daboo

Another great day in the Pacific Northwest, and another great ride. The caveat on that statement is that while you can ride year around here, most of the year is not like this. The lowlands are wet with rain, and the higher elevations are covered in snow. So you make the most of it while you can. I was invited to join some other riders from church on a trip to Leavenworth. In case you're wondering, this was not a prison ministry trip to Leavenworth, KS. Here's a link to the town that brings some Bavarian hospitality to the PNW. https://leavenworth.org The route takes us from sea level, over Stevens Pass in the Cascade mountain range and to the east side. Crossing one of the rivers near Monroe, WA. Along Hwy 2 A few miles out of Leavenworth. On a whim, I detoured on the way home through Chumstick and came out near Lake Wenatchee. If you're in the area, this is a wonderful side road. Curvy. Good pavement. Little traffic. Just one of those roads that is good for the soul. Back on Hwy 2, on the west side of Stevens Pass. Chris

Tuesday, I went with James (jtvisions) over the other direction to the Olympic Peninsula. (BTW, we met solely because he filled in his location in his profile. Without that info...we'd never have enjoyed the many rides we've taken together.) The route took us up north to Deception Pass. The way out was beautiful open pastures with mountains for a backdrop. On the Coupeville ferry. Almost out to Pillar Point. At Pillar Point. On the way home. At Lake Crescent.

I've never done a wheelie. I don't think it is in my future. But I still have the original steering head bearings in my bike at 58K. Chris

I thought about it once...but no longer. Those that are looking for excuses to buy a lithium battery will make a big deal out of the 4 lbs of weight savings. But really, I'd be a lot healthier if I lost 4 lbs. I bought a replacement battery for my bike. It is the gel type battery. Cost? About $50. Battery technology is not "rocket science", and you can pick up a good non-name brand battery for little cost. As they say in economics, batteries are a "commodity" item. In other words, there isn't much difference from one to the other. So I'd stick with what Yamaha designed the bike to use. Chris

Have you heard of this? I don't know if these are legal in that part of the country, but it will help give you some warning. With instant on radar, you will pick up the warning from when the LEO turns on the radar to get someone else. It ought to be enough warning to keep you from getting your own performance award. There are a lot of good roads though besides that particular one. The road up to Lolo Pass is over 100 miles of twists and turns. Chris

I didn't see any snowmobiliers, but there were snow boarders. Chris

I took off for Artist Point on Mt. Baker yesterday. The road isn't open all the way yet, but I was able to walk up the remaining portion. That's the Canadian border near the left most peaks. The bathroom roof in the parking lot. There's probably a good 20 feet of snow there. My bike below. You'll have to squint to see it. Chris

I posted the quirk above on the rdforum.org and had several replies that it isn't uncommon for one device to affect another.

I think the difference between the top tier tires is virtually nill...except in price. When you factor in rebates, the price difference becomes even more of a consideration. Unfortunately, probably because of the coronavirus, there aren't the normal rebates available. If you look at a Dunlop Roadsmart III in a rear tire, it is $172. If you look at the price of a Michelin Road 5, it is $214. That's a $42 difference on just one of the tires. Add up the difference in cost for both front and rear, and there's over a $70 difference in cost. Is there a $70 difference in performance? Or is it more like the difference between Castrol and Pennzoil? I've tried the Metzeler Z8s, Metzeler Roadtec 01, Dunlop Roadsmart III and the Continental Roadattack III tires. Like oil, it comes down to feel. I like the Conti RA III tires, for the way they drop into a corner. Not to fast, not to slow. It just feels natural. They use a different technology on their tires too. Instead of a different compound for the center and sides of the rear tire, they use the same compound, but subject the different parts of the tire to different heat and pressure. The result is a tire that wears naturally in the transition from hard to soft compounds. More importantly to me, is they warm up really fast. And as someone who rides year around in Seattle, one of my top considerations is wet weather performance...where they are excellent. Also, I think when you compare prices, you'll find the price from one source to be the same as another source. Then it just gets down to customer service. I buy my tires from Cycle Gear. Why? Because I started changing my own in my garage. If I get stuck and can't get it on...CG will change it for $25. I can't take a tire in from somewhere else and have them mount it. So I buy from CG just to have a contingency plan. Chris

I think I've found a "bug" in the Garmin Zumo XT. I also own a Uniden DFR9 radar detector. Interestingly, when I went to pass someone, I was getting a Laser warning. Or on hitting some bumpy roads, I might get a K or Ka band warning. At first, I'm telling myself that oh dear...I've bought a ticket. But then, I realized it had to be false warnings. But why? The Zumo XT has a feature to send a message to someone when you get into an "accident". I think that was sending some electronic vibes that were picked up by the radar detector. Once I turned that "feature" off, the radar detector acted like normal. Chris

