Frasier Park Sunday - BSA Owners Club

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http://www.bsaocsc.org/images/Flyer_Fra ... k_2015.pdf

http://www.bsaocsc.org/upcomingbsaocscevents.html

Tetge - I want to see your mug and that race bike you bought !
I'll be there on the 525.
At least ride over to the Flying J and look at the old iron.
Is Tim going to be there?

[Tetge]

Brit bikes are welcome, it says. So, a KTM would be out of its element. And, it is a long, straight, flat, 55 mph speed limit, radar patrolled, boring, ride to Frazier Park from my place. It also has been amazingly windy beginning the day after I got my new bike, and the wind really blows violently on the ride to Frazier. The day I got the KTYM , it rained and the dealership delivered the bike to me in a truck, and that was the last rainfall we have seen and the beginning of the winds .

So, no, I shall not be there Sunday. In addition, I need to get another 130 miles on the bike and get the 1000 km service done and I am taking relatively short rides to accomplish this as I have my own theories about break in. I will get it serviced pretty soon and then I will be ready to ride, although it honestly vibrates so much that I do not look forward to any long straight stints. I tried to order the highly praised KTM Power Parts gel seat, but, it is currently back ordered until at least July.

I guess I should point my brother at this thread, but, not doubt he and his gang already know of the ride since they sometimes roll out to ambush the rides of the Norton Club or the BSA Club to show them what proper English iron looks and rides like.

This is sort of like me asking you if you will be at the Willow Springs Drag event this coming Saturday evening (June 6).

[Tetge]

My brother says that he intends to be there, but, he will not be running their parade route and he will dine at The Place, in Ventacopa (?), on the way home. He is shooting to be at the parking lot meeting place around 9, but he is also going to ride his 1952 350 Velocette MAC, rigid, and, that is always an adventure, although in the almost 50 years that he has had the MAC, it has been extremely reliable, including road trips to places as far away as the Canadian border. And, it still runs just fine at age 63, which says something for the quality of some old British motorcycles.

It is still too far away for me, especially since the KTM is not broken in yet and my attempt to get the highly recommended KTM Power Parts gel seat failed due to the seat being back ordered for at least another month.

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Sheesh, the whining . . . . .

Being a paid up member, I'll ride whatever I want, including my Teutonic single, especially since the Norton's rear tire is shot, and by my measures, that means SHOT. I've never owned a BSA in my life but the club is happy to take my money, and I do love their bikes, and I do own a running Brit bike. Which fact, running, IS a big deal among these keepers of the flame. Further, at least you have owned one or two BSAs, so that should dispense with your guilt about showing up on a post-space age single, an expression of what the Brit bike industry would be building today but for the fact that the unions/Labor/Socialists selfishly FUBAR'd the original Brit MC industry. Heck, in that sense, your bike IS a Brit bike.

Kelly C owns several BSAs, even some running ones, but he will likely be there on his new to him Ohlins Triumph 675 triple and that thing is only about 30% Brit made but stinky fast. In fact, because of him, I might even bring the Honda instead of the KTM since you are weaseling out and my KTM gives up about 60 horse to Kelly's triple. And then, Ron P owns two Gold Stars and several Triumphs but he'll be there on his 676 Monster. Lastly, doesn't your brother deserve some respect?

What is it, 50 miles? The round trip is perfect for your remaining break in mileage, and even your tender settee can take 50 miles, can't it?

[Tetge]

........What is it, 50 miles? The round trip is perfect for your remaining break in mileage, and even your tender settee can take 50 miles, can't it?

About 65 miles each direction of some of the most boring and uninteresting road that I can think of. I never enjoy it even in a cage, let alone on a naked bike that shakes like a paint mixer. And, if I rode to The Place to dine with my brother, it would be a lot more miles, all at a 17 HP 1952 Velocette MAC pace.

I evaluated this and Hansen Dam meets are more my speed. I will use my remaining 165 miles of break in before the 1000 km service to take a bunch of shorter rides. This is both good for the engine, and good for me as I get seat time spread out over an extended time period in which to get acquainted with the bike. I sort of want to know how to shift and where the brake pedal is and stuff like that and I am a slow learner, or, at least, slow to adapt to changes. I was starting to get used to the DR-Z after 5+ years of riding it and I sort of trusted it some. Now, I have to start all over again, and, I don't have Brakelate or Mikedbike to follow to show me the pace. And, they don't ride 690 Dukes so my old theory that if they made a corner on their DR-Z's, I should also be able to make the corner, is no longer applicable. Even applying the theory, both Brakelate and Miledbike almost led me to my death now and then as they both have nerves of steel and a habit of carrying speed through corners, something a cowardly, point and squirt, rider, such as I am, does not like to do. I found myself entering corners way too hot and thinking what am I going to do now, with crash and die popping up at the top of the list. Only the knowledge that the DR-Z in front of me took the corner and survived gave me the courage to ride it out.

