGHLY. For rider training information or to locate a rider training course near you, call the Motorcycle Safety Foundation at 800-446-9227. CTX™ and Gold Wing® are registered trademarks of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (07/13)
210 Route 10 West East Hanover, NJ 973-428-1735
www.HanoverPowersports.com Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri: 9am-6pm • Thur: 9am-8pm • Sat: 9am-5pm SUNDAY: CLOSED - GONE RIDING *Finance offer subject to credit approval, applies to purchases of new Yamaha Motorcycles, ATVs & Scooters made on a Yamaha Installment Financing loan account from 9/1/13-12/26/13. Min. contract length 24 mos, max. 36 mos. Min. amount financed $5,000. Fixed APR of 3.99%, 5.99%, 6.99% or 12.99% assigned based on credit approval criteria. Monthly payments per $1,000 financed based on 36-mo. term are $29.52 at 3.99% and $33.69 at 12.99%. **Customer Cash offer good on select 2009-2013 models between 9/1/13-12/26/13. Offers good only in the U.S., excluding the state of Hawaii. Dress properly for your ride with a helmet, eye protection, long-sleeved shirt, long pants, gloves and boots. Do not drink and ride. It is illegal and dangerous. Yamaha and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation encourage you to ride safely and respect the environment. For further information regarding the MSF course, please call 1-800-446-9227. ATV models shown are recommended for use only by riders 16 years and older. Raptor 700R recommended for experienced riders only. Yamaha recommends that all ATV riders take an approved training course. For safety and training information, see your dealer or call the ATV Safety Institute at 1-800-887-2887. ATVs can be hazardous to operate. For your safety: Always avoid paved surfaces. Never ride on public roads. Always wear a helmet, eye protection and protective clothing. Never carry passengers. Never engage in stunt riding. Riding and alcohol/drugs don’t mix. Avoid excessive speed. And be particularly careful on difficult terrain. Professional riders depicted on a closed courses. ©2013 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved. • YamahaMotorsports.com 9/13
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Bergen County Harley-Davidson Presents
WE’RE OUT TA HERE The Chapman inn 2 Church st., Bethel, maine 04217 207-824-2657 • www.chapmaninn.com When you ride up into the state of Maine you’ll never know exactly what you will find. The state has more than its share of oddities and history, but it is also one of the most scenic parts of these United States. Some little hamlets will appear and disappear in the time it takes to shift gears, others stand out above the rest. Bethel, Maine is one such town. In fact, it is called the “Most Beautiful Mountain Village in Maine.” A few months back we spent some time here and it is quite a pleasant stopping point. Did you know where the largest snowman and woman have been created. Yep, Bethel, Maine holds that claim to fame. They even have the record in the Guinness Book of World Records – some 122 feet tall. Not far from there you will also find the World’s Largest Telephone. But, when you do visit Maine’s Most Beautiful Mountain Village you will need a place to stay and for us the Chapman Inn fit the bill perfectly. We are sure they didn’t know Backroads was coming so we were pleased to see a special rate offered to motorcyclists as we rolled up to The Chapman Inn. We appreciate it when innkeepers appreciate us. Located across from the Village Commons and across from the old opera house the building itself has a fascinating history. It is one of the oldest structures in Bethel, having been built in 1865 by a retired sea captain and, to this day, keeps hold of a warm and comfortable Maine feel. The place has 9 rooms and a dorm, and is nicely appointed with period antiques and the owners Fred and Sandra have added curios and mementos of their trips around the planet; something we found fascinating.
a weekend destination keeping you on the backroads One thing that we thought odd, and we are not sure about the other rooms, but entering ours on the second floor we had to pass through the bathroom to get to the actual bedroom. Odd, but it added to the character of the inn. Oh, there is something else a bit odd. The Chapman Inn is the only officially “Certified Haunted” inn in western Maine. After many years of strange happenings here at the inn, a certified paranormal investigator was called upon to do an in depth study of the Chapman Inn. Some of the many unexplained events include doors that open and close by themselves, footsteps where no one is there, and cold drafts in closed rooms, even during the summer. Female voices, one very young, have been heard emanating from empty rooms. There have been two reported sightings of a black cat that exited the room quickly when the room was entered. Normally this would not be an issue, except the cat left the room through a solid wall. The owners had a paranormal investigator spend several days on this investigation, utilizing all of the modern and accepted techniques, including electronic detection and monitoring. His summation
indicated that the inn is definitely haunted, and almost certainly by at least two entities. He feels certain that one of the spirits is very likely that of Abigail Chapman, who was the invalid daughter of William Rogers Chapman, an early and long time owner of the home. We were left unmolested that night. The Chapman does not serve dinner, but we simply strolled down the street to S.S. Milton for some serious offerings that did not disappoint. There are also a number of bars and other restaurants within walking distance. If you are looking for a little local nightlife, we’d recommend Sud’s Pub a little further down the road from S.S. Milton. On the comfort end of The Chapman Inn, the beds were some of the best we have slept in… very comfortable and the odd placement of the shower
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Rip & Ride® • THE CHAPMAN INN 2 CHURCH ST., BETHEL, MAINE 04217 207-824-2657 • WWW.CHAPMANINN.COM
FROM LINCOLN, NH EAST ON RTE.112 KANCAMAGUS HIGHWAY BEAR RIGHT ON RTE. 133 LEFT AT RTE. 302 RIGHT AT EAST CONWAY RD
WHITEHORSE PRESS • 107 E. CONWAY RD DOUBLE BACK TO RTE. 302 NORTH
did not deter from it being excellent at the end of a long riding day. Breakfast! Where can we begin? Fred and Sandra whip up a most serious first meal of the day. Eggs, anyway you want them, pancakes, cereals, fruit and much more. Fred’s potatoes, created with an old family recipe, were simply the best. Seriously, the best anywhere and are worth the visit for these alone. As we mentioned The Chapman Inn is very rider-friendly and is now a member of the Backroads Moto-Inn Program. When we were there they had a half dozen Canadian riders as well, who had come south to enjoy what The Chapman, Bethel and this part of Maine has to offer. As usual we will give you a great ride to get to The Chapman, but we will start it in Lincoln, New Hampshire, which is a great first night’s destination from the New York metropolitan region and throw in a stop at Whitehorse Press a place all riders must visit. Think of it as a motorcycle department store!
RIGHT ON HURRICANE MOUNTAIN RD VERY TIGHT AND TWISTY - ENJOY LEFT AT T - GREEN HILL RD. RIGHT AT CHATHAM RD. INTO MAINE RIGHT AT RTE. 113 BEAR LEFT AT FISH RD LEFT AT RTE. 5 TO BETHEL RIGHT AT MILL HILL RD LEFT ON BROAD TO INN
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NOVEMBER 2013 • BACKROADS
G REAT ALL AMERICAN DINER RUN
tasty places to take your bike
The CooPersToWn diner 136 1/2 main sTreeT, CooPersToWn, ny 13326 607-547-9201 • WWW.CooPersToWndiner.Com “It’s more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like, ‘What about lunch?’” Winnie the Pooh Winnie the Pooh had it so right and thus each month we continue on our quest on the Great All American Diner Run. This month we will happily bring you a little place, and this time we do mean little, but with a lot of heart and some seriously big burgers. And, if there was ever a town located in some of the most beautiful scenery in the United States it just might be Otsego Lake and Cooperstown – to us riding up there was like riding through the 100 Acre Woods. Located right down the street from the Baseball Hall of Fame you will find the Cooperstown Diner. Look closely, as you might just miss the place. It is one of the tiniest diners we have ever written about, but they served up a big bunch of food. The diner sits just 26 people along the counter and the spattering of tables. You’ll find the bathroom in the back through the kitchen. As you would think this place has served up delicious eats to so many over the years, including some of the greatest baseball players that have ever thrown a ball or swung a bat.
