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California Style

mlinkibikr

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Joined
Mar 31, 2003
Messages
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Location
Fulshear, Tx
First Name
David
Last Name
Little
Hi Gang,

Just back from Northern California - a few days of charmed living for sure. Hopped a flight back to San Francisco to hook up with some mates for a weekend in the Sierra. It's an annual event attended by a core of folks who started this 22 years ago. The faces change a bit - my first ride was year 5 or 6 (I have the tshirt somewhere ...) I then moved away after year 15, made it back for year 20 and now this one. This year's group was one of the largest - maybe 30 in all - and I'm happy to see that each year more of the ladies trade in the pillion spot for a bike of their own. Good on ya!

The group leaves the Bay Area and heads up and over the mountains on Hwy 4 in time for lunch in Markleeville. Then it's up and over Monitor Pass to 395 for a quick jog south to 108 where we head West and hook up over Sonora Pass to the town of Strawberry and the Pinecrest area. If you don't have a map this area is south of Lake Tahoe and north of Yosemite.

It is a breathtaking sight to crest Monitor Pass and look down across the high plains of Nevada, seemingly stretching to the Rockies in one grand view. The roads we take go from the 3 digit sweepers to the gnarliest, lane and a half switchbacks. It is highly technical and blissfully light in traffic, allowing all experience levels the opportunity to ride their own pace, with ample sightseeing lookout points to pause and make sure everyone is still upright.

We spend the night up there on the mountain, sharing the adventure of the day, catching up with folks we may see only once a year, retelling the legends of years past, etc. etc. I don't even think that the menu at the restaurant changes ... I know the jokes don't !

It's comforting in it's "sameness" but always a bit different. My first ride was on a spanking new 1990 FJ1200. That bike carried me faithfully for many years. For a contrast I was blessed with the chance to ride a 2003 Yamaha R1 this year. Amazing bike, unbelievable responsiveness, tons more motor than anything off the track requires, and two gumball tires to keep things focused on the right line. (It's great to have a buddy who has several bikes - he chose to ride his Honda Blackbird with his lovely bride riding shotgun.)

I did manage to swap bikes a couple of times. I finally got a chance to ride the FJR 1300 (two up even) when another good friend traded his ride for the R1 for a brief stint. His wife was quite patient with me as I made the transition from the pure sport to the sport touring. I have to say that the FJR felt very fine, if perhaps not quite the bike for me. Maybe I'm used to my thoughts transmitting telepathically to the bike when it's time to flick from one bend into another - the inputs took a bit longer to transmit from bridge to stern. But this thing is a mile eater! Big fine motor, smooth and comfortable, and I'm sure that once I had the R1 muscle memory out of my system I would be content with the handling.

Switching to the Blackbird (two up again - lucky me) gave me a big grin of recognition as it felt - dare I say - similar in many respects to the ergos of my VFR? The Heli bars brought the controls where I like them, and the inputs were immediately responded to by changes in attitude and direction. Lovely bike - Givi bags put the "tour" with the "sport".

After both rides though I was so happy to get back on the R1 - wow - what a beauty. Perhaps in Texas the ergos would be more of an issue if curves in the road were not handy to shift around with, but I left with the knowledge that if the right deal came along I would be happy to take the R1 into the stable.

All in all I felt like on of the luckiest folks in the world to be able to take a trip like that and enjoy the great combination of mountain roads, great weather, excellent bikes and most importantly the friendships rekindled over the weekend. The weekend summed up my love of motorcycling in many different ways, leaving me recharged and ready to plan the next ride.

Dave.
 
I know someone that might be looking to sell his 2004 R1 ;-) I have ridden it and can attest to the beast inside! The bike is phenomenal! Matter of face, I was riding it just today :mrgreen: No, it's not mine, hehe.

Adios,
 
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