Kevin R

Yowza! 700+ miles per day! That's approaching Iron Butt-style of endurance. FYI, latest I saw was that the Big Sur PCH rebuild project is two months ahead of schedule (I know, hard to believe any project in California can meet a schedule let alone beat it!) and is targeted for opening at the end of this month. 🤞

Sweet ride, betoney! Brings back fond memories of my trip through Oregon in October. That road 218 through Fossil was great as are the Columbia River overlooks. I guess Spring is in the air 'cause I also took a two day-er down here in Cali this week. It was sublime.

On my old "07 FJR (with ABS), the rear brake pedal activated one of the 2 sets of pistons in one of the front brake calipers. The other 3 sets up front operated normally with the front brake lever. It was okay, I guess, for a big heavy bike like the feejer. Not sure how well LBS would work on our lighter Tracer/FJs, though. Glad it's not there.

Then you're in for a very pleasant surprise!

Following up on draco_1967's comments about the Adventuretech light bar fitment on newer Tracer 900. I just purchased the mount last week but before I did I asked Rick at Adventuretech if there had been any updates to the design to fit the newer bikes better (there haven't been any changes). At first I just bolted it on with no modification but could quickly see that it was going to be very close to, if not actually interfering with, part of the headlight adjusters on both sides, as draco_1967 mentioned in another thread. See the red circle in the photo below. With the light bar design as is, it's possible that if it is pushed up as high as it can go in the slot where it's mounted on the bike (see the thin, slotted subframe metal to the right and down a bit in the photo above) it might not touch the adjuster housing. But since the mount didn't fit my 2019 GT very well, sliding it up enough to [potentially] clear the interference wasn't an option. I didn't want to take a chance of the adjuster flange getting damaged or otherwise affecting the mechanism so I modified the light bar as shown below. After that I bolted it up but found that it was placing a LOT of pressure on the plastic under the headlight (and the subframe mount, too). Figuring that it might lead to stress cracking in the future, I modified the bend as draco_1967 did. See photo below which shows about a 10deg bend adjustment on the first of the two arms of the light bar. After bending the second one and re-installing, the fit was much better. I could choose how close to touching the plastic under the headlights to place it by sliding it up or down in the slotted hole on the submount (some touching will probably be helpful to minimize light bouncing, as keithu mentioned). Below are a couple photos showing the light bar on my bike before and after bending it. Pretty hard to see the difference at a glance but I'll rest better knowing that it is not putting too much stress on the plastic and the little subframe that it is mounted to behind the headlights. Adventuretech light bar installation before bending it to get better clearance around the plastic below the headlights. After bending the Adventuretech light bar. It is now just lightly touching the plastic under the headlights. I'll send feedback to Rick at Adventuretech and he can decide whether or not to update to make Tracer fitments better. As it stands now it's a little dodgy as delivered but still workable if folks don't mind spending time modifying it. Personally, for $50 I would like it better if it just fit out of the box.

Got it! Next up: bike parked in front of a 20 story or higher building (try to get the whole building in the photo!).

Unfortunately I can say that textile gear appears to work very well. I met Bambi about a year ago and hit the deck at about 50-60mph. I received a minor scrape on one forearm and that was about it. The jacket and pants (and gloves and boots) did their job. The jacket was just a run of the mill Tourmaster that gave its life to protect me. To be fair, though, it was 13yrs old, very sun bleached, and due for replacement anyway since I am sure the UV that faded the colors also degraded the material somewhat (apparently I slid a ways with my arm under my body at first and the textile fabric shredded). OTOH, the Fly Racing pants I was wearing are still kicking. They're less than 10yrs old and came away with a minor blemish on one knee but otherwise okay (no visible UV degradation to date either). YMMV

The original Kawasaki three wheeler. Two stroke power on a barely stable platform - what could go wrong? 😁

Took a ride through the Cali SCU fire burn scar a couple weeks ago: up frontside of Mt. Hamilton, through San Antonio valley, out the backside (east) to Patterson. Still amazed at the extent of the destruction; it's mile after mile after mile of crispy landscape. A little green fuzz evident on the hillsides in the distance. That's normal for this time of year as the grass regrows each rainy season - except for all of the dead everything else. One "benefit" of the fire's aftermath is being able to see stuff you couldn't before due to the [former] dense vegetation. 🤔 Sentinel. IDK...entrance to Narnia?

