Bikes I Have Loved, 1970 Sportster

This is my first Harley. I really like the look, althought it is old school. Notice the front brake is from a Bultaco dirt bike. Although you can't see it in this picture it is a stepped design which has longer spokes on one side. This reduces weight and increases strength. Looks cool, but it won't stop this bike at all. In fact that front brake won't even hold this bike on a hill.

The rear tire is Goodyear. I can't even remember when Goodyear made motorcycle tires. The tire has a very car like tread. The front tire is as skinny as a bicycle tire, it's a 21" but is only 1 1/2" wide. This bike has a lot of chrome in just the right spots and the flame job is just right. I really like the drag bars, they are comfortable and give the bike the right attitude. The bike is a kicker with a Delordo carb but it starts easy.

I might someday redo the front end and make it a little more modern, but then again no.

Not Exactly the Wild Bunch

I know spring is just around the corner when my buddies call and want to go for a ride. Here we are at Busters Barbeque in Calistoga. I hadn’t eaten at Busters before, but it was very good. A couple of the guys like it hot and the hot sauce at Busters is hot.

This Man is Not Having a Heart Attack

Marie thinks this is really funny. When I’m concentrating really hard on tightening a really inaccessible bolt and she thinks it’s time a fun time for a photo.

There’s one thing I like about working on a motorcycle as opposed to working on a car, you can sit on a box and massage the motorcycle into shape. On a car you are usually contorted beyond all comfort, working to loosen a nut that is tight beyond any torque spec known to mortal man and barely within reach.

Nuts and bolts are really strange things, they have minds of their own, it doesn’t matter if you are working on a motorcycle or a car, they tend to wander off. If you drop one it will roll and bounce like a ping pong ball. Like water, which will seek the lowest point, a dropped nut or bolt will find the most inaccessible point to make its new home.

But once again the exception proves the rule and here I am trying to tighten a really inaccessible bolt in a contorted position, and its on a motorcycle.

Mendo for Me

Saturday I rode to the town of Mendocino. As I was headed north on Hwy 101, I saw some dark clouds at the north end of the Anderson Valley. Sure enough as I pulled off into Cloverdale, it started to rain. It rained from the freeway to Booneville, where I stopped for lunch and to dry out. I stopped just after lunch and I headed out.

Hwy 128, west of Booneville enters the redwood forest. There is little traffic, which makes you feel like you are really far from civilization. Mendocino is a few miles north of Hwy 128 on Hwy 1.

In Mendocino I stopped at Dick’s Bar for a beer. The place was crowded and the bartender who dropped a tray of glasses in the middle of the floor provided entertainment. Dick’s has a lot of dick inspired wiseacre sayings posted around the bar, such as, “there are few Richards, but a lot of Dick’s,” etc.

After leaving Dick’s, I headed south on Hwy 1. It was now clear and sunny, with the afternoon sun turning the water turquoise then hazel and the hours went by. This is truly one of the most beautiful parts of the California Coast; I prefer it to the area between Carmel and Morro Bay. I was especially impressed by the town of Elk. Each house and business looked like there was not one blade of grass out of place.

It was a glorious ride, every time I looked at the ocean I saw something that I wanted to stop and explore. I saw several roads heading inland that I would like to come back and see where they would go. It was very cold and I had my electric jacket turned up, but the cold added to the exhilaration. When I reached Jenner and turned inland it had just turned dark

This was a great ride. There is a lot to see and do around Mendocino, which explains the number of bed and breakfasts in the area. Hmmmm bed and breakfast, Marie, Me and HD, there’s an idea.

Still Cool After All These Years

This is my buddy Scott’s bike, cool huh? But Scotty is pissed off. Why is Scotty so PO’ed? Look a little closer, Scott’s bike looks just like a Harley Davidson Street Glide. Wrong! And that is why he’s pissed.

