Thank You Craig Hightower and Friends
Larry
day. For me it was a 450 mile day, flanked by a Triumph Tiger and a BMW
R1150 GS, and followed by a Triumph T955, a Honda Nighthawk, and a Suzuki
650. The Suzuki 650 was piloted by local racer/rider Denise Howard.
Someone on the newsgroup ask her about rocks, and see what she says. : - )
Even more thanks to the riders who were willing to bring a car to carry
food, drinks, and some of the sleeping bags and such that the motorcyclists
will need for their overnight stay tonight.
Sorry I couldn't stay the night, but I needed to be back. Thanks for the
leadership and support.
Larry
00 929
Denise Howard
> Many thanks to Craig for organizing a ride into the Sierras on a beautiful
> day.
Amen! It was a perfect weekend for the trip, and Craig really knows how
to plan a trip.
> The Suzuki 650 was piloted by local racer/rider Denise Howard.
> Someone on the newsgroup ask her about rocks, and see what she says. : - )
I'll save them the trouble: rocks SUCK!
A good-sized one hid in the middle of the lane in the dappled
sunlight/shadow and WHAM--suddenly I was in a 70 mph tankslapper. Lisa,
behind me on her T955i, thought sure I was going down. It worked itself
out by pure luck; I literally didn't know what hit me, until a mile or so
later when I saw a lone rock in the middle of the road and thought
"Aha!"
The worst part is, I now have a very bent front wheel rim and a
ruined tire. The wheel will have to go to the Frame Man, and I have to
buy a new tire. Cha-ching! :-(
It could've been a lot worse: I could've been heeled over in a turn at
the time, or pointed downhill; it could've blown the tire altogether. As
it was, the bike was still rideable for the remainder of the
weekend. (The tire lost 10 lbs. of pressure overnight.)
> Even more thanks to the riders who were willing to bring a car to carry
> food, drinks, and some of the sleeping bags and such that the motorcyclists
> will need for their overnight stay tonight.
That was very gracious of them! It made for motorcycle camping at its
finest.
> Sorry I couldn't stay the night, but I needed to be back. Thanks for the
> leadership and support.
Glad you got to come along for part of the day, and made it back
solo okay! Did you notice the "give us a wheelie" signals as you
left? :-) You missed out on a good soak in Travertine Hot Springs, a
great Mexican dinner, and a murder mystery around the campfire.
Denise AFM #732
'95 CBR600 F3
'88 EX250 racebike
'00 SV650
'89 EX500 racebike
Craig Hightower
> Many thanks to Craig for organizing a ride into the Sierras on a beautiful
> day. For me it was a 450 mile day, flanked by a Triumph Tiger and a BMW
> R1150 GS, and followed by a Triumph T955, a Honda Nighthawk, and a Suzuki
> 650.
Thanks for coming along for the ride! It was fun to watch you battle the
beemer beast on the twisties! Yee ha!
You missed a great time at the hot spring around Bridgeport. The view from
Travertine is tremendous! Check out:
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/craigums
We had dinner at the Mex place just South of town. Great food!!! The murder
mystery game around the campfire was a hit! I found out that Denise is an
alien in disguise! We managed to get a little bit of soaking in the morning at
Buckeye which is built into the bank of the creek. Wonderful! Phoenix and I
managed to convince each other that we didn't need to go home that night so we
followed Richard and Kim over to Bodie for a nice historical tour. They split,
Kari P and the Cal BMW crowd showed up. We followed them out through the dirt
to Mono lake. Stopped to check out the brine shrimp and the tufa formations
before making a beeline back to Travertine. Watching the sunset from the lower
pools at Travertine was incredible!!!!!! Having pleasant company to share it
with was also very nice! Finished the evening watching the shooting stars up
at Buckeye again. Had a nice brisk ride back over Sonora this morning.
Managed to get an official speedo check just outside of Sonora. I knew there
was a cop there but I zoned out and raced right by him on the gas. Whups!
Guess it's time for traffic school. Ah well, such is life!
Anyone up for another ride to the hot springs? I'm itching to go to Death
Valley and hit the ones in Saline Valley......
Craig
--
_______________________________________________________________________________
Senior Editor - Streetbike Magazine- http://www.streetbike.com
WebMaster : The Backroads Boogie - http://www.netcom.com/~craigums/welcom.htm
California Aids Ride Rider in training for 2001!!!!!!
Larry W.
Craig Hightower <crai...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:39D9385F...@ix.netcom.com...
