THE THUMPERGARAGE PAGE.... more moto-stuff for all you FSSNOC members and fans! To submit your own comments or stories, email us at: [email protected]
(Update #02-13-25 ... with photo above)
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Yes, Wintertime is still here in ThumperVille ... big time! Supposed to be -10F next Thursday, was 0 degrees this AM. Hello, Thumper Fans! Hope you are well and having fun! Wherever you are, we hope you are leaving ... THUMPER-TRAX
Yes, many of you, you know who our photo above is ... of course, it's Itchy Boots.
Carrie and I started a few weeks ago with Season One, Episode One ... and we've been riding along with her ever since ... sometimes for three or four hours at a time.
We watch on YouTube and after we'd viewed a few Episodes, the next time we turned on YouTube, it would immediately bring up the upcoming sequel in the series.
We have really enjoyed what is around, beside, above, and behind the Royal Enfield Himalayan, which is the people, the scenery, the day to day lives of people living in countries that we've never been to, as featured in this first year series, that is Iraq, Iran, Russia, many of the "stan" countries that we didn't even know existed ... it's kind of an eye opener.
After 120+ episodes in Season One, we are now into her second year and, incidently, her second Royal Enfield. This series features her travels from Patagonia to Alaska ... however, if you want to give it a look see, we heartily suggest you start with Season One, Episode One and do it all in the sequence that she rode it because things change, things evolve, and you don't want to miss a single episode ... at least that's our opinion.
For me, it's pretty cool to listen to that thumper motor "thump" through the night as I kick-back in my recliner on a frosty winter's evening!! Note how softly her throttle application is, how steady she holds the bars, often times riding down a gravel-strewn dirt road with one hand on the throttle and the other hand holding a selfie stick with a Go-Pro camera on it.
Guys and Gals, we've been there; riding the soft sticky muddy two-tracks, the narrow and winding rock-covered single tracks, the uphills, the downhills, splashing through those low water crossings, dealing with the flat-tires, the spills, all real world stuff and she gets it all on film for us home-bound, winter-bound, responsibility-bound, reality-bound folks that are working our 9 to 5 at the coal mine, doing our daily gig so we can pay the man ... and on top of all that, you get to see how people across the globe are working their own 9 to 5, yes, to pay the man, just like you and I, eh?
The viewer gets to see such a different view, often an opposing view, of those societies than I've viewed via our own news and entertainment media, the level of enlightenment will, or it does me, amaze you?
So there you go... Keep On Thumpin'!
(We invite our viewers to visit all the pages on this site ... click on the navigational aids above on the masthead... #000)
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from the update for 02-06-25...
WINTER TIME ... isn't always the BEST riding time ... but once in awhile, at least here in ThumperVille (Kansas), we get a surprise! The thing is, one has to be ready to jump upon the opportunity; put on the cold weather gear, fire up the Thumper ... and ride.
Such was the case a few days back. The area dirt roads were cold, quiet, and wonderful ... and the photo (above) is just one of several that I snagged that day before the afternoon waned... this one is of a well known landmark here locally ... the Thos. Rayl Elevator - 1915.
I'd been riding every day since, though sometimes as little as a few miles, but ... it finally happened, I missed yesterday due to an icy residue from a foggy day that was below freezing until mid-afternoon. I walked out to test it, my shoes didn't slip, but I could feel a layer of frozen moisture atop the asphalt ... nope, not now. There will be another day. Perhaps today? Our monthly meeting of our local motorcycle club here in town meets tonight, maybe Carrie and I will venture out, we'll see come 6PM what our conveyance is ... okay for that, Thanks for coming to the ThumperGarage site today, and be sure to visit all the pages within ... see navigational aids up above in the masthead area.
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(update from 01-30-25)
MUSH ON? WOW! WHAT A WINTERY MONTH WE'VE HAD HERE IN THUMPERVILLE! HOW WAS IT FOR YOU AT YOUR HOUSE IN JANUARY? PHOTO ABOVE IS A SAMPLE OF MY FIRST RIDE IN THE NEW YEAR, JANUARY 24TH, AT 37 DEGREES, A 50 MILER ON ANAVAH, THE HIMALAYAN ... AND A LOVELY RIDE IT WAS!