At this year’s Backroads’ Spring Break a number of us took the walk over to the Cooperstown Diner simply because it was so hard to resist such a marvelous looking diner. The Cooperstown Diner serves breakfast all day and that being the case you can order up all sorts of omelettes – broccoli & cheddar, veggie or your choice of meat and cheese. Sausage & gravy with biscuit and homefries looked yummy as did ‘homemade’ corned beef hash with eggs and toast. Their side orders were fun as we can’t remember when we last saw Cream of Wheat on a menu – what we think of as ‘northern grits’. Regular southern grits and sides of that ‘homemade’ hash are good choices as well.
We got there for lunch, scoffing up the last table, and went about looking at what they had. Shira went for one of their awesome maple milk shakes that are so good it is almost decadent. Shira couldn’t finish hers and asked for a ‘to go’ cup. Keeping it light we did a turkey club, chicken salad sandwich and a side order of their super onion rings. The Cooperstown does a number of grilled cheeses, tuna melt on rye and a fish sandwich that went by our table that almost caused me to change my order. They also serve up some good looking wraps – turkey & bacon, chicken cordon bleu and buffalo chicken with lettuce, tomato and blue cheese dressing. What the Cooperstown Diner is really known for are their burgers. A full 1/2 pound of prime ground meat they come in all the popular editions, bacon & cheese, mushroom & Swiss or just good ol’ plain. These are worth the ride to Cooperstown all by themselves. We did mention that the Cooperstown Diner is one of the tiniest eateries we have ever written about, so if you
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BACKROADS • NOVEMBER 2013
Rip & Ride® • THE COOPERSTOWN DINER 136 1/2 MAIN STREET, COOPERSTOWN, NY 13326 607-547-9201 • WWW.COOPERSTOWNDINER.COM DOWNLOAD GPS ROUTE: WWW.SENDSPACE.COM/PRO/DL/ISH8DR
CROSS DINGMANS BRIDGE - $1 TOLL STRAIGHT ON CR 739 - CROSS ROUTE 209 RIGHT ONTO MILFORD RD LEFT ONTO RAYMONDSKILL RD LEFT ONTO ROUTE 6 IMMEDIATE RIGHT ONTO TWIN LAKES RD RIGHT ONTO ROUTE 434 – CROSS DELWARE RIVER LEFT ONTO ROUTE 97 NORTH IMMEDIATE BR ONTO CR 21/YULAN BARRYVILLE RD LEFT ONTO CR 22/BEAVER BROOK RD RIGHT ONTO CR 26/CRYSTAL LAKE RD LEFT ONTO HWY 55 LEFT ONTO DR DUGGAN RD LEFT ONTOT ROUTE 17B RIGHT ONTO HURD RD LEFT ONTO CR 144/BRISCOE RD BEAR LEFT ONTO CR 52 RIGHT ONTO FAUBEL RD LEFT ONTO HUST RD RIGHT ONTO CR 122/N BRANCH RD BEAR LEFT ONTO DUTCH HILL RD LEFT ONTO CR 92/GULF RD RIGHT ONTO STEWART AVE – CROSS ROUTE 17 RIGHT ONTO OLD RTE. 17/CR 179
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LEFT ONTO CR 151/BEAVERKILL RD BEAR LEFT ONTO BIG POND RD/BARKABOOM RD LEFT ONTO BWS RD 8 – ONTO HWY 30 RIGHT ONTO TANNERY – ONTO KNOX AVE BEAR LEFT ONTO CR 26 RIGHT ONTO HWY 10 RIGHT ONTO CR 2 LEFT ONTO DELAWARE AVE/RTE. 28 RIGHT ONTO CR 6 LEFT ONTO CR 5 BEAR LEFT ONTO CR 18 RIGHT ONTO RIVER RD – CROSS ROUTE 10 RIGHT ONTO CR 33 LEFT ONTO CR 12 RIGHT ONTO BRICK HOUSE HILL RD RIGHT ONTO ROUTE 23 LEFT ONTO CR 9 – ONTO CR 40 LEFT ONTO CR 39 – CROSS I-88 LEFT ONTO CR 36 LEFT ONTO CR 34 RIGHT ONTO WILLIAMS RD ONTO NORTON CROSS RD RIGHT ONTO ROUTE 166 LEFT ONTO CR 52 RIGHT ONTO CR 33 LEFT ONTO ESTLI AVE LEFT ONTO MAIN ST COOPERSTOWN DINER DOWN ON RIGHT
OPEN ALL YEAR NEW OWNERSHIP!
Take a ride on one of the Northeast’s Scenic Byways - Route 97 - 20 miles north of Port Jervis. Dine with your fellow riders on the Delaware River. Enjoy our Expanded Canopied Decks. Great Daily Food and Drink Specials.
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A ‘Fitting’ Place for Women
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get there at prime time you might have a wait, but it is certainly worth that. But, this is Cooperstown and if you are a lover of baseball then you should feel right at home just strolling around the town and taking in all that is this Mecca of the game. We will give you the same great ride we used to get to Cooperstown for our Spring Break with this Rip & Ride that will start from Dingmans Bridge in northwestern NJ. Enjoy and as they say… “play ball!”
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F
ew could argue that Victory Motorcycles have ridden a great distance over the last decade or so since the announcement that Polaris was getting into the two-wheel cruiser business. I remember the Bar & Shield folks smirking at the idea that this would ever work, much less become profitable. But, here we are in 2013 and Victory has more than proven that there can be more than one American cruiser riding the highways and backroads of this nation. Early this year Shira and I spent a few thousand miles traversing the Lone Star state of Texas on a Victory Cross Country and had an absolute blast – two up on a machine that could easily handle the haul and gear.
Crank to Crate Tour Following the Life of a Victory Brian Rathjen
RIDE ONE AND YOU’LL
TEST RIDE A VICTORY
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OWN ONE.
The cool weather is calling - head out of the city on a new Victory Cross Country. We will never stop delivering the best riding experience on the planet. Find out for yourself.
Victory and Victory Motorcycles® are registered trademarks of Polaris Industries Inc. Always wear a helmet, eye protection and protective clothing and obey the speed limit. Never ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol. ©2012 Polaris Industries Inc.
Can-Am Metuchen
Victory Metuchen
911 Middlesex Ave, Metuchen, NJ (732) 491-2900
911 Middlesex Ave, Metuchen, NJ (732) 491-2900
www.CanAmMetuchen.com
www.VictoryMetuchen.com
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NOVEMBER 2013 • BACKROADS
Page 26 In mid-August I was invited by Victory to spend a few days riding their bikes and touring the engine plant in Wisconsin and then riding down to the assembly plant in Spirit Lake, Iowa. Taking advantage of a free week with no tours or production planned I jumped on the offer. A few hours on a tiny Delta E175 jet and I found myself in the Twin Cities and shuttling over to the hotel to meet our group and begin our introduction into all things Victory. Our group was a small one, led by Victory PR Maven Kyle Clack, and I was joined by American Bagger associate editor Tony Frey and Minnesota Monthly editor Guido Ebert for three days on the road visiting the Polaris / Victory plant in Osceola, Wisconsin (the crank part of the story) and then a few days jaunt along the Great River Road, along the mighty Mississippi to Spirit Lake, Iowa where Victory, and now Indian, machines are assemble and shipped (the crate part of the tale). We got an early start out of the very busy downtown Minneapolis and made quick time heading northeast over the river into Wisconsin.
