Our Janus Experience, Chapter 3

Our Janus Experience, The 3rd and Final Chapter

For anyone that has been visiting my little corner of the interwebs for a few years, you'll know that in August of 2022, Mrs. MotoWriter and I embarked on a new kind of motorcycling "journey", if you will. While doing some research about new motorcycles, I came across the Janus Motorcycles website and my wife immediately became interested. I won't re-tell the full story, but if you want to read more, I'll link it here, here, and here. Go ahead and click those links and get caught up if you need to, I'll be right here.

Back already? Cool, let's get back into it, then. This weekend, as the title of this post implies, our Janus Experience officially came to an end. 

I Missed A Chapter

In preparing to write this, I realized that, with all the hecticness of last year, while I was wrapping up my payin' gig and getting ready for retirement, that I missed an important update to this story- the fate of Mrs. MotoWriter's bike (#909), back in May of last year.

As a certified motorcycle instructor, I've taught a lot of people how to operate a large, heavy motorcycle with safety, precision and confidence. As a matter of fact, a friend and I just wrapped up another class a couple of weeks ago. Some of the easiest students to teach, are the ones that have no experience with motorcycles at all, because they don't have to break any bad habits or relearn any preconceived notions they may have had about motorcycles and riding. Mrs. MotoWriter was, by all accounts, the perfect candidate to learn. 

Based on the feedback I've gotten from my students throughout the years, I consider myself to be a pretty good teacher. I'm passionate about motorcycle riding and I want my students to learn how to ride out, and then get back home, safely. 

Teaching your spouse hits differently, though.

There's a realization in every class, that at least one of your students, despite your best teaching efforts, might not make it back home one day. Whether it's because they failed to adhere to your instruction (or outright ignored it), or because someone else driving two tons of metal, plastic and bad decisions did something careless or they were driving distracted. Either way, it's a sobering realization, especially since you, as the teacher, inevitably form bonds, and sometimes friendships, with your students. When that person, sitting nervously on the saddle, is your best friend and partner in life... the pressure is really on. 

I won't get into the specific details on here, but I will tell you that Mrs. MotoWriter was doing good in learning how to ride, but a Janus Halcyon 250 is not a good bike to learn on. First of all, the riding position is very wonky and unnatural for a beginner, especially a beginner with a short stature, such as my lovely bride. The hardtail frame and sprung solo seat provide way too much feedback to a new rider just learning what to do, and the Earles-style springer front fork gives the bike a peculiar anti-dive quality that takes a bit to get used to, even for an experienced rider. To be clear, I'm not bashing the Janus, far from it, but they are not "beginner bikes" and in all fairness to the good folks at Janus, they never claimed them to be. If anything, Janus focuses most of their marketing on appealing to experienced riders, rather than newbies, because they know that their custom, hand-built motorcycles are unique, and fairly expensive for a small bore machine. My wife has only been a passenger on the bike with me, but when she saw that the Janus was such a beautiful machine, which really appealed to her inner aesthete, and that it was only powered by a 229cc single cylinder engine, it seemed very approachable to her. 

After a few successful rides through the yard, and a couple of spills (as can be expected), Mrs. MotoWriter was done. Over the next year or so, there were a lot of factors at play that kept her off the bike, and in all honesty, it probably didn't help that her instructor crashed his Dyna.

Regardless of the reason why, she had lost interest in riding her own, and after my not-so-little crash that left me with a lot of internal bruising and a wicked slice across my back, I was completely fine with her decision to not ride her own motorcycle. The only problem was, we had an extra bike in the garage that we were still paying on, and no one was riding. Mrs. MotoWriter ultimately made the decision to let her bike go, and in May 2025, after two and a half years and only 3/4 of a mile on the odometer... we sold Halcyon 250 #909, and her Janus journey was officially over.

Riding and Retirement

2025 was a significant year for us. Retirement was close, and I was busy getting my affairs in order so that I could actually make it happen. Financially, we were in good enough shape for me to leave my payin' gig and start this new retirement life, but the one thing that kept nagging at me was my Janus payment. After we sold #909, the only vehicle that I was still making payments on was the same bike that I rarely ever rode, which was my Janus (Halcyon #908). Since it was delivered to our house in October 2022, I had put less than 1,400 miles on it.

It's not that I didn't enjoy riding it, on the contrary. The Janus Halcyon is one of the most fun bikes to ride, because it feels like the first time, every time. Maybe it's the hardtail frame, the small, single cylinder engine, or the weight and size, or maybe it's all of these things, but the Janus always made me smile when I would ride it. 

