daboo

Took the long way home from the in-laws place. Headed over to Duvall and then back to home on the High Bridge Road. Normally, the sights are soothing on the eyes with lots of green and some water. Today...not so much...at all. On the other hand, no one else was on the road ahead of me, once I got to the end of the road above. Free and clear. Dry pavement. Speed limit...there was one, but it was beautiful just dropping into one corner after another without limit. Sweet. Chris

I've used the Roadtec 01, the Roadtec 01 HWM and the previous generation Interact Z8. Granted this is on a different bike, but I think the experience I had might be worthwhile for your question. My BMW F800GT (same weight as the FJ) came with the Interact Z8 as OEM tires. I changed them at 11,000 miles prior to going on my post-retirement ride to Utah. They probably would've made about 12,500 miles. I expected great things from the Roadtec 01. If the Z8 lasted 11-12K, then the Roadtec 01 should last at least 13,000 miles (10% better per their website). The wet weather performance seemed great in some torrential rain I encountered for hours on end. Handling in the dry seemed great...but so does every tire. I loved them. I had about nine days from that trip till I left for the next trip to South Dakota. I stopped about 5 days before leaving at Cycle Gear and just happened to look at the rear tire. I was shocked! The tread to the sides looked great. The tire was clean except for the center inch where the tire showed a strip of dust one inch wide where the tire was actually wearing. I couldn't get a tire before leaving, so made arrangements to swap out my tires in Rapid City, SD. At 6000 miles, they were worn out. I would not have made it home. The dealership put on Dunlop Roadsmart III tires and they performed well, giving me around 11K of wear. I followed those up with Continental Roadattack III tires, and loved them. Now the initial tire fitment charts showed the F800GT to get the HWM version for the rear tire. I'm guessing it was for the torque on starting/stopping you'd get on a sport-touring bike. It definitely wasn't the weight. The bike is 470lbs wet. So I decided to give them another try and this time I ordered the regular front tire and the rear tire in the HWM version, even though Metzeler doesn't make that the recommended fitment anymore. The Metzeler Roadtec 01 tires with a HWM rear tire was changed at 7500 miles. I could've made another 1500-2000 miles at most, but had a trip that long and didn't want to take a chance. So with the HWM rear tire, they would've lasted around 9000 miles...still less than the OEM Interact Z8 and all the other tires I've used. The "SE" version might be the greatest thing since slice bread, but I won't be buying it in the foreseeable future. The other two Roadtec 01 tires didn't meet the marketing hype and the tires weren't any better performance-wise than the Dunlop or Continental tires, which were far cheaper last summer with rebates. The SE version is $60 more expensive than the plain-jane Roadtec 01 --- for just the rear tire. Will the tire give you $60 better mileage? Or $60 better performance? And we haven't counted in the additional premium cost for the SE front tire. FWIW, I think I'm sticking with the Continental Roadattack III tires. I'm on my second set now. I've found them to be quick to warm up, a perfect feel for dropping into a turn...not too fast, nor too slow. Traction is incredible and confidence inspiring. And I'm at 8000 miles on this latest set and still have probably 40% tread left. The only thing they've failed to do, is to restore my hair loss. Continental didn't do a rebate this year, but I'll still buy them at the full price. Anyway, I hope that my experiences helped you. Chris

Oregon's roads seem much nicer than Washington's roads. I've been tempted to buy an "Adventure" bike, not because I want to go off road, but because the pot holes are so big here it is like riding off road. As for the "legal speed limit" in that section...I'm not sure. Probably between 55 and 65 mph. I attached some screen captures of where we went each day. I have GPX files, but can't seem to upload them. PM me, if you want those. Chris

Remind me in a couple days. I can even supply tracks. Chris

I went to this ride with the Concours Owners Group last year for the first time. The "ribbon" is one of several rivers in the area. The roads follow the course of the river and twist and wind their way through the mountains and hills. With excellent pavement and twisty roads, this place is totally awesome to ride. And then in the evening after riding hard, the group parties hard. All good friends, and each year and each event builds the relationships with people who live even several states away. Left on Friday with Andy and Nancy. We headed over Chinook Pass and down to Yakima. It's kinda cool to realize that mountain in the background will be in my rearview mirror in a couple hours. At Chinook Pass Heading toward Yakima Look on the hillside, and you'll see it is on fire. Temps were pretty high on the way in. My bike read 112F several times. Luckily, the cooling vest worked well. Charlie led a good sized group along the Middle Fork of the John Day River. Every turn had a beautiful view of the river as you followed it for miles and miles. I love the rock formations. Monday was the day to get back home. Andy and I left at a few minutes after 6am. I should've taken a picture of the quiet and still parking lot. As the poem says, "Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse". The sun was coming up behind us and made for some incredible lighting effects on the landscape. Everywhere you look, you see different colours and textures in the landscape. We hit some high side winds and a dust storm on the way back. One thing that sticks in my mind as I travel, is when I see old abandoned buildings. Not just barns, but houses that used to be homes. What stories would they tell if they could reveal the hopes and dreams of the people who lived there? The children that grew up there? Later, Mt. Adams on the horizon. I think this is near Yakima. Note the rock just sticking out of the middle of that hillside where the road disappears. Heading up towards Chinook Pass on the final stretch home. Andy. Great rider, with a great personality. Mt. Rainier Chris

