Adventure Rider Radio – Motorcycle Podcast

The mind is a powerful thing and when it’s working against you while riding your bike, then you may as well just get off and walk. Most riders have experienced what’s called choking, when you get confused, lose confidence, and find yourself riding like a beginner. Commonly what riders do when this happens is to stop riding or maybe just avoid those situations that make them feel uncomfortable. On...

You’ve got your tool pouch packed with all the essentials for your motorcycle, and your tool box overflowing in your garage, but don’t forget about your most important tools - you use them every day, all day long, at home, at work, and when riding your motorcycle - your hands. It’s crucial that you take care of them, and part of doing that means investing in the right pair of gloves and handguards...

It’s been 13 years since their last production of Long Way Down , and good friends Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor are back again. This time they rode prototype electric Harley-Davidson LiveWires from the furthest point in South America, Ushuaia, to Los Angeles, culminating in another motorcycle travel series called Long Way Up , where once again they share their adventures with the world. More...

In 1995, having had three unsuccessful attempts to get through the Darien Gap and one successful Jeep crossing, Patty and Loren Upton took a two-wheel drive Rokon through the Darien Gap. They logged over 125 miles of jungles, rivers, mountains and swamp in 49 days, becoming the first people to cross the Darien Gap on a motorcycle all on land. From angry Kunas holding them and their Rokon ransom fo...

When it comes to getting sidetracked, Ian Coates is what some might call an expert. In 1999, he went on a four month motorcycle trip that lasted fourteen years and a few years ago he went for a day ride that took him a year. He’s actually been on the road for most of the last two decades. Fortunately, for Ian, he has a very understanding wife. And last month when we caught up with Ian, he was at h...

This is the final chapter in the Southward Chronicles series where we followed Jeremy Kroeker and Elle West as they rode from Canada to Ushuaia. What’s it like to get back to normal life now that their year long adventure has come to an end and what does the future hold for them? And Backcountry Discovery Routes is a non profit organization that creates off-byway routes - mainly dirt for adventure...

If you’re going to ride in the mud with your adventure bike you’re going to need some specific skills for it. You’ll need to approach it differently than hard packed dirt and you really should be prepping your bike for it ahead of time. Mud riding is challenging, but the with the tips and tricks that professional rider and instructor, Chris Birch, shares with us on this episode of Rider Skills, yo...

If you’ve found yourself staring at the brake pad offerings for your motorcycle, wondering why the huge price difference between one over another or what the difference is between organic pads and sintered pads, you’re not alone. It’s a confusing process that often appears to be price driven - so you choose which ever pad you can afford or that fits into what you feel like spending when in fact th...

The Outback Way in Australia, also known as the Longest Shortcut, is a 2800 km trail passing through remote areas which means any adventurous off-roaders need to be prepared for anything, including a medical emergency. Retired school teacher, Doug Mullett, decided to take his V-Strom on the Outback Way, which typically takes about a week to traverse. He took riding courses, a motorcycle first aid...

They called their group ‘The Siberian Seven’, the brainchild of retired rancher Kym Osborne and his wife, Lenore from Australia. Looking to step up their motorcycle adventures the plan was to travel to foreign countries where they couldn’t understand or read the local languages. They shipped their bikes from Melbourne to Vladivostok and over the six months on their motorcycle adventure they saw ma...

When we last spoke with Jeremy Kroeker and Elle West in April, they were stuck in Uruguay for what they thought might be at least another month, possibly longer because of the pandemic. But, after several months, they’ve decided that it’s time to end their adventure and ship their motorcycles back to Canada, and then take a convoluted route, not their choice, to get back home. Some things can’t be...

Being in control of your motorcycle builds your confidence and more importantly also makes you a safer rider, especially when things go pear shaped. Riding instructor, Jimmy Lewis, teaches us how to skid the rear wheel of our bikes for steering. In learning this advanced maneuver we also learn how to control our bike in a slide on the road, and once you’ve mastered doing it on purpose, you’ll know...