In the past 10 months that I've been retired, I have put well over 7,000 miles on my Road King and over 700 miles on my Dyna, and I've still got a couple of more trips planned before the end of 2026. Riding motorcycles is so much more than just a hobby for me. I would call it an obsession, but there's a certain, maybe specific, negativity that goes hand in hand with that word. I think it's best described as an insatiable passion... which still sort of sounds bad, but I suppose it is what it is; I look at motorcycles, I ride motorcycles, I read about motorcycles, I write about motorcycles... you get the point. While I love riding the Janus, there are limitations for me when I ride it. For example, I live in the country... and most of these folks only know two speeds- Running Deer or John Deere! One is fast and sometimes erratic, and the other is slow and steady. There's not much in-between, so when I ride a 14 hp motorcycle that comfortably tops out around 55 mph before it starts feeling sketchy on these backroads, it gets a bit nerve-racking trying to watch the mirrors to make sure ole Bubba Hayseed isn't about to run straight over me in his old Chevy farm truck. 

Not to mention, every time I stop... every... single... time... the Janus gets attention. People see it and have to come up and look at it. Most just look, but there's always one that comes walking up with a hundred questions. Don't get me wrong, I like talking to folks, especially about motorcycles... but sometimes I just want to gas up and get back to my ride. The Janus only has a 1.9 gallon fuel tank, so fueling up takes less time than answering the question, "what is that beautiful bike and what year is it?" That means, I spend more time talking to folks at the gas station than I do actually gassing up. My Dyna and Road King look cool, and they both start a gas station conversation every once in a while, but the Janus starts conversations every time I stop... even at traffic lights. 

Motorcycles, Money and Making Good Choices

In February of this year, as any good motorcycle enthusiast would do, I bought myself an old dirtbike as a retirement gift. Between tinkering with it in the garage, and riding it for hours at a time in the woods, I quickly rediscovered how much fun dirt bikes were. When I decided to get a dirty bike, I didn't set out to get a 37 year old, 600cc, Baja 500 bred monster. A 250cc 4-stroke was what I wanted, but the older XRs are hard to find, especially since Honda replaced them with the CRF in 2003.

For 2026, Honda punched out the CRF250F to 300cc and gave it back a 6th gear... and by all accounts... I want one. Here's the catch, though- I have restricted myself to a maximum of one vehicle payment at a time now that I'm on this new "fixed income", so that meant I had a decision to make. Since my Janus was the only vehicle that still wasn't paid for and it sits more than it's ridden (I've put less than 350 miles a year on it since I've had it), I knew what I had to do. 

I'm better at buying motorcycles than I am at selling them. It's not that I don't possess good negotiating skills, it's that I don't like parting ways with my motorcycles. Halcyon #909 wasn't technically mine, so it wasn't that difficult for me to see it go. #908, however, has been tough to let go. I listed it locally first, and had several good trade offers and a few decent cash offers. My goal was never to make any extra money off of it, and trades (as tempting as they were) didn't accomplish the goal of paying off the loan. After a few months of entertaining various offers locally, I decided to list it nationally. After several weeks of getting the same kinds of offers, I started losing my patience with folks. After all, I was only asking for what I owed, and the bike was practically brand new. Then, as I was contemplating just keeping it (again), I was contacted by a gentleman, who I won't name for his privacy, from the other side of the country. We spoke briefly on the phone, then went to a video call (sometimes, technology is pretty cool) so that we could talk while I showed him the bike in real time. He told me that he knew that I was asking a fair price for the bike, and when I told him what I was doing and why, we struck the deal before we hung up the phone. A few days later, he paid for it and made all of the arrangements to have it shipped to his house. 

Kindred Spirits

Throughout your life, you occasionally meet kindred spirits, and this was the case with both of the guys that bought our Janus Halcyons. When you buy a Janus, you don't just buy a motorcycle, you join a community. The Janus community is a small, tight-knit community that is made up of a variety of different personalities, backgrounds, income levels, ethnicities and ages. Motorcycle culture is exclusively inclusive, which is something that is unique to this community as a whole, but the Janus community takes that even further. They pride themselves on being different, of being unique among their, already unique, peers. Janus motorcycles are also very personal, right from the factory. Where a mass produced motorcycle from a major brand has to be customized to each individual owner after it goes home with them, a Janus is customized for that individual owner, starting on the build sheet, before the first bolt is ever turned. Before it ever leaves the factory, a Janus motorcycle was built for a specific person. I think that's why it was so difficult to find the right buyers for our bikes... we weren't just selling our motorcycles, we were finding the right homes for them. I know that we accomplished that for both #909 and #908.

The Final Chapter

When I met the carrier to drop off #908, it was a cloudy, dreary day. The weather reflected my mood, perfectly. Just as the driver was about to record the video walk-a-round before loading it, the skies opened up, and the rain soaked us in an instant- it was the first time that little bike had ever been in the rain. Watching #908 get soaked, then loaded up into a tractor trailer with a dozen other bikes was bittersweet. I knew that my little "smile machine" was going to a good home, to a gentleman that was going to enjoy it and give it the road time and mileage that it deserved, but realizing that it would soon be gone was tough. After all, it was the last of our Janus motorcycles- bikes that my wife and I had such lofty ideas for, motorcycles that my wife and I had special ordered, customized with our personalities and put a little bit of who we are into, and the realization that this was likely the last time I would ever see it again, was kind of sad to think about. As the rain kept coming down, I got into my little pickup truck, and headed back home. 