Scott’s bike does not look like a Street Glide, a Street Glide looks just like Scott’s bike. Therein is the tale. Scott’s bike is a 1996 Electra Glide Standard. A 1996 has an Evolution motor. The Street Glide was not “invented” by Harley Davidson till 2006 and has a Twin Cam motor.
Scott’s bike was at the vanguard of the “bagger” revolution. The bagger revolution was when the collective consciousness of the biker world changed. Before Scotty finished building his bike all Electra Glides were known as Geezer Glides. Old men rode them, and customizing them meant adding all the chrome and running lights that could be fitted. This type of bike was called a Dresser or more appropriately a Full Dresser.
With the Evolution motor Harley moved a giant step forward. Harley knew the motor had to be completely reliable and absolutely leak proof. They succeeded. Former chopper guys began to realize the utility of saddle bags and a windshield. But every hot rodder has to customize, it’s in their blood. So where would these guys find fulfillment. Not in the gaudy, over chromed, over lighted and overdone full dresser. These guys dechromed, lowered and simplified the lines of the Electra Glide to make what I call an art deco masterpiece.
Look closely at Scott’s bike, you will see that he got rid of the over stuffed seat, chopped down the windshield and put on a front fender without chrome. There are dozens of custom changes that Scotty did to his bike and that brings us back to why Scotty is not happy. Scotty’s bike was very cool and very unique, you rarely saw anything like it. I was so impressed that when I bought my Electra Glide Standard that was the direction I wanted to take my bike. But I wasn’t the only one, and Harley soon recognized this and now Scotty’s bike is just like a zillion others. Do you understand why he’s not too happy?

You Meet the Nicest People on a Harley

The weather has turned warmer and Marie and I decided to take one of our favorite rides. We rode to Healdsburg where we took Alexander Valley to Calistoga. Near the Russian River Bridge, we stopped to take a picture of an old barn that has the big flood levels painted on the side. That’s when I met Roberta. She was just getting her mail and asked if I would like to come onto the property for a better shot. What a nice lady.
At Calistoga we went through town and hit The Silverado Trail. This is a beautiful road that winds on the east side of the Napa Valley. There are dozens of wineries along the road. The vines had not begun to leaf out yet, but the grass was green and all the fruit trees were in full bloom.
The weather was warm and we cruised slowly as there was little traffic. We cut through Napa and headed for Sonoma. We did a little shopping in Sonoma and had a snack at the Basque Café on the square.
When we headed home it was starting to cool off a little but we enjoyed the ride. The loop is about 120 miles long. There is plentyto do and see, especially in summer.

Picu' Freaks Della Natura

I like a little scooter. I could even see me buying a little Piaggio 50 or 150cc scooter. I can imagine Marie and I scooting around the wine country with a picnic basket and a bottle of wine. Just like Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. Ray and Marie in Sonoma Holiday we would be laughing and riding……hey! Wait just a minute.

That’s no scooter, that’s a Suzuki Bergman 650. Hepburn and Peck must be spinning in their graves. Not cute, not mean, not fast, what the heck?
Then just when I think things could not be any freakier, I see the Piaggio MP3. It’s made by Piaggio, the makers of the cute little ones. But it has all the freak qualities of the Bergman and two front tires to boot. It's heavy and slow, but it does have two wheels up front.
Freaks della natura!

You Warmed My Heart

As you may guess, I have a lot of old motorcycle equipment. I have an old Widder electric vest. It works great, it kept me warm for many years, but as with much of my clothing, it has shrunk over time. I wore it last a couple of summers ago on a ride to Canada. I came back down Hwy 1, along the coast, and while it was about 105 degrees on the inland Hwy 5, it was bitter cold along the coast. I could not zip the vest so I just wore it unzipped. It kept me warm. My bike has heated grips so with the grips and the vest I was OK.
My wife wore the Widder vest when she rode with me until today, when we bought her a new Gerbing liner jacket. I bought the same liner right after the Canada trip. I just liked the material of the Gerbing jacket a little better. It seemed that the Widder was a little dated.
Dated though it may have been that Widder vest worked and it worked for many years. While at the motorcycle shop, I picked up a copy of City Bike and read that this will be the last year that Widder will be in business. The owners are retiring. I am sad, as I’m sure the Widder’s are, to see the company go. I remember when my Dad decided to close his business and retire. I felt a sense of loss, a sense that life is short and that even though retirement will be fun and allow my Dad to do many of the things he had been dreaming about and working toward, it is the beginning of the twilight of his life.

