This year at the SMSBR I found a lot of people were doing a swap with the Honda CB300R engine into the most popular of the 125 Hondas, the Grom. I was camped at the rally next to a man who had done three of these conversions, and he explained to me the how and why of what he had done. These included the modifying of the frame to allow for the stock 300 intake, to the upgrade of the suspension, and 13 inch wheels.
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For the last several years, my friend Max and I have been taking summer motorcycle road trips in August. This year I decided I would take all of my Road Dirt and social media friends along for the trip, by documenting our travels on Facebook. Max was riding his 2014 Harley Road Kiing and I was riding my 2018 Honda Goldwing.
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I had the opportunity to attend this year’s Smoky Mountain Small Bore Rally again, and the weekend was truly bigger and better than ever. I am amazed every year at how much time, imagination, and of course money these folks devote to their passion for these small size and displacement motorcycles.
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Most who took up motorcycle riding as kids typically got their start on pull-start Sears & Roebuck minibikes, Honda Trail 70 or 90 bikes, or maybe something like a Yamaha YZ80. I got my start on a scooter. I was 14 years old, Christmas of 1962, and to my surprise, I was gifted a brand new Vespa 150 motor scooter by my parents. From that day forward, my whole life changed. I was free. I could go where I wanted, when I wanted (or so I thought), a very dangerous prospect for a young rascal like myself.
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In the early hours of Thursday, March 6, 2025, I left home pulling my toy hauler/trailer, headed for Daytona Beach. I had loaded in the trailer my Honda Monkey and CB500X , and my friend David’s Triumph Bonneville 1200. David was pulling his teardrop camper with his Mercedes as we headed on our way to Florida. The weather was good and we made it to the Florida line somewhere around noon.
Daytona, here we come!
It was the summer of 1984. I was riding my Harley-Davidson FLH to California with my wife at the time, on one of our many road trip adventures. We stopped in Flagstaff, Arizona and visited the Harley shop, mostly because we were always looking for more oil for the Harley. As I walked in the front door, they were using a new black XLX Sportster for a doorstop to keep the front door open.
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My first experience with the American Motor Drome Co. Wall of Death was at the Barber Vintage Festival in 2004. I was amazed by this legendary thrill show and have attended each year since, for the last 15 years now. Motor drome motorcycle stunt shows have a rich history in American motorcycling culture, and are a very unique subculture unto themselves.
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After the Forrest Gump stop and lunch we headed for the Four Corners so we could say we stood in four states at the same time. While there a rain storm came up and we were stuck for an hour. By the time the rain stopped the parking lot was complete mud, that slimy sticky kind that makes it very hard to ride. If you’ve never tried to dirtbike a Goldwing, let me assure you it’s no fun. We finally made it to Cortez around 6 PM safely albeit a little wet. We were assigned a much nicer hotel in Cortez because of some repair work on the one we had booked, so we got a really good deal there. We also heard that evening that large hail had pounded Page right after we left. Geez. We must be living right.
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I recently returned from two fabulous small bore motorcycle rallies. I first visited the 2nd annual Barber Small Bore Rally hosted by Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama. The second rally was held in Maryville, Tennessee, the Smoky Mountain Small Bore Rally. This is my second year being involved with the small bore motorcycle community, and I even purchased a Honda Monkey a little over a year ago to participate.
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