It was a stark contrast from the jubilation of beginning our Janus Journey, almost four years ago to the day.  Our new, sequentially numbered, Janus motorcycles were delivered together, in the company delivery van right to our home, on a bright and sunny morning. They went to their new homes, separately, over a year apart. Our Janus Journey came to a final, drab and woeful end, on a rainy, dreary afternoon, in the parking lot of a truck stop. I know that to most people, motorcycles are just machines, but to those of us who are true enthusiasts... they are much more. 

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Janus Motorcycles, and I wish them all the best in their continued efforts of carving out their place in motorcycle history. Maybe, one day, I'll rejoin the community of Janus Motorcycle owners once again... but for now, I'm going to be doubling down on spending more seat time on my beloved Road King Special. Before I jump into buying a new dirty bike, I think I'm going to enjoy some time without a vehicle payment and just spend my off-road time ripping through the woods on my old XR. 

Until next time, MotoReaders...

Ride safe and make good choices

 

New Collab- Epoch Eyewear

My current personal favorite- the Victors

Epoch Eyewear

Good morning my loyal MotoReaders! I've got a new collaboration to share with you and in all honesty, I'm pretty stoked about this one!

When I first started this blog, I never imagined it would have almost a half a million visitors in such a relatively short amount of time, especially considering that I don't advertise and I rarely ever post it on the socials. I never expected it to reach, and have regular visitors from, around the world and I certainly never imagined that anyone would ever want to "collaborate" with me because of it. After the first couple of companies reached out to me, though... it got me thinking- if I can share the products and companies that I like with all of you, and at the same time, help these places keep the doors open and the lights on another day or two, and get all of my loyal MotoReaders a few discounts here and there, why not do it? It doesn't cost me anything extra to help them out, and, to show their appreciation, most of them will even give me a small percentage from the sales when you use my code. While the little bit that I earn certainly doesn't pay my light bill, it does help to keep the website up and running, so at least my little corner of the interweb isn't costing me anything extra to run anymore.

Now, I told you all of that, so that I could tell you about how this new collab came about. They are a small company, based out of Colorado, and I've been wearing their glasses for YEARS. They are Epoch Eyewear and they truly are, and have been, my favorite brand of sunglasses. 

Epoch

Epoch, as defined by Merriam-Webster's Dictionary is as follows:

epoch

noun

ep·​och ˈe-pək ˈe-ˌpäk US also and British usually ˈē-ˌpäk

a: meaning, an event or a time marked by an event that begins a new period or development

b: a memorable event or date

According to their website, this company was built around "living an epoch lifestyle" (not to be confused with "epic", which means a long story or a grand, heroic action). The folks at Epoch Eyewear believe in making memories over money and they strive to be a great service to their community. They are veteran owned and they make a point to give back to those among us that sacrifice daily, to make our world a better place- the hard working men and women in our communities, our military, our veterans and our first responders. Those are core beliefs that I personally appreciate, and I'm sure that we can all stand behind. 

Rebecca Milner, Founder and CEO

The company started in 2014 after the founder and CEO, Rebecca Milner, decided that she wanted to build a high quality brand of sunglasses, that were actually affordable. With major brands, that I won't name, charging hundreds of dollars for a pair of sunglasses, there was definitely a need for Rebecca's "vision." See what I did there? So, Rebecca started this company from her dining room table while she was pregnant with her first child. The whole operation began with, as they say, "only 30 cases of sunglasses, a riff-raff group of misfits, and a dream." 

Hell yeah. 

Six years later, in 2020, at a time when businesses were failing because of the covid pandemic, Epoch's business took off. Why, you might ask? Because quality doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. 

Price and Quality

Now, you've heard me say, more than once, that "cheap gear isn't good and good gear isn't cheap", but let me make this point of clarification, if you will- there is a huge difference between affordable and cheap. Affordable gear is good quality stuff that doesn't require any justification to buy. Epoch Eyewear sunglasses are affordable, not cheap.

In my former career, I was hard on glasses; hell, even now, in my retirement, I am still hard on them. I drop them, toss them into a saddlebag, pull them from the arms and I rarely ever keep them in a hard case. I also tend to get headaches and the wrong pair of glasses will cause enough eye strain that my head will be throbbing in less time than it takes to get to the next rest stop. Because of this, I've tried glasses of every shape, size, darkness, and lens material over the years, except glass- for obvious reasons. I've tried everything from major name brands to dollar store and gas station shades, but the one problem was consistency. Every major brand gave me eye strain headaches, all of the "cheap" brands gave me eye strain headaches, broke quickly or there was no consistency from one pair to the next. I refused to pay over $200 for a pair of sunglasses that I would, inevitably, drop and break, so I just suffered in my search... until I came across Epoch's website. I figured, for less than $30, I'd give them a shot. After getting that first pair of shades and wearing them everyday with no eye strain, no headaches and no breakage- I was sold. I've been a loyal Epoch Eyewear customer ever since. 