Kyle had supplied four machines that all had the same blood line, but were different in many ways. The Cross Tour, which Shira and I had ridden in Texas comes in a less touring version. The Black Ball is the basic machine and we had one in black, the slightly more upscale and pricey Cross Country of which we had two – one in suede silver with bright green flames and a stunner in two-tone blue and black – and the high end Ness version. A little something for everybody. Our morning route brought us quickly through little towns that you would miss in a blink and the larger Scandia before we crossed the St. Croix River and rolled into Osceola and the Victory engine assembly plant. The plant manager Dave Muckenhirn, truly went out of his way and spent a good few hours showing us the way both Victory and the new Indian powerplants are built. The attention to details, quality and roadworthiness was very impressive and the workers there were smiling and cordial to us as well. Polaris, the Mother Company of both Victory and Indian, also assembles their 4X4 and snowmobile engines here. The plant is thoroughly modern with state of the art diagnostic machines to track each engine for the life of the machine, a number of Dyno rooms for deep testing and an assembly line that runs like a well-crafted Swiss watch. Victory certainly has something to be proud of in Osceola. We took lunch at a local place and by early afternoon we were back on the
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BACKROADS • NOVEMBER 2013 road, following tiny farm backroads with letter names. The I to the E to the A would bring us down to Route 35 – The Great River Road.
Along the way we stopped in one of the many Visitor Centers you will find on this historic route, taking in a bit of the river history and stocking up on guide books and maps. Heading south on the Wisconsin side of the river we took in vista after vista and, heading down towards the river, we ended up running along one of the many freight trains that call this part of the Mississippi River home. Victory truly has one of
Page 27 the sweetest engines for this type of machine on the planet. The 106 engine is smooth and powerful. The transmission shifts like butter and I have yet to miss a shift of any of these machines. Ergonomically I fit well on this big bagger, a machine I might add I do not commonly ride. By mid-afternoon we crossed the river, once again, to the town of Red Wing, Minnesota. Red Wing sound familiar? Maybe you are wearing a pair of their famous boots, created in this town since 1857. Kyle had outdone himself with tonight’s hotel, the historic St. James. Built back in 1875 and now owned by Red Wing Shoes, this hotel harkens back to rich and interesting history. Red Wing was the world’s largest primary market for wheat in the early 1870s, with a warehouse capacity of over 1,000,000 US bushels in 1873. As a result of the city’s wealth, and with a need to house businesspeople and tourists visiting the city, eleven prominent businessmen invested in the construction of the hotel. It opened with a grand ball on Thanksgiving Day, 1875. It was one of the most elaborate hotels along the Mississippi River and served the city during its heyday as a commercial center and a steamboat stop. Today when we think Red Wing we think more boots than wheat.
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Page 28 The hotel’s old lobby is very opulent and even has a pipe organ in wonderful condition. Each room is named after a historic River Boat and the place has a number of very classy bars and restaurants. The hotel is also haunted. I do not say reputed to be as to do that infuriates ghosts. Much like taking lava from Pele’ you are best to show some respect when staying at the St. James. Let us not irk Clara. But, while there I discovered something that our good friend Dr. Seymour O’Life would love – the World’s Largest Boot, found in the Red Wing Shoe store’s lobby. Twenty feet long, sixteen feet tall and weighing in at 2,300lbs – it is big enough for a man 12 stories tall! In February of 2005 it was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records and is quite the sight. With the rest of the afternoon to kill I went of a little photo shoot crossing back over the Mississippi into Wisconsin and then back to Red Wing where I found the rest of the group enjoying a peaceful park along the river. Nice way to end the day. We met later for dinner within walking distance of the St. James and I made it an early night for the next day we had more of the Great River Road to explore and
NOVEMBER 2013 • BACKROADS another factory tour in Spirit Lake and to check in on American Victory Days. We continued our ride south along the Great River Road the next morning, getting an early start and riding down the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi. This part of the river looks more like a lake and, in fact it is, as Lake Pepin is formed by a natural delta from silt poured out from the Chippewa as it runs into the bigger river. This has created a magnificent body of water some 2 miles wide and 22 miles long.
We paused for a while to take it all in and spotted some eagles flying high above looking for a late breakfast. Eagles rule here and taking note of that we rode down along the river towards the town of Wabasha. Along the way we needed to cross over to Minnesota and did so along the Upper Mississippi Wildlife Refuge, a pristine part of the river totally protected from development and commerce. This is what the region looked like for hundreds of years and all sorts of wildlife and critters can be found along this way.
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BACKROADS • NOVEMBER 2013
Page 29 dred miles or so of Interstate that the Cross Countrys simply gobble up. The engine simply shines at high speed – smooth, powerful and quiet we cruised at a handy 80+ for about an hour, the suspensions calmly settled on the pavement and the bikes chewing up these miles with ease. These Victorys are equally at home on the backroads or the highways. The region here, part of the eastern Prairie, is flat with just a hint of the occasional hill. Corn and wheat stretched on and on. If we kept going west this would last for hundreds of miles before we ran into the Rockies and more fun roads would return. We stopped for fuel and a quick lunch before we rolled into Iowa.
Upon entering Wabasha you will see a sign reading “Welcome to Wabasha, Home of Grumpy Old Men”. This is a tribute to the movie Grumpy Old Men and its sequel Grumpier Old Men, written by Mark Steven Johnson about his grandfather, Wabasha native Charles Gilbert. Wabasha itself was named in honor of an Indian Chief of the Sioux Nation, Chief Wapa-shaw and there is an impressive statue along the river park of him, located across from the Eagle Center. The Center, established in 1989 initially to focus on environmental stewardship through conservation, research, and education in the Upper Mississippi River region. They worked to advance the bald eagle as a symbol of cultural heritage and celebrate eagles as a symbol of the success of federal and state endangered species recovery efforts. Over its 15-year history, it eventually became The National Eagle Center, is a 14,000-square-foot interpretive center overlooking the Mississippi River. We were there a bit early but the curator took pity on us, and opened the doors for a private little tour, including a close look at a number of Bald and Golden Eagles that have been hurt and are taken care of by the staff of the center. The museum has a number of exhibits and is a great place to bring little ones or the little one in ROLLIN’ FAST Cycle Sports you. The displays were both informative and fun and they also had a number of scopes to spy on eagles in the is your tri-state Victory motorcycle and Polaris wild along the river. dealer in New Jersey. We are a performance-oriThe National Eagle Center is a fantastic place and ented shop that specializes in all Victory motorcywell worth the visit if you are touring the area. cles and Polaris side x sides and ATVs. We are the We had some miles to make if we were to get to Spirit best-stocked dealer in the tri-state area. Whether you are lookLake in Iowa so we hopped on I-90 and got to do a huning for a Victory or Polaris vehicle, parts, or accessories we have it. We offer all dealer programs including financing, extended warranties, and vehicle insurance. Our knowledge of Victory motorcycles and Polaris vehicles far exceeds our competitors. We stock just about every Victory and Polaris accessory in the catalog plus many more aftermarket accessories for Victory.
