HalfThrottle

Gary and I have a friend named Jay who came up with the basic...

Mon, 28 May 2012 08:57:19 -0600

Gary and I have a friend named Jay who came up with the basic idea for this video. Gary put together a script and recruited a few actors. I did some editing, but spent most of my time complaining about how long everything was taking. The video turned out better than I thought it would.

The biker who plays Hillbilly in the film is actually called Hillbilly. I have no idea what his real name is. For the opening shot Gary told Hillbilly to walk out of the bar and to be angry as he said his line. Hillbilly had never done any acting before and seemed a little out of his element, but when he walked out and smashed his beer on the ground I was a believer. We did a couple more takes of that opening shot, but during editing decided he nailed it on the first one. I could watch a whole series of videos where Hillbilly rides around pulling pranks on different people.

The music in the video is from http://www.danosongs.com/
The 2 tracks used are Gem Droids, and Boom Born Blues.

Before Mitch and I started our trek back to the U.S. from Costa...

Sun, 27 May 2012 09:21:21 -0600

Before Mitch and I started our trek back to the U.S. from Costa Rica we went on the most epic hike I’ve ever been on. We hiked along the coast from one village to the neighboring village down the coast. We had no idea how far away it was, it was foolish, and dangerous, and amazing.

Do you have a list of must see beaches? Will be going to Panama for a week and want to see as much as I can!

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:27:10 -0600

If you want nice beaches check out Bocas del Toro, or San Blas islands. I don’t know of many great beaches on the mainland. I’m more of a cool mountain guy than a hot beaches guy.

http://www.cafepress.com/halfthrottleAnthony from...

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:55:31 -0600

http://www.cafepress.com/halfthrottle
Anthony from Motojournalism fame came up with some great artwork for my T-Shirts. I’m so happy to finally have some merchandise online. This is something I have been trying to get done for quite sometime now. The shirt does say “Panama” on it, and yes I am leaving Panama. So I think I’ll call these shirts, the limited edition Panama version. By limited I of course mean limited to as many as I can sell.

You might have recently seen a film called “Fifty Years of Kicks.” It was a great story of a couple of old timers who could leave most of us in the dust. Be sure to subscribe to Motojournalism’s channel, and if you haven’t already check out his short documentary.

Fifty Years of Kicks: http://youtu.be/K_T41kJm-PE
http://www.youtube.com/user/Motojournalism
http://motojournalism.blogspot.com/

http://bit.ly/KyEPtmI thought about keeping this, and if no one...

Wed, 23 May 2012 09:44:38 -0600

http://bit.ly/KyEPtm
I thought about keeping this, and if no one bids I guess I will. This is your chance to own a piece of the machine that I rolled around Panama on. I’ve signed the back, but if the winning bidder wants me to scribble something on the front I can do that as well.

Hello! I have a question about the tripods you're using, i.e. the iStabilizer. I decided to order one for myself after I saw your videos and just received one today. The problem is that the head part holding the ball stays quite loose no matter how much I fasten the screw. It is OK on a stable surface but I doubt that it will hold the camera stable on the move especially on a motorcycle. I'm wondering if my tripod is faulty or is this the way it's intended to work? Thanks :)

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:07:58 -0600

I can crank mine down pretty tight, I’ve even ridden over some pretty bumpy sections of road with it mounted on my front forks. You might want to shoot an email to the guys at iStablizer and see what they have to say about it.

This is sort of a HalfThrottle Origins story. I guess these are...

Sun, 20 May 2012 15:14:21 -0600

This is sort of a HalfThrottle Origins story. I guess these are the major life events that led up to me becoming the traveling adventuring person that I am today. After my deployment to Nicaragua both Mitch and I decided we really like Central America and wanted to see more of it. So we hatched a plan to travel over land back to Utah. Along the way we would see a movie that inspired the next trip. Traveling overland by motorcycle.

Buy the song on iTunes — http://bit.ly/JQnDDU—Buy...

