When is Mike going to Leona Valley again?

[Tetge]

I took the KTM through Little T the other day and it scared me, but, it does have more thrust exiting corners than the DR-Z. I figure that I haven't been out to Leona Valley for a long time, and, I could just ride behind the ride, as I know the way. KTM is too precise a tool for me to attempt to go quickly on as it scares me.

It might