Greetings from Montana

[friarjohn]

I've been all over the west on my America (52k mi). Been down to Prescott a couple times for a little BA.com gathering (though we've been adding more Rockets, Thunderbirds and non-Triumphs). Planning on going again this year. Been down through California to see family and friends (doing that again this year right after Arizona). Of course, been all over Montana, Idaho, the PNW and southern BC. Utah I just try to blast through as quickly as possible. Attended the Kootenay Raid 7 years running. Can't wait to retrace all these places with the Rocket III.

Haven't gone very far east, only as far as Sturgis back in '02. Thinking about Wisconsin in early July, but I'm going to have to decide between that and adding Edmonton to the Kootenay Raid trip. Don't have enough vacation time to do both.

EDIT: oh yeah, and I absolutely love the color of my bike. It hasn't sunk in yet that this bad boy is sitting there in the garage waiting for Spring. Waited sooo long to buy one.

 

[TriumPhil]

That bulbous 150 tire that comes from the factory is on there for looks alone, John.

You can fit a 130 on the OEM rim, however I'm not nuts about all that empty space it creates under the front tin. It will make the bike feel about 200 pounds lighter, though, providing all of the benefits that such lowering implies.

Since the Exedra Max raises the rear end about 1/2" over the stock geometry and my 12" Progressive shocks are 1/2" shorter than the OEM setup, a 140 tire up front will provide a reasonable compromise looks-wise and still improve the steering and handling quite noticeably. I have ridden on bikes with all these different setups, so this is not idle speculation.

 

[datona paul]

I have to agree with the blue/white paint.. I love it after black.. classic triumph colors!!!

 

[friarjohn]

Regarding weather, June-August are pretty safe. We've had snow in June before but it's pretty rare. We can also get some pretty heavy thunderstorms (especially out east) in August, but they pass through pretty quickly. The only rule for riding in Montana is always bring raingear.

A buddy rode up from Florida last September. I convinced him to ride over Beartooth Pass on his way home and he hit snow, despite the forecast to the contrary. Took him a few hours to get over the pass. He probably could've gone faster judging by the pictures (the road was wet and the snow was just on the side of the road) but for a Florida boy encountering snow for the first time he did okay.

BTW, if you're coming this way, Beartooth (Cooke City, Mt to Red Lodge, Mt - Google Maps ) is not to be missed, as long as you're not acrophobic. I've gone to Red Lodge through Yellowstone and over Beartooth several times. It's one of the most spectacular rides you can get in the lower 48 states.