Riding the USA

Doldrums

2012-02-18T23:11:00.001-05:00

Today, my friends and I took a ride to Easton, Pennsylvania. It wasn't a particularly long ride, we did about 200 miles, but the intention was just to get away and enjoy a day of riding. The weather was relatively warm, I saw a high of 57 degrees on the bike.
My brother and I were joined by a few members of the RAT pack. One Yamaha Super Tenere, one BMW GS A and four Triumphs.

Hanging out with friends, riding twisty roads and enjoying the sounds of a high revving engine is better than a psychiatrist chair. It was a ride to get rid of the doldrums of winter.
I'm too tired to blog the trip now, I will leave it for another day, I will end this entry with this picture which I think captures the day's ride.
I stopped as I got near home to see the sun go down and was rewarded with a beautiful sunset.

Winter Rides

2012-02-10T23:20:00.000-05:00

With winter upon us long trips have stopped but that doesn't mean I stop riding. I have continued to ride, mostly short trips to local hangouts and usually when the temperature is above 40.
One of the places my friends and I like to ride to is New Hope, a quaint little town just over the Delaware river in Pennsylvania. It's about one hour from my house using the highway but there are various ways to get there and we always end up using back roads. In the summer the town is full of bikers, most of the time it's impossible to find a spot to park the bike.

On one of the trips in late November we ended up passing Lambertville and stopping for a drink at the River Horse Brewery. Lambertville is just opposite New Hope on the New Jersey side. The local brewery has sample day from Friday to Sunday where you can buy 4 little samples, about half a glass, for $2. The beer is really good and you can continue to have the $.50 glasses for as long as you want, not bad. They also offer tours of the facility.
River Horse Brewery

One of the rides was to the Hillbilly Hall Tavern & Restaurant for a Polar Bear meeting. This was back in November and the weather was reasonably warm. A large group showed up as you can see. I would like to ride one of the three wheeler Piaggio's, I've been told it handles really well around turns because you have 2 wheels steering the bike. These photos were all taken with my phone.
Hillbilly Hall

In December we rode to another Polar Bear meeting at the Cabin, a local restaurant that looks like a mountain cabin. It has a nice bar and is usually packed on weekends. The Polar Bear group has a meetup at this place every year and it's less than 10 miles from my house. The weather was reasonably warm and as you can see a large group showed up. One guy showed up with an old Triumph turned Cafe Racer that sounded really sweet.
The Cabin Restaurant

A week before Christmas on a nice afternoon I decided to get out of the house and clear my head by going for a ride around Jackson. My town is known in New Jersey as the place of Six Flags Great Adventure and the famous Kingda Ka, a ride that shoots you straight up 45 stories high at 128 mph and then you turn around and drop vertically with a twist along the way. I have never been on the ride but my daughter has and told me it's really scary. I didn't take pictures of the park but instead stopped by a lake and waited for the sun to go down and was rewarded with a beautiful sunset. These pictures were again taken with my phone, not the best quality but you get the picture.
Kingda Ka

A short ride can sometimes be the best thing for the mind, it allows you to forget about problems and for a while just enjoy the scenery and the sounds of the motorcycle. I went back home much more relaxed and ready for another day and ride. I had one more ride on the last day of the year but I will leave that to another post.

Chance Encounter

2012-02-09T22:37:00.002-05:00

If you are not on Google+ you should be. You can see my public posts here or you can click on the link on the right "Add to Circles"

I have been on Google+ for a long time and it's a great place to share interesting articles with your friends. There's so much good info on the web but you cannot find it alone. Google+ allows you to share things you find with only the people that have the same interests.
I have put "Ride the Wild Wind" in my "Motorcycles" circle, they always have good and interesting articles.
You can follow them here.
I saw this video on their site made by Josh Manning and loved it. I was like this guy, tired of the paper jam, tired of the pesky computer problems, tired of the BS from others complaining about computer problems. I needed change.
This is the best movie I have seen in a while for why I/we love riding and should be seen by those considering it.

CHANCE ENCOUNTER from Josh Manning on Vimeo.

I hope you enjoy it, leave a comment if you ever felt like him.

Fort Mott

2012-02-08T23:26:00.001-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's already February and I have had nothing worth posting since December. It's been a slow start to 2012, I have been busy trying to get my life in financial order to be able to enjoy the rest of the year riding.
It's not like I have parked the Tenere and put her into hibernation, I have been riding, but only locally and mostly short rides just to keep the gas circulating and prevent the injection system from clogging. The bike has passed the 3500 mile mark and is fast approaching the 4000 mile service, a simple oil change. The engine seems to be getting looser and a little more anxious to hit the red marker on the tachometer. It's been a lot of fun as the miles pile up, I'm able to extract a little more fun out of it.
Last week my brother asked if I wanted to go visit Fort Mott, I looked up the weather and Saturday was expected to be in the low 50's, Sunday was going to be in the low 40's with the possibility of some rain. He suggested Saturday and so it was, I would meet him at his house and then continue south to Fort Mott situated on the edge of the Delaware River.
Wiki: Fort Mott

Construction of the fort started in 1872 but stopped in 1876 with just two of the gun emplacements and two magazines in the mortar battery completed.

It was 35 degrees when I left the house, I still haven't installed the heated grips or plugs for my heated vest, it was a long and cold ride to my brother's place. We leave his place and continue south towards the Delaware Memorial Bridge veering off towards the town of Pennsville. We passed the sleepy town and then turned into Fort Mott Road that leads you straight to Fort Mott State Park. It was almost lunch time when we arrived, the temperature had lazily climbed to 50 degrees.
There isn't a lot to see, the Fort was never completed and the guns were removed a long time ago.

We walk along the top of the fortifications and step inside one of the observation rooms. You can see the Delaware River in front of you and Pea Patch Island in the middle of the river with Delaware on the other side. Three forts were part of the defenses, Fort Mott in New Jersey, Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island and Fort DuPont in Delaware City, Delaware. There's a ferry that runs in season to Pea Patch Island but the service is closed at this time.
There's a couple of towers, the one below served as the spotting and fire coordination control room but was closed to the public.

We walk along the back where the guns would have been setup stepping into the ammunition rooms but I was a little disappointed the guns had been removed a long time ago. I love to examine old weapons.

The tower below is in bad shape, rust has taken it's toll. It also served as a spotting and fire control tower.

We then visited the Guard House but it was closed too, that's what happens when you visit parks in the middle of winter, most park services are closed. We moved behind another building where we saw a few gun barrels that were taken from a ship, they are not from the gun batteries of the fort.

We also saw a towed gun that had been brought to the park by the rangers, not sure where it came from or the size but it's probably a 5" gun. It's in bad shape, being so close to the river and in the rain is not helping.

This gun is probably WWII, it had electric elevation and fire control. I loved the little gears and gearboxes, some more rusted than others.

We leave the park and travel less than 1/2 a mile to Finn's Point National Cemetery. Not much to see, a few graves and 2 monuments, pretty sad place, there's a few thousand souls buried here.
Wiki: Finn's Point

Originally purchased by the federal government to build a battery to protect the port of Philadelphia, the land became a cemetery by 1863 for Confederate prisoners of war who died while in captivity at Fort Delaware. One hundred and thirty five Union soldiers who died while serving as guards at the prison camp are also buried here. The death toll among prisoners of war and the guards was high, especially in the latter part of 1863 and throughout 1864. By July 1863, there were 12,595 prisoners on the island at nearby Fort Delaware which was only about 75 acres (30 ha) in size. Disease was rampant and nearly 2,700 prisoners died from malnutrition or neglect. Confederate prisoner interred at the cemetery totaled 2,436 and all are in general unmarked graves.

We leave the cemetery just as we feel a few rain drops, it was time for lunch, we ride back to Pennsville and find the Greystone Cafe. Nice little place and only one other couple eating. I had a nice Panini and a warm cup of coffee, my bother had a salad.

We leave Pennsville and start heading north towards my mom's place. We had told her we would stop there on the way back. Rain is now falling continuously.
NEVER TRUST THE WEATHERMAN.
The ride back was a little over 2 hours, we took the long route through local roads pass the town of Hammonton catching rain for the first hour and a half, we even managed to find a muddy dirt road the GPS didn't know about it. It was a cold and miserable ride back, my right boot has started letting water in and by the time I arrived at my mom's house my sock was soaked.
It was still a worthy trip, it's always a good ride when you get to ride with your brother.

Motorcyclepedia IV

2011-12-24T16:15:00.000-05:00

Part four and last of my visit to Motorcyclepedia Museum in Newburgh, NY.

The links to the previous posts:
Motorcyclepedia
Motorcyclepedia II
Motorcyclepedia III

A bicycle with a tank and engine shoved in the frame

Love the white tires

The owner must have had very short arms, look at the handlebars

This three-wheeler came from the "De Dion, Bouton et Trépardoux" company which was formed in Paris in 1883. This became the "De Dion-Bouton" automobile company, the world's largest automobile manufacturer for a time, becoming well known for their quality, reliability, and durability

The SdKfz 2, better known as the Kleines Kettenkraftrad HK 101 or Kettenkrad for short (Ketten = tracks, krad = military abbreviation of the German word Kraftrad, the administrative German term for motorcycle), started its life as a light tractor for airborne troops. The vehicle had the advantage of being the only gun tractor small enough to fit inside the hold of the Ju 52.

The Harley-Davidson XA (Experimental Army) was a flat-twin shaft drive motorcycle made by Harley-Davidson for the US Army during World War II. Only about 1000 were produced (Wiki)

The Aurora Machine and Tool Company started as a machine shop in 1886. In 1903 Aurora founded the Thor Moto Cycle and Bicycle Company. I couldn't find much information about Thor but here's a page with some information (Thor)

Ace Motor Corporation was a motorcycle manufacturer in operation continuously in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1919 and 1924 and intermittently afterward until 1927. Essentially only one model of the large luxury four-cylinder motorcycle, with slight variations, was made from first to last.

In 1969, American Machine and Foundry (AMF) bought the Harley Davidson company, streamlined production, and slashed the workforce. This tactic resulted in a labor strike and a lower quality of bikes. The bikes were expensive and inferior in performance, handling, and quality to Japanese motorcycles. Sales and quality declined, and the company almost went bankrupt.

1970 AMF Harley Davidson

Anyone for a cold treat? Ice cream?

I love the colors on this motorcycle.

After the museum tour and with the group starving we went down to the river's edge looking for a place to eat. We settled on Billy Joe's Ribworks, a very nice place on the edge of the Hudson river.

The waterfront along the Hudson river in Newburgh has a nice dock and lots of restaurants. You can take a leisurely ride on a paddle boat or just watch the power boats go by.

Since Orange County Choppers (OCC) is nearby, some of us decided to visit the place. I had been there on a previous ride but decided to go again to see the effects of the split between Paul Teutul, Sr., and Paul Teutul, Jr.

My favorite chopper on display, a special Cadillac CTS-V themed model.

I own a Cadillac CTS-V

A chopper designed for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.

My second favorite chopper on display, a special model made for the National Fallen Heroes Memorial.

I love the assault rifles and the ammo boxes with the ammo chains streaming out.

I have reached the end of my posts of the trip to the Motorcyclepedia Museum. I hope you have a chance to visit one day. There are many more motorcycles on display than I could post here.

I will end with a picture of the Paul Sr. bobble head toy. I hope you have enjoyed my pictures.

Motorcyclepedia III

2011-12-22T23:23:00.001-05:00

Part three of my visit to Motorcyclepedia Museum. Some great machines, enjoy.
The links to the previous posts.
Motorcyclepedia
Motorcyclepedia II

Indian Warrior with skis

A beautiful Indian with tan saddle bags

1931 Indian Four Package Truck

1908 Indian Racers

Love the white tires, reminds me of my bicycle when I was a kid

1967 Mega Cycle

Beautiful chrome work on the buggy and motorcycle

Two weird contraptions

The Pulse

Look at the steering on the big V8 trike

You can never have enough lights

This is one way to improve being seen on the road

Did I say the museum is big?

More to come......

Motorcyclepedia II

2011-12-21T21:03:00.001-05:00

A continuation of my last post, here's the link if you don't feel like scrolling down:
Motorcyclepedia

I will let you guys enjoy the beautiful motorcycles on display and if you happen to live nearby, definitely visit the museum.

I would love to take this Yamaha TZ250 to a track

1974 Yamaha TZ250

How about this 51 Velocette Grand Prix Racer?

Wiki

A few Indians

A Yankee motorcycle? I had never heard about this company

Wiki

A beautifully restored Henderson

Henderson produced 4-cylinder motorcycles from 1912 until 1931

Ace Motor Corporation produced motorcycles in Philadelphia between 1919 and 1924

Wiki

Bultaco was a Spanish manufacturer of two-stroke motorcycles from 1958 to 1983

1978 Harley Davidson MX250

My kind of motorcycle, an adventure motorcycle

Another adventure bike, with a single "pannier" in the front,

I'm kidding of course, still a beautiful Indian

Look at the black one in the back with white tires

Two more Indians

Wow, gotta love the pastel colors, these colors are coming back in cars

Two beautiful Indians with sidecars

I will end this post with this beautiful 1920 Indian

A bicycle with a Briggs & Stratton Type D Motor

Hey, they were able to do 100 miles per gallon

More to come......

