Topic: 25 Rides in 2025, Frank's New Years resolution that we can all enjoy.

[Kevin D]

Wheelie prevention for good times at the dragstrip.

[PeWe]

Wheelie prevention for good times at the dragstrip.

It would be fun to have a bike like that. Engine is not stretched. Maybe a little bit tricky in the corners

[Kevin D]

Ride 11  141 miles  75f start  84f finish   47.6 mpg   VPower @ $4.39/gal

Theres all the facts, but you should know that it has been a good glorious day to ride in the countryside here in SE Michigan. The sun and the rain have been working at the request of the fields and forests and flora and now it is green, profusely verdant. Being July, the corn is measured at knee high, that’s good. But there is no knee high corn, there is belt high, chest high, head high, and over your head high. It’s a lush garden just now, every shade of green, from the bright treetops to the dark forest floor.
 I wasn’t sure of my destination today, but as I went further I wanted to go further. My first stop just beyond Hell at a roadside turnout and snapped a pic. A little further on the D32 and I came upon an accident scene: this red F150 with air bags deployed was being dragged out of the trees up onto the slopebed wrecker. Just beyond the trees was a 10 wheeled garbage hauler on its side. The road was completely blocked so I circled and approached from the west side: the white garbage hauler had been righted but it was still in the woods, and the photo didn’t show the white garbage hauler very well, but I learned that none were hurt. But still I wonder, how does an F150 put a 10 wheel garbage hauler on its side?
 Further in Stockbridge I stopped at a gorgeous house loaded with blooms, presumably owned by the adjacent Funeral parlor owner.
 After lunch at Culver’s in Chelsea, I stuffed my jacket in the tailbag for the ride home. For a brisk getaway I like to shift gears at 6000-6500, I think that’s about torque peak and the CB roars at being turned loose. I smile every time.

[lash]

Rode up north to Holstein for a car show. Not really a car guy but if I had the money I would have a Camaro SS like this one. My all time fav! #56 at 100 km.

[lash]

This showed up last week. Thanks very much Kevin, Terry and Bud!!

[newday777]

This showed up last week. Thanks very much Kevin, Terry and Bud!!

Very cool indeed 😎

[Kevin D]

This showed up last week. Thanks very much Kevin, Terry and Bud!!

You have earned it lash.

200 miles + 1 border = 3 weeks in the mail
I was beginning to worry about it…


Lash, was there truly a Hondaman book in the envelope?

[ofreen]

I rode the 750F to see a buddy in the St Lukes hospital.  On the way out, I took a right on 8th Street to ride up into the foothills.  I hadn't been up there for awhile, so I took a few pics and will call this #3.  88 miles by the time it was all said and done.

Looking over the growing metropolis of Boise -



More scenery -



Some road art on the outside of Kuna -

[PeWe]

Nice and fun ride, Greg.
Endless views,  feels like freedom as bikes can give the feeling of too.

I first thought I saw a biker photo, but at a closer look....

[lash]

No pics from yesterday but did an ice cream run with my wife for 200km. and ride #57. Now less than a week and we leave for Newfoundland. Going to ride to the French island of St. Pierre we hope this year.

[Kevin D]

I don’t want any pumpkin pie.
Haha!

[lash]

147km. for #58 today, down to the Honda store in Kitchener for some 750 parts. Anniversary Goldwing with tax out the door for around $47000 cdn. I’ll take two!!

[BallAquatics]

06/13/2025 Met up with the guys from Home Depot for breakfast.  Took the long way home.....





06/18/2025 & 06/26/2025  Rode down to Williams Vintage Cycle in Xenia Ohio.  Trying to buy a vintage Honda twin.....



07/04/2025  Nice morning ride.  Been way too hot to enjoy an afternoon ride around here.

[ofreen]

#4 -

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,23731.msg2321265.html#msg2321265

[lash]

July 04, #59 at 125 km. Round the regular route on the blue 750.

