Tilted Horizons

Product Review: MotoJug hydration system

MotoJug is a universal on-board hydration system kit designed by ADVrider.com forum member "lacofdfireman" a/k/a Dave and his wife from Utah. You can order the bag and straps only for $50 (shipping included) or get the whole she-bang like I did for $75, which includes the tubing, tubing retractor and bite valve, everything you need except the water cooler, which would cost more to ship than for you to buy. Click here for the full product description, photographs and ordering information. Below I've copied and pasted a short review I recently posted in the ADV thread. Highly recommended!

"Lovin' my MotoJug so far. Had it out for a long shake-down ride over the weekend. Not only did it remain 100% secure despite my best cornering and braking efforts to induce movement, but the handling wasn't at all affected, which I was a little worried about ahead of time, particularly as I have a mid-sized bike. Mine is on the left as my exhaust would interfere on the right. I have the tubing retractor clipped to my tankbag so it takes a few extra seconds to deal with the tube when mounting/dismounting the bike, but it's well worth it in the heat. (When temps don't warrant carrying this much H2O, I may use the cooler as a waterproof storage device.) The bag, loops and straps offer many mounting possibilities, and everything is constructed very well. The price was worth it to me to have someone source and build the kit. I went with Dave's recommended $8 cooler but I had to get someone else to buy it for me so I could keep my claim of never having purchased anything at WalMart intact...well, sort of."

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"Iron Butt types: order two, but substitute a small funnel for the bite valve on one side, so you'd have both intake and output."

Labels: Farkles, Ironbutt/LD, Mods, Product Reviews, Safety, Sport-Touring, Tips, Touring, Vendors

Nothin' to see here; move along please!

It's difficult to get photos of oneself in motion on a motorcycle. Below are some from the last few years, mostly shot by event or roadside photogs. You don't really need to see them; I just decided to catalog them in one place for future reference. Yeah, I know a couple are just me standing around...

This and the 2nd below were taken at nearly the exact spot 3 years apart.

Too much civilization; get me outta here!

T'was a slow news day obviously. Posted at my American Legion hall.

Photo by Rod Don

Don't distract me with your camera; I'm trying to not ride into that stream.

Can you can spot the error in this image?

Labels: ADVtouring, Americade, Commuting, Ephrata, Events, Rallying, Ride Reports, Ride-Ins, Sport-Touring, Touring, Vendors

Motel, Motor-Tel, wait...what?

This seems so wrong on so many levels, not the least of which are physics and common sense, but hey, may great ideas were spurned in their day. I wouldn't sleep in it, but perhaps it would come in handy as a sail in the event of an empty fuel tank. For more info, check out http://www.mobed.eu/.

No joke; they're actually trying to sell this product.

Labels: ADVtouring, Farkles, Ironbutt/LD, Lodging, Mods, Product Reviews, Safety, Silly but fun, Sport-Touring, Touring, Vendors

Mid-Week Ride Report

Wednesday seemed as good a day as any to ditch work in favor of a long day-ride through the Amish countryside. It was also the first day of my motorcycle club's annual rally HQ'd in Bird-In-Hand, PA, so I checked in there as well.

My famous map/nav skills took me down a gravelly road for a couple of miles.

Obligatory Pennsylvania covered bridge shot.

Labels: Events, Orgs, Retreads, Ride Reports, Sport-Touring, Touring

MotoStays: an Airbnb for motorcyclists?

MotoStays, the web site that connects motorcyclists with free home stays in other motorcyclists’ homes, announces free memberships for another twenty-five days, until May 15, 2015. “We’ve been offering the MotoStays membership for free for the past year and the site has expanded to include twenty-six countries,” said Tad Haas, co-founder of MotoStays.

MotoStays is a growing motorcycle community that promotes and provides access to home-sharing opportunities throughout the world. The MotoStays network provides a convenient alternative to camping and hotels by connecting motorcyclists with local hosts along their route. MotoStays also features motorcycle-friendly businesses that offer accommodations for members at reasonable rates.

Launched in June of 2014, MotoStays.com is the motorcyclist’s equivalent to Airbnb; the difference being the overnight stays are free. Motorcyclists create a membership account and profile listing then look for places to stay. Using the member location, photos, amenities and accommodation details to see which hosts best match their needs, members then contact potential hosts to work out the details.

“There are lots of people doing this, and have been doing it for years; it just hasn’t happened in an organized way until now,” said Gaila Gutierrez, MotoStays co-founder. “What we’ve done is create a community that is based on reciprocal hospitality and consolidated it in a way that people can actually plan around. It eliminates the randomness and connects people who share the passion of motorcycling in a unique and interesting way.”

Haas and Gutierrez quit their jobs, rented their house and took off on their motorcycles for fourteen months in 2012-2013. Traveling over 40,000 miles through ten different countries, the trip opened their minds to a new way of thinking. Upon their return home they decided to build a community where other motorcyclists could take advantage of the experiences that result when you share space and a connection with other people and founded MotoStays.

MotoStays will be offering free one-year memberships through May 15, 2015. More information can be found on www.MotoStays.com.

If anyone uses this service, please drop me a line or a comment to let me know of your experience.

