Never underestimate the V-Strom

It was a beautiful Spring weekend and I rode 330 miles (210 Saturday, 120 Sunday) to take advantage of the weather. Saturday was a convoluted route up the Clackamas River to Ripplebrook, down to Stayton for lunch, over to Silver Falls State Park, then back home to Sandy.

Sunday was up the Clackamas yet again, this time past Ripplebrook up NF46 to where I got stopped by snow on the road several miles past Austin Hot Springs (at the junction with 4660 if you care).

There were a lot of bikes out and a fair share of slow cars. Saturday I saw a funeral procession going by in the other direction, heading from Colton to Estacada, for a young fireman that died.

One thing I realized over the weekend is that the Suzuki V-Strom is a truly versatile and capable bike. I've harped on this topic before but it's true. The Strom doesn't excel at any one thing -- it's not as off-road capable as a KTM Aventure nor as fast as a Yamaha R1 -- but it can perform the same kind of function that both bikes provide. It's excellence is its versatility.

I am strongly considering getting a 600 cc in-line four sport bike, not because I feel the need to go faster in a straight line or around corners -- I already carve up the twisties fast enough on my V-Strom, thank you very much. A 600 sport bike provides a much more immediate experience with the road. It's more intense.

But in the meantime, if you need a one-bike-does-it-all solution, the V-Strom is an outstanding choice. There are some other bikes that probably equal the Suzuki in capability and versatility, such as the Ducati Multistrada and the new Triumph 1200 Adventure, but they can't do it for the low purchase and maintenance cost of the Suzuki.

When it comes to getting your bang for the buck in a single motorcycle, never underestimate the Suzuki V-Strom.

A snowy ride

I wanted to test my new Firstgear Kathmandu overpants in bad weather and that's exactly what happened over the weekend. Cutting to the chase, the pants performed admirably but that's not the interesting part of the story.

Keep in mind, it's the middle of March and Spring officially starts tomorrow. March in western Oregon can be mild and meek and pleasant, and it can also be hellish and fickle and tumultuous. So far, it's definitely been the latter.

It was sprinkling lightly when I left the house but I had honest-to-goodness rain within a few miles. My goal was to ride up the Clackamas River highway to the small community of Three Lynx, turn around and then come back home, hopefully through as much rain as possible. I put Pledge furniture polish ("Lemon, mmm!") on the outside of my helmet's face shield and shaving cream on the inside, made sure the zippers were all closed on my pants and jacket, donned my Aerostich tripple-digit overgloves, and hit the road. All of my gear worked great, although my hands eventually got cold (which is nothing new).

The highest elevation my route traversed was 1,210 feet, just east of Estacada as the highway passed above North Fork Reservoir. I saw snow flakes in the air but nothing was sticking on the ground. It rained off and on, heavy at times, all the way to Three Lynx where I turned around and headed back. This pattern of weather continued, with rain falling at least 80% of the time.

When I got back to Eagle Creek the rain turned to big, fat snowflakes and it started to stick on my fairing, arms, legs, and helmet. I used the squeegie on my tripple-digit glove covers to wipe the building snow from my face shield. The snow wasn't sticking on the road surface but it was sticking on the ground next to it. By the time I got home a few minutes later, I had to wipe the snow from my face shield every 5-8 seconds and visibility was reduced from the volume of snow flakes in the air. Snow had built up on my bike's fairing and completely obscured the view through it. I had snow over my boots, knees, and covering my arms and shoulders. There was also 1/4" of snow built up on my helmet (only the face shield was free of snow buildup).

Within 20 minutes, the sun was shining and the 1/2" of snow on my front yard was melted and gone as if it never happened.

March ride with Firstgear Kathmandu overpants

We had a rare, almost Spring-like sunny day over the weekend so I took advantage of the nice weather and gave my new Firstgear Kathmandu overpants a 130-mile test.

The first pair I ordered from MotorcycleSuperstore.com were size 32, and based on reviews, they were supposed to be true to size. They were. However, they were a little snug in my belly, which wasn't the pants' fault, so I sent them back and exchanged them for size 34s. They fit perfectly.

The Firstgear Kathmandu pants are meant for adventure-touring and have numerous features that are suited for that type of riding. They have a waterproof ripstop outer shell, which is far more convenient than pants using a removable waterproof liner. I don't want to have to stop and do a hopping two-step trying to get a liner inserted inside my riding pants every time a rain shower passes overhead (which happens almost every day that I ride). I want gear that is waterproof on the outside.

They come with a removable insulated liner that is very effective, although riding in temperatures below 40 degrees would require the use of street pants. Anything below 30 degrees probably requires thermal underwear under that. This is standard, however, and something I'm used to.

The cuffs have a snap and elastic enclosure that fits around my boots. These are not meant to be truly waterproof but instead to prevent or delay the invasion of water into the top of my boots during heavy wet weather riding or during stream crossings. It takes slightly longer to put the pants on because of this but the added protection is a nice feature.

The knees and hips use D30 armor, which is lighter, thinner and more flexible than standard rigid armor found in most riding garments. This reduces the overall weight of the pants and the armor is barely noticeable when I ride. The D30 armor is supposed to become instantly rigid during an impact event and is the latest technology.