[budman]

Just checking in.  Glad to see folks still getting after it.

Well...It's flooding down in Texas.   Fortunately, I'm high and dry, I haven't lost power or internet.  I've been seeing a bunch videos of a lot of the places I would ride too often.  The Llano River and the Guadalupe River got slammed.  The debris is insane. 

I haven't been out yet.  I know there are a few road closures from the creeks flooding and the debris in the roadways.  I have to head to town on Monday.  Hopefully I can get there.  Still some rain here and there, but it looks like it's going to clear out finally.

[jgger]

Good to hear that you are safe and dry Bud. Are you all healed up from the deer strike too ?

[budman]

Good to hear that you are safe and dry Bud. Are you all healed up from the deer strike too ?

Pretty much.  The left shoulder flares up a bit, but it's tolerable.  Same with the right-side rib that broke.  Nothing that makes me want to run to the doc and get a bunch of scans and x-rays so they can tell me I need surgery.  I probably need some physical therapy at the very least.  I'll probably give it another six months and then go see a chiropractor.  My insurance covers monthly chiropractor visits.

[lash]

118 mi. for #60. Blue 750 down go Campbellville for a small bike meet. Spotted a 79 CBX that looks exactly like the one I sold 4 years ago but not the same one. The BMW in the background is owned by the same guy for 37yrs and he's put 630,000 km. on it.

[Kevin D]

Well...It's flooding down in Texas.   Fortunately, I'm high and dry, I haven't lost power or internet.  I've been seeing a bunch videos of a lot of the places I would ride too often.  The Llano River and the Guadalupe River got slammed.  The debris is insane.

Hoping the missing will be found safe.


Bud, my bum shoulder was helped a lot by PT, bands, weights, motion, flexibility, strengthening.
Avoiding MRI and surgery.

[budman]

Well...It's flooding down in Texas.   Fortunately, I'm high and dry, I haven't lost power or internet.  I've been seeing a bunch videos of a lot of the places I would ride too often.  The Llano River and the Guadalupe River got slammed.  The debris is insane.

Hoping the missing will be found safe.


Bud, my bum shoulder was helped a lot by PT, bands, weights, motion, flexibility, strengthening.
Avoiding MRI and surgery.

I've gained a lot of my strength back in that shoulder from just working.  Feels like there was a tendon or muscle tear that hasn't stitched back together 100%...maybe.  I forget to do range of motion stretches.

My neighbor's daughter and her husband were staying in an RV park on the Guadalupe in Kerrville.  They woke up at 4:something AM and got out with only minutes to spare.  The RV was swept away along with all the others.  I saw a post from her this afternoon, and they found the remains of the RV.  Basically, just the frame turned upside down covered in debris.  It was my neighbor's RV.  He was loaning it to them.

On my last ride, before I hit the deer, I stopped in the small town of Hunt, TX for some gas, just upriver from Kerrville.  Hunt is basically gone.  The last photo I took of my Scout was on a water crossing on the Guadalupe just a couple of miles from there.

The cleanup is going to take a long time.  I'd like to help, but living on the Gulf Coast most of my life and helping gut numerous flooded homes after hurricanes, and then my own...let's say I'm kind of scarred.

[willbird]

#39, 7-4-2025 69 miles, started the ride tracker in progress so does not show full miles
#40, 7-5-2025. 127 miles
#41, 7-6-2025, 85 miles

[Kevin D]

Ride #12   91 miles   low 70’s and cloudy

It was very nice to get out today. It’s been too hot and humid but the front passed yesterday with drenching showers and cooler temps today. Heavy cloud cover, it looked like rain, but the radar and the forecast said no rain and that was good enough for me…… and there was no rain.
 I had lunch near Hamburg at Arby’s, it’s convenient and passable. My initial plan was to turn around and double back, but the ride out was nice, the weather was pleasant, so I went on towards Chelsea. The first  pics are at Chelsea Station but I botched them. The Amtrak does 80 through town, I should have stepped up to the edge of the grass, and zoom, it was gone.
 I had another chance, on Huron River Drive, there’s a wide spot where the trees are so close and cover the road, so I doubled back and took a few shots.
 Closer to home, the former C&O passenger station in Plymouth is up for rezoning, there are no passenger trains on this line. A commercial zoning is likely as this is a hot location in Old Town Plymouth.
 The Honda’s performance was flawless.

