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- Joined
- Jun 1, 2006
- Messages
- 257
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Austin, TX
- First Name
- Brian
- Last Name
- Haslinger
I traveled to Eureka, CA over the Memorial Day weekend to visit my SO's family. I have a friend in Eureka that has a rotating fleet of bikes. Last year I rode his DRZ 400 sm and ZX6. This year I had a chance to ride his 2009 Kawasaki Versys up through the mountains on California Highway 299.
The Route:
I met Mo at his house at 8:30am on Sunday morning, it was a typical Humboldt County morning: cool, overcast and misting. I wasn't too concerned; I knew that once we got into the mountains we would punch through the clouds and see sun. Mo had the bikes prepped and ready to go when I was dropped off. He chose his baby, the red Ducati Monster.
I was excited to test drive the Versys. I've been thinking about adding a sport tourer to the garage, and the Versys is on the list. First impressions: comfortable seat, good riding position, gauges are easy to read, plenty of power, the small pegs and foot controls will take some getting used to.
As we climbed the mountains on 299, the fog got thicker and thicker. I was expecting us to punch through the fog on the first peak, as we did last year, but the moisture from the sea had penetrated up to Berry's Peak. We stopped here on the way out and couldn't see 10 feet in front of us, here's a pic on the way back:
The ocean is past the clouds, on the other side of those mountains:
We saw a ton of bikes out enjoying the sunny day. After riding for about 80 miles, we stopped at the Straw House, just past Big Bar to get a snack and some coffee. This little house made of straw bales and stucco sits on the Trinity River.
It was time to head back to town, so we saddled up and enjoyed the twisty highway in reverse. Here's another picture from Berry Peak:
The Route:
I met Mo at his house at 8:30am on Sunday morning, it was a typical Humboldt County morning: cool, overcast and misting. I wasn't too concerned; I knew that once we got into the mountains we would punch through the clouds and see sun. Mo had the bikes prepped and ready to go when I was dropped off. He chose his baby, the red Ducati Monster.
I was excited to test drive the Versys. I've been thinking about adding a sport tourer to the garage, and the Versys is on the list. First impressions: comfortable seat, good riding position, gauges are easy to read, plenty of power, the small pegs and foot controls will take some getting used to.
As we climbed the mountains on 299, the fog got thicker and thicker. I was expecting us to punch through the fog on the first peak, as we did last year, but the moisture from the sea had penetrated up to Berry's Peak. We stopped here on the way out and couldn't see 10 feet in front of us, here's a pic on the way back:
The ocean is past the clouds, on the other side of those mountains:
We saw a ton of bikes out enjoying the sunny day. After riding for about 80 miles, we stopped at the Straw House, just past Big Bar to get a snack and some coffee. This little house made of straw bales and stucco sits on the Trinity River.
It was time to head back to town, so we saddled up and enjoyed the twisty highway in reverse. Here's another picture from Berry Peak:
It seemed lighter than my Bonnie, easier to turn in. I hit some rough roads and large rocks in the apex of a couple of turns, and it didn't upset the bike too much. My friend Mo said that one could double the suggested speed on the corner warning signs ( i.e. go 80 mph when the yellow sign says 40), I did not test that theory. I was comfortable going about 20 mph over.
