Featured Washington Roads - Click the photos for ride details.

Watch 2009 Hells Canyon Rally Video!

June 27th, 2009

Mossyrock Dam & McKenna Loop - Dam Tour 2009 Picnic route. This is a sweet ride up Hyw 7 through the twists and turns between La Grande and Elbe. Then ride through Elbe and then through Carlson and Coal Canyon. You will ride through Morton and then head west on US 12 to the Mossyrock Dam and Park. This is a great place for a picnic. Then ride Hyw 122 to Hyw508 and follow the scenic 508 into Chehalis and the Hyw 507. Take a short sweet detour on to Johnston Creek road and see the Skookumchuck River. Then back on Hyw 507 through Yelm, McKenna and Roy.

June 14th, 2009

Hyw 204 & SR 410 Chinook Pass - This route will take you northbound on I-84 to hyw 204 for a scenic ride through turns and straights up to 5,200 feet above sea level then back down. Then ride Hyw 11 through Athena and then Hyw 37 through farmland to hyw 735 where you will ride parallel to the Columbia River. Cross over the river and ride I-182 to I-82 through eastern Washington. Then ride I-82 to SR 12 and then SR 410 (Chinook Pass) through some beautiful mountain roads with road side falls etc. 

June 13th, 2009

Hells Canyon Rally Day 2 - Riding the Devils Tail.
This is an amazing 184 mile ride through twists and turns crossing eastern Oregon and then across the border into Idaho. Once in Idaho you will be treated to 22.4 miles of twisty roads and scenic bliss as you ride deep into the canyon finally reaching your destination the Hells canyon Dam and Snake River. The stop on the return trip at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. This is one of the best rides I have been on so bring your camera!

June 12th, 2009

Hells Canyon Rally Day 1 - Road to Baker City Oregon. A scenic 456 mile ride from Tacoma WA to Baker City Oregon via SR 14 paralleling the Columbia River to Plymouth for lunch. After lunch ride US 395 to I-84 and from there enjoy the ride through eastern Oregon experiencing Oregon's warmer side of the state as you ride into your destination the historic Baker City where the Hells Canyon Rally event is held.

June 1st, 2009

Johnston Ridge MT ST Helens & McKenna Loop This ride is without a doubt one of Washington's finest. 286 miles of great roads. Ride up Hyw 505 through Toledo to Hyw 504 and stop in to see the 28 foot Big Foot past Kid Valley. Continue on and ride across the Toutle river Bridge span and through some of the best sweepers, twisties and a few hair pins as you make your way from view point after view point all with breathe taking views of MT ST Helen's.

Want more? See all the rides on the Road Guide page.

Special Reports

Custom Airbrushed Paint by James Scott

If your looking for high quality custom airbrushing and paint, check out James Scott. I spent some time looking over some of his work as I'm looking for some air brush work myself. I was very impressed with the photos of the work he has done. But don't take it from me alone. My B-King is currently at his place and will leave with extremely cool airbrushed paint. Watch the Transformation here! Visit his site and browse his photo gallery.
paintbyjames.com  - Check out this work of art!



Kawasaki ZX-14

I hope my wife isn't viewing. Ha Ha! I have ridden the Hayabusa and bought the B-king. The Hayabusa's ergonomics were not good enough for me. Although I love the looks and power plant of the Busa I settled for the B-king which got me the Busa  power plant. I have had my eye on the Kawasaki ZX-14. This bike has received great reviews and was rated by most as having better ergonomics then the Suzuki Hayabusa. Motorcycle.com has done a great job on the following video. See for yourself.

2010 Honda Fury

By now allot of folks have seen pictures and read article on the upcoming Honda Fury. February 13th the video was posted on YouTube. The bike is impressive to say the least. Available in a 1300cc only was a bit of a let down as I was the owner of a VTX1800N and loved that 104 ft. lbs of max torque. This aside, the bike is still extremely desirable for the curser/chopper fanatic who have a deep seeded love for metric bikes. The official Fury Site has information on available configurations and colors. The Fury received an outstanding review from Motorcycle.com. If you look into this bike you have to check out the "Black Fury" model. It's the only model available with ABS. The color scheme is absolutely eye catching.

