johnnyg

also, do we have a route for saturday? i have a friend in prescott who offered to show us a dirt route (not technical) to jerome for bbq and twisties back, he's on a 1200gs. best regards, johnnyg

i visited my best friend in nh over the new year... he turned 50 on 12/29, and i turned 49 the next day. i don't remember not knowing him, our parents stuck us in the playpen together and we've been fixtures in each others' lives since -- he's a brother from another mother, as the saying goes. he has had a few bmw's, mostly k-bikes, and currently has an r100 and an r65, both of which he's restored. the weather was cold, never above 15*F, and it didn't reach that till the day i left. we managed to get in a few short hikes, to stave off the cabin fever in us and his two dogs. that's chris on the left, at 3*F. chris's girlfriend's dad, dave, is a motorcycle guy, mostly british bikes, as you'll see... he is 85 years old, and his brother is 87, and they meet daily at the garage to restore bikes they've picked up along the way. he had all the details of each bike, the issues they encountered doing the restorations, what he paid for each, trips he's taken on them, etc. he was a regular at the isle of man in his younger days, and became friends with colin seeley, who built racing bikes and chassis back then: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Seeley. heres a photo of a photo of seeley at gp de espana in 1963. anyhow, i didn't record years and models, and frankly, i suck at those sorts of things, so please speak up in identifying the bikes. i'll add what details i remember... first, a car. this is an sm(?) model citroen, with a maserati motor and front wheel drive. dave said he was stopped for speeding in it, and assumed he was only a little over the limit. apparently, it's such a smooth riding car that it's easy for the speed to creep up without noticing. he also said people always try to buy the headlight glass from him because it's rare. sorry about my finger over the license plate, but i want to respect the man's privacy. ok, next is another car, a lancia. ok, here's where you all can chime in... the next several bikes i don't remember years and such, so speak up! yes, the odometer is accurate! another car... this bmw has 160k miles, ridden by dave, his brother and their father. and now for the really nice stuff... according to dave, the seeley condor here is number one of seven, because dave convinced colin to make a road bike version of his successful racing bike. very clean welds in the reynolds 531 tubing. it was a great way to spend some time with a motorcycle-riding friend/brother and a highlight of my week in new hampshire. thanks for coming along! best regards, johnnyg

thanks lb! i wasn't familiar with seeley, so i got to learn about stuff i otherwise never would have.

i want in! camping both nights, right? i'm trying to work out my work schedule to make it happen, and will keep following this thread as the details get arranged. best regards, johnnyg

in.

nice photos jim... great talking with you and thanks for the billiards lesson. tom, thanks for hosting a really nice gathering. best regards, johnnyg