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:09:13 -0600

Buy the song on iTunes — http://bit.ly/JQnDDU—
Buy the song on Amazon — http://amzn.to/JQqv3V

This has been looming for a while now, but it’s time for me to leave Panama. Rather than just make a video announcing I was selling my bike I wanted to do something special. That machine and I have been through a lot together and I get strangely attached and overly sentimental about some things. Motorcycles are one of them. Part of me worries that when I sell her she will simply shatter into 100’s pieces like the Bluesmoblie near the end of Blues Brothers. If I’m honest the song makes me a little sad when I listen to it.

I began to sing this song to myself while riding one day, and had to pull over and jot down some notes before I forgot it all. Other than the occasional karaoke night I’ve never considered myself someone who sings. One reason I love YouTube is that it gives me the opportunity to try new things. As I push myself to be more creative some very strange videos might appear in your inbox, but once in a while I come up with something I’m proud of. I worked hard on this goodbye to my friend, the indestructible Kawasaki KLR650. We had some amazing adventures together. There was certainly no shortage of great footage for me to choose from when editing the video.

I have zero musical abilities, and was in over my head trying to make this into something decent. After writing the lyrics to the tune of “A Boy Named Sue” I approached JD Mader for some help with the music. He tweaked the lyrics a bit and came up with some great music that gave it more of a folk feel than the country feel it originally had. Something I was happy about because I love folk music.

JD and I have never met in person. I was lucky to find such a talented guy who would drop everything he was doing to help me with this project. JD is better known as Lockjaw in KLR circles. He is a talented singer/songwriter and author who has published several books. To hear more of JD’s music check out: http://jdmader.bandcamp.com/

Here are the links to his books:

Joe Café — http://amzn.to/JQoTqR

The Biker — http://amzn.to/JQoULh

Bad Book — http://amzn.to/JQoX9V

I’ve always felt lucky to have a Mom what was so crazy and...

Sun, 13 May 2012 11:56:18 -0600

I’ve always felt lucky to have a Mom what was so crazy and fun to be around. She is one of the kindest hardest working people I have ever known. For True Story Sunday today I share a few stories of what it was like growing up with my Mom.

Thanks for your response. Was he happy with the functionality and durability of the rack and pannier system?

Tue, 08 May 2012 22:21:18 -0600

The ammo cans are much heavier than if you were to buy an actual luggage system. But if you are looking to cut costs they are a great option. When the bike is loaded up it will want to fall down on its kickstand.

I watched a youtube video entitled "worlds most powerful dualsport." Is this you guys? And did you manufacture the racks for the ammo can panniers used in that video?

Tue, 08 May 2012 17:16:39 -0600

I made the video Worlds Most Powerful Dualsport Motorcycle. The bike in the video is owned by a friend of mine. He bought a rack online (can’t remember where), drilled a few holes in some ammo cans and was ready for adventure.

A couple days ago Gary and I went to check out an organization...

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:45:49 -0600

A couple days ago Gary and I went to check out an organization called Por Los Ninos (For The Kids). They have a building in Boquete where kids can go to hang out, learn and have fun. One of the organizations main purpose’s is to collect food and deliver it to the different schools in the area. It seems that the government doesn’t provide any type of school lunch program for the kids.

We had a good time handing out the food, and disrupting all the classes. Kids are always to open and friendly. An activity like this really should be near the top of every tourists list when they visit Panama.

Another story from my time in Nicaragua. The Supply SGT. became...

Sun, 06 May 2012 17:32:55 -0600

Another story from my time in Nicaragua. The Supply SGT. became my arch nemesis, and Mitch and I tried to liberate as many items from his evil clutches as we could. This is a story about a very well executed plan that landed us 2 refrigerators, and cold drinks for the next 4 months.

(I thought the sneeze was funny)

Tango 2 was the most grizzled man I have ever known, and feel...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 08:45:07 -0600

Tango 2 was the most grizzled man I have ever known, and feel very lucky to have been able to work with and learn from him. I try to keep the language in my videos clean, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. Especially when talking about my days in the Army. Profanity becomes a vital part of the story, but I do try and keep it to a minimum.

I don’t have many pictures of him, he somehow manages to disappear anytime someone had a camera out.

