Topic: 22 Rides in 2022 - Frank's legacy rides on!

[RAFster122s]

Terry, quite the adventure...glad you made it home in one piece...the bike not so much...
- David

[ofreen]

Well my "Adventure" is over, and I'm happy to announce that I survived the 2180 Km (1362 mile) motorcycle marathon, over 4 days. I'd had the laser kidney stone surgery on Monday the 21st of March, and then went back to hospital so the surgeon could knock me out and pull the stent out on the 29th. I was surprised that as soon as he removed the stent I stopped pissing grape juice, ...

Geez Terry, nice story.  You really know how to have fun.  It is interesting though, that the most miserable trips are the most memorable, and the most fun to remember (if you survive it). 

I used to have to fly 8-10 times a year for work but don't now because I hate all the BS and the cattle car mentality the airlines have these days.  But when I did, having sat through all kinds of delays, I'd tell myself that it still beat walking.  Also, I have this reflex where as soon as I walk on a plane I get sleepy.  I'd sleep through most of the flight if I were able.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, I would have been much happier if I didn’t have as many mechanical issues to think about, but I suppose it would have bordered on tedium if I wasn’t worried about what might fall off next. On Sunday and Monday when the BM was just motoring along without any major issues it just ate up the miles, and my biggest problem was all of my aches and pains that the anti-inflammation tablets couldn’t quite quell. Don’t get me wrong though, I’ve got nothing against boredom either, so if my next long ride goes without a hitch, I’ll be happy.

Re: sleeping on your flights Greg, I don’t know if you suffer from anxiety like I do, but I get pretty wound up before a flight, so I tend to crash once everything has worked out?

[70CB750]

Number 2 ride yesterday.  Took Red to Richmond to meet my youngest and watch VCU play baseball.  237 miles< took no pictures, sorry.  I rarely stop for anything but gas.

[Kevin D]

We had a very nice day on Monday so I rolled the CB out of the garage and gave it a once over, turned on the gas, turned the key, full choke, kill switch on, pushed the starter button and it fired right up. Oh, it needs a couple minutes before it will idle, I turned the idle screw in a bit. I had planned to just go around the block one time but it was so nice I put my jacket helmet gloves on and broadened my horizons just a bit: around the big block, a 4 miler. About halfway through that the bike was warmed and running good so I grabbed a handful and liked that a lot so I pushed on again, this time to check out the highway construction on 275. It will be a mess for several years. I went on through Plymouth, on Hines to Northville then home… Not enough for a qualifier here, but so nice to be in the saddle and the weather is improving.
 I have to be mighty careful on these early rides. The roads have taken a pounding over the winter and there are some monster holes out there that have been wrecking wheels and tires. I don’t want to find one with the CB so I will start this season slow, and the bike doesn’t need much more than a cleanup.

[bear]

Thanks guys, I would have been much happier if I didn’t have as many mechanical issues to think about, but I suppose it would have bordered on tedium if I wasn’t worried about what might fall off next. On Sunday and Monday when the BM was just motoring along without any major issues it just ate up the miles, and my biggest problem was all of my aches and pains that the anti-inflammation tablets couldn’t quite quell. Don’t get me wrong though, I’ve got nothing against boredom either, so if my next long ride goes without a hitch, I’ll be happy.

Re: sleeping on your flights Greg, I don’t know if you suffer from anxiety like I do, but I get pretty wound up before a flight, so I tend to crash once everything has worked out?

Hmmm.........
So you took the inland route and didn't line up for a bed or stop in for a cuppa?
I haven't told Ev yet, but if or when she finds out I can't be responsible for her actions, your on your own.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, I would have been much happier if I didn’t have as many mechanical issues to think about, but I suppose it would have bordered on tedium if I wasn’t worried about what might fall off next. On Sunday and Monday when the BM was just motoring along without any major issues it just ate up the miles, and my biggest problem was all of my aches and pains that the anti-inflammation tablets couldn’t quite quell. Don’t get me wrong though, I’ve got nothing against boredom either, so if my next long ride goes without a hitch, I’ll be happy.

Re: sleeping on your flights Greg, I don’t know if you suffer from anxiety like I do, but I get pretty wound up before a flight, so I tend to crash once everything has worked out?

Hmmm.........
So you took the inland route and didn't line up for a bed or stop in for a cuppa?
I haven't told Ev yet, but if or when she finds out I can't be responsible for her actions, your on your own.