Bikes I Have Loved, YZ-250E

This may be the only photo of me riding my YZ-250E. The photo and bike are 1978 vintage. This photo was taken at an enduro at Red Mountain in the Mohave Desert. I can’t remember the name of the enduro. An enduro is like a car rally in the desert, there are checkpoints and you have to arrive on time at the checkpoints.
The photo was taken by one of those trackside photographers that try to sell you copies and send you a little teaser photo. Well this is the teaser photo.
This bike was a true motocross bike. In 1978 the professional motocross riders, like Bob Hanna, rode stock YZ’s and the bikes were raffled off to the crowd after the race. The bike was tall and fast. The power band was like a light switch, full on or full off. The bike was so tall, I could barely tiptoe the ground. I put on a speedometer from a Yamaha IT, which was a slug compared to the YZ.
In enduro riding of the time you used a roll chart to keep on time. The roll chart was a scroll of paper in an aluminum holder on the handlebars with the time in minutes on one side and where you should be on the other.
0800-----start
0805-----1.3mi
0810-----2.6,
Etc.
As you rode you would check your watch against your speedometer to tell where you should be in time and space.
This was all fine and should be simple, but, and there’s always one isn’t there? Digital watches were just coming out at the time; it was almost impossible to see the second hand on a regular watch. Digital displays were small and very hard to read while you were bouncing along a desert trail at speed. The speedometer was small and hard to read for the same reasons. The paper in the roll chart was also problematic. More than once it tore or got wet and went to pieces.
It was easy to stay on time when the trail was easy and the speeds low. When speeds were higher and the terrain harder it was almost impossible to stay on time. The Yamaha was the perfect bike. Fast and agile with long travel, the suspension soaked up huge bumps with the, then new, monoshock suspension.
I also used the bike for motocross until I had a bad crash and broke my collarbone, but that’s another story.

Freaks O' Nature

Here is a photo of a bike that I saw in London. It is a BMW C1. BMW what were you thinking? This is supposed to be a safer motorcycle that you can ride with out a helmet because you are so strapped in that your head could not hit the pavement. That’s right, seat belts and rollcage, a little car on two wheels.
We have been having so much rain here in Northern California lately that my brain began to wander, motorcycle rain/rain motorcycle, that’s when I remembered seeing the mighty C1. It might not be too bad riding with a windshield and roof. Put some side curtains on the thing and Viola.
In 2001, the first year of manufacture BMW produced 10,000 C1’s. In 2002 BMW produced only 2000 and production ceased the same year. What happened? I think people had a revelation. They woke up one morning, walked out to their scooter and said, “Whoa, this thing has got to be right up there with Lamas, and miniature horses, it’s a freak of nature."

How Did It All Go So Wrong?

How could my shifter rod drift apart? I was just riding a long and when I went to downshift into the town of Hopland and the shifter was on the floorboard. The ball and socket had parted ways. No big arguments just a separation and quicky divorce. While installing the new rod, HD does not sell just the rod end, no surprises there, I think I figured out how there were grounds for separation.
There was another man involved!
I remember when I bought this bike, the previous owner had mentioned that he couldn't adjust the height of the shift pedal. I think that he was trying to take the jamb nut loose and when it popped loose and the other wrench shot upward and that twisted the rod end off the ball. Oops, better pop it back on before admitting that it's broken. Better that the new owner shell out for a new one than the present owner, right?
So here we are 25k miles later in the middle of a nasty divorce.

