Topic: 26 Rides in 2026. Frank's New Years Resolution that we can all enjoy.

[Terry in Australia]

Bloody hell Dave, that's scary! Reminds me of the time when I was riding my BMW R100RS on the Ringroad here in Melbourne and a ladder came off an electricians van and landed in front of me. I had nowhere to go but over it, and by the grace of the Great Pumpkin, managed to stay on the bike, but the ladder hadn't finished it's trajectory, it bounced back up in the air and hit the windscreen of a car behind me. I'd pulled over to the side of the road to calm myself down, and the last thing I saw was the driver of the car chasing the electrician's van.

The Harley guy must have been slightly pissed off with your oil all over his bike, which is ironic after all the years of "Harleys leak oil" crap that us Harley owners have copped. It was a good pickup though, I can see the oil blowing out of your oil tank, and I think I saw some on your back tyre too, if the engine had seized, you would have been sliding down the road! I must get my Insta 360 working, I need some video's like yours!

[gotorx7]

Thanks Terry!
I think your hitting the ladder would have been worse!
And yes, if it had seized I was in trouble for sure!  I also think if we had been going slower there would have been a lot more oil on the tyre - it was getting whipped away by the air before it hit the bike - not so much for the Harley though, he wore the lot!

The other guy was pissed off about the mess, but didn't take it out on me - and I bought him lunch and a beer, so he was good.  But ironic it being a Harley, yes, he noted that also    Really nice guy actually, we get along very well.

And yes, would love to see some Insta footage from you!

Cheers, Dave

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Dave, I've ordered the genuine Insta 360 bike bundle from Amazon, and it should be here tomorrow. Today I rode over to the storage unit to see if I could get the Ducati and the K0 going. It was pretty warm (around 85 degrees F) and so both bikes fired up without issues, which is amazing considering how long it's been since I rode them. I put all three tags from the 3 previous years (what did we do in 2022, was there a tag? I can't remember) on the K0's handlebars.

K0 Saturday 21 February 2026 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I kicked it over 10 times with the ignition off, but the fuel and choke on, then turned on the ignition and gave it one kick, and it fired right up. I let it run for awhile while I checked the oil tank, kicked the tyres and checked the output voltage, which was 13.8V at around 2000 RPM, so I called it good. I rode to the nearest gas station and filled it up with 98, and thought about washing it with the windscreen brush, but decided against it, real men don't wash their bikes, do they?

K0 Saturday 21 February 2026 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I wanted a pie, but was enjoying the warm air flowing thru my old mesh Triumph jacket, so I went the long way thru Wallan, Romsey, Lancefield and stopped at the "Hidden Valley" near Pyalong, where I had to take some pics.

K0 Saturday 21 February 2026 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

K0 Saturday 21 February 2026 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I jumped back on and rode on to Kilmore, and had a delicious Steak cheese and bacon pie, and an iced coffee milk, the lunch of champions.

K0 Saturday 21 February 2026 7 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I rode back to the storage unit and had to pull my Kawasaki Z1-B out, so I could park the K0, and thought that I need a pic of the two most iconic bikes of the 1970's. If anyone's interested, yes, I think the Kawasaki is slightly bigger all round.

K0 Saturday 21 February 2026 8 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

K0 Saturday 21 February 2026 9 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Anyway, ride #10 is run and done, and I'm happy that the K0 is running so well, I'd forgotten how smooth it is in comparison to the VMax, it is a lovely thing to ride, it's comfortable and pretty nippy, and was happy to cruise at 70-80 MPH on quite a warm day, it was probably 90 degrees when I got back, and the 56 year old beast didn't miss a beat. I did hit a couple of good potholes though, so I won't have to do any acting when I go for my DVA reassessment on Wednesday, my back is farked... Still, was a great ride!

I just looked at that speedo reading and checked it against the speedo reading from when I first restored the K0 and realised that it had done 4717 miles, plus the 103 that I did today, so it should have it's first 5000 miles up in the next few weeks. The stinko tyres are holding up well, I reckon they're good for another 1000 miles at least!   

[PeWe]

Nice ride,Terry!
You have some bikes to compare the K0 with.

The Z1-900 is very special. I think 2 are needed. One 100% stock , the other with a modified engine, 4-1. Good cams for low rpm grunt as well as top end. Higher lift and not that much duration. 1000-1200cc.
120whp would be enough
New tank-side covers with stock paint graphics.

