Charging Issues/ Fix / Joshua Tree

At 10am this morning I pack up, say goodbye to family and hit the road, half a mile into my ride the check engine light and the battery charge light both come on.

Very discouraging.

I pull to the side of the road to check my phone and find the closest motorcycle shop; it’s Old Road Harley Davidson in Santa Clarita. Within 15 minutes they diagnose the problem as my regulator. 30 minutes and $300 later I am back on the road.  

I chose to take it easy and take state and county road to Joshua Tree.  The desert is cold right now, snow on the ground in small pockets and freezing advisories. There is a lot of dirt and rock in the roadways due to the flooding from the last few days.  It’s a beautiful place no matter what time of year.

Tomorrow I will head to Lake Havasu to visit my Aunt Pam.

Friday started off pretty good, I set off from Corning CA. at about 10am, no rain and moderately warm.  The first stop of the day was for gas in Woodland California in the Central Valley .  I filled up at the Chevron station and went to start the bike up and…nothing. Dead battery. A couple guys in an old pick up acted quickly and gave me a jump.  I hit the road and the bike was running great, but at the next gas stop the bike would not start a second time. So I got another jumpstart and I hit the road a bit perplexed.  The bike was running perfectly after the jumpstart so my inclination is that the battery is shot but the charging system is functioning fine.  As it started to get dark and cold I fueled up the last two times without turning the bike off.  Upon arriving in LA I parked, turned off the bike, then hit the ignition. Boom, it starts without a problem.

The battery is under warranty from Cycle Gear so I pulled it out today and took there to be tested. The kid tells me, “This battery is in perfect shape,” wanting a second opinion I take it to the local auto parts store and this guy tells me the same thing.  This stresses me out because now I don’t have a clue as to why the bike is only starting with a jump start but running perfectly for hours on end even with the passing lights on.  I buy some abrasive cloth to clean the connection to the battery, maybe it is loose cables or a bad connection.

As I am cleaning the battery cable connectors I notice that a group of electrical wires on the positive site that have completely worn through the housing on one side due to vibration of the years.  I head back to the auto parts store for parts to repair the wiring.  Upon completion I start the bike up and turn it off, then I head out on the hwy with my cousin Holly for some test riding, no problems.

At this point everything seems fine and I am fairly convinced those bare wires were the problem.

I have been rained in for two days but the weather is clearing and I will be heading to Joshua Tree in the morning. I’ll let you know if the bike starts next time I stop for gas.

My cousin Holly after our test ride

Day 1 - First ride of 2017

Warming up in a hotel in Corning CA.

Left Eugene around 8am this morning and stopped off in Medford for a cup of coffee with my friend Golden.

The pass between Ashland and Redding was cold, wet and snowy.

They had been requiring chains on all vehicles but I snuck through at the right moment when the road was just clear enough to make it.

By the time I hit Dunsmuir the snow started hitting hard and I followed at snail pace behind a big rig. Slow and steady wins the race.

It was too cold to take any pics today.

Looking forward to visiting family in L.A. tomorrow eve.

Whenever I head south to Mexico from Portland I always begin my journey be making the short the trip from Portland to Eugene on the first day.

The reason for this traddition is two fold, first it gives me the chance to visit my mother and second it gives me the chance to check my gear, my pack job and my bike before finding myself too deep out on the road with a problem that could have been prevented by simple foresight.

Tonight I sleep in Eugene and hit the road south at 8:30 AM.

Oh No! Lost Motorcycle Key

When I meet good people that provide good service I always try to pass it on. In this post I recommend Kaminsky's Lock and Key Service in Hillsboro Oregon 503-616-0227


The Nighthawk 750 is in Mexico with friends and I have been riding a 2004 Honda 919, a great bike. I am huge fan of the "touring sport bikes" but last Sunday I bought an '04 Honda VtX 1300, my first cruiser. I think this will be the bike that takes me to Guadalajara on January 1st.

Yesterday I went to get on the VTX and could not find the key, it didn't come with a spare. I searched high and low,I moved the couch, dug through the garbage, even looked in the refrigerator, no luck. After several hours of searching the house I finally gave into the fact that the key was gone for good.

