High_Sides Trips and Pics

[Shorts]

Sad to have to let bikes go, but I'm sure you'll find another that will suit.

Happy shopping

[High_Side]

Recently I was in San Diego for a conference and at the end of January, after two months of bike hibernation I had a need to take advantage of the great weather down south. I found a great place to rent a Harley through www.Eaglerider.com and booked myself an extra couple of days at the end of my conference. The conference turned out to be a good lead up to my ride as I spent a few days with some of the key Harley Davidson people, unfortunately at a time where they had just downsized their work-force. Nevertheless, these people were pretty genuine people that, after spending a few days with them made me want to get out on a Harley all the more.
Taking off on my first morning for freedom following the conference, I was taken to the complete opposite end of the city by a cab driver who apparently did not know "exactly where that place was" I ended up being 1 hour late for my ride. The bike I had booked was a Dyna Wide Glide but sitting right beside it was a Dyna Street Bob that exactly like the one I had recently checked out while in Kelowna at a Harley dealer. I pulled a switchero and I was off on my Hog.

As I really had no plan when I arrived (yep, I had asked for advice on this site but then promptly forgot about all of it), the girl at the rental shop sent me out to wonder east of the city. As soon as I got the chance I was off the beaten path trying to get lost.
What the he#!? I am almost in Mexico.....what is with this sign?

Despite the sign in the above picture, the weather was pretty great for late January. I was actually shocked how few motorcycles were on the road on such a beautiful day. Seriously, there was NOBODY out on the back-roads on any bikes which I found even more ironic after landing back in Calgary a few days later to see a surprising number of bikes on the road after a few days of melting snow I believe that there is a marketing opportunity here: The Harley I rented was at a significantly reduced price due to it being "low season". If more Cannucks knew how cheap you could get on a bike and ride it through beautiful weather in the middle of January the rental business would be booming. I really had no idea.....
So off towards Joshua Tree Park to see stuff that I hadn't seen before. I didn't know what to expect but if they named it after my favorite U-2 album it must be alright
I stopped to get a picture as I rolled over the crest of a hill looking down on Palm Desert. If you look closely you can see a nice snaking highway down the hill. There is a little bit of Harley Davidson in just about every one of these corners (well there was just after I passed through)......I hope that this doesn't cost me the damage deposit

After Palm Desert I headed out on the Sony Bono Freeway(too damned funny) before heading in to the park. While the Harley felt great on the backroads the freeway started to make it a little uncomfortable while keeping up with traffic. It could do it, but it was definately much more jittery doing it than most anything else that I have been on lately.

Cruising through the first part of the park it seems like nothing more than a wasteland. It isn't until I split off of the main road to the west that the scenery changes and the trees don't disappoint. I find myself stopping often to grab a picture, looking for the grouping of rocks that was supposedly often used while filming the original Star-Trek. But alas there is no Leonard Nemoy Freeway to lead me there and they all end up looking the same.

To be continued....

[High_Side]

It was midway through the park when the gas gauge seemed to drop like a stone and I had visions of hitching a ride to get fuel before I got out of here. I switched in to conservation mode, with extreme short shifting and letting the bike idle along with the throttle just off of the stop at 45m.p.h. And then the Harley's charm dropped in: This is how this you need to ride this motorcycle. In the middle of nowhere, plodding along at an impossibly low R.P.M., letting the torque just push you. While I ridden Harleys before and consciously dialled it down, I had never dialled it down this much, nor have I had this kind of enjoyment out of riding one. You don't get any joy on this motorcycle by pushing through corners; you just putter through them and have great fun. You don't get anywhere quickly while doing so but it is a hell of a lot more fun than trying to push this type of bike in to doing something that it really does not want to do. I must be getting old enough to finally be able to enjoy a Harley for what it is. Not that I'm that old that I'm going to run out and buy one mind you....

To be continued...

[High_Side]

Coming out of the park, I quickly grabbed fuel and realized that the daylight would soon be gone. Without a real sense of how far I had to go the next day and how bad SoCal traffic would be, I decided to push on and make my way towards the coast. I really wish that I would have stopped east of LA to get a shot of the wind fields where a few dozen windmills grow in to several hundred over a few miles, but the sun was dropping and I really wanted to push onward. By the time I found a room, I was cold and hungry but the day was worth it!

Unfortunately, I started the next day with a phone call from work where a serious incident required me to get home as soon as I could. My easy cruise up the beach was distracted by the worries of home. Still, the opportunity to ride up the coast in the middle of winter couldn't be wasted and I enjoyed every minute of it that I wasn't on the phone. A few great backroads were passed by with my need to catch an earlier flight, but this part of the trip was all about the easy cruize and the scenery along the way.

It was sad to have to return the Harley after such a short ride. I was amazed shortly after picking up the bike to find out that it had over 45000 miles on it! The bike was extremely tight and felt more like it had 5000 miles on it which says as much about the maintenance that Eaglerider provides their bikes as it does Harley Davidson. It's definitely not a bike you buy for it's performance but the quality is there.

Hopefully this was enough to scratch the itch until the streets clear up in Calgary

[High_Side]

A nice little add-on for the Viffer arrived last weekend:

It sounds great and weighs a solid 10-15lbs less than the stock muffler.

