11-12-2016, 11:26 AM
Had planned to trailer bikes down to Capitol Reef and ride down there for a couple of days but my truck had issues with running lights not working so I nixed that and decided due to the good weather we would do a short ride (250 miles one way) from my house in Northern Utah to Alpine Wyoming via Logan, Preston, Idaho (where Napoleon Dynamite was filmed), Grace Idaho ( and because it's Veterans Day we planned to stop at a cemetery there at the grave of an KIA WW2 MOH recipient to show our respect) then on to Freedom, Wyoming and Alpine to stop at the new Melvin's Brewery there on the Snake river and settle into our hotel in Alpine. Weather a perfect 62 degrees and sunny. Daughters boyfriend on the CB (his Kawi had issues and wouldn't stay running prior to trip), daughter on Iron 883 and me on Guzzi.
Beautiful ride all day Friday until mid afternoon when we were descending a small, remote canyon that became more and more narrow with a small creek running along side it. Until then the roads were dry, not a hint of what was to come....Came around one corner and bingo, the road didn't look right as a shadow cast over it from the canyon wall so I slowed down (I'm in front, daughter in middle, and boyfriend on CB in back). Came around the next corner and into a shadow again and before I knew it we were on an almost solid sheet of black ice for 20-30 yards. Down he goes. Bike slid across the road for about 30 yards and came to rest right on the shoulder. He was wearing an armored hoodie over which he had a light Carhart coat, helmet, gloves etc. Other than a brusied hip he was ok. Bike was on it's right side.
Surprisingly VERY LITTLE damage was done...engine case scraped up. Brake lever bent. Dart Fly Screen scraped up. Bar end weight screw bent. Brake lever scraped at the ball. Instrument cluster cracked. Muffler scratched just a little. No paint scratched. No dents in tank. Frame paint fine. Forks have ZERO" scratches. I think what helped was black ice was basically all over the road and asphalt didn't have a chance to do its customary damage. The 3 of us could barely stand up due to the slickness of the ice while trying to get the CB back on its legs.
We crawled out of that canyon at 3-5 mph in the shadows on the frost covered shoulder riding on the gravel there. Finally made it to the main road in about 20 minutes and the rest of the trip was uneventful. CB ran fine after we waited for the oil to settle back in the crankcase. Could have been a LOT WORSE. Guzzi started to leak rear drive oil on the way home. Bikes are going to need some attention over the next few months before riding season comes around again.
Beautiful ride all day Friday until mid afternoon when we were descending a small, remote canyon that became more and more narrow with a small creek running along side it. Until then the roads were dry, not a hint of what was to come....Came around one corner and bingo, the road didn't look right as a shadow cast over it from the canyon wall so I slowed down (I'm in front, daughter in middle, and boyfriend on CB in back). Came around the next corner and into a shadow again and before I knew it we were on an almost solid sheet of black ice for 20-30 yards. Down he goes. Bike slid across the road for about 30 yards and came to rest right on the shoulder. He was wearing an armored hoodie over which he had a light Carhart coat, helmet, gloves etc. Other than a brusied hip he was ok. Bike was on it's right side.
Surprisingly VERY LITTLE damage was done...engine case scraped up. Brake lever bent. Dart Fly Screen scraped up. Bar end weight screw bent. Brake lever scraped at the ball. Instrument cluster cracked. Muffler scratched just a little. No paint scratched. No dents in tank. Frame paint fine. Forks have ZERO" scratches. I think what helped was black ice was basically all over the road and asphalt didn't have a chance to do its customary damage. The 3 of us could barely stand up due to the slickness of the ice while trying to get the CB back on its legs.
We crawled out of that canyon at 3-5 mph in the shadows on the frost covered shoulder riding on the gravel there. Finally made it to the main road in about 20 minutes and the rest of the trip was uneventful. CB ran fine after we waited for the oil to settle back in the crankcase. Could have been a LOT WORSE. Guzzi started to leak rear drive oil on the way home. Bikes are going to need some attention over the next few months before riding season comes around again.
