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Out to California and Back

4K views 27 replies 8 participants last post by  Ghost 
#1 ·
#9 ·
#11 ·
I assume you're referring to the leather fringe on the levers. They add movement to the bike thus improve how visible I am. I admit they're unusual on a K1600, but I run them on all my bikes. The glass pieces hanging from the bar ends are made by a friend of mine; purely for decoration.
 
#13 ·
It's really not a problem. The fringe on the Nightowl do occasionally wrap around the lever but never enough to cause trouble. They never get caught around the grips. The ones I have on the Cruiser ('92 H-D Softail) almost reach the ground and never get tied around anything.


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#15 ·
Reading this stuff is giving me the bug.

I've been through Nebraska too with storms rolling in... the fresh cold air rolling over you, swaying the incredibly expansive fields of grass, dark clouds blotting out the sun with lightning playing in them for as far as the eye can see... an amazing place that stirs the soul.
 
#20 ·
Last and only time I had tassles on a bike I was 4 and the bike had training wheels, didn't know they were for visibility. ; )

Have a safe trip.
You can still remember that far back? Or did you read it in a History book? >:)
 
#18 ·
Ghost, great ride report and pictures!
 
#22 ·
#26 ·
Thank you for the kind words.

I could certainly post all this to Facebook, but my posts are too long-winded for many Facebook users and I prefer to host the content myself (that whole content ownership thing). Having said that, I do have a bunch of biker friends on Facebook. To keep them informed, I have the blog set up to post a link (along with the first paragraph and a photo or two) on my Facebook timeline each time I post something new to the blog.

Then I copy the post link and paste it into a thread on the K1600Forum. Not as sexy, but fairly effective.

Ghost
 
#27 ·
Ghost:
I spent the evening reading your SPITS/ MAMARY run blog posts. I have a couple of observations.
1. Nice job. I found the account of your trip a thoroughly entertaining read. Thanks for sharing it.
2. MY GOD! I read on your site that you work (not retired). You either work for yourself or have the worlds best boss (possibly both). It's fantastic that you are able to take the time to make such a journey.
3. You are absolutely crazy! I say that with the utmost admiration and awe.

About a month and a half ago, my wife and I rode our Kawasaki C14 to 300 miles from southern Indiana to Chicago, to trade it in on a K16 GTL. Up on a Friday and back on Saturday. We rode through some of the worst rain I think I've ever encountered. Flooding was pretty extensive from the two day torrential storms. Wind was hellish.

I just kept wondering what the people in the cars we were travelling with on the interstate thought. I know what I would have thought. "Look at that dumb sunovabitch riding in this awful weather. He's going to get killed and it's what he deserves."

When I read your account of riding through snow and ice through the Rocky Mountains.... you are one bad-arse! Hat's off, sir.:clap::tb:bow::cheers:
 
#28 ·
Nice job. I found the account of your trip a thoroughly entertaining read. Thanks for sharing it.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. It would suck to post it and have nobody read it, much less enjoy it.

MY GOD! I read on your site that you work (not retired). You either work for yourself or have the worlds best boss (possibly both). It's fantastic that you are able to take the time to make such a journey.
It was only two weeks plus the Memorial Day holiday, minus one day where I worked from home between parties. I work for a software company. If you work someplace long enough (like 15 years in my case), you earn more paid vacation. I'll be taking another two-week ride in August. The younger generation's tendency to jump from job to job every few years prevents them from earning more than two or three weeks of vacation per year. I just got lucky and have been able to stay in the employ of one company for a long time.

You are absolutely crazy! I say that with the utmost admiration and awe.
I need to show this to my wife. Not everybody appreciates madness as much as you. For true insanity, you should hear some of the horror stories from the adventure rider types (GS, KTM, etc.).

"Look at that dumb sunovabitch riding in this awful weather. He's going to get killed and it's what he deserves."
I'm sure I was the subject of many a humorous/pitiful comment by the other drivers on I70 that day. I'm thinking "Poor bas-tard" and "What a moron" were probably the most common sentiments.

When I read your account of riding through snow and ice through the Rocky Mountains.... you are one bad-arse! Hat's off, sir.
Careful, my ego really doesn't need to be any bigger than it already is. Still, I appreciate the kind words. Thank you.

Having said that, what the devil else was I going to do? If I stopped at a town, I could be stuck in the mountains for a couple of days (probably only one in this case). If I stopped by the side of the road, it's not like a rainstorm where you can wait it out; it's only going to get worse. I just knew it was going to get better if I could only get over the last pass into Denver. <shrug> It was my best option, so I slogged through it.

Ghost
 
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