A Welcome Addition
I began writing this article last August knowing I would get another bike. When Mrs. Bald Rider saw me looking, she asked why we needed another one. Silly lady with her silly questions.
So silly.
Whenever I don’t get enough seat time on the bikes I already own, I start shopping for another one. That’s a dangerous and costly habit. I had to narrow my scope to bikes I knew I had use cases for.
To refresh your memory of my bucket list:
LAB2V is a dual-sport event that begins in Palmdale, CA and ends in Las Vegas. Two days of mostly dirt roads on the weekend of Thanksgiving sounds like a great time. Unfortunately, there’s no chance I’ll take a Goldwing offroad and I’d prefer not to burn the clutch up on the Ural or spend days pushing it through deep sand.
The Scooter Cannonball is exactly what the name suggests. A bunch of folks with questionable judgement get together and ride coast to coast on scooters with displacement under 280cc. It occurs on even-numbered years (except for 2023 due to COVID) and limited to 250 registrations. Obviously, neither of my current bikes meet the displacement limit and could not be mistaken for a scooter.
There is only one bike I found that can participate in both events straight from the showroom. The Honda Trail125 is technically not a scooter but it has a waiver to participate in the Cannonball without restriction. Neither event will be easy on the little Trail but it is possible.
I had been searching for a Trail125 since 2020 but refused to pay ADM (additional dealer markup). Private party sellers are asking close to double the MSRP. Attempting to trade a wristwatch for one didn’t go very well. There isn’t much of a crossover between folks interested in small single-cylinder Hondas and ‘luxury’ watches. I suppose that delay wasn’t all bad. I took that time and lost enough weight not to exceed the rating on the Honda and the 2023 model had some interesting updates.
Honda announced the 2023 Trail125 in a press release on April 18th. Within two hours, I was on the phone with SoCal Honda Powersports. I chose this dealership 90 miles away because it has a Powerhouse designation. It only sells Honda. If I had any shot of getting one in a timely fashion, I gambled that a dedicated Honda dealer would be on Big Red’s list to get them first. I also had a foul taste lingering from some dealers closer to home.
Demand must still be high because I was second in line. It had only been two hours. Calm down people. They required a $500 deposit which I gladly paid. The deposit required for other dealers three years ago was $200. Maybe deposits increased because too many folks backed out or maybe it was free interest-bearing money for the dealers.
Less than a month later, my phone rang. My new favorite person told me that a few boxes with green bikes had arrived. One of them had my name on it. Suddenly, my plans for Saturday had changed. Instead of Mrs. Bald Rider and I taking the Goldwing on a 10-hour long beef jerky run to Mahogany Smoked Meats in Bishop, we were heading to Carson.
FOMO NoMo
I could barely sleep Friday night and got up at 4:30am Saturday morning. I was going to pay for that later (not an early bird AT ALL) but there wasn’t much point in staying in bed. Carson is only two hours away. Lounging in a recliner and drinking an entire pot of coffee kept me occupied until it was reasonable to hit the road.
We arrived at the dealership minutes after they opened. I walked by one Trail125 and then another before I found a salesperson. When I found him, I said I was there to pick it up and we went into his office. The entire transaction took 15 minutes, at most. The process was quick because I didn’t look at the fee breakdown or how much of a premium over MSRP I was paying. I just handed him my credit card. To their credit, I didn’t get transferred to three different offices and sit with an F&I guy to get the deal done. The process was painless for all but my bank account.
It took longer to get the MiniMOTO on its hitch carrier than it did to buy it.
I never used a hitch carrier before. My truck didn’t have a hitch receiver until two weeks prior. Quality of the welds of my aluminum carrier leaves much to be desired but more on that another time. The greatest feeling of anxiety, however, came from watching my brand new scoot in the rearview mirror. Did I secure it well enough or would it fall off? Would one of the wonderful Southern California super slab drivers rear-end me? I made it home but I wasn’t comfortable the whole way.
Once home, the Trail125 (now named ‘Booger’) was unloaded and parked in the driveway. I just sat and looked at it for a few hours. Mrs. Bald Rider came down and said it surprised her I wasn’t out riding. That was all I needed. I grabbed my GoPro and took off.
ACCESSORIZING
Mirrors and risers are absolutely necessary
After 33 miles, I returned home and shopping for farkles began. Parts began to arrive on Tuesday. Rox Risers and Doubletake ADV mirrors were installed that afternoon. Better mirrors are an absolute must. You need to see how long the line of cars is behind you so you can gauge when it is time to pull over and let them pass.
After installation, I took Booger out for another spin. At around 50 miles on the odometer, I stopped for gas to see what sort of mileage I was getting. I spilled a bit but, even with that, I had achieved 112mpg. Not bad for carrying my 217lb self around on steep mountain roads. I imagine it will only get better provided I don’t overdo it and weigh the bike down with accessories.
I spotted a Grom while running errands. One of the packages on the back of Booger is my QuadLock mount.
Replacement Oury grips were here before the bike. A QuadLock phone mount arrived in my PO Box on Thursday. BarkBusters handguards are arriving Saturday. The only other item I know I need right now (or soon) is something to facilitate phone charging. Other items are in carts at Beezdeals and Webike but I am holding off purchasing until needs are better identified.
WHAT NOW?
The Scooter Cannonball is next month. I cannot go this year for a multitude of reasons. Next year probably isn’t an option because most of my PTO is already spoken for. There’s always 2026.
Participating in the LAB2V rally is potentially in the cards for this year. In order for that to happen, I need to get more experience with the bike, add knobbies and add the right accessories. More importantly, Mrs. Bald Rider must agree to let me disappear for the long weekend after Thanksgiving. That is the weekend designated for the start of Christmas decorating.
I have a decent shot of completing a 1k-in-a-day this year. In order to be successful, an average 41.7mph must be attained, including stops. It will be tight but not impossible if I can find a flat enough stretch of road and make myself as small as possible. I’ll have to practice by riding it to work 50 miles each way occasionally.
I took this picture on the way to the gas station. The view never gets old.
Outside of events and challenges, Booger fulfilling the role of daily driver. 100+mpg is significantly better than the 50mpg of the Goldwing or 13mpg of my truck. A bonus is that you feel like you’re riding a bicycle without the pesky physical effort or having to charge e-bike batteries.
One trap I’ve fallen into since the creation of this website is buying things with the justification that they are for content. I need get out of that way of thinking or I’m going to go broke. It isn’t like anything I do brings in revenue. Having said that, Booger will surely provide lots of content opportunities. I’m looking forward to the adventures we’re going to have together.
