kawasaki tail bag; highway 93 (arizona)

[klr@planet-equipment.com]

Kawasaki Tail Bag: I don't ride anywhere without it. It straps securely to the seat/luggage carrier. It does take a little fiddling to route the straps under the bag, however. Mine always has my toolkit, spare shield (dark or clear, depending on conditions), bungies, maps, cell phone, etc. I usually carry a bottle of water in one of the outside pouches. Rain pants in the other. (Doesn't rain much here in the desert). The bag has an additional section that zips out to double it's size. I've only used that once. When off road, I use the bungies to strap over the top of the bag. That keeps all of the contents from bouncing around. The bag would be even better if were waterproof. The bottom line is this... having a reliable place on the bike to put things makes the bike much more useful overall. Highway 93 (Arizona): Avoid this road. I have traveled it numerous times. Twice this last week. It is touted as being the most dangerous road in the U.S. (not just Arizona). The road is not dangerous. The people who drive it are. It is the shortest route from Phoenix to Las Vegas. It is a mostly two lane road with grades, curves, and hills. There is an inordinate amount of truck and rv (motorhome, trailer) traffic mixed with passenger cars hell bent on getting to Las Vegas or returning. Most of the crashes are head on collisions. People get frustrated with a truck, tour bus, or motorhome crawling up the grades or around the curves. They decide to pass in dangerous (and illegal) areas. I felt fortunate this last trip. I only had to swerve off the road onto the shoulder once to avoid a head-on crash. Of course, there were several times I had to brake severely for the same reason. You come around a corner or over a hill and there they are - cars in both lanes coming right at you. There is a lot of construction on 93 now. That adds to the difficulties. There are a number of places (seems like 4 or 5) where road work is being done to widen the road from 2 to 4 lanes. Those sections all are about 5 to 8 miles long each, with corresponding slow speed limits. Highway 93 is scenic, if you like desert scenery, but I wouldn't take this road for that reason. In fact, I only take this road out of necessity. It's not a "pleasure" road. That being said, if you make it to the Wickenburg area, there are some great dirt backroads to explore (mostly old mine roads). If you go to the Kingman area, check out the Cerbats. Ghost towns & old mines all over the place. Ron