ROLLIN’ FAST Cycle Sports 104 Main Street, Lebanon, NJ
908-236-9000 • www.rollinfast.com Here to serve you Monday-Friday 9a-6p • Thursday 9a-7p • Saturday 9a-5p • Gone Riding Sunday Victory and Victory Motorcycles® are registered trademarks of Polaris Industries Inc. Always wear a helmet, eye protection, and protective clothing and obey the speed limit. Never ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Warning: The Polaris RANGER® and RZR® are not intended for on-road use. Driver must be at least 16 years old with a valid driver’s license to operate. Passengers must be at least 12 years old and tall enough to grasp the hand holds and plant feet fi rmly on the fl oor. All SxS drivers should take a safety training course. Contact ROHVA at www.rohva.org or (949) 255-2560 for additional information. Drivers and passengers should always wear helmets, eye protection, protective clothing, and seat belts. Always use cab nets or doors (as equipped). Be particularly careful on difficult terrain. Never drive on public roads or paved surfaces. Never engage in stunt driving, and avoid excessive speeds and sharp turns. Riding and alcohol/drugs don’t mix. Check local laws before riding on trails. ATVs can be hazardous to operate. Polaris adult models are for riders 16 and older. For your safety, always wear a helmet, eye protection and protective clothing, and be sure to take a safety training course. For safety and training information in the U.S., call the SVIA at (800) 887-2887. You may also contact your Polaris dealer or call Polaris at (800) 342-3764. ©2013 Polaris Industries Inc.
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Iowa was a bit special for me as I had only this state and two others, Nebraska and North Dakota, to bag before being able to say I have ridden in all 50 states. Now I have two to go. The Polaris factory at Spirit Lake is a mammoth facility and the lot was full of Victorys and other bikes as this weekend was the American Victory Rally, an annual event that has been going on for 10 years and offers plant tours, concerts, vendors and a weekend of fun. We met up with the plant manager and were given a private tour of the facility that builds both Victory and Indian motorcycles on two separate and distinct assembly lines. Polaris has just reintroduced the Indian line and, unlike the poor attempt that has been done in the past, Polaris is offering the real deal. During this tour I saw the new Indian engines being built and now I have seen the machines themselves being assembled and I do believe that Polaris got this right. The new Indians are very impressive and I was looking forward to getting a ride on this new/old American icon. The plant tour was very impressive and even more so when we learned that the engines being installed were
NOVEMBER 2013 • BACKROADS
the very same we had seen built the previous day. With the tour complete we set off for our hotel that night, the Inn on Lake Okoboji. This lake is vacation central for the region and Kyle had arranged for an evening boat cruise (think Tiki, Buffett & many adult beverages) and Kyle even convinced the Captain of the boat to shuttle us around the lake that night for dinner on his private powerboat. Life was good on Lake Okoboji.
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BACKROADS • NOVEMBER 2013 That evening the American Victory Rally held a concert at Palmer Park, home of the oldest wooden roller coaster west of the Mississippi. Captain Tim, as he was known, brought us up close to the old amusement park, lights from the carousel and roller coaster causing a rainbow of colors to dance across the darkened lake. It was quite the sight. A short time later we sailed back across Okoboji to our rooms at the inn. We had a final ride the next day back in Minneapolis and I was happy to get hold to a key fob belonging to the new Indian Chief, which I got to ride the first half of the day. It was a kick to make a quick stop by the factory with a machine that was born there. Parking the Indian drew an immediate crowd and just getting people to move away for a quick picture was a feat in itself. The Indian is a fine machine with a distinctive and iconic feel to the entire bike, which seemed like a piece of moving art. I felt like a rolling Scott Jacobs painting. The 111 cubic inch engine is sweet and although it felt completely different than its Polaris sibling, it moved and handled just as well.
By early afternoon I had switched to the Ness version of the Cross Country and we went in search of some more twisty roads in a land that seemed infatuated with straight lines and 90-degree intersections. We took lunch in Manotokin, the home of the University of Minnesota, and then followed north along the Minnesota River. This region is steeped in Prairie history and we took in the Treaty museum where settlers signed the famed treaty with the Sioux nation. Treaties like this never went well for the locals and they lost their way of life and we built the Mall of America. It was a treat to see it from the saddles of a few great American motorcycles. By late afternoon we had dropped the Cross Countrys off at a local dealer and stopped in for a last meal of the regional favorite - Walleye. They serve a gazillion pounds of this fish everywhere you go here and one cannot leave Minnesota without having your share.
Page 31 I had an early flight back to New Jersey the next morning so an easy going night was had with another American classic - baseball. The Twins were playing the White Sox, so I moseyed over to Target Stadium, scalped a field level seat, and watched the Twins get trounced by Chicago. Being a Mets fan I am used to the occasional trouncing so I could relate to the sad faces leaving the stadium that night. At dawn another Delta E175 jet lifted off heading east winging me, and this story, back to New Jersey. Riding along this part of the nation – the Mississippi River, the small towns, the wide-open prairies and some 10,000 lakes makes this region a shining part of the American experience. The Great River Road is not all that far west from the Backroads region and makes an excellent destination for some long range touring. Heading this way makes for a wonderful riding destination and doing it on a bike like the Cross Country was truly a victory for me.
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PRODUCT REVIEW
WOMEN’S ROADCRAFTER TWO PIECE SUIT BY AEROSTICH
Shira Kamil When I first started riding, I wanted the best, most protective gear available. At that time there wasn’t a lot, if any, gear designed specifically for women so I just went for the best, period. That was a one-piece Roadcrafter suit. Tough as nails, waterproof (for the most part) and I was able to wear my ‘civies’ under it. Sure, I looked like something from outer space, but I felt invulnerable. Fast forward some 20 years and many things have changed. More and more manufacturers have realized that women are becoming a larger portion of day-today riders. More motorcycles are being developed for ‘shorter stature’ riders, as well as the weights coming down a bit. Clothing developers are designing for women’s figures – narrower waists, shorter inseams, fuller chests – which makes us females happy. We no longer need to make do with gear, we can actually be happy about wearing it. Andy Goldfine, who has been clothing riders since 1982, also heeded the change in demographics on bikes. The company recently had an overhaul to their production system which included an automation of their cutting department. While making these changes, they included robotic cutting of women’s sizes so the patterns are now stored in the machine’s memory and can be cut, one at a time. Instead of trying to make a men’s size 36 fit, they can now sell you a perfect size 8 through 20. While I was happy with my various textile riding options, I thought it was time to give a Roadcrafter another shot. Yes, during those 20 years I went through some changes as well, and I figured it would now be a perfect fit. Let the fun begin.
