[evan]

Sunday drove truck over with the "Black Widow" in back to Gerry's place in Paradise, CA. Drive from Woodland,Ca was about 2 hours (took a wrong turn which cost me about 15 minutes). Was ready to take on anything cuz had my shiny new Ricochet skid plate installed along with oil change of mobil one 4L racing oil. Arrived a few minutes late and Gerry was ready to go. Unload bike and hit start button, nothing....huh? It started fine when loading bike. Check kill switch, key on, still no start...WTF? Luckily have a old kicker so bike came to life with one kick. Off we went on pavement to find trail while I pondered on what was wrong. Got to trail and stopped to air down tires. We'll it not electric starting was really bugging me now! Pulled seat and check battery connections, good. Removed right panel and found fuse bad. New fuse which is right next to it installed and presto, she starts with button again! Note to self: Check fuse first next time you idiot.... Anyway, off we go on 85 mile very scenic ride. Chatted with a few other dual sport bikers who of course pointed out our big fat rear tires. Went by one impressive water hole on creek. Decided against pic because of people around using it. Spaced out and didn't get a pic of cool looking 1920's single lane bridge over feather river near end of our ride. Had trouble keeping up with Gerry on really rough part of trail near end. He's at least 10 years older then me! Very jealous of the maze of logging roads and trails in Gerrys back yard. Got back to his place and enjoyed a few beers and excellent BBQ dinner his wife cooked. Got home at dark and was very tired but content....Great day! First pic is Mr Gizmo doing what he does...Fiddling with some gadget....

 

[Roninboise]

That looks like a fun adventure. Thanks for the RR.



Happy Trails All



Ron in Boise

 

[B-dub]

Hey, it doesn't get much better than Paradise! Sounds like you had a good time. Looks like some great riding country and company. Thanks for sharing your ride.

 

[evan]

Forgot to mention that I didn't hear any extra noise from engine because of new ricochet plate. Did notice engine shifting quite well because of mobil oil but need to ride it more to be sure. Folding shifter is next on list but after reading about it for awhile am going to try and put folding tip on stock shifter (don't want shifter sticking out further) so shifter will still bend instead of shearing off shaft if really hit hard.

 

[Bagger]

Thanks for the RR and pics!



How's that old saw go? . . . "Age and cunning will outdo youth and enthusiasm every time!"

I love it when differant members get together and ride.

Bag

 

[Gerry]

Well, still needing to play around with my camera set-up. My holder is designed to attach to either chest protector but it seems that I made the tether that holds the detachable wide angle lens a little to short. When ever I lifter the camera out of it's cup, the to-short tether would tighten and pull off the lens. Guess it is all still a work in progress. Gerry



[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSo6AlLybos&list=UUVVhMOuWTXZcEMiCMI77Tjw&index=1&feature=plcp[/media]

 

[Gerry]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSo6AlLybos&list=UUVVhMOuWTXZcEMiCMI77Tjw&feature=plcp

oh boy..........

 

[B-dub]

Thanks for preparing and posting the video, Gerry. That was enjoyable, I especially liked the stream crossing.

 

[Gerry]

I have crossed that stream a few times, once I fell in the middle. Mike and I had a great time. The weather was a bit unusual as it was clear and in the low 70's when we left my place at 1700 feet. As we gained in elevation, clouds seemed to develop and thicken enough to cause the temps to drop. I know for many areas this is common, but for around here, it is not the norm.



The only glitch we had with the route was having a short section blocked by a new gate. Seems Sierra Pacific is working very hard to 'lock-up' much of their land. I have a hard time being to critical as I have seen significant damage to many of the logging roads due to use/abuse during the wet season. The cost of equipment and man hours to fill and regrade for the next logging operation must be a tidy sum.



Our adventure was an 80 mile clockwise circle starting at 1700' and working up to about 6400'. Mike had a chance to test his roadside diagnostic skills and made quick work of solving a glitch with his electrical system. Seems an old fuse blew making his electric start inoperable (all you folks have a spare fuse or two?).



