Click here to view the embedded video.

For more information check out Curbsyde Productions.

Looking at the photos of the plate, its really not clear if the center hole is threaded or not.. so based on their description:

“This camera quick release plate will quickly screw onto your tripod to properly and securely position your camera for the best shooting angle”

I figured it would screw right onto my tripod… especially seeing that almost 400 of these were sold.. but…not so!  You can not “quickly screw onto your tripod” as they advertise.. there are NO threads.  I emailed the ebay seller and here’s the response that was given:

Me:

Hello, I received both of my Quick Releases.. but, I’m unsure how do you mount them to a tripod? I thought they would screw right on to the 1/4″ mounting screw but I don’t see how they do. Can you help me? Thanks!

eforcity:

Dear Customer,
Thank you for contacting us.
We apologize for the inconvenience. Screw size: 6mm .
If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know, so we may further assist you.
Sincerely,
Wing
Customer Service Team
- eforcity

Me:

Dear eforcity,Your product description says “This camera quick release plate will quickly screw onto your tripod to properly and securely position your camera for the best shooting angle.” Based on your description, how do I screw this plate quickly on my tripod? The hole isn’t threaded so how does it “screw onto your tripod”>. I believe your description is false and very misleading. Please advice on how I can screw this onto my tripod. Thanks.
- basherdesigns

eforcity:

Thank you for contacting us.
This quick release pad is for the tripod that does not come with the quick release pad, but a 3/8? mounting screw. Customer need to mount the bottom of the quick release pad on the tripod, and attach the top part to the camera. If you have any questions, please let us know. Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,Vicky
Customer Service Team
-eforcity

So there you have it.. they advertise as if this plate will screw “quickly” to a tripod and you are off. What they don’t tell you is.. your tripod must not have a quick release plate or in reality needs to have a way to mount this plate to it.  False advertising .. no?!

Anyway, I said the heck with it.. they are so cheap I’ll find some way to use these things.. so here’s what I did.

Mounting plate – notice no threads

Using my dremel I notched out a diamond shape for the nut to countersink

I used a 1/4″ 20 screw thru the center hole and screw into nut tightly. Use some Loctite to secure it.

Here you can see enough threads left to screw onto any tripod 1/4″ 20 mounting bolt.

A bit of a gap between nut and base of my RAM mount tripod adapter…

To make a better fit, I added a washer to close the gap.

GoPro Hero2 mounted up…

On the cheap, this works very well and thus far I’m pleased with it.  I may try out some 1/4″ 20 threaded inserts like these on my next mount.. but who knows, that just adds more cost to the plate.. stainless steel inserts are $2 bucks a piece! We’ll see if that works, I fear the threaded insert could unscrew after awhile.. if I try it out I’ll post up my results.

Hope this helps others out there, let me know!

Click here to view the embedded video.

After researching and reading reviews from other riders.. I decided on the AFX FX-39, ordered it from Atomic Moto for $117 and some change. If you’ve done any homework on these helmets, the word on the street is the AFX helmets run a bit large.. so I ordered the Medium based on the sizing chart and my Shoei being a Large. A few days later and on my doorstep a box from Atomic Moto!  I ripped into it and put it on………. uh oh!

You know the feeling.. heart sinks, grit your teeth.. IT DOESN’T FIT LIKE I THOUGHT IT WOULD! Yes, it fit a bit snug, but the first thing I noticed was my nose hit the mouth guard and immediately thought wow.. this isn’t going to work.  So I posted up my thoughts on the AFX FX-39 Advrider.com thread.. the next morning I got a call from BP at Atomic Moto, so I discussed the fit and he immediately knew the issue with the sizing of this helmet. He explained how there are two different molds for this type helmet.. the change happens between the Medium and Large sizes. So, with my melon size he recommended I get the Fly Trekker Large instead.. it was the same head sizing but it used the larger mold… That’s exactly what I did.. and I’m glad for his help! The Fly Trekker is $10 bucks more, I guess that’s the difference in a helmet using the larger mold?!

Before sending the AFX back to Atomic Moto, I decided to shoot a few photos for others to take a look at.. you can see the difference in the two molds, but you can also see how similar these two helmets are.