This is one of the places I want to visit. Chris

Heading to John Day, OR on Friday. Chris

Thanks for putting this together. Like you wrote, the No-Mar changer is basically a tire stand so you can use your tire irons. I'm still experimenting, but for the foreseeable future, I'll keep changing my own tires now. I bought a cheap 2x4 at the hardware store and cut it into a rectangle to hold the front wheel. It keeps the disk from getting damaged. I use the same BeadPro tire irons Ari uses. I found they work well. I thought about buying the HF bead breaker, but with patience, the irons work well. The "trick" I'm finding is to use lube when breaking the bead too so the bead will slip down farther. Once part of it goes free, the rest can be pushed off by hand. As for protecting the rim, I tried those same Stockton Rim Protectors. They were so-so. The plastic milk jugs and left over thick plastic from things like my wife's old Tupperware containers work very well. I think part of this, is just what you get used to. I tried the zip ties. Didn't work with my HF zip ties. The sidewall was too stiff and it just pushed past the catch that holds the zip tie tight. It also sucks at times living in Washington State on the west side of the mountains. It doesn't often get hot enough to do much good by putting the tires in the "sun" to soften them. But still, I'm sold on doing this myself. Plus, I can get a close-up look at my brake pads to see how they are doing without taking the word of a mechanic. Chris

I apologize for the blurriness in the pictures taken with the Sena 10C Pro...the ones where you can see my helmet. Looks like a bug did its thing on the lens. Mt. Rainier in the background. Heading to Chinook Pass At the top of White Pass Heading towards Windy Ridge on Mt. St. Helens. It's a great road, and great scenery. Don't try to mix them. A friend of mine tried that and they airlifted him out...then sent a Chinook helicopter to retrieve his Harley. This area was in the blast zone. Now, 40 years later, it is growing back. Mt. St. Helens Mt. Adams Chris Attach files Preview Edit silentlyIf selected, no "last edited" note will be added for this edit. Clear last edit informationIf selected, any existing "last edited" note will be removed. Save Preview Cancel

I'm thinking of something like one of these: XK USA New Coated Bead Keeper Tire Changer Tool RED Heavy Duty Thing https://www.amazon.com/Coated-Keeper-Changer-Heavy-Thing/dp/B078YB8TRW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 No-Mar AC-Y-03905111 Yellow Thing Tire Tool https://www.amazon.com/No-Mar-AC-Y-03905111-Yellow-Thing-Tire/dp/B011J6KXR8/ref=sr_1_25?dchild=1&keywords=tire+changer+accessories+yellow&qid=1598633708&sr=8-25 You could possibly do as well with a heavy duty spring clamp like this one from Harbor Freight. The idea being to keep the tire bead from "walking" over the rim as you're putting the last part on. I've been able to do it pretty well without any clamps by using my knees...with hard knee pads. With just soft knee pads, I think it would be painful, at least for me. I can see these working pretty well. Chris

I use "scrap" plastic instead of the commercial rim protectors. Plastic milk jugs work okay, but get destroyed in the process. Believe it or not, a very thin vinyl notebook actually lasted really well once. It was thinner, but I guess tougher. My wife had some old Tupperware containers that I'm saving for the next time. The rounded corner ought to fit over the rim really well and I could get potentially four out of one container. Everyone thinks this is hard. It's not. When I've found myself straining and getting nowhere, I realized something was wrong. I sat back and told myself to "Go back to the basics.". Five minutes later, the tire was on and the job done. And it isn't like you do anything different for the "basics" when using tire irons than you do with a machine. Read above, and some people had issues using a tire machine. It's the same principal. When I was growing up in Texas, we had the sticker bushes with huge thorns sticking out the sides. To me, they looked like a Texas Longhorn steer's head. Every afternoon, I was patching my bicycle tires. Then when I was working my way through college, I worked at a service station. The owner raced on weekends and had modified his tire machine to work on the wide wheels he was using. If you did things right, all was well. If you didn't, even the machine would get stuck halfway around. And then you had major problems. The motorcycle tire isn't that much different than either of those. Just stick to the basics, and it all goes well. Chris

Yup.

