Happy 1 year birthday to the T-700! 13,500 miles across at least 15 states from coast to coast. It has been a great year!
Someone from a social media post suggested I list 10 things about this past year that were most memorable or my tips about the bike for the road, so here goes.
Watching a craftsman at work is always a treat. Seth started building seats as a teenager as an apprentice and now has almost more work then he can manage all by himself , mostly from word of mouth and social media. Which to me is a true measure of the quality of his work. Let’s keep him busy!
2 Cyclops Adventure Sports Aurora lights and turn signals
Darryl and Sandra VanNieuwenhuise of Cyclops lights in Kent Wa. are known across the industry for some of the best customer service in the business. Their lights are top notch, and when they aren’t, they want to make it right. I’ve had their lights in my bikes for almost a decade now. Super friendly and very approachable if you see them out at the rallies. You can’t go wrong with Cyclops!
3 Camel ADV Anti bobble head,Gut guard, Camel Toe sidestand, Camel Tank and High fender kit. After 20+ miles of a washboard road recently in Utah, my entire instrument cluster, headlights and windscreen would have shaken off without Cory’s ingenious design to reinforce the entire front end of the bike. I was also lucky enough to receive one of the first 1.3 gallon/ 5 Liter Camel Tank that was made for the T-7. After testing it twice by running it to empty(read the blog posts here and here ) I now can trust my range to 275 miles knowing I have a few miles to spare. Thank you Cory Hanson!
4 Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail
Last fall I completed the “T.W.A.T” with the help and support of many within the riding community, and several were even able to join me! Chad Barger designed the route across Wisconsin more than a decade ago and still provides the routes. He was kind enough to host me in his driveway while he and a few of his buddies showed me his favorite section. I also used Bunk a biker to find driveways to park in while I day looped each section from north to south. What is normally a 600 mile route took me more than 1200 miles…. and I enjoyed every single one! I want to thank everyone that helped me on my way🙌🙏
5 Dragon Slayer 160/ Backroads of Appalachia
The little town of Lynch Kentucky is struggling like many in the area with a shut down coal mine on their main street. However tough times are, there is a great community that is coming together to promote the glorious riding both on and off-road. The “Dragon Slayer is a 20ish mile section of super twisty pavement that goes all the way into Appalachia Virginia. It’s run by a non profit that’s staffed a group of great ladies. If you are anywhere near South East Kentucky, go see what they are all about and if you can hit it when the trees are turning, even better!
6 Arkansas
I rediscovered Arkansas this winter after being stationed there 27 years ago. Totally blown away with the great riding both on and off road. The land is pretty inexpensive too, I was able to purchase 10 acres of land that will be used as a travelers rest area, campground for overlanders and ADV riders on the Trans American Trail that’s not too far away. Access will only be through me until I can get it up and running, more to follow on that so stay tuned! Just watch out for the green slime on the low water bridges! 😯🤭
7 Jay Masterson
If you travel enough, you will find others that share your passion, Jay is one of those special people. If you are ever down near Big Bend National Park in Terlingua Texas, you should look him up. He’ll likely join you for a ride or at least a good meal. You can follow him here at Super bee ADV Tell him hi for me when you do!
8 Steve Loster
Steve and Patty Loster have been kind enough to host me a few times as I cross the country over the last several years. Steve is a PNW native that searched for warmer weather in sunny Tucson, he’s also a master level motorcycle mechanic and service manager at Arizona Kawasaki KTM and Triumph . He’s now helped keep both my bikes running as I’m on the road. A huge thank you to Steve and Patty also for the Keto diet tips! Y’all have stepped up my eating habits.
9 South Eastern Utah.
I don’t have much to say about that part of Utah other then it’s extremely beautiful and you need to set aside several weeks to ride it all! Go ride SE Utah!
10 Twisted Throttle, Denali Electronics
The great folks at Twisted Throttle were kind enough to let me try out a set Denali Electronics D7 4.5” multi LED lights and B6 brake light. I am really impressed at the amount of light these things put out! WOW! The B-6 brake light is even brighter then my OEM tail light! Thank you Erik and your crew!
Tenere Across the USA 