First Ride on the DR650 2026

 On Friday May 1st I rode the DR650 for the first time this year. It fired right up. Gotta love non ethanol fuel. My friend Doyle joined me and for the first time we rode together on dirt roads. He bought a Triumph 400 scrambler. We have been riding rode riding quite often and went skiing a few times earlier this year. The goal was to get to Magee Historical Ranger Cabin in the Couer D'Alene (it is misspelled on the map - a Garmin thing) or find snowline which ever happens first.

The route.



It was a glorious spring day with bluebird skies and perfect weather. We follow the route until we get to the Crooked Ridge Road and it doesn't go through. This happens often with Garmin City Navigator North America, Open Street Maps and Open Map Chest Maps I have on Basecamp. It is part of the adventure.

So we route back to the nearest rode sign to Magee that wasn't shot to hell and using a waypoint on the GPS I tell it go to Magee. So we did until we hit snow. There was a side x side at this point and he tried to head down the snow covered road. It wasn't long before we seen him again and had a fun conversation. In the photos some might say I am a wuss for not continuing, on the other-hand I have experience.



Remove the POS DR. Clearly I have jinxed myself and it will breakdown next time out.



Here is Doyle with his Triumph.



I whipped out my Idaho State Recreation Atlas from 2008 and was able to locate our position on the map. A small victory. We decide to see if the GPS would take us to the Wolf Creek Lodge and make our way out. It didn't and creating a route on a 4" screen is damn foolish so I live with it. Hell if Itchy Boots can ride in Mongolia with rotten gas and all sorts of obstacles I am happy riding around in the forest without reaching the intended destinations. The GPS routes us back the way we came and that's not bad.

Here is Doyle on the Fernan Lake Road.









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Doyle suggested we have a late lunch at the Vantage Point Brewing Company where I had a brat and a Helles Lager a German style beer in anticipating of riding in Germany in August.

Seattle Cossacks Motorcycle Stunt and Drill Team

The The Seattle Cossacks Motorcycle Stunt and Drill Team at the Spokane Motorcycle Show on 3/14/2026.

A mid sized city like Spokane having a motorcycle show is great. We got on up on on ya Seattle, again! All the brands are represented by local dealers, with vintage bikes on display and a swap meet of mostly old iron and bit and pieces is for sale. Also this year the Seattle Cossacks Motorcycle Stunt and Drill Team put on two shows on Saturday.

I have to get my Triumph dig in. This is a Tiger Cub a 200cc 4 stroke engine produced from 1952-1965.



Hopefully these Bag It and Drag It Customs bike have a rear suspension to raise the bike a bit while riding it. 

 






I prefer the older iron:















This is where my lust for motorcycles began in the early 1960's. I never owned a tote goat but I wanted to.



Then it was on to harass the Triumph dealer regarding the where a bouts of my 2026 Tiger Sport 800 Tour. Mission accomplished. Then it was on to see the Seattle Cossacks Motorcycle Stunt and Drill Team put on a show. These bikes are kick start. Some of them didn't want to fire up right away. It was interesting to watch them get the bikes running.

The stunt is a warm up. They are using one hand to ride the bike while the other is on another bike.



Keep in mind it was in the 30's during this show and snowed in Spokane the night before. At my house 400' higher than the show location we had 6" of snow on the ground.

I thought videos would be a better medium so here are a few videos I created to share the Seattle Cossacks Stunt and Drill Team. Itchy Boots is safe!

 

 

These guys have serious skills!

 

 

 

 

Stunts don't always go to plan. Look at the rider's expression in the last second of the video.

 

Putting on a show, shining a bald head and a dismount with flair!

Always the professionals and with a smile the first thing they do after the show is invite children to come sit on the bikes for a photo. Then they meet with anybody who wants to talk about the bikes and the show. Fantastic.