Iron Creek Lake

 

There's a lot wrong with this photo, technically speaking.  In my defense, the low angle of the late October sun didn't help.  Nor did the fact that even though this was the first time I'd taken out the camera since leaving my garage hours earlier, I was already behind schedule!

I know - excuses, excuses.  But I had to take the photo, because it helps tell the story.  And by this time, the story was already a pretty good one - mostly.  Sure, I could have taken the Interstate to Sturgis, where I'd stopped to fuel up the Ryker.  It would have saved thirty minutes.  But the ride over Norris Peak Road and through Vanocker Canyon had been pure moto bliss.

Then, when I filled my new three-wheeler's tank and did the calculation, I realized I had gotten 36 miles per gallon!  That's much better than the previous time, when the engine was still breaking in - and exactly the same as the on-board computer had been telling me.  Good to know.

But back to the photo.  I left the blacktop just southwest of Spearfish and rode 12 miles of gravel to get to this sign at the junction with Iron Creek Lake Road.  Now, that had already doubled the Ryker's previous off-pavement record, but I had a lot more of that in mind for this trip!

Within a mile, I was parked by the only significant Black Hills lake I had not made it to in the previous 18 months, since my wife and I moved to South Dakota.  Okay, technically there's one more - but it's in Wyoming, and not really connected to the rest of "The Hills."

Here, the sun angle worked to my advantage, as Ryker struck quite a daring pose and cast quite a substantial shadow.  It may be short in stature, but it's a force to be reckoned with!

The lake is not bad either, but let's face it - the real reason for the trip was to find out if Ryker has what it takes to do some serious adventure traveling.  And the first few miles of gravel had been even more of a test than I'd hoped for - WASHBOARDS!  

Just that morning, I'd been warned by a friend at church that Tinton road was "pretty rough."  But we haven't been traveling together yet, so I didn't know if his idea of "rough" was anything similar to my idea of "rough."  Now I know.  It is.

They probably weren't the worst washboards I've ever negotiated, but they weren't too far off that mark.  Ryker handled it better than Ural would have, but it was no picnic, as they say.  To the Can-Am's credit, nothing shook loose or even began rattling or squeaking.  But I was glad I didn't have to go back that way!

Closer to the shore, I dismounted again - for more photos!  This one shows two, no three, recent additions.  Besides the bike itself, this ride was also a test of that new windshield and a mounting system I'd devised for my old tank-bag.  The screen is a bit larger than I was wanting, but I was unable to find something smaller that wasn't too small - or too ugly.  I might cut it down to size later with a good band-saw, but it's not as problematic as I'd feared.  It shakes a bit and creates a little turbulence, but I might be getting used to it.  Airflow management on bikes is always a tricky compromise between benefits and negatives.  We'll see.

The tank-bag stayed put fairly well, but it could be better, I think.  I'll keep working on it.  I love the position though.  And the extra storage it provides is essential.  Just for this day-trip, I had the glove box (in front of the handlebars) full of emergency items like my tire repair kit and basic tools.  So the tank-bag is for convenience items like drinks, snacks, sunglasses, and different gloves.

Oh yes, the third item I mentioned is the sticker at the bottom of the windscreen.  Ryker is now the fourth of my bikes to sport a replica Dakar Rally race decal.  Ryker's number is 5110.  Acquired at age 51, it's my 10th motorcycle.  I'll have to get a better shot of it for you next time.

Iron Creek Lake is a nice spot.  There's a trail that wraps all the way around it, so I'll have to come back with Kim sometime and do that.  My plan was to head home via the road to the south.  Assuming it's better than the one from the north had been, that's the way we'll return in the car.

And I'll make sure the store is open for that trip.  It's already closed for the winter.  Would be nice to drop in for some picnic food and a cold beverage.  Behind me here, there are also cabins you can rent.  Perhaps we'll make a weekend out of it!

Before leaving the area, there was one more place I wanted to check out.  It's a few miles west of the lake, down a narrower and somewhat rutted road, I found out.  I had to take it slow and choose my route carefully in a few places, to avoid scraping bottom with Ryker's limited ground clearance.  It was an off-road test of a different kind, but I eventually arrived at the junction for the Fillmore Mine.

If I could just make it across this uneven cattle guard, the road looked better on the other side.  Easy does it.

And I was over.  At first, it was better.  But a steep descent soon had me thinking I should have turned around while I had the chance!

