January is the time of year to cross the desert and ride though Death Valley, and there’s no better place to stay on the way than The Colorado Belle in Laughlin, NV. The Pints Brewery in the Colorado Belle is a way cool gathering ground. The food and their craft brew are both excellent. It’s been the Thursday night gathering location for SEAT’s annual ride through Death Valley that Wanda and I have done for many years.
Our plans this year were pretty much what they have been for the last decade or two: the first night in Gila Bend at the Space Age Lodge with an Italian dinner across the street at The Little Italy Restaurant; the next day taking the Salome Hwy, through Parker, Lake Havasu and then on to Laughlin, crossing the Colorado River at the AVI Resort. There are other routes for sure, we decided on the through-Parker route this year just because.
All went as planned with a most excellent SEAT gathering at the Pints Brewery. Some thirty SEAT members made the Laughlin piece of the ride. It was quite the turn out. The special T-Bone steak at the Brewery was excellent, and I’m a sucker for their Jackass Stout. We really enjoyed the food and the friendship of the SEAT gathering.
Our plans Friday would take us from Laughlin down to Hemet, CA to visit Wanda’ sister. We haven’t seen her in a year or two, so this would be an excellent time to try a few new roads and visit with family. We could always do Death Valley next year.
From Laughlin we rode north to Searchlight, NV, then west through the little town of Nipton, CA. A few miles west of Nipton we took Ivanpah Road south to Morning Star Mine Road towards Cima, CA. Cima was pretty much deserted though there appeared to be a few running vehicles at some to the rundown buildings. We stopped for a photo at the old Cima Store that looked like it’d been closed for more than a few years. This entire route was through the Mojave National Preserve. Beautiful.
Kelso, CA was the next small town along the way. The old train station in Kelso has been restored and is now a tourist attraction. We decided to stop…next time. At Kelso you can go either north to Baker, CA or south to Amboy, CA, which would be our route. From Amboy it was south to Twentynine Palms where we would gas-and-grub. Seven miles from Twentynine Palms our plans changed.
Just as we turned on to Hwy 62 at the Twentynine Palms’ Airport, the dash on our 2016 R1200RS went berserk. Red lights were flashing, warning arrows were blinking and the TPM system was lit showing the front tire down close to ten pounds. We had a flat tire!
We pulled into the Airport parking lot to assess what was going on. After some searching and a lot of prying, a small bolt was pulled out of the front tire along the center tread. I pulled out our Stop-N-Go tire patch kit and our Frankenstein 12 volt tire pump and went to work. The SNG plug went in and held 32 pounds for about 10 minutes. I was pleased.
While I was doing the tire plugging, Wanda was searching for motorcycle repair shops in Twentynine Palms using our smart phone. One showed up and after a quick conversation with “JP” we found a tire that would fit and was the right spec. Yes! The ride to the shop was taken at a very reduced rate. The tire did lose 5 pounds and was at 27 pounds when we pulled into Desert Cycle Works.
While we were eating at the Mexican Restaurant across the street, a new Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT was mounted on the front wheel. I did get a chance to look at the plug inside the tire. It looked good, I was pleased with my work.
We gassed up with a new front tire and rode south through The Joshua Tree National Park and took Box Canyon Road, a new road for us, into Mecca, CA. From there it was through Palm Desert and Mountain Center into Hemet. Though we got in a couple of hours late, we had a good visit with Wanda’s Sister and nephew. We were feeling pretty lucky when we hit the sack that night.
Saturday morning it was south via CA R3 to Hwy 79, CA S2 to Hwy 78 and then south on Hwy 78/86 towards Brawley. We got about 10 minutes of small hail, 15 minutes or so of snow flurries and about 30 minutes of rain on the way. Not bad, we had our Frogg Toggs on over our electrics and stayed toasty warm.
We took the new-to-us bypass around Brawley, taking Hwy 78 East through Glamis, then Ogilby Rd south to I-8. We’ve taken this route on several occasions and had no problem until we hit I-8. There’s a massive amount of work being done along this stretch of I-8 and the entrance to the freeway at Ogilby Road was closed. We had to take the Frontage Road east. It was barely a road, really rough.
Our plans were to take CA S24 around the Imperial Dam, a side of the dam we haven’t been on. On Bard Road just a bit south of 8th Street the dash board went berserk again! This time it was the rear that was 12 pounds low. We had another flat!