* Click photos to see larger sizes

AFX FX-39 : Front View

Fly Trekker : Front View

AFX FX-39 : Side View

Fly Trekker : Side View

AFX FX-39 : Interior View

Fly Trekker : Interior View

Summary

Looking at the Interior View of these helmets you can easily see the difference in the helmet molds. You will also notice the AFX has a latch closure and the Fly sticks with the typical D-ring closure. Personally, I just like the classic D-ring closure but I hear others like the latch type. Here’s a short list of pros and cons I’ve notice.. but they are so very similar I’m just reaching for something here…

On the AFX, I like the black component pieces over the white on the Fly. It makes the helmet look a bit more expensive or classy to me. The Fly interior seems to be a bit different.. feels a little better to me when wearing the helmet, doesn’t feel as stiff as the AFX. The ear pads seem deeper too, more cushion and more room for my Sena SMH10 headset speakers. Like I said, I also like the D-ring closure, I feel like I have more faith in it holding up when I need it most!

All this to say.. both helmets seem to be very good at a very good price! Because of this little sizing issue, I’ve gotten to talk with BP at Atomic Moto and really enjoyed talking with him and hearing his passion for our sport.. adventure riding! Great customer service and I’ll definitely be shopping at Atomic Moto before looking anywhere else.. just saying.. I’m a pretty loyal guy!

So here’s my props to you BP.. ya Bombers!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

• Remove your fork guards, which is very easy, a couple of bolts and they’re off.
• Place a guards in a vice or something similar to compress the curve of the guard, making it open up a bit more.  Shoot for around a half inch…
• Using a propane torch or similar heat source, heat the guard up near the bend you are compressing.. get it nice and hot (but not too hot you melt the guard!)
• Leave it in the vice to cool down and hold its new shape.
• After cool down, place the guard back on the fork and see how it looks. Make sure its new curve is large enough not to rub your fork or seal, but not too large it rubs the tire!
• Once you are happy… put your new Shock Sox on.. then replace the guard. I use blue loctite on the bolts.. then go riding!

So far my guards have stayed put and are not rubbing.. I can easily see if they are by inspecting the Shock Sox now.. works for me!

It’s one of those stories you read on a blog or forum.. “I walked out to the garage and saw my front shocks done leaked all over the floor!!!@#$@!”  Upon further investigation, they find evidence of sand and dirt stuck to their fork seals!

So… I wanted to try to help avoid that situation with some fork seal protectors.  There’s all different flavors but I didn’t want the kind that slip over the fork which means pull the front end apart to get them on. Also, I wanted to be able to easily pull them off to clean. I thought to myself.. if they are full of mud/sand/dirt.. at that point their not able to do what their suppose to.. keep that junk away from the seal. Then I saw a post on the WR Mega Thread from a fella about these seal savers that are easy on , easy off. They’re called Shock Sox.. and here they are..

Shock Sox Features:

• Install and remove in 10 seconds
• Keep debris away from seals & helps prolong seal life
• “One size fits all”, meaning you can use them on all makes and models.
• Wrap around design makes them easy to put on and take off
• Enable you to remove product to wash sock and bike

You can see how easy they are to install and protect the seal all the way around the fork. The longer strap at the top allows you to really tighten down the .

I installed these right before my Arkansas trip and they did great. Never moved, lever loosened and seem to do the great job.

On my WR…these are the 6″ regulars.

They cost me $30 shipped from ShockSox.com and choose from a few different colors too. So far they seem well worth the price for the added insurance on saving my seals!

This isn’t just an ordinary pile of wood planks…. no, they were part of history for well over 100 years…

One day back in August (8.13.11) of this year, I went for a ride on my Versys and my destination was to an old wooden pony truss bridge I had ridden over previously while heading south. That particular day I was riding on my WR250R and was in bit of a hurry to get south.  I routed along a road that I came upon this great little pony truss bridge but didn’t have time to stop and take photos. So like all of us adventurers, I saved a waypoint on my GPS so I could come back later and really spend some time looking at this bridge.

Well, it was time to go back and see that bridge. This is the ride I took that day, heading back to that old little bridge.

To The Bridge

I remember it was along a great road just north of the Missouri river south of Hwy 94. After looking through my gps tracks I created a route that would take me along a scenic route down Dry Fork Rd and end at this bridge. My Versys hadn’t been ridden all that much so I decided to take her out this time.. and put her to the test on these gravel roads…

Running up a few back roads out to Warrenton, I started the real ride on Dry Fork Road, at first Dry Fork doesn’t look like its going to be as good as you think…

But in no time at all.. you see evidence of another great creek road… here’s Dry Fork Creek that this road runs along side of, its another signature beautiful clear water Missouri creek.

Then, rounding a corner I meet up with this…

Everytime I come down this road, I stop at this amazing rock and just think about how its structure puts me in awe. Just how may thousands of years its been there and it seems to take me out of my current circumstances and reminds me of why riding is so incredible… or maybe I’m just amused by the little things of nature.

The road continues along the creek.. just looky there… getting better and better.

Soon, it gets a bit more remote.. boy I hope my Versys with these street tires don’t end up bitting me for this one!