Thanks Brian, if you've read the full story you'll see that I destroyed my iphone in the "Incident" and had to go buy a "Telstra" phone that wouldn't accept my simcard so I had to buy another simcard so I could let the wife, my mum and my sisters know that I was OK, as they'd been texting me to check on my progress.

Bottom line was that I had no access to my phone book (I had to call my home phone to talk to my wife and get her to message my new phone number because I don't know her mobile number) from Millmerran in QLD, or I definitely would have called you, not only would I have loved to catch up with you, it would have saved me a night's accommodation in Albury.

BMW damage 2 Apr 2022 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr 

[PeWe]

#1
Finally riding weather here!
Snowstorm last weekend.
From yesterdays 175km (+100miles) long ride. 
My first thought was a 1/2 hour ride to verify and adjust oil level in tank after last oil change.
That changed to a eat'n ride tour
52 km away to Färna for a quick meal, then nice roads to Fagersta, Ängelsberg with 2014 forest wildfire, back home via Salbohed, Sätrabrunn and Skultuna.



A frozen lake outside Fagersta. I look forward to visit when snow and ice are gone.






#
#
Outside my house one week earlier, April 9. Brrrrr! I gave up spring then. This ride was important for me.

[Terry in Australia]

Beautiful pics per, is that an open kebab? I must buy a kebab for lunch on Tuesday, there's a nice kebab shop not far from where I work. The weather here has been magnificent, was 28 deg C (82 deg F) for the last couple of days, which is really warm for mid Autumn, but I'm not complaining, it'll be wet and cold soon enough. I'm still waiting for my BMW to get towed away, hopefully they'll fix it and I'll be clocking up some winter miles on it soon. If it's still nice next weekend (raining all day tomorrow, apparently) I'll take the Ducati for a ride, it should be scary fun.

Terry's Ducati S4 25 Mar 2022 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[PeWe]

Hi Terry. The kebab is a kebab in bread, like pita bread they have in Greece and Middleeast. This one baked in shop, pizza dow.

The temp yesterday was around 17C. I used my leather gloves without freezing.
But I realized I have to change clutch springs to the Barnett springs for CB750. 
The stiffer  Barnett springs for the smaller CB's are in now.
The clutch package is stiffer with later F2 clutch. Springs are ordered weeks ago.

What a pity with your new BMW and that soon. It can hopefully be repaired.
A close moment that left you unharmed which is the most important thing.

Your Ducati look like a speed monster! I guess I do not need to tell you to have a road status inspection ride before let the bike decide how fast you'll let it go.

28C is a good summer temp  here!

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks mate, yep 28 is actually a bit warmer than my ideal riding temps. Not as bad as 34 degrees C with all my bike clothing on for the first two days of the ride down from Hervey Bay on the BMW, but pretty uncomfortable just the same.

I have a mesh jacket that allows the air to blow thru, but the trouble is it’s way too big for me now, so if I do go sliding down the road it won’t provide much protection, I should probably buy a new one. I definitely need a kebab now!

[PeWe]

#2
A kebab might be a new bike meal for you  2022, Terry!

I had time for another ride today. Nice weather, temperature around 16-18C.

160 km (almost 100 miles), no food this ride. Easter lamb steak when back home.
Found another small country road along one of my usual routes.
Birds are happy, butterflies too as visible!



#
A butterfly close-up



Who can blame the yellow butterfly to like a Honda?

[BomberMann650]

Mesh gear is a double edge sword.
It does feel "cooler" by enhancing your bodys natural sweaty AC - But - over a long run, the risk of dehydration is increased. 
Was so glad to recieve the tip about soaking wet base layers.  Once opting for a soaking wet everything when it was too damn hot.

[Terry in Australia]

Mesh gear is a double edge sword.
It does feel "cooler" by enhancing your bodys natural sweaty AC - But - over a long run, the risk of dehydration is increased. 
Was so glad to recieve the tip about soaking wet base layers.  Once opting for a soaking wet everything when it was too damn hot.

I opted to wear my wet weather jacket for the 1362 mile ride because there was some flooding further south, and even with the jacket only zipped half way, on the first 200 mile ride and the first of the two 440 mile days, I was so dehydrated that I didn’t piss for 9 hours, even though I was drinking water each time I stopped roughly every two hours. I had to turn the jacket inside out and hang it under the aircon each night to dry out as it was soaked in my sweat.