Motorcyclepedia

2011-12-19T23:12:00.000-05:00

Last June I visited the Motorcyclepedia Museum in Newburgh, New York with my friends from the Central Jersey Motorcycle Club. The museum had opened back in April and this was our first visit to the museum. The non-profit museum in the town of Newburgh is housed in a former Miron Home Center and has 2 floors covering about 85,000 square feet. There are over 350 motorcycles on display and about 100 of them are Indians. I was equally amazed by the quantity and the quality of the motorcycles on the various galleries.

My trusty Kawasaki Concours (Goldie)

We had a large group, about 20 riders, we met for breakfast and then made a beeline to the museum with no stops. I didn't have a chance to take any photos along the trip. Some of the club members that showed up for the ride.

From the outside it's hard to believe such a building houses so many valuable motorcycles and the sign hardly shows it, a little sign in front of the building.

Once you get inside, it's a whole different story, you are surrounded by all kinds of motorcycles that go back all the way to the 19th century, remember, we are in the 21st century, hard to believe.

I'm a big Google user but was always annoyed when viewing pictures because they would open one at a time. With the advent of Google Plus, which I encourage everyone to join and friend me there, they have updated the way pictures are displayed, now you can see all the pictures in a post at the same time and in full size when you click on any photo.

I will be making various posts since I have so many pictures, there's no point in taking pictures if no one sees them so without further ado here is the first batch, enjoy.

Who doesn't remember "Easy Rider", the 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper? There's a nice collection of choppers from various Hollywood movies.

The 60's and 70's were crazy, you gotta love the trikes from the era. These pictures were taken with my old camera with a special fisheye adapter, excuse the distortion.

I had to have a little fun, this mini chopper that looks like it was made by the guys at OCC (Orange County Choppers) was the only motorcycle we could sit on, I took advantage of it.

My Favourite Five

2011-12-14T21:35:00.002-05:00

My friend Roger and fellow blogger from Auckland, New Zealand, recently posted a challenge on his blog “All Things Rogey!” for us to post the 5 favorites pictures of 2011.
The rules are:

Post your five favourite photos of 2011. Tell us why you like them. It could just be you like the pic or it could be more personal or of great meaning to you. The only rule is that you have to have been the one who took them, and there must be at least one of you

I take a lot of pictures but I decided to post pictures that have a special meaning to me in 2011, not necessarily good pictures, just special. It was difficult to select the 5 photos but here are mine and why they are special to me.
In order of occurrence.

This one is special because in 2011 I celebrated my 50th birthday. It was super special because I was able to celebrate with high school friends I hadn't seen in 26 years. My friend Mario on the left also celebrated his birthday, 49th, 9 days before me. We left NY on a cruise to the Caribbean on his birthday and had my party 9 days later as we left the Caribbean on the return trip. My wife surprised me with this special dinner in one of the gourmet restaurants on the ship, she even managed to get authorization to decorate the corner table in the restaurant.

This one is special because my son turned 21 and we were able to have our first beer together. He is attending college and I'm sure it was not the first beer he had but at least it was the first beer I paid for and he was legally allowed to have it.

My beautiful daughter graduated middle school and is now in high school, I'm getting old...
She's an adorable young lady but still dad's girl. To see her in the red gown accepting the diploma was very special.

My first adventure off-road on my new Yamaha Super Ténéré. As you all know I waited a long time for this bike and I bought it exactly for these kind of roads. It was only a short ride off-road to test the capabilities of the traction control and ABS but it was nevertheless special to me. I just love this photo. I plan on going to Alaska with this bike and have lots of plans for the future.

Technically I took this picture since I was alone and put the camera on top of a wooden pole I saw on the side of the road. Timer counts, doesn't it? I just love this photo because it represents what I love most, the spirit of adventure, not knowing what's around the corner. I'm always prepared to discover new things and places and I hope the future will allow me to do lots of adventures. Now if I could convince my wife to get an adventure bike too, life would be perfect.

Wendover Will

2011-12-12T18:40:00.000-05:00

Since I have been talking about giants signs on the road I am including one giant that probably not many people know. His name is Wendover Will.
I came upon this giant in 2010 during my cross country trip. I had left my brother at the BMW dealer in Salt Lake City and had done the 121 miles to Wendover by myself with a stop at the Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway. It was one of the highlights of my trip, the Salt Flats had been a dream visit since childhood when my dad had shown pictures of the famous Blue Bird land speed record cars.

After arriving in Wendover I crossed the state line in the center of town, Utah/Nevada and was immediately struck by the size of the cowboy in the center of West Wendover, the two towns are separated by the state line.

Info from Wikipedia:

Wendover Will was named after the town of Wendover and William Smith, who founded the Stateline Casino. The 63 foot (19 m)-tall sign was intended to draw travelers in from US Highways 40 and 50, later known as Interstate 80. The sign includes 1,184 feet (361 m) of neon tubing.

When the Stateline Casino changed ownership, the sign was donated to West Wendover. The town spent approximately $200,000 to restore the sign; the restoration was done by The Young Electric Sign Company. Wendover Will was moved to Wendover Boulevard in the town's center

Wendover Will was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the "World's Largest Mechanical Cowboy"

I had nothing else to do but wait for my brother to arrive. I parked the bike in front of Wendover Will and walked to a nearby casino to get a drink and reprieve from the heat.
You can read the blog for that day here

Muffler Man II

2011-12-11T17:30:00.001-05:00

I had to revisit the "Muffler Man" blog entry because two readers, "BeemerGirl" and my friend Wayne mentioned that he looked like "Alfred E. Neuman", the fictional mascot and cover boy of Mad Magazine. Wiki here. After a little research, here's the background of Muffler Man. Wiki here.

According to Roadside America website, they're big. they're scary and there are hundreds of them. The site has a page on the "origin of the species" that you can read more here.
Apparently, in 1999, Steve Dashew stumbled onto the site, he was the owner of International Fiberglass, the company that turned out thousands of commercial statues in the 1960s and 70s. International Fiberglass took a single statue mold created for a cafe and parlayed it into a roadside industry. Roadside America interviewed Steve which you can read here.
The first figure was a Paul Bunyan, done for the PB Cafe on Route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona in about 1962. Most of the statues were derivatives of that one mold. You can find more info on this site

There was Miss Uniroyal, in bikini and dressed version.

The Alfred E. Neumans, "Happy Half-wits", which apparently one is/was in Seaside Heights and held the Paul Bunyan axe, I have to take a ride there to see if he's still standing, and the one I saw in Jackson.

They were also made for various other establishments. Here's two common ones, the "Indian Brave" in Bemidji, MN and "Salsa Muffler Man", Malibu, CA.

During my research I ran into Roadside Architecture website which has lots of information on Paul Bunyan Muffler Man and on giants of the road including the huge gorilla at Mighty Joe's Gas Grill & Deli in Shamong, NJ which I have run into a few times. I don't have a picture of my bike in front of him.
Visit Roadside Architecture website here if you interested in getting pictures of your bike in front of a giant, they are found all over across the country.

Mighty Joe's

Now it's time for you to go out and post a picture of your bike in front of a giant, leave a comment here with a link to your post.

List of sites mentioned:
Wikipedia - Alfred E. Neuman link
Wikipedia - Muffler Man link
Wikipedia - Paul Bunyan link
Roadside America - Origins of the species link
Roadside Architecture - list of giants of the road link
Ratrun - You will find a pretty big list of Muffler Man on this link

Muffler Man

2011-12-09T20:29:00.001-05:00

A few months ago I was reading Fuzzygalore's blog when I saw a post about a Muffler Man she had found in California. "Fuzzygalore's blog entry"
It wasn't the first time she had mentioned Muffler Man and in another post she had mentioned Paul Bunyan. The guy looked familiar and it piqued my interest to find out more. I knew I had run into a Paul Bunyan on my cross country trip but had no idea what he represented. I wasn't born in the US but always had great interest in American history, it was time to find out, you can read more here: "Paul Bunyan Wiki"
After looking through my trip archive I found out I had run into Paul Bunyan and his animal companion, Babe the Blue Ox, in Trees of Mystery, a roadside attraction in Klamath, California. "Map location"
"My blog entry"

Paul Bunyan in Klamath

According to Wikipedia "the first figure was a Paul Bunyan character designed to hold his axe and then derivatives of that figure were widely used to hold full-sized car mufflers, tires, or other items promoting various roadside businesses"

Fuzzygalore had also mentioned there used to be one close to where I live near the Six Flags Great Adventure park in Jackson, New Jersey.

Well, it's Friday, a balmy 55 degrees, time for a road trip and find out if the "Muffler Man" is still there. Turns out he is there but no longer holds anything, I'm not even sure why he's there or what he advertised in the past. He is located a block away from the entrance to the Great Adventure park in a fenced in area all by himself. He is all alone but still showed a smile.

Since the gate was open I rode my bike in and parked in front of the 20 foot Muffler Man just for perspective, the fella is pretty big.

And then for fun I put him on my bike, he was looking at my bike with interest and that's the least I could do to help the lonely Muffler Man.

I left the place and headed to my mom's home a few miles down the road for some coffee and cookies, she's always happy to see me and always has a bag of Milano cookies waiting for me, today she had the Mint Milano's, if you haven't tried them you should, they are super delicious.
Here's an artistic view of the Muffler Man taken with my phone and created with "Camera360", a camera application for Android.

"Muffler Man on Wikipedia"

Trax Luggage

2011-12-07T20:00:00.001-05:00

I finally received the luggage rack that had been on back order for a few weeks. There had been some problems with the initial batch and after some concerns by customers the company decided to modify the rack. I had seen the SW-Motech TraX bags for the first time mounted on a Super Ténéré in Australia on the ADV Rider forums and immediately fell in love with the look.

I first saw them in standard aluminum color but after I saw them in black powder coated aluminum I knew I wanted them for my bike. From the beginning I had pictured my Super Ténéré in full black guise and the TraX panniers would suit the Super Ténéré with the rugged look and continue with the dark theme.

The Super Ténéré has the exhaust muffler on the left side and it's of considerable size due to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements, which sets noise emissions standards for motorcycle exhaust systems. The luggage system has to take the muffler into account and that requires the panniers to be of different size to maintain symmetry. The left pannier is 37 Liters and the right side is 45 Liters.

I added the top bag which is 38 Liters and allows for the storage of my helmet. I will be adding helmet locks to the sides of the top Altrider rack so that on long trips when the panniers are loaded I will still be able to safely secure my helmet to the bike. It's one of those convenience things that come handy when you have to park the bike in dubious places.

All the locks on the panniers and the racks are keyed the same. The panniers can be easily removed by unlocking one lock that locks the pannier to the rack. The racks can also be easily removed by turning quarter turn screws and unlocking the Anti Theft Protection lock. On shorter rides I might just want the top pannier for convenience and the bike looks much better without the side racks installed. On other bikes the racks stay with the bike regardless if you carrying the panniers or not.

The three panniers came with soft bags that fit inside to facilitate carrying stuff off the bike. SW-Motech offers add-on soft bags that compliment the panniers and can be strapped to the top of the side panniers to increase storage space.
Overall the TraX system offers a lot for the price. Lots of storage, sturdiness as proven by many that have traveled around the world and the looks to compliment the Super Ténéré.
Spring can't come fast enough, it's going to be a painful winter.

A few mods on the Tenere

2011-11-26T20:12:00.001-05:00

A big apology to all my readers is in order for I have been away from the blogs for a while. I lost my job a while ago and my head has been preoccupied with other more important things. I had just bought the Tenere and started the modifications when my company decided to outsource my job to a big consulting company. I kind of knew it was coming but it was still unexpected and also at the wrong time.
Oh well, things happen for a reason and I'm sure I will recover and new things will show up for the better.
I haven't been riding as much as I wanted, been mostly doing short local rides around New Jersey. I do have a few ride reports to complete but my head has not been in the right place for me to blog.

I started looking for an adventure bike when I had the idea to go to Prudhoe Bay after reading many ride reports on the ADV site and I have always had the picture in my mind of how I wanted the Tenere to look like, black was going to be the theme. With that in mind I started looking for protection and luggage for the bike. I wanted the equipment to be rugged and to be able to take any punishment I might put the bike through since I intend on keeping the Tenere for a long time. For protection I decided to go with Altrider parts.
First thing I installed was the skid plate powder coated in black. It's a very well made part and very strong. It will protect the headers and the oil filter from rocks and other flying debris.

The bike needed some side protection in case of a fall. The Altrider crash bars are built from one inch stainless steel tubing, hopefully they will never rust. The Tenere has the radiator and fan mounted under the left side panel and the crash bar will protect it from a side fall. They are designed to distribute the weight across six mounting points, three on each side and are powder coated in black.

Since this bike will be going off road and there will be times when I will need to stop in soft sand, I had to do something about the kick stand. Even though the Tenere kick stand has a pretty large foot print, it can never be big enough in soft sand, bigger is always better. Altrider makes the perfect side stand foot to keep it from sinking or falling on soft surfaces.

