Oh The Destinations!

We've lived in Oregon most of our lives, and had never seen the places promised in the "Oryginal" Orygun Run. The idea of seeing this beautiful state we live in on our favorite mode of transportation was enough to warrant a cold shower!! :-)

Experiencing the ride itself is beyond words. The destinations that first attracted us to The Orygun Run became secondary to the spellbinding views and the curves in the road. The new people we met at the run's "party" destinations became instant friends. But by the end of that weekend friends had become family due to our shared passion for 2 wheeled adventures. Making us want to repeat!

Year 2, we anxiously waited for the 2017 tickets to go on sale, because we couldn't wait to see what new adventures and sights were in store for us. Seeing most of the faces from year one was like a family reunion! Besides the bitch-ass gravel road in Yachats that claimed some paint from Bonnie's saddle bag, year 2 did not disappoint!!

This year we again look forward to more of the same Orygun Run tradition: Ride, Party, Repeat - to seeing old friends and making new ones alike. We'll see you out there! 

-Bonnie (@bonfire59) + Rick (@hopester69)

Home On The Road

We went to our first Orygun Run just a few months after we moved to Portland. We really didn't know many people, but it sounded like a blast so we decided to check it out. We've done lots of rides and campouts, but we've never experienced anything quite like this.

We rode farther, experienced more, and partied harder than we ever expected - and we made a ton of new friends along the way. We felt really at home on Orygun Run - it reminded us of our favorite rides with friends back home. We can't wait to do it all again this year!

Thanks Adam & Jess and the Orygun Run family!

You fuckin rock.

-Ian (@paintbythor) + Sarah (@at348am)

Fuck It, Let's Ride.

So after finishing our first Orygun Run, my buddy JJ and I already knew we had to plan for the next year. I had been gathering parts for a ground-up build for a few years, but never found the ambition to actually piece it together. With a little over 2 months till the 2017 run, I had a bare frame, an empty set of cases, and enough pieces for a transmission. Fast forward a month and a half, and my panhead was finished. I had roughly 2 weeks to get the bike shook down enough to ride the 1200ish miles around 2 states. No problem...

The bike gave me nothing but problems. It ran fine, but wouldn't idle. Then the exhaust valve seized in the front head and cracked the valve guides. I got the heads back from the machine shop 3 days before the run, only to find out that the springs and retainers were all junk. I was ready to give up until my good friends at Tacoma Vtwin helped me out with new springs, retainers, locks, and pushrods.

The day before the run, I took the bike on a 40 mile shakedown and it ran great, so we loaded up our stuff and the three of us - me, JJ, and our buddy Wes - headed off to Portland. En route, JJ blew up his ironhead chopper near Vader, Wa. The next day, after 36 hours of no sleep, JJ ended up just buying a new Sportster and we were back on the road again. We made it through the Orygun Run, but on the way home, Wes's Kawasaki burned a piston near the Oregon border and he rode the next 130 miles on only 3 cylinders.

Out of the 3 bikes that left my house Thursday, and with only 40 successful miles, the bike I built for the run did amazing. I can't say much for the other guys.

...I should probably mention too that I didn't exactly get a chance to do the whole "licensing" thing with the new build, so I rode the entire run without any paperwork, using some old plate I found on the wall from 1976.

Fuck it, let's ride.

-Marty, @speednsalvage (with @60galaxiejj + @wesken101)

I Don't Win Shit!

I met Adam and Jess at See See several years ago and they quickly became part of my tribe.  

After the Orygun Run was formed, I jumped onboard. Although I usually don't ride with more than a couple folks - and often by myself - I made the leap to get out there, do it with others, and benefit from the labor and coordination offered in a supported ride. 

As an Original Gunrunner, I have made lifelong friends over the last few years and am part of a circle of wrenchers and handbuilt freaks that welcome all people who ride into a true community.  You see, the Orygun Run is a riders rally in the truest form: it's about the ride. 7 hours up and a different camp every night. And that means something to this community.

Now I am not much on gambles, but I always throw down on raffle tickets to support the cost of the run, and hell, who doesn't yearn for custom bike parts, handmade bags, rad swag, tents, bells, wool sweaters, shades, shirts, gloves, or other bits and bobs? But I don't win shit. EVER.  

But check this out:

On the 2017 Orygun Run, I actually won a raffle prize - a gift certificate from Biltwell for the full cost of a new helmet, paired with a custom paint job by Jeff Wolf Designs. Didn't know much about this Jeff dude, but it sounded pretty solid regardless.

So a couple months later, with new helmet in hand, we got started. A gloss black Biltwell Gringo S landed Jeff's inspiration in the form of a continuous gold leaf ribbon; from there, he added a panel of NW coastal raven and sun designs, a panel of feathers, and some organic sinuous curls. This thing was utterly smokin and I couldn't believe it was mine (check it out HERE.)

So yeah, it turns out I don't win shit... just the really, really, good stuff now.

Here's a shout out to the talented Jeff Wolf. You rock brother. 

-Fox, @riverfox69

Truth in the Slogan

I rode up from Northern California with my husband Nate. The Orygun Run was an ideal getaway to one of my favorite states on some of my favorite routes I had done in the past. Open roads, cool lakes, unsurpassed scenery; who doesn’t want that in a weekend?

But here's the real deal - the slogan rings so true for this run: ride, party, repeat. Each night we came together in a new spot under the stars to share beers, dance moves, stories, and naked moto jaunts around camp. The next morning you'd feel the pain from your choices during the previous hours, but you packed up your bike alongside new friends and got on for a few hundred miles more, until you meet up at the next stop to do it all again.

It was over as quickly as it started. I left the weekend and headed home with a full heart, many new friends and a lot of truly fond and entirely ridiculous memories (thanks shameless dick swinging dude). We cannot wait for the next one!

#RidePartyRepeat.

-ChelseyD, @chelsey_deez