Who rides motorcycles?

[MoPops]

Thanks for sharing a late Fall ride with us. I know of no better therapy than burning 1+ tanks of MC gas..... Rgds, D.

Well said..

 

[RobertBrown]

 

[MoPops]

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L13Z7Aa7ZXQ

Where was that? I hope that guy that hit them paid a huge price, in a lawsuit, or jail time, or something. What an idiot. "I don't care." What's wrong with people these days?

 

[3930dave]

Robots now too....

Yamaha robot rides high-speed racing motorcycle - BBC News

Competition for delivery drones ?

Rgds, D.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I'd heard about that, but hadn't seen the full video, so thanks for posting it RobertBrown.

Some nut case came over the center line after me this weekend, feinting like he was going to hit me. There's a lot of anger rolling along behind the steering wheels out there.

 

[cat fever]

I ride as often as time permits.

Up in the Canadian rockies.

Mirror lake highway in Utah. (end of June)


Trip through the Redwoods.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

It was a great long weekend where an almost perfect combination of weather, roads, motorcycles, and friends came together to celebrate the end of a long Indian Summer and the coming of winter. Thursday's route lay along one of the most twisted roads I've been on for quite a while, one with quite a schizophrenic personality. CA36 has no rhythm or consistency to the bends, surface, or direction, with something unexpected around every corner or over every rise. Just the thing to get and hold your attention firmly in the moment, washing away all other thoughts or cares.

The day's destination was Eureka, CA, a coastal dity with a quaint old town and modest motels/restaurants/bars, perfect for an Airhead destination. I was to meet Jep and Garry there for drinks and possibly dinner. They arrived with Jep's bike in tow with a dead battery and an undiagnosed electrical fault. Unfortunately the diagnosis had to wait 'till Saturday and Jep missed some great riding.

The next morning at the Black Lightning Motorcycle Cafe, new friend Duncan was found with which to enjoy the trip down along the Lost Coast. He'd never been, so naturally I suggested he lead, with me pointing the way at the few intersections along the way. Our reward was brilliant sunshine and no wind, quite unexpected along there. Our arrival at the Manchester Beach KOA was met by the usual suspects, er Airheads, called to gather by our NorCal Airmarshal Ken Uhl. As if the Oktoberfest dinner and great area roads weren't temptation enough, Ken got word out that The Zen House Motorcycle Shop would be hosting lunch the next day in Point Arena, just a few miles to the south. The day's ride was topped off with a delicious dinner at the wharf with chauffeur service in Garry's newly rejuvenated turbo Diesel Vanagon.

Jep got to looking for his electrical gremlin Saturday morning, but the real chase didn't start until he was able to get a charge back into his battery. The kind folks at the KOA came up with a charger, so in the mean time we poked around with an ohm meter and found that at least the rotor was OK. The explosion in a spaghetti factory wiring for his aftermarket accessories was not so good though, so to lessen confusion it was disconnected. With that out of the way and the battery returned, Greg helped Jep narrow it down to a bad voltage regulator, and Kieth just happened to have a replacement in his saddlebag. Score another on for team Airhead!

I wasn't around for that moment of triumph, as I'd excused myself to attend the Zen lunch. Tried to get Jep to go along, but the thought of riding pillon on a steel PD rack somehow didn't appeal to his sensibilities. Oh well, more free chili for me. Oh, did I mention that the Zen House wipped up a great home made pot of chili with upside down apple cake dessert? With lots of Italian eye candy to ogle and friendly faces to dine with? All under even more sunshine, making great t-shirt tanning weather. It's a tough life, but someone's gotta live it:laughing:


The food at the Oktoberfest celebration was even better than last time, and I was barely able to moderate my enthusiasm for the brats and Scrimshaw enough to enjoy a long evening of pleasant conversation and firelight. It was a very pleasant reminder of what the Airheads Beemer Club is all about as knots of old and new friends regailed each other with tales of rides, wrenching, and life's unsolved mysteries. The lavish Halloween decorations and costumes on the KOA staff only added to the celebratory atmosphere.

Payment for all this came at 6:30 Sunday morning as I finished gathering up the last of my camping gear. The pitter patter of rain drops splashing down on the tent let me know I'd lost my race to get packed and on the road before it started. But the four of us (even newer friends, all airhead mounted and likewise headed east) still got an early start into the wet weather. It all went swimmingly until my bike sputtered and died, rolling uselessly to the side of the highway. After a few moments rest it lit off and I was on my way again, only to repeat the process in the next down pour. Turned out that the vent line to the fuel tank was clogging, sucking up rain water until the pull from the carbs wasn't sufficient to overcome gravity. Disconnecting the line was the solution, but not before one last stall got me recalling a similar behavior several years ago in Canada's liquid sunshine. We broke out of the rain when we came down out of the coastal mountain range, and celebrated with a fast food snack and parting hand shake as my Reno bound buddies continued east. They headed once more into wet mountains while I headed north for a final hour of overcast but dry riding home, comforted not only by the warmth of an electric jacket but with the memories of Airhead friends old and new.

 

[Piston]

Had a good time at this weekends race, I was one of the few that dressed up for it.