And, even if you were on your KTM, it would not count, since you ride at a certifiably crazy pace, even on your skinny tired Norton, let alone on a finely crafted Austrian wonder bike. And, yes, there are videos.

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Well, Tim was there on the MAC with a couple of other northerners on their old bikes, in fact he and his crew likely were on some of the oldest there.

We must have discussed and wondered why and generally griped about your no show for at least 10 seconds, if not less.

Lunch at Harrington Ranch was plentiful and good, although pricey, $15 for all you can eat macaroni salad, lettuce salad, chili, BBQ chicken and ribs. Beers $2 per. Cerro as usual was a blast and Lockwood as usual was . . . eh.

[Tetge]

Well, Tim was there on the MAC with a couple of other northerners on their old bikes, in fact he and his crew likely were on some of the oldest there.

We must have discussed and wondered why and generally griped about your no show for at least 10 seconds, if not less.

Lunch at Harrington Ranch was plentiful and good, although pricey, $15 for all you can eat macaroni salad, lettuce salad, chili, BBQ chicken and ribs. Beers $2 per. Cerro as usual was a blast and Lockwood as usual was . . . eh.

Lockwood is certainly "eh". With this I will agree. And, I also had to send links to Tim of middle line crossing by a certain member of this site who shall go unnamed, although I am certain that he knows who he is. Seems that he alleged never crossing the center line.

If I had a truck, I might have gone on the ride, as I could have trucked to Ojai and made the loop and ridden all great roads, for the most part. But, I will not retreat from my contention that the initial ride to the Gorman area for me, flat out sucks even in a cage. And, I am not into pain and suffering in my old age.

In other news, I fired up the DR-Z after it had been sitting waiting to sell for about six weeks and it fired right up with no protests, since it is a nice reliable Japanese machine. I took a brief lap of the street in front of my house to stir things up after letting the bike idle for about 5 minutes and used both brakes and then put it away. Long experience has taught me that machines do much better if they are exercised now and then. And, yes, the DR-Z was smooth as butter compared to the KTM, but, it felt as if it weighed 100 pounds more. This is partly due to the fact that the Suzuki is a supermoto and sits up high and partly due to the fact that KTM obviously has engineered a low center of gravity into the Duke. It makes me think that the KTM might actually handle well, in the hands of a talented rider of course. In my hands, it will never get pushed to its limits, as I never go fast, and I have the chicken strips to prove it.

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Your mug was missed.

If you got a front wheel drive pickup truck, say a Dodge Rampage for example, unlike other pickups you even could drag race it AND you could also use it to haul your bike to rides that actually are within easy riding distance.

So, reading between the lines, the DRZ, compared to the KTM, is a stone . . . . and it lacks agility too?

[Tetge]

Your mug was missed.

If you got a front wheel drive pickup truck, say a Dodge Rampage for example, unlike other pickups you even could drag race it AND you could also use it to haul your bike to rides that actually are within easy riding distance.

So, reading between the lines, the DRZ, compared to the KTM, is a stone . . . . and it lacks agility too?

The DR-Z is quite agile, once you get on it. And, the DR-Z and the 690 Duke are virtual twins when it comes to fully fueled curb weight. But, the DR-Z feels a lot more top heavy, being pushed around, because it definitely is. Back to back, the difference is very notable. It is the consequence of the refined engineering of a dedicated street machine versus the conversion of a dual purpose bike to street only use. But once rolling, since the two bikes are the same weight, they both are agile, at least I think that the KTM will be agile as have not ever attempted to explore whether or not it is since I do not ride that way. In the case of the DR-Z, since I rode it so long, there were a few incidents, usually when following Brakelate or some of his crazy friends and/or riding buddies, when I got in over my head and the agility and good manners of the DR-Z saved me. But, that was over the course of six years, or so.

[Brakelate]

Personally, given that I had that cash to do anything, I am at a crossroads.

I have, and believe I shall always will retain the DRZ-SM. So, it has the potential to scratch many "itches", and in full agreement with the above statement, I too fully subscribe to the theory that more things go "bad" on a machine that sits, than on one that is ridden on a regular basis.


Thus, in daydream mode, I feel the desire to get a KTM1290R Super Duke. I truck/trailer bikes over great distances anymore, and really have no need for quality passenger accommodations. Above all else, now that Norton John has obtained a wicked KTM525 that he has all set up in Supermoto Trim, and the fact that Tetge too now has a machine capable of flat out walking away from me, regardless of how heroic I may be in late-braking, high mid-corner speeds and flat out charges WOT into any and all upcoming potential straight aways (blind or not) I NEED something that is both capable of crushing them, providing me with every much needed mechanical advantage I can come up with, and while all the time having enough "attitude" and displaying enough hard core intent to remotely live up to the extremely exaggerated and super human elevated levels that many have promoted, in quite devious, calculated and manner in which lacks any and all foundation or basis in reality. But, it is pricy, and I still fear a bit of the KTM reliability / network issues that I have personally encountered with my one and only factory built Supermoto KTM race bike.