We pulled into the Bard Post Office’s parking lot and got out the tools…again. A construction nail was sticking out of the tire just a bit to the side of the center tread. This time it took some time to get the plug in, the hole was quite a bit smaller than the previous hole made by a bolt. I finally got the plug in and pumped the tire up to 42 pounds.
Again, while I was doing the work on the tire, Wanda was busy browsing the web for motorcycle repair shops “near me.” Liberty Motorsports popped up, about twelve miles away in Yuma, AZ. After several calls, they were pretty busy Saturday only a few hours before closing, we got the Sales Manager and the Service Manger on the line. Lucky for us they had a rear tire that would fit the R1200RS, a Dunlop Sportmax Q3. After another slow and tentative ride we pulled into Liberty Motorsports with 41 pounds in the rear. Not bad.
Though they were really busy and working on closing for the weekend, they took the time to help us out. The new Dunlop went on and we were ready to get back on the road, like the last flat, about a 2 hour lay over. I did get a look at the plug in the rear tire. It wasn’t pulled in like the one on the front. I’ll remember that…the next time…hopefully never!
Our ride around Imperial Dam would have to wait for another day. We hit I-8 East to Gila Bend and the Space Age Lodge for the night, getting in just a few minutes after the sun went down. Dinner at the Lodge’s Restaurant was right on time. We hit the sack pretty much pooped out. Did I mention we were having 30 to 40 mph winds and dust storms while all of this was going on?
Sunday Morning both tires were still holding air. Great! We took Hwy 85 south to Why and Hwy 86 to Tucson, then back roads to Sierra Vista getting home about 2 pm. We left with brand new tires, and got home with brand new tires. That’s the fastest we’ve ever worn out a set of tires. Bummer - it added $480 to the cost of the trip.
Our TPM system did its job. We could have easily experienced some serious drama if either of the flats would have gotten down to “flat” before we’d known it. I believe the TPM system saved our bacon. And that’s why I like our TPM system!
I would like to give a shout out and thanks to “JP” at Desert Cycle Works in Twentynine Palms, CA. He did good! Also, a shout out and thanks goes to Steve in the Service Department of Liberty Motorsports in Yuma, AZ. We appreciated them getting the bike in before closing. Thanks guys!
Deryle and Wanda Mehrten
Our plans this year were pretty much what they have been for the last decade or two: the first night in Gila Bend at the Space Age Lodge with an Italian dinner across the street at The Little Italy Restaurant; the next day taking the Salome Hwy, through Parker, Lake Havasu and then on to Laughlin, crossing the Colorado River at the AVI Resort. There are other routes for sure, we decided on the through-Parker route this year just because.
All went as planned with a most excellent SEAT gathering at the Pints Brewery. Some thirty SEAT members made the Laughlin piece of the ride. It was quite the turn out. The special T-Bone steak at the Brewery was excellent, and I’m a sucker for their Jackass Stout. We really enjoyed the food and the friendship of the SEAT gathering.
Our plans Friday would take us from Laughlin down to Hemet, CA to visit Wanda’ sister. We haven’t seen her in a year or two, so this would be an excellent time to try a few new roads and visit with family. We could always do Death Valley next year.
From Laughlin we rode north to Searchlight, NV, then west through the little town of Nipton, CA. A few miles west of Nipton we took Ivanpah Road south to Morning Star Mine Road towards Cima, CA. Cima was pretty much deserted though there appeared to be a few running vehicles at some to the rundown buildings. We stopped for a photo at the old Cima Store that looked like it’d been closed for more than a few years. This entire route was through the Mojave National Preserve. Beautiful.
Kelso, CA was the next small town along the way. The old train station in Kelso has been restored and is now a tourist attraction. We decided to stop…next time. At Kelso you can go either north to Baker, CA or south to Amboy, CA, which would be our route. From Amboy it was south to Twentynine Palms where we would gas-and-grub. Seven miles from Twentynine Palms our plans changed.
Just as we turned on to Hwy 62 at the Twentynine Palms’ Airport, the dash on our 2016 R1200RS went berserk. Red lights were flashing, warning arrows were blinking and the TPM system was lit showing the front tire down close to ten pounds. We had a flat tire!