Had to make sure you got 'em home before they got cold I see! 😄

chitown's info above is great. That hits a lot of CO & UT highlights. If you go that way you should definitely stop in Mesa Verde NP (really cool native american ruins there). UT is epic with Cedar Breaks, Bryce, and Zion in the west and Canyonlands and Arches in the east. Riding wise, rt12 is the shizzle along with many of the roads in the Cedar City, Parowan, Panguitch area. There's also pretty sweet stuff north of I-70 in the middle of the state. Not sure how much time you will have, or the time of year, but if you want to focus more on AZ then I have a few suggestions for you. I took a nice 5 day trip there in early May a few years ago (from SoCal). April/May is a decent time to visit AZ - it's warm but tolerable at low elevation and cool at high elevation. I camped a couple of nights on the Mogollon Rim (pronounced "muggy-own") area northeast of Phoenix and did day rides on the roads south and east of there. The rim is over 7000ft elevation so the nights were chilly but the scenery & riding were excellent. There are some big a$$ copper mines thereabouts - a sight to behold. Over near NM, 191 between Clifton and Alpine is a great ride: scenic and very remote - well worth the effort to go there. All easily reached from Mogollon Rim area. After a couple nights on the Mogollon Rim and riding some pretty sweet roads I moved my base to a campground in Navajo Nat'l Monument up near Kayenta, AZ. The Betatakin Ruins and Fir Canyon inside the Navajo monument are striking. On the way up I made it a point to stop in Petrified Forest Nat'l Park. That place is otherworldly and well worth a stop and a couple of short hikes. The roads up there are not mosickle roads per se (not so curvy) but have high scenic value and traverse wide open spaces - a big contrast to NH. 🙂 And, what trip to AZ would be complete without going to Four Corners and Monument Valley? chitown's route passes by there and I did a loop over there on one of the days. It's an easy way to ride in 4 states in an hour or so (depending on how long you linger at 4 corners)! Did not see Roadrunner or Wile E. in Monument Valley but I was looking! On the way back home I rode a stretch of old Rt66 through Oatman, AZ. That is a quaint and dusty little town with a couple watering holes near the CA/NV/AZ state lines, south of Vegas. Evidently the burros I saw wandering free around the streets there are a normal sight.

What a bummer! I was heading to Quincy for a couple days and ride that highly recommended road in Nov 2019. Unfortunately Bambi got in the way and ended the trip abruptly before I even reached Quincy (that's bad!) - but not before I rode CA49 from Grass Valley to Sattley (that's good!). That road is spectacular and had me giggling in my helmet. I guess the other good part of the trip is that it resulted in me buying the Tracer 900GT which has been a great decision. Betoney, for the southern part of your Cali trip in '21, if you think you might head inland from Pismo on SR58 (I echo the earlier comment about this one being a top 5 road in USA) and consider going all the way to the Sierras, then a pass through the Kernville/Lake Isabella area won't disappoint. The ride up from Kernville through Johnsondale and Ponderosa is sweet and SR155 and 190 are lovely, serpentine ribbons of asphalt. 155 and 190 are like the Dragon back east with hundreds of 2nd and 3rd gear corners. It's been some years since I was last there so not sure what the pavement is like now, but at the time they were racetrack smooth. If you decide to head back north instead of inland from Pismo, then Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd to Hunter Liggett and then through San Lucas to pick up SR25 is pretty good. SR25 is curvy and scenic and runs past Needles Nat'l Park if you've a mind for that sort of thing on your trip.

