alfalfa

3 hours ago, XTreme said:

How fat is that bloke on the bike?

It's not @Mawsley with a wig is it?

Oh, he is a big Brazilian guy. Probably 6'-2" or so.  Large, santa belly. I  can say that cause he kicked my ass on the track.  (and, yes.  Bobby Fong is a small feller)

Retirement party for a long-time friend at work (30 yrs!) and then remembered i had a track day for Monday

Stunk up the first session, second time at track and wasnt remembering any corners.  This track is near Bakersfield and is flat!  Hard to pick up details at first. 

My buddy works for a Suzuki dealer (hence the truck) and was gifted with a day of coaching from Bobby Fong, who races MotoAmerica.   He was a little tired when the day was over

30 minutes ago, boboneleg said:

For me it used to be April.  Every year in March my boss would ask me what I needed for the Lab , the fecker never let me buy a new bike though

seems to me the bike would be useful for expediting deliveries, or pick-ups

Retirement party tomorrow, if we can find a venue (Company owner was going to use the rec center at his new digs, but that just fell thru!).  Then, either play in the dirt again on Sunday, or spend some time readying the RR for track day on Monday!

I did a one year stint at the Anchorage, Alaska Water Utility.  Great group of people to work for (in the design section).  Obviously focused on solving problems and helping people.  Management, on the other hand?  Their biggest contribution each year was figuring out where to throw the excess cash before June 1st, or their budget would shrink the next year.

2 hours ago, XTreme said:

What do you do Rick?

I pretend to be a Civil Engineer.  Our company's specialty is private development, mostly.  Subdivisions, commercial and industrial buildings.  churches, schools, hospitals, ranches.  we just try to stay away from public sector work as it is a drag on your spirit.  The waste in public agencies would/should drive a normal person crazy!!

On 22/09/2021 at 02:15, yen_powell said:

I was hoping you could tell me. I have heard it mentioned, but can't recall what I was told.

My next job is to turn this survey, that I've paid loads of money for, into a design for a traffic scheme with no puddles (hence the contour lines and level information). The problem is what was originally planned has now been cancelled due to the fact that word of it caused a local election to get lost by the ruling party, so I have to think of something else in the next few days. Then I have to go and build it. Beautiful spot for something though. right outside some park gates. I worked on the fabrication drawing for the metal part of the gates years ago.

 

 

 

 

Fellow nerd here!

i used to walk to school.  two miles, uphill both ways, 4' of snow and -20 degrees.   Now, i cant fight my way past the SUVs dropping off the minions.  Probably the only time around here where a vehicle has more than one person in it.

5 hours ago, boboneleg said:

Good to see  you out on the KTM again, one of the best bikes EVER made 

welllll, maybe.       It is also the one bike that needed a full rebuild at 40k miles, to the tune of 80% of the bike value.  Had i not got it mostly free from my brother, i would probably have thrown it in the ocean.   It sure feels good off road, tho!.  Not much for long distance riding.  I took my 06 to Alaska in 2009, for about 5000 miles, and my butt hurt for months afterwards.

5 hours ago, XTreme said:

No.....the domain changed to motorcycleriders.net 5 months ago and you kept getting redirected here over that period.

So change your bookmark to www.motorcycleriders.net

Thanks.   good thing this interwebby thing is just a passing fad

13 hours ago, XTreme said:

We haven't moved anywhere Rick!

sooo, you're saying that the web address is still adventuremotorcycles.net?

Hah, hah!!! I found you bastards!!!  Kind of like my parents when i was young, you keep moving hoping i dont find you?

anyways, Sunday was a fun dirt day!  Took the KTM out to see if it still ran (carbs instead of fuel injection makes for fun times).  Turns out, once you get some good fuel going thru it, its alright!

North of home is an area known as Carizzo Plains.  The little San Andreas fault runs thru it, but we dont worry about them trifles.   The main road thru is a mixture of asphalt and gravel, but the best part are the offshoot roads.  We probably spent about 3 hours putzing around in there, dropping bikes, etc.  Great time had by all, as we prep for a trip to Moab, UT in October.

Here's some pics.

finished off at a great hole in the wall burger joint in beautiful downtown Taft, CA

7 minutes ago, XTreme said:

What sort of weight is that Rick?

if you have to ask.......

well over 700 lbs  (877 listed on website!!!)

Semi-quiet weekend.  Test rode this:

would say about 10x more comfortable than my R18, as would be expected.  Wonder if this model should have come out first?

3 hours ago, Pedro said:

Looks like a sweet guy.

he was.  and, so damned smart.  as a puppy, he followed Chris's mom outside one morning to pickup the newspaper.  From that day forward, he didnt need to be showed again, just let out. 

One morning, he didnt return as quickly as he should have.  Finally, came running up with a paper in his mouth.  Guess he had scoured the neighborhood until he found one in someone else's driveway   (paper boy hadnt left one at mom's)

3 hours ago, XTreme said:

It hurts don't it Rick! 

like i never thought it would.

holiday in amurrica.  went for a bike ride, or two.   my "son" (I claim him with full approval of his real parents) had to put down his golden after 14 years.  not a fun week, even with the bike rides.

Not even that big a dog lover, but cried like a baby over this one.  I think Gunner was smarter than most people.  Definitely, more likable.

13 hours ago, Buckster said:

One of those brief phases without a beard.

i still laugh at BJD thinking your were Taliban from the beginning

18 hours ago, Buckster said:

At last, some class.

I would have to agree.  Raising the bar, aint she?

Welcome, Harley Lady!

2 hours ago, Pedro said:

A gs is easier than most bikes because it won’t drop so low as something with no engine sticking out, but just turn the steering pointing up and lift on the lower end of the handlebar…

8 hours ago, Buckster said:

I don’t think it was a KLR, I think it was a Husky.

yeah, one of them small bikes.  i remember having to dodge the projectiles that came out of his exhaust!

Dean - center of pic

Some dude pretending to be a bad-ass adv rider

7 hours ago, Buckster said:

He was volatile but he was a good guy, genuine.

He was. had a blast at the rally (SWFEST).  Stayed in contact with him for a few years after that.  He did up and quit and hit the road south.  Somewhere along the line, bought one of them big, foreign overland vehicles that was impounded at one of the borders he was crossing.   wonder who knows where he might be now?

Thanks for the info (I guess i could have googled it, but i like it straight from people on site).   We have our own ghost towns over here, in case you ever want to range farther from home.

On 15/08/2021 at 00:15, Buckster said:

I ran out of gas, I was on a loaner but didn’t fall off, those road tyres were crap in the sand. The guy that lost the ABS magnet was on a standard GS.

ah.  that memory is coming back now.  i was on a GSA.  There was the KLR(?) who couldnt keep up when were headed back out to the satellite array, until his exhaust blew up.  Had plenty of power after that.  I believe one of the loaners was trailered back to dealer.  Thought it was yours, but believe it was GSDudes (what was his name again?).

My first rally.  good one except i couldnt ride for shit offroad and still cant

Enjoy looking at all the abandoned things, but had a question: (apologies if you've answered it somewhere already)  Why are there so many abandoned buildings?  Who owns the land they are on? 

thx