[Alan F.]

Thanks for sharing Terry, you really have a way with giving the mind's eye an eyeful.
I'm glad it was a good day and best wishes for your back.

Shoveling 5 inches of new snow here this morning isn't doing it for me, and the coming week doesn't look much better. Commute weather is sure to be here soon though.
Cheers.

[newday777]

Terry  your Hidden Valley looks and reminds me of the hills inland from Oceanside California with the browned grass and rocks. A warm reminder of rides up there in years past.....
And a far cry from our view like Alan awoke to this morning that winter is still not giving up early this year.....
I still have a good 15" plus deep in my front yard. At least the temps are warmer than last month giving hope that it will start melting away in the next month 😪
But in the meantime, the forecast is for a Noreaster to blow in Sunday night and the track has moved further north so I could see another 4"-12"+ here depending on the track.
Alan, you might see more than here...

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, it was a great ride, and I’m still really impressed with the K0, it’s a lovely old thing. I have to detune the Z1-B somewhat Per, I got a bit carried away with the build back then, and built a pig that would be great at the drag strip, but no fun in traffic. I’ve got a set of GPZ1100 cams here which have a bit more lift and duration than stock Z1 cams, and should work well with the high comp Moriwaki 1100 pistons etc. If that doesn’t make it happier, I have a set of freshly vapor blasted cases, a stock crank and gearbox that I can build a stock engine out of.

Once I have some room in my garage I’ll strip my Z1000 frame and brace it, and install my 1428cc engine that I built 5 years ago, that I forgot about when I started the Z1-B project. It should be a fun bike too.

[Alan F.]

Yes Stu, it'll be more.

Posted this minutes ago:

https://youtube.com/shorts/HdyAyjT5okA?si=EluK_-z6C4ZeLDnv

[newday777]

Yes Stu, it'll be more.

Posted this minutes ago:

https://youtube.com/shorts/HdyAyjT5okA?si=EluK_-z6C4ZeLDnv

That's motorcycle abu..

[Alan F.]

This is certainly not where it expected to be parked at this point in my life

[newday777]

I understand completely Alan

[Terry in Australia]

Geez Alan, is that your bike under all if that snow? Better you than me mate, I hate snow! I’ve only been to the snow twice in my lifetime and both times I didn’t have a choice..

[Alan F.]

Yep. I parked it in mid December and finally got a cover on it by mid January before our first large snowfall.
It's under a Nelson Rigg cover so it should be fine until Spring.

The weather this week looks bad.

[PeWe]

One positive thing with 5-6 months of  waste as we northern people have to endure is the fun first sunny spring ride, temperature +13-15*C.

Maybe better to live were snow and ice very seldom hit the ground?
At least 10 months of good riding, walking outdoors doing other things as well.

[Kevin D]

My CB was parked for 15 years. I can suffer a few months each year.
Springtime checklist:
First start 👍
First time through the gears 👍👍
First motorcycle wave 👍👍👍
First ride report 👍👍👍👍

[PeWe]

First food stop of the year sitting outdoors watching the bike while eating, another good feeling. 
All my first rides have stopped by a cafe, restaurant/pizzeria. Still as fantastic as when I was 18-19 yo

Back to life...

[Alan F.]

That's a very good idea Per, I'll have to remember to include something like that on my rides. Not many places around here have outdoor seating, I will make a point to seek it out.

[Terry in Australia]

Well it rained here yesterday but I was very brave, Spotty and I drove over to my storage unit to pick up the Ducati as I’ve decided to sell it in an auction next month. The intention was for me to ride it back to his place to do a little maintenance on it and make it look nice. We got over there and discovered that it was more frightened by the rain than I am, and pulled the old “But my battery is flat” trick, and refused to start. Bastaard..

I took the battery home and put it on the charger. The weather forecast was for rain for the next 3 days, so I figured that I’d take the battery back today and ride it home in the rain, and fix it myself. (Spotty is one of those guys who still works for a living) I woke up this morning and saw sunshine outside, so checked the forecast, and it has changed, to sunny and warm, woohoo! I paid the registration yesterday so today I think I’ll go over and pick it up and do ride #11, then bring it home.

As much as it’s a great bike, it’s not happy around town, and is pretty uncomfortable on long rides, so I probably won’t miss it much. If I do, there’s another one in the storage unit that I need to get running and take for an occasional ride..

