SoloBiker.com

“I suck.”

I lost track of how many times I said that in my head on this day.

When it takes 9.5 hours to travel just over 300 miles, you can figure out very quickly that I wasn’t going very fast.

Basically, Day 2 kicked my ass.

The route was full of twisty mountain roads, with lots of tight, technical turns, hairpins and switchbacks. You name it, I saw it today.

The morning started out pleasantly enough…an early morning cruise past Big Bear Lake.

After this, the road tightend up considerably….and so did I.

The frustration mounted as I continually had to pull over to let faster cars go by. I was tight and tense. If I leaned off the seat, I forgot to countersteer. If I countersteered, I was in the wrong gear. I just couldn’t get everything coordinated.

Thanks to being pre-occupied with frustration, I very nearly had my first major “stupid” while leaving this rest area on the Rim of the World Highway.

While turning left onto a steep incline, I overturned the bike. This combined with the sharp incline had me leaned over nearly to the point of dropping the bike. I hit the throttle – hard. Too hard. The bike stood straight up and nearly pitched me off the other side.

Had I not been going so slowly at the time, I would have endured a nasty little highside.

This woke me up, and frustration turned to pondering, as I tried to figure out why I was having so much trouble with the tight turns this morning.

The good news was that, with the frustration gone, I started making fewer technical mistakes.

The bad news is, that when I start pondering, I stop watching both the street signs and my maps.

Oops.

I missed my turn just past Wrightwood, and ended up on Hwy. 2, which has been closed for 3 years due to landslides.

Only a 10 mile backtrack, but now I tried to balance my pondering with paying attention to where I was going….

As I made my way down to Palmdale, I tried to figure it out.

What’s going on? I know what to do. I know the proper technique. I’ve done it in the past. Why can’t I do it now?

Of the handful of corners that you will find in the southern Nevada desert, most of them are higher speed sweepers.

Also, there isn’t anything in the Mojave Desert over four feet tall in any direction for 150 miles.

So I’m a completely different rider when I can…see!!

So why am I a much better rider when I can see what’s in front of me, as opposed to these mountain roads where most of the corners are blind to varying degrees, and there are trees everywhere that potentially block my view of what’s out in front of me?

Trust.

Plain and simple. I don’t trust what I can’t see. As long as I can see through the entire corner and what’s up ahead, I can attack a corner with the full extent of my current ability (such as it is).

When I can’t see what’s ahead, I worry. I tense up. I fight myself. I’m unwilling to trust and believe that everything around that corner is going to be just fine, even though I’m unable to see it in the present moment.

Who knew that riding a motorcycle could become a metaphor for one’s own life?

———-

Sorry, no pictures of Palmdale for the same reason that there were no pictures of Twentynine Palms.

Lake Elizabeth Road provided the one brief stretch of fun I had today. This was more in my comfort zone, and I picked up my speed (for the only time all day) and happily cruised along.

Finally though, all the early morning tenseness caught up to me, and the pain quickly increased. By the time I was 10 miles west of Pine Mountain Club, it was nearly unbearable.

I tried to take a break. Stomper was complaining about being couped up all day, so he hung out and gazed over the smoggy southern Central Valley.

Now, maybe this is just me, but every time I’ve been to Buttonwillow, CA I’ve been overrun by flies – dozens of them everywhere – trying to fly into my mouth, up my nose, or into my ears.

Apparently, being in the hills directly west of them didn’t seem to do anything to stop their assault. Within moments of removing my helmet, I was attacked.

They were driving me nuts. Even Stomper was wilting under their assault.

Finally, even though I was wincing in pain, I decided that I had to keep going. There certainly wasn’t any relief to be found here.

Back on the road I go. About 5 miles later, I had my first truly scary moment of the trip. A large, beautiful bird (I assumed it to be a hawk) swooped down across the road. I suddenly realized that the hawk was about at my eye level, and wasn’t going to make it past me in time.

Apparently the hawk realized it too, as he suddenly made a bee-line for the ground.

He landed on the pavement, only about a foot to the right of the bike. I had no time to make an adjustment, so I lifted my right leg as high as I could…

…and watched in amazement as my foot passed over him.

