Articles, Reviews, & Explorations for the Motorcycle Excursionist & Non-traditional Adventurer

MN-7 & MN-27

A Forgotten Road

This is our first post in the category of Forgotten Road . Today's road weaves along two lakes that form part of the border between South Dakota and Minnesota: MN-7 starting in Ortonville and MN-27 ending in Wheaton...

Winter Dreams

New 'Forgotten Road' Category

We're in the middle of a cold-snap right now, with day-time temps hovering around -4 ℉ (-20 ℃). There's snow on the ground and on the roads, so not the best riding weather ;-) With temperatures this cold, it's a time to gather 'round the fireplace, snuggle under blankets, and ...

Autumn Colours

A wonderful farewell from the trees of Sioux Falls

Winter is rapidly approaching, and having had three light snows already, is arguably here. We find it a lovely season: days to spend on indoor projects, movie-watching, and snuggling under warm blankets. That being said, the special time between harvest and when the last bit of colour is falling from ...

Garage Makeover

The early stages of converting an old alley garage to a motorcycle workshop

Since the last post about the FRMX move, we've been pretty busy with the relocation and settling-in process, with barely any time to write an update. With the riding reason over, and most of the unpacking done, that's slowly starting to change. Now that I've started tackling the old garage ...

Hand-crafted Leather Forkboots

Replacing the Tin Fork Kit with Something More Rustic

One of the things about the bike that's bothered me slightly has been the tin fork kit that sits behind the headlamp. One of the best looks the front of a motorcycle can have is the exposed springs of the classic forks of the same name. Part of the reason ...

FRMX Background Images - Some Imagery for Your Desktop / Gmail Theme

In working with oubiwann on the Avon Safety Mileage post, we used some some tools that come with my image editor of choice (GIMP) to bring out details that were hidden in the shadows. This was due to the HDR (high dynamic range) of the iPhone not really doing that ...

Avon Tyres: Safety Mileage MKII - A Classic Tyre for a Vintage Look

The very first ride I took on the Softail Slim S, I ended up on a dirt road. Completely unintentional, I turned onto what I thought was tarmac and found that with the traffic behind me and the gravel nuzzling up to my rims, the compulsion to continue on was ...

It's a Saddle, Not a Couch - Riding with a Bobber Seat

The question I get asked more than any other about my bike doesn't have to do with the paint job, the 110 cu (1800+ cc) motor, or the Firestone clone tyres (Avon's). Instead, the most common point of interest relates to the seat in some way, anything from "is that ...

The Final leg of this Summer's journey! We made it home today after seeing more of South Dakota's stunning scenic beauty: a bit more of the Badlands, SD 47 (one of my favourite "forgotten roads"), crossing the Missouri, and the James River valley...

It was amazing sleeping in a bed last night after more than a week in tents and hammocks – the steaks and ales weren't too shabby either :-) However, this morning we did get off to a slow start due to failed checks when prep'ing for the day's ride: headlamp ...