I’m not a fan of hiking, unless there is something awesome...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 08:10:33 -0600

I’m not a fan of hiking, unless there is something awesome at the end of the trail. This was a cool hike with 3 waterfalls along the path, and lots of beautiful rainforest scenery along the way. We even found a little pool where we went swimming, the water was surprisingly cold but it felt very refreshing once we started hiking again.

I took the little street dog that hangs out around my house. I’m sure it was the first time he had done anything like that. It was fun to watch him try and figure out how to climb some of the steep spots along the trail. He’s a great dog who stays right behind me anytime we go for a walk, or hike.

For more information on how you can find the trialhead check out their facebook fan page:
http://on.fb.me/Kh5fQE

The $5 entrance fee helps maintain the trails, and in the jungle that is no easy task.

Music in this video is from http://danosongs.com/
Song: Sun Spark

Thanks everyone for sharing the video and entering the contest...

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:30:23 -0600

Thanks everyone for sharing the video and entering the contest for a free pair of boots. When you share my videos it really helps my channel to grow. This was the most valuable item I’ve ever been able to give away, and I really appreciate http://www.cruiserworks.com/ sponsoring the contest.

You can say thanks to CruiserWorks by following them on facebook and twitter and remembering to shop with them the next time you are in the market for a high quality pair of riding boots.

https://www.facebook.com/CruiserWorks
http://twitter.com/#!/CruiserWorks

Be sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss out on anymore give-a-ways in the future.

I found a list of some of the benefits to retiring in Panama. I...

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:00:01 -0600

I found a list of some of the benefits to retiring in Panama. I believe there are even more than is listed here, so you may still want to do some searching around.

50% off entertainment including movies, concerts, theater etc. (a regular movie ticket costs $4 - the retiree price is $2.)
• 25% off restaurants
• 50% off hotel accommodations from Monday-Thursday
• 30% off bus, boat and train fares
• 25% off domestic and international airline tickets
• 10% off prescription medicines (much cheaper than US prices to begin with)
• 15% off dental and eye exams
• 50% off closing costs for home loans

But beware of the many blogs who paint Panama as a perfect trouble free place to live. Like any country it has it’s pros and cons. A few months ago some people walked out of the jungle piled up rocks and sticks and caused millions of dollars of damage to Panama’s economy. They kept some people hostage for weeks behind road blocks. Come and spend a lot of time visiting before you decide to make the plunge.

Boquete is consistently listed in the top 5 places for North Americans to retire. I’m not quiet sure yet, but I’ll probably end up living there full time one day.

We didn’t go on the canopy tour, but it is a cool road so...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:50:23 -0600

We didn’t go on the canopy tour, but it is a cool road so I decided to film it. I talk a bit about canopy tours, and why I would prefer to live in the mountains of Panama verses the beach in Panama.

This is a bit of a bouncy ride up a dirt road, but the scenery was beautiful.

No idea how long it had been since my last oil change in the...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:23:18 -0600

No idea how long it had been since my last oil change in the Kawasaki. So I decided to make a quick video showing just how easy it is to do a small job like this. As much as I beat on the bike I need to take care of it once in a while.

Not all of the steps I go over in this video are required, however I highly recommend them.

My National Guard unit was deployed to Louisiana a few months...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 09:04:23 -0600

My National Guard unit was deployed to Louisiana a few months after the storm devastated much of the state. The flooding was gone and there was a very big mess left behind. Our main job was cleaning it up. It was an amazing deployment, we worked hard, we screwed around when we could, and we did what most of us had joined the Guard to do in the first place. Help our fellow Americans in their time of need.

I had some technical difficulties while recording this video. This is actually the 3rd time I’ve gone out and tried to record this story. The camera angle is terrible, but I tried to cover up as much of the video as I could with awesome photos from the deployment. I hope the pics near the end don’t get anybody in trouble, but I think I’ve waited long enough to make them public…

There are a lot more photos from the deployment I only included the best and most relevant pictures to the story I was telling. I had a great time going through these photos trying to pick the best for the video. They brought back a lot of memories. If you want to see the “When Nature Calls” photo album in it’s entirety click the link below:

http://bit.ly/I8sXxB