With Winter closing in and bringing road closures on some very pretty Sierra Passes, the time was right on Nov. 2 to get one last fix for the year. A late season warmup with temperatures that eventually reached the mid 80s (!) in the San Joaquin Valley promised very comfortable riding up at 9000ft. The day's ride included hitting three sierra passes - Sonora, Monitor, and Ebbetts - for a sublime 450mi day. A perfect day out from the Bay Area of California Duckie and I cruised out from San Jose early on a Monday. Even though I saw 46F on the thermometer for a while, I figured (hoped!) it wouldn't last for long (it didn't). Upon reaching the foothills, first up was Rt 108 eastbound up the western slope of the Sierras to Sonora Pass. We stopped at Donnell's Vista on the way up and were treated to a spectacular view north over Donnell Lake. The parking lot was actually closed for the season but there was enough room to squeeze around the gate on the bikes. Yet another reason to ditch the cage and ride a motorcycle! View from Donnell's Vista on Rt 108 From there it was a sublime ride on 108 the rest of the way up and over Sonora Pass. Duckie said the road had been repaved in 2019 and it showed. This thing was race track smooth and seriously fun. That, along with the stunning scenery, means that I will be back ASAP in 2021. Once over Sonora Pass it was down the eastern Sierra slope to pick up Rt. 395 north. A quick pitstop in Walker, and then on to 89 north and Monitor Pass. Busy downtown Walker, CA on a postcard perfect day This part of the route brought back many memories from years ago when I was leading COG rallies in the Fall. We used to blast up and around these passes every year from June Lake (CA). Over time I had forgotten how beautiful it was out there but I vowed then and there to never let so much time go by before I visit the area again. Heading up Rt. 89, the views east over the Antelope Valley and Walker River basin as you climb towards Monitor Pass are expansive and breathtaking. Finally, we turned west on Rt. 4 for the blast up the eastern slope of the Sierras to Ebbetts Pass. I had ridden this one back in August but there was a lot of smoke and limited visibility at that time. Now, with the smoke largely gone and almost no traffic, a small pull-out with a view on the side of the road turned into the perfect lunch spot. Eventually we had to return to reality and come down from this paradise but with miles of twisty asphalt along the way it wasn't so bad! Double Vision: You don't often see two 900GTs in one place at the same time! The weather on the day was absolutely perfect, especially for November: sunny with temperatures in the high 60s at 9000ft and no wind. With temperatures into the mid 80s while trudging back across the central valley, we saw a delta of 40 degrees on the day. All in all, though, it was a terrific end to the central Sierra riding season. Can't wait to get back there next Spring!

Oh, I'll agree that Oregon is great but have to disagree with that assertion. :-) I've ridden most of the lower 48 (and southern Canadian provinces) and while Oregon is primo, there is none better than California. From top to bottom and east to west there is an amazing quantity and quality of motorcycling roads. But then, I guess that topic is kinda like tire wars or endless oil threads!

Haha, I know what you mean. We tend to get de-sensitized to the great riding we have in our own backyards. It's like the pasture's always greener on the other side of the fence. The trip was great and I'm glad to have had the chance to explore a big chunk of the state.

<part 3 of 3> The view looking east from Vista House on the Historic Columbia River Highway Bridal Veil falls After meeting friends for dinner on the riverbank in Vancouver, WA the day ended back on the coast in Newport. Day 6 in Oregon: time to head south for home in California. This was an easy ride down the coast with periodic stretches of twisty tarmac and beautiful scenery. The Oregon coast is very nice with some truly impressive long beaches flanked by big sand dunes. Would love to come back and rent a dune buggy or ATV for some real beach fun! Central Oregon coast By the time I reached Gold Beach in southern Oregon at 3pm the marine layer had packed in and I could no longer see anything more than the road and the trees immediately alongside the rest of the way to Fortuna, CA. But that’s okay because I’d had a brain overload of scenic eye candy for the past week! Last day of the trip included another jaunt over to the California coast at Leggett (after, of course, another pass through the Avenue of the Giants). The 15 mile stretch of route 1 from Leggett to the coast is always a terrific ride with endless 2nd gear corner carving through dense forest. Then the coastal highway itself is equal parts scenic and fun (read: sea stacks, crashing surf, and twisty pavement). There were even a couple of 10 mile stretches north of Fort Bragg which were freshly paved and added to the fun even more. This was good since the marine layer hung around dampening the best viewing of my favorite stretch of California coastline, the Mendocino coast. I expected the same grey weather all the way down to San Francisco, but was happy and surprised when it became sunny and warm as soon as I passed into Sonoma county. This area is arguably the second best stretch of California coastline (read: scenic with unrelenting twisty pavement for, like, a hundred miles). Lunch break along the Sonoma coast on the last day Pulling into San Jose at the end of the trip, I was glad to be home but also wished I could keep going for another 8 days. The motorcycle performed that well and was very comfortable. I think it’s a keeper!