The Ride

After getting suited up, I left the house mid-morning and headed through Estacada and Molalla before hitting the highway south toward Silverton and Stayton. What was bright, warm sunshine at home turned into overcast and foggy cold weather once I left Molalla. The temperature dropped 15 degrees in a short distance and soon I was wishing I had another layer underneath my pants and jacket. By the time I got to Stayton and stopped at the Dairy Queen for a quick lunch I was eager to get inside and warm up.

After chowing down a chicken sandwich, I suited back up and headed north toward home through the chilly fog. The sun came out and the temperatures rose once I got to Molalla. A few twists and turns and another 40 minutes of riding brought me back home.

The Kathmandu pants proved to be the most comfortable riding pants I've ever worn (they are the first pair of Firstgear pants I've owned, my previous two pants were both Fieldsheer) and my cold ride was my fault for not wearing enough layers. I think if I had left in the insulated liner they would have been comfortable in both temperature extremes. I look forward to wearing them in rain as well as in warmer temperatures.

Update 3/7/2012: I rode to work this morning wearing the Kathmandu's with the insulated liner installed. It was 25 degrees with clear skies. The pants worked flawlessly and I had no hint of cold nor were they too hot.

Getting the gunk out

One of the downsides of riding a dual-sport bike is grease and dust make a mess of the working parts. During a routine oil change, I decided to pull the plastic housing away from the clutch linkage and front sprocket. An hour later I had scraped away the semi-solid layers of gunk. It was a coagulation of road dust and chain lubricant.

Anytime I ride on a gravel road or ride in the rain, I clean and lube my chain. But the dust is especially nasty as it gets everywhere and it eventually needs to be removed. Adventure touring is a lot of fun but while I was cleaning that greasy crap from my bike I had a few moments where I contemplated keeping my V-Strom on paved roads only. Then I realized how much fun I'd be missing.

After the maintenance work, I went on an hour-long ride up Marmot and Barlow Trail Roads to work it all in and see how the bike was running. It's just shy of 45,000 miles and is still running strong.

Silverton and Ripplebrook

I took the day off Friday. Although we had a stiff east wind, the sun was shining and it was relatively warm for this time of year. I spent the middle part of the day riding 160 miles, first south through Molalla to Silverton, where I had lunch (waffle and bacon and mocha) at the Silver Creek Cafe, then backtracked to Estacada where I headed east up the Clackamas River highway to Ripplebrook Ranger Station. I stopped for a few minutes to let my hands warm up before heading back down the river to home.

There were a few bikes out and a few slow cagers, but overall it was a fantastic ride. I arrived back home tired but with a big grin on my face.

Zoom, zoom!

Lately I've only had time for short rides on weekends, and when weather and errands allowed, the occasional commute to work. As a result, when I ride, I want to make it count.

I'm fortunate that I live next to some tasty roads that remain snow-free 99% of the year. They tend to be through rural or semi-rural areas and are a diverse blend of curve types and elevation changes. This makes them excellent rides to keep my skills sharp during the off-season.

The downside to these short but challenging rides is the lack of a proper warm-up period. It's a good idea to maintain a moderate pace for the first half-hour of riding and to pay attention to your presence in The Zone. I'm a big believer in this kind of self-awareness. If I'm in the zone, I'm more likely to challenge myself. When I'm not, however, I back off and play it safe. Having curvy and diverse roads so close to home requires that I be somewhat engaged before I even set off. This means I don't ride if I'm already fatigued from other activities -- I ride before chores, not after.

I also give my tires a chance to scrub in (warm up) before attempting any significant lean-angles when cornering. I'm not hitting 60% lean-angles like Ben Spies or Casey Stoner, but my V-Strom will definitely lean over enough to scrape pegs despite how high they are above the pavement.

All of these factors go into the skill-building effort. Practice doesn't just involve cornering technique, it includes muscle memory, evaluation of riding conditions due to road surface, visibility, and weather, and perhaps above all constantly being aware of oneself and the state of my ability at the time -- my ability to ride well varies from day to day, road to road, hour to hour, and I must constantly weigh that against my desire to go zoom, zoom, zoom.

Upper 20's into work this morning

The street outside my house looked like white velvet under the street light. I crossed my driveway and scuffed my boots across the fuzzy white surface to see if it was slippery. Although it looked intimidating, it felt like bare pavement.

I decided to give it a try.

The temperature was in the upper 20's when I rolled my bike out of the garage and started it up. Although we had a little bit of freezing fog during the night, the mist had dissipated and I could see stars overhead. My pre-dawn commute would be the first of the week; I had errands each day that demanded use of my car. I flipped my visor down, squeezed in the clutch, dropped it into first gear, gave it some gas and began to roll forward.

It barked far worse than it bit. Although I rode gingerly until I got to the main highway -- which is sprayed with de-icer -- I never lost traction or felt like I was about to. Once I was on the main highway westbound I knew I was in the clear.

There was an east wind in town that actually warmed things up several degrees. When riding, I can feel even minor temperature differences. The only part of my body that was cold was my cheekbones from the air swirling inside my helmet. Once at work, I dismounted and walked around the dark exterior of the office building and unlocked the front door and entered the warm lobby, ready for another day's work.