Bikes I Have Loved, DT-1

Everyone has a favorite motorcycle, mine is the Yamaha DT-1B. Made in 1969, it was my first real motorcycle. I loved that bike; I was so greatly influenced by that motorcycle that its vibrations still resonate in my life.
I can still remember the first time I saw a DT-1. It was 1968, I was in Crestline in the San Bernardino Mountains, and I saw it, it was so tall and the lines so right. The sight of that bike made such an impression on me that I remember everything about the moment 40 years later.
My Dad bought the 1969 Yamaha DT-1B from K&N Motorcycles on La Cadena Dr, in Riverside, California. Malcolm Smith was the head of the service department and K&N Motorcycles later became K&N Air Filters. My Dad had been saving lead pennies, which were made during the war years out of zinc to save copper for bullets. My Dad had saved up $300 worth of the lead pennies and sold them to a dealer for 3 cents apiece. Coincidentally that was the price of the Yamaha $900.
My Dad found the Dt-1 to be too tall and bought a Yamaha 125 AT-1, which he liked better because not only was it shorter, it had an electric starter. Dad was the same age as I am now and I can see how he appreciated the electric starter.
I took over the 250. I was 15 years old, I could not ride on the streets, but we lived near the Santa Ana River and I could coast down the hill and ride to the river bottom which was like a sand highway to the hills at North Main St. My Dad, my brother and I would load up the bikes and go to the Canyon Crest area and ride all day on weekends. My Dad and I once road the bikes to Bodie, California. The bike was a great piece of machinery. It never broke, it rode great and it looked great, what more could a kid want.
When I graduated from High School, I decided to take a motorcycle trip. I loaded a sleeping bag on the DT-1 and headed off. I toured around California and parts of Nevada. I lost my student deferment and got drafted. That changed the direction of my life.
I would not change one iota, not one molecule not one breath taken of the time I spent with that bike.

Tin-ah-see Ernie

Greg and I are sitting at Ernie’s, I am enjoying the warm sun and the cold beer, when a guy starts unloading large sacks of peanuts and pistachios and pretzels behind the bar. Somebody at the other end of the bar says, “Hey Ernie.”
I say, “Are you the Ernie, the Ernie’s Tin Roof Ernie?”
He says,”Yeah.”
I say, “Can I take your picture for my blog.”
Ernie says, “I’m not posing.”
I take that for permission.

I'm HD You're Desmo

This is my buddy Greg, he's Desmodromic. Sexy and Italian, not Greg the motorcycle. Greg is, well, Greg. The motorcycle is a Ducati Monster. Desmodromic is the name given to Ducati motorcycles valve train. The valve train is not like other non-Italian drive trains. It is a system of levers that teeter totter the valves up and down. No springs here!

Ducati claims that when the engine valves are levered open and then levered closed the action is much more percise than when the valves are pushed open and then left to the vagaries of a spring to snap them closed. This allows much more precise adjustment of the engine timing.

Timing is everything be you a comedian or an engine. Timing is important in most everything we do, but I digress. Everything that happens in an engine as it runs is not digital like on/off, one or zero. Each part of the engine has tolerances that are taken up as the engine runs through a cycle. The spark needs to go off slightly before the piston is at the top of the chamber because by the time the mixture of gasoline and air starts to burn the piston will be at TDC (top dead center). Immagine as the engine speeds up and slows down the timing of the spark needs to be changed accordingly. There is a mechanism for this, it's the spark advance in the distributor or some computer thingy, but again I digress.

But a spring can only close so fast. Bigger springs will close quicker but will also take more force to open, enter Desmodromic. The Desmodromic valve system is a mechanism that will open and close the valves as the engine spins faster in perfect timing, a mechanism. Anyway it works, Ducati engines will rev like there is no limit.

As I mentioned before Greg's bike is Ducati Monster. It has no fairing, you can see all the engine and all the parts. Greg owned a Ducati 999, a beautiful fully faired, bright red, Italian speed freak. The bike not Greg. Greg sold the 999 and got the current ride, a Monster.

I think Ducati should have named the 999 the 666, that way they would have the Monster and the Beast. Greg sees no humor in this.