Have you ever tried to find a locksmith that will make a new key for a motorcycle? I quickly learned that not many locksmiths do this and even fewer make keys for the VTX. Even the local Honda shop's parts and service dept seemed confused as to what my options were.

I will cut to the chase and just give you the facts, maybe this will help you in some way.

1) The VTX as do many motorcycles have the key code engraved on the side of the ignition switch. This code will allow a key maker to reproduce the key without ever seeing the key.

2) You may have to remove the ignition switch to locate this number. At the very least you will need to remove the ignition switch cover. Removing the ignition switch cover only requires removing one phillips head screw and pulling the cover off. The code will be engraved either on the right or left hand side.

3) If for some strange reason it has been worn off or unreadable you must remove the ignition switch. There are two screws that hold this on, only problem is they may have an odd hexagon head on them. Of course you could buy a drive for this cheap, but if you are stuck somewhere good luck. As a test I grabbed a pair of needle nose vice grips and was able to loosen them this way, though not recommended it works in a pinch. Once unscrewed simply follow the chord and unplug it at the connector. (This will require you to remove the seat, consisting of two allen wrench screws)

4) A good locksmith can make you a new key from the ignition switch.

I am in Portland Oregon and was having trouble finding a locksmith that could make me a new key for my VTX. I went to Kaminsky's Lock and Key Service in Hillsboro Oregon. This is the only place in all of the greater Portland area that could help me out. I highly recommend these guys. It took about 15min and I was on my way.

If you are not in Portland but find yourself in a bind you can send them your ignition switch and they will send it back to you with a new working key. From my understanding they have helped people from all over the world that could not find the key to a bike.

Ask for Jeremy and tell him that Joshua from Filmed by Motorcycle gave you the recommendation.

Kaminsky's Lock and Key Service in Hillsboro Oregon 503-616-0227
Good luck and ride safe.

Indio and Me

Written January 2011- GDL, MX

Tonight I left my Bike with Jorge here in Guadalajara. As I rode these lonely streets through Los Arcos and past the cathedrals in Centro I found myself getting choked up and even shedding tear over this machine that I love. 60,000 miles over the last 3 years together, and now I was walking away and leaving her in the hands of a friend.
I began to think about the wind swept prairies of Canada, freezing rain and snow of the Rockies, 112 degrees heat in Texas, the thunder storms of Nebraska, and never feeling alone because as I with my bike. There were the nights of camping on the beaches of Baja, the badlands of North Dakota or the mountains of Eastern Oregon, always next to that bike. I can remember having a broken heart and just riding through mountains on that summer night, feeling a little better with every mile that I rode.
Sometimes I have gone days traveling without ever having a real conversation with another human, many times my only conversations were with my bike. Riding through the mountains in Canada, all of my gear soaked I would ride with one hand resting on the engine block just to feel a little heat and say,
“Only 3 more hours, we can do this…right? We’ve done worse.”
In the dead lands north of Monterrey Mexico the sun was dropping fast and because of low funds I was on the free road.
“Come on babe don’t let me down tonight, it’s gonna get scary out here.”
Together we always came out ahead.
As I got close to Jorge’s house I found myself talking to that machine again, “I am coming back, I promise.”
Before I walked away I took my knife and retrieved the bell that hangs under the handlebars and put it my pocket. I will hang it back on my bike when I return.

El Charro Romantico

The Plan de El Charro Romántico

I decided some time back that I would ride my bike to Guadalajara this winter and then fly home. The time and the cost of riding to GDL were the two main factors for this decision. I love spending time in Mexico, but at a cost of about $230 in gas each way, food and other expenses it becomes quit expensive. Now add on to that the 6 days it takes to ride, I opted to leave the bike with a buddy a fly back sooner than later.
Now with there being so many great rides so close to GDL I will have the time to enjoy them. A two week getaway can now be two weeks of riding around Mexico instead if 12 days traveling to and fro the city that I love.
With money and time permitting I will be heading south from GDL this summer to Panama, visiting Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica and Nicaragua along the way. But first things being first, upon returning to the United States I begin shopping for a new bike to ride while state side.