The blast of adrenaline from this experience kept me going for the next two hours.

Finally, I made it to Hwy 166, which was going to be my first straight, fast run of the day. I figured I’d make up for lost time here, and had visions of quickly reaching my evening’s destination.

It lasted all of 7 miles.

I hit a paving project, which slowed things to a crawl for well over 20 miles. We had to follow a Pilot Car at one point, and since I arrived just as the line was taking off, I really didn’t have the opportunity to get in front of the line. So the next 45 minutes were spent filtering through the slower traffic.

Finally, just as I thought I couldn’t continue, I reached San Luis Obispo. I detoured briefly to San Luis Motorsports to buy a Crampbuster and Throttle Lock, then headed out to Morro Bay, where I found my room, and tucked the bike in safely for the night

I tried to make up for lost pictures by taking several shots, including the view out my balcony, and several sunset shots, trying to get it just right. (I’m not sure I ever really did – but a lot of readers seem to like the last one.)

As sore as I was after this ride, I was really concerned about my ability to cover the distance that I needed to on Day 3. At least I know I’ll have a day off the bike after that.

I rolled out of the house a bit late – 9:15am.

There was a bit of apprehension present as I prepared for this trip. I’ve done a couple of 1,000 mile four day trips, and one 1,500 mile 6 day trip two years ago, but I really hadn’t attempted anything quite like this, and probably won’t again unless I make to Alaska someday.

It took longer then usual to get comfortable on the bike, as the desert heat had only allowed me to put 500 miles on this bike since I purchased it, and now I was adding 50 pounds of dead weight to it.

Man did it handle differently!

My first stop of the day was in Searchlight, NV for my initial gas fill up.

Also, allow me to introduce my sidekick and companion for this journey. Ladies and gentleman, meet Stomper!!

Turning away from the near Interstate of US 95, I headed west toward Nipton and Mojave National Preserve. I’ve been out this way many times on day trips, and always blew right by the sign, so I made it a point to stop and take of that…

You’ll have to forgive Stomper, he’s a bit of a camera hog. Which is a good thing I suppose, as the rider is a bit camera-shy (and doesn’t know how to work the timer on his camera!)!!

First extended break of the day was at Kelso. This is the site of a historic railroad depot that has been carefully restored in recent years, and just re-opened to the public last year I believe. It’s a beautiful facility, and gives a thoughtful glimpse into a simple, yet possibly more adventurous period of history.

After an uneventful (read: boring) ride out the other side of the preserve, I came across the little “town” of Amboy. Once an early stop in the desert on Route 66, it fell on hard times after it was bypassed by I-40.

The whole town was purchased a few years ago, on the condition that it be fully restored as money allowed. The process is a very slow on, but they have managed to get the gas station open on a fairly regular basis, and plans are in place to renovate and re-open the motel and cafe.

Exactly when that will happen is hard to know, as the site has been completely shut down for many years, and numerous regulations must be met at exhorbinant costs in order to get everything off the ground.

From there, it was on to Twentynine Palms. I have no photos, there is a reason for that. Also no food photos. I assume everyone has seen a McDonalds Double Quarter-Pounder with cheese before.

Next up, Joshua Tree National Park. I wasn’t sure what to expect here, but was pleasantly surprised by a very nice loop that was almost made for a motorcycle.

Not much to tell from here. This first day out of the desert included two stretches that just weren’t much fun, and this was the second one. I slogged 50 miles from Joshua Tree to Lucerne Valley, where I climbed the mountain to get to big Bear Lake.

For a flatlander with very little twisty road experience, this one really kept me on my toes throughout – especially with muscle soreness and fatigue setting in after 7 hours and 300 miles.

But I kept the bike in my own lane, everyone else stayed in theirs, and I kept a quick enough pace to keep any cars behind me well in the distance.

I rolled into Big Bear, unpacked, walked about 3/4 of a mile to dinner, came back to my hotel room, and wrote this. Good night.

Today I embarked on what is by far the longest rip I’ve ever taken – either by car or motorcycle. I am spending 8 days (with an additional day stopover in the middle) on the GSX650F basically circling California. The trip will cover 2,300 miles with an incredible mixture of temperatures and scenery.