Suzuki B-King Dyno - Yosh VS. Two Brothers

Recently I was fortunate to work with the great guys of Hinshaw's Motorcycle Store in Auburn WA on a joint Dyno video effort. This has been in the works for some time. In order to pull it of with the highest of video and sound quality we wanted to do this on a Monday when the shop was closed. As soon as the starts aligned, Rick (mechanic), Jim Speer (service Manager) and myself joined forces in the back of their shop and made it happen. I showed up early to set up and watch a Suzuki flat track bike Dyno. What a rush! Soon we were pushing in Hinshaw's Suzuki B-King with Yoshimura TRC cans into the Dyno room and setting it up for a run. We performed 2 runs and then rolled in my B-King with the Two Brothers M2 carbon fiber cans. Both bikes delivered some tremendous horsepower and torque. If you want to see those numbers you will have to watch the video. Also note the rear pop up in the video. We lost traction on the Dyno during the runs. :-(.

Northwest Motorcycle Tours
I have been in contact with Doug Cushing (owner) of Northwest Motorcycle Adventures. Doug's company provides V-Strom rentals and services the Washington and Oregon states. I spent quite a bit of time talking with Doug and I'm impressed with his operation and his drive to provide a quality service with quality rental bikes and gear. I was so impressed I asked if he was willing to deliver two bikes for a day ride, test and review. Doug graciously accepted. As soon as we get through this snow I will have Doug send down the bikes. He will deliver to my residence and I will shoot a video review from the delivery, through the ride to the pick up of the Suzuki V-Strom's. I also decided to invite a friend of mine (Tim Watts) to participate. Tim is an exceptional rider with years of riding and countless miles of road and gravel road under his belt. As a V-Strom owner I thought Tim would be a perfect second set of eyes on this project. Doug, Tim and I are really looking forward to this project! Check out the Northwest Motorcycles Adventure web site for information on their rates and services provides. Read more.

Hells Canyon Rally - Baker City Oregon
This is the 10th annual event of the Hells Canyon Rally. One of the Northwest's great motorcycle events. Eric and Steve Folkestad have been organizing and executing this huge event for years. I'm told last years event brought over 10,000 bikes! Baker City is uniquely located as the connecting point of more great motorcycle roads than just about anywhere. I-84, Hwy 30, Hwy 7, Hwy 203, Hwy 245 and Hwy 86. Also close by are Hwy 244, Hwy 237, Hwy 26 Hwy 82 and the Hells Canyon, Blue Mountain and Elkhorn Scenic Byways. Let us not forget the most important road. The Devil’s Tail. This 22 mile road from Oxbow to Hells Canyon Dam is the signature ride of the rally. It could very well be the most inspiring 44 miles of your life. Please visit hellscanyonrally.com for detailed information.

Dam Tour 2009 - Dam good rides!
2009 brings a new season for one of the Northwest's great riding experiences. There is a $20 entry fee to enter. You will receive a placard with a unique number on it. You must send in a picture of your bike with the placard in front of the Dam or Dam sign. This will get you credit for that specific Dam. You have 16 Dams (required) and 4 bonus Dams (optional). Get 8 in Oregon or Washington and get a State Pin. Get all 20 and you get a trophy. I'm always looking for new things to bring (on video) to viewers of this site. I decided to ride the Dam tour and visit the 8 Washington and 8 Oregon Dams at minimum. If I go for the bonus Dams it will just make things dam better! I have been in contact with Steve Folkestad (founder of the Dam Tour) and Cheryll Malisch (co-promoter & web grunt) we have discussed hooking up and knocking out some of the Oregon Dams. That should be a Dam good time. I will be posting the videos on Dam Tour Video Page as well as my YouTube channel. Subscribe and get notified as new video is published to YouTube. Please visit Steve & Cheryll's Dam Tour web site and Steve's PDXBiker.com web site. Steve and Cheryll have done some great work with both sites. If you are interested in the 2009 Dam tour you may sign up electronically on the official Dam Tour site.

