Ok, I just purchased the most expensive single item of riding gear that I think I’ve ever done.

Alpinestars V2 GTX Air boots. I wanted something better than the papier mache Tourmaster Echos that I’ve been wearing. I purchased those on EBay a while ago as emergency backups in case my Nice, leather Tourmaster Epics ever failed. 

One of the Epics is at a shoe repair shop having a broken zipper fixed. I heard the guy is good but that I’ll be lucky to get them back in a few months. (I’m told his work is worth the wait).

On week one, a stone put a divot in the front of the back-up boots, made of whatever Tourmaster uses now instead of leather. Needless to say I’m not counting on them to provide much protection in an emergency.

The Alpinestars fit nice, are vented for summer, and I had a stack of gift cards that the museum found- a few years’ worth of birthday and Christmas cards included- that had apparently fallen behind my boss’s desk.

That lessened the impact of nice, full-price boots. Test rode them on Bike #5 and they feel very comfortable. Had to size up to a 46 from my usual 45 to get the width I need, but dimensionally in length and width the are the same as my Epics, so no “clown shoe” effect.

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I am a 62-year-old entrepreneur who, with my two partners, owns an IT services firm that supports 911 dispatch centers, fire departments, private ambulance companies, and two nonprofit medical facilities in the East Bay. We have 23 people on the payroll, all committed to making the world a little less harsh. One of our hospitals provides pediatric care for terminally ill children; another provides medical and dental care, clothing, counseling, and food for families who are doing the very best they can. Not everyone in the Bay Area works for Google and holds stock options. The divide between the haves and the have-nots is profound.

I spend most of my time in the DMZ between the harsh realities of life and the government agencies working to ease suffering. We are not heroes. We do not answer calls, run into burning buildings, or stop the bleeding. But we keep the IT infrastructure in place so first responders can arrive on scene quickly, respond effectively, call for help when needed, and return to Post. I used to make high-tech millionaires and billionaires by helping them flip companies. Now I work for 23 engineers, technicians, analysts, and programmers, keeping the emergency response engine we built together running smoothly. It is a much better gig.

This morning at 3:00 AM, I received the call. Children playing with fireworks set fire to the rental house we lease for staff, many of whom commute just like me. The fire crept into the walls. It is a holiday weekend, so no one was home, but the smoke alarm system sounded, the alert went out, and the very systems we maintain were put to use. An Engine Company from Station 17 was dispatched, entered the home, opened the walls from the inside, and doused the flames before the structure was lost or the fire spread through the neighborhood. I am told the firefighters found the source despite the smoke that filled the dwelling. I am grateful beyond words for their work.

My CB1100EX and two Bianchi bicycles were in the garage, where the fire originated. Believe it or not, I spent more on the bicycles than the motorcycle! Their fate is unclear at this time, and none of them can be replaced. If you have some positive energy to lend, now would be the time.

I love California: its natural beauty and the kindness the incredible people I have met there. It has also been a hard place for me to afford. I cannot buy a home in the East Bay, so I live in the Texas Hill Country, commute roughly 300 days a year, and work the balance from home. This morning I watched the sun come up, fed the horses, tended to the baby deer, and decided to let the Forum help me manage the next few hours. Thank you.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.“ Thomas Jefferson

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I searched the forum, but couldn't find any current  information regarding currently available (2026)  tubeless tire options for our 18" alloy wheels--seems like choices have narrowed drastically year after year.

If anyone can please advise what options are currently for sale here in the USA I'd be very grateful.

And also what's available globally, if there are substantially better options outside the USA? 

If there are multiple options, any thoughts which is best, weighting performance over mileage?

I am replacing several front-end parts on my "new" 2014 CB1100 DLX.  One item I came across was torn rubber O rings between the black base of the front turn signal and mounting bracket.  Honda dealers list this part as BAND, BOOT (D27) 91302-HM7-A00 - same as on the 2013 model as well.  Price is listed as $7-$10 per ring !!! 

Well ... Ace Hardware has this part in their plumbing section for $1 each.  I tried Lowes and Home Depot, but their O rings were too thick, too small or too large. 
Here are the photos of the Honda part, the Ace hardware part and the final install. 
It was a perfect fit.