Art Deco

One of the things I like most about my motorcycle is how adaptable it is. I can change from a “street” look to a full on touring bike in less than ten minutes. That’s art deco masterpiece to touring bike in less time than it takes to fill the gas tank. I know some other bikes have removable tour packs and saddlebags, but few will let you change the windshield and seat as easily. And none that I know can change the entire character of the bike.
Several other manufacturers make “Dual Purpose” bikes; these are really big dirt bikes that sacrifice being real dirt bikes for highway abilities. They are perfect for going to Alaska and I’m sure that the Alaska Tourist Bureau thanks them. You can pile on so much luggage that you can easily exceed the weight rating on the tires, but it is what it is. Luggage on, luggage off it’s the same thing. Change the windshield, it’s different, but it’s the same thing. Like a chameleon these bikes they can change their skin but not their character.
None of the street bikes have this ability. There is a charge by the Japanese manufacturers to cut into Harley Davidson’s market share. But they miss the point, as they are what they are. One style, no changes. You buy one bike and you have one bike. You can customize it, change it, and it is different but still one thing only.
That doesn’t make any if them bad bikes. I don’t think there are any bad bikes. There are unreliable bikes that have vast fan clubs. There are dangerous bikes that sell like hotcakes. There are ugly bikes and beautiful bikes and all find fanatical devotees.
I just like this bike.

Scootasaurus

On Sunday I put the big soft seat and backrest on the motorcycle and Marie and I headed for Novato, CA., where we met Sherry and Gary for breakfast. Sherry and Gary are old friend that we have ridden with for several years. I know they were waiting for the weather to break so that they could get out for ride.
We met at Mary's restaurant and bar for breakfast then headed across the north end of San Francisco Bay on Hwy 37. We then hit Hwy 80 and cut off just before Vacaville. I have never been through this country as usually I hit Hwy 505 if I am heading north.
The area on Hwy 16 is called the Kopay Valley and is the location of a large indian casion called Cache Creek. I guess it's no coincidence that Cache Creek flows in the Kopay Valley.
As you follow Cache Creek north it eventually heads west and you follow Bear creek to Hwy 20 which heads to Williams, CA. We had a beer at Granzella's Restaurant. In the fall Granzella's burned to the ground. So now it is little more than a deli and bar. They will be building a new building soon, actually said to open in 3 months, which seems optmistic to me.
We then went to the north of Clear Lake, which I understand to be the biggest natural lake in California. We eventually hit Hwy 101 just north of Ukiah, CA. We went a few miles north to Redwood Valley near Calpella, CA, where we had dinner at the Broiler Steak House. It was getting dark and we were getting a little tired and a lot hungry.
After a good meal we headed south on Hwy 101. It was a little colder by now and the electric jacket felt good.
The only problem we encounted on the trip was that just north of Hopland my shift rod came apart. There is a little ball joint and the ball and joint decided to not only have a trial separation but divorced efective immediately. It was not a huge problem but I noticed it when I went to downshift for the speed zone at Hopland. I put a nylon tie around the ball joint to hold it together and no further problems.
We had a great ride, the weather was cool and winter still held the countryside but there were signs that spring was trying to take hold. There was a lot of green grass starting to sprout and the orchards had bee boxes placed in them ready for the blossoms. The distance for this trip is about 350 miles but there is plenty to see.

In Wine, Truth

It is Saturday and I've got stuff to do. The weather is improving and it seems warm with temperatures in the high 60's. That's not exactly hot but it has been colder for so long it seems like spring can't be far away. There are a lot of motorcycles on the road and why not? It's a beautiful day. By afternoon I'm done with all my chores so I decide to take a little ride. I think a short jaunt through the Sonoma Valley will fit the day.



As I cruise down Hwy 12 toward the town of Sonoma, I see vinyard after vinyard. But one particular section of road starts me thinking, I do a lot of thinking while riding, it's one of the things I like best about being on the road. In this vinyard are old vines. These vines have thick, knarled trunks. Right across the highway are young vines, these have stems more than trunks.