<part 2> The winner of this day, though, was probably the 95 miles of the Blue Mountains Scenic Byway from Heppner to Granite. The route travels through some very remote back country and while the pavement was a little worn in places, it was generally very good and the scenery more than made up for it. Blue Mountains Scenic Byway southeast of Ukiah But wait, there’s more! The cherry on top was the 20 miles that followed after reaching Granite. From there to Sumpter was a world class stretch of road with miles and miles of sick twisties on perfect pavement. Woohoo! Day 4 in Oregon featured a visit to Hell’s Canyon. I had earmarked this as one of the must see places on this trip and it definitely did not disappoint! Day 4 in Oregon – Hell’s Canyon and Wallowa Mountains But first there was a crossing of paths with the real Oregon Trail outside of Baker City. The plaque tells the story of Lone Tree, a singular and very large tree that lived out in the Baker Valley about 3 miles distant which served as a guidepost for travelers, probably for centuries. However, in 1843 the tree was cut down by “some inconsiderate emigrant axe” for firewood. Of course it didn’t serve the fool’s immediate need for fuel since it wouldn’t burn, because it was green. Nice. The ride along route 86 from Baker City to Oxbow was alternately scenic and fun to ride but the side trip into Hell’s Canyon on the Idaho side to the namesake dam was gorgeous – and a terrific motorcycle road. Hell's Canyon Hell's Canyon Dam Scenic beauty and twisty asphalt – what’s not to like? The ride into the canyon was slow going due to the overwhelming beauty of the place but the 23 mile trip back out was pure joy. As amazing as the trip into and back out of the canyon was, the 35 mile ride up Hell’s Canyon Scenic Byway to the overlook 4000 feet above the river was also spectacular. The first 15 miles up the byway once it leaves route 86 was legendary with wide smooth tarmac and endless 2nd-3rd gear twisties with good sight lines (and no traffic). It literally felt like my own private track day! The overlook – great place for a lunch break Day 4 in Oregon ended in Umatilla, which is completely forgettable except as a place to sleep before heading west on Day 5 to get to the Columbia River gorge. J I shunned the interstate (of course!) and rode instead on route 14 on the Washington side of the river. Day 5 in Oregon was Columbia River day This route took a meandering path along the river past wine country and wind farms before the riverbanks began rising to create the gorge. It has been a while since I saw a river this big (stretching back to my days living on the Mississippi). Entering the Columbia River gorge – Mt Hood looming in the distance Up close with Mt Hood The Historic Columbia River Highway (AKA route 30) is a beautiful 20 mile ride from Troutdale to Dodson on the Oregon side of the river, east of Portland. It winds through the trees from high up on the lip of the gorge down to and along the river bottom. It comes complete with interesting old bridges and abutments (quite an engineering feat 100yrs ago) and several pretty waterfalls. <see next part>

