Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

''That way they aren't pressured into riding over their heads with a faster rider. We have more mishaps when everyone rides in groups." Eric, Kinney and I brought up the rear, as we zig-zagged through the Coconino National Forest on perfectly groomed two-track dirt roads. We crossed Interstate 17 and would eventually dump out on Interstate 40 (old Route 66) and turn west towards Flagstaff. From Flagstaff, we joined Highway. 180 and followed it to the Grand Canyon. At first we wound through the aspen and pine trees of the San Francisco Mountains, then dropped down to the flat terrain of the Coconino Plateau and eventually rode into the Kaibab National Forest, at the entrance to Grand Canyon National Park. It was here where the first citation was issued, as one of the French riders decided to pass a park ranger and crossed over a double-yel1ow line. We rode up to the Canyon's South Rim just as the sun was beginning to set and soaked in the awesome sight until dark. Then we headed east another 30 or so miles to Cameron, a rest area along Highway 17 that featured a small but nice hotel and a restaurant/tourist shop, specializing in Indian artifacts. We were now in Navajo country. There was no nightlife in Cameron, so By Kit Palmer Photos by Kinney Jones s soon as Kinney Jones and I drove up to the Desert Inn Hotel in Palm Desert, we knew this wasn't going to be your average, everyday dual sport ride. In the hotel parking lot was the impressive sight of 15 big Yamaha Super Tenere 750cc 'dual sport' bikes perfectly lined up, side-by-side, and in the hotel lobby, about 20 French people were packing their gearbags and strapping on their helmets. "50, ah, Kinney. Do you spea~ any French?" I asked, already knowing the answer. We were moments from departing on a nine-day dual sport ride hosted by Desert Only Travel. "My dual sport rideS are for Europeans only - French people, to be exact," said Frenchman Eric Permard, the founder of the Palm Desert, California-based company. "What we do is give motorcycle enthusiasts from France a unique way of seeing some of the more scenic and famous parts of America, like the Grand Canyon, on motoryc1es." Perrnard opened his business in. the. mid-'80s, offering two-week, off-road vacation packages in southern California and Baja, Mexico. At that time, Husqvama supplied Perrnard with bikes, but he was seriously restricted as where he could ride using off-road-only dirt bikes, so he eventually switched to dual sport bikes and now his options are practically endless. He eventually worked out a deal with Yamaha France, the French Yamaha importer, to supply his business with bikes and chase vehicles. Now, Permar,d is busy working fuJI-time organizing numerous dual sport rides a year, his most popular the Yamaha American Raid '92 Super Tenere West Tour, the one we were about to participate in. Just as impressive as the large fleet of shiny Super Teneres lined up out back, were Perrnard's chase vehicles, a super clean 4x4 diesel-powered pickup and a box van, with matching blue and white paint schemes identical to that of the European Sonauto Yamaha off-road racing team colors. Seriously sano. The ride was scheduled to leave Palm Desert at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, and after visiting six states, would end nit:le days and nearly 1600 miles later in neighboring Palm Springs. The huge loop routed the riders to many interesting spots along the way, such as the Grand Canyon, Canyon De CheJly, the Four Corners .area, Monument Vaney, Zion National Park and Las Vegas. Unfortunately, due to other obligations, Kinney and I would only ride the first half of the loop, where we would peel off at Durango ~d fly home the following Saturday, but at least it gave us a taste what the Desert Only dual sport tour is all about, and, more importantly, gave us plenty of ideas for future dual sport rides. Our ultimate de~tination the first day was Sedona, Arizona, about a 300-mile ride from Palm Desert. We followed Interstate 10 east, across the California/Arizona border and headed northeast on Highway 60. Late in the afternoon, we finally rolled into Prescott, a smal1 but very scenic town on Highway 89. l?rescott is a perfect place to plan a Iengfhy rest stop for a large glass of iced ~ and a game of pool at one of the many d~ssic "Old West' :salOOns on Whiskey Row. From Prescott we fonowed Highway ~ about 25 miles to J~me, an old cop~ mining town tha~ is literally byilt on the side of a mountain. The view from Jerome is _nothing short of-spectac.ular, and the Old town has some cpol shops and ~flint cafes to visit. Acros,s the vaney, ,bout 25 miles away, you can spot the ted-eolored walls of Oak Creek~Canyon. lA ~ ~ Cj') ...... ... l!":l C'l ~ Q,) ,.t::J S Q,) ;> 0 Z NEVADA - \ (Top) For many, the Grand Canyon was the highlight of the tour. (Above) The ride covered approximately 1600 miles. (Right) The walls of Oak Creek Canyon are an awesome sight. It was nearly sundown by the time we final1y rolled into the town of Sedona at the south end of Oak Creek Canyon and checked into the Canyon Portal Hotel. Kinney and I wondered how anyone got anything done in this town; if we lived there, we'd probably stand around all day mesmerized by the awesome scenery of the Prescott National Forest: That night the group gathered for dinner in one of the many restaurants in town. Kinney and I spent most of that evening with the French riders, sitting around with silly smiles on our faces, nodding our heads and saying, "Qui, oui," a lot. We got up early the next morning and after breakfast fired up the bikes at 7:30 a.m. We had a long ride ahead of us, as we would ride on mostly dirt roads to Flagstaff, then follow Highway 180 to the Grand Canyon. . The big Yamahas were handfuls on the dirt roads. W. a straight line, they're sur.' prising~y stable because of'the heavy weight, but slowing them down for the turns and leaning over was a different story. No wonder most of the route was pavement and that Permard requires a $1000 refundable deposit from each rider. "The $1000 deposit slows them down quite a bit," said Perrnard. Less than a mile out of Sedona, we were motoring up a two-track dirt road and enjoying the spectacular scenery. The group quickly spread out, each rider following the detailed route sheet and map given to them at the beginning of the ride. All the instructions were written in French, so Kinney and I tagged along with Eric all day. As it turned out, each rider rode at their own pace, hardly ever riding in a group of more than two people. "We encourage that," said Permard. after we ate it was time to crank the hotel room heaters on and go to sleep. We were on the road by 8:00 a.m. the next day, and we had a long trip to Durango, Colorado, ahead of us, approximately 30 miles of. dirt roads and over 200 miles of paved ones. We headed east on Highway 264, most of which was flat, long stretches of asphalt until we crossed the three mesas that lie in the center of the Hopi Indian Reservation. We detoured off of 264 and took a dirt road to Highway 62 5

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