That leaves me looking at the Adventure or Sporty Tourers. All of which are both too large, too expensive and of little use to me out here, other than for long distance "sight seeing" riding, and having the ability to withstand the inevitable run down a long, unmaintained, dirt "road" out here on my own.

The largest of which, are both too big to load and unload into the bed of my truck alone. And I am not, even after some lengthy upcoming shoulder repair and recovery time, interested in attempting to act like a Ballerina wrestling a Rhino up an insanely steep, unstable and spooky ramp into the bed of my pick up. Then again, if I am not going to RIDE the thing long distances, such as out to CA for the occasional Breakfast Ride or Annual Vintage Bike rallies, then why get such a beast in the first place.

In those limited times that I DO plan on riding, I will be doing so alone, in at least some decreased level of physical capability, and really lacking any need for all the hard bags, heated goodies, adjustable luxurious (and thus heavy) goodies and all of that anyway.

So, I await the arrival of the new KTM 1290 Super Adventure, the BMW S1000XR or one of those, guaranteed to be extremely pricy) beasts. They, could be one "do it all" machine.

Then again, I could save some money, and purchase a 2015 Kawasaki Concourse, and just ride it like I stole it. OR, simply stroll on in to the local Honda shop and finally pick up that pretty, slick, reliable and damn versatile new-old-stock Honda VFR1200f for cheap. It has been calling out to me ever since I discovered it, in the corner of the shop, where it has been sitting, collecting dust for the last five years. The dealer would be glad to see it go, and I could likely get an extended warranty thrown in for free. Then, I order up all "just the right" goodies, and bolt them on mysef; Factory removable saddle bags, heated grips, center stand, tank bag, aftermarket taller "sport touring" windscreen, custom, heated Corbin saddle, Heli Bars and GPS mount. Perhaps even a tasteful, slip on, that saves weight, removes the "George Jettson" factory exhaust tip, and adds a little bit of that nice, appealing V-4 tone. Plus, it has ABS - with a reduced linked brake set up, yet lacks all the (attractive, if not demanded by most modern bike buyers) additional electronic "aids" that I often find to be needless, if not as a full on annoyance... such as traction control, multi-power modes and that sort of thing, that robs you of that good, old fashioned "manual" control and feelings of being in charge 24/7 for those times that one feels lofting a good wheelie or a finds the occasional block long, tire shredding burn out a mandatory component of the riding experience, while helping lighten one's wallet, all while assisting in "blowing off some steam". Plus, the brand name is without question, the reliability second to none, the dealership support being the largest in the nation, and helpful, especially given than you did that particular (nearest) dealership such a huge favor of taking this thing off of their inventory list after all of these years. Also, the initial purchase price (Perhaps as low as $10k out the door, will set all related costs a very low levels. Artificially low, given that it is, in fact, a brand new machine, and that it has done all of it's depreciation on paper while on their books, and not mine. Thus, all items based off that initial purchase price would be much ore acceptable; from sales tax, to annual registration to full coverage insurance for replacement or repairs, should either of those unfortunate situations ever arise. Thus, with a little of my own time, much needed "Garage / Wrenching Therapy" provided by the purchase and installation of all those aforementioned "Add Ons", I would still max out at at total investment in the ballpark of $12k. Still some $4k (by the time it is all said and done) shy of the purchase price of the Concourse 14, and a whopping $10k less than any of those initially mentioned and highly lusted after KTM's, BMW's or whatever.

When al said and done, I could have a bike that fits nicely in the middle of the scale; Is comfortable enough and capable enough for long distance or two up riding, yet light enough and affordable enough to risk loading in the bed of the truck and transporting for those distances that are too great for my atrophied body and skill set to handle. Plus, it would be a rare, unique, personalized multi-purpose machine that should last a lifetime completely free of concerns over parts availability, dealership location, special tool requirements and all of that. Hell, add on some GP-race grade rain tires (which I have come to discover and learned to love for their price, traction and ability to withstand a gravel road and the local high speed, heavy rains, cold weather conditions and anything else I might dare to attempt. From cross country unpaved fire roads, to mud, snow or even icy patches. All while providing damn near, race slick levels of dry traction.

Plus, the fit and finish, paint this bike possesses and the mechanical noise, power and performance it delivers (particularly for it's price range), on top of it's un-beatable buy-in price and unique personality and looks (ever see another on the road, anywhere???) I find all to be absolutely right up my alley. All, while still retaining the ability to have the DRZ with me, here or on the road, should I really want to mix it up with the hot shots, take chances with a few laps at the various kart tracks, the nuts like John pushing it in the twisties, or while taking in the sights, smells and overall aura during cruises and enjoying similar "vibes" while riding with Tim, on Patrick's old DR. When the opportunity ever becomes available. Or more to the point; When we MAKE those opportunities a reality.

So there.

But, Goddamn, that KTM 1290R sure looks wicked in Black, with soft bags, and I am sure is pure mechanical heaven, in what must be a thunderous WOT roar when fitted with the full race-only Cat-delete stubby Factory Team KTM exhaust system.