36] RIDER TEST
Blacktop Bomber
Buell’s “clean" Ulysses, the XB12XT.
48] ON THE ROAD
Riding the Snake
Chasing reptiles in North Carolina,
Tennessee and Virginia.
56] TOUR TEST
Vision Quest
Into the Valley of Death on the new
Victory luxotourer.
66] BUYERS GUIDE
Grip Heaters
Four ways to keep both hands happy.
72] RIDER COMPARO \
Cats with String V
$8K apiece—Triumph Street b
Triple vs. Ducati Monster 695. p
80] ON THE ROAD-
SORT OF
Riding to the End of the Earth
There’s no place like Lake George,
there’s no place like....
90] RIDDEN & RATED
Batman’s Trike
Piaggio’s weird and wonderful 500cc
tri-mo-scoot.
96] RIDDEN & RATED
Pocket Rocket Redo
The Ninja 250 gets a deep voice and
learns to shave.
departments
8] ONE-TRACK MIND
Bluetool
10] RESPONSE
18] KICKSTARTS
BMWRA Editor Rides On
22] RIDING AROUND
Ridden & Rated: Honda CRF230L
30] ROAD TALES
Where to Ride?
102] FAVORITE RIDE
Texas Forest Trail
112] RALLIES & CLUBS
Rounders
120] TECH Q&A
Chemtool vs. Captain Marvel
128] ADVERTISER INDEX
132] NEW & COOL
136] RIDER’S MALL
146] RETROSPECTIVE
Yamaha FZ750 Genesis
124 Gear: Pirelli Night
Dragon Tires
1 25 Gear: Alpinestars Neo Jacket
127 Gear: Airman Sparrow Compact
Air Compressor
1 29 Gear: Deltran Battery Tender
4-Bank Charger
131 Gear: Rapid Transit
Stack IT Magnetic Tankbag
High-siding 6 feet in the air, Joaquin and his
BMW R1200GS did a graceful 60-mph pirouette
in front of me. Flying in front of the airborne bike,
he had the presence of mind to fend it off before
nose-diving into the brown Patagonian gravel. Even
though I’d raced for decades, I’ve never had such a
good seat for such a dramatic get-off (more often,
I was the get-off-ee). Laying hard on my KLR’s
brakes, my mind raced: “What’ll I do with my
injured friend out here in the middle of nowhere?”
We’d been rattling down Argentina’s infamous
partially graded Ruta Cuarenta (Route 40) since
lunch, as the two of us returned from a side trip to
the world-famous Cave of the Hands. The irony
was that before lunch we’d been riding much faster.
At lunch my thirtyish Mexican friend, a successfill
racer, had sagely chided me: “Bill, we’re like
two bad kids who should not be allowed to play
together,” and we agreed to ride more slowly on our
return to the group. After all, there were thousands
of miles ahead.
When his BMW’s front wheel got crossed-up and
slid in one of the 6-inch rows of gravel, despite two
lock-to-lock attempts to restore order, it re-caught,
followed by the classic high-side. Despite being a
real “yard-sale,” widi panniers and driving light parts
strewn about, after collecting himself he had only
suffered a separated collarbone and a bloody nose.
Still, the BMW was rideable, but Joaquin wasn’t.
Like an answer to my prayers, our faithful
Mercedes diesel shag-wagon appeared shortly, able
to carry him (and later another rider) to a doctor. It
had been an eventful day, one of many in a month-
long “expedition to the end of the world.”
Trip of a Lifetime
I’d always wanted to do it—ride to the end of the
earth via the jaw-dropping scenery of the Andes; see
the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere,
Aconcagua; traverse high, craggy mountain passes
and snake down 10,000 feet to sea level via Portillos
32 switchbacks; photograph penguins, walk on
glaciers, ride like gods, eat and drink like kings.
I could have organized it myself. Heck, I do
things like that in my job. But arranging bike
infp^tation, routing, accommodations and a back-
up vehicle in two Spanish-speaking countries was a
headache I didn’t need. These days it’s easier than
ever to just let one of several tour companies handle
all those nettlesome details.
Even though my sons and I speak some Spanish,
we contacted a company which has been organizing
an annual Tierra del Fuego expedition for years,
MotoDiscovery. Its
month-long marathon does all that and more,
covering more than 5,600 miles, nearly half un-
paved. It’s nice for the evening’s toughest question
to be: “Which wine, tinto or bianco?* And some of
the worlds best come from Chile and Argentina...