If you’re a local and haven’t ridden Dry Fork Rd, its definitely a good one, put it on your list when you come ride Charrette, Lost Creek & Massas. It’s big bike friendly with a few low water crossings. Be careful of the hidden slime if theirs water on them. Slick as snot!

Still heading south, I took a right on Howard Branch Rd. Here’s Knobby Path.. and I would NOT take the Versys on this gem of a road! Just beyond this photo, I wouldn’t call it a road any more.. its a path.

As you can see.. it’s a great place for the WR!

Continuing on.. I took a few more great roads.. man I love this stuff..

It was time for a break.. so I shut’er down and ate a snack on this bridge. It’s always so peaceful out here on the trail..

So far the Versys is doing just fine on this gravel. One thing I absolutely love about the Versys is it feels like you’re riding a dirt bike. You sit upright, can easily stand and ride, its set up allows for easy handling on or off road. I’m not planning to ever take it on the rough stuff I do my WR, but that’s exactly why I bought it..

I end up on Hwy 94 at Smith Creek Rd., head west for a short bit and then turn onto Bernheimer Rd… this will take me to that bridge I can’t wait to see….I double check my GPS for my waypoint.. yep there it is. BR-BernRd

Another great road that runs down along Clear Branch Creek… I’m getting so close and feelin’ good…just can’t wait to see this old bridge and do a little investigating around it.

I begin to slow down as I round the corner where the bridge is.. and then.. my heart drops………..

There, off in the distance… in the field.. surrounded by grass.. I see the skeletal remains..

I stop and just stare. Shut the engine off. Slowly remove my helmet and head over to the grave site.  I just can’t believe it….

It’s.. gone… just sitting in a field with a bunch of junk…

I take my time and look at the structural details of this old 1902 bridge… thats right, 1902!

Almost 110 years old…

Then.. I turn and look to my left.. across the field.. I see more of its remains.. and to the left, I get a glimpse of its replacement…

Wow.. the history this wood could speak.. serving the community for over 100 years, and serving it well I might add. I got back on my bike and rode closer.. then walk down to get a closer look.

This one-lane, pin-connected, 3-panel, half-hip Pratt pony truss bridge was built in 1902 by Stupp Brothers Bridge and Iron Co.  It’s spanned 40 foot with a deck width of 13.5 feet. As of 2008 its average daily traffic was a mere 35! Bridgehunter reports its structural status was in very poor condition. But as I remember it, it was a beauty! Here’s a photo via Bridgehunter:

These new bridges… just don’t do anything for me.. maybe I should find a little more appreciation for the technology these days.. but I don’t know, it’s gonna take a while…

Click here to view the embedded video.

 Riding Heals Sadness

I’m a bit disappointed at this point and surprised this bridge is lost forever… I figure the only way to make things better is to ride! So that’s what I did..

I saw another waypoint I marked a while back for a little road that just looked interesting to me on maps.. so I headed that way. This dead end road ran across the Cullum Branch.. I was hoping for something special..

On my way running west on Hwy 94.. I saw this cemetery I’ve past a thousand times.. I rode up the grass drive to the sign and…. wow.. 1870!

Pinckney 1870.. that’s a loong time ago.  Missouri History Lesson: In that same year, M. Lemma Barkeloo was the first woman lawyer in Missouri (St. Louis). She was the first woman trial lawyer in the United States, and the first woman lawyer to try a case in federal court. Crazy…

I continued down 94…the Versys eats this stuff up…

and here we go.. Gore Rd.

Then.. I come around a corner and see some old structures on the left..

This old barn sat here with so much character.. and some nice handy work to boot.

Then this old house on the same property.. its up for sale too.

It was so peacful back here.. I had to think that someone’s elder parents lived here and after a long fruitful life.. their journey ends and the house goes up for sale.  The yard had been cut and pretty well taken care of.. probably in memory of..

Road ends here.. which is actually on the Katy Trail..

So I turn around and head back.. there’s one other road I wanted to ride and that’s Tower Rd out west in the Daniel Boone Conservation area.. I always planned on riding that road on the WR but never did.. so I headed out on 94 again.. I took Case Rd first.. it too was a neat ride.

Turned on Tower Rd, heading through the conservation area.. its a nice ride through the forest area. I decided I’d take break before ending my ride and heading home…

It was a sad but good day of riding…

And a lesson I’ve learned from this ride….. stop and take photos of any neat stuff I see while on my adventures. Because I’ll never know if they’ll be there the next time.. it could very well be the last time and the end of a piece of history!

.. another beautiful Missouri ride.

This ride report is also on ADVrider.com.