Riding with someone else is unusual for me, but it has some real pluses. We seemed to each ride at our own pace, but were never much more than an eighth of a mile apart. Mike was often put in the lead as he was a bit faster, and comfortable with the brief directions I provided. Every few minutes we met up, discussed our trial side experiences then continued.



Crossed paths with a couple of other duel sport riders around our age. I talked with them about places and routes. Since I don't pay lots of attention to names, we seemed to have difficulty understanding where each had been prior to our meeting. One guy was on a KTM and the other on a Honda thumper. Like Mike and I, they were having fun.



Getting close to home and on a particularly ruff section of dirt road, seems I did a rather marginal job of picking a good line. As I generally do, I was going pretty slow, likely around 15mph. Kind of silly as I did put some thought into which might be the best route past a couple of very shallow ruts. As good as the Maxxis has been to me, it did not like the angle I took out of the rut. Plop, I was down without any warning that something was about to go wrong. I was fine, though a bit surprised. Mike was right behind me and helped get the 'trail hog' upright again. As clever as I thought my 'lift assist bar' was, it proved worthless in getting the bike up. With the bike on it's side, I could not extend the bar, as it would slide out a little bit then hit the ground. I will likely work on the idea a bit more as it would sure help to have something towards the back to grab on to.



Oil temps generally ran between 214 and 257 degrees. Since I have a warning light on my Vector set at 244, when that temperature is hit, I activate my fan which seems to hold the max temp to about 257. Oddly, on the last two rides, it seemed the temp numbers were lower on the return trip, or I could say, temps seem to drop some after a few hours into the ride. I would have expected the opposite as the late afternoons had been hotter. Perhaps after some 'half way' point I am doing more downhill than up.



Eighty miles of dirt makes for a looong day, but it is sure fun to get out and away from the chores at home. Thanks again Mike. Gerry

 

[losttourist]

drooling over here. what a beautiful place to ride

 

[evan]

Gerry did a nice little roll off the bike when he fell over. Any bruises? Maybe a handle in the very back of the bike would work for lifting. I didn't want to tear off the lugguge box when helping you get bike upright again. I forgot to mention about the plants we saw while riding. Had some white plastic over them and we were dicussing whether they were pot plants. Would have probably been hazardous to our health to get a closer look or take pics. I really enjoyed the nice scenery and was very fun ride. I was completly lost out in that maze of logging roads and made sure to keep on eye on Gerry and not get my self lost without a tour guide. I would like to go back and explore some more if Gerry is up for it. I'll have to look at an online map when I get a chance to try and see where we were.

 

[Lukester]

Great pics....

 

[Gerry]

I was very surprised there was no penalty for my sloppy bike handling. I suspected at least my left hand would be sore as I am sure it made 'first contact'. I would not hesitate to bet my next unemployment check, as those lush gardens were most certainly home to marijuana. The area has been known for pot cultivation for many years. Now that you can grow with permits, why hide it. The area is out of the way enough as not to invite a lot of passer-byes. I suspect as well, there was a lot more that we did not see. Given the number of people we saw, suggests to me surveillance is high. Perhaps that's a pun....

a lot of people are watching out for their investment. Might work on the rack this week end, and take a break from my other projects.



Mike, it would be my pleasure to ride with you and explore further. Just let me know when you have time, and any ideas that come to mind. Gerry

 

[admiral]

Gerry, you have a great place to ride and really nice that it's so close for you. You and Mike did really well with the photo's and video. Great viewing quality for both. You both did really well at the water crossing in the second video. You two are surely having some fun on your riding adventures. All I can say is, I wish I was there!







Thanks so much for sharing your adventure!

 

[jagstw200]

that looks u guys had fun i want to go next time i live in pollock pines sold my tw but i just got 2004xt225 also have klr650 lets ride 54with bad back iam slowing down but still have lots of fun ride-on jags