[ofreen]

Ride #2 was 117 miles over familiar territory.  The temperature was crowding 60 by the time I left at 2pm and still around 50 when I got back just after sunset.  I went through Melba, then down to Murphy where I turned around.  Then back up SH78 to Marsing, then to Kuna to see if the camels were out and then looped back home.  A few photos -




I have posted photos of this old bridge at Glenns Ferry before, but not in February when all the leaves are off the trees.  The road now goes over the Snake River on a newer bridge just north of this one.



The camels cooperated by being close to the road.

[PeWe]

You have spring over there, Greg!
It looks like the Middle East.
I thought Ohio belonged to the Midwest states

I'm dreaming about views like that.
I have to wait almost 2 months more.

I can buy really good looking meat imported from Snake River Farms, Idaho.
Nice colored and marbled beef

[newday777]

Greg
Those are some nice pictures to see and much dryer, no sniw and salt free roads compared to what we have in New England at this early time of the Noreaster that is forecast to drop another 8"-12+ on top of our current 15" snow base today. I'll be in my shop today between shoveling expedition forays. Like Per, it'll probably be at least another month before I venture out for a ride here at this rate...

[newday777]

You have spring over there, Greg!
It looks like the Middle East.
I thought Ohio belonged to the Midwest states

I'm dreaming about views like that.
I have to wait almost 2 months more.

Per
Greg is in Oregon on the left coast, not in Ohio.

[Terry in Australia]

Beautiful pics Greg, is it the same Snake River that Evel Kneivel trued to jump over back in the day? Evel was one of my heroes, and I dedicated much lost skin and broken bones in his honour, over the years. I remember looking out of the Caribou (military aircraft, not large Reindeer..) trying to decide whether I'd jump out, as the aircraft appeared to be in pretty good mechanical condition, and I really couldn't see the necessity of jumping out at 1000 feet, (or at all really) so I asked myself, "What would Evel Kneivel do?", and I jumped out. Some less kind soldiers might say that I was pushed out screaming like a little girl, but I don't remember any of that..

But I digress. Today I drove over to the storage unit with a freshly charged battery for my cowardly Ducati. As the sun was shining, the Duke fired right up, and idled away happily while I put on my jacket, helmet and gloves. I have to say, that apart from it's obvious fear of rain, or maybe being ridden by me in rain, it does love a sunny day, and once topped up with 98, was thoroughly enjoying itself. That 916 twin cam engine is a magnificent thing, it hates pootling around in lower RPMs, and doesn't forgive oafs (Oaves?) trying to ride it in a gear higher than it requires, but once out on the highway, it flies. It really is surprising how high that big L Twin engine likes to rev, I saw 9000 RPM several times (and once or twice when I missed a gear, dammit) and the acceleration is probably just as rapid as the VMax, in a smaller, lighter package.

Ducati Monday 23 February 2026 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Ducati Monday 23 February 2026 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Anyhoo, I did the same ride that I did on the K0 on Saturday, stopped for some pics in "The valley of the rocks" and once again stopped in Kilmore at my current favourite bakery for a pie for lunch. Today I decided on a cheese and bacon Quiche (well, "egg and bacon pie", because real men don't eat quiche..) and a steak "Party Pie", washed down with an iced coffee milk. The quiche was delicious, and might become my favourite pie. It's eggs and bacon, and cheese, so probably an Anglo/Aussie equivalent to a Breakfast Burrito? 

Ducati Monday 23 February 2026 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

All in all, a great ride, and a delicious lunch. I came home, did some paint touch ups on the Ducati, then came inside and fell asleep in my comfy chair. Another 103 trouble free miles, and apart from a sore back, shoulders and wrists, I had another great ride. #11 down, #12 soon.
 

[PeWe]

You have spring over there, Greg!
It looks like the Middle East.
I thought Ohio belonged to the Midwest states

I'm dreaming about views like that.
I have to wait almost 2 months more.

Per
Greg is in Oregon on the left coast, not in Ohio.

The Snake River is longer than I thought

[newday777]

You have spring over there, Greg!
It looks like the Middle East.
I thought Ohio belonged to the Midwest states

I'm dreaming about views like that.
I have to wait almost 2 months more.

Per
Greg is in Oregon on the left coast, not in Ohio.

The Snake River is longer than I thought

It's almost 1100 miles long