Every years since 2006 I have been putting on a ride.  It all started back in May of 06 as a challenge to get from Mammoth Lakes CA. to St. George UT on dirt.  My wife gave me a GPS for my birthday and I wondered if I could plot a course across Nevada using topo maps to stay on dirt roads.  The first trip had no name and four riders, Russ, Craig, Joe and myself.  Russ is a 70+ year old Sheriffs Deputy, Craig rides a 4 wheeler, Joe is a business owner who rides way above his head and always, except for one get off in Mexico, lands on his feet and I was a 41 year old rider new to the desert.  Our first year we borrowed a motor home from a friend and a trailer from some guy we hardly new.  On the second day Joe crashed the motor home and broke the trailer, but after four days we made it to St. George UT.  The trip has now grown to be called RAN (Ride Across Nevada.)  We have stickers and T-shirts that each rider gets.  We have a crew of 3, my sister Katie is our expedition doctor, my dad Ted drives one support vehicle and my wife Misti organizes the meals and drive our other vehicle.  We use my truck and trailer, a 37 ft. fifth wheel, my good friend Randy's bus and chase truck with a 26 ft. enclosed trailer/shop with everything you could possibly need to repair you bike.  In 2007 we opened the case of a CRF450X in the middle of the desert and repaired the transmission.  We can fix anything, and if we can't the trip now has two extra loaner bikes.

Last year I decided to ride around NV. instead of across it  Our trip started in Mammoth Lakes, went to Dayton NV. and back to Mammoth.  About 650 miles with tons of single track.  After four years of refining we now have all of our meals prepared for us and any kind of beverage you want waiting in camp.  Last years trip had two overnight camps that landed at natural hot springs.  They were welcome at the end of the day.

I know that the reason these adventure ride have been so sucessful is the support crew and the riders that tag along each year.  The people on RAN are the best friends I have in the world.  I could call any one of the 40+ guys that have been on these trips and tell them I need help and I know they would drop what they were doing to help me.  I can't express enough that the guys make this trip great, not me.

I'm taking this years trip on the road to Utah.  We start and end in Parowan UT.  We will be riding through Brian Head UT, to Lake Powell, up the Grand Staircase of Escalante through Bryce Canyon and back to Parowan.  This years trip promises to be the most scenic and epic of all the years.  Wish us luck.  I'll post some photos when we get back.  If any better than average riders want to go send me an e-mail. 

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I bought their first DVD "Riding Solo To The Top Of The World" and if you have true-ADVenture-Spirit, you will love these DVD's! I have no relation to these guys or their company, just a customer and ADV-Rider FAN!!!

INFO:

A motorcycle expedition on uncharted roads across the Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh, situated in North-east India. But more than an expedition, it's a film on friendship, camaraderie and the "never say die" attitude of five motorcyclists in the face of unforgiving terrain. Shot in the same format as "Riding Solo To The Top Of The World" with no back-up vehicle or film crew, in parts of India hardly seen, filmed or explored, the documentary captures the interactions and experiences of the riders who are trying to chart a route, which according to everyone does not exist. Film & DVD website http://www.dirttrackproductions.com

New stationary on-highway motorcycle sound test standard released by SAE

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International has produced a simple, consistent and economical sound test standard that can be used to determine whether a streetbike (on-highway motorcycle) exhaust system emits excessive sound, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports.

The J2825 “Measurement of Exhaust Sound Pressure Levels of Stationary On-Highway Motorcycles,” issued by the SAE in May, establishes instrumentation, test site, test conditions, procedures, measurements and sound level limits. According to the SAE, the J2825 standard is based on a comprehensive study of a wide variety of on-highway motorcycles.

“The motorcycling community and law enforcement have long sought a practical field test for measuring street motorcycle exhaust sound,” said Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. “Thanks to the hard work of the Motorcycle Industry Council, and the SAE engineers involved in the project, for the first time a simple field test is now available.

“The AMA maintains that few factors contribute more to misunderstanding and prejudice against street riders than excessively noisy motorcycles,” Moreland continued. “With the new SAE J2825 standard, street motorcyclists can now determine how quiet, or loud, their bikes really are.”

Moreland added that the new standard follows a template established years ago with the SAE J1287 off-highway motorcycle sound test, a standard recommended by the AMA wherever off-highway motorcycles are operated.

The SAE J2825 on-highway motorcycle sound test procedure is similar to the one used for the SAE J1287 off-highway motorcycle test. The streetbike measurement requires holding a calibrated sound meter at a 45-degree angle 20 inches from the exhaust pipe of a running engine. The procedure spells out how to do the test with the bike at idle, at a predetermined engine speed (”Set RPM Test”), or by slowly increasing the engine speed of the bike, known as the “Swept RPM Test.”

The SAE J2825 standard, prepared by the SAE Motorcycle Technical Steering Committee, recommends a decibel limit of 92 dBA at idle for all machines or — using the Set RPM or Swept RPM Test — 100 dBA for three- or four-cylinder machines, and 96 dBA for bikes with fewer than three or more than four cylinders.

The creation of a new street motorcycle sound measurement procedure was a top recommendation of the 2003 National Summit on Motorcycle Sound, expressed by its Motorcycle Sound Working Group. The AMA organized the National Summit on Motorcycle Sound to pull together riders and user organizations, representatives of the motorcycle manufacturers, the aftermarket industry, racing promoters, government agencies, and others to develop proposals regarding the increasingly controversial issue of excessive motorcycle sound.

“The J2825 test allows jurisdictions around the nation, struggling with complaints about excessive motorcycle sound, to set reasonable limits in accordance with the SAE standard,” said Moreland. “While the AMA supports the establishment of the SAE J2825 standard in America's cities, towns and communities, we will continue to fight efforts that single out motorcycles while still permitting excessive sound from other sources, such as loud cars and trucks, booming car stereos, poorly maintained generators, whining leaf blowers, and the like.”

The SAE J2825 standard can be downloaded on the SAE website for a fee at http://www.sae.org/technical/s.....825_200905.