Yamaha decided to put a plastic/fiber luggage rack on the bike and on the first edition some customers outside of the US reported broken racks. For the US, Yamaha redesigned the rack but it is still made of plastic/fiber. Since I will be adding big aluminum panniers to the bike, a stronger rack was a necessity. Once again Altrider came to the rescue with a very well built and strong aluminum rack with lots of places to hook bungee cords. The rack has a small area underneath that allows for the storage of a little toolbox or compressor.

I had ordered the luggage from Twisted Throttle but the manufacturer had encountered a problem with one of the parts on the mounting rack and that delayed the delivery of the part. With the rest of the luggage stashed away in the garage waiting to be installed and with the protection on the bike it was time to hit the local roads and do some adventuring.

I rode a few dirt roads to get used to the bike and to play around with the traction control and the ABS. I am loving this bike a little more after each ride but lets not kid anyone, it's not a light bike and commands respect on the dirt. For more aggressive dirt riding I will have to install a set of knobby tires.

Until I install the luggage I have to limit myself to short distances and that implies staying in New Jersey. I do have a few nice roads close to my house and I have been taking advantage of my free time to ride them.

Soon the luggage will be installed and I can start planning some longer trips but unfortunately winter is fast approaching. Losing my job at this time was definitely at the wrong time.

Lucy the Elephant

2011-09-10T00:04:00.000-04:00

Chris from "Everyday Riding" blog had arrived the night before from Rhode Island. He is a fellow blogger from Minnesota and was in the middle of a “Big Trip” visiting the New England states. I had offered him the overnight stay as hotels near the shore can be expensive.
We had spent the previous evening discussing computers, motorcycles and trips in between drinking and swimming in the pool. Since he didn't really have a route planned other than ride along the shore, I recommended a trip to Cape May and then take the ferry across the Delaware River to Lewes, Delaware. I wasn't planning on riding with him since I had other plans for the day but the weather was beautiful and I needed to put mileage on my new Yamaha Super Tenere, didn't take long for Chris to persuade me into leading him down to Cape May.
We left the house and headed south passing the United States Navy Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station, the site of the 1937 LZ 129 Hindenburg airship disaster. Last year I got in trouble for stopping and taking pictures in front of the plane so I pointed out the place and we rode past. Chris got a nice photo using his GoPro camera. Refer to his blog for more pictures.
I lead Chris through back roads towards Atlantic City making the first stop in front of the Trump Taj Mahal, known as the The Taj by locals.

It was a very hot and humid day, we quickly continued down Atlantic Avenue past all the casinos making the next stop in Margate at the famous "Lucy the Elephant", a six-story elephant-shaped example of novelty architecture. Chris took a walk to the beach while I stayed by the bike taking pictures of Lucy, the gigantic elephant was originally constructed of wood and tin sheeting in 1882 by James V. Lafferty.
Lucy the Elephant

We continue south but soon Atlantic Avenue comes to a dead end in Longport with the Great Egg Harbor Inlet in front of us. We stop to take a few pictures and that's when I notice two figurines of the famous "Blues Brothers" on a veranda of a home facing the bay. You find the weirdest things in NJ.

At this point we had to back track to continue towards Cape May and since my new bike does not have a GPS, I asked Chris to lead us out of the area and continue south avoiding highways. We arrive a while later in Cape May with our stomachs rumbling, we ride along the beach looking for a place to eat and we both agree on Uncle Bill's Pancake House where the air conditioner was cranking.

After lunch we rode towards the Lewes ferry where we said our goodbyes. I had suggested Annapolis, home of the United States Naval Academy, as a end point for the day. The academy was founded in 1845 and the city is home to some famous buildings, Chris quickly agreed and off he was on his way to the ferry.

I started my way home stopping at the New Jersey National Guard outpost just outside Cape May for a picture of my new bike in front of the ground to ground missile on display.

I made the next stop in the Pine Barrens at a sign I had ridden past but never stopped. The Warren Grove Gunnery Range is where East Coast Air National Guard units practice bombing and strafing with A-10's and F-16's fighter jets. From my parents home in nearby Manchester we can some times hear the explosions, depending on the wind direction.

I have ridden many times through the Warren Grove area and one thing you immediately notice is how different the landscape is. The area is home to the Pygmy Pine Forest of New Jersey, where the trees don't grow any taller than five feet. You can get more info on the Pine Barrens here.

I continue on my way looking for a place to take my bike off road for the first time. A little further north I see a dirt road going into the Pine Barrens, I quickly take a detour up the trail.

The Yamaha Super Tenere is not a small dirt bike, it weighs about 575lbs, I cautiously give it some gas and immediately the traction control kicks in most likely saving me from an embarrassing moment. My heart beats a little faster but I have to try it and give it more throttle, I want to trust the technology behind the advanced traction control. In second gear I give it full throttle, the 100 plus horses kick in, the rear tire wiggles a little, I feel the engine computer interact with the ignition timing and the brakes and the bike quickly accelerates to what are very scary speeds on soft sand. I quickly come off the throttle and apply brakes, mostly the rear and again the clatter of the brake system being controlled by the ABS quickly slows the bike down. I haven't installed the crash bars, this is no time to do crazy stunts and playing in soft sand without knobbies is just plain crazy.

I continue a little further up the road and then make a u-turn in the process almost dropping the bike when the front wheel encounters a deep pocket of soft sand, almost like beach sand. I think my heart skipped a few beats right then but I let the bike go where it wants to go and quickly regain full control.

I stop for a few pictures and to regain normal heart beat and then continued towards my parent's home where my mom quickly got me a dinner plate and a cold beer, it was already dinner time.

It was a nice trip of a little over 200 miles for the day with a riding buddy from Minnesota. Today's ride puts me a little closer to my first service on the bike. I can't wait until I have at my disposal the full power of the bike at 10K rpm's.

The link to "Everyday Riding" blog entry for the day

Honeymoon Report

2011-08-17T00:55:00.000-04:00

When you buy a new motorcycle you go through three stages just like in your love life. At first you fall in love, everything is just beautiful, maybe it's the color, maybe it's the shape or even the sound, you are blind to the imperfections, you are in love and all is rosy.

Then you go through the honeymoon phase where you now live together and have to accept each other, nothing can go wrong, you love everything and are together all the time, always touching, feeling each other, there might be a few hiccups, the rosy moments can turn blue but all is still covered by love.

After a while the honeymoon is over and now you have to accept the fact that there might be some dark moments, moments when you might hate each other and everything turns black, but now you have to live with the good and the bad as you are now stuck for the duration of the loan.

I'm happy to have gone through the first stage, it was a long courtship but we finally got together. Now the honeymoon phase starts and we can finally go places together and enjoy each other. I took her out on Saturday to meet my friends for the first time with a little apprehension, you never know how they going to react to your new love.

I had organized to meet at the Brass Ring Cafe in Hopewell where my friends would be waiting to have lunch and then we would take a ride to the Van Sant Airport in Pennsylvania, a local hangout for bikers. It wasn't going to be a long ride, just long enough to get accustomed to each other.

I have to say she's very comfortable, a little tall but since she's light on her feet I can handle her well. The exceptionally compact 1199cc parallel twin with a unique 270° crank makes wonderful sounds. The combination offers excellent torque and traction and the engine mass is kept low for excellent handling. The narrow 2-cylinder inline engine is slim and compact with two engine maps. "Touring" for when you just want to enjoy the scenery, give her throttle and she gently pulls away in no rush, smoothness is her character. "Sport" when you want to be rough and play dirty. I was surprised the first time I put her in "Sport" mode how she completely changed, give her a little throttle and she throws you back, you get propelled like you were shot out of a canon, no apologies, just a brute force from low rpm's all the way to the red line. It's a "Jekyll and Hyde" feeling, two distinct personalities.

I arrive at the Cafe with her and the guys are bowing to us, they are instantly in love with her, the looks, the sound, how skinny and light she is, we both felt the love. My brother asks me to go around so he can film it with his Iphone and that's when I ran into her twin sister, different color but just as beautiful. I wave and she comes over to join the party.

I had originally fallen in love and picked the "Raven" back in September 2010. After about two months I changed my mind after some members of the family suggested the "Impact Blue" was nicer. I reluctantly changed my order but I had instructed the dealer that I did not want to fall out of line and if changing the color was going to affect delivery than forget it since I loved them both. I'm not sure what happened but something was lost in the translation. Two weeks ago the dealer finally called to tell me my "Raven" Super Ténéré had arrived. I was surprised but the "Raven" had been my first love after all. They are both beautiful but I definitely prefer the "Raven" and would not change a thing on her.

L to R - Yous trully, Paul (my brother), Wayne, Jack, Duke and Jeff

After lunch we head to the airport crossing into Pennsylvania in Frenchtown. I am finally able to open her a little, the twin downdraft fuel injection throttle delivering acceleration with precise throttle response. She glides through the air taking the twisty part of route 32 with an unbelievable lightness. Compared to my previous love, she's nimble and I feel I have complete control over her. I throw her left and right and she responds with complete confidence. We arrive at the airport and I decide to test how good her traction really is.

I take her on the grass and give her a little twist on the throttle. Her 3-position Traction Control lets me get on the gas with confidence, I give her a little more throttle and I finally feel her wheels spin just a little, her brain regulating the ignition timing and fuel injection based on wheel spin, she pulls away with hardly a complaint. I didn't turn the traction control off, she's too new for me to get rough with her. Three modes are available to match my riding style.

She has both an Antilock Braking System (ABS) and Unified Braking System. With the Unified Braking System, squeezing the front brake alone also provides some rear-wheel braking; pressing the rear brake first overrides the Unififed Braking System for traditional separate front and rear braking action. I didn't have the courage to test her ABS but the unified braking system works extremely well allowing the use of the front brake with confidence. I accelerated and then braked hard on the long road leading to the airport and she responded by slowing down like someone had dropped an anchor behind us with nary a fuss.

With an adjustable seat and windshield, her body components helping protect the legs against cold weather, her side mounted radiator extracting the engine heat through the side vents, the grooved foot pegs with rubber cushions which provide excellent comfort while sitting while letting the rider’s boots contact the metal foot peg surface when standing to tackle more technical riding conditions, I feel comfortable we will have a long relationship and will travel together on many new adventures.

I return to the group and park her next to the other ladies. My brother's BMW GS1200 Adventure, two Triumph ST's, a Triumph Trophy and a BMW R1200RT. I'm sure the newcomer had lots to talk about.
We sat in the shade under the trees, watched the gliders take off and discussed the better things in life, woman and motorcycles.

We leave the airport and head home passing through the town of New Hope, the future ahead of us.

I am now working on a few additions that will enhance my Yamaha Super Ténéré and make our travels more comfortable. I'm still enjoying my honeymoon, she's all I expected and more.

Ride it like you Stole it

2011-08-12T23:01:00.000-04:00

I picked up my new Yamaha Super Ténéré last Friday and on Monday afternoon the bike was ready for its first 600 mile service. I rode it like I had stolen it.
As most of you know I had put a deposit sight unseen last September and had been waiting for the bike since then. I had a chance to see and sit on one for the first time last January at the NY Motorcycle Show. I had not heard the engine running live, only on various Youtube videos made by Ténéré owners around the world. I had taken a leap of faith with Yamaha. I am very happy with my choice to purchase this wonderful machine. It's everything I thought it was going to be and more.
I had asked the dealer to call me as soon as the Yamaha truck delivered the bike. On Friday, July 29th they called and I dropped everything and headed to the dealer in a hurry. The box was out back and still closed. I opened the box myself and was finally able to see my Super Ténéré.

The dealer was closed on Monday but by Tuesday my bike was being assembled. On Friday I left work early and headed to the dealer to pick up the bike. I heard the engine running for the first time, a big 1200cc engine that sounds like a big thumper, it was music to my ears.

Yamaha started distributing the bikes to dealers at the end of July and some owners had already received their bikes by the end of the month but most of the owners reporting they had picked up the bikes were from the south. On Saturday, August 6th, I went out for my first ride and to introduce the bike to my friends, to my amazement I ran into another owner near the meeting place with a blue Ténéré. Later in the day while riding in Pennsylvania we ran into another owner, this time a black one just like mine.

I will be writing a full report soon but in the mean time here's a video made by my brother when I rode to meet the group at the Brass Ring Cafe in Hopewell NJ.

First Ride

A Scorching BMW MOA Rally

2011-08-03T23:49:00.004-04:00

If I had to pick two words to describe the BMW MOA Rally (Motorcycle Owners of America) it would have to be SCORCHING and HUMID. By Sunday my brain was cooked from the 100+ degrees at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds, my occipital lobe had slowed down to a crawl, it had stopped interpreting information from the retinas of the eyes, and the thinking function had stopped operating completely, drinking beer did not help.
The four days I spent camping were so hot that by the time I got home the bike was at least 50 pounds lighter, either I lost a lot of weight or I might have left stuff behind, in either case, who cares, I was riding, I had fun and that's all it matters.