<Please excuse the multi-part post but photos make it real and we can only upload so many at once...> So, we’re stuck in the 2020 Pandemic and a guy gets stir crazy, so what can he do? Well, touring by motorcycle is a pretty good way to get out while staying socially distanced. Late last year my trusty old FJR was “taken” from me by Bambi (or one of its relatives) up near Truckee, CA. A 2019 Tracer900GT became its replacement and has been a great joy to ride. It was terrific on several long day rides but to really find out how good it is I needed a significant road trip, but where to go…? Enter Oregon. Not too far away but, based on previous cage trips to parts of the state, it seemed likely to offer enough riding possibilities to spend several days there. Thanks to the [now defunct] AMA Great Roads list and some great suggestions from folks on Tracer900.net, I was indeed able to pull together more than enough material for a week long jaunt through the state. August seemed like a good time to go but the summer COVID-19 spike kinda put a damper on that. Then, early September after Labor Day seemed like a good time to go but Oregon went up in flames and most of the roads through the Cascades were closed. Hmmm, is this thing going to happen this year? Finally, at the end of September the time was right and off I went on an 8 day, 3000 mile exploration of the finest twisty tarmac and scenic glory that Oregon had to offer (6 days in Oregon plus one day on either end getting to and from Cali). Starting in San Jose, CA my original plan was to motor into Oregon via California’s glorious Klamath and Shasta-Trinity back roads. But of course yet another heat wave struck Cali and whipped up the already blazing wildfires and brought road closures or threats of closure (route 36, 96, and others). Sheesh! So I stuck near the coast and made my way north to Crescent City via the 101 highway and Avenue of the Giants. It was a little toasty along the way between Healdsburg and Willits but eventually the temps moderated and became bearable – just as the road became more interesting. Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County is always worth the diversion. It was still quite smoky, but riding through the ancient trees tended to mask it a lot. From Crescent City the first of 6 days in Oregon began with a run from there to Bend. Day 1 in Oregon with a wiggly, scenic route to Bend Rt 199 out of Crescent City is a very entertaining road for the first 20 miles or so as it winds through a redwood forest. After that it straightens out and heads into Grants Pass. Along the way I passed through reconstruction work on the road as it had been impacted by the Slater fire. Waiting for roadwork on highway 199 in the aftermath of the Slater fire. From Grants Pass, a quick blast up the 5 to Glendale put me on a 35 mile side trip on Cow Creek Road. Nice, twisty ribbon of asphalt in a pretty remote area with virtually no traffic. Worth it! Old burn scar on Cow Creek Road along with some inspiring scenery. After that it was up to Roseburg and across the recently re-opened route 138. Communities along this road had taken a big hit from the Archie Creek fire. There was complete devastation along this route for nearly 20 miles. And, as wildfires are wont to do, there were instances of structures that escaped damage standing right next to others that burned to the ground. My heart goes out to those who will be rebuilding after this tragedy. As far as riding goes, the first 15-20 miles on the west slope of 138 are pretty nice but the remainder of the route across is not very exciting. It’s mostly a straight[ish] road cut through thick forest with limited or no scenic vistas. There are some interesting views once you get up and over around Mt Thielsen but other than that it’s just a way to get from one side to the other in the southern Cascades. Overnighted for two days in Bend and came away super impressed with this area. I had passed through in a cage back in 2017 on the way to and from Smith Rock SP to see the solar eclipse, but now having spent more time there my affinity for the place has really grown. Bend is an outdoors mega playground with lakes, hiking, skiing, mountain biking, oh my! My first day of riding out of Bend didn’t actually keep me in the area, though, as I traveled west up and over the Cascades all the way to the coast and then back again. I had hoped to ride route 242 and 126 but they remained closed due to the Holiday Farm fire. So it was route 20 over and back – which I would be happy to ride again and again. Day 2 in Oregon featured a run to the coast and back In Lebanon I picked up route 34 to Waldport. Route 34 west of Corvalis is nice, with a few fun stretches here and there, including one twisty bit where a nutty guy absolutely hammered a full size Lexus to stay in front of me, but mostly it is best for easy cruising with New England-like scenery (low mountains, forests, and pretty farmhouses). I took route 36 back from the coast and thought that was a much more enjoyable motorcycling road. But either way, it was route 20 that won the prize for “Road of the Day”. The 20+mi stretch from around Foster on up the western slope through Tombstone Pass to the Cascade crest is awesome! Then, once up there the scenic beauty impresses as the road passes by the famous [to me] Black Butte (namesake for Deschutes Brewery’s fine porter!), Mt Washington, and the Three Sisters. Yours truly waiting on the sunset near Sisters, OR Sunset didn’t disappoint over the Three Sisters. Still a bit of smoke in the sky, probably from the Cali fires. The next day it was time to leave Bend and head east to Baker City. I crammed as much curvy road as possible into the route while still having some time to get off the bike for a hike and eat lunch. Day 3 in Oregon with a zig zag route across the middle of the state. All in all it was a terrific day that started with a short drone up to the route 293 turn off north of Willowdale. It was nothing but curvy roads after that. Highlights of the day included the sublime 218 east out of Antelope and then 207 north out of Spray up and over the summit in Umatilla National Forest. Pit stop along route 218 at John Day Fossil Beds N.M. A nice little hiking diversion on an otherwise stellar motorcycling day. Along the way I came across the National Motorcycle Riders Memorial on route 19 near Butte Creek Pass. I’d never heard of it before but caught a small sign for it out of the corner of my eye as I was buzzing along route 19 south of Fossil. I hooked a u-turn, went back and bounced down a short stretch of dirt road to find a quite peaceful roadside memorial within a place called Shelton Park. There was another mile or so of groomed dirt road with “rest” areas and benches for strolling and contemplation. The monument included a logbook for visitors to sign although I hope Karma finds the fools who chose to use it as a place for a political statement. Kudos to the thoughtful person(s) who created the NMRM as a place to reflect on our fallen brothers and sisters. National Motorcycle Riders Memorial [see next part]