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(06-30-2026, 07:49 PM)Lunchbag Wrote: I was just settling in for another frustrating evening of troubleshooting a boat problem ...

It was my turn to plan the 2026 "Big Riding Trip" for our little riding group.  I wanted to check off Canada on my list of places I've ridden, so despite my concerns about traveling in Canada these days, I planned a route that would take us through Wisconsin to the western edge of Lake Superior and then clockwise along the shore of the largest fresh water lake in the world.  Time and a few other factors influenced my decision to route us west across part of Ontario rather than continuing all the way around the lake.   Thunder Bay would be the terminus of our shoreline ride and then west through the virtually uninhabited Quetico and Turtle River Provincial Parks before heading south back to the U.S.A.  

Cheryl and I would ride north to Baraboo, WI (just a 1/2 hour east of the 2026 Rally site) to pick up 2 of  group of 5 - Glen & Laura.  From Baraboo, the four of us would ride to Bayfield, WI on the shore of Lake Superior where we would meet rider #5 - Mike, who lives in "Upper Lower Michigan and who took the northern route to our rendezvous point.   I guess crossing the sometimes terrifying Mackinaw Bridge was more appealing to him than crossing the sometimes terrifying City of Chicago.

I did something on this trip that I've never done before.   I planned a full day with no riding (gasp!).  I learned on our Scotland motorcycle tour that a day of soaking up the local flavors with no place to be and no time to be there reinvigorated me. I lead a Boy Scout group on a kayak/camping trip to the Apostle Islands and had a wonderful time with my son and the other scouts and dads.  Mike was one of the dads on the trip so i thought it would be great if we all could see a bit of what Mike and I saw albeit from a tour boat and not a kayak.



Ready to go!


Tour of Honor - Beloit, WI



Tour of Honor Park Falls, WI


All arrived in Bayfield, WI


Cute little town -- reminiscent of an east coast fishing town.

I’ve had the Nexx for about 4 years. Was starting to show some wear: the rubber seal around the visor was cracking and separating and the pvc finish on the upholstery around the neck was pealing. Pads were getting packed out. Eh… it would have been fine for another year or two, if I had been willing to stick it out (especially if i had just bought some replacement pads). That said, there were some issues that made me open to an early replacement.

The Nexx was comfortable and quiet. The pads were easily removable for cleaning. The look was retro and stylish. Safety ratings were good.

Unfortunately the quietness of the helmet came with some tradeoffs: it had no top-of-head venting (only a single chin vent that whistled if you turned your head) and the visor/field of vision was remarkably small. I live in a cool, coastal town, so the lack of venting was mostly fine.

The field of vision was really the thing that motivated me to upgrade. It was okay when you were moving forward, but peripheral vision was impacted and you really felt it when trying to look over at your luggage or examine a tire or back into a parking space. I categorized it as a safety issue to justify the otherwise unnecessary expense of early replacement. 

I was trying to choose between the Shoei Air 3 and the rf-1400. Went with the rf because I didn’t need a drop down visor and already had a cardo. Those two features are about all that distinguish the two helmets while also making the Air heavier and noisier and more expensive.

As we moved the Cardo over, the salesman pointed out that my speakers were literally falling apart, so I dropped another 100 bucks on the JBL speaker replacements. Damn, it sounds nice (But drinks power at about twice the speed). I can actually hear podcasts or audiobooks while at highway speed now and music sounds amazing.

The Shoei fits *tight.* Well, it fits normal: quite comfortable once it’s on. It is tight getting it on and off: feels like I’m going to scrape my ears off. The shell is smaller and cuts a significantly narrower profile and I immediately noticed just how much lighter it was… wait, this can’t be right: google says the Shoei is .5lbs heavier??? That certainly feels wrong. But more than just the raw weight, the Shoei cuts through the air much easier. It has much less buffet and lift at high speeds. Even with the much wider field of view and four extra vents it is slightly quieter than the Nexx. Might even be quieter than the Nexx when in the cracked open position.

Comes with a pinlock. Visor has a study and satisfying action and sits securely in the cracked position. Clicks into place with a satisfying “chunk.”