I've literally bought several pairs, and several styles, over the years. Some of you might read that and say, "well, ya know... you probably spent as much, or more, on those as you would have on one pair of the expensive ones." To that, I'll say... yeah, maybe... however, the problem is that if I had spent all that money on one pair of sunglasses, I would have broken them immediately, then had to spend even more money on repairing or replacing them. Instead, I'm able to sustain good, high quality pairs of glasses over the years for the same, or less, money. Whenever I do pull, drop or drag them a little too hard, I just get online, order a new pair, and in a few days, I've got a new pair for about what I pay for a decent lunch somewhere.

I Reached Out To Them, For You

Sporting the Midways in Florida

I always like to put my little "disclosure notices" out there any time I do a review or a new collaboration announcement, and this one is no different. While I've had some companies reach out to me, I've done most of the reaching out since I realized that I can actually save my MotoReaders some money by asking these companies to collaborate with me. Like I said, I've been wearing Epoch Eyewear sunglasses for years and it never occurred to me to reach out to them until recently. I figured that, since I love their products, why not see if they would want to work with me, so I reached out to them and asked. To my surprise, Rebecca (the CEO, herself), replied to give me the good news! To say I'm stoked about this collaboration is an understatement. In part, because I love their products, but also because it's a brand that I've been pushing on my friends and family ever since I discovered them all those years ago. Now, with this new collab, I'm not only able to support this awesome company by hopefully increasing their sales by a few extra pairs a month, but I'm able to get you, my loyal MotoReaders, a 15% discount on them! They are already a great price, but you get an extra 15% off by smashing the link on the upper right side of my page or using the discount code "RIDE_WRITE_REPEAT"! 

I think this code might be a one-time use only, though, so just in case it is, make sure to buy a few pair so that you can save the most amount of your hard-earned dollars. 

You can click any of the links in this post to get the discount, click on the "Epoch Eyewear" banner on the upper right side of the page, click here, or just put in the code RIDE_WRITE_REPEAT at checkout.

Until next time, MotoReaders...

Ride safe, Look Good, and Save Money!

https://epocheyewear.com/RIDE_WRITE_REPEAT

Here are just a few of my personal favorites...

The Victor- my favorite to wear on or off the bike, for classic, casual style.

The Foam (great for riding)... I've got them in shades and clears, and I keep them on the bike at all times.

The Brodie- Also great for riding, no foam, but the lack of a lower frame makes it easy to see the tank mounted speedometer without moving my head down.

MotoReview- Answer A22 Syncron

MotoReview- Answer Racing A22 Syncron Prism Jersey & Pants

Greetings MotoReaders! As promised, I'm here with a brand new MotoReview of some of my off-road riding gear- today, I'll be reviewing the Answer Racing A22 Syncron Prism riding jersey and pants.

Notable Details

Before I begin, I'm going to point out a few things: first, for those that don't know this, or just as a reminder to those who do- when you see words or phrases that are hyperlinked- I do that in almost all of my blog posts for your convenience- those are links to that site, product or page; second, I bought the Answer A22 Syncron Prism (hereafter referred to as the "Prism" because "Answer Racing A22 Syncron Prism" is a mouthful!) from MotoStealz, for a deeply discounted price; and finally, these are not the most current offerings from Answer Racing. MotoStealz buys brand new gear that is new old stock that there is nothing wrong with, it just simply didn't sell. Companies like Answer (among others) sell their overstock items to MotoStealz, who turn around and sell it to us for discounted prices. It's a great arrangement all around- both companies make a few bucks off the overstocked gear, and folks like you and me get great deals on awesome riding gear. This is particularly awesome if you're like me, and are just getting into (or back into) riding and need gear, but don't want to invest a bunch of money up front. 

Jersey

Jumping straight into the review, I'll tell you that the best feature of this gear is the comfort of it. Specifically, the jersey is extremely light and wearing it all day in South Mississippi summer heat and humidity didn't bother me one bit. I've been more uncomfortable in a short sleeved T-shirt than in this long sleeved jersey. It doesn't have any vents or mesh panels like some jerseys, but it breathes extremely well and does a great job of wicking sweat and keeping me cool. It is also roomy enough to wear a chest/roost protector under it, and the sleeves are long enough, and the cuffs are tight enough, to stay at my wrists for maximum coverage. The next best thing about it, thanks to MotoStealz, was the price. This is a $30 jersey, and I picked it up for a fraction of that, at $8. Yes, you read that right- $8 USD. Another thing I like about it, is that it looks great. The colors are vibrant and after a few washes, haven't seemed to fade at all. The biggest con, though, is that the material seems to snag when riding trails. This could be that I'm not using it for its intended purpose, though, as I'm pretty sure it is intended for motocross racing, not trails covered in vines and thorns. Even with the snags, it still looks good enough for the kind of riding I do. 