After a great day celebrating Thanksgiving with family, what better to do on Black Friday than get up super early, say around 4:30am in the morning, stand in line for hours and save a couple bucks on gifts!! Shooot.. I know a million other things I’d rather do!

Luckily, this year Black Friday was a beautiful sunny 65 degree day, a perfect day to get one more ride in before the season ends. And thats exactly what I did. This report is filled with an overload of photos, goofy self video, and some riding footage to boot! Read every word, skim the photos or just watch the videos.. heck I don’t care cuz I had a blast putting it all together…enjoy!

My Plan

I didn’t have one. Ahhh… what I did know is I was going the head south!  I rolled out of the house around 8am and pointed my WR south, towards Mark Twain National Forest area. There were a few roads I had marked earlier that I wanted to check out, possibly add them to future routes. So.. off I went, headed down a few country highways, the fog was still hovering over the fields…

I would ride solo on this ride.. but for some reason I never felt alone…

I passed through the little old town of Dutzow… most people don’t know or care that Dutzow was a settlement village for German emigrants dating back to early 1800′s before the Civil War.. the little town was referred to as Lake Creek. The creek to the east of the town still flows today and has the name Lake Creek.

There are several very old historic towns in Missouri, and a few very close to me. There’s one in particular that I’m going to ride to and poke around, every time I ride through it I’m fascinated by the history.. stay tuned for that one.

Before I know it.. I’m crossing the Missouri River into Washington.. getting ever so close to some good forest roads..

Get Me Off This Pavement!

For some reason today, pavement really depressed me, I couldn’t wait to get off this tarmac and ride gravel…then forest roads. Riding those kinda roads makes the experience so much better.. its like the well-produced soundtrack to a great movie, the movie wouldn’t be the same without it.

I turn southeast and run along Indian Creek for a few miles…

Looking out over Indian Creek…

I was a little surprise to see how swollen the creeks were today.. its a beautiful sound though. I took a break here and just listened to the water.

Have a listen…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now I’m entering the national forest area and you can immediately tell by the roads.. nice dirt roads.. not gravel.. but dirt!

This area here is just entering the Huzzah Conservation Area…

Heading down this great road where the Hinch Branch met, the view opened up and catching my eye, were several glaring white trees..wow..

I got closer to get a better look.. I’m not any kinda tree expert but I think these are white birch trees?! Whatever kind they are they sure did look amazing among the dab colors of their surroundings.

A few other neat things caught my eye running down the forest roads… here’s a glimpse…you can see my helmet cam footage in the video recap below.

It was nearing 11am, the temps were warming up and the riding was getting better and better… but I had no clue how good it would actually get.

Ridin’ The Pine

During the fall & winter months.. the pine trees in the national forests are beautiful.. you start to smell them as you near, the sound deadens like there’s snow on the ground.. I stopped for a few minutes just to smell the ros.. I mean pines!

As nice as these were here in the Huzzah area.. oh how they would get even better a bit later in my ride!

So I continued a few more miles exploring the area on roads I’ve never traveled.. finding neat and interesting things around every corner..

My WR doing what she does best.. taking me to things I’ve never seen or experienced before..

a neat little old church, I’d love to hear a sermon preached in this old church!

Stopping at this crossing I looked at my GPS and saw I was turning onto a familiar road, just never road from the very beginning of it. I knew I’d run through some more amazing pines.. typically I like to run these forest roads at a good clip because they are so smooth, but today, I’d take it slow and sink it all in.

Just like ole’ Betsy here.. sinking it all in, watching some kook ride by on a weird looking horse..

I’m getting closer to the pines of Mark Twain National Forest.. you can just start to feel it..

then a row of them on one side of you..

Then on both sides..

and the next thing you know.. you are engulfed by them.. feeling so small, just you and your motorcycle. I hoped off the bike and took a little walk around..

see my WR in there?

just a pretty surreal time for me that day, walking along among the pines.. the smell was that of Christmas. And the meaning of Christmas is quite special to my family and I. I was reminded of how blessed of a guy I am, walking back to my bike…

I saddled up and carried on… seeing old little cottages like this makes me wonder who built it? Who lived in it? Was this their pride and joy, their dream home? If it was, I’m sure it was quite nice living out here.

Oh, What’s This Waypoint?!

Still pointing my WR south, I decided to run Gobblers Knob Rd  instead of the usual Pigeon Rooster Rd which runs down Machell Hollow.  Gobblers Knob sends you over the Courtois Creek.. along this long low water crossing..

Courtois Creek is a larger creek in this area, it branches off the Huzzah Creek up north and continues for miles down to Iron county. The creek systems in Missouri are vast and absolutely beautiful south of Hwy 70. I’ve found the majority of the creeks north of Hwy 70 are muddy! like this one..