I rode with a friend to Tipsoo Lake on the east side of Mt. Rainier. I was hoping to reach this pond where many a postcard picture has been taken. We didn't make it that far. We took backroads all the way, only hitting the I-90 freeway for three miles till the next exit. Mt. Rainier The wildflower season has already peaked there, but in places where the snow melted later you could still see them. Tipsoo Lake Naches Peak Mt. Rainier One of the views on the trail. That's Mt. Adams in the background. Mt. Adams We didn't make it the whole way to our destination. My riding buddy looks like he had a bad case of overheating on the trail. For a couple hours though, we thought he was having a heart attack. He could barely breathe, couldn't speak. Light headed. Tingling in the extremities. A pulse that was going from 139 to 107 to 139 in seconds. We had two young ladies, one of whom was in the Coast Guard, stop to help out with the medical training she had. Another had passed by on the way down the trail, then when she saw one of us going down trying to find a ranger (no cell service), she left her child with one of her children, then went back up the hill with her teenage sons to see what she could do to help out. It turns out she was a nurse. When we passed the word to others, they drove to the ranger station and got the word to them for help. We had three rangers come up the trail to help out (long after their quitting time), with more in the parking lot below if they were needed. Just a couple thoughts from all that experience. We tend to think we can do what we could do in our younger, healthier days. At times like this, the phrase that we'd hear in the old western movies, "Prepare to meet your maker", comes to mind. And lastly, with all the negative news in the media these days, it was incredibly uplifting to see how people put their own plans to the side to help others. It gives you faith in the human race. Chris

Knee pads. Harbor Freight is your friend. FWIW, I've had one knee replacement. It isn't bothering either the bionic knee, or the OEM knee. And my wheels look better with what I've done, than the marks left over by the dealership. Chris

I looked at some of the tire changers mentioned above and decided to try the Motion Pro BeadPro Forged Steel Tire Bead Breaker Levers ($50). I figured that if I couldn't do it with those, then I'd spend the money to get the nicer equipment. I haven't felt any need to get anything else other than a single long tire iron and a clamp to keep the bead from walking around the rim in the last portion of getting it over the rim. The rest of the tire change equipment is a single 2x4 that I made into a rectangle to keep the front wheel disks off the ground. For reference, I'm not big and strong. I'm 5'6"...shorter than most of you, and just turned 68. It's not about strength, but about technique. The same technique you need to use an expensive tire machine. And when you're all done...it takes up very little space. I've changed four sets of tires this way in the last 18 months. Chris

Day One - ride over to Cape Flattery. Day Two - ride to Artist Point. Day Three - Ride across the North Cascades Highway and drop down to your home across Hwy 410 and Chinook Pass. Take pictures on each day. Post them here. Make everyone else jealous. Chris

Yesterday, I got a chance to ride up to my favorite place, Artist Point. I'll go there 2-3 times a year. Each time I go, it is special. How much snow will still be there? Will the sky be overcast? When fall comes, the hillsides turn color, transforming the place. But even if I didn't get all the way up, the ride through the farmland on Hwy 9 on the way is wonderful. The way is scenic, and the road gently twists and turns, letting me feel one with the bike. It is some of the best therapy around. Once you get to the end of the Mt. Baker Hwy, you reach Heather Meadows, or the Mt. Baker Ski area. Upper Bagley Lake The last section of road from Heather Meadows to Artist Point I see a lot of bicyclists and motorcyclists ride up to the parking lot at Artist Point...circle the parking lot once...and head on down. But if you get off the bike, you can see some incredible views. I used to climb mountains in my younger day, and you'd spend hours and a lot of energy gaining the altitude to get into places that looked this nice. And here, the work is done. There's a trail to the left that's .75 miles long heading out toward Mt. Shuksan, and another that is 4 miles long headed the other way toward Mt. Baker. Both are almost level. It seems such a shame to believe that all there is to see, can be seen from the seat of your bike. Artist Point Trail For perspective, there are people on the closest rocky hill. Squint hard. I couldn't believe what happened here. I had just sat down to eat my lunch, when I got a phone call from my oldest daughter in France to sing me Happy Birthday. Cell phone reception out here?!?!?! Mt. Baker On the Ptarmigan Ridge Trail headed toward Mt. Baker Looking back to Mt. Shuksan Besides the man that is obvious, there are at least four others on the trail on the left side. It is hard to get a feel for how huge this view is. On the way back down. Lots of people wearing masks, even though it didn't make sense for the most part. There was a nice breeze coming up the valley that blew any germs away quickly. And for the few brief moments when you passed someone on the trail...and everyone took the trouble to move off the trail to keep distant...I was probably a tenth of a mile at least from anyone. I did get a chuckle from a couple encounters. When I turned around on the Ptarmigan Ridge trail, there was a young couple standing on the hillside silhouetted against the sky kissing. It was a great Kodak moment, so when I got to them, I offered to take their picture. So they moved to have me take their picture...but hadn't given me a camera. Let's see...I'm going to take your picture...for you to have.........with my phone? I think they were a little caught up with the hormones, and it was addling their brains. The other was priceless. Three young girls (why does everyone else seem to get younger, while I stay the same?)...anyway, three girls about 20 yrs old and their dog were heading out to camp overnight. The girls were wearing masks, the dog was not. His tongue was out. Anyway, I offered to take a picture of the four of them, which they were delighted to have done. I stand back (with their phone, not mine), and they all excited posed for the picture. I took the picture then exclaimed that they had dropped their masks! Oh the horror. And when I handed the girl back her phone, I said she'll need to disinfect it now. We all got a good laugh, and a good memory. Chris