I attended last years rally in Redmond Oregon with my brother, this year we had Wayne join us for the trip. The weather guys had predicted 95 degrees for Thursday, I decided to meet Wayne at his house, about 45 minutes from mine and leave early, my brother would meet us there later, he works nights and it would be difficult for him to get up early.

I was stopped in front of Wayne's house loaded and ready to hit the road at 8am. We had 160 miles ahead of us, about 2.5 hours riding. We head across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania and cut north on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Extension. About halfway up we pass a red pickup truck with two BMW motorcycles on a trailer, one of them looks familiar to me, a red K75 also known as the flying brick. Wayne riding a Triumph Sprint ST waves his finger at them, pointing out the fact that BMW's should be ridden to the rally, not taken on a trailer as most riders of another motorcycle marque usually do. Wayne likes to stir trouble.
With the temperature climbing faster than fireworks on a 4th of July, we pull in to a rest area for a drink and some refuge from the heat. We had parked the bikes and were about to go inside when a certain red pickup comes around, here comes trouble was my first thought. The pickup slows down as it rounds the parking area, I throw a glance at it and see a big guy smiling at me instead of an angry face. I turn around and I'm faced with Jack Riepe's smile, we immediately recognize each other. You see, Jack has this blog called "Twisted Roads By Jack Riepe" which I have been following for a long time and he had recently started reading mine but we had never met. We had exchanged a few e-mails and had planned on meeting at the rally during his seminar. We introduce ourselves, shake hands, I excuse my friend's actions as just another hooligan Triumph rider and we all move inside to chat. I will leave it to Jack to explain why he was not riding his flying brick, the very famous K75 AKA "Fireballs".

After registering ourselves we head to the camping area and proceed to setup our tents. Less than an hour later and already sweating, we head to the vendor area but after a while we make our way to the main building where the air conditioners were running full blast and we knew we could take refuge from the heat. Inside the building there's a large collection of old BMW's, NSU's, a single Douglas and a Brough Superior which I had never heard of. Wayne is a motorcycle expert and he quickly explains to me how rare and expensive they are. Another expert hears us talking about it and quickly points out the bike we are looking at is worth about $350K. My mouth must have dropped, I thought only cars went that high. I did some research and was totally amazed with these machines.

Brough Superior motorcycles were made by George Brough in his Brough Superior works in Nottingham, England, from 1919 to 1940. They were dubbed the "Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles". Approximately 3,048 of 19 models were made in 21 years of production. T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") owned seven bikes and died from injuries sustained after crashing one. Wikipedia

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18. The extraordinary breadth and variety of his activities and associations, and his ability to describe them vividly in writing, earned him international fame as Lawrence of Arabia, a title which was used for the 1962 film based on his First World War activities. Wikipedia

Every motorcycle was test ridden to ensure that it performed to specification, and was personally certified by George Brough. The SS100 model was ridden at 100 mph (160 km/h) or more prior to customer delivery.

SS100 Brough Superior made by George Brough

There was a large display of WWII motorcycles, I have always had a fascination with military hardware and seeing these motorcycles up close was very special, I could almost hear the staccato of the machine guns and the sounds of exploding rounds as I stood there admiring these wonderfully well kept machines.

The Harley-Davidson XA (Experimental Army) was a flat-twin shaft drive motorcycle made by Harley-Davidson for the US Army during World War II. The HD XA was based closely on the BMW motorcycles. Though an excellent machine, only about 1000 were produced. Wikipedia

There were lots of vendors selling BMW parts, I talked to a few that will have parts for the Yamaha Tenere. Altrider, Twisted Throttle, Micatech and a few others were mostly displaying BMW farkles. There was a guy selling used motorcycles, some weird like the Suzuki Bandit trike and others more of my style like the BMW R1200S, one of the most beautiful motorcycles BMW ever made.

Later in the day we rode into Bloomsburg center and stopped for ice coffee at the Phillips Emporium and Coffee shop, a cute little book store that serves an amazing ice coffee. Bloomsburg is a little town, in the north eastern part of Pennsylvania, with a population of about 15 thousand. We then went to Applebees for diner, we knew the air conditioner would be running and the waitresses are always friendly.

The sun woke me up early Friday and I quickly got up. Today I would attend Jack Riepe's seminar "How To Breathe Life Into A Ride Report Or Motorcycle Story". I have breakfast and get to the grandstands about an hour early, I wanted to make sure I had a seat on the first row, I knew this was going to be a packed room. Jacks shows up and immediately the fun starts. I knew there was trouble when he asked the audience if anyone knew anything about computers, you see, he's an Apple computer guy, his computer did not have the standard VGA plug needed to connect to the projector. Jack's a good writer but a computer geek he is not. I volunteered to help, luckily he had the correct adapter, after some hiccups and lots of people suggesting different solutions everything was sorted out when we resorted to rebooting the damn computer. Jack gave an amazing presentation and I got lots of good information. His stories and jokes thrilled the attendees for about an hour. I met John Bunce, Richard Machida and Steve Williams, all fellow bloggers I have been following. Refer to the end of this post for a list of everyone's blogs. After the seminar we had lunch at one of the vendors, it was extremely hot under the tent as you can see from the picture, we were all wet like someone had turned a hose on us. With our eyes burning from all the sweat we still managed to down a pulled pork sandwich with Jack Riepe topping it with hot apple dumplings. Jack has an amazing rapport with the ladies, a discussion quickly ensued about the type of apples and when they would be at the perfect stage for the apple dumplings. The poor lady had no idea what she was getting into, last thing I heard she had invited us to come back and try the hot apple dumplings in two months, I only see myself going back perhaps in January when it's nice and cold.

L to R - Jack, Steve, Richard and me

In the afternoon we attended the trials where BMW riders were putting their bikes through hell. I do admire these guys putting their bikes though all kinds of terrain, boulders, water, ruts and mud. There were a few mishaps but nothing to worry about, after all these are true adventure motorcycles.

The evening couldn't come fast enough, it cooled a little but by 6pm the temperature was still hovering around mid 90's. We had purchased diner tickets for a meal of authentic German food and BMW had invited a very famous event band from Germany called "Blechblos'n". The Bavarian group entertained the crowd with excellent German music and American songs but the band brought the house down with funny renditions of Lady Gaga and Tina Turner.

R to L - Wayne, Paul (my brother) and I

The "Blechblos'n"

Click to expand the panoramas

Saturday morning we headed to town for a proper breakfast at the local dinner. We were standing outside planning the day when a large group of bimmers stopped at the light, there were a few ladies in the group with the pink GS650 being obviously one. We left town and headed up into the country side following route 44 in a north western direction. I stopped to take a few pictures of what I thought was a nuclear power station but quickly moved on, didn't want the security guys chasing me down the road. We passed next to the station and realized it was a coal powered station.

Bush Road, winding road next 3 1/4 miles, I didn't see any problems with the road and we definitely did not follow the suggested 40mph. We continued through the very hilly and sinuous country side stopping only for a drink.

My brother looks in his GPS and finds out there's a few covered bridges nearby, we plot the course and head to the bridges. Pretty soon we enter what seemed to be a scene from a Stephen King story, we see lots of detour signs and no matter which direction we followed we ended up on gravel roads and no way out. Lots of u-turns ensued. You will notice I'm at this point riding the red Triumph ST, the gold visor being a giveaway, Wayne and I had swapped bikes. I have always loved the triple sound and I was having lots of fun blipping the throttle on every downshift, the gurgling sound bringing out the hooligan in me.

I had to keep slowing down, the sound of the gravel stones hitting the fairing of the Triumph made me cringe. My bike is also covered in plastics so we both decided not to continue down gravel roads, I could see the disappointment on my brother's face, of course he wanted to continue, he does ride the big GS1200 Adventure after all.

We were standing by the bridge wondering how nice it would feel to take a swim in the river when a cow started approaching us, we laughed as the cow proceeded to enter the water, I think I detected a smile on the cow.

We return to the campsite just in time to attend the BMW MOA awards ceremony. We head to the grandstands finding a spot all the way up to escape the sun. The temperature was about 100 degrees and no wind to help cool us down. The event organizers had a display of fire shooting cars, very uncharacteristic for BMW riders and pretty soon people were booing. The flames shooting up into the air and blasting the stands with more heat only exacerbated the agony of the spectators.

Later we moved to the beer garden tent and spent the night listening to various bands, drank beer and enjoyed the night in good company. The 2011 BMW MOA ended with the last song a little after midnight.

On Sunday morning we quickly take down the campsite and head to Cracker Barrel for a healthy breakfast. We hit route 80 east and head towards NJ making a stop in New Hope for an Ice Coffee. I split from my brother and after crossing into NJ make one last stop along the Delaware river in Lambertville. All the way from Bloomsburg we endured mid 90's temperatures but near the river it felt a little better.

I continued east towards home knowing my pool was waiting for me, my wife had told me the water was almost 90 degrees. The last 45 minutes flew by and soon I was parked in front of the garage taking my boots and socks off. After a quick dash to the backyard I felt much better having jumped in the water with clothes on. My mom stood there in utter amazement as I fell backwards into the pool while my wife took the pictures. A few beers later I was feeling much better.

For the first time I saw BMW riders riding around town in shorts and even saw a few without helmets, Pennsylvania has a no helmet law. We don't usually ride without ATGATT but it was so hot that we decided to throw caution into the wind and rode into town in our more casual riding attire. You will notice my very fashionable plaid shorts, black Nikes with white socks while my brother went for the more Germanic shorts and boots look, having forgotten to bring sneakers. Wayne, besides the heat, looked very comfortable on his Triumph ST.

It had been a scorching and humid BMW MOA event but the music, the beer and the camaraderie of the people had made the event special and worth attending. I got to meet fellow bloggers and extract some valuable information from Jack.
Next year the event is schedule for Sedalia, Missouri in the middle of July, I hope we have a cold wave going by at the time.

Blogs:

Jack Riepe Twisted Roads By Jack Riepe
Steve Williams Scooter in the Sticks
Richard Machida Richard's Page
John Bunce John's Alaska

Yamaha 50th Anniversary GP Video

2011-07-24T20:28:00.000-04:00

Yamaha proudly celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Grand Prix Racing by getting together the current and past champions for some fun.

Americade 2011

2011-06-27T23:01:00.000-04:00

I was not planning on going to Lake George for Americade this year. I did not want to spend the few vacation days I still have left, I'm still planning a long trip sometime later in the year and most hotels/motels will not rent for one night only. It is also very difficult to find a room for less than $200 a night. The Central Jersey Motorcycle Riders Group had the event on the calendar and they were leaving on Wednesday and returning on Sunday. During the Motorcycle Awareness Day event ride I found out from Ray that his room sharing partner Ken had to leave on Saturday and if I wanted I had a place to stay, apparently Ken had booked with Ray from Wednesday till Sunday but Ken had to leave on Saturday, an offer I couldn't refuse. With everything in place for a one nighter I was ready to go and join the gang.

Lake George is 260 miles from my house, I planned on leaving at 5am and get there in four and a half hours arriving just in time to meet the group for breakfast. I closed my garage door one minute after 5am and was soon heading north. I knew I was going to run into rain, I had checked the weather for the weekend and there was a 70% chance in Lake George and 50% by my house, the odds were against me avoiding the rain. I traveled north on the Garden State Parkway avoiding rain, 80 miles later I enter Interstate 87, also known as the NY State Thruway when rain drops started coming down. I had my waterproof jacket on but was wearing jeans and knew I had to put rain pants, I make my first stop for coffee and to put on rain pants. As you can see from the photo it had already rained heavily at the rest stop.

I continue north and for the next three and a half hours it pours on me, a constant heavy rain with spurts of torrential rain at times. Water managed to get through my visor and ran on the inside, got through the front of the jacket and got my pants wet, it even managed to get into my right boot and turn it into a pool inside. I had to slow down at times to keep it safe but mostly continued at 65 to 70mph all the while hoping deer wouldn't run in front of my bike.
I arrive at the Still Bay Resort just in time to meet the group already on their bikes leaving to go downtown Lake George where the vendors and everyone congregates.
Check out these three panoramas of the Still Bay Resort and no, the tree on the last one is not crooked and the main building on the right is not tilted, the stitching application had a problem with my pictures.

We arrive downtime about 10 minutes later and the rain continues to come down, on and off throughout the day. I take a few pictures and then head to a coffee shop for hot coffee and a muffin, I hadn't changed clothes and they were still wet leaving me miserable. Oh, the joys of motorcycling.

The group at the coffee shop waiting out the rain

The rain made the Saturday miserable for the vendors, last year it rained on Saturday too but in 2009 you would find it difficult to find an empty spot for your bike in the bike only reserved area. This time the area was almost deserted.

We stayed at the coffee shop for a while joking and having fun at the expense of each other as guys do most of the time. I see these two guys go by and laugh at the thought of the guy on the left wishing he had some of the hair from the other guy. Life is cruel, one has no hair, the other way too much.