Mochas & Chowder @ Northern Fish Co.
I ran across a gem of a coffee and Chowder stop. Northern Fish Co. is located next to the Old Town Dock on the waterfront on Ruston Way in Tacoma WA. The mint mochas are to die for as is the Clam Chowder and Salmon Chowder. They server 16 oz. cups for $4.08. The chowder is worth every penny. They buy Ivar's chowder base and mix in their fresh clams or salmon. Enjoy your beverage of choice and chowder on the outer deck over looking Commencement Bay. The view is great as is the service, food and beverages. More information can be found on the Featured Stops page.

Joe Rocket & Cargo Luggage Review
This review covers the Joe Rocket Manta XL tank bag and the Cargo Endurance Monster tail bag. Both reviews have detailed video demonstrating the mounting and the capabilities of each product. The tank bag sells for $40 and the tail bag $99. The tail bag is expandable to a fairly large size. The side compartments expand out and the main compartment expands up. This bag also has padded shoulder straps hidden in the front pouch. This allows it to be taken off the bike and used as a back pack. Review

Oberon Bar End Mirror Video Review
I recently set out to find a really good built set of bar end mirrors that would not only look great on my B-king but were of high caliber as far as quality is concerned. Countless forum posts and online magazine articles later I took a liking to the mirrors produced by Oberon Performance Ltd. based out of the UK. The manufacturer was a pleasure to work with and the product was as equally exceptional. Read my review and watch my video review and installation. You will see why I speak so highly of this product and the manufacturer.

B-king Owners Check out www.suzukib-king.org

If you are a B-king owner or a fan of the bike. If your seeking a diverse set of owners from around the world that team together and help each other out instead of fronting each other off, this forum is for you. I have been treated with great respect as they treat each other. The forum layout, I think is top notch and easy to navigate. You won't be able to pry me out of this forum. A big thanks to you all in the www.suzukib-king.org forum!

Suzuki Hayabusa and B-King Owners!

If your taller then 5'10" and are tired of the cramped rider position that comes with the Hayabusa or B-King you have to check this information out. Joe Satterwhite has assembled a Buell Peg/Lowering kit that requires no machining, installs in approximately 30 minutes and costs under $100.00. Read my review (with pics) of Joe's kit.

Northwest Cycle News is now Northwest Cycle Report.  John Davis (Owner) of the site ran into a naming conflict with another site. Allot of the time the smaller sites end up folding in these cases. John has been doing a great job on his site and I recommend folks stop in and check out what's new from time to time.

2008 Suzuki B-King Review & Test Ride Video by Road-Quest.com

2008 Suzuki B-King- Those of you who have followed my rides throughout Washington  over the past couple years know I started out riding a VTX 1800 and quickly moved to a 2006 Honda ST1300 Sport Touring bike. A year later as I started documenting longer rides so I moved up to a 2007 Honda GL1800 Goldwing. This year although I found the Wing to be an excellent Touring bike that is also quite nimble for it's size in the turns. A part of me was still missing the agility of a sport or sport touring bike. Another part of me wanted something with monstrous torque and looks that go way over the top! After several test rides including the 2008 Hayabusa and 2008 Bandit 1250 ABS I made my choice. After riding the 2008 Suzuki B-king I was hooked. The bike has the Hayabusa engine that has been slightly de-tuned by valve diameter changes, new intake and different exhaust. The result is only a 9.4 horsepower reduction. The weight is only 15 pounds more then the Hayabusa. The gearbox has been altered and houses slightly shorter gears. The end result is 161.4 HP @ 9,000 RPM and 97.9 ft. Lbs. torque @ 7,000 RPM. The beauty of this futuristic looking machine is it's flat torque curve. On the road, torque is king. At approximately 2,500 RPM the Torque is 65 ft-lbs! I was amazed how I could literally lug it in 6th gear with no bucking from the power plant. The folks at Hinshaw's motorcycles are having a Hot Deals sale. They dropped the price on the B-king to only $9,999. MSRP on the B-king is $12,899. A big Thanks to Jason (Sales) and Bob (General Manger). They were very helpful and provided test bikes to ride so I could make an informed decision. Go talk to Jason at Hinshaw's if you are in the market for a bike. As for the B-King, I put the first 35 miles on it. I did take it up to 7,000 in a couple gears just to get a feel for the power. All I can say is WOW! I can't wait until it's broken in. The ride position is surprisingly comfortable and it has the best brakes I have experienced on any bike I have ridden. It now rests in  it's place in my garage next to my Goldwing. A full review and a video of the B-King is now available on this site. Other Reviews: Rider Magazine's  sport standard pick 2008! - Sport Rider  - Motorcycle-USA

