Pilot Road 4 Trail/Pilot Road 4 On A F6C in Slick Mud

Saturday it rained on us all day. But the highways were fine. We were in our ATGATT suits so we were relatively warm and were dry. We were on our way to Roswell, New Mexico. Roswell was our first stop on our trip to the Grand Canyon. it had rained in Roswell for several days.

Sunday morning we were up early and soon hit the road. It was misting just a bit. We agreed we'd head west on a side street; we were trying to miss all of the many un-timed traffic lights on the main route through town. We were traveling slowly as we headed out; we were soon in a residential neighborhood and, suddenly, the pavement went from asphalt to dirt. I found myself having to turn right (no choice) and we were in an alley filled with slick mud. About the time I heard Judy ask, "Do you want to stop and I'll get off? Then you can turn around?" the front end slid out and we were thrown to the ground on our right side. I got up as quick as I could. Judy started trying to kick the bike off of her right leg. I gave it a heave and she crawled out from under it.

I'll shorten the rest of the story and get to my point. Valkyries (nor any street bike for that matter) don't work well in slick mud. The sipes on our Pilot Road 4 tires filled with mud very quickly, turning the tires into "slicks." I can't recommend riding a Valkyrie in mud. Nope. Can't recommend it. Don't do it, unless someone is filming you and you want to send the video in to a "stupid" video contest.

We're home now. The bike is fine - a few deep scratches in the right crash bar and on the bottom edge of our right side pannier. We'll make it to the Grand Canyon next spring.

But remember, Valkyries don''t care for mud, even if your front tire says "Trail" on the sidewall.

Bill