Got back Tuesday from taking my GTS down to sea level. The GTS loved being
at sea level, must be at least 10% more power than at the 5600 ft elevation
of the GTS's home in Boulder, CO.
Left Boulder Thursday morning at 4:30 AM with the minimum goal of getting to
Austin, Nevada (784 miles) and maybe cracking 1000 miles (Carson City). It
was colder than I expected heading over the Rockies and crossing Utah and
Nevada was surprisingly almost perfect riding weather except for the almost
hurricane force winds howling off the salt lakes. I was feeling good and
comfortable and you can make really good time on the "loneliest highway in
America" (Hwy 50). I like this highway. As you would expect there's not much
traffic and there's very long straight sections of road broken up by
sections of sweepers through mountain ranges. Passes are at 6-7000 ft so the
weather is not the unbearable heat you might imagine. I met up with a young
guy on a Honda VTR1000 at a gas station in Ely and we rode together for 89
miles which was when he had to stop for gas!!! (The gas light was on
already) I kept going of course.
At Carson City, still feeling comfortable and alert, I thought I'd keep
going another hour or so and make it over the border to CA. On the map it
looked like there were small towns where accommodation could be had. Almost
3 hours and 120 miles later, cursing much of the way, I had crossed the
Sierra Nevadas to Jackson, the first place I could find a real Motel. It had
gotten dark, route 88 is tight and twisty, deer were darting out from the
sides of the road and I don't have auxiliary lighting!
Needless to say, with only 150 or so miles to cover the next day, I slept
in, had a big Dennys breakfast and generally took my time. I hooked up with
Kelly Cash in Sunnyvale that afternoon and we watched a rather entertaining
video sent to him by the Vmax club and went out for a great burger dinner.
Luckily, with Kelly's 3 bikes and car he has just enough room in his garage
for one more bike.
Early Sat we headed off for Laguna Seca and we met up with the other GTS
owners per the plan at the Yamaha tent. I believe we had 9 owners there over
the weekend? Bob Johnson, Bob Taylor, Doug McLeod, Doug Carlson, Tim
Monaghan, Jay Koblenz, Dave Biasotti, Kelly and me. We chatted for a while,
took some photos and made plans to meet down at Cannery Row that evening for
dinner.
For those that haven't been to WSB at Laguna Seca I can highly recommend it.
Always something happening. During the short amount of time when there's no
racing, there's either Gary Rothwell's show or motocross jumping shows and
then there's always the massive manufacturers display area and of course the
paddock. Oh yeh, and Kelly and I also spent a lot of the day perusing the
fine assortment of members of the opposite sex on display. Gary Rothwells
riding antics were truly amazing.
Saturday's events included the exciting AMA superbike race and Superpole for
WSB. Haga looked brilliant on the Yamaha but Bayliss put in a great lap to
take pole.
Later that afternoon we headed (along with thousands of others) to Cannery
Row. Strolling up and down the street, checking out all the bikes and people
is the highlight. We had a great long seafood dinner with the two Bobs and
Doug McLeod and their lovely better halves. I like to get my fill of seafood
when I get to the coast, I don't recommend seafood in CO. It was a long day
and it was about 10:30 PM before we got home.
Next morning we removed a screw from my rear tire and successfully plugged
it. Dave Biasotti and partner met us at Kelly's place and we rode to Laguna
Seca once again. Met up with the GTS guys again and enjoyed a great days
racing. Haga, Corser and Bostrom were all very impressive. Watching these
guys live gives you so much more of an appreciation for what they do than
watching them on TV.
Kelly took me back home the long way, through route 9. Lovely piece of
twisty road! More seafood that night for dinner, of course!
Set off the next day from Kelly's place at about 8 AM. Following his advice,
I headed up to the Mt Hamilton observatory and then to Mines road for Monday
mornings entertainment. The road was deserted and the weather was perfect.
Good call Kelly! Then headed over the Sierras via route 4 (more great
twistys and great scenery). Past Carson City it was starting to get hot and
once far enough into the outback I started to cruise at 100 mph +. Tire wear
and oil consumption increase noticeably at these speeds! There were quite a
few fellow bikers out there riding back from Laguna Seca so I had a bit of
company most of the way. Unfortunately my planned overnight stay in Ely was
foiled by some big dirt bike race that had every room in town booked out. 65
miles later I ended up finding the last room in a tiny little town called
Baker 5 miles off the highway. I had a great time drinking a few beers with
a handful of colorful locals in the bar. Reminded me very much of being in
Outback Australia again.
Tuesdays ride home was pretty uneventful although I had to nurse the back
tire home (backed off to 90). Put just shy of 3000 mile on the GTS in 6 days
and was plenty happy with it. I have the stock bars and I find them
comfortable for me. I also have the stock seat and use a sheepskin for long
trips and also find that to work great. (I do have a Corbin coming though.)
I find the gas range to be quite reasonable. If you take the time to really
fill the tank completely you can safely get 200 miles out of it cruising at
90 mph. I must remove that damn tube from the gas tank filler some time.
As you can tell I had a great time. We should have some photos posted soon.
Thanks to Kelly for the accommodation and great hospitality.
Cheers,
Joe.