Labels: Lodging, News, Services, Sport-Touring, Touring, Vendors

New ADV Online Magazine

Stumbled across Road+Trail, a brand new adventure touring publication, while perusing ADVrider.com today. Give it a look; great ride reports!

Labels: ADVtouring, News, Off-Road, Publications, Ride Reports, Touring, Websites

2015 Motorcycle Shopping List

Wow; a bunch of awesome ideas for 2015 model-year motorcycles were debuted at Intermot 2014 in Cologne a couple of weeks ago. Below are the ones that are one, likely to make to US dealers, and two, are particularly interesting as possible replacements for my current bike.

Honda Crossrunner, a VFR 800 based strictly-street "ADV" bike.

Suzuki V-strom 650 XT, a somewhat more dirt-capable Wee; still a street bike really.

Revamped Kawasaki Versys 650, now with tidy luggage option

BMW R1200R replacement. Hope it has windscreen & luggage options.

Labels: ADVtouring, Commuting, Events, News, Sport-Touring, Touring

Adventure Motorcycle Calendar 2015

The annual Adventure Motorcycle Calendar is back for 2015. I love these calendars; I'm staring at the 2014 edition as I type this, and the 2015 version will be proudly displayed immediately upon completion of Earth's current orbit. Published by Octane Press, this year's edition features images by professional photographers from around the world, including the stunning photography of Gregor Halenda, a commercial photographer and adventure motorcyclist. His work takes you to some of the most interesting portions of the United States including; Copper Center, Alaska; Moab, Utah; and Rollins Pass, Colorado.

The calendar also features shots from other photographers that explore the wilds of Russia winding through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as the Himalayas, remote corners of Alaska, and the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia.

The world is your oyster when you own a motorcycle, and the Adventure Motorcycle Calendar 2015 celebrates the fabulous places and fascinating people who adventure out to see the world on two wheels. The calendar is available for purchase at Octanepress.com and wherever books are sold.

Adventure Motorcycle Calendar 2015

Editor: Lee Klancher

ISBN: 978-1-937747-38-1

Publication date: August 1, 2014

17" x 11.5"

24 pages

24 images

$15.99

Labels: ADVtouring, News, Product Reviews, Publications, Touring

Throw Back Thursday: The flightless bird who traveled around the world

One day in August, 2008 I took place in an around-the-world relay to benefit Riders For Health, involving an ostrich Beanie Baby, and a Pelican case to which each rider would add local trinkets. I was part of the 3-rider Delaware team which took the bird and case on a very hot, humid and occasionally rainy tour of some of our state's historical and otherwise notable sites. The case eventually visited all 50 states before heading overseas and completing the ATW trip. For a time, the bird was held for ransom in Indonesia. His whereabouts are currently unknown, but there are rumors of a possible second ATW tour.

Taking the hand-off from the Pennsylvania lead rider.

The bird distracted this officer long enough for him to forget to ticket us for the totally illegal parking job we did in order to secure the photo below.

Meeting the Delaware state bird, a Blue Heron.

Meeting some strange old birds.

Found a lady friend along the way.

So this is where your state politicians "work"?

Handing-off to the Maryland lead rider near Chestertown, MD.

Labels: Charity, History, Orgs, Ride Reports, Silly but fun, Touring

Americade 2014 parade

Americade holds a parade through town on Saturday, the last day of the rally, each year. This year's was smaller than others I recall, but it still brought out many unique motorcycles, and motorcyclists for that matter. (Clicking on the photo will start the video; it'll default to low def, so click the Auto button to increase resolution.)

Labels: Americade, Events, Rallying, Ride Reports, Touring, Video

Americade 2014 report

Finally getting around to posting a few random scenes from Americade. I took a great two-day all-back road route to Lake George, NY, overnighting in Hancock, then spent six days at the rally followed by a (long, hot) one-day, 387 mile ride home (about 1/3 super slab). Except for one rainy evening, the rally was bone dry; the driest Americade in most folks' memories. I stayed at a small strip motel with a couple of dozen great folks, many of whom I've met at prior Americades, who've been gathering together at (pretty much taking over) this same motel for years. I'm a notorious "lone wolf" on the road, but I had some very enjoyable group rides with this bunch, and it made meals and general hanging out a lot more fun as well.

Route 9G over the mountains north of Lake George is always a good idea.

Lake George from Prospect Mtn.

Americade hosts cruises on two paddlewheelers.

Looks like it IS easy being green.

Some of the diverse gang I hung and rode with.

Quechee Gorge, VT

The main drag in Lake George Village.

Lucky dog.

That'll do pig. That'll do.

Found, and annoyed, a fave vendor of mine at the trade show.

Same here.

As I did in 2011, I had a new faceshield and Pinlock installed by these folks while I waited. Their shop is only 1.5 hours from home, but it's way more fun riding to Lake George to have it done.

This tire had 500-600 miles on it when this screw embedded itself in the only place that wouldn't be expensive. My luck does not usually run this good; should've bought lottery tickets that day.

Primo parking space. The motel owner is cool like that; he doesn't ride but he LOVES riders. Everyone hung lights in front of their rooms. Someone put Harley logo lights in front of mine. No, they didn't leak oil, but I was worried.