Heading to Aerostich.com, I found the link to the Women’s Two-Piece and clicked away. Here I was asked for both jacket and pant size, separately, as well as length and colors. I knew that I wanted a color scheme that would stand out and scream to those oblivious car drivers ‘CAN YOU SEE ME KNOW!’ I was almost set on red with hi-viz yellow ballistic when Brian mentioned that looked very much like something Tony Stark might don in cases of terrorism and alien attack. I did not feel that I had the right stuff to wear such a suit and headed back to the drawing board. I settled on cobalt blue with hi-viz yellowballistics (yes, I was a riding Norwegian flag). The order was placed and in about a month or so my suit arrived. You’ll notice, when scrolling to the bottom of the order page, that Aerostich is nice enough to offer a hassle-free sizing exchange. This was very convenient, as I overestimated my size and needed to exchange the pants for one size smaller (yea, me). Again, they arrived quickly and I was ready for my first test ride. Technical stuff: the Roadcrafter is constructed on the outside of 500 Denier Cordura® GORE-TEX® outer fabric, making it both abrasion protective and allweather capable. The lining is a free-floating nylon taffeta for easy access. TF3, a costly high performance viscoelastic material first developed for use in aerospace applications, is used in their oversize impact pads. Soft and molding to your body, it becomes firmer upon impact, absorbing and distributing energy. All zippers are heavy duty (do use the special lubricant they send before use, it will make it easier), and there are a great amount of well-placed pockets that are sized for adult human hands, (Continued on Page 47)
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Welcome to the Jungle - The Art of Learning to Ride Skillfully A column dedicated to your riding survival
Giving your ride new legs HyperPro Suspension As we get older we all start to feel it. Aches, pains and twitches that we don’t seem to remember in our youth seem to pop up at the most inopportune times. With humans the best we can do is to stay active, exercise, stretch and take Advil. Our motorcycles go through the same sort of thing – especially the suspension parts. After 30 thousand miles, or so, most stock suspension begins to degrade and some units begin to fail outright. Riders that use their machines on a constant basis might not even be aware of this until they correct the situation. Shira’s F650GS was beginning to sag a bit and we knew that if she was going to continue touring on this machine she would have to look for a suspension upgrade of some sort. With her BMW we did not have to look far for the answer. In fact we didn’t even have to leave the state as EPM Performance Imports had the answer for her right on hand. The driving force behind EPM is Klaus Huenecke. Klaus is renowned for his expertise in all types of suspension technology. When you buy your suspension from EPM, you get the benefit of
this tremendous experience. And when you order a Hyperpro shock, it will arrived already set up based on Klaus’ experience. Which means most customers will barely need to make any adjustments to get the best suspension performance. Being just a few hours south in Manalapan, New Jersey we arranged to receive the new suspension - rear shock and front fork springs - down at EPM and have them do the installation. We have installed a number of shocks and springs in the past, but when you have the opportunity for the real experts in the field to install them, you should jump at that chance. We knew this would take a bit, so we arrived in the morning and left the bike in Klaus’ capable hands. We were going to install both front and rear and bowed to EPM’s knowledge of what would be the best set-up for Shira’s GS. In the rear they would install a HyperPro #460 shock with full preload and dampening adjustment. Up front
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Are you ready for the most comfortable motorcycle saddle? A saddle that fits properly eliminates pressure points that reduce blood flow. It takes a solid understanding of human anatomy and extensive motorcycle experience to make a truly fine motorcycle saddle. Let Rick’s medical expertise as a critical care nurse and extensive riding experience combine to create a truly great saddle hand-made just for you. Prices start at $269.
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Klaus would install new HyperPro Rising Rate Fork Springs and change the old oil for new high-performance fluid. Klaus is not a man to be rushed and if you arrange for EPM to do your installation, then it might be best to schedule a day to leave your machine and then pick it p a few days later. We were lucky as he said he could get it done in one day. We returned in the mid afternoon to find the rear shock installed, but Klaus was just getting to the front end. This turned out just fine as I could assist a bit and watch a true tradesman do his thing. In German fashion everything Klaus does is systematic and with reason. Brakes and wheel removed, items tied safely out of the way. Fork tubes removed and each disassembled, inspected and cleaned. He even took a soft scotch-brite cloth to each slider to polish off any burrs or imperfections. With the old (and very stinky) oil dumped new fluid was added to a precise amount and, now reassembled, the forks were put back onto the F650GS with each nut and bolt torque to a precise specified tightness. After everything was back to spec he had Shira sit on the bike and final sag and other adjustments were made, zeroing in on what would work best for the F650. Over the next few days Shira noticed a few things. The bike was a tad taller for her, but nothing she couldn’t handle. It did make the lean on the sidestand greater, but again this could be managed. On the road she reported a far better feedback from the front end and the rear floated over the pavement with a much smoother and controlled feel. Basically, she said it felt like a new machine.
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And, that is our point. Like anything the suspension on your machine will begin to fade and fail as the miles pile on. Suspension upgrades are not cheap, with the 460 rear shock costing $888 and the front spring another $160, plus EPM’s time installing them. We felt it this way - Shira had just paid off the GS and for the same amount as a couple additional months payments she had a bike that was far better handling than it had been when it rolled out of the dealership. We thought it was surely worth it. Ask yourself if a suspension upgrade should be in your future. It is pricey, but except for tires, new suspension is the single best thing you can do for your machine and your ride. EPM has applications for just about any modern machine; call them at 732- 786-9777 or visit them on the web at www.wilbersusa.com.
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UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR NOVEMBER 2013 3 • BMW Bikers of Metropolitan Washington Tech Day at Morton's BMW Motorcycles. We're opening up our service department on Sunday for members of BMWBMW and guests from 8:30 am - 2:00 pm. Bring in your BMW, pick up the parts and accessories you need at special savings, and work on your machine on a professional lift in a first class facility. Morton's BMW staff will be on hand to help guide you and also do a little teaching at the same time. Morton's BMW Motorcycles, 5099A Jefferson Davis Highway, Fredericksburg, VA 22408 • 540-891-9844 • www.mortonsbmw.com 16 • Rain Date: Nov. 23 • Jersey Shore HOG/Harley-Davidson of Long Branch 5th Annual Toy Run. Sign in: Atlantic Highlands Gaebo, 2 Simon Lake Dr, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 8:3010:15am • Ride leaves 10:30am to Jersey Shore Medical Center. Free Lunch after at dealership. $20/pp or unwrapped toy - no stuffed animals • 732-229-8515 23 • Bob's BMW Preparation for Winter Riding Tech Session/Tutorial • 11am-1pm • Enjoy a hot cup of coffee and a donut while learning what you can do to prepare you and your bike for winter riding. Tech Session in Service will include important reminders and interesting tips to consider when riding in colder weather and potentially more hazardous conditions. Meet the National Sales Rep from Gerbings Heated Gear for a complete product tutorial and much more! Complete details at www.bobsbmw.com. • 10720 Guilford Rd, Jessup, MD • 301-497-8949 29 • Montgomeryville Cycle Center Black Friday Sale. 2901 Bethlehem Pike, Hatfield, PA • 215-712-7433 • www.montgomeryvillecc.com 29 & 30 • Black Friday (and Saturday) Sale, Morton's BMW Motorcycles. Look for special sales and events on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving at Morton's BMW Motorcycles, 5099A Jefferson Davis Highway, Fredericksburg, VA 22408 • 540-891-9844 • www.mortonsbmw.com
DECEMBER 2013
7 • Customer Appreciation Day and Holiday Party at Morton's BMW Motorcycles. Join us for food, amazing holiday sales, and much more from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Morton's BMW Motorcycles, 5099A Jefferson Davis Highway, Fredericksburg, VA 22408 • 540-8919844 • www.mortonsbmw.com 13-15 • New York City @ Jacob Javits Center • Progressive International Motorcycle Shows offers an all access pass to view all the new 2014 models and hundreds of the hottest street bikes, dirt bikes, cruisers, UTVs and ATVs for both new and experienced riders. From the latest gear and aftermarket accessories to informative seminars and interactive entertainment, this event is the place to experience the latest in the world of motorcycling. This motorcycle extravaganza will also feature live music; the Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show featuring hundreds of the hottest custom motorcycles dripping in eye-popping chrome, wild paint jobs and dazzling rims; the return of The Podium that will host motorcycle racers, celebrities, DIY seminars; and much, much more. For more information visit www.motorcycleshows.com. Use code TBACKROADS for discount tix.