The officer must have been at the donut shop :-)

We walk around the downtown area visiting shops and admiring the multitude of bikes on Canada Street. There are lots of nice restaurants and stores selling Lake George and Americade memorabilia. You can ride the Greater Glens Falls Transit trolley that rides up and down Canada Street, part of route 9, all the way to the town of Glens Falls.

The weather was so bad you could hardly see the other side of the lake

The gang was getting restless as the stomachs started rumbling and soon we were headed to a restaurant. I had a nice steak sandwich loaded with peppers. I'm the one standing on the right still wearing my rain pants over my jeans, why remove them if the rain continued for most of the day.

View from the restaurant

We continue down the street admiring the bikes, lots of Harley Davidson's as usual in these types of events but I'm surprised to see more and more Japanese, British and Italian motorcycles every year. This guy or gal must be proud of his bike.

We head back to the Still Bay to relax with a few drinks and smoke cigars. The resort is beautifully kept, has a nice boat house and its own beach on the lake . It's the perfect place to relax.

The next morning we have an early breakfast and start packing our bikes, time to head back. Some of the guys had gone out the previous night to a local bar, I won't mention names but someone had way too much fun and had picked up a girlfriend.

My bike next to a side car rig

I say goodbye to Lake George and head home with two other riders, a leisurely ride home, only this time arrive dry. Another memorable weekend.

Stelvio Pass

2011-06-12T19:48:00.001-04:00

Saw this video on another blog about the amazing Stelvio Pass located in the Italian Alps. Its sixty hairpin turns, 48 of them on the northern side numbered with stones, are a challenge to motorcyclists.
The video is very well put together and if you ride a motorcycle you will enjoy it. The pass has amazing switchbacks as it goes up the mountain and provides breathtaking views of the valley. This is one of the roads in my bucket list.
Make sure you watch in HD full screen, have patience and let it load before playing the video, it's worth it.

STELVIO : HOT BRAKES AND HAIRPINS from MOTORBIKE EUROPE on Vimeo.

Motorcycle Awareness Ride

2011-06-04T01:06:00.000-04:00

On March 25, 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona, four riders were killed and five others seriously injured while stopped at a traffic light. They were struck from behind by a large refuse truck. This sad event has touched the hearts of many and reinforced the importance of motorcycle awareness initiatives. The 1st awareness ride was planned in response to this horrific accident.

In honor of all fallen riders and their families, riding groups and clubs across the nation participated in motorcycle awareness rides on May 22.

The Central Jersey Motorcycle Riders Group organized a ride making a loop around central New Jersey mainly on the highway where we could be seen to raise awareness for motorcyclists. The ride ended at the Brick House Tavern in South Plainfield where everyone enjoyed lunch and camaraderie.

A few pictures at the start of the ride.

A pit stop for gas and a big surprise for the attendant when 33 bikers show up to fill up. Click on the pictures to enlarge, they are panoramas.

We are a very diverse group of bikers.

Close to the end of the ride I sprint away and head to the Brick House Tavern ahead of the group to film the arrival. It was only 11:30am and the staff were surprised to see so many bikers on a Sunday morning.

My bike all alone on the huge and empty parking lot.

A few minutes later

A group shot, I'm the 3rd from the right, black t-shirt.

The arrival of the group.

6 Things Nobody Tells You About Owning a Motorcycle

2011-05-25T12:34:00.000-04:00

Just read this funny article about "6 Things Nobody Tells You About Owning a Motorcycle" and sadly it's funny and so true at the same time. I'm sure everyone has done a long day's ride fully covered in ATGATT only to feel all stinky at the end of the day due to heat, rain, bugs or whatever was sent your way as you rode down the road. I think this part pretty much summarizes that feeling:

But hey, sometimes you ride in the sun, and that's great! The open road, the warm summer air, and the heat ... oh God, the heat. A great deal of bikes, like mine, are air cooled. No radiator. So they're only really cooling down while you're in motion. When you're stopped (say, at one of those lights that doesn't recognize your existence) they're just radiating that heat upward, which happens to be right where your genitals are trapped. Aside from sterility and ball-burns, this also creates a nice pool of junk sweat. But don't worry: It will eventually evaporate into the rest of your clothing and skin, leaving you smelling like the floor of a teenager's bedroom for the rest of the day.

Read more: 6 Things Nobody Tells You About Owning a Motorcycle

Why We Ride

2011-05-19T17:16:00.000-04:00

I saw this video a while ago and I'm sure some of you have seen it, I think it's beautifully done and truly captures the spirit of why we ride so I decided to post it. It's never to late to ride and dream.

Live to ride and ride to live.

Centralia (Ghost town)

2011-05-17T21:58:00.002-04:00

I had heard about Centralia, a ghost town in Pennsylvania and when the Central Jersey Motorcycle Riders Group decided to make it a ride destination I was ready to go. Centralia is about 155 miles north west of my house. The group had set the meetup point north east of my location by about 30 miles. I had invited my brother to come along who lives 40 miles south of me, this was going to be a problem for him, he would have to get up really early to make the group meetup. After checking with Google map I decided to make a new route for the two of us. I would meet him up just after the bridge toll in Pennsylvania and we would slab west on the Pennsylvania Turnpike until King of Prussia and then get off the highway and make our first stop in Valley Forge National Historical Park. The park preserves the site and interprets the history of the Valley Forge encampment. I have mentioned before that I love anything historical about the USA and this was the opportunity to see the site where the Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–1778 during the American Revolutionary War. Wikipedia:

I left my house at 7am, earlier than needed and then waited for my brother at the toll before the bridge thinking he would have to pass there first. He found another way and was waiting for me after the bridge tolls as we had planned. Thanks to cell phones and SMS I found out where he was and 3 minutes later I was at his location. We continued west arriving in Valley Forge around 9:30am. We enter the park and make our first stop when we see canons.

We park our bikes and head towards the encampment structures. We see people dressed as the Continental Army soldiers and civilians in period clothes. These people are all volunteers who re-enact the time the Continental Army spent encamped at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777–1778.

We start chatting with one of the officers and he informs us there will be live fire re-enactment in the next half hour. We decide to stay to see the live firing, no real rounds were fired though, just the powder. I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to see the shiny bronze canons thundering in the valley. We watch the preparations which were lengthy with anticipation for the live firing.

The little one

Loading the big canon

The weapons are all in pristine condition. The guys really take pride in their work and polish the barrels to a luster, the polished bronze reflecting the sun like a mirror.

The big one

The smaller one

The little mortar

Next I spot a big rifle mounted on a pedestal, too heavy to hold it up I guess. The rate of fire must have been low on such a big gun and because of the way it's mounted but the damage must have been enormous, I wouldn't want to be in front of that barrel.

We meander through the encampment observing various utensil used by the doctors and the medicine boxes, I can hardly imagine the pain the poor injured soldiers must have endured after being shot in the field, the medicine not being what it is today, and where the rate of survival was pretty slim.

Leeches??

We wait for the drill before the live firing and then cover our ears as instructed by the officer just before the firing order is given. It was a loud bang, so loud that your ears were left ringing. I was filming with my camera, the following photos were taken by my brother Paul.

My brother was kind enough to let me use some of his photos.

We left the encampment and toured the park on the bikes, the winding road meandering through the 3,500 acres of the park. We made our next stop at the top of the hill by the National Memorial Arch, dedicated "to the officers and private soldiers of the Continental Army December 19, 1777 - June 19, 1778"

It was getting late and we had a long way to go. We leave the park and head north on route 422, aka Benjamin Franklin Highway. 25 miles later we take the exit for route 662, aka Old Swede Road. I had read on a magazine the road was one of various scenic roads in this part of Pennsylvania. We continue north until we come upon Hermy's Tire and Cycle, a BMW and Triumph dealer in Port Clinton. They are having an open house, we pull in knowing there was free food and by now our stomachs were rumbling.

After a "pulled chicken sandwich", if you can call it that, they had ran out of "pulled pork", and some beans we were ready to hit the road again. We continued north for another 30 miles, now on PA-61, and as we round a turn I see a few motorcycles to my left in front of a restaurant. I quickly recognize a few heads, specially with my friend Roger waving at me as we pass since he had also recognized my "Goldie". We quickly turn around and meet the group from CJMRG. What are the odds that we are near Centralia at the same time on the same road after traveling over 160 miles to get there. After a little chat we all leave and head to Centralia down the road. The current route 61 bypasses the destroyed "Pennsylvania 54" which is now closed. We park our bikes at the beginning of the bypass and walk the rest of the way to the destroyed part of the road, except for my friend Mike which decides to go over the sand barrier with his Honda Valkyrie and ride all the way. Only Mike would attempt such a crazy thing and with such an heavy bike. You can see him riding down the old road while the rest of us are walking.

Centralia is a ghost town as a result of a mine fire burning beneath the borough since 1962. All properties in the borough were claimed under eminent domain by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1992 and all buildings therein were condemned. There is not much to see.

Steam or smoke coming out of the ground

I climb a hill to investigate the surroundings but there are no houses in the area, they have all been removed. I wait for everyone to go back to the bikes and then take a few more pictures. I had to get a shot of myself inside one of the cracks just for scale.

The kids have had fun with the road over the years covering it in graffiti, most of it not safe for my blog but here's one I thought was cute.

As you can see by the photos, the weather had turned bad and by the time we got back to the bikes it was raining. My brother and I leave the group and head to the next town to find a place to have coffee and run away from the rain. We wait for them but they don't show up, we figured they must have taken another way home. After about 30 minutes we get back on the bikes and head home. An hour later we see a Wawa gas station and pull in for another cup of coffee since it hadn't stopped raining. We enter the station and come upon half the CJMRG group on the way home, they had split up with my friend Roger leading this group. Again, what a coincidence, small world indeed. We all leave together with my brother leaving us about 30 minutes later and heading south towards Philadelphia while I continued east with the group into NJ. We had rain for part of the way home but as I got near my town the rain had stopped. I made one more stop when I saw what appeared moss on the side of the road but I don't think it is. The area is weird with gigantic weeds spread all over, it looks like another world.

I covered over 330 miles, it was a long day riding to go see a non existent town but we got to see Revolution era canons firing in Valley Forge and had a free lunch courtesy of Hermy's BMW.

The ABCD Day Ride

2011-05-14T21:12:00.000-04:00

On May 1st I had the ABCD challenge and a birthday of a fellow rider to attend. The birthday party was at the Rhodes North Tavern in New York not too far from the Harriman and the Bear Mountain State Parks which I have visited and blogged in the past. I had done a similar trip last year for the same reason, Brenda's birthday. I invited my brother and Wayne to come along, unfortunately my brother couldn't make it.
For the challenge I had picked the George Washington Bridge as a background.

A few facts about the bridge: Wikipedia

The bridge was opened in 1931, it has an upper level with four lanes in each direction and a lower level with three lanes in each direction, for a total of 14 lanes of travel.

As of 2007, the George Washington Bridge has the greatest vehicular capacity of any bridge in the world, carrying approximately 106 million vehicles per year, making it the world's busiest motor vehicle bridge.

The two of us left the house at 10am and were soon on the NJ Turnpike, part of Interstate 95, the main northeast corridor running from the south of NJ and crossing into NY through the bridge. The highway is well maintained but the traffic makes the road horrible, it's mostly surrounded by industrial complexes and refinery's on the central part and runs right next to the main runway of the Newark International Airport.
We leave the Turnpike in Fort Lee and start the descent on Henry Hudson Drive towards the park near the bridge. We stop to take a few pictures and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

We were about to leave when another rider stops to chat. We meet Dan on his beautiful BMW K1200LT with an M3 badge in the back. As he told us, it rides like an M3. The back of the bike has a beautifully designed trunk that complements the looks of the bike and is very functional offering a lot of storage at the expense of the pillion seat. He's originally from Argentina and has done a few adventure rides in his country. He also owns a Kawasaki Concours so he's an automatic good guy.

We take a few more pictures and then invite Dan to come along with us to Bear Mountain which he promptly agrees. We would travel north along the Palisades Parkway, a very scenic road along the Hudson River.

My trusty Concours

Wayne on his Triumph ST

We leave the park and continue down the road to go take the picture under the bridge for the ABCD challenge. I'm walking around taking pictures when I see the police officer waving his arms while talking to Dan. Only later did I find out you are not allowed to take pictures under bridges or monuments because of terrorism fears. Apparently Dan convinced him I was not a bad guy.

We know the bridge is big but it's only when you stand at the base of the bridge that you realize how truly humungous it is. The amount of steel that went into the construction of the bridge must have been enormous, in fact construction was delayed twice due to material shortages. It's a magnificent sight standing next to this marvel.

With the picture taken we start heading north along the Palisades Parkway towards Bear Mountain State Park, the road winding along the Hudson River for a few miles and then moving inland towards the park. We take the opportunity to open up a little and make good time arriving at the top of the mountain around 12:30.