Ideally I would have taken my old leather jacket, or better still a light weight mesh jacket that actually fits me, but I had no room left in my big green Army kit bag, so I chose the wet weather jacket, even though the only wet weather I saw apart from a little rain coming into Albury on Sunday night and again coming into Melbourne on Monday, was the wet weather inside my jacket.

[PeWe]

#3
Another good day for riding. 3rd ride this weekend and year.
Sunny and not hot.
No food stop today either.

A 312km long ride where I had a few stops. I visited a nice Cafe 150 km from home, mostly good windling roads.

My first stop at a small village called Ängelsberg. View over a still frozen lake and an island called oil island. They cracked oil there for many years ago for lamps and fuel.

To the other side restaurant and cafe where I might eat and drink something when opened for spring-summer.

150 km from home, small village called Torsång where they have a nice cafe close to a river called Dalälven.
They have not mounted their parasolls yet.
But rather much people this early of the spring. It was lots of snow only a week ago.







I cheated a little on my way back home taking a faster but not that fun straight road to refill some V-Power half way home, quicker for food at home.

[70CB750]

Good show, PeWe!

[PeWe]

Thanks, happy to provide a ride for all that can see this.

I have enjoyed others rides the last months on this forum which give me inspiration.

Temperature  is very nice now and not much insects yet. Around 16-18C, blue sky and sunshine. So positive. Out from the dark ages!

Butterflies, wasps, dragon flies, fat flies, mosquitos and even small bugs makes both my gears and bikes very dirty when temp becomes warmer.

[Terry in Australia]

Well Ride #9 for 2022 yesterday, when I went for a 130 mile "Pie Run" on the Valkyrie. The weather this weekend has been magnificent, in the mid 60's with brilliant sunshine, so ideal weather to throw on a jacket, helmet, gloves and boots, and get out in the wind. The Valk went well, and I am impressed with how stable it is in fast sweepers, compared to my old GL1200 Interstate that wobbled and wallowed thru tight bends, the Valkyrie just felt rock solid.

I don't like the riding position though, apart from the pullback bars with those stupid chrome and rubber grips that are hard to hold onto at speed, these things must be built especially for folks with short legs, because after only 30 minutes or so the tops of both thighs were quite sore due to the bend required because of the close footpeg to seat relationship.

The only real Valkyrie fan I've spoken to extensively has had two Valks and has ridden them all over Australia, but he's only 5'4" tall, which makes perfect sense, at a foot taller than him I can see that while the Valk is a short mans dream, it's not so much for taller timber. Regardless, it went well over the 130 mile ride and I need to give it a good wash before I put it up for sale.

Valkyrie flight 24 Apr 2022 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[PeWe]

The Valkyrie look good, Terry.

But the short distance seat to footpeg look painful for hips and knees.

Much higher (thicker) seat might help?
Fill it to a straight flat seat

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, thanks Per, I think Spotty said that he sat on the passenger seat when he was riding it, but I don't love it enough to want to keep it, I'll be happy if someone with short legs buys it from me.

[PeWe]

Might fit a woman in need of a tougher bike...

[ekpent]

Being a taller guy also at around 6'3" I am pretty much stuck enjoying a bike with a flat seat to slide back on. Any of those scooped out or contoured step seat are like wearing shoes that are too small.

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah it’s weird. I enjoyed the comfy seat with the backrest, but even though I angled the handlebars back it was still a bit of a stretch to them, and I have long arms, so I reckon the ergonomics would best suit an Orangutan, like Clyde, from “Every which way but loose”, one of my favourite stupid movies.

Anyway I really rode it to give it one more chance, but it’s definitely not a replacement for the BMW that has been assessed as a “Total loss” so I’ll move it on. I’ve just paid another 12 months registration so once I legally transfer it from Spotty’s name to mine I’ll either sell it outright or trade it in on something interesting. The good thing is that it’s only done a tad under 23000 miles, so is still like new, and so some Orangutan will love it.

[Terry in Australia]

Well it rained heavily overnight and was threatening rain again today, so I decided that I'd leave the K0 at home and take the Triumph Rocket III for ride #10 for 2022. Of course, because I've ignored it since before Christmas, the battery was flat. No biggie, my youngest boy had bought me one of those little jump start boxes, and once I read the instructions (no, not right away, I am a man......) I was able to start it right up. Good thing was the fuel gauge was reading half a tank, so I figured I could ride 40 miles or so before I needed to fill up, which would give the charging system some time to top the battery up.

