The Road To Canyonlands

It was my first trip to southern Utah. Turning off the main highway this was my the view as I rode into the National Park.

The Long And (not so) Winding Road

The ride from Salt Lake City west on I-80 to the Bonneville Salt Flats was a long one on the KLR. It seemed even longer heading east. I have a 16 tooth sprocket on the front of the KLR, but I was wishing they made a 20 tooth... 

I-80 between SLC and Nevada is a long, straight stretch of road. 
The videos don't quite capture the ride. The mountains reflecting off the smooth water pools, the salt sparkling in the sun like Edwards skin...

Four videos, about a minute each. 
(I think I'm running out of iMovie background jingles...)

I-80 East: 1 of 4

I-80 East: 2 of 4

I-80 East: 3 of 4

I-80 East: 4 of 4

Starting Right

MotoBum, LMR, and I started the holiday weekend right by closing down Naked City Brewery last Wednesday. 
After beer, hard cider, food, and a lot of talk of wheelies and burnouts, there wasn't much left to do but break out the video camera... 

Salty Dog

I took a ride in August, a round trip; Seattle to Moab. It was me and the KLR for a week on the road. 
I stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats to see the legendary place. 

No, the KLR will not break any land speed records, still, it was fun to see others speed down the salt at top speeds. 

 I did have some fun on the KLR just racing my own race along the flats. 

 -Riding the Salt Flats
   

-Salt Flats on a KLR  

-Leaving the Slat Flats

IMS Ahead

The International Motorcycle Show is coming up and TDC's discount code is now available. The schedule for all US shows is at motorcycleshows.com.

Big Air

Fun at Tahuya last summer. Video proof that Ghostface KLR and the EC300 can fly!

Sunday Muddy Sunday

Went for a birthday ride last Sunday. It was a little wet to say the least. Here is a little video clip of Shotgun Ruthie showing us how wet it was!

Be a Swamp Monster

It's a good thing we didn't know about the information contained in this Shane Watts video a few fateful years ago. Otherwise, Swamp Monster would never have gotten his name.

DirtWise Riding Tip: Drowned Dirtbike video:

1000 Wheelies Project: The End / The Cake Ride

The 1000 Wheelies Project is over. It's done. It's complete. There are no more motorcycle wheelies to pull in this project. And it's taken two years to record this feat. October 19, 2010 - October 28, 2012 are the official dates for the, count them, one hundred Moto Morning Wheelie Sessions (MMWS) that made-up the 1000 Wheelies Project.

As an overview, the task was for me, MotoBum, to get good at pulling respectable motorcycle wheelies. All that really needed to be done was to transition the bicycle wheelie skills to motorcycle wheelie skills. It sounds easy on paper. In practice, it's a small bit tricky. 

See, the rear brake on a motorcycle is under the right foot -- the toes no less. A bicycle has a nifty handbrake to control such details. Just squeeze with the right index finger. Easy. Using the right foot compared to one finger is like having cerebral palsy, or so I'm told. And use of a rear brake is mandatory in executing choice wheelies.

Body english plays a big role in a wheelie. For example, on a bicycle, one can pull on the handlebars quickly to make the front tire come a foot off the ground. Try that on a motorcycle. You'd be lucky to get the suspension to uncompress half an inch. So, on a motorcycle, as the rappers say, "you've got to pop-the-clutch, yo." While that's not exactly a fact. It is the truth, in philosophy. A good hard launch of power on a motorcycle is something that just really isn't possible on a bicycle. It lofts the front effortlessly.

Which brings us to throttle control. Yeah. Like, how many throttle cables per year does the the average Joe stretch beyond manufacturer specification on a bicycle? Zero. Right? Zero. And that's the real obvious difference between a bicycle and a motorcycle. Motorcycles have throttles and bicycles have nada. Nothing. No throttle. No power. No gas to modulate.

I've overcome all these issues.

These past 1000 documented motorcycle wheelies have taken me from hopeless uphill balance-point chaser to bonafide semi-pro motorcycle wheelie puller. I have sponsors. Just check out Righteous Stunt Metal next time you need an easy-pull clutch lever. That's all I have to say.

And riding over a cake on one wheel during your 1000th wheelie is something that I can highly recommend.

Moto Morning Wheelie Session -- MMWS -- Log (All 1 - 100 sessions):
coming soon...

The Last 10 Wheelies Video with The Cake Ride:


Special thanks go to T-Bird, rug rat Maja, Josh RSC/Righteous1 Miller, Last Minute Ryan, Ghostface KLR, Swamp Monster, E-rock, Superstar Wendy, Shotgun Ruthie, and Mrs. Moore for enabling this life-long motorcycle addict with time, parts, labor, garage space, tools, tequila, cake, rock and roll, wifi, photography, passion support, and the 10 minutes here and there to pull the 10 wheelies or so required to pull off a stunt like this. 

See Also:
1000 Wheelies Project: The Intro
1000 Wheelies Project: 250 In
Hard Brake to Hard Break
1000 Wheelies Project: 750 In

And...
Another 1000 Wheelies

And...
Third 1000 Wheelies

The 996th Wheelie

The 1000 Wheelies Project Cake

The 1000th Wheelie with The Cake Ride

Wheelied-on Cake

Two-year-olds Love Wheelied-on Cake