Day Five. The Way Home. I decided to head home through Yellowstone again. I had been tempted to take my route north and ride the "Going to the Sun" road, but it still isn't open to the really scenic parts. And besides, there were still things to see. :) But first, I decided to take a side trip to Devil's Tower. I looked for the lights and aliens, but didn't see any. I've been to Yellowstone in the past, but there's always more to see. This is at West Thumb Geyser Basin. I thought this was it. What I didn't realize, was it extends into Yellowstone Lake. From there, I stopped at another place that isn't a major attraction for tourists, but is quite nice on its own merit. Biscuit Basin. This pool below reminds me of the volcanic rocks you find where the outside looks crusty and uninteresting...but when cracked open, there's this beautiful crystal inside.

Day Four. The Badlands. This was the "reason" I took the trip. Though really the reason was the journey, not the destination. Obligatory motorcycle picture. ;)

Day Three. Cody, WY to Wall, SD. There are two more bucket list rides you can take in this area. One is the Chief Joseph Highway. The other is Beartooth Pass. Stunning. Jaw dropping. Before I'd ridden over Beartooth Pass a couple years ago, I'd thought nothing could equal the beauty of the Cascade Mountain Range. All the while I'm riding along on the road up Beartooth Pass, in the back of my mind is that Carpenter's song, "I'm on the top of the world". You feel like that. Chief Joseph Highway. Take a close look at this picture. In my next life, I want to be a geologist and understand why you have so many rock formations in one area. You have a deep canyon on the right. And in the middle, seemingly tiny...but not...is a plateau. Beartooth Pass.I stopped here because it seemed like I wasn't going to escape the rain storm ahead. And it was getting cold. My last trip to Beartooth Pass was cold and extremely windy. So I put on some more clothes to get ready. As it turned out, by the time I got ready to go again...the rain had moved on and the rest of the way was dry and beautiful. There is a town at the bottom of the valley. Social distancing. The other bike was at least six feet away and moving along. And then things got interesting. I had hours to go to get to Wall, SD. For those of you not in the USA, the "city" of Wall is famous for Wall Drug Store. There are signs telling you about it a hundred miles away. If you've never been there, you have to go, just to say you did. I'd missed the rain all along, but I wouldn't now. For those of you who say, "I would never ride in the rain"...well, you do if you have no choice. Some would say that you'd find a gas station covering or something else to wait under till the rain stopped. There was nothing. I would've spent the night in a different motel and called myself fortunate for losing the money on the motel reservation I already had. But there was nothing out here. Not even farm houses. And out ahead was some of the worst thunderstorms I could imagine. My Garmin Zumo XT (and the 595 before it) has a weather app. You can overlay your route with the weather radar. Ahead of me was a massive thunderstorm, and my route would take me directly under the red area of the worst part of it. The clouds were black and you could see lightning arcing across the sky and to the ground. Perhaps you've heard the phrase, "the Peace that passes understanding". Well, I had that. I figured I'd either make it through, or die. Either was okay. The worst case scenario to me, was to go off the road and lie there in pain in a bunch of water with the storm going over head. I didn't bother changing into rain gear. The temperature was in the 90s F, and I figured that when I got out on the other side, I'd dry off pretty quick. In minutes, the temperature dropped 30 degrees. The wind came from the side and tossed the bike to the other lane before I could do anything about it. Luckily, there was no one else there. I put on my flashers, hoping that would help others see me. Besides the rain, it was so dark at 5:30pm, that it seemed hours later. I don't know that I've ever been in rain that hard. It didn't come down at an angle at all. It was coming down sideways, and there was at least an inch or more on the roadway. And then the hail started. Marble sized, and it stung when it hit. And when I thought it couldn't get worse, it did. The rain came down so hard at one point that I don't think I could see more than 20 feet down the road. And the hailstones became about the size of ping pong balls. Ouch! I have a black and blue mark from where one hit. I tucked down over the tank bag keeping my head down behind the windscreen as much as possible and my arms and legs in. Why my visor or the windscreen didn't get shattered, I don't know. I figure my guardian angel was working overtime, just then. :angel: And then I was through. Soaked, but through the storm. I stopped at a gas station down the road, and a couple came up and asked if I was the BMW rider who had waved them by in the storm. Yup, I was.

