It's time to catch up! June has been busy in many ways, some good, and some not so good. June 1st started out, not so good. We packed up our DRZ's, and headed out on an over nighter to Summer Lake Hot Springs. The ride was organized by our good friends at Giant Loop. You are probably familiar with Giant Loop motorcycle bags. They are an awesome company, run by great people, and they're based right here in Bend, Oregon. Coincidentally, we are dealers of Giant Loop gear, and if you ever need some, give us a call! The ride started off just fine. About 25 riders heading off to the outback, to have a great time. Perfect weather, what could go wrong?
Billy and Steve share a good laugh, as we assemble at Giant Loop, before the ride.
Taking a break. The really technical part is behind us. Should be smooth sailing from here.
"Should be". It's a little unclear what happened next. There was sand, there was a big bump, the dust hadn't settled, and there was some speed involved, but the end result was that Stacie, flew over the handlebars of the DRZ, and made a Superman style landing. The DRZ was just fine. Stacie, not so much.
Left arm in severe pain, but Stacie rode the DRZ all the way back home, about 50 miles, and then said to Billy, "We might want to have this looked at".
The painful ride home, involved navigating through this cattle drive. Typical Central Oregon stuff.
The good doctor at urgent care took a few x-rays, and said "You broke it!" Well, that kind of puts a damper on Stacie's activities. No riding, no bike moving, and one handed typing. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Last weekend, Stacie rode on the back of Billy's motorcycle, drove a stick shift car, and she's planning to be back on a motorcycle, by July 7th, for a trip to Canada.
Here is Stacie, all cleaned up, and attending her daughters graduation from the University of Oregon.
Lots of other good things have been going on around the shop! We have had bikes going out on tours with Greg Munn, and High Desert Adventures .
We have also had some great folks renting from us, and having a blast exploring Central Oregon.
Father and sons, came from Dubai, England, and Tigard, OR, for a five day family reunion ride. They had a great time!
There is always maintenance work going on. Tires and oil to be changed, chains to oil, and bikes to wash.
Billy is balancing a knobby tire for "Darth", our semi famous BMW F800GS.
Darth is a work horse. With 92,000 miles, we have been trying to put this bike into semi retirement, but you can't keep a good bike down! Darth has a few more dates this summer.
Speaking of retirement. Billy will be retiring from the corporate world next week! He will be making his last commute from Portland, and residing in Bend full time. Billy can't wait to put all of his time and attention into the rental, and touring business! Congratulations Billy!
We had another gorgeous day, and took the DRZ's out again. I just can't say enough good things about these bikes! They are light, nimble, and they just bull their way through the sand, ruts, and downed brush. We left with a few road numbers we wanted to check out, but the forest service really doesn't do a good job of keeping the roads marked. We had a great time, and explored some roads we hadn't been on before, but we also ran into some dead ends. All part of the adventure!
Here is a perfect example of a road marker, with no number. The forest service uses these brown stakes, and stick on numbers. Very often, the numbers have dried up, and blown away.
Hmmm. Can't go that way! We took a road to the right, instead.
Many times, we can go around downed trees, but not this one. There was an even bigger tree, hiding behind the skinny one.
What? Kind of a spiffy place to be hiding off a forest service road.
Billy came up with a clever way to attach a map to his bike. Good ol' duck tape! It worked great!
So many roads, so little time! Pick one, and see where it takes you!
The weather couldn't have been better, and the day was perfect for a ride! Billy and I saddled up the DRZ's, and hit the trail. The Suzuki DRZ 400's are so nimble and perfect for the forest service roads we are surrounded with. We started out going the back way into La Pine State Park, got some fuel in the town of La Pine, and headed back towards Sunriver, via the forest service roads that zig zag along Hwy 97. We encountered a few downed trees, but they were easy to navigate around.
We found ourselves on "Sam's Road". (Let's just say, Sam knows who he is, and which road we are speaking of...) We made it through the sand and rocks without incident, and had a an exhilarating time!
These bikes are so awesome on the local terrain! The blue and white one has the larger gas tank, but a larger tank is in the near future for the black one. The black one has been lowered, for folks like yours truly!
I'm sure it was a deer, but I'm not so sure what happened to it.
The obvious comment here is "We live in a dry climate, Always carry plenty of water!"
I Thought it might look like I was standing on the bike, but I guess it's pretty obvious that I was standing on a stump.
...and right in the middle of the forest....?
Also right in the middle of the forest....trash. Why are people such slobs?
The only thing missing is you!
We had a great ride! If this looks like your kind of fun, give is a call (54d1)520-4929 or visit our website http://www.oregondualsportrentalandadventures.com
People come in all different sizes, and everyone has a different preference for baggage and gear. I
n the motorcycle rental business, we've learned that one bike does not fit all....unless, we make some changes.
Our BMW Dakar, is a great example. With the stock seat, the bike is pretty tall. I have a 30" inseam, so I guess I'm in the "Inseam Challenged" group. One time I rode the Dakar, in stock condition, to the gas station. I was well aware of how tall the bike was. I made sure I didn't stop where the ground was sloping,
and even on flat stops, I had to slide one cheek off the seat to touch the ground. Obviously, this is not an ideal situation. Worrying about reaching the ground, is taking your attention away from other important aspects of riding.
The good news is, we have some easy modifications to make the Dakar, and other bikes, lower and safer to ride for those of us with shorter inseams. We have a lowering link, which will bring the height of the bike down a little bit, and also a factory lowered seat, which will bring the height of the bike down a little bit more.
Here is the bike with the lowering link, and the lower seat. I'm comfortably reaching the ground on both sides of the bike. Also in this picture, is one of the baggage options, Large silver colored panniers, from Happy Trail.
Here is the bike with the lowering link, and the original seat. I'm touching the ground, but on my toes a little more than than I should be. If the large panniers are too much for your day trip, maybe the smaller tail bag will fit your needs.
...Or maybe you need something in between. The smaller, black panniers are also available, as well as tank bags, and water proof duffles.
So, with a few easy changes, and some advanced planning, one bike really does fit all!