I passed a few cabins in varying degrees of upkeep before spotting the primary mine structure on top of this hill.  There didn't appear to be any easy way of getting closer - and a sign had warned about trespassing.  So I swung a U-turn at the next wide spot in the road, waving at some kids as I did so.  According to the Internet, some of the cabins can be rented.  But the ambiance there wasn't nearly as inviting as the area around Iron Creek Lake had been - a little foreboding, actually.

On my way out, I again squeezed by this large puddle in the road - needing only to dip one tire inside the edge.  If presented with a similar obstacle next season, I'll likely blast through the middle and see how big a splash I can make!  But hey, Ryker's still got less than 500 miles on the odometer.  Gotta baby it a little.

Twenty minutes later I was back on the main road - and happy for it!  Besides the cattleguard at the mine road junction, there had been one more.  It was no problem going in, but coming out, I'd hugged the opposite side and dropped my left front wheel into a gaping hole where part of one of the cross bars had been removed for some reason.  It was quite a jolt to both man and machine.  So much for the babying.  But Ryker didn't seem to be riding any differently.  Once I picked up some speed on this nicer road, it would be easier to tell if I'd done any damage.

So far so good.  The road south was much better than the way I'd come.  I was able to get up to 60 miles per hour in brief bursts between corners!  Not only did I satisfy myself that the front end was still true, I determined that Ryker is quite tough, stable, and a lot of fun on a well-graded gravel road!

I passed a ghost town of sorts before I arrived here at Highway 85.  It was certainly worthy of a few photos, but I knew I was still behind schedule so I didn't stop.  At this point, I was only five paved miles from the Wyoming border.  But I couldn't afford to tack on a ten-mile round trip, just to say Ryker's been there.  Another opportunity will arise.

On the way home, I did take a three-mile gravel shortcut to bypass the towns of Lead and Deadwood.  That brought my total unpaved road miles for this outing to 64, beating Ryker's previous record by around thirteen times!

The next day, I gave the Can-Am a thorough inspection - inside and out.  Nothing appears to have scraped the underside, and the air filter is still surprisingly clean after all that dust.  I did find one somewhat loose plastic part (the engine air intake), but it's possible it was like that before.  I couldn't figure out any way to tighten it.  Next time I'm at the dealer, I'll check the Rykers in the showroom to see if that piece has similar play.  

In short, I'm rather impressed with the way Ryker performed on its nearly 200-mile mixed-surface adventure.  It doesn't like washboards much more than Ural did.  But my previous two-wheelers didn't really either.  This bike number 10 is not perfect, but it handles paved twisties, freeways, gravel, and even controlled doses of dirt fairly admirably.  I think it's a step in the right direction!

New Wheels!

 

Yes, that's me and the new Ryker on our first unpaved outing since picking it up at the dealer on the last day of August.  I know, it took me THAT long to post some pictures?!  In my defense, it's been quite a busy month of four-wheel travel and out-of-state guests.  In fact, my parents and sister were visiting from Oklahoma when it finally came in.  Dad took me across town in his rental car to sign the papers, watch me saddle up for the first time, and follow me home.

Often called a "reverse trike," the lone powered wheel is in the rear, connected to the 900cc three-cylinder engine with a fully enclosed drive shaft.  That tire is as wide as a car's!  In this photo, you can also see the white coils of the single adjustable shock, between the bottom of the seat and that enormous aluminum swingarm.

Up front, there are no hand controls other than the twist-grip throttle (and a few buttons, of course).  The transmission is "continuously variable," like a snowmobile's, so there is no clutch lever or gear shift.  The only foot control is a brake pedal above the right peg.  It squeezes the disks on all three wheels at once.  Convenience features include a lever for engaging reverse - and cruise control!  I've ordered a windshield that should arrive in a couple of days.

Besides the old "too busy" excuse, another reason I am just now getting around to showing off my new steed is that Ryker is finally sporting its full tri-color livery!  The white, yellow, and orange panels on the sides of the cowling and the similar accent on the hood were not included when I originally took delivery.  There are many styles available for these pieces, and I had to special order the ones I wanted.  These harken back to the original dirt bikes Can-Am produced and raced in the 1970s.  1972 was their first year, in fact - and mine as well!

Of course, the orange reminds me of Ural, and of my KTMs before that.  And you may have noticed I found a way to attach the leather cross-bar pad that was a custom-made gift from my dear friend Rich, back in Tillamook.  I'm nothing if not traditional.  Well, as traditional as one can get with a future-inspired, armored bug looking, 80-some horsepower backwards tricycle!