I belong to several motorcycle groups. The ST-Owners group had their national rally June 24-27 over in Spearfish, SD. I had originally planned to go to it, but our youngest daughter came into town for the first time since the coronavirus hit, and then we had a virtual birthday party with the oldest daughter who lives in France on that Thursday. I decided to stay home for that, and simply postpone the trip for a week. I still wanted to see the Badlands, which I had missed the last time out there. So on June 30th, I headed east. Day One. Seattle to Kamiah, ID. I had originally planned to stop elsewhere, but as I was picking my stops for what I thought I could feasibly do, I settled on Kamiah. There's a nice KOA resort there with both the campground and a motel. I stay there for a Kawasaki event, the Bun Cooler, so I wanted to stop there for the night. Even the open areas of the Palouse were in great colour. The ride over took me on Hwy 12 from Lewiston to Kamiah. It is over 60 miles of twisty road in good condition following along the Clearwater River. Day Two. Kamiah to Ennis, MT. My route would take me out of Kamiah on Hwy 12 to Lolo Pass. If you haven't ridden the highway to Lolo Pass, put it on your bucket list for when you're out this way. It is over 100 miles of twists and turns as it follows the Lochsa River. And then you're in Montana. You can see why they call it Big Sky Country. I thought for sure that I'd get caught in this one, but the storm moved on and I stayed dry. Day Three. Ennis to Cody, WY. The trip was beautiful before, but now it would get interesting. Another bucket list ride for people, is to go to Yellowstone National Park. I'd been there before, but there were some things I didn't see and here was the opportunity. I believe this was Gibbon Falls. Pretty. Next up, was the Artists Paintpots. It reminded me a lot of Lassen Volcanic National Park. One nice thing about riding a motorcycle to these places, is parking is never an issue. ;) And what I came to see this time...the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Look close and you can see a rainbow. :) Lastly, Yellowstone Lake. It is huge.

If you use no oil, the engine will get louder, but only for a short time. After that, it'll be very quiet. Chris

Bluetooth headsets are a great accessory if you're going with another person. There are some considerations to make. First, who will you be pairing with? If just one other person and you're buying for both...get whatever you like. You can go inexpensive with an eBay model, or spend lots of $$$ on a Cardo or Sena. It makes little difference. The eBay units will work fine. The leader of a motorcycle "Meetup" group north of me bought two and uses them all the time when he's leading a group ride. He has one, and he gives the other to the end or "sweep" rider. Range is fine. If you're thinking that you might potentially someday possibly ride with someone else also...find out what brand they have and stick with that brand. BT headsets pair in one of two ways. Group intercom. Or universal intercom. Group intercom is within the same brand. The advantage here is you get more "features". Universal intercom is using one of the two cell phone pairing channels you have available. That can be an issue if you use a GPS, your smartphone, a radar detector...and are pairing with a BT headset from any other manufacturer. You have two channels available in the above scenario and four devices. Mesh could be useful...but not with just two headsets. On one ride, we had three of us with Sena BT headsets. Rider 1 paired with Rider 2. As Rider 3, I paired with Rider 2. I thought all was great...till Rider 2 decided she wanted to listen to her music and cut us both off. With "mesh", Rider 1 and I would've connected. But here's the limitation I see. All three of us would've had to have "mesh" BT headsets. I have a Sena 10C Pro. It's fairly recent...but doesn't have mesh. And even though several manufacturers have their own "mesh" products...you still can only use it with the same brand. So if your only use on a BT headset is with the other bike...go cheap and buy from eBay. It'll work fine and you'll get a chance to explore the ins and outs of BT headsets without spending a lot of $$$. As far as reconnecting goes, they generally will do so. I took a ride to Mt. Baker yesterday with a friend. We both have Senas. When we parted ways, my Sena kept trying to find his again. There's a memory built into these that remembers past pairings. So when you turn the BT headset on, it will search for a device it has paired with before, whether that is a GPS or another BT headset. Chris

The FJR was my dream bike for years and years. I loved the looks, and eagerly read the reviews where it set the standard for a sport-touring bike. But I have to say that one will never be in my stable. I've discovered that lighter weight bikes, will serve me very well for my sport-touring desires. My BMW F800GT weighs only 470lbs wet supposedly, and I don't miss the extra couple hundred pounds to move around in a parking lot, or on a twisty road. My 470 lb bike has taken me across every state west of the Continental Divide except New Mexico, as well as Alberta and British Columbia. After finding that you can tour with a 470 lb bike, as much as I loved the FJR and it was my dream bike...nah. I can do without it. Chris