>
> Thanks for coming along for the ride! It was fun to watch you battle the
> beemer beast on the twisties! Yee ha!
>
filling up your rear view mirrors, is watching him sail by you doing twice
what you can do on a hairpin-- not out of the seat-- not leaned over-- just
sailing through the hairpin. I tell you, it's embarrassing is what it is.
: - ) Him and that bike got to be 1000 pounds together, and I'm hanging my
head in shame. I wonder if he even turned off the stereo? : - ) I finally
caught him on the sweepers where the 929 is inherently superior, but I
didn't pass. What would have been the point? We both know he trounced me
in the seriously twisty stuff!! : - ) Oh, then he tells me about the
titanium pin.............
Phoenix and I
> managed to convince each other that we didn't need to go home that night
so we
> followed Richard and Kim over to Bodie for a nice historical tour. They
split,
> Kari P and the Cal BMW crowd showed up. We followed them out through the
dirt
> to Mono lake.
Yes, I recall following Kari and company through the dirt on a ride a few
years ago. Come to think of it, that might have been the OTHER time that
one of those panzer dual purpose bikes left me behind, slipping and sliding
through the dirt. I think I had the T509 then. Very tricky those German
bikes. They have ways of making you talk (to yourself).
> Managed to get an official speedo check just outside of Sonora. I knew
there
> was a cop there but I zoned out and raced right by him on the gas. Whups!
> Guess it's time for traffic school. Ah well, such is life!
Well, just do what I do. Let's see if I can do this by memory.......
www.trafficschoolonline.com Certainly my favorite way to do the obligatory
few hours every six months to a year.
>
> Anyone up for another ride to the hot springs? I'm itching to go to Death
> Valley and hit the ones in Saline Valley......
Well, I can do up to about a 600 mile day, and then, (wuss that I am) the
bod won't take anymore CBR 929. But I'll catch the first 300 miles in any
direction your group is going. The twistier the better.
Thanks again for your great organizational work, and for watching out for
everyone as ride leader. Ya dun guud.
Larry
00 929
Craig Hightower
> The only thing worse than seeing Bryan on that behemoth uber vroom R1150 GS
> filling up your rear view mirrors, is watching him sail by you doing twice
> what you can do on a hairpin-- not out of the seat-- not leaned over-- just
> sailing through the hairpin.
Ya, it's fun to watch! Those damn German bikes are just too easy to ride fast!
May have to get one one of these days....
> Yes, I recall following Kari and company through the dirt on a ride a few
> years ago. Come to think of it, that might have been the OTHER time that
> one of those panzer dual purpose bikes left me behind, slipping and sliding
> through the dirt. I think I had the T509 then. Very tricky those German
> bikes. They have ways of making you talk (to yourself).
Yah, in case you're shopping for a new bike, Kari was on the yellow "demo"
bike! He was moving rather fast down that dirt road! I would have given chase
but I was escorting a lady plus I had all the camping stuff on the back. Still,
seeing 60+ in the dirt is kinda fun!
> Well, just do what I do. Let's see if I can do this by memory.......
> www.trafficschoolonline.com Certainly my favorite way to do the obligatory
> few hours every six months to a year.
Thanks! I will try it!
> Well, I can do up to about a 600 mile day, and then, (wuss that I am) the
> bod won't take anymore CBR 929. But I'll catch the first 300 miles in any
> direction your group is going. The twistier the better.
Cool! I will have to consult the calendar and decide when to go. Things are
pretty booked up right now. This damn work stuff keeps getting in the way.....
C
John R Pierce
>filling up your rear view mirrors, is watching him sail by you doing twice
>what you can do on a hairpin-- not out of the seat-- not leaned over-- just
>: - ) Him and that bike got to be 1000 pounds together, and I'm hanging my
>head in shame. I wonder if he even turned off the stereo? : - )
A R1150GS weighs about 550 lbs wet unless its loaded to the hilt with
gear. 1000lbs is about the max gross weight. They don't have a
stereo either, thats the K1200LT Luxury Truck :-D One reason they go
so well is they have 70-odd lb-ft of torque at a quite mellow 5000rpm
(heck, they have gobs of torque from about 2500rpm all the way up).
Other reasons relate to their rather unique suspension setup.
Larry
John R Pierce <spam...@hogranch.com> wrote in message
news:4lnitss1rev721ebt...@4ax.com...