Great inputs, folks! Tentative plan forming: 1. take the crookedest route from Waldport to John Day 2. John Day to Umatilla...via Copperfield 3. back over to the coast via the Gorge (with a possible loop down around Mt. Hood) 4. back to Cali on 101 That oughta wear out the sidewalls of my tires!

Excellent, betoney - thanks! I'll be roaming in state 3-4 days. Also, don't have to start in Bend - just picked that one because I've been there before. For example, could start in Waldport (if there is lodging in the area) and work my way east from there.

...has 3-4 days to kill riding around the state. Where does he go? 🙂 P.S. I am thinking about a little riding vacation in a few weeks to the great state of OR (coming up from SF Bay area). I've ridden the coast before (and certainly wouldn't mind doing it again to get a little relief if it's really hot). What, or where else is good/interesting? Columbia River Gorge sounds good for sightseeing. What are some other can't miss riding spots in Oregon? Many thanks in advance to the Tracer900.net brain trust...

Cool. I ride all over the Bay...and beyond. But it has probably been 10yrs since I was on the Sierra passes. Used to ride 'em semi-regularly on COG rides (when I lived in SoCal). Might not be much fun cutting across the valley in the afternoon over the next few days, though, with extra hot weather in the forecast. Maybe we can shoot for the middle of next week? Re: The Junction tomorrow, I assume you mean Thursday - sure, sounds like fun. Do you go out and back or complete the loop through Livermore? I always loop it, and usually go counter clockwise (i.e. up the SJ side of Mt HAmilton) but lately have been going clockwise for a change of pace (also, puts me on the outside of most of the blind curves on Calaveras Rd with its crazy cage driving commuters). 🙂 I'll PM my contact info so we can finalize the details.

Hey Duckie - I'm also local (SJ). Was busy earlier this summer but now have time and would love to go hit a couple passes. Did you ever get back out like you mentioned above? I am down for that anytime in the next few weeks.

For those who may not be able to go see the SW Motech rack in person, here are a few more photos. As wordsmith implied, the rack comes as a 3 piece kit (two pieces of tubing and one top plate). The tubes drop right in as replacements for the OEM grab rails. Then add the plate and - voila!. It is a much cleaner looking solution compared to some other aftermarket pieces I saw. Note: the white or grey rectangles on top of the plate in my photos are just some foam vibration dampeners that I added to make the trunk sit tight.

So, I bought an awesome new bike ('19 Tracer 900 GT) with a sweet multicolored, multifunction display (apparently borrowed from Yammie's sport bikes?). Anyway, as a person of...ahem...a certain age my eyes are not quite the laser focused orbs of yesteryear. Darn it if I didn't have a hard time reading all the lovely info coming at me from the bike's display asied from mph, rpm, and gear. 🙄 It might've been okay for me if I was on an R1 or R6 with my face a little closer, but not on the Tracer. Riding with reading glasses is not an option as I don't have, or want, "reader" sunglasses - and then what happens when the sun goes down, have to stop riding (heaven forbid!) and switch to regular (non-tinted) readers? I think not! I mulled over many potential options involving magnifying glasses attached to the display and such but to no avail. Then I found DiveOptx, little stick on magnifiers made for, you guessed it, divers who couldn't see their gauges while underwater. I thought, hmmmm, could this really work on a motorcycle faceshield? Answer: YES! I purchased a set with the same power as my computer glasses since I sit at about the same distance as the bike's display when working on the computer (my book readers are a little higher power than the computer glasses). I literally giggled in my helmet while riding when I took my first ride with them installed and could clearly see that glorious display on the bike in its every intricate detail. Best $25 I ever spent. Thought I'd share with the forum. Check it out! Cheers!