What’s Happening 14 • Bob’s BMW Free Bike Wash •Are you a true year around rider? If so, ride to Bob’s Service Department on this frigid December day and let us rinse the salt off your bike, scrub your bike’s wheels, and make it spotless…all for FREE! All you need to do is arrive between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., check in at service and then relax with a hot cup of coffee (or hot cocoa) and a fresh donut! Complete details at www.bobsbmw.com. • 10720 Guilford Rd, Jessup, MD • 301-497-8949 14 • Bus Ride to New York’s International Motorcycle Show from Bob’s BMW, Jessup, MD. Conveniently travel to the East coast’s biggest motorcycle show on a chartered bus among dozens of fellow enthusiasts! Tickets include round-trip transportation, a bagged lunch, admission to the show, and snacks to enjoy on the ride home. Tickets sell out every year so don’t delay. Complete details at www.bobsbmw.com 14 • Bus Ride to New York’s International Motorcycle Show from Bergen County HD/BMW. $35/pp incl. ride, continental breakfast with Bloody Mary or Mimosa and show ticket. No driving, gas or parking on your part, just enjoying the sights. Seats are limited to get yours today. 201-843-6930 • 124 Essex St, Rochelle park, NJ 17 • Liberty Harley-Davidson HOG Chapter 14th Annual Toy Run. Sign in: 10am-Noon ride to Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hosp., N . Brunswick, NJ. $15 w/toy or $20/wo toy • $10/passenger • 12 W. Milton Ave, Rahway, NJ • 732-381-2400 • www.libertyharley.com 21 • Bob's BMW annual customer appreciated day! Get into the holiday spirit at Bob's while we say THANKS to our amazing customers for what we know is going to be another great year. Food, great company, door prizes and special holiday savings • 10720 Guilford Rd, Jessup, MD • 301-497-8949 • www.bobsbmw.com 30 • Cross Country BMW/Ducati Open House. 911 Middlesex Ave, Metuchen, NJ • 732635-0094 • www.ccbmw.com • www.ccducati.com 30 • Liberty Harley-Davidson Orange Saturday Party. Great savings and specials all day PLUS deep-fried turkey and all the trimmings. 12 W. Milton Ave, Rahway, NJ • 732-3812400 • www.libertyharley.com 29-Jan. 12 • Pit Langner Wall of Death Rider is BACK. Check website or social media pages for times/dates of performances. Motorcyclpedia Museum, 250 Lake St, Newburgh, NY • 845-560-9065 • www.motorcyclepediamuseum.org
JANUARY 2014 10-112 • Motorcyclepedia Museum Swap Meet. Clean out your garage and closets and make some money. Check website or social media pages for times/dates of performances. Motorcyclpedia Museum, 250 Lake St, Newburgh, NY • 845-560-9065 • www.motorcyclepediamuseum.org
May 2014 • Backroads Spring Break • Marion, Virginia. Info on page 47
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THE MALLTERNATIVE
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MOTORCYCLE MARKETPLACE
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BACKROADS • NOVEMBER 2013
MOTORCYCLE MARKETPLACE
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NOVEMBER 2013 • BACKROADS
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MOTORCYCLE MARKETPLACE
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BACKROADS • NOVEMBER 2013
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MOTORCYCLE MARKETPLACE Worth the ride from anywhere!
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What’s New with Kawasaki for 2014 words: Fred Rau • images: Kawasaki Motor Corp. On September 6 of this year, Kawasaki opened its Dealer Convention and New Model Preview in San Diego, California. That may not seem like a big deal to most people, but to those of us who have been around the industry for a few decades, the very fact that a major OEM felt confident enough to once again invest in a show of this type was very encouraging. There was a time, back in the Eighties and Nineties, when such shows were not only commonplace, but each manufacturer tried to outdo the others with flashy extravaganzas showcasing their products. But that all died out more than 10 years ago when the motorcycle industry as a whole, propelled by the general worldwide financial implosion, rolled over a cliff. Though we’ve seen a few signs of slow recovery of late, the fact remains that motorcycle sales in the US are down about 55% from what they were in the early Nineties, and in that same period more than 2,000 US motorcycle dealerships closed their doors for good. Not a pretty picture. But here we were in sunny San Diego, once again being treated to giant buffets and open bars, rock bands and dancers, green laser logos flashing across the ceiling and artists wildly carving 15-foot-high ice sculptures of Ninjas pulling wheelies. The circus was back in town, and it sure felt good. If it was meant to instill the general attitude that the motorcycle industry in general, and Kawasaki in particular, was ready to come roaring back, I know it worked on me.
The only unfortunate part, from a personal standpoint, was that I am almost strictly a streetbike kind of guy, and even more narrowly, a touring kind of guy. From my standpoint, the 2014 Kawasaki lineup had only one bike to offer: The new Ninja 1000. Technically, Kawasaki classifies the Ninja 1000 as “sport-touring” and not “supersport-touring,” a moniker they reserve for their Concours 1400, but personally I’d have to say it blurs the line between the two, if not erasing it completely. The new Ninja 1000, which also comes as an ABSequipped model, features the KTRC tractioncontrol system, adjustable to three modes which are basically “off,” with no intrusion on the power curve, “low,” which is a sort of “safetynet” setting to kick in if a sudden patch of loose gravel or spilled coolant should surprise you coming around a curve, and “max,” for riding in the rain or on any kind of loose surface. In addition, there is a selectable power mode for the engine as well, with “low power” and “full power” modes. “Full power” is pretty much selfexplanatory—all the guts, all the time—and “low power” reduces output to about 70% of normal for riding in adverse conditions like rain or even heavy traffic. In addition, the “low power” mode can be used to increase fuel economy. The Ninja 1000 also featured improvements to the intake and exhaust, transmission and suspension, but to me the real news was in the accessories—namely, luggage. As far as I am concerned, a good sportbike isn’t much use to me if it can’t carry the basic luggage needed for a week on the road. And I
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BACKROADS • NOVEMBER 2013 really don’t mean soft luggage or throw-over bags, either. I want hard case, waterproof, detachable bags—and now the Ninja 1000 has them. The complete 29-liter saddlebag kit costs $1269.75 (Really? They couldn’t have just made it $1270?), which seems rather pricey, but I have to admit I was impressed with the setup. Not only are the bags color-matched, quick-release, and designed with a key system to match up with the bike’s ignition, but the mounting system is so clean that when you take the bags off, there is no evidence left behind that this is anything but a straightup Ninja sportbike. There is also an optional 39-liter trunk, but due to space constraints you can’t have the trunk and the saddlebags at the same time. But if you have either the trunk or the saddlebags and still need some packing space, there is a really sharp tankbag designed specifically for the Ninja 1000. Unlike all those generic bags, this one follows the lines of the tank perfectly, attaches with both magnets and straps, is easily expandable and has this great little compartment on top with a flip-up, hard plastic window. Perfect for toll transponders or a Garmin Zumo GPS. As I said, the Ninja 1000 was the only new street bike in the show, but it was still interesting to look at the returning Vulcan Vaqueros in all their gaudy flashiness, and the small yet wicked Ninja 300, dressed out in a “Kawi Girl” embroidered seat. And of course there were the inevitable new side-byside ATVs, in this case the Teryx series, which have to be keeping the designers at Jeep up at night wondering how they are going to com-
Page 41 pete. And let’s not forget that Kawasaki virtually invented the PWC (personal watercraft) genre with the Jet Ski, a name so synonymous with the breed that other manufacturers flinch when their customers refer to all PWCs as “Jet Skis.” Well, Kawasaki isn’t about to let the world forget, and in San Diego unveiled their new Ultra 310LX model, unabashedly touted as “the most powerful personal watercraft in the world.” Yes friends, a 4-cylinder, 4-valves per cylinder, supercharged, intercooled, 1498cc Jet Ski with 310 horsepower and 1890 pounds of thrust. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, if you dare. All in all, I said before it was great just to see a major OEM waving the corporate flag again. Rather than hiding in their offices, the Kawasaki executives, even the big guns from Japan, came out in the light to face their dealers, answer their questions, lay out a coherent plan for the future, and prepare to march ahead. I’m encouraged.