There's always lots of bikers on any Sunday and this one wasn't any different. We walked around admiring the other bikes and chatting with the owners. As fellow blogger Brady explains it, "we exchanged the small compliments that allow for conversation". Brady has a way with words, I love his views on motorcycling and life and if you haven't read his blog you are missing a great blog.
Bradys' blog: Behind Bars - Motorcycles and Life

I love this bike

Beautiful color on a Triumph Speed Triple

I still hope to one day own a Speed Triple, the Triumph 3 cylinder engine sound is intoxicating. When I was a kid I loved Suzuki and at that time their 2-stroke, 3 cylinder bikes also had a wonderful sound. We see one nearby and immediately head towards it. In 1972 the GT380 was one of a handful of two-strokes produced by Suzuki. The air-cooled GTs shared Suzuki's new Ram Air System and featured Suzuki’s refined automatic fuel and oil mixing system, called CCI, which helped lower exhaust smoke levels. Read more here:

It was time to head towards Rhodes Tavern and meet the birthday girl, the meetup having been set for 2PM. We leave the mountain and 30 minutes later arrive just on time for the beginning of the festivities. We manage to slot our bikes in between all the others already there.

Beautiful Harley Davidson

Beautiful artwork - even the belt is painted

With our stomachs rumbling we quickly head inside to the upstairs place reserved for Brenda's birthday bash. We enjoy lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon with the group bantering with each other. We sing happy birthday and end the party with a huge slice of strawberry cake. Brenda was a happy girl, I saw a few tears as the group sang happy birthday.

The trip home was uneventful, just a quick dash down route 287 and the Garden State Parkway for me with Wayne having a slightly longer trip down the NJ Turnpike. These two major highways crisscross the state.

My Centerline Day ABCD

2011-05-01T23:34:00.000-04:00

My friend Gary France had this idea/challenge for us bloggers to take a picture in the center of the road including the center line anywhere in the world but the picture had to be taken on May 1st and include the blogger.
You can read about the challenge here "USA Tour on a Harley Davidson"

So my plan was to ride to the George Washington Bridge just north of Manhattan and get a picture underneath the bridge. The road leading down to the park is quite twisty and steep from Fort Lee in New Jersey. The Fort Lee Historic Park is under the bridge and you can see Manhattan in the background.

I left my house with a friend and didn't get back home until almost 9pm on Sunday, May 1st which means it's already May 2nd when I finish posting this entry in the UK.
We did over 220 miles on today's ride and I will make another entry on my blog with the entire day's ride but for now I will just post the important picture.

To my disappointment when I got there after riding about 60 miles I discovered the center line had long disappeared so I'm including a picture with a fake center line on the road I'm on and also on the road above me.

Here's my contribution to the challenge

I am happy that I was able to take the picture because there was a police man guarding the bridge and he told my friend, when he saw me walking around with a camera, that I was not allowed to take pictures by the base of the bridge, apparently because of terrorism worries. My friend convinced him I was a nice guy.

Gathering of the Nortons

2011-04-28T23:00:00.001-04:00

Last year I promised my dad I would take him to Washington State Park for the "Gathering of the Nortons" and then something came up and we missed the show. This time I made sure we didn't miss it.
The 18th Gathering of the Nortons was held at Washington Crossing Historic Park April 17 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. I decided to go with the family instead of riding my bike. The five of us got on the cage at 9am and headed to the Brass Ring Cafe in Hopewell for breakfast, my brother, on his bike, meeting us there. I didn't take any pictures but next time I go there I will take pictures as the place is a big hangout place with the bikers on Sunday mornings. After breakfast we headed straight to the park arriving a few minutes later to see the place packed with Nortons, Triumphs, Vincents, BSA's, Royal Enfield's and a plethora of Japanese motorcycles.

My dad had a BSA before he got married and all my life I have heard great stories of his rides with friends. He talks about how great the bikes were back then and how most were single cylinder with the occasional dual cylinders. His BSA was a single and he was all happy when we saw this beautiful BSA.

My dad at 76 is in great shape and remembers all the adventures and road trips he did with his buddies. BSA's, Norton's and Triumphs all screaming down the road with open pipes he recalls. Sometimes I think they had more fun with these much simpler bikes than we do today with full fairings, panniers, electric starters, fuel injection, ABS, GPS, satellite radio, IPod and all kinds of technology that detract from enjoying the sounds and scenery of the ride.

Obviously, there were quite a few Nortons at the event, some still in original form, others converted to Cafe Racers.

A Cafe Racer Royal Enfield and a beautiful Triumph Bonneville

A Suzuki RG500 Walter Wolf 2-stroke spewing out blue smoke as all 2-strokes do and a Honda NS400R. Unfortunately they were surrounded by bikers and I couldn't take a good picture.

Next we see this Triumph contraption, I think it's a custom bike and only the engine is from Triumph

There were quite a few Japanese bikes at the event, 2, 3 and 4 cylinders, 2 and 4-stroke engines. Some of the nicer examples on display.

As the bikers started leaving, I took a walk to the edge of the main road and took a few pictures as they accelerated out the park, engines screaming and revving to the red line. The first three pictures will shock my international readers as Pennsylvania has a no helmet needed law if you are over 21 and have operated a motorcycle for at least 2 years.

A Triumph Daytona 955 and a Honda CBX

This beautiful automobile rolls by, not sure what it is but it was well maintained and sounded nice.

Some old timers enjoying the day and the ride, white beard flowing in the wind.

The beautiful Norton John Player Special, air cooled, four stroke, parallel twin cylinder, push rod 2 valves per cylinder.

It was time to go home, but first we walked to the edge of the Delaware River were I managed to convince my beautiful daughter to pose for me. In the background is one of the bridges crossing into New Jersey and close by is a replica of one of George Washington's boats used to cross the river on December 25, 1776 during the American Revolutionary War. It was the first move in a planned surprise attack organized by George Washington against the Hessian forces in Trenton, New Jersey. Wikipedia

South Jersey

2011-04-26T23:08:00.002-04:00

I have been living in New Jersey for 26 years and it still amazes me how little I know of the back roads of the Garden State. The southern part of New Jersey is pretty much flat with the Wharton State Forest in the middle. The park is the largest single tract of land in the state park system of New Jersey, it encompasses approximately 115,000 acres (470 km2) of the Pinelands. Three Sundays ago, my friend Wayne invites me to meet him and a few other riders for breakfast at the Vincent Dinner and then follow him for a ride through the Pinelands. It was a beautiful day, I didn't have anything to do but my wife would disagree with me on that, and I needed to clear my brain so I left the house around 9 to meet him at 10.

We leave the dinner and head south crossing the park as shown on the map. I didn't have a chance to take any pictures but I promise I will ride alone through the park one of these days and will take lots of pictures. Our first stop was at the Batsto Village, a historic site located in Wharton State Forest in the south central Pine Barrens, and a part of the Pinelands National Reserve. I had no idea the place even existed, so thanks to Wayne for taking me there.

A little history:
In 1766, Charles Read, a well-known ironmaster, built the Batsto Iron Works along the Batsto River on the site of the future village. The area had an abundance of bog ore which could be mined from the area's streams and rivers, and wood from the area's forests was harvested for charcoal for smelting the ore. The rivers, despite their modest drop, were also harnessed for iron making.

In 1773, John Cox bought the Iron Works, which produced cooking pots, kettles, and other household items. Batsto manufactured supplies for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Read more here: Wikipedia

The Batsto Village has over forty structures including the Batsto mansion, a sawmill, a 19th century ore boat, a charcoal kiln, a carriage house and stable, a blacksmith and wheelwright shop.

Back of the Batsto Mansion

The Batsto Mansion

The Post Office is still in operation, and collectors have stamps hand-cancelled, with no zip code.

I walk around the village visiting some of the open buildings and admiring how hard life must have been back then. No electricity, no TV, no "internet", oh my goodness, what did people do at night?
The corn sheller and corncrib, I don't even know what they mean, where's the supermarket? (sarcastic smile here)

Corncrib housing the corn sheller

Some of the other buildings, all very well maintained.

One last picture before I leave the village, the rest of the group was anxious, this was supposed to be a ride and not a sight seeing tour, but I love to take pictures and share with my fellow national and international readers.

We continue south and make the next stop at the L's Restaurant and J Bones Tavern for a quick lunch. The Burgers were good and the atmosphere was friendly. I will be back.

Four Triumphs and a lone Kawasaki Concours

Next we make a stop for gas, the Triumphs have smaller gas tanks than my bike. I didn't need gas but since there has been talk on the blog-sphere about gas prices I took a picture to show what we were paying on April 3rd. It has gone way up since then but we still have the cheapest gas in the country.

At this point some of the riders decided to break up and head home, it was left to Wayne and myself to continue the ride in South Jersey. We head towards Egg Harbor City and make our next stop at the Renault Winery. I had no idea we had one of the oldest winery in the country, I was amazed that my good friend Wayne knew about it, makes me wonder how he knows these places.

Nearly a century and a half old, Renault Winery is a recognized New Jersey State Historical site and one of the oldest continuously operating wineries in the United States.
The place is also a resort with a couple of restaurants, a golf course and the Tuscany House Hotel.

Click on the picture to be able to read the words

They offer Sunday Brunch, I guess I will have to go back again to taste some of the local wine. We leave the winery and make the next stop at a small fishing village that seemed abandoned. I'm not exactly sure where it's located since my route recorder on my Android phone had decided to stop recording. I should know better to never trust technology, I guess next time I will take notes too.

At this point it was getting late and I had told my mom I would stop by her house. As we were about to leave I spot the turtle sign on the lonely road leading to the fishing village. Interesting, how come the turtles only cross the road from May through August? must be another New Jersey mystery just like the Jersey Devil.

I had dinner at my mom's house and then headed home covering a little over 200 miles. So much to see, so little time.

ABCD Challenge

2011-04-14T20:44:00.001-04:00

ABCD - Will You Take Part?

Maybe you would like to join in with this.....

A Bloggers Centerline Day, or ABCD, will take place on Sunday 1st May 2011.

The plan is to inspire as many bloggers as possible to go outside and take a photograph of themselves on this day, wherever they are in the world. The photo can be creative, arty, contain more than one person, be in any type of location and can contain anything else you like. It must however contain the centerline of a road and at least part of you, the blogger.

There are 5 rules....

Rule 1 - the picture must be taken on 1st May 2011.

Rule 2 - the picture must be of yourself, and you must be a person that publishes a blog. You can include whatever else you like in the picture, including other people if you wish.

Rule 3 - the picture must include the centerline of a road.

Rule 4 – you should publish the picture on your blog on 1st May 2011, along with a few words about the picture and why you chose that location or pose.

Rule 5 - when you have posted the picture on your own blog, put a comment on http://garysusatour.blogspot.com/2011/04/abcd-will-you-take-part.html and include in that comment the address of your own blog post containing your own picture.

Gary France will then pick his favourite photos and publish these as being the winners. There will be a prize of $100 awarded to the overall single winner, as chosen by Gary.

In order to get this event known as widely as possible, please copy and paste this posting onto your own blog, including the title. Please do that today!

As a reminder to yourself to take the photo and post it, put an entry into your diary for 1st May 2011.

Let’s see if we can get as any people to join in as possible.

Long Valley Pub

2011-04-05T22:50:00.000-04:00

Another Polar Bear ride and this time about 70 miles away, not that many choices for a scenic drive. The problem with New Jersey is that we rank 47th in area (8,721 sq mi) in the US and 11th in population with 8,791,894 (2010 Census) people, a density of 1,185/sq mi , ranked 1st in the US. I knew we had to be first in something unfortunately the worst thing for us motorcyclists. We are the second wealthiest state, hard to believe since we pay so much in taxes, specially property taxes.

The Delaware River in the background

In the 19th century, factories in cities such as Elizabeth, Paterson, and Trenton helped to drive the Industrial Revolution. New Jersey's position at the center of the Northeast megalopolis, between Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., fueled its rapid growth through the suburban boom of the 1950s and beyond. Unfortunately we are also the corridor for everyone traveling north or south, the NJ Turnpike, one of the worst roads in the state. The roads are always covered with state troopers but everyone drives at least 20mph above the limit and that includes trucks, really scary roads out here.

Canal next to the Delaware River

The only nice scenic roads are up north or along the Delaware River on the New Jersey or Pennsylvania side of the river, thus the reason why so many of our local rides end up going near the river or taking a detour through there. There are lots of cute little towns with nice and cozy restaurants along the way.
I leave the house early so I can take a few pictures along the way before meeting my friends at 10am in the Kat Man Du parking lot in Trenton.

I park my bike near the commemorative plaque for Lieutenant John Fitch, an American inventor, clockmaker, and silversmith who, in 1787, built the first recorded steam-powered boat in the United States. As I took the picture, a double-decker NJ Transit train is seen crossing the bridge in the background.

The rest of the group arrives on time and I take a few pictures as they are rolling in. I wish someone would do the same for me but I'm always the photographer and so never end up on any pictures. Oh, the life of an amateur photographer, always behind the lens.

A Triumph ST, a Trophy and a BMW GS Adventure

We leave the Trenton area and head north along the river with my friend Wayne on the Triumph ST leading since he knows all the back roads in NJ. I am always amazed how he knows his way around and doesn't even carry a GPS. Our first stop is at the Lebanon Township Memorial Park where in the summer various concerts and fests are held. The park has a memorial to Richard Cudina who was working in his Cantor Fitzgerald office on the 105th floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 when the buildings were destroyed. The plaques are mounted on steel pieces from the site.