😏 Yeah, I understand. It fits me though. The Tracer GT is on my short list, should I need to replace this bike. But it is likely that this will be my last bike. I'm good with that. The F800GT is lower to the ground and fits my short inseam body like a glove. Like the Tracer GT, it is light at 470 lbs wet. And it goes fast enough to get me up to killing speed just fine. Chris

If you're in the area, let me know and I'll be glad to show you around. The North Cascades Highway has some easily missed spots off the main highway that are worth stopping for. Artist Point up at Mt. Baker is a bucket list ride IMHO. I ride both several times a year and never get tired of them. I've been through every state west of the Continental Divide (except New Mexico), and through Alberta and British Columbia. The worst roads are found in the Puget Sound area. And I don't see it getting any better, ever. Chris

I went to Sisters, OR last weekend for the "Lava Run", an event held by the Concours Owners Group (COG) each year. I looked at the temperatures and decided to do the "return" leg of the trip on Friday, instead of Sunday. Even at that, on the way home, it was over 100F on the west (cooler) side of the mountains. So my route took me across I-90, then down through the Yakima River Canyon on the east side of the Cascades. I really enjoy this short stretch of highway that is bypassed by the interstate to the east. Twisty curves that beg to be ridden about 20 mph faster than the speed limit...and is often set up with multiple speed traps because of it. :D This was my lunch break location. A break along the way. The park was open, but the restrooms were closed. Mt. Hood at the White River. On Saturday, the group took off on the actual "Lava Run" ride. Here we are at the first break. Another rest stop at the Green Peter Lake. We saw thousands of these on the ride. They are the California Tortiseshell Butterfly. It amazes me that plants can find a way to live out in these lava fields. Obligatory motorcycle pic. :) Had a great time. This group has some riders who think nothing of crossing a couple states to attend one of these rallies. And in the evening when the riding is done, they like to have a good time swapping stories of what they have done...or would like you to believe they have done. :D Chris

I've been up to Windy Ridge several times...but I won't any more. keithu put it very well, though many others did too. The frost heaves and pot holes are tough to see in the sun-dappled lighting. I'd much rather go over to the west entrance and see it from there...and keep my bike in one piece. There are so many roads and places to see, that I see no reason to subject myself to NF-25. Chris

Updated with current rebates. Be sure to check yourself to see if the rebate is still valid. So...decisions, decisions. I know I'll need tires before the Fall. Which do I get?NOTE: Some of those rebates expire in 9 days or the end of the month. So if you think you'll be like me and want tires this fall...buy them now and put them in the garage till later.Chris

If you're looking at the FJR, you might also wish to consider the Kawasaki 1400GTR, or Concours C14 in the USA. Chris

I'll be passing through your area on the way to Central Oregon mid-August and early September both. I'll be around Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens on the 29th. Chris

You could always call and we explore it together... ...but maybe you just don't want to be seen riding with a BMW owner... A nice little ride would be to meet at the Black Diamond Bakery for coffee and breakfast, then head over to Sunrise. Maybe head over Chinook Pass to Yakima. Go through the Yakima Canyon and then home. Or just stop at Sunrise and hike around a bit. There's a nice hike over at Tipsoo Lake, not far from there with postcard views of Mt. Rainier. Chris