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*3asy Ride is a retail installment sales contract with a balloon payment. Financing provided to well-qualified customers by participating BMW motorcycle dealers and assigned to BMW Financial Services NA, LLC or BMW Bank of North America. The monthly payment examples are based on 48 month contract, 5.24% APR, 30 days to first payment, zero down payment. Excludes tax, title, destination and registration fees. Program not offered in NC, ND, NH, NV, PA, & WV. The total amount financed must be greater than $10,000 in HI and MD. In NJ, the selling price must exceed $10,000. 3asy Ride products may not be used in ME for contracts with a term of less than 48 months. Subject to credit approval. Offer based on a non-promotional rate – rates subject to change on a monthly basis - see your BMW Motorrad sales representative for details.
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Bored, Stroked, Ported • 10th annual NYC Vintage Motorcycle Show 2013 Gary Renna I always look forward to this vintage show because you’ll find just about every make and model represented here. This is a very laidback event with a closed city block starting at Works Engineering’s shop to Genuine Motorworks Shop on north 14th street in Brooklyn and organized by Vin Moto NYC and NYCVMS.ORG. It was a perfect fall day at the end of August. I was coming in from the Jersey Shore and I never thought I would be riding over the Verrazano Bridge on a 1978 Yamaha XS650. This section through Staten Island can be treacherous for modern motorcyclists let alone on a 35 year old bike. Following my friend with a Zumo 665 strapped to his 73 Z1 900 and we were all set.
Arriving on north 14th street lining up the bikes in rows you can smell the leaking oil and gas from some of the vintage bikes, it made me feel right at home. This year there were a lot of scooters represented. Like the tough streets of Brooklyn most of these bikes reflected the same attitude. There were tough looking street bikes not for looks but built for pure function. Bikes 25 years or older can be entered in the vintage bike show for free, judged by the public and awards given. When I arrived at Works Engineering they were assembling a full wooden bar on the sidewalk next to there shop to serve bottled water. A brick oven
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AUTUMN IS THE BEST TIME TO RIDE & STAY IN VERMONT
was on hand and delicious pizzas were being made to order. Works Engineering’s shop was serving fresh shucked oysters while being chilled from an ice filled vintage claw foot tub. Brooklyn Ale was being served and it was fitting since the brewery was located a block away. Street vendors were also at hand with freshly made Italian ice and fresh brewed ice tea. Noon some really nice restaurant/bars opened located on the same block, one with rooftop dining and a view of the city. You wouldn’t think these turn of the century warehouses throughout this area would make such nice bike shops and restaurants a 100 years later. The entire day was filled with some very high octane original music from local bands. Half the crowd rode in and the other half were people who lived in the area. The event was family friendly with many young children interestingly staring at all the different bikes. Works Engineering had there shop open to the public. Below ground was amazing with hundreds of bikes of all kinds either in for storage, service or customization work. Wandering past the sales desk into the shop area is a small doorway that leads into a large room. The room is filled with artwork that is completed and works in progress. I met a real character and his name was “Ray” he was the artist. Ray told me about his work and I found it fascinating. I asked him for a card and he told me he does not have one. He does not have a name for his business or a business plan… or any of that. He said he displays his work all over the city with no name. People take years to find him… and he just laughed. It reminds me of Liberty Vintage in Philly with their art studio attached to the shop. I found Works Engineering a very cool place to hang out in.
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CENTRAL VERMONT MOTORCYCLES
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Doing that Backroads Thing • Grabbing the rides when you have the chance For 18+ years now we have been putting out this magazine and the hundreds of destinations and rides to help spur you kids out onto the backroads on your motorcycles. Every so often we even follow our own advice. Case in point a beautifully perfect weekend this year that just beckoned to be ridden. Saturday found us just finishing up with the current issue and it wasn’t till late in the morning that we got out of the office and onto the road. It’s funny when we go out for rides like this. Either we have a pre-planned route all set up for the day, or we just do the Bronson thing and make up the ride as we go along. This day we had no idea where we would go so we just simply went. My general idea for these rides is to kind of stitch together points on the map in my mind and then see how it all comes together. This day brought Shira and me along the Kittatiny Ridge and then down towards the Walpack Valley and Worthington State Park. Hanging a left at Millbrook Village we meandered down Old Mine Road and past the heavily signed Turtle Beach – which the Feds have dumped a ton of money into, replacing the old and flooded-out Depew Beach. We’ll explore and write about this another day so they can feel they spent our money in a worthy fashion. At this time of the year solar energy is critical and running on the shady side of the eastern shore of the Delaware River saw the temperatures drop nearly 15 degrees from the sunny 60’s we enjoyed riding down into the valley. Still the plethora of small and some not so small waterfalls cascading to the river made for a visual treat.
Looping around the Delaware Water Gap we crossed over into Pennsylvania and then exited to the Welcoming Center where we would pick up River Road. Here on the sunny side of the river the ride was very comfortable and this was the first chance we would ride along some of these roads that were destroyed a few years back by the same floods that crushed the old beach on the Jersey side. Well paved and just as twisty as I remembered it, this road really rocks but we had a few others that we wanted to toss into the mix this day. Following Broadhead Road towards Milford is a far better idea than the boringly straight Route 209 and allows for easy exploration of the Upper Delaware and its surrounding roads. Stitching together a westerly route along Raymondskill Road and then along Twin Lakes Road (also completely re-opened) we meandered to 434 and then right up the hill on Lackawaxen. I would be wary on this piece of pavement as very slow turns come up rather fast. Our goal this day was to stop by and visit Mom and family in Narrowsburg, so we took 539 to Welcome Lake Road and then scooted down the cliffy Peggy’s Runway to 652 which brought us over Bridge #4 back into New York. From there we were working against the clock as the sun would be gone in an hour or so - so we took the roads paralleling Route 97 and then popped back out somewhere west of the Hawks Nest, near Barryville. All said and done we put on a good amount of happy miles and returning home chains were lubed, oils checked and fuel served as we still had our Sunday Bruch Run the next day.
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Page 44 A carbon copy of Saturday, Sunday found us joining a few friends at the Chatterbox, in Augusta, New Jersey around 10am’ish for a ride we promised would be the bomb! (I love young people speak) Actually the route was taken exactly from a previous Great All American Diner Run where Shira devised the largest and most intricate Rip & Ride in Backroads’ history. We live to give you riding pleasure. Consisting of nearly 50 directions and routing changes - and almost the same amount on the way back – we simply did what we tell you guys to do and downloaded it to our Garmins – and let modern technology take some of the guess work out of the day’s tricky ride. The 60 mile or so ride down to Gourmet Expressions was full of elevation changes, tiny forest roads, broad farm roads, mountainous trail-like roads and all sorts of critters including crazed squirrels, dogs and one lost black bear that ran out in front of Shira’s bike. Yep, the ride had it all and Shira was given a hearty round of applause more than once this day for her navigational prowess. Brunch at Gourmet Expression was delicious, different and filling and I felt like a nap afterwards if not for the Sprint - the Italian Harley, built in the late 60’s by Aermacchi - for sale next door. As intrigued as some of us were, at $2,500 or best offer, we had no takers. Were those the original tires?