Road-Quest.com delivers a multimedia presentation of ride highlights from Washington roads and destinations to viewers in an easy to view format rich with digital content including 16:9 wide video of each ride, photos, text description, downloadable Garmin Maps, Map images, eateries and a rich text description of each ride. The content provided will help you plan and execute great WA rides. You'll find many great hamburgers joints along the way as well! Other motorcycle road related sites offer information on individual roads or highways. This site delivers content rich documented rides with high quality multimedia. Testimonials may be found on the "Viewer Comments" page. This page contains responses from users who have ridden some of the rides and provided feedback on the rides and content of this site. Many riders have trusted this sites information and have had great riding experiences. This is, and will remain a free site. I have many years of riding experience riding Washington roads and trails. I spend a considerable amount of time in a continuous effort to locate new back roads, destinations and places to eat.  I plan, execute and document great routes to ride. As I ride the routes, I take high resolution digital photo's and video of the actual ride. If I have not covered it, I plan to. If you have recommendations, please share. I will ride them and then add them as I find time. This site provides a multimedia presentation of the WA rides to leave folks with  a better idea of what roads or complete routes they may want to choose for their next ride. They are all great, but this site will allow you to quickly find the ride that is more appealing to you. All you have to do is browse the "Road Guide" page. Click the "Trip Log & Multimedia" link for a specific ride and you will be presented with a multimedia presentation of the Northwest ride from my perspective. The trip log contains complete trip detail, photo's, road conditions and 16:9 wide screen formatted video of the entire ride edited down to a 3 to 5 minute video. All video is in Windows Media Video format (.wmv) at  400 - 468 Kbps. You will find this bit rate of higher quality in comparison to the You Tube streams. If you spend any time on this site, spend it on the Road Guide page and the trip logs listed within that page. There you will find the meat, potatoes and gravy of this site.  Speaking of meat, sometimes it's fun to plan rides around a great burger. Check out the "Best Burger" page. There you will find some of the best hamburgers Washington has to offer rated from #1 on up by the author of this site. Take note that on the "Road Guide" page, all rides that I have ridden and ate a burger that I consider within the top 10 for Washington, will display a hamburger icon.

Search this site for Highways, rides, roads, lakes or burgers. What ever it is just use the Search feature and type in your search criteria to quickly display the pages of the site that contain the information your looking for. 

Those of you located it in the Puget Sound area that are interested in hooking up with others and doing some riding, join our forum. We post rides and events within the forum and on the forum calendar. If you are from out of the area we still invite you to join us in the forum for some bike talk etc. We have a very diverse group of riders with many different motorcycles manufacturers and riding preferences. Come join the rides.

About the Author
I am a IT professional  located in the South Puget Sound area. I have been riding motorcycles for over 31 years. I have ridden dirt bikes most my life until a few years ago. Over the years I have owned street bikes of various sizes and styles. I currently own 2007 Honda Goldwing and a 2008 Suzuki B-King. I tend to ride all season with the exception of heavy rain or snow. When I'm not working, I'm spending time with my family, traveling, riding my Goldwing, playing around with digital photography, video editing or working on my web sites.  I hope you enjoy the motorcycle rides Washington has to offer as well as content I have provided within this site. Enjoy the rides and ride safe!

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