Pants

The pants are are a good bit more durable. I haven't had any issues with abrasions, rips or snags. They are made with a ripstop material, that I will assume is a type of cordura, but I don't really know fabrics or materials... I just know they are tough. The colors, like the Jersey, are vibrant and haven't faded yet, after a few washes. The pants have a mesh liner that does a good job of wicking sweat, but the pants don't have any vents and the outer shell is built for protection, not airflow, so I have found that I still get hot and sweaty below the waist. Even so, they are tremendously better than my favorite pair of Levi's in the sweltering summer heat. The best part of these pants has to be the flexibility. The crotch and inner thigh areas are made of a stretch material that offers great flexibility and a little bit of airflow (not much, but more than the rest of the pants), which keeps everything safe and comfortable. The knees and lower legs are reinforced so that when I take a spill, I don't have to worry about them ripping. They are also pre-curved and have extra room to accomodate wearing knee braces or protectors inside the pants. 

Much like most of the off-road riding pants I've seen, there are no pockets, so you will need to stow your truck key in your hydration pack, or in your bike's tool kit if it has one. The waistband has a velcro cinch strap that is easy to use and "infinitely" adjustable. There is no zipper, just a gusseted flap that doesn't open, unlike some of my other riding pants, which does make relieving bladder pressure a bit more cumbersome. Again, the lack of a zipper could be because these are probably designed primarily for motocross, not enduro or trail riding. It's not a deal breaker though, as the pants are comfortable enough in every other way. As with the jersey, Motostealz delivered on the price... I picked these $80 pants up for less than $10. I don't mind wearing the "out of date" styles if I can save enough money to buy a few tanks of gas and a fast food sammich and fries. 

Final Thoughts

Even without the Motosteaz discounts, this set is still worth the full price that Answer Racing sells them for. They are well made and, so far, have held up very well. As far as the styling- personally, I really like it- it reminds me of the styles and designs of the early 90's. I've got some other gear that I'll be reviewing soon, but in all honesty, I think this set is my favorite to wear, especially when riding with the guys, because the colors stand out well in the woods and I don't necessarily need pockets to hold my keys, knife, phone or wallet when I'm riding in a group. 

I'm not affiliated with Motostealz in any way other than being a paying customer, so while I mention them a few times here, just know that the price I paid is the price that everyone pays. They sell the stuff until it sells out, then once it's gone, it's gone for good so it's a good idea to check back often for new stuff. They are also limited in a lot of sizes and colors, so keep that in mind when you are browsing for discounts. If you're like me, and are just getting back into off-road riding after a few decades, or if you are new to off-road riding, you may not want to invest a bunch of money just to get your feet wet into the sport. This is a great way to outfit yourself in good, high quality, purpose made riding gear. Motostealz makes if extra affordable, and Answer Racing makes a solid product that looks good, fits well and keeps you comfortable. Overall, I don't think you can go wrong with their products, no matter where you buy them.

Until next time, MotoReaders,

Gear up, save money, and ride safe!

I Busted My Gas Tank!

I Broke The Leg Breaker!

Okay, the photo may be slightly altered to make the affect hit a little harder, but you get the point. 

The Honda XR600R is famously, or rather, infamously, known as "the leg breaker." It's a big bike. At 591cc, this air-cooled, high compression, kickstart-only, monster makes 46 hp and over 38 ft lbs of torque in stock form. In stock running order, it weighs in at over 320 pounds. Add a 5.8 gallon aftermarket gas tank, and you can easily add another 20 pounds to that. 

Since my last dirty bike post, I took another solo ride in the National Forest, where I started getting a lot more comfortable on the bike, and felt like I was actually starting to hone some of my off-road techniques  bit. I had a good ride that day, even though I was only out there for a couple of hours. I left that day feeling pretty good about myself and my off-road riding, so when it came time to meet up with the guys the following week, I was all about it.

Physical Exertion And Dehydration

I decided to video the ride, since we were all riding together and I figured some of the other guys might like to re-live their day through my camera lens, too. The day started out great, but pretty soon after we got on the trails, one of the guys had a family emergency, and had to head home, so we made a quick run back to the trucks. After helping him get loaded up, the rest of us went back out and kept riding. Everything was going great until a log crossing, one that I had successfully crossed in my first solo ride, kicked my butt. You know how they say, that if you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough? Well, it's a good thing I'm tough. Tough or not, after that debacle, I was still pretty gassed. I took a water break, regained my composure, and started riding again. Apparently, I was stuck on that obstacle, behind the guys, for so long that one of them circled back to go look for me.

Back Together

Once we were all back together, though... the ride continued, and I was feeling a lot better. We were all riding pretty hard... even though those guys are much better off-road riders than me. One guy has been riding off-road for, easily, half his life and the other, well... he's a class-A Enduro rider. I felt like I was riding pretty good, though, and a good bit faster and more confidently than I had been, especially compared my my first couple of rides. That is, until I took a simple spill and realized that I was getting dehydrated and physically exhausted. In my defense, we had been riding for a while, and the South Mississippi sun was bearing down pretty hard. The trails were still very wet from recent rains which made the trails hot and humid, especially when stopped. I knew that I was just about spent, but I think my ego, and maybe my immature mind, wanted to keep riding. Big mistake.