With the nose and neck cowl installed it catches your breath by your mouth and can be a bit stuffy, even with the chin vent open. Think I will remove the nose piece, moving forward.

All in all, I am VERY happy with the upgrade. Definitely a quality of life improvement that I will feel every day.

   

We all love riding, and who would pass up the opportunity on a beautiful early summer weekend? Well... me, if it was this weekend.

It was a long day in the saddle on Friday. 350 miles to be almost exact on the Blood Bike, and I was getting tired. As I got closer to home, I started to see the telltale signs... A tragic hipster on the side of the freeway frantically trying to kick-start a dead chopper with a Mexican blanket seat and overdone patina on the tank. Groups of black leather-vested riders on the other side of the freeway, looking back, waiting for their slower riding buddies to catch up. As I got a few miles from home and just wanted to gas up the Beemer, park and kick my boots off, I came up behind a few slower riding newly-hatched Harlistas, still sporting paper temporary tags on the backs of their bikes, nervously navigating The 5 during rush hour. I don't have time for Amateur Hour... I hit my strobes and they half-panic thinking I'm a cop and move over for me to pass. 

Stopping at my usual 7-11 gas station and convenience store on Chapman Ave, I pull up to the only pump that isn't surrounded by a bunch of Harleys. I get a glance from these guys as I dismount and pull out my credit card, but they don't know what to make of a bright yellow BMW that clearly isn't part of their world, and they do not engage. I fill up, slide down a dead-end side street, go around a barricade and into my condo complex. Taking off my helmet in the garage, I can hear a chorus of loud V-twin pipes thundering in the distance. 

It's Born Free Weekend! I live off of Chapman, which heads East a few miles from my place into Santiago Canyon, the destination "twisty" canyon road in Orange County. It's not that twisty, but does offer sweeping turns through a somewhat hilly canyon, and at the other end is Cooks Corner, the O.C. equivalent of Malibu's The Rock Store. In the middle of the canyon is a vast event space in a somewhat wooded area, used year-long for company retreats, boy scout jamborees and all manner of things. This weekend it hosts Born Free, a biker festival second to none. Thousands of bikers decend into the area to commune, show off their bikes, stroll row after row of vendors ranging from mom-and-pop t-shirt shops selling gear with logos your Mom would not approve of, to major companies like Motul and Bell. 

The canyon road becomes an endless stream of screaming freedom, with bikes hurtling in both directions in and out of the canyon. O.C. Sheriff and CHP bikes, stationed in the turn-outs along the road are tag-teaming each other as they pull out to nab unsafe riders. Bikers tap the tops of their helmets in warning as they pass each other. 

Born Free is my annual guilty pleasure, combined with a long hike. It's 98.7 percent Harley, but I love to people-watch, and Harley or otherwise, communing with other motorcycle lovers is always a good time. However, it's the last place I want to be riding one of my motorcycles. Plus, the vast parking area for the show is a huge dirt field. You all know how I feel about dirty bikes, and at the end of the day the constant dust cloud raised by bikes and bro-dozers coming and going does its damage.

So, I hike in. At the end of the day, coming and going, it's a little over 20 miles, including the steps to mill around and check the show out. I have to admit I love it. Much of it is one Harley after another, and if they're not of the spectacular variety they sort of blend together. There are other makes, and some of them are stunning. Here are a few. The one notable Honda was a custom CBX, with a candy grey tank sporting a Honda car logo on the tank - the newer lower-case script, which I've only seen on the Prologue electric car, an interesting choice.

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Spending a week cruising up north, visiting some friends, feeling mixed feelings about America, and riding back.

Highlights to include cruising up hw1, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, detouring down The Lost Coast to Shelter Cove, and carving through The Avenue of the Giants.

My longest ride since getting the CB about 6 months ago. I’m expecting about 800 miles and 13 hours in the saddle, just getting there and back. Probably a bunch more in day rides while I’m up there. 

The CB is kitted for touring with its windscreen in place, rear rack and saddle bags loaded, highway pegs installed, and GoPro mounted. Ready eat up some miles!

I’ll be back with some updates and photos throughout and after the trip!