No mud around these parts down here.. my next turn would be onto Big Shoal Creek Rd.. which is just beautiful, runs along the Shoal Creek with some amazing bluffs…

I decided to take another break here…listen to the water sing while I drank some water..

While taking my break I began to zoom out on my GPS to see where I should head.. I first saw the waypoint “DillardsMill”, well.. haven’t been there so lets head that way… wait.. then I saw another waypoint.. “Oh, what’s this waypoint, “TunnelBNSF”??  Then I remembered… and knew I’d head there and save “DillardsMill” for later! I don’t think I ever got back on my WR any faster.. and was off like a shot!

This tunnel is part of the Burlington Northern railroad system.. and for some reason I just LOVE trains! They fascinate me, guess they bring some sort of simplicity to things nowadays. Those massive engines are kings of power. When I got home I began to research Missouri railways and Burlington Northern. I found this very interesting video about how the snow and then floods of 2011 affected BNSF (Burlington Northern & Sante Fe), specifically along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. I had no idea BNSF did so much work to try to protect their railways… wow!

 Rising Above: The Floods of 2011

Click here to view the embedded video.

Amazing video huh?! I respect all they’ve had to go through while trying to stay loyal to their customers. So back to riding, and staying on the subject of trains…I kept my eyes out for railroad tracks! Then.. around a corner.. looky here…

I’m getting closer.. then off to the side of the road I see this chair next to a fire ring. I think BigDog & HighFive forgot this chair when they were down here on their big pigs.. haha!

Nah.. both those guys are WR owners and I respect them a lot. Riding down this road headed to the tunnel, I could see several cut-throughs into the woods where logging has been done. Not sure if this was legal logging or just Paul & Jed’s self-service lumber-jacking operation.. ha! Either way.. I took a ride into the woods to get a closer look.

Maybe this is the forest department clearing out trees.. but it sure did look awful crooked to me, the way trees were cut and branches piled up leaned against other trees.. who knows?! A few hundred yards later.. I round the corner and… there it was… a very cool tunnel going under the railroad… I rode through it and back, then got the camera out for a little photo shoot!

BNSF Tunnel

I had a lot of fun hanging out here.. a lady drove by in a truck and just smiled and waved at me.  Saw some kinda birds at the nearby house walking in the road trying to figure out what the heck I was doing. Oh how I’d love to stand under this tunnel when a train drove over.. too bad this part of the RR is not in service anymore…

After putting away all my gear, I headed north and turned left on John Coleman Rd to see the old RR bridge still standing over Huzzah Creek, and boy, to my delight another awesome piece of history right next to each other…. photos tell a thousand words.. enjoy.

You can’t have too many photos with your own bike in them.. can you?! This area was real neat… I did a little “Blue Eye Bill” on-location video here for your enjoyment and laughter.. haha!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Well it was time to mosey on.. get back on the trail, it was around 1:30pm and I had no clue which way to go.. I decided it was too late to head more south to Dillard Mill.. so I needed a route.. then I talked to myself.. I said, “self.. why not follow this here railway as far back home as you can”.. then I answered myself, “thats a grande idea!” and thats exactly what I did.. I weaved and winded through some great roads.. had to hop out on some pavement then ended at another historic bridge in Steelville. I know its another month to Christmas but seems I was getting presents early!

These old bridges are becoming extinct it seems around here.  Just a month or so ago we lost an early 1900 swinging bridge to some new fancy smancy bridge.. bah.. I vote for a new swinging bridge if its gotta be new… anyway, not sure how much longer this bridge will stand, this photo will last longer thats for sure.

Road ends here.. I thought about riding across it.. but, well, I chickened out.. ha!

We just don’t make them like we use to. There’s a lot of things that pertains to.. but one things for sure. I’m glad my WR isn’t like the old bikes.. thats one thing I’ve welcomed the technology on this bike.. its just as reliable as they come. Just like a good old dirt road with a fresh set of 606′s!

Going on 2:30pm now and I’m a good 2 and a half hours from home.. so.. I started heading back home on country highways.. just hoping soon…

me and WR will cross paths…

with another amazing riding day like this one sometime soon!

I tell you, I just had a great season-ending ride and I’m thankful for great friends I’ve met on ADVrider,  for my loving wife that supports my adventures, two amazing little boys, a loving family, a courageous Mom.. a Dad who I greatly admire.. and a God that has created such a beautiful land for me to see his amazing handy work!

Soli Deo Gloria.

Video Recap

Click here to view the embedded video.

This ride report is also on ADVrider.com.