It felt great to finally get the VFR out to the mountains this year in what has been the latest, most miserable spring in recent memory.... hence the waterfalls are still frozen over!

The first trip with any distance involved was a ride to Field B.C. with a few people from the local motorcycle meet-up group. Great people....and they haven`t kicked me out yet!

You could store a Louisville Slugger in there There is not much to slow the racket by looking at it, but it actually isn`t as offensive as the old VTR1000 ( Mike will be happy to know!)

This little creek would have been tempting for a swim if it were about 15 degrees warmer and the snow was missing along the beach!

And finally a shot of the old highway in to Field B.C.

High_Side

[High_Side]

So I finally got my head around buying a Speedtriple after all of these years. I had taken out a Street triple, and while it was a kick-azz bike the days of me owning the bike that you have to rev the dodo outta every time out are over. I love torque and the Speedy is the only way to get it in a naked Triumph three-banger. So I head to the dealership, prepared to pay list for a big flat black Speedy. But they are now sold out, and have no intention of bringing in any more. Gloss black is available, but it isn't an option for me after previously owning a gloss black bike (they don't respond well to scatches, lack of washes etc...). The attitude at the local dealer seals the deal, so I'm off to the local Ducati dealer where the Monster of Mrs. High-Side was purchased to crank out a deal on a new M1100. They do not have any bikes as they appear to be getting shut-out from Ducati North America (in a real Honda-esque type of move). I leave frustrated but a couple of days later I get a call from the other local Ducati shop (the expensive latte for all customers one) and they offer me a test ride based on info that they got from me at the bike show. They turn out to be great and after a test ride I am ready to buy but I really wanted them to swap out the body work to kit out a white on red bike for me. They needed to think about it so I went on the internet and found a new Buell 1125CR for $4Gs less than the Monster! I always said if Eric Buell put an actual motor in one of his contraptions I would buy it, so now was the time to buck up. I arrange with Mrs. High-Side to keep the old Viffer and buy the Buell as it would cost less than the new Monster! I love it when a plan comes together. So I arrange to see the salesman on Saturday to seal the deal. One last look on kijiji before I leave and I'll be off. This changes everything. As of today there is a new (to me):
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...in the garage!

Yep, what the hell was I thinking? I am getting too old for this dodo but the addiction to snorty twins runs deep. The old VTR was getting too much of a liability, egging me on to crank out big wheelies every time I turned the damned key. This one popped up effortlessly at 70km/hr today without the clutch in 2nd gear. F#%! Being a dad I really have to keep from hurting myself. Maybe just one year with the Duke and I will retire to a nice V-Rod.....

[blues2cruise]

[Brackstone]

So I finally got my head around buying a Speedtriple after all of these years. I had taken out a Street triple, and while it was a kick-azz bike the days of me owning the bike that you have to rev the dodo outta every time out are over. I love torque and the Speedy is the only way to get it in a naked Triumph three-banger. So I head to the dealership, prepared to pay list for a big flat black Speedy. But they are now sold out, and have no intention of bringing in any more. Gloss black is available, but it isn't an option for me after previously owning a gloss black bike (they don't respond well to scatches, lack of washes etc...). The attitude at the local dealer seals the deal, so I'm off to the local Ducati dealer where the Monster of Mrs. High-Side was purchased to crank out a deal on a new M1100. They do not have any bikes as they appear to be getting shut-out from Ducati North America (in a real Honda-esque type of move). I leave frustrated but a couple of days later I get a call from the other local Ducati shop (the expensive latte for all customers one) and they offer me a test ride based on info that they got from me at the bike show. They turn out to be great and after a test ride I am ready to buy but I really wanted them to swap out the body work to kit out a white on red bike for me. They needed to think about it so I went on the internet and found a new Buell 1125CR for $4Gs less than the Monster! I always said if Eric Buell put an actual motor in one of his contraptions I would buy it, so now was the time to buck up. I arrange with Mrs. High-Side to keep the old Viffer and buy the Buell as it would cost less than the new Monster! I love it when a plan comes together. So I arrange to see the saleman on Saturday to seal the deal. One last look on kijiji before I leave and I'll be off. This changes everything. As of today there is a new (to me):

...in the garage!

Yep, what the hell was I thinking? I am getting too old for this dodo but the addiction to snorty twins runs deep. The old VTR was getting too much of a liability, egging me on to crank out big wheelies every time I turned the damned key. This one popped up effortlessly at 70km/hr today without the clutch in 2nd gear. F#%! Being a dad I really have to keep from hurting myself. Maybe just one year with the Duke and I will retire to a nice V-Rod.....

NICE!

Let me know your impressions after like 1k man. That was the other bike I wanted to get, but I decided to get a Ducati because there are more dealers around here and I didn't want the same problems I had with my Aprilia and Dealers

If I had 20grand and tons of extra money for insurance I'd get an RC8!

[Theweapon52]

Nice ride!! Those super dukes always caught my eye whenever i walked into blackfoot, did you pick it up there? I've always experienced decent customer service from them, i hope you did too.

Hope to see you on the streets!

[totalmotorcycle]

Your absolutely nutz.

I wouldn't have picked the Duke for you, (it's Dean's bike) but hey, go crazy as I'm sure it's a real nutter. I've sure you will love it. What a huge departure from the Ducati GT1000.

Just keep yourself in 1 piece eh till I get back.



Mike