The center piece of the park includes a monument made with two steel beams from the World Trade Center site. I will never forget that day. Occasionally I would pass under the towers on the way to work in the city but on that day I was working at a client site in NJ.

The gang

We leave the park and head to the Long Valley Pub and Brewery located in Long Valley, a few miles down the road. We arrive to find the parking lot full of other Polar Bear riders. The day was relatively warm, high 40's and that brought a lot of riders out of hibernation.

I walk around admiring the beautiful and highly chromed Harley Davidson's and chatting with other riders. I am still waiting for my Yamaha Tenere which for now will fill my desire for off-road adventure but at some time in my life I will get a big Harley to tour the country with my wife in total comfort behind me.

One motorcycle that I think was ahead of its time was the Rune. Honda introduced a limited edition model in 2003 named the Valkyrie Rune with a 1,832 cc (111.8 cu in) engine. It was a major departure from the original Valkyrie in styling and purpose. It was also very expensive.

The Pub was full of riders waiting for a table and we decide to have lunch somewhere else. We leave after a while and head towards Frenchtown, a little town with a population of about 1300 full of little picturesque restaurants. We head to the Cafe Greco for a hearty meal.

Afterwards I take a walk to the first bridge across the Delaware at Frenchtown, a six-span covered wooden bridge built in 1841 on the five piers that still stand today, and the community became a gateway to Pennsylvania.

I am always fascinated with how these little communities had their start and love to visit Wikipedia for a little research.

From Wikipedia:
In 1757, three joint owners of a tract purchased from the West Jersey Land Society began laying out streets and building lots at Calvin's Ferry. The developing town was to be called "Alexandria" in honor of William Alexander, one of the three owners. In 1776, the three sold the settlement to Thomas Lowrey, a Flemington speculator.

In 1794, Lowrey sold the tract to Paul Henri Mallet-Prevost, a Swiss fugitive from the French Revolution. He and other early settlers were French speaking, leading some to begin calling the place "Frenchtown."

The town is full of art studios and galleries with a few stores selling French items. It's a very cute town to take the family for a Sunday stroll.

It was still early but my friend Wayne wanted to go home to see the MotoGP race on TV. The group heads home and my brother and I decide to ride out to the Van Sant Airport in Pennsylvania to watch the gliders. We cross the bridge and head south west to the airport. There were a few other riders at the airport but we didn't hang out for long as I too wanted to see the MotoGP race and still had about an hour to get home.

I get home a few minutes after 4pm and head straight for the family room to settle on the couch and watch the race but to my surprise Speed channel is not showing motorcycle racing. I quickly check ESPN just in case but still nothing. I call Wayne and find out he was wrong, the race was from 3 to 4 and not from 4 to 5 as he had said. Oh well, missed the race so a quick trip to the computer to find out that Casey Stoner of the Repsol Honda Team had won the first MotoGP of 2011. Jorge Lorenzo in the Yamaha Factory Racing team came second followed by two other Repsol Honda's with Ben Spies coming in 6th on the other Yamaha Factory Racing team bike. Missed the race but had a nice riding day with friends.

Japan

2011-03-16T20:44:00.001-04:00

I have been watching the news as I know many of you have too with great apprehension. What started with a major earthquake has turned into a disaster of immeasurable proportions. The massive tsunami that followed has wiped out entire cities and countless souls and possibly created the beginning of a nuclear meltdown.
I feel sorry for what has happened to the Japanese people, Japan is a great country full of hard working people, brave people that will be able to confront whatever nature throws at them and I'm sure they will come out stronger than ever. If there's one country that deserves our help more than any other it is Japan, we need to offer our support and resources to the Japanese people. These pictures show the power of the tsunami.

I have been anxiously waiting for my new Yamaha Ténéré and recently had heard that the bikes might not get here until June or July. While knowing the bikes might be late was disheartening today I read discouraging news about the Japanese motorcycle industry. I know me not getting my bike or not being able to enjoy the summer with the new bike pales in comparison to the disaster that has befallen over Japan. Following are excerpts from the article:

Honda seems to have taken the worst of the damage, losing an employee during a wall collapse at its R&D facility in Tochigi, which also saw 30 other employees injured. Additionally, Honda’s automobile facilities in Saitama, Tochigi, Suzuka and Hamamatsu were closed today, with plans to re-open all of the facilities after March 20th. Honda’s Kumamoto plant manufacturers the Super Cub, CBR600RR, VFR1200F and DN-01 motorcycles.

Honda is donating ¥300 million ($3.7 million) towards the relief effort, and is also donating 1,000 gas-powered generators with 5,000 canisters of gas to help affected areas and rescuers.

Honda Racing (HRC) released a separate press release stating that the subsidiary did not withstand any major damages from the earthquake, tsunami, or nuclear meltdown. However the Honda Motor owned Twin Ring Motegi circuit sustained some cracks to its surface, and will have to undergo repair to the track and grandstand areas. Subsequently the MotoGP round scheduled for April has been moved to October.

Suzuki has issued a release stating that it will also be closing its plants as of today, as the company assess the damage to its operations. The company is expected to remained closed through March 16th, and may re-open on March 17th. Suzuki assembles motorcycle motors in its Takatsuka plant, while full motorcycle assembly takes place in its Toyokawa plant. Suzuki also has automotive facilities in Kosai, Iwata, Sagara, and Osuka.

Yamaha announced today that it will be closing its production facilities until Friday, possibly longer. The closure includes all five of Yamaha’s motorcycle production facilities. While its watercraft, car, and ATV plants will be closing as well, Yamaha will keep its generator production facility partially operational in order to meet any needs for electric production. Yamaha has pledged 500 generators to the relief effort, along with 4,000 bottles of drinking water, 5,000 emergency food rations, and 300,000 surgical masks.

If I could somehow be teleported to Japan to help with the clean up and reconstruction I would gladly do it. I feel really bad every time I see the pictures on TV of destroyed homes and lives and I can't do anything about it. To the Japanese people I say, take care of your people first, help the ones in need, we can all wait until you are ready.

I still have my Kawasaki Concours and will be able to continue riding until the Yamaha gets here.
I will wait, take your time.

Waiting & Waiting

2011-03-02T21:14:00.002-05:00

Yamaha, please bring the bikes to the USA as soon as possible, preferably no later than May as promised.
There are a lot of adventure riders waiting and with videos like this one coming out all the time it's becoming torture to most of us that have put a deposit on the bike but haven't had a chance to test ride it.
I know at least two of my followers are on the fence about getting a Super Ténéré.
Yes, you guys know you want one and after watching this video you will want it even more, time to ditch the oil burner and the pretend adventure bike, ha ha, you know who I am talking about.
Watch the video in 720p HD if you can.
Enjoy......

27 Years

2011-02-24T23:05:00.001-05:00

Today I celebrate 27 years of marriage to a beautiful woman, a wonderful mother and the best partner for my adventures I could ever wish for.

I dragged her out of South Africa, her birth country, at the end of our first year of marriage when we moved to the US and we never looked back. We have endured together through bad and good times, we have traveled through life together and have shared lots of adventures. In recent times I have taken to motorcycle adventures and she has supported me all along. In the last couple of years I have seen lots of beautiful places on my motorcycles and we have taken a few short trips together. For 2011 I am planning a longer trip and this time we will go together on my new bike but I hope she will soon get her license so we can partake in future motorcycle adventures together on our own motorcycles.

She is a “Mother Teresa” to all the animals, we have 5 pets and a pond full of fish in our house. She has lots of patience for me and the kids and is also the best cook in the world.

Happy Anniversary to you darling.

Sequoia Sempervirens

2011-02-21T20:39:00.001-05:00

This video has nothing to do with riding but it shows one of the most beautiful areas I rode through last year on my cross country trip. I am referring to the beautiful Redwood National Park in California. Pictures don't really show the beauty and serenity of these very old giants but this video by Jesse Rosten captures it beautifully. I was awed as I walked through sections of the park with moss covered branches and fallen trees all around me and the still standing trees stretching upwards as far as the eye could see as if wanting to touch heaven. The silence was deafening with only the occasional crow cutting through the silence with their loud crows. I hope you enjoy this video as much as I did. Make sure you turn HD ON and then watch the video full screen.

Growing is Forever from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

I saw these giant trees for the first time before I moved to the United States in the Endor scenes on the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi (Episode VI) in 1983. These giant trees offered the perfect backdrop for the battle of Endor when Han is elected to lead a strike team to destroy the battle station's shield generator on the forest moon of Endor.

The Sequoia sempervirens can live between 1200 and 1800 years and as I stood in the middle of the forest looking up I could only imagine the animals that have passed through the forest, the humans lives that have come and gone and the weather changes through the years witnessed by these old giants from above. The area is truly breathtaking and affected me profoundly, giving me a new sense of how insignificant our lives are when compared to the California Redwoods and the world we live in. The Redwood forest instilled a new sense of reverence in me for the world we live in.

My blog entry covering this area during my cross country trip "here"

Canadian Geese

2011-02-16T23:00:00.001-05:00

On Sunday we finally got a reprieve from this dastardly winter, the snow had mostly melted from the roads and the temperature was going to climb all the way up to the mid 40's. My Goldie was feeling desperate, being cooped up in the garage since the middle of December, having had a heart transplant (new battery) in early February, it need to get some fresh blood (fuel & air) running through its lungs (carbs) and to stretch its legs (tires & shocks). Before I let her loose on the open road I fed her half a bottle of Sea Foam and let her run for a few minutes on my driveway. Sea Foam safely frees sticky lifters and piston rings, removes carbon build-up and oil residue, reduces pinging and rough idle. After a few minutes she was purring like a kitten and anxiously waiting for me to get on her back. Time to hit the road and exercise the lungs and legs.

I leave the house with the temperature hovering in the low 30's and head towards New Egypt, then pick up County Road 537 towards Route 206 to meet my brother and a few friends from the RAT group (Rider Association of Triumph). On the way I pass a few farms, the fields covered in snow and ponds still frozen, stopping to take a few pictures of Canadian Geese taking a rest from their long trip north back to Canada.

I arrive at the Mt. Holly Kawasaki/Suzuki/Triumph dealer where I'm to meet the rest of the group at 12pm but no one is around. I am about to call my brother when I receive a message from him, he might not come since his bike is blocked by snow and ice. Two of the RAT members arrive and we chat for a while waiting for my friend Wayne and his Triumph ST. I call my brother and he is still trying to dig his bike out of the public storage garage where he keeps his bike. I tell him to meet us at the Pic-A-Lilli Restaurant if he ever gets his bike out. A few minutes later we hear the sound of a dirt bike coming down the road and to our surprise here comes Wayne on his Suzuki DR-Z400, his Triumph ST wouldn't start. He had just picked it up from the dealer a few days earlier for exactly that reason. They had replaced the electrical harness but I guess that was not the problem. He's pretty upset but luckily he has the trusty Suzuki. We leave and continue south on 206 towards Shamong stopping at the Pic-A-Lilli Restaurant.

Today the Polar Bear riders meet here and the parking lot is filled with motorcycles. I walk around admiring the other bikes and my eye is taken towards a beautiful Honda CBX, the six chrome exhausts gleaming in the sun. Next I spot what most definitely is a lady's Harley as no guy would be caught riding a bike with a custom paint job like the one on this bike unless he is a masochist. What a paint job, various flowers painstakingly detailed in multiple colors all over the body of this spotless Harley Davidson.

My brother arrives and we stay outside chatting and enjoying the beautiful day. A little later we hear the sound of a V8, we turn around and it's a Chevy V8 powered trike. The trike is enormous and loud, the chromed exhausts spewing its gases under the body, the engine is spotless, the beast can sit three side by side with the driver in the middle, the owner has done a wonderful job putting this thing together.

We decide not to have lunch at the Pic-A-Lilli but instead head north towards Vincentown and stop at the Vincentown Diner. We let Wayne go ahead as he is riding the Suzuki DR-Z400, the little bike has been geared for the trails and will be screaming at 65mph. We catch up with him at the diner, to our surprise he got there pretty quick and ahead of us. We all pick from the breakfast menu and spend time chatting and planning our future trip to the MotoGP race on August 28th in Indianapolis.

We leave the restaurant and follow Wayne to his house as I had never been to his place. I leave a little later with my brother in tow but we soon split and I continue north east towards Jackson stopping again to take a few pictures of a beautiful old gate, the entrance to a local ranch. I had passed this ranch in the past but had never stopped to admire this beautiful gate.

I stop one more time when I spot a field filled with Canadian Geese. They don't appear too worried with me or my bike, being too preoccupied with resting and regaining their energy for the flight north.

I continue towards Jackson and meet my wife at a friend's house, his son celebrating a birthday, where I knew there would be cake and dessert. I have a sweet tooth and was in need of a nice warm cup of coffee. I arrive at their house around 5pm with the temperature heading south again. I leave and head home around 9pm, the temperature back in the low 30's, all in all, not a bad riding day for mid February.