a year ago, i asked my wife jenny to think about how she wanted to celebrate her 50th birthday, the following moto-camping trip is the result... over the course of almost 3 weeks, we rode our ’06 triumph tiger 955i to northern california, as neither of us had explored north of the bay area. we both enjoy hiking in remote areas and minimalist camping. most of the photos are not of the bike or roads we followed, but of the areas of the state the bike so capably delivered us to. we wanted to see the western side of the sierra nevada mountains and the coastline north of san francisco, and we settled on camping and hiking in yosemite, lassen volcanic nat’l park, shasta-trinity wilderness, the lost coast/king range and jackson state forest and use scenic routes to link them. wildfires necessitated some route tweaking, we skipped crater lake and reversed the direction of our loop, but being adaptable to the conditions given was our mantra, and we agreed we’d leave options open to change routing further if we felt it was warranted. preparations for the trip included getting the bike’s 24k mile service done, and thanks to a couple members of san diego adventure riders, i was able to complete all the needed maintenance items. dsm8 dave held a tech day at his well-appointed garage, where i replaced air filter, brake fluid and spark plugs (kkug ken drove me to ncy for plugs, as i ordered the wrong ones), and tntmo tom shamed me into checking the valves. then, tntmo tom and i changed fork oil and seals at his house -- big thanks to all you guys for your help, it was much easier to take on the work having your encouragement and support. new oil and chain done in my home garage, and the bike was ready... a trip to colorado for work (http://dualsport-sd.com/forums/index.php?/ topic/23427-colorado-for-work/) was a confidence-inspiring shakedown ride completed two weeks prior to our norcal departure. day 1: encinitas to paso robles — a sign of things to come? we left before dawn to get through l.a. and avoid as much traffic as possible. i was cruising at 75-ish in the left lane of the the 405, when a metal projectile shot across from the right lane on a line-drive trajectory and hit dead center of the windscreen, punching a hole in it and cracking it to the bottom. i didn’t see clearly what it was, but my nanosecond viewing convinced me it was a broken off tie-rod end (or something similar in size and shape). the weight of it was startling, and the impact shook the whole bike. i checked the structural integrity of the screen (i flexed it with my left hand without slowing) and we continued on... we made good time, so we stopped in san luis obispo to see the mission, then headed out to the coast through morro bay and cambria, such a pretty area! we stayed in paso robles with an advrider inmate, acerph roger and his lovely wife diane, in their beautiful home. on arrival, we inspected the windscreen and decided a krazy glue and gorilla tape repair would suffice. day 2: paso robles to ft ross we got directions from our host roger to the coast along the carmel valley watershed. beautiful weather and route... we had our first wildlife sighting, a bald eagle being chased off by a red-tailed hawk. we don’t get bald eagles in san diego county, as far as i know... a while later, i spotted our second, a tarantula, and we quickly turned around to get a photo (these guys move pretty fast!). when i rolled up to it, it squared up to us and dropped its front end like it wanted to take us on. we continued north along the coast, through santa cruz, half- moon bay, making our way through san francisco traffic and across the golden gate bridge. we followed 101 north from san francisco, then turned west and followed the russian river out to the coast. within a few miles of the ocean, heavy mist required full attention on the narrow, winding roads. we had planned on staying at wright’s beach campground, but they were full up with rv’s, running generators and a grumpy host. we continued north, hoping we’d find somewhere else and our decision to look further paid off. less than 15 miles later we were rewarded with an empty campground (except for the host) at ft ross. i missed the campground driveway, and had trouble finding a suitable turnout to reverse direction. i pulled into a gravel spot on the side of the road and right before my stop was completed, my front tire plowed the softer stones at the edge of the gravel, i lost my balance and very slowly the bike went down. we quickly righted it and were back on board, heading to camp. dinner was made, consumed and then a short walk before bed. days 3 & 4: ft ross to jackson state forest today was to be a short ride, so we took a morning walk to look at ft ross, about a half mile north of our campground. after checking out the fort, we made our way to mendocino for lunch and a few groceries. we would spend the next two nights camped out in jackson state forest, an area that had been clear-cut some years ago. the new growth of trees surround the stumps of their fallen ancestors. we hiked up a gated dirt road for a few hours, and using the rudimentary map the campground provided, connected a smaller loop trail back to our site. lots of ferns and other plants along the hike. we didn’t get many good vistas, as the forest was pretty dense... when we were almost back to camp, we met a young guy who asked us for directions for a hike. we sent him on a reverse loop of our route, and he stopped by our site a few hours later, and ended up joining us for dinner and a fire. i had a wicked headache, and jenny got some ibuprofen from a passing car that was looking for a site. she asked if they had any, and they gave her a small bottle with a dozen or so... score! day 5: jackson state forest to lost coast cold morning, less damp than yesterday. we broke camp and headed to the lost coast. we followed 1 to 101, a great ride full of sweeping curves. a few stops to resupply groceries and other sundries, and at our final gas stop, i found a $100 bill on the floor in front of the register. i asked the woman in front of me if it was hers, she said no... score! we shared a bag of smartfood popcorn in the gas station lot, then continued on to our campsite. the lost coast is created by the king range, which is essentially a mountain range right along the ocean. there are several 2000’ peaks within a mile of the shore, a couple 3000’+ within 2 miles, and king’s peak at over 4000’, just 3 miles from the ocean. this area is also the most geologically unstable in california, and we saw evidence of the last major earthquake, which raised the king range 3-4’ in 1991. days 6 hiking and exploring our site, wailaki campground, is located just east of the first ridgeline off of the ocean. our hike had us climb onto the ridge, then follow it south to a “viewpoint” loop. the terrain was what my friend ted always called “pitchy”... the trail was well groomed with a few spots of semi-rutted drainages. the vistas along this route were so-so — one could catch glimpses of the tree- covered hillside going down toward the ocean, but that was all. it was beautiful nonetheless, and we rested in utter solitude, lying in the grass at the edge of the continent. we didn’t see any notable wildlife, but avoided lots of bear scat on the trail and what we guessed to be bobcat poop. sorry, no pictures to verify... we made lunch after the hike, then got on the bike to explore shelter cove. back to camp for dinner and bed... day 7 lost coast trail from shelter cove north we walked this trail (follow the beach) north till we got tired, which coincided with where the high tide met the cliff face. we passed many southbound hikers, some carrying surfboards — there’s a beach campground and surf break about 10 miles north of shelter cove, and many folks from the area spend the weekend out there amidst the through hikers. another place to visit... on the way back south, we knew we’d passed the last of the southbound hikers, as the tide made the beach impassable. we had passed a creek emptying out onto the beach, with a tangle of sun-bleached tree trunks spanning the water. we climbed up the drainage a bit and found a waist-deep pool below a log to climb out on. we used the solitude and warm day to get in our first bath of the trip, albeit a chilly one. end of week 1.