 

[cat fever]

It was a great long weekend where an almost perfect combination of weather, roads, motorcycles, and friends came together to celebrate the end of a long Indian Summer and the coming of winter. Thursday's route lay along one of the most twisted roads I've been on for quite a while, one with quite a schizophrenic personality. CA36 has no rhythm or consistency to the bends, surface, or direction, with something unexpected around every corner or over every rise. Just the thing to get and hold your attention firmly in the moment, washing away all other thoughts or cares.

The day's destination was Eureka, CA, a coastal dity with a quaint old town and modest motels/restaurants/bars, perfect for an Airhead destination. I was to meet Jep and Garry there for drinks and possibly dinner. They arrived with Jep's bike in tow with a dead battery and an undiagnosed electrical fault. Unfortunately the diagnosis had to wait 'till Saturday and Jep missed some great riding.

The next morning at the Black Lightning Motorcycle Cafe, new friend Duncan was found with which to enjoy the trip down along the Lost Coast. He'd never been, so naturally I suggested he lead, with me pointing the way at the few intersections along the way. Our reward was brilliant sunshine and no wind, quite unexpected along there. Our arrival at the Manchester Beach KOA was met by the usual suspects, er Airheads, called to gather by our NorCal Airmarshal Ken Uhl. As if the Oktoberfest dinner and great area roads weren't temptation enough, Ken got word out that The Zen House Motorcycle Shop would be hosting lunch the next day in Point Arena, just a few miles to the south. The day's ride was topped off with a delicious dinner at the wharf with chauffeur service in Garry's newly rejuvenated turbo Diesel Vanagon.

Jep got to looking for his electrical gremlin Saturday morning, but the real chase didn't start until he was able to get a charge back into his battery. The kind folks at the KOA came up with a charger, so in the mean time we poked around with an ohm meter and found that at least the rotor was OK. The explosion in a spaghetti factory wiring for his aftermarket accessories was not so good though, so to lessen confusion it was disconnected. With that out of the way and the battery returned, Greg helped Jep narrow it down to a bad voltage regulator, and Kieth just happened to have a replacement in his saddlebag. Score another on for team Airhead!

I wasn't around for that moment of triumph, as I'd excused myself to attend the Zen lunch. Tried to get Jep to go along, but the thought of riding pillon on a steel PD rack somehow didn't appeal to his sensibilities. Oh well, more free chili for me. Oh, did I mention that the Zen House wipped up a great home made pot of chili with upside down apple cake dessert? With lots of Italian eye candy to ogle and friendly faces to dine with? All under even more sunshine, making great t-shirt tanning weather. It's a tough life, but someone's gotta live it:laughing:


The food at the Oktoberfest celebration was even better than last time, and I was barely able to moderate my enthusiasm for the brats and Scrimshaw enough to enjoy a long evening of pleasant conversation and firelight. It was a very pleasant reminder of what the Airheads Beemer Club is all about as knots of old and new friends regailed each other with tales of rides, wrenching, and life's unsolved mysteries. The lavish Halloween decorations and costumes on the KOA staff only added to the celebratory atmosphere.

Payment for all this came at 6:30 Sunday morning as I finished gathering up the last of my camping gear. The pitter patter of rain drops splashing down on the tent let me know I'd lost my race to get packed and on the road before it started. But the four of us (even newer friends, all airhead mounted and likewise headed east) still got an early start into the wet weather. It all went swimmingly until my bike sputtered and died, rolling uselessly to the side of the highway. After a few moments rest it lit off and I was on my way again, only to repeat the process in the next down pour. Turned out that the vent line to the fuel tank was clogging, sucking up rain water until the pull from the carbs wasn't sufficient to overcome gravity. Disconnecting the line was the solution, but not before one last stall got me recalling a similar behavior several years ago in Canada's liquid sunshine. We broke out of the rain when we came down out of the coastal mountain range, and celebrated with a fast food snack and parting hand shake as my Reno bound buddies continued east. They headed once more into wet mountains while I headed north for a final hour of overcast but dry riding home, comforted not only by the warmth of an electric jacket but with the memories of Airhead friends old and new.

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Hey Redneck,
If you check out the last picture you posted and the last one I posted it looks to be the same sign. It was a great ride!!

 

[PHPaul]

Anybody got a motorcycle-related winter project?

I started riding in the late 60's and REALLY went nuts pretty much throughout the 70's so I have fond memories of the bikes of that era.

Are modern bikes faster, lighter, safer, more capable and more comfortable? Absolutely. Changes nothing. The really cool bikes were built before 1980!

I found a '79 Yamaha XS650 a few years back and reconditioned it and upgraded it a bit here and there (better suspension, electronic ignition) and have been riding and enjoying it.

I've also been casually looking for a 2 stroke street bike to complement it. These were the original crotch rockets! Really wanted a Yamaha RD350/400 but haven't been able to find a suitable candidate. Did find this Suzuki GT550 triple that was a good balance of complete and rebuildable at a reasonable price.

Plan to spend the winter doing the same to it that I did to the XS: Tear it right down to parade rest and then clean/recondition/repair as necessary as I reassemble it. I was somewhat amazed at the availability of parts for the ol' XS and so far, knock on wood, I'm finding the same situation for the Zuke.