Blue is the "BEST" Color

2011-02-10T21:55:00.003-05:00

As many of you know, on September 1st 2010, Yamaha announced the Super Ténéré would come to America. On September 2nd I put a deposit on a "Raven" Super Ténéré. At the time the decision had been easy, I have always liked an all black motorcycle and when I saw the pictures I made up my mind pretty fast.
Remember this entry?

I then asked my wife and she said black, I asked my brother and he said blue, humm, now I had a problem. I stuck with the "Raven" but the "Impact Blue" was becoming more appealing.

I asked my daughter and she immediately said blue, actually she said "of course the blue is much nicer". I love my daughter, she is very stylish and always knows what colors go together so I trust her opinion, I tried to defend my choice but she wanted nothing of it, blue was the color for her.
Months go by and I stick to my original choice. I continue telling my friends I am getting a "Raven" and I couldn't wait to see it at the NY show.
I am sure you already know where this is heading, in January I attend the NY Bike show and for the first time I am able to see it up close. The "Impact Blue" model on display is beautiful. I start having doubts about my choice. I ask my dad and he says the blue is the nicest color. I check back with my daughter and she hasn't changed her mind.
Weeks go by and I keep agonizing about my choice. I keep thinking, if I now go back and change color this late, will I still get the bike in May. Keep in mind, blue is the Yamaha color. All the winning Yamahas have carried the Yamaha "Blue". Ben Spies won the 2009 World Super Bike on a blue Yamaha.

Ben Spies picture from 2Wheeltuesday

After many sleepless nights, I am exaggerating a little, I wake up last Saturday and head to the dealer. I had made up my mind, I was changing my order to blue. I walk into the sales guy's office and up on the wall is this poster.

Right there and then I knew I had made the right choice, "Impact Blue" is the color for this bike. I ask Mike, the salesman at Xtreme Machines to change the order and he quickly obliges. I tell him I also want the poster and he promises me I will get the poster when I pick up the bike.
I come home and tell my daughter I had changed to a blue, "I told you so" she quickly reminds me. Now I can sleep knowing that come May I will be getting this beauty.

After all, blue is the Yamaha color.

Dakar Rally

2011-01-26T21:31:00.002-05:00

The Yamaha Super Ténéré won the grueling Dakar Rally from 1991 through 1993 and then 1995 through 1998, a total of seven victories. Six victories at the hands of Stéphane Peterhansel and once with Edi Orioli. The Yamaha Super Ténéré YZE750 won the Dakar rally once and then six more times as an 850.

The motorcycle is named after the notorious Ténéré desert stage of the former Paris-Dakar Rally in northeastern Niger.

This video is put together by Nicolas and his Youtube channel has lots of videos of Ténéré concepts. The video shows one of his concepts for the new Ténéré but it's so well put together and the music is so beautiful that it has become one of my favorites Ténéré videos.
As Nicolas puts it:
Yamaha Super Ténéré, a motorcycle, a legend. The spirit of adventure, travel and freedom.
Music by Hans Zimmer: "Injection".

NY Motorcycle show

2011-01-24T22:14:00.001-05:00

The day I had been waiting for a long time finally arrived, I had hardly slept the night before. I had been eagerly awaiting the New York International Motorcycle show, it would be the first time I would have a chance to touch, sit on it and feel how the bike would fit me, I am talking about the highly anticipated showing of the 2012 Yamaha Super Ténéré. I had placed a deposit sight unseen last September after Yamaha made the announcement that it would bring the bike to the USA. I had spent the past few months reading discussions about it on various forums and reading reviews from magazines since the bike has been available from the beginning of last year around the world. I had invited my brother and dad to accompany me to New York City.

They arrive at my house at 9.30am and after a brief chat and a cup of coffee, off we were to NYC, an hour and a half by car and train. Fifteen minutes into the trip it dawned on me I had left the tickets at home, what with all the excitement I had left them on top of the kitchen counter. A quick turn around and fifteen minutes later I was home to the surprise of my wife. A minute later I was back on the road on the way to Newark to catch the train into the city. The Newark train station is very old and mostly falling apart but it's the quickest way to get into the city.

We hop on the Path Train and twenty minutes later we arrive at the end of the line, 33rd Street and 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas). It was very cold, about 18 degrees F (-7.7 C) when we got to the city and for those that have never been to NYC, let me tell you, the tall buildings create freezing canyons when the wind is blowing. The wind will make it feel at least 10 degrees colder, in other words, it was ridiculously COLD.

We walk the six blocks to the Javits Center stopping for brunch along the way and to warm ourselves with a cup of coffee. The Javits Center has over 675,000 square feet (62,700 m²) of exhibit space and it's an amazing structure of glass and concrete. We get there and notice there's the motorcycle show on the bottom floor and a boat show on the upper floor.

Two of my favorites - Concours 1400 and Vulcan 1700 Voyager

I always get amazed at the custom bikes, the ingenuity, man hours and money that goes into these bikes is truly amazing but I can't imagine riding these bikes any longer than a few blocks or to the nearest show area. There were quite a few on display and these are some of the most amazing I saw.

Next it was the Kawasaki booth to see the new 2011 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. I have a soft spot for sport bikes and the Ninja would be at the top of the list if I was on the market for one, the other would be the Yamaha YZF-R1.

Next I headed to the Yamaha booth to see my future bike, I was on pins and needles in anticipation and then there it was, a beautiful "Impact Blue" model. After agonizing over the color, I had picked a "Raven" but I also like the metallic blue used on the "Impact Blue" model. My biggest concern was the height of the bike but after sitting on it I was so happy I could almost flat foot both feet with the seat on the highest position. I then sat on the other floor model which had the seat in the lower position and this time I was able to flat foot both feet, what a relief. The second bike also had the aluminum panniers, tank bag, aluminum skid plate and engine guard.

The Super Ténéré is all I was expecting and more, now I have four more agonizing months of waiting for the bike to arrive, first deliveries are projected for May.

Time to start making the list of accessories I will need, pull out the maps and start planning some adventures.

2012 Yamaha Super Ténéré in Raven

Key Features:

The Super Ténéré is built for adventure, with an all-new, exceptionally compact 1199cc parallel twin with a unique 270° crank for excellent torque and traction. Engine mass is kept low for excellent handling. Narrow 2-cylinder inline engine is slim and compact for carving tight lines in twisty mountain roads.
Wide-ratio 6-speed transmission has the right gear, whether on the open highway or off-road.
Twin downdraft fuel injection with YCC-TTM (Yamaha Chip Controlled Throttle) delivers optimum throttle control and acceleration. 2-position “D-Mode” (Drive Mode) throttle-response mapping for rider preference.
Traction control lets the rider get on the gas with more confidence. It regulates ignition timing and fuel injection based on wheel spin. Three modes available to match rider preference, including off.
Super Ténéré has both an Antilock Braking System (ABS) and Unified Braking System. With the Unified Braking System, squeezing the front brake alone also provides some rear-wheel braking; pressing the rear brake first overrides the Unififed Braking System for traditional separate front and rear braking action.
Whether riding across town or crossing a continent, rider comfort and convenience are important. Super Ténéré delivers, with an adjustable seat height and windshield, tunable front and rear suspension, low-maintenance shaft drive, and more.
Special spoked wheels carry tubeless tires.
Multi-function carrier system on back is ready for luggage and touring accessories.

Engine:

The all-new 1199cc parallel twin liquid-cooled engine features a unique 270° crank for superior traction because both pistons fire so closely together. It’s almost like having a big-bore thumper without the uncomfortable vibration.
Compact engine design uses a dry-sump oil supply inside the crankcase, and side-mounted radiator for surprising narrowness.
8-valve cylinder head optimizes the fuel charge for spirited performance. The cylinder head cover is ultra-lightweight magnesium to help centralize mass.
A two-axis primary balancer smoothes out engine vibration for all-day riding comfort.
Forged aluminum pistons and carburized connecting rods for durability and performance.
Downdraft twin bore fuel injection system with 12-hole injectors is tuned for off-road adventures, and is equally at home on long stretches of open highway.
Proven YCC-T fly-by-wire technology is matched to an all-new traction control system, which regulates ignition timing and fuel injection volume based on rear wheel spin. Three rider-selected modes are available to match conditions and the rider’s preference.
Yamaha D-Mode has two settings: “T-mode” for Touring and general riding, giving a softer response; “S-mode” for Sport riding when the rider wants the most performance possible.
Wide-ratio 6-speed transmission has gear ratios optimized for everything from slow dirt roads to higher speed sport riding.
The low-maintenance shaft drive is clean and reliable with a compact rear axle gear case thanks to its hypoid gear design.

Three Wishes

2011-01-20T22:47:00.000-05:00

I would like to wish a Happy New Year to everyone that has visited my blog and specially want to say thank you to the followers for sticking with me. I thank you all for the kind comments, friendship and the sense of camaraderie shown. I have enjoyed following your blogs and will try to set aside more time to read all the blogs I am following.
A new riding season will soon be upon us and my second wish is for safe riding to everyone and may you enjoy as many miles on your motorcycle as possible. I'm sure there will be many new adventures and places to be discovered on two wheels and I can't wait to read about it and see all the beautiful pictures of this beautiful country.
My third wish and I think everyone will agree with me, is for this winter season to end and for all the snow to melt and disappear as soon as possible. I am already tired of all the snow and ice that has fallen since mid December and the weather man is predicting more snow for tonight. I woke up on December 27th and this was the view from my garage.

My cars were buried in the snow and I had forgotten to get the snow blower out of the shed. A foot and a half of the white stuff had fallen overnight and had managed to paralyze the tri-state area. I struggled to get the snow blower out of the shed and then had to drag it all the way to the garage before I could attempt to start it.

I plug the electrical cord, press the start button and all I hear is the whine from the electric starter motor. After a few more futile attempts, I take the cover off only to discover that the plastic gear that engages the flywheel had disintegrated. I guess the very cold temperature didn't help the material and neither did the age of the blower. At this point I'm cursing like a drunken sailor but soon my neighbor came by with his little Cat and helped me clear the snow out of the driveway behind the cars and the street in front of my house.

Another neighbor offered his snow blower and I was able to clear a path around the cars and all the way to the front of the house. It was hard work even with the blower, the wind blowing fast and furious and throwing it back at me but after some cursing and a few cups of hot chocolate I was finally done. My daughter in the mean time was having fun with her friends and decided to build an igloo in the middle of the road after my friend had created a huge mountain of snow with his little Caterpillar. It seems like kids don't feel the cold the way we do, I retreated to the couch with another cup of chocolate.

On January 1st, my wife and I go to New York and board the Norwegian Gem, starting the new year by going on a cruise to the Caribbean for 11 days. We had planned this cruise earlier in the year and were accompanied by high school friends from South Africa we hadn't seen in 26 years. It was cold as we left New York but warmer temperatures were ahead of us.

We visited Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Antigua, Saint Martin and Tortola. The weather was beautiful, the sky mostly clear with every afternoon offering us beautiful sunsets. There is something special about sunsets at sea for me, maybe because I live on the east coast and don't see the sun setting over the water. Every afternoon I made my way to the top of the ship to see the sun disappear over the horizon.

Our ship the Norwegian Gem

The water and the beaches were spectacular. If you ever go to St. Thomas, make sure you visit Magens Bay. In Antigua the beach was simply stunning but I can not recall the name of the beach. In Saint Martin we visited Bikini Beach and spent most of the time in the water while there.

Magens Bay, St Thomas

Antigua Beach

Bikini Beach, Saint Martin

Bikini Beach super clear water

We return to New York on the 11th and that same night we have another snow storm, it was fun for my South African friends since they don't have any snow where they live but I had to take them to the airport the next day and I was not ready to shovel snow again. This time we had about 6 inches, just enough to be annoying. We spent the last night together throwing snowballs at each other, a big snowball fight soon ensued while my daughter made snow Angels.

Tonight we are supposed to have another snow storm, three to six inches which will make tomorrow's commute to work just horrible, I can not stand this weather anymore.
This weekend I am going to New York to the International Motorcycle Show to see for the first time my future bike, the Yamaha Super Ténéré, I hope the snow will be all gone before the weekend. So back to my third wish, lets hope it happens soon so we can all start riding again.

My other Passion in Life

2010-12-12T22:00:00.001-05:00

With winter upon us and not much riding going on I would like to share with you my other passion in life, the glamorous and adrenaline filled world of Formula 1. I have loved Formula 1 since I was a kid, probably my father's fault since he would take me to all kinds of motor racing events all the time and I still follow Formula 1 passionately. I have attended numerous Formula 1 races in a few countries and read about it all the time. Every time I hear the shrill of a formula 1 engine revving up to 19000 rpm's I get a rush of adrenaline through my body and start behaving like a kid. The Formula 1 season and championship ended recently and my favorite team was not able to take the crown, I'm talking about Ferrari. I am happy for Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel, as he has proven to be a very fast competitor, for winning the championship. I would have preferred Fernando Alonso and Ferrari but he came second in the championship, Ferrari made a mistake on the last race and lost the championship.
I found a video that captures the essence of Formula 1 perfectly. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Formula 1 Season Highlights