chris, it was the first image that came to mind as we traveled south from lassen through gold rush country. i want to go explore more of that area... jim, thanks! we had a terrific time, and both felt like we could have kept going... tom, yeah, the shop manager was really helpful, as was electrosport. and, again, thanks for your input and help with getting the bike prepped. you da man.

week 2 is up... sorry to just attach it, but i worked hard on the panoramas. norcal '17, week 2.pdf

thanks for the replies! i'm working on week 2, but work keeps getting in the way... yes, in shelter cove. yes, the water was about this cold (holding thumb and forefinger an inch apart). best regards, johnnyg

i was saddened to learn of arnie's passing, and disappointed i missed the service. we rode once together, then my bike died -- arnie let me use his garage and tools to rebuild the top end on my 640adv. my experience was that he was a kind, warm, unflappable man. may he rest in peace. best regards, johnnyg

hi all, i was assigned four operations for inspection, one in monticello, ut and three in colorful colorado. rather than fly and rent a car and have to pass those costs on to our clients, i decided to ride my '06 girlie tiger and make a road trip out of it. having recently completed its 24k mi service, thanks to dsm8's tech day and tntmo's assistance and watchful eye, i was eager to give it a proper shakedown ride. day 1, thursday -- encinitas to green river utah, 718 miles. this was a long day for me, about 12 hours ride time. all photos are from my iphone, so not that great, but google has plenty to see for anyone interested in where i went... green river and light rains. day 2, friday -- green river to monticello, breakfast in moab at love muffin cafe, left moab at 9 for my inspection, followed by 424 miles to colorado springs. only one photo from this day, i needed to make time across the rockies. from monticello to cortez, onto 160 through durango to pagosa springs, wolf creek pass, through alamosa to walsenburg, onto 25 north to the springs. i got rained on a bit before durango, then again descending from the continental divide, but that only lasted 12-15 miles. another long day, punctuated by riding between pueblo and co springs in the dark, with lots of traffic. total of 532 miles for the day. bridge and rock in moab. i lived in co springs for a few years a few years ago, so i got to spend some time catching up with friends and hiking the local trails for the weekend... sorry no photos. day 3, monday was a short run up to denver for work, only 151 miles for the day. day 4, tuesday, i said my goodbyes to my hosts and headed to howard, just east of salida. after my inspection, i followed hwy 50 over monarch pass and through gunnison to montrose. total miles for the day, 240. there were a few riders staying a few doors down at my digs for the night, the black canyon motel, which i highly recommend. nice folks, good wifi, clean and well cared-for. the guzzi was having charging issues. day 5, wednesday, up early for my 8:30 inspection. once finished, i was on the road to st george, ut. 458 miles for the day, no photos. day 6, thursday (yesterday), up early and on the road by 8 am. got back to encinitas at 1 pm, 6 hours travel time, 437 miles, average speed 73 mph, my fastest day. no time for photos. at each gas stop on days 5 and 6, i took my shirt off and rinsed in the bathroom sinks, which was very effective at keeping me comfortable. i should have done it on day one, but first day jitters had me thinking about other stuff. the other days were pretty moderate, temperature-wise. the hottest area was the inland empire between riverside and san diego counties yesterday. my bike ran perfectly. it had to give it more throttle at altitude, but it still pulled pretty good. i checked the oil level a few times, and hardly used any for the entire 2,536 miles, much of it at highway speeds of 70+ mph. when i checked it back at home, the level dropped about 2-3 mm on the dipstick, but was still on the full side of the hash marks. i calculated mpg to be between 39 for the low and 42 for the high, and average speeds were between 59 and 70 mph, both figured from gas stop receipts. this was a great opportunity for me to see what kind of time/mileage i'm comfortable with each day, as well as getting a lot of confidence in the bike. my wife and i leave for a three week moto-camping adventure to northern california on sept 11th. mileage will be considerably lower per day, with lots of off days of hiking and exploring interspersed. ride report will follow, hopefully with more and better photos... thanks for reading, and extra thanks to dsm8 for hosting a most excellent tech day, and extra extra thanks to tntmo for your encouragement and guidance on the bike service. best regards, johnnyg