I've never quite figured out why a motorcycle manufacturer would make the engine heads be the "frame sliders". 🙄 If you want to compare bikes in that price range, why not consider the Ducati Multistrada 1260? As for the valves, my F800GT has shims for the valves. At 50,000 miles, mine are still in spec and don't need "adjusting". I'm not sure it is really an issue for any bike nowadays. And the seat height...it is a very top heavy bike, especially with any gas in it. Chris

One for me, is just right. I know...that is boring. Several years ago, I was commuting to work on a Suzuki Burgman 400 scooter. The commute was 37 miles, one-way. So it isn't surprising that I had 77,000 miles on it. But the Burgman scooters were generally purchased by riders in the twilight of their riding career when they were having a problem swinging their leg over the seat and squeezing the clutch lever. So I purchased a Honda NT700V to give a "real" motorcycle a try before I had no choice but to ride a scooter. My intention was too split the riding evenly between the two bikes. At the end of a year, I went to start the Suzuki and found the battery was dead. When I got it recharged, I found the clock was set for Daylight Savings Time...which wasn't due to changeover to DST for another week. It had sat since the summer before. When I looked at my gas mileage record, the bike had been gassed up only three times in the year. That was the normal number of fillups for a week and a half. Bottom line, I wasn't riding both bikes. I always chose one bike to ride and didn't even think of the other. So for me, one bike is enough. Chris

I haven't read the thread before, but just looked at the title. And laughed. This is the bike that created a niche that all the other manufacturers are trying to catch up to. This is the bike that will be in every comparison review. It's the standard by which all others will be judged. And you have to ask why such a great bike is unpopular? Chris

I'll answer the comment, but I don't really want to get into a discussion of a different bike. This is a Yamaha forum, and I totally respect that. My test ride on the F800GT was enough to convince me to sell my current ride...which I had no intention of selling prior to then. On the demo ride, I kept looking for the horrible vibration that magazine reviewers mentioned. Eventually, I ended up taking it on the freeway...where it was still very very smooth. It wasn't till I started downshifting that I found the vibration. I was either in first or second gear when I hit the vibration bad enough to be what they described. But who rides their bike at 60 mph in first gear all the time? That's what the other gears are for. I think the "professional" reviewers just came off bikes like the S1000RR, and were trying to make the 90 hp F800GT perform like that...by revving it to the redline over and over. And of course it complained. And while my GT had been smooth all along on my ownership, it wasn't till I reached the 40,000 mile mark that the narrow band of vibration just under 4000 rpms went away. It is an incredibly smooth bike now. (Or maybe I'm just used to it. ) Going back to the OP's post, that demo ride and my subsequent experience with my bike taught me that you can't always trust professional reviewers. I'll go back to my earlier comment. The only thing I've heard about the engine in the FJ09 and Tracer GT is about how great it is. I think I'd stick with the opinions of the owners, not some reviewer who just got off some liter sport bike that could easily have cost twice as much. They are jaded. FWIW, one of the things I've learned over the past couple years, is that if you want to find out about a bike, just look at the mods the owners make and what they are looking for help on fixing. The last thing you want to do, is to ask, "Should I buy this bike?" And how many threads are there on engine vibration? Chris

I got a chuckle out of reading this thread. Seriously. I ride a BMW F800GT. It is known for vibration so bad it'll put your hands to sleep. My first impression on a demo ride was, "Wow...this is smooth! 😲 I think it depends on what you are looking for, and that differs for each of us. If the bike had no vibration and was as smooth as a sewing machine, the complaint would then be that the bike had no character. There's a lot of really satisfied happy owners of these bikes. Chris

For the paint, I have two ideas. Get some car wax that has coloring in it. I think it might be Turtle Wax. They sell it in Green, Red, Blue and probably even Black. The idea is that you wax the area and don't rub hard there. The colored wax will fill in the scratches and last for awhile before you need to do it again. There's a product called "Black Again" that might help. It's primarily for grayed out plastics. It activates with UV light in the sun. I think it would do okay there too. Just put a little on and then wipe it off.

Earlier this week, I met up with another rider from Arlington, WA and headed up north to Chuckanut Drive. We were obviously separated while riding. When we stopped for a break and snack, we kept away from each other. I went to Fred Meyer the other night to buy groceries for our family and my 92 yr old in-laws. As I started down one aisle, there was one guy without a mask. By the time I got to the other end of the aisle, there were seven people I ended up passing without masks. I suspect that outing was far riskier for me than the ride was. Chris

Agreed. I'm familiar with changing those info fields. But the size of them is far larger than it needs to be. I wish there was a way to make them smaller and in the proportions of what you see on the 396 and 595. Chris