Target Fixation

As a motorcycle instructor, I tell my students all about target fixation. Basically, you go where you look and, just like riding on the road, on the trails, you have to look far enough ahead to avoid any obstacles... like small trees. I could keep going on that, but instead... I think I'll let you watch for yourselves:

https://youtu.be/zSn1RQqul7w?si=S0s-OA6GOTnhw3yt

Lessons Learned

The bike didn't explode like in the movies, but finding parts for a 37 year old dirt bike can be tricky, so it did blow up my bank account a bit. I was able to find a used gas tank, but it cost me as much as a new one would have. The fuel petcocks from my old tank wouldn't fit the "new" tank, so I had to order a new one of those, too.

This little incident made me realize that my "retirement body" wasn't cutting it, so I started a workout regimen to get myself in better shape. I'm not trying to bulk up, by any means, but I do need to improve my overall strength and stamina, in case I have to push this heavy bastard out of the woods in the future. It also got me looking for a newer, smaller and more manageable off-road bike, one that will be easier to throw around on single track trails, will have better brakes, and most importantly- won't be so dang tricky to find parts for. Until that happens, though- when I'm not on my Harley, I'll still be out in the woods throwing this big hoss around, and trying my best to stay upright and, hopefully, not running into any more trees. 

Keep an eye out for some upcoming MotoReviews of my riding gear and, as always MotoReaders...

Ride Safe and Make Good Choices!

MotoReview- Rabaconda Tire Machine

MotoReview- 

Rabaconda Street Bike Tire Machine

Greetings MotoReaders! Are you ready for another MotoReview? I sure hope so, because today, I'm talking about the Rabaconda Tire Machine. I'm sure you've seen their ads on social media and on a variety of websites, and if you've seen their video ads, you must be wondering... is it really that easy to change a tire using this thing and, more importantly, is it worth the price? 

Background

Now, I've been working on my own motorcycles for several years now, and I do just about everything from basic maintenance, to upgrades, to mechanical repairs, to electronic diagnostics and repairs. The one, pretty basic, thing that I wasn't able to do though, was tire changes, and that just didn't sit right with me. Don't get me wrong, on small motorcycle tires, like what's on the Janus or Twinstar, I could easily do those with some tire irons, but if you've ever tried to change a stiff sidewall touring bike tire with irons, you know that it's worth the money to bring it to a shop. Bringing my wheels to a shop has always been a point of contention for me, though. I'd have to get the wheel off the bike, load it in the truck, drive for almost an hour to get to my closest shop, then wait for them to get around to mounting and balancing the new tire, or tires, which usually had me waiting for a couple of hours. Then, after paying the shop anywhere between $50 and $100 bucks, I'd have to drive all the way back home to put the bike back together. The worst part is the time wasted, the second worst part is the money. Not to mention, most shops have now started refusing to mount and balance walk-ins... meaning, they want you to bring your bike in so they can do the whole job. They say that it's a safety issue, that they want to be able to guarantee that the wheels are put back on the motorcycle correctly, but the real reason is, they can only charge about a half hour on a walk-in tire change, but to remove it from the bike, the job rate goes up significantly. Enter the Rabaconda.

The "Ultimate Kit"

First of all, tire machines aren't cheap, so when I decided to actually buy one last year, I gave a lot of thought to how I would, or could, use it. When I looked at all the options, I had to look at this as an investment that should be able to pay for itself over a reasonable period of time. Certain considerations were: the overall cost of the machine compared to my personal savings; the ability to pay for itself; the time saved by using it; and of course, the overall quality, craftsmanship and customer support of whatever machine that I chose.

After looking at several options, I decided to go with the Rabaconda "Ultimate Kit." Now, I also added their Balancer Kit to my order, as well... even though they offered the machine and balancer in a seperate kit. The reason why I did it this way, is because I knew that I was going to be working on other people's motorcycles, as well as my own. The "Ultimate Kit" came with several more pieces that allowed it to accommodate a variety of wheels. If I was only going to be working on my own motorcycles, I would have chosen the lesser expensive option.

My Investment

As I said, I bought the "Ultimate Kit" in July 2025. By adding the "Balancer Kit", I paid just under $1,200 for everything. So, what did I get for my money? The "Ultimate Kit" consisted of the following:

• Street Bike Tire Changer
• Drop Center Tools (2)
• Two spindles- standard and 15 mm
• Wheel support riser brackets
• A tub of bead grease mounting lube with brush
• BMW shaft drive adapter
• Duck Head Kit for croass-spoked wheels
• Universal Big Hub Adapter
• 16" tire iron with plastic protector sleeve

The "Balancer Kit" consisted of:

• Wheel balancer
• Wall mount bracket 
• Wheel weight remover knife
• Two allen keys-one to assemble balancer and one to adjust the axle/balance shaft
• User manual (for the nerds)

Both kits come with their own storage/ carrying bags, if you might be inclined to take it with you somewhere, like a track event, for example.