RIDE # 2 WAS JANUARY 28, I TOOK A SPIN WITH WIFE, CARRIE, AN 85 MILE JAUNT TO THE SOUTH DOWN AROUND CHENEY LAKE-RESERVOIR. SHE RODE HER NOW ALMOST NEW HONDA ADV160 SCOOTER, A FLAT-BLACK ANGULAR STYLED, LIKE FROM STAR WARS, TWO-WHEELED "ADVENTURE" VERSION THAT USES A 160CC SINGLE CYLINDER MOTOR, WHICH SHE REALLY LIKES, BY THE WAY.
I RODE THE 2023 KAWASAKI KLR650 ON THIS OUTING, IT HADN"T BEEN MOVED IN MORE THAN 30 DAYS, I WAS HAPPY WHEN IT FIRED! CURRENT MILEAGE IS ABOUT 27,500 MILES (I'M TOO LAZY TO GO OUT TO THE SHED TO GET IT EXACT, SORRY (GRIN). THAT IS ONE SWEET MOTORBIKE! VERY SPIRITED, VERY NIMBLE, LOTS OF GAS ONBOARD, VERY COMFY WITH A SARGENT SADDLE, AND TO MY EYE, IT IS A BEAUTY, CLAD IN THE NEW FLAT GRAY BUT YET SHINY PAINT THAT IS APPARENTLY TAKING OVER THE WHEELED GOODS WORLD HERE IN THE USA.
THIRD RIDE IN 2025? YEAH, JUST YESTERDAY! YA GOTTA LOVE THAT HIMALAYAN ... BOOM, IT FIRED AND OUT THE DOOR WE WENT, NO IDEA WHERETO? I TURNED LEFT, I TURNED RIGHT, MAKING MY DECISION AT THE INTERSECTIONS, WOUND UP BACK AT MY SHED A BIT BEFORE DARK WITH 92 MILES ... AND I WAS CHILLED TO THE BONE BUT WITH A HAPPY SMILE.
I ROLLED THE HIMI INSIDE, EYE-BALLED THE CHAIN SLACK, NOTED THAT IT WAS STILL PLENTY OILY (90-140WT) AS NO DIRT ROADS TODAY, REMOVED THE TANK BAG, LIFTED UP THE TAPED-ON PLASIC BAG THAT RESIDES UNDER THE TANK BAG AND ACTS AS A GRAVEL-SAND GUARD OVER THE FLUSH-MOUTED GAS CAP (NOT THE BEST OF DESIGNS, EH?).
WITH THE CAP NOW OPEN, IMMEDIATELY UNDER THE CAP IS THE OVER-FLOW AREA THAT IS RECESSED AROUND THE ACTUAL FILL HOLE. I HAD EARLIER NOTICED SOME SAND, GRIT, ETC IN THAT AREA THAT HAD ACCUMULATED THERE PRIOR TO THE ADDITION OF THE AFOREMENTIONED PLASTIC BAG TO PRECLUDE SUCH THINGS. A BIT OF WD-40 ON A MICRO-FIBER SOFT CLOTH AND I VERY CAREFULLY CLEANED THAT AREA. AH, GOOD TO GO.
NOW WITH THE DAMP (WD-40) RAG IN HAND, I WIPED OFF THE GASTANK, THE INSTRUMENT AREA, AND OTHER AREAS, INCLUDING THE DIRTY TAIL-LITE LENS, THE TURN-SIGNALS, AND SO ON ... THE HIMALAYAN IS A WORK-HORSE, MEANING SHE IS NO GARAGE QUEEN AND TOTAL WASHINGS ARE INFREQUENT, AND YET, TO THE EYE, AT 32,000 MILES +, SHE'S STILL A DIRT ROAD DIVA ...
I HAD TO SMILE THE OTHER DAY WHEN AN OLD CHEVY PICKUP PULLED ALONGSIDE IN TRAFFIC IN DOWNTOWN THUMPERVILLE, ... "HEY, IS THAT REALLY A ROYAL ENFIELD? I HAVEN'T SEEN ONE OF THOSE THINGS SINCE THE '60s, IT'S AWESOME!", THE HAIRY-FACED DRIVER EXCITEDLY EXCLAIMED, TO WHICH I REPLIED, "YES! IT'S THE REAL THING! A ROYAL ENFIELD! AND, THANK YOU...".
SO NOW, TELL US ABOUT YOUR JANUARY RIDES ... VIA AN EMAIL TO: [email protected]
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