I'm sure nobody is missing the point here. I'm thinking that I've seen more vintages that I have yet to see. So what's a person to do? Live every minute to the fullest. Enjoy every second. No, this just isn't the way life works. Someone who laughs a little too hard just sounds like an idiot (can you hear me Hilary). Someone who sucks in too much experience is just a glutton. Enjoy every second it just dosen't work like that.



Well what is the secret to happiness, you ask? Just get a motorcycle and ride through the Sonoma Valley on a warm late winter day and you'll be heading in the right direction.

The Razor or the Couch

The weather has finally gotten better. It's not raining and quite a bit warmer. So I'm thinking it’s time for a ride. But where? I've got it; I'll pick my daughter, Lee, up from school. She will love it; her very cool Dad on his very cool Harley will ride up looking like a cross between James Dean and Steve McQueen. All the other kids will be green with envy.
I decide to leave the LaPera seat on because it's much cooler and it’s only a short way home. Clearly a good trade off, coolness for comfort. I know she will agree.
So as I arrive I notice that things are not quite the same as my mental image. Lee is not looking excited, whoa, she's not even looking enthusiastic. More whoa, she does not look happy. What's up?
"Dad, I hate that seat, it is so uncomfortable." She gets on. "Dad, I hate it when you pick me up on the motorcycle." There is a sound of tires skidding on dry pavement inside my head. "It is so embarrassing," she says.
"I thought your friends would think it would be so cool to have your Dad pull up on a bike to pick you up."
"None of my friends think motorcycles are cool," she says.
I'm thinking that maybe dinosaurs are not extinct and that I may be one, we pull away, then she says, "can we take the long way home?"

Ernie's Tin Bar

When my friend called saying he was on his way home from Vallejo and did I want to meet at Ernie's for a beer, I immediately said...."let me check with the wife." After recieving the propper clearance and not a bit of grief (I love that woman) I fired up the bike and headed for Lakeville Rd, the location of Ernie's Tin Bar.
It has been raining and cold for the last, I dunno, month or so. I have really been antsy to go somewhere, anywhere. But Ernie's was a really good call. Ernie's is a small very old gas station now festooned with neon beer signs. The beer is cold and cheap. I have never seen or heard anyone in this bar who was ill manered or bad tempered.

The ride is not far, the weather was cold but good. I could see rain coming from some clouds around the horizon but thankfully not near. The bike loves cold air, you can feel that little bit of extra compression and hear it in a crisper exhaust note. I pulled into Ernie's, had a couple of beers that were the exact right termperature and the exact right price. Left Ernies and rode home with the temperature in the high 30's. Perfect day, perfect night, perfect ride.

Tour Pack Vibration

I have an Electra Glide Standard so I had to add a tour pack. I had been using a nylon bag that hung on the removable back rest. My wife liked the removable back rest, I got the tallest one Harley offers. But when I bought a tour pack and removable mount, she complained that it vibrated so badly that she couldn't keep her back against it.

I tried several ways to stop the vibration, but the only one that worked was to remount the tour pack back four inches. I used a piece of aluminum square tubing and drilled it to add a set of holes allowing me to remount the tour pack back four inches. The square tubing supports the tour pack as it now has to hang over the back or the detachable chrome mounting bracket.

The change has worked well because we now can remove the tour pack when we get to our destination, leave it in the hotel and cruise around town using just the detachable back rest.

Here is a photo of the installation. Also check two photos below to see how the install looks on the bike. That photo was taken on Hwy 395 near Lone Pine. You can click on the photo to enlarge it for a better view.

Laughlin 2007 Trip

What Happens In Vegas

This photo speaks for itself

Scott and Blair on Carson Pass

Here We Go

Well here we go, my first blog. I intend this blog to be a diary of my motorcycle rides. I'm inspired by Peter and Kay Forwood's, Trip Around Around the World on A Harley-Davidson. I intend to tell a tale of each time I ride my motorcycle and show some pictures. It is the middle of winter now so not an idea time to start, but, on the other hand, I will probably figure out how to do a proper blog by the time the riding season gets into gear.I think I'll post a few older photos just to get the hang of it and maybe someone out there will enjoy them.

Below Sea Level