998cc
VIP MEMBER
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2018
- Messages
- 374
It's hard to say what the favorite Norton ride is. My memorable Norton ride was new years eve, the day before the helmet law went into effect in California. It was a foggy night, but I took the '71 Commando out anyway. One last helmet-less ride. One more freedom to be taken away at midnight! (This is not intended to start a helmet versus no helmet discussion--please.)
My favorite Brit-bike ride was in 1989. A small group of us attended the 1989 TIOC-BIMA campout rally at Lake Cachuma in So. California. There was a high country ride and a low land ride--I took the '53 Shadow on the high road which turned out to be the road up Figuroa Mountain. Riding with the group until I noticed another Vincent rider had broken down--I stopped to help. He was a fine gentleman named Leslie Goode--a very dedicated rider. We had a good chat while he fixed an ignition wiring problem (no magneto). The group, far ahead by now, Les and I found our own way up the mountain where the roads turned to one-lane gravel! We rode on amid the mountain scenery, distant views and eventually started down. At some point, Les took a different road and I pointed the Vin in the general direction of the Cachuma campsite and forged ahead. The sun was setting lower which brought concerns over the Lucas E3L generator and lighting. The road became a two-laner with zero traffic, so the opportunity was at hand to raise the ante a bit. The backroad opened into a straightaway across a small valley, so I wound the bike up to 90+ MPH across the valley plain. Got back to the lake just before sunset. The ride was a blast!
~998cc
My favorite Brit-bike ride was in 1989. A small group of us attended the 1989 TIOC-BIMA campout rally at Lake Cachuma in So. California. There was a high country ride and a low land ride--I took the '53 Shadow on the high road which turned out to be the road up Figuroa Mountain. Riding with the group until I noticed another Vincent rider had broken down--I stopped to help. He was a fine gentleman named Leslie Goode--a very dedicated rider. We had a good chat while he fixed an ignition wiring problem (no magneto). The group, far ahead by now, Les and I found our own way up the mountain where the roads turned to one-lane gravel! We rode on amid the mountain scenery, distant views and eventually started down. At some point, Les took a different road and I pointed the Vin in the general direction of the Cachuma campsite and forged ahead. The sun was setting lower which brought concerns over the Lucas E3L generator and lighting. The road became a two-laner with zero traffic, so the opportunity was at hand to raise the ante a bit. The backroad opened into a straightaway across a small valley, so I wound the bike up to 90+ MPH across the valley plain. Got back to the lake just before sunset. The ride was a blast!
~998cc