The Value

The word "value" is defined by Merriam-Webster as "the amount of money that something is worth." So, how do we determine what something is worth? Well, I'm sure that everyone uses their own metrics here, but for me, I use a complicated algebraic formula, and if you know me at all, you know that is absolutely not true! No, no formulas for the ole MotoWriter, instead, I use my gut instincts. I determine value by how much time, money and effort I save by doing it myself. I also look at the overall convenience of having a set-up like this in my own garage, so when I do have someone bring their bike to me for some work to be done, I don't have to send them somewhere else for tire work. 

As I mentioned before, I'm almost an hour from my closest Harley-Davidson dealership. There's a couple of independent shops that are a little closer, but not much, so by keeping my tire work in-house, I save the most valuable resource I have- my time. As for the monetary value, I do get a little more analytical. For example, if a shop charges say, $50 per wheel for a walk-in mount and balance- that's me bringing my wheel and new tire to them, I'll drive a little more than 70 miles, there and back, with gas prices being about $4 a gallon. My old truck gets around 25 miles per gallon, so I'll have another $10 or so in fuel cost. So, for example, one tire mounted and balanced will cost me a minimum of $60 and no less than three hours of my life. That's for one tire. If I bring two tires, I don't use any more fuel, but the price of the service doubles to $120, and it's going to take even more of my time. 

For my own personal investment, I would need to do about 20 tire changes on my own motorcycles to justify my $1,200 purchase from Rabaconda. It would take decades for me to make up for what I spent, if I was only looking at the money. So what's my time worth? A lot, actually. But even with the time I'd save by having this set-up in my garage, I'd still need to do a lot more tire changes than I do, for me to feel better about such a costly tool. So, where I'm able to offset that investment a bit, is by working on other peoples bikes, helping them out and every so often, making a few bucks for my troubles. 

What Can It Do?

I can only speak to what I've done so far, but I have mounted tires on 16", 17" and 19" spoked, tube-type tires and 16", 17" and 19" tubeless mag wheels. I've changed tire widths as narrow as 130 mm, up to 180 mm and the machine handled them well. Obviously, there's a little more work to do on the tube-type tires, as you have to be extremely careful not to pinch the tube during installation, and you have to make sure the tube doesn't slip when you're lining everything up, but overall, the machine works as you'd expect. It takes some effort, but once you figure out how to do it, you should be able to change just about any common motorcycle tire using the Rabaconda. Is it as easy as an electric or hydraulic machine- no. You have to put a little muscle into it, but because the Rabaconda machine holds the wheel securely, has a ratcheting bead setter and a long handle for the bead breaker, it makes the job of changing a tire, tremendously, easier. The bead grease they provide makes mounting the new tires a lot easier, and you can use it to remove the old tire, but a spray bottle of soapy water works just as well for removal.

The Rabaconda is very well made, but it's not indestructible. In my time with it, I've bent the main spindle (it unscrews from the machine so it can be replaced easily); the little plastic end caps tend to pop out of the tubing, even though they are riveted in place; the rubber/silicone grip on the bead breaker handle slowly slips off during use; and I just recently had a clamp screw fail. Some of that could be caused by operator error, but for the price of this machine, it needs to be able to hold up against even the dumbest, clumsiest, meatheaded doofus... whoever that might be. That said though... Rabaconda's full lifetime warranty and their customer service is outstanding. I merely had to contact them, tell them what my issue was, and within a few days, the new replacement part was at my door- no questions asked. They firmly stand behind their product and that speaks volumes about this company.

Balance Is Everything

Let's talk about the balancer, really quickly. A lot of you may be thinking, "I could just use balance beads instead of buying a balancer" and to that I say, sure, you can do that. You can do a lot of things to save money, and I'm sure that most of that stuff will be okay. Balance beads are okay, but in my opinion (based on my own experiences), they are just okay. For a truly balanced tire, you need actual weights. Some people in the balance beads corner might be feeling some tension in their necks right now, and to them, I say- calm down and let me explain.

Balance beads are typically made of glass, ceramic or steel and are generally best for large, oversized tires. Because they sit in a pool inside your tire, you don't get any balancing affect until the centrifugal force of the tire spinning forces them to their respective "balance points." This means at low speeds- you don't have much, if any, balance, but on large, oversized tires (such as you might find on a 4x4), you won't notice this because the tires themselves will absorb much of the low-speed vibrations. On a motorcycle, however, with much smaller tires and much stiffer sidewalls, the imbalance at lower speeds will be a lot more noticeable. Because the beads dynamically adjust to the conditions, beads are best for Adventure bikes and are okay for some larger cruisers and touring bikes. Weights, by comparison, provide a precise and immediate balance which is best for any kind of performance machine. I don't know about you, but I consider my motorcycles to be performance machines, so I don't run balance beads, just like I don't use a car tire as a rear tire. Just because you can, it doesn't mean you should.