Rocket III Saturday ride 30 April 2022 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

This was wishful thinking, I stopped at a Shell gas station in a little town called Lancefield and filled it with it's favourite 98 RON fuel, and when I hit the start button, it didn't. No biggie again, I'd put the jump starter in one of the saddlebags (and forgotten to strap the lid down, du-oh!) and jump started it again, all good. I was heading towards Heathcote to buy another pie, but as I couldn't shut the bike off without having to jump start it again, I cut 20 miles off the ride and just did a tad over 110 in one big loop, which was great.

After riding the Valkyrie last weekend, today the Triumph was a revelation. Same big "Land Barge" feel, but tons more power everywhere, with better brakes and suspension, a much comfier seat, better ergonomics for taller riders, and even more stable in fast corners. The Rocket will happily cruise at 80 MPH @ 3000 RPM (60 MPH on the Honda) and because it has so much torque (147 foot pounds) I don't need to change down to pass cars from as low as 2000 RPM (60 MPH) in fifth, so whenever I got stuck behind slow moving cars (and a couple of "Adventure bikes") I just cranked it on for a couple of seconds, and flashed past them at the "ton". I won't buy a new battery right away, by the time I got back to the storage place after another 70 miles after the gas station, I switched the bike off while I moved some bikes around in my storage unit, and it fired right up again. I have a good "almost unused" battery that came out of Davey's Harley last year that I replaced with the correct size Motobatt, and I think it's the correct one for the Rocket, so I'll swap it in next week and take the old (only 2 or 3 years old, but much neglected) battery home and put it on my smart charger and desulphate it, and see if that makes a difference.

Rocket III Saturday ride 30 April 2022 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The other much neglected bike in the storage container (except my poor BMW that hasn't turned a wheel since 2015) is my Harley Sportster, I haven't ridden it since November and that was only to move it across to the storage unit, so I probably haven't ridden it more than 5 miles since this time last year? Well I was happy that it fired right up like I'd only ridden it yesterday, so I think it might have to be "Next cab off the rank" for ride #11, and it also is well overdue for an oil change, considering that the last one was 6 years ago, oops.......

Rocket III Saturday ride 30 April 2022 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr   

 

[RAFster122s]

Terry, what's an average price in the Valkyrie and the Rocket III?
Are they even in the same class. Fellow here in Southern AZ, Max (and Andrea) run a food truck part of the year, The German Food Station, brats & similar, and authentic German Sauerkraut as Max and Andrea are German and they take the summer off, this week was their last week until this fall after the weather breaks. They travel and enjoy motorcycling. Well Max has a Rocket III too. Never seen it, they enjoy their motorcycles in the summer. Trying to run a food truck in our summer heat can be too brutal. They usually would return to Germany but no plans to this year as the Endemic/Pandemic has squashed that kind of travel as would the prices of tickets give the war's impact on fuel of all types.

My sister wrapped up a Viking River Cruise earlier today as they started in Prague or was it Bucharest and then did a long river cruise ending up in the Netherlands and taking some gorgeous pics of the tulips in bloom. Mom likes Tulips and has many of them.as well as Irises...

So, she and her college friend and former college roommate, Cindy, were starting their flight back today.
She had fun and they stayed safe, my sister is a Nurse Practitioner.
The Viking cruise they were on is quite pricey but my sister has been single all her life and made good money as a RN and Nurse practitioner, so she could afford it without a sweat. The luxury of have a high 5 or low 6 digit salary for many years and not blowing your money and investing it is the compounding really makes it grow. She did whine quite a bit with the stock market adjustments of a few years ago. As you approach retirement you are suppose to have your portfolio in less risky investments...if she did not then that's on her. She will not want or lack the ability to enjoy retirement life.

So, you weren't impressed with your old Goldwing either. Maybe if you rode a similar year Goldwing to compare it to the Valkyrie you would have perspective from that. So, while the Rocket III is a much better bike is or was it in the same pricing stratosphere when new. The Rocket III was engineered to be a different kind of bike or it's price afforded it the luxuries Honda did not have or choose to invest in...
That's my take...
My CX I like but one thing I am doing to it is I am modifying the seat radically to be more bench like as the stock seat and bike are setup for shorter riders, most of my former 6' 4.25“ height (now 6ft 3.5 inches ...spinal deterioration really sucks...) Is most all torso as my pants inseam is 32 inches... So short legs and long long torso/neck...
So My CX will get a custom seat so I can get a bit less cramped. I am sticking with stock handlebars as the pull back and ability to bring them back some is good when I slide rearward I won't have to lean forward and cause neck strain...