Long, short, cross country, group, solo and around the world trips. The choices are endless… but what if you’re time constricted yet want to do something fantastic and memorable, especially if you have to plan around work? This is where purpose driven planning comes in, and Thom Rieck has done just that in his home state of Minnesota. And motorcycle traveler Greg Frazier has ridden around the worl...

Spoked wheels offer some advantages to the adventure rider, namely they are more flexible and forgiving in the rough stuff which is why most adventure bikes on the market have them. But that flexibility comes at a cost - and that’s what inside the tire - the tube. On this episode we talk with a tire expert, T.J. Tennent, who answers some questions we have, he dispels some myths and we also learn s...

Ken and Carol Duval have been living and traveling on the road for 17 years on a 1989 motorcycle. And though they don’t have a website, they have found that the internet has been invaluable to them and has made travel so much better. Ken and Carol have made a lot of friends all over the world, and experience more than most of us ever will. And with years of packing for two on one bike, Carol also...

After planning for years, Martin Smith and six other riders from the USA and the UK went on a short trip to tour the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. Martin is a planner, and for him that’s a big part of the adventure. On this episode, he talks about the short trips he does, how he plans for them, how he budgets his time, and how he feels diligent planning can make for a better adventure. More moto...

On this episode we learn techniques for turning our motorcycles around when we are stranded part way up a hill and the only way out of the predicament is down. Now, while this is not a hard core skill, learning the correct method of turning your bike around on a hill will help everywhere you ride and will also mitigate the fear associated with hills, be it a dirt path or a steep driveway. More mot...

In some cases, in fact in many cases, travel leads to exploration, discovery, experience and generally to more travel. But, in some rare instances travel can actually lead to settling down and finding a new place to call home that stimulates the mind and soul just as travel does. Graham Field has travelled for many years by motorcycle and before that, bicycle and back pack. And in all his travels...

Billy Ward, AKA Billy BikeTruck, is a really interesting guy living life on the edge and on his terms. He is bold, daring, charismatic, and adventurous. He's a show promoter, manages talent, rides all over the world, he has wrestled crocodiles, chased off lions for his clients, survived interrogations at border crossings, lead motorcycle trips. But, his real talent is the ability to step into the...

Shawn Thomas was an experienced motorcycle salesman who found himself in the odd position of losing interest in riding motorcycles. And just as he was getting ready to give up riding, as serendipity would have it, someone walked in to the dealership he was working at and tried to sell him on something. Something that intrigued Shawn. And that chance meeting would lead to Shawn having what many wou...

Setting up your bike’s controls is where Chris Birch begins, and with good reason. Because as you will hear in this episode, even your handlebar position changes the way your bike performs and makes the difference between a great handling bike and one that is a beast to hang on to. Chris Birch walks us through a basic setup that will not only help your ergonomics but also explains why you make the...

When you listen to Peter Starr speak, you can’t help but feel his positive energy. Peter’s extensive career in the motorcycle industry has spanned about a half a century. Later in life, a health issue led to his conclusion that dealing with aging requires living a purposeful life - and for him that involved motorcycling, which has always been a big part of his life. He feels that a positive mindse...

On this episode, we speak with Graham Jarvis, one of the most well known names in motorcycle extreme enduro. Very likely you’ve seen videos of him riding his Husqvarna motorcycle over incredible obstacles, many times on the rear wheel only. And it’s important when you go off the grid on your motorcycle adventure, to know that you can depend on a GPS communication device to stay in touch with the p...

Some years ago, Greg and Melanie Turp decided they had too much ‘stuff’ and that they were working too much. Greg had been riding motorcycles most of his life, and being inspired by other travellers, he and Melanie decided to change their life, to do what mattered to them, to travel and make great memories. They sold everything and travelled around America with their RV and motorcycle. They liked...

When adventure motorcycles first started to show up on the scene, many top off-road riders were drawn to them, and although they found that they underperformed compared to the bikes they were used to, they worked to invent new skills and techniques to be able to efficiently ride these oversized bikes, so that they could be ride them like it appeared they should be ridden… off-road. Riding instruct...