As I said our route back differed in roads, but not fun, and by the time we returned to Backroads Central I think everybody was glad they made the effort to join us for the ride – especially Roy and Bridget who rode in that morning from Brooklyn just to ride with friends. Sometimes you have to grab the rides whenever you get the chance!
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Indian Nation • First ride on the all-new Indian Chief Classic Brian Rathjen Most of us had the same reaction years ago when we heard that the Indian logo would, yet again, be making a return. But, for us, once we heard it was Polaris that had now taken the reigns of this Native American ride, we had a gut feeling that this time the new Indian uprising would be a victory for the Mid-West company. A few months back I got a chance to visit both the engine plant in Wisconsin and the assembly facility in Iowa. Here Polaris creates both their Victory lines and the new Indian machines. From the very beginning the uniformed began to make blanket statement such as the new Indian was simply a re-badged Victory and that the new Indian would be just like all the other reincarnations. Well, after spending some time in both plants and seeing these bikes in person, I can unequivocally state that this it not true. The new Indians are machines onto themselves. Distinctively styled, comfortable, well-engineered and sexy. I was fortunate enough to take a first ride on the new Indian Chief Classic riding it from the plant in Spirit Lake, Iowa into Minnesota and north to Minneapolis. Along the way I got to pilot the new Classic along the backroads, towns and highways of the plains – giving me a good taste of what this reborn Indian is all about. I was more than impressed.
The machine is powered by, what Polaris is calling, the Thunder Stroke 111. In the metric world this would be an 1811cc air-cooled OHV V-Twin that delivers an impressive and noticeable 119 ft-lbs of torque. The powerplant is a big powerful giant of an engine. Whether tooling around town or making miles on the interstate the Thunder Stroke 111 engine constantly showed its strength. Where the machine’s cousin, the Victory’s engine, is almost sporty in its approach, the 111 is much like a Olympic powerlifter – simple brute pulling power. It may not feel the quickest, but it sure feels powerful. Although the Chief Classic does have the retro-look, with their designers capturing the look, feel and spirit of Indian’s iconic past, the machine is very much with today’s technology. The Classic and all the Indians are key-less. Just keep the fob on your person and get on the bike and push the start button and ride. I am still not a big fan of this, as my Dodge Durango has this feature too. I have a love / hate relationship with this new technology. Call me a luddite, but I like keys. If you lose the fob you can still operate the bike by entering the individual security code that you pre-programmed into the ignition. Okay, you can’t do that if you misplace your keys – give one for modern technology.
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Page 46 All the new Indians also come with ABS, cruise control and both digital and analog information. Look-wise the Indian Chief Classic could not be finer. It truly is one of the best looking stock motorcycles on the planet. From the iconic valance fenders and gobs of chrome to the lit “War Bonnet” Indian Chief on the fender and the huge center console and headlight - the 2014 Indian Chief Classic is a stunning looking motorcycle! Add onto all this power and look a 5-Year coverage with roadside assistance. Indian Motorcycle backs every new Indian Chief Classic with 5-years of coverage that includes both a 1-year limited warranty and an extended service contract. On the road I found the Chief Classic to be a very easy machine to ride, despite its large appearance. Acceleration was crisp and strong and the machine handles far more impressively than I thought when I saw it for the first time. Although it looks like the machine is fueled with dual caps, one is for looks and the other for actual fueling. Underneath all of the body-work and charm is an all aluminum frame that weighs just over 60 lbs and with a seat height of just 26 inches riders of any height can easily handle this machine, even with a claimed weight of 778 lbs. When called upon the brakes – dual 300mm discs up front with the same in the rear - really do the job, stopping the Chief Classic with power and control. Ergonomically I found myself to be very comfortable for the couple of hundred miles I was riding the Classic. The tone of the exhaust, the stunning looks and that historic name brought small crowds of other riders gathering around at each fuel station or restaurant we stopped at. These new Indians seem to have that affect on riders in the know. I look forward to doing a full touring review of the Chief Vintage or the Chieftain Bagger in the near future. Two machines that look to be excellent long-range rides and perfect for the pages of Backroads. Somehow I see a few weeks in the Rockies or the desert southwest coming our way. The people at Polaris have a lot to be proud of. They took their time, did their homework and brought together a crew of dedicated workers to bring back a machine that has taken on legendary status. They have, in fact, brought back the Indian Nation! Retail Price – starting at $18,999 • www.indianmotorcycle.com
NOVEMBER 2013 • BACKROADS
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aerostich roadcrafter
(Continued from Page 32)
not waify children. The two-piece suit’s jacket overlaps the pants by about six inches and is attached with a securely sewn zipper to stand up to stress and hard use. The pants have a drawstring with cordlocks, as well as belt loops. There are pockets sewn into the lining accessible behind the flaps covering the side zippers. High-visibility Scotchlite™ reflective tape helps with conspicuity on the back vent, front pocket flap and ankle adjustment tabs and there are nine strategically placed, external pockets, all water-resistant, for storing of almost anything you can think of. The large breast pocket is perfect for even a large passport-sized wallet and very easily accessible at border stops or bridge crossings. There are under arm vents as well as a large vent across the back. The only suggestion I would make for these would be to add mesh to keep out the flying creatures that always seem to make their way into the underarm slots. The airflow is great, but the stinging can get a bit tiresome. The women’s cut is adapted with a smaller neck and narrower shoulders. The neck also has a snap-down feature for warmer weather riding along with its ultrasuede collar lining, making it very comfortable. There are many adjustable tabs and zippers to allow for a more custom fit. The suit, both zipped together and worn separately, fit perfectly from the get go. Riding position had the sleeves at the right length to fit either under or over my gauntlet gloves, and the pant legs were not dragging on the floor when I walked. It was comfortable in all temperatures, although I did not wear it in those steamy hot days of July in Jersey. I wore it for two days in June on Virginia International Raceway and was not uncomfortable at any time. As a matter of fact, it had great airflow at speed and kept me very well protected. I do like being able to wear my street clothes underneath, having the freedom of riding gear while walking around. It’s waterproofness was tested on a return trip from Maryland, riding in an hour or more of pretty heavy wetness. Upon removal, my clothing and body inside the Aerostich was dry. Nice to know. The Women’s Roadcrafter Two Piece suit is available in any combinations of black, blue, grey, red, tan and hi-viz lime yellow and will cost you $984. Just head over to aerostich.com to place your order. You may be on their site for a while – they have lots of very cool stuff. PS – Since the original penning of the review, I had the opportunity to do an abrasion test on the suit and it came through with flying colors. While it did not slide down the road, it did hit the ground pretty hard, and the body inside, save for a large and colorful bruise, was intact. Not even a mark on the pant leg.
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May 23-26
SPRING BREAK 2014
Join Team Backroads as we head to the southern Virginia Mountains where we’ll call the General Francis Marion Hotel in Marion, VA home for three nights. This region has some of the most serious motorcycling roads such as the Back of the Dragon and Claw of the Dragon, with hudreds of miles of incredible riding. In addition there’s quaint towns, deep history and phenomenal scenery. We hope you can travel south for what promises to be a superb weekend of riding and a memorable Memorial Day Weekend. Get out your maps and start planning now! Call for a free brochure 877-255-9928 visitwytheville.com/motorcycle-trails.html
Rooms are extremely limited so BOOK TODAY. Rooms are $84 - $145/night + tax and include continental breakfast. When booking please reference ‘Back of the Dragon Backroads Group’ for discount.
General Francis Marion Hotel • 107 East Main St, Marion, VA • 877-783-4802 • www.gfm.com
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