This R1150GS had a portable CD player, and a Valentine radar detector. And
actually, even a second music radio above the Chatterbox location on the
helmet, and a rear red light on the helmet. You'll just have to trust me
on this. I know the difference between a GS and an LT. And I'm 5'10" and
Bryan towered over me, and has the build of a football center. I may be
exaggerating the total gross weight a little bit to overplay what it was
like seeing him coming in the rear view mirror, but I'm pretty close. I
put the bike at 640, and Bryan at about 260. Let's compare that to my
bike's 440 wet weight, and my 208 lbs. Probably about a 250 lb
differential. And he still went by me on the twisties. As they
say....... it's the rider, not the bike.
And yes, the GS has more torque than the CBR929, but I'm pushing 122 HP to
his 84. So even assuming he has 70 ft lbs of torque to my 58 or so, as soon
as I'm in my powerband, I should be able to blow by him. I could on the
sweepers. But I couldn't in the twistiest of the twisties.
>
>
bryan klech
:> Thanks for coming along for the ride! It was fun to watch you battle the
:> beemer beast on the twisties! Yee ha!
: The only thing worse than seeing Bryan on that behemoth uber vroom R1150 GS
: filling up your rear view mirrors, is watching him sail by you doing twice
: what you can do on a hairpin-- not out of the seat-- not leaned over-- just
: sailing through the hairpin. I tell you, it's embarrassing is what it is.
You cut a pretty good line on the stuff I chased you through.
:-) Glad to have shared the ride (with the whole group.)
: Him and that bike got to be 1000 pounds together, and I'm hanging my
: head in shame. I wonder if he even turned off the stereo? : - )
Prolly closer to 850 w/ my support-cage-lightened-load.
I never turned off the walkman per se, but I did have to
ease off in the sweepers a bit so I could flip the tape.
(I really should use something w/ auto-reverse.)
: I finally
: caught him on the sweepers where the 929 is inherently superior, but I
: didn't pass. What would have been the point? We both know he trounced me
: in the seriously twisty stuff!! : - ) Oh, then he tells me about the
: titanium pin.............
: Thanks again for your great organizational work, and for watching out for
: everyone as ride leader. Ya dun guud.
Yeah, high marks to Craig's organization!
And praise to the folks I got to play with.
I really enjoyed the crewe as well as the the roads and the scenerey!
doitagain!doitagain!DOITAGAIN!!!!!
bryan
--
-- bryan klech
-- bkl...@goblin.punk.net Don't let the sky stop you!
bryan klech
: This R1150GS had portable CD player,
just an old walkman, actually. I commented though that I prefer to
carry a discman in my tankbag - but wasn't.
: and a Valentine radar detector. And
: actually, even a second music radio above the Chatterbox location on the
: helmet,
I have that - but wasn't carrying it this weekend. It's just an FM
card velcro-ed to the chatterbox. Better than being wired to a tankbag
or jacket. But, the aenemic tuner is really only useful when playing
around the bay area. Too much trouble to have to change the station.
: and a rear red light on the helmet.
http://www.safedriving.com/product.html
It's gadjety and not nearly so useful as one would like.
But it's already installed, so why leave it at home?
I don't recommend this unit at all though.
: You'll just have to trust me
: on this. I know the difference between a GS and an LT.
Wow - that'd be a challenge - shove an LT around like I do the GS.
Eek - I don't think I'm quite interested enough to commit the
resources to the effort though. I'll just keep grinding down
my cylinder head pucks off around the curnves instead.
Craig Hightower
> Wow - that'd be a challenge - shove an LT around like I do the GS.
> Eek - I don't think I'm quite interested enough to commit the
> resources to the effort though. I'll just keep grinding down
> my cylinder head pucks off around the curnves instead.
Bryan, go on one of Kari Praeger's rides. He's brought an LT out a couple of
times now. I'm sure he'd give you a run for your money out there! It's
amazing to watch!
Craig
John R Pierce
<crai...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>bryan klech wrote:
>
>> Wow - that'd be a challenge - shove an LT around like I do the GS.
>> Eek - I don't think I'm quite interested enough to commit the
>> resources to the effort though. I'll just keep grinding down
>> my cylinder head pucks off around the curnves instead.
>
>Bryan, go on one of Kari Praeger's rides. He's brought an LT out a couple of
>times now. I'm sure he'd give you a run for your money out there! It's
>amazing to watch!
Ditto Bill from BMW Santa Cruz... I've been on a few of their rides
where he's taken a LT, phew. He tosses that monster around narrow
back roads like its a 600cc sport bike. And you *don't* even wanna
try and follow him when he's on his R1100S ;-D
-jrp