Nice Day, Good Bike, Great Ride

https://plus.google.com/photos/10760141 ... 1031953588

Today in the sunny East Bay of San Francisco, California, the breeze was blowing, the sun was out, and the temperature was 67-68 degrees F all day long. I have been longing to take a ride for months but never get to it. Today was different. I checked tire pressure, opened the anti wet valve, tickled her sweet spot, and one kick later she was alive and well. Great start. Had not fired the Norton for at least 3 months. Went on a 55 + mile cruise around the two reserviors in the bottom center part of the attached map. In my estimation this route is the best one in the bay area. Locals should give it a run. The roads are Reliz Valley,Alhambra Valley, Castro Ranch, San Pablo Dam Rd, and Bear Creek. The best part is the route is right on my doorstep.
The bike ran flawlessly and fired one kick after each of 3 stops. What more can one ask for. Returned home safe and sound and took a nap. Now the breeze is really huffing and it is 6pm.
I just wanted to report some good vibes for forum members struggling in the cold or with bikes that are not cooperating. Hang in there and your day will come. End of story.

Edit. It is not fair not to include some pictures. This set of pictures was taken another day on another bike. Part of the route to get there is the same. The location is the Carquinez bridge from the overlook rest area. It is just north of route described where I80 crosses the gap between the two bays, Suisun and San Pablo. Most people do not know that SF Bay is really comprised of 3 seperate Bays.

https://plus.google.com/photos/10760141 ... banner=pwa

55 miles, only a short ride hey, our weather is just starting to cool down another 2 months till our winter, can't wait to get colder as our winter days are great riding weather for my Norton.

Ashley

Yes, rub it in why don't you?

We had a Sunday meeting this week with a surprisingly good turnout despite the weather. I went home via Glen Quaich and this is what March in Scotland looks like...



That mist on the hills became sleet as I headed back West.

David

aceaceca,

Do you have any info on that Ship in your photos? I see it regularly on my "Capitol Corridor" / Amtrak ride to the Bay Area. I've always thought it had "beautiful lines" . . . probably not correct "Marine Speak" (argh!). Anyway I've always been curious about that ship.

And thanks for posting, looks like a nice ride. When you said, "Bay Area" and "2 Reservoirs" and "Beautiful" - I thought it was going to be Hwy 35 above Crystal Springs on the Peninsula . . . but this one looks just as good . . . and obviously I should have seen you were talking about the East Bay.

MarkR

Hi DavidT.
Thanks for that new word (to me at least) - 'sleet' does not sound like funtimes for Nortons. My commiserations.
I like the hi-vis paintwork - I'm considering the same colour.

"Sleet is a regionally variant term that refers to two distinct forms of precipitation:
Rain and snow mixed, snow that partially melts as it falls (UK, Ireland, and most British Commonwealth countries)
Ice pellets, one of three forms of precipitation in "wintry showers" or "wintry mixes", the other two being snow and freezing rain (North America)"
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleet

Heck, we had snow yesterday, but it was only in the air. Day before was 70°. Today was 55°, froze the other night. Been the longest spring I've seen. Furnace is still running. I'm sure next week it will be 80° with the accompanying humidity. There's only a day or 2 of good spring weather here and the heat comes right out of the winter. But I'm just whining, I did get the dog piss cleaned off the front brake drum cover and polished up the WM2 rims in anticipation.

The ship is the Callifornia Golden Bear. It is owned by the California Maratime Academy whose campus is right behind the ship I believe. They go on long cruises in the summer months and the students get to practise their skills. One can follow their progress on the academy's web site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Bear_%28ship%29

Took my first ride in a couple years yesterday. Warm, 75+F and windy, 35-40 mph gusts. Straightened the frame last winter and ran out of time in the spring to reassemble the bike. Put it back together this winter and took it on a little spin to see how things were. Motor ran fine, handling felt much 'tigher' than before. There is still a touch of the weave/wobble over 80 mph, but it is much, much better than it was. Not to mention there is still a squared off 120/90-18 on the back. A little vibration through the bars, but I'm going to put a few miles on it before fiddling with the shimming. It is good to have this bike back on the road.

Greg

gjr said:

...there is still a touch of the weave/wobble over 80 mph, but it is much, much better than it was. Not to mention there is still a squared off 120/90-18 on the back.

Click to expand...

That's exactly what caused mine. It didn't help that it was thirty years old on top of that...

After riding for the last two weeks (03/16 through 03/27), we've taken a step (or two) backwards. It's been raining on and off, there's snow back on the foothills, and it was 29'F this morning. Thank goodness for Global Warming! At least it gives me the chance to work on the rototiller.



Nathan

First spring breakfast run for the Tres Amigos.
April 1, 2015 from Abq to Bernalillo, NM.
'74, '72, and '69 Commandos.

That is a great picture and also great to have 3 amigo's to ride on Nortons. Looking at the picture though, don't you wish they were all bling bling metalflake. How about a blue, an orange, and a green. Wahoo. Maybe a purple too.