The Rabaconda balancer comes with everything you need, except the weights, although they do sell those now. Since adhesive weights are, for the most part, disposable, I picked up a couple of boxes from Amazon- silver and black, to match most wheels I'd be working on. I'd also recommend getting a roll of masking tape and a level (if you don't already have one). The level will help you set up the balancer nice and level before you hang the wheel, and the tape will hold the weights in place before mounting them, as you determine how much weight you need. 

Balancing the tires is both easy, and oddly satisfying. Once I got it figured out, and I was able to get my technique dialed in, I must say that it might just be my favorite part of the whole job. The Rabaconda balancer is what is referred to as a "static" balancer. That is because it uses gravity on a static wheel, or in other words- a wheel that is not in motion- to indicate the imbalance. Basically, the wheel rides on a perfectly straight and centered axle shaft, which rides on perfectly smooth bearings, and when the wheel is static, gravity will pull the heaviest part of the wheel to the bottom. Then, you just need to add the appropriate amount of weight to the opposite side of the wheel to offset the heavy side, or... you guessed it- balance it out. 

There are other static balancers out there- many of which are much cheaper than the Rabaconda. I've never tried any of them, but I can tell you that after seeing the quality of the bearings, metals, machining and tooling of the Rabaconda balancer, I can't imagine that any of those cheaper options would even come close to the same quality. A balancer, by the very nature of what it does, must be a precision made tool, so if you do look at those other options for your own shop, I'd recommend that you take a very skeptical look at the materials it's made of and the quality and precision of how it's made. The Rabaconda might be a little overpriced, I'll admit... but as I've said enough times that it could be a slogan- "cheap stuff isn't good and good stuff isn't cheap."

Pros, Cons And Recommended Add-Ons

For those of you that skipped ahead and only came here for the pros and cons, shame on you for missing out on the best parts of the blog... but here you go:

Pros- convenience, relatively easy to use (once you figure it out- instructions are for virgins), cost-savings after you do enough tire changes, quality of the machine and Rabaconda's customer service.

Cons- expensive- but will pay for itself after enough tire changes and balancing, a little awkward to use, small details could be better (plastic end caps on tubing comes off and the rubber/silicone grip on the handle slips and works itself off during normal use).

Add-Ons- In my opinion, if you are looking for a tire changer, go ahead and spring for the balancer, too. After all, if you're going to take the time to mount your own tires, why the heck wouldn't you want to balance them too? Get a box of wheel weights, a roll of masking tape and a level if you don't already have one. You can get a spray bottle from your local dollar store for next to nothing, so get one of those and fill it with soapy water to make tire removals a bit easier. You'll also need a valve stem core removal tool, for removing the valve stem core before breaking the bead. It's an inexpensive tool that you can get just about anywhere that sells bicycle tube patch kits. One other thing I didn't mention before- setting the bead can be tricky on certain tires (I'm looking at you, Harley-Davidson pre-2009 Touring models). One trick that helps, if you don't have a bead blaster, which is basically a tool that forces a high volume of air into the tire at an explosive speed, in order to get the beads sealed, then you can use a ratchet strap wrapped around the circumference of the tire to help "squish" the sidewalls out enough to get the air into the tire. This is a pain in the butt, though... so if you're going to do enough tire changes to justify it, get yourself a bead blaster. 

Final Thoughts

It took me a few months of having my Rabaconda before I really put it to use. Once I did, though, I've used it quite a lot. I've done at least 12 tires so far, and it gets easier each time I do it. Technique is key, patience helps. Personally, I value my time above all other things. It's the one thing that we have a finite amount of. If we're lucky, we get 70-75 good years in this world. No matter how much money we earn, save, borrow or steal, we can't buy more time. We have as much as God gives us, and only He knows how much that actually is. So, when it comes to saving, I choose to save my time over my money. With that said, I do understand that it takes some money to be able to make the best use of time, hence the "investment" concept. I chose to invest in the Rabaconda, because I knew how much time I've spent driving to shops and waiting for someone to do something for me, that with the right tools at my disposal, I could do for myself. I also had a reasonable idea of how much time I would spend, if I didn't make this investment. 

For me, the Rabaconda tire machine and balancer was a good investment. For the amount of money that I've saved myself, my son, and my friends, as well as the couple of hundred bucks that I've made with it, it has almost paid for itself in the first year. It might not do that for you, so you'll have to figure that out for yourself based on what you'll do with it, and based on how you value, and spend your time. What I can tell you, is that it's well made, using high quality materials, it works as claimed, folds up and stores away easily and it doesn't take up much space in the garage. I can also tell you that it works on everything from a late model Road King Special to a vintage XR600. The balancer is precise and it works flawlessly. It's like putting the icing on the cake- it's the last step, it's easier to do and it's pretty fun, too. 

For me, being able to mount and balance tires at my home garage is just one more, very valuable tool, in my toolbox. I enjoy working on motorcycles, I'm pretty good at it, and it gives me a sense of pride that I can do it myself. It also gives me the opportunity to save some of my most precious of commodities- my time. 

No matter what you choose to do, make sure it's the best use of your money, but most of all- your time.

Until next time, MotoReaders,

Ride safe and make good choices!