[Terry in Australia]

Well done everyone, I'm really happy to see that this thread is getting bigger every year, I'm sure that Frank would be stoked that we're remembering him and getting out on our bikes and burning up miles in his honour.

The weather here is pretty crappy, a couple of dry days per week and a whole lot of cold and wet. I couldn't have "retired" at a worse time, but while riding temps are limited, at least I'm not getting up at 5am to scrape the ice off my windscreen before my commute into the city for work. Last Friday the weather was fine and dry, but of course only in the 50's. Oh well, you can always make yourself warmer, so I rugged up for ride #19.

I took a completely different route, got lost a couple of times, got caught in some slow moving traffic, but otherwise, had a good ride. I stopped for the obligatory pic at the Yan Yean Reservoir.

VMax Friday 4 July 2025 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I continued on to Kinglake and stopped again for a pee and a pic.

VMax Friday 4 July 2025 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

You'll notice that there's a big scratch on the "Faux Tank", I have no idea how it got there, but I've never liked the matt black paint that the PO painted it, so on Sunday I stripped it back to bare metal.

VMax Monday 7 Jul 2025 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I had to strip/scrape/sand off several layers of paint to get it back to bare metal. It's been purple (probably the original colour) and aqua. I bought some gloss black wheel paint that flowed pretty well for rattle can paint, but the weather wasn't quite warm enough, and I got a little humidity blooming, so when it warms up again I'll give it a light rub back and hit it again. Still, it looks better than it did.

VMax Monday 7 Jul 2025 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Yesterday I had to go to the dentist, and had made no plans beyond that. As it turned out it was only a consultation to see how my gums had healed after the extractions in March. I got home and decided that ride #20 was in order, as the weather forecast for the next week is rain, rain, and more rain. I rode out to Wallan, Romsey, turned left and rode through Monegeetta where sadly a lady was killed in a crash on Sunday. Apparently she was hit by a car (news footage had the bike underneath the car) and died at the scene, and her husband who was following on his bike stopped, and was hit by another car and is in a critical condition in hospital, the poor bugger. I stopped at my usual spot by the old general store for a pic.

VMax Monday 7 Jul 2025 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I rode home via the airport and back home on the freeway. All up a couple of enjoyable rides on my current favourite bike, I'm really enjoying this obnoxiously loud hooligan bike, I can see why folks love them so much. Not sure when I'll get ride #21 done because of the crappy weather, but hopefully it'll be soon.

VMax Monday 7 Jul 2025 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

In the meantime Spotty and I will be working feverishly on getting my new(to me) 1981 Kawasaki GPZ1100 going and roadworthy. We gave it an oil and filter change on Saturday and checked the compression. Around 150 psi on cylinders 3 and 4, and nothing on 1 and 2. I'll take my feeler gauges and shim kit over on Saturday and sort that out. Otherwise it's got spark and I've cleaned the rust out of the tank. I cleaned out my ultrasonic cleaner and dumped the carbs in without stripping them as a lot of the screws were not complying, so I'll get the ultrasonic cleaner nice and warm, and hopefully I'll get all the screws out and clean them properly. I also have a set of 33mm Mikuni smoothbore carbs here, and I keep thinking that they might go on, we'll see.

GPZ1100 carb clean Monday 7 Jul 2025 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

GPZ1100 carb clean Monday 7 Jul 2025 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr     

[lash]

90km. yesterday for #61. Down to Fergus and long way home to fill up with gas. Got home, washed the bike, and into the trailer for the long drive to Newfoundland. Be there Friday I hope.