Throughout 2025, I wrote about the Arizona Roads and Trails and other events in my newsletter submissions but I was unable to attend any of them. Then the problems with my hand worsened and I was off the bike for the rest of the year other than short rides periodically to keep the battery charged, the tires round, etc.

At some point that year, I started working on something I called the Tiger 400 Project. My goal was to make my road-built Triumph Speed 400 into a small-displacement Adventure bike. Rich Westland helped me install a top box and a windscreen. Those were necessary mods for dirt or street.

Then I looked at getting it dirt ready, starting with the tires. I searched hard, but there were no adventure tires that would fit the narrow, 17-inch front wheel. Then I stared pricing guards and other necessities, realized the suspension was too soft, and the whole project collapsed. It made more sense just to buy a dual sport.

Because a small dual-sport does not have much road range, the motorcycle needed to fit in the van. The van was the smallest one made so that it would always be stored in the garage and out of the desert heat. The Triumph sold very quickly which may have led me to make a decision before adequately praying about it. By my rosy estimates, a Kawasaki KLX300 would fit in the back of the van. I purchased the bike and rode it home. In the next few months, I rode it often enough to break it in, but all but about five miles were on paved roads. I wouldn't be able to find out for sure if it would fit until a few months later.

2024 Triumph Speed 400