We pulled into the Airport parking lot to assess what was going on. After some searching and a lot of prying, a small bolt was pulled out of the front tire along the center tread. I pulled out our Stop-N-Go tire patch kit and our Frankenstein 12 volt tire pump and went to work. The SNG plug went in and held 32 pounds for about 10 minutes. I was pleased.
While I was doing the tire plugging, Wanda was searching for motorcycle repair shops in Twentynine Palms using our smart phone. One showed up and after a quick conversation with “JP” we found a tire that would fit and was the right spec. Yes! The ride to the shop was taken at a very reduced rate. The tire did lose 5 pounds and was at 27 pounds when we pulled into Desert Cycle Works.
While we were eating at the Mexican Restaurant across the street, a new Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT was mounted on the front wheel. I did get a chance to look at the plug inside the tire. It looked good, I was pleased with my work.
We gassed up with a new front tire and rode south through The Joshua Tree National Park and took Box Canyon Road, a new road for us, into Mecca, CA. From there it was through Palm Desert and Mountain Center into Hemet. Though we got in a couple of hours late, we had a good visit with Wanda’s Sister and nephew. We were feeling pretty lucky when we hit the sack that night.
Saturday morning it was south via CA R3 to Hwy 79, CA S2 to Hwy 78 and then south on Hwy 78/86 towards Brawley. We got about 10 minutes of small hail, 15 minutes or so of snow flurries and about 30 minutes of rain on the way. Not bad, we had our Frogg Toggs on over our electrics and stayed toasty warm.
We took the new-to-us bypass around Brawley, taking Hwy 78 East through Glamis, then Ogilby Rd south to I-8. We’ve taken this route on several occasions and had no problem until we hit I-8. There’s a massive amount of work being done along this stretch of I-8 and the entrance to the freeway at Ogilby Road was closed. We had to take the Frontage Road east. It was barely a road, really rough.
Our plans were to take CA S24 around the Imperial Dam, a side of the dam we haven’t been on. On Bard Road just a bit south of 8th Street the dash board went berserk again! This time it was the rear that was 12 pounds low. We had another flat!
We pulled into the Bard Post Office’s parking lot and got out the tools…again. A construction nail was sticking out of the tire just a bit to the side of the center tread. This time it took some time to get the plug in, the hole was quite a bit smaller than the previous hole made by a bolt. I finally got the plug in and pumped the tire up to 42 pounds.
Again, while I was doing the work on the tire, Wanda was busy browsing the web for motorcycle repair shops “near me.” Liberty Motorsports popped up, about twelve miles away in Yuma, AZ. After several calls, they were pretty busy Saturday only a few hours before closing, we got the Sales Manager and the Service Manger on the line. Lucky for us they had a rear tire that would fit the R1200RS, a Dunlop Sportmax Q3. After another slow and tentative ride we pulled into Liberty Motorsports with 41 pounds in the rear. Not bad.
Though they were really busy and working on closing for the weekend, they took the time to help us out. The new Dunlop went on and we were ready to get back on the road, like the last flat, about a 2 hour lay over. I did get a look at the plug in the rear tire. It wasn’t pulled in like the one on the front. I’ll remember that…the next time…hopefully never!
Our ride around Imperial Dam would have to wait for another day. We hit I-8 East to Gila Bend and the Space Age Lodge for the night, getting in just a few minutes after the sun went down. Dinner at the Lodge’s Restaurant was right on time. We hit the sack pretty much pooped out. Did I mention we were having 30 to 40 mph winds and dust storms while all of this was going on?
Sunday Morning both tires were still holding air. Great! We took Hwy 85 south to Why and Hwy 86 to Tucson, then back roads to Sierra Vista getting home about 2 pm. We left with brand new tires, and got home with brand new tires. That’s the fastest we’ve ever worn out a set of tires. Bummer - it added $480 to the cost of the trip.
Our TPM system did its job. We could have easily experienced some serious drama if either of the flats would have gotten down to “flat” before we’d known it. I believe the TPM system saved our bacon. And that’s why I like our TPM system!
I would like to give a shout out and thanks to “JP” at Desert Cycle Works in Twentynine Palms, CA. He did good! Also, a shout out and thanks goes to Steve in the Service Department of Liberty Motorsports in Yuma, AZ. We appreciated them getting the bike in before closing. Thanks guys!
Deryle and Wanda Mehrten