I’ll do my best to convey what I’m seeing and thinking along this (for me) epic journey. Hopefully others out there will enjoy, or take something useful from it.

Here we go!

I originally made this post in the dedicated GSX650F forum last month. I’m reprinting it here in the hope that the information it contains will be useful to others.

Keep in mind that these are my initial impressions after 500 miles. I grow to like the bike more every time I ride it, but I’ll prepare a much more thorough review of the bike after I get back from my 9 day, 2,300 mile tour from 9/1/08 to 9/9/08.

(Alternating bolding to make it easier to read.)

——

I love the power level – enough power to get me out of trouble, but not enough power to really get me INTO trouble, if you know what I mean.

I love how the slightly high weight for this class of bike makes it feel so incredibly stable and planted at speed.

I love that the windshield and fairing provide the cleanest flow of air I’ve ever had on a bike.

I love the way it looks.

I love the instrumentation. That gear indicator is a big deal to me. I’ve already come to rely on it, and it makes me much smoother as I slow to make low speed turns.

I love that it is so similar to the Bandit 1250, because this created an instant aftermarket of things like hard luggage and seats. Without this I wouldn’t have even considered the F.

I love how the thing sounds like a turbine when you rip the throttle.

I love the smooth throttle response and even power distribution when you go WFO.

I love that an ultra conservative rider like me can get this bike to 100 by complete accident (a first for me out of 6 bikes I’ve owned).

I love the overall protection that the full fairing gives me, especially on my lower body.

I can’t think of a single thing that sucks. I have a few dislikes, all of them minor, and most of them fixable.

I don’t like how it sounds at idle. It is very “agricultural”, and makes my previous Harley Sportster sounds smooth and modern in comparison. (Edit: this is getting better and smoother as the miles add up.)

I don’t like the seat, though it’s still the best OEM seat I’ve sat on this side of a Buell. Fix is on its way this week in the form of a Sargent. (Sargent has been on the bike for a few hundred miles and is a HUGE improvement.)

I would prefer the ergos of the Bandit. I have lower back issues, and the 650F had me bent over a touch more then I’d like. A set of GenMar up and backs solved 95% of this issue.

I’d really like about one more inch of legroom. This might be possible with the Buell footpeg conversion if I can eliminate the few new ergo problems that those pegs create. (Sargent “low” seat is almost 1″ higher then stock seat – mostly solving the legroom problem.)

I dislike the size of the pipe, but that’s a smog thing, and I notice all new bikes are going to these farm silo sized things. Easily taken care of in the aftermarket. (Holeshot Performance makes a beautiful powdercoat black pipe with options to quiet it down enough for touring. Worth a look.)

I think that about covers everything. After 5 bikes in three years, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted, and the U.S. market finally provided it in the 650F. Having the 1250 motor in this package would have been perfect, but it doesn’t exist, and I couldn’t justify the extra cost of a Bandit 1250 for a guy who always tours solo and NEVER sees the other side of 90 on trips.

If you couldn’t tell, I do love this bike.

I’d prefer it was a belt drive, but that’s just a pipe dream.

This is the bike I wanted 5 bikes ago – a “Sport Standard” that could be made into a 3/4 scale FJR or ST1300. It’s about 160 lbs lighter than those two bikes, is about half the cost, will nearly keep up in the straights, and outrun them in the twisties.

It’s the perfect balance of commuter / tourer, with just enough power to keep things interesting.

Don’t let the GSXR looks fool you. This is no rocket bike to be sure. At 85 horsepower and 515 lbs wet, it will certainly get out of it’s own way, but will be left in the dust by every sportbike on the market.

And that’s just fine with me…I’m not that kind of rider anyway.

I’m still in the break-in period with this bike, so haven’t yet taken it any great distance (I’ll replace the photo with one fromthe road ASAP). I’ve already set it up for touring though, with a center stand, bags, and an all day comfortable Sargent seat.

My limited amount of time on this bike so far has shown me that it will be the bike I ride with, and build memories with, for many years to come. I look forward to many happy miles on this bike.