thanks to dsm8 for hosting and the use of some specialty tools - your garage setup is top notch! and thanks to kkug for getting me to ncy and to tom tntmo for the encouragement on checking my valves - glad you made it safely with that beverly hillbillies loading! advbum mike cooks a mean burger too, it made for a great day. i just threw some coin into the website since i didn't have cash on me... great community of some rad folks! best regards, johnnyg

dsm8, thanks for your reply... much appreciated! schwinn, nice bike! those nuvinci hubs are kinda trippy the first time but the infinite adjustability is sweet! best regards, johnnyg

hi all, does anyone have a brake bleed kit i could use on saturday? of course, i'll supply my own dot fluid, and i'm sure will have enough for anyone else to do theirs. thanks in advance, and best regards, johnnyg

i just got home from riding out there this morning, with my wife riding pillion... we went from descanso to julian direction. no water flow to speak of, but saw two other riders on triumph scramblers, i think, traveling in the same direction. anyone from here? best regards, johnnyg

please, bust away! i hear stone ipa's go perfectly with the new ktm exc 500...

ah, reading the initial post fully would help, huh? i'll bring beer... any brand requests? thanks!

two more questions: what's the address? and, is there a beer store nearby? actually, i just need the address, i can figure out the beer store from there... many thanks, johnnyg

i'm in. please let me know what i can bring to contribute to the buffet table/cooler. are there any tiger aficionados planning to attend? my '06 is a couple k short of its 24k service, but i have a couple long road trips planned. i'd like to do an oil change, brake fluid change, clean/replace air filter, replace the plugs and install a stebel horn. does anyone have a brake bleed kit i could use? of course, i'll bring the dot fluid. thanks all, especially to dsm8 for hosting. best regards, johnnyg

i'm definitely interested... i have a stebel horn to install on my '06 tiger, and it could use a new chain as well. will know better over this weekend what my schedule looks like. thanks to dsm8 for hosting! best regards, johnnyg

hmmmm.... that'd be a long-ish ride back to encinitas after, but i'm definitely interested.

hey all, i'm looking to ride and camp my way from encinitas to death valley and back... i'm thinking i can slab my way to joshua tree area, since i've ridden most of the dirt between here and there. i've never ridden in mojave and would like to ride dirt but not get mired in technical, slower stuff, so i'm looking for input as to which routes i should take. i'm on a 640 adv with camping gear and i'm breaking down my itinerary as follows: day 1, encinitas to north of joshua tree/south mojave area (primitive camp suggestions?); day 2, cross mojave and into south end of death valley via baker (anyone know if harry wade road crossing the amargosa river is currently feasible? primitive camping suggestions?); day 3, spend time in dv; days 4 and 5, return home on same or parallel tracks. or should i stay west and travel north from lucerne valley and barstow? my bike holds 7+ gallons in the stock tank, and i'm an intermediate rider, but going solo. any thoughts, comments, advice from those who've ridden the areas mentioned is greatly appreciated. best regards, johnnyg

goofy, thank you for your detailed response... i've looked at the ca trail map site but hadn't purchased it, but i will now! i've been to dv only once, to ride motos... we trucked there and back, and got in a couple long riding days and i haven't stopped thinking about it since. we staged out of psr, rode titus canyon, ubehebe crater, racetrack, west side road, up to butte valley, mengel, goler, ballarat... it was striped butte and the surrounding valley that really stuck with me. i figured making a five or six day ride out of getting there and back would give me chance to see other parts of our deserts and mountains. i've never been through mojave preserve, and considered just spending my days there, saving the ashes for another time. your tips on routing have given me lots to think about -- thank you! i appreciate all y'all's willingness to help, many thanks and best regards, johnnyg

kkug and c-daddy, thank you for your input... i'm hoping to ride this sometime in march. i'd like to leave some of my younger brother's ashes at striped butte in death valley, so i'm not really looking for a large group ride, but it's great to know of other groups to look into, thank you for the suggestion. i also know the dv noobs rally is toward the end of the month, so i'll avoid going then. my other brothers were going to join me in driving and riding out there, but plans fell through... i'm essentially looking to ride across sheephole valley, mojave and the area north of i-15 to death valley, and then either loop back through trona and down the west side of china lake to hesperia area, or simply retrace my route and stay east. i assume i can't ride through china lake naval station or fort irwin on wingate road (south from panamint valley)? it's difficult to tell in my routing website (ridewithgps.com). i've never spent any time out there, so any dirt road routes or not-to-be-missed landmark suggestions are welcome. thanks for your responses, every little bit helps! best regards, johnnyg