Minnesota Adventure Riders

In case you want to travel outside Minnesota for an adventure this Fall, you may want to consider the AdventureFest put on by Big Snow resort. Its only a short ride away! More info here.

Not directly related to adventure riding per se, but important to motorcycling in Minnesota.

http://ir.polaris.com/investors/news/news-details/2017/Polaris-Industries-to-Wind-Down-Victory-Motorcycles-Operations-Strengthening-its-Position-in-the-Powersports-Industry/default.aspx

• “Tech Day” happening again this year in Shoreview this Saturday. See our discussion group for more info.
•   “A story worth living” one night showing at select theaters tomorrow. Colorado back country father-son moto-adventure. https://astoryfilm.com
• Group ride scheduled Sunday for north-east of Twin Cities near St. Croix/WI border. See discussion group for more info.
• Saturday and Sunday – Theilman Trail Ride – http://www.goldeneaglesmc.org/trail_rides.htm

Know of other ADV events happening?  Click the “Contact Us” link and let us know.

With much regret I must announce the cancellation of the Swap Meet scheduled for this coming Saturday. Over on our discussion board we have only had one seller commit to showing. I have tried to find more sellers, but it just hasn’t materialized.

Well, there is always next year! 🙂 Get out and ride on Saturday instead. The weather looks like it will be great!

The 4th Annual Minnesota Adventure Riders swap meet will be held on Saturday April 16th.  We are again encouraging this as a “Ride-in” to kick off the riding season. So get the bike polished (or just leave it covered in mud) and ride it in. The location is back to Crosby Farm Park.   We had our largest turnout ever last year, so hopefully we can keep the momentum going!

Address:
2595 Crosby Farm Rd.
Saint Paul, MN 55116

Google Map

When: April 16th, 9AM – Noon. Sellers are encourage to arrive at 8:30 to setup. 

Bad Weather Policy: In case of bad weather announcements will be made on MinneADV.info.  Subscribe for updates!

Fees: There are none. No charge to browse or sell. This is a grass roots, community organized event. Coffee and Pastries will be available to purchase to help offset costs of running the website.

Sellers:  About 6  picnic tables are available, but prepare to bring your own table, boxes, etc. to display your merchandise. No cruiser or sport bike stuff, let’s keep this focused on Adventure, Touring, and Dual Sport bikes. Bring one item to sell or a bring a truck full, it doesn’t matter. A shelter is available to put your tables under, but space is limited.

Rules:

• No flammable or hazardous material.
• No household goods
• No tents/shelters may be setup (park rule)
• Limit your stuff to what will fit on one or two a 3X6 picnic or fold-up tables.

Typical stuff to find here:

• parts
• riding clothing & gear
• whole bikes
• shop manuals & periodicals
• camping gear
• farkles

Need more info? Join our Google Group to discuss the swap and more!

Pre-Sale List of items available for swap so far… (NO sales until 9AM Saturday!):

•  Joe Rocket mesh jacket (XL)
• mini camp espresso maker
• mini ISO butane lantern
• portable mp3 speaker
• helmet ear speakers
• gloves
• riding jersey

• Welcome table
• Name tags
• Coffee and pastries

more to come…

Planning to sell and want your items listed here? Send them to us. It will tempt more riders to come!

Have the warm temperatures of the past couple weeks got you dreaming of an early riding season?  Well why aren’t you riding right now?  That is what the folks at Minnesota moto clothing manufacturer Aerostitch are doing and not just with any bike, but with an electric dual sport from Zero motorcycles. Read the rest of this entry »

Rene Cormier is a world motorcycle traveler and author of “The University of Gravel Roads”.  He’ll be speaking at Moon Motorsports  (3613 Chelsea Road W. Monticello, MN) today Wednesday, February 10th at 7PM (NOTE: Moon website says 6pm…so there is some confusion over start time). Rene now runs South Africa and Mongolia moto tours as well and has many great stories to share.

Seems like everyone has introduced its version of an “adventure” bike.  Oh, but wait…Royal Enfield hasn’t…until now.  The Himalayan is the company’s take on what an off-road bike should look like.  In this market it is definitely unique if not a bit “unfinished” looking.  Kudos to them for not following the pack and making a 1200cc monster with 60 pounds of electronics and a plastic beak. More info on Royal Enfield’s site.

Yamaha recently released this video of a humanoid style robot driving one of their street bikes.  In this day of drones and autonomous vehicles, I guess it isn’t much of a surprise.  However, I wonder how much we will sacrifice as these automated gadgets seep into our riding experience.  Cruise control, computer controlled suspensions, “clutchless” systems, anti-lock brakes, traction control, etc. are all available in current Adventure bikes.  While they can for the most part be turned off, they add weight and cost.  Will there still be a market in the future for a “naked” Adventure bike without all these gadgets?  Will manufacturers cater to that market?  Or are we doomed to all ride “motobot” controlled bikes someday?

2016 IMS comes to Minneapolis in just over two weeks. Use this link for a discounted ticket price: http://ow.ly/XjLBR
Floor map is here: http://ow.ly/XjMaE
I don’t remember KTM exhibiting in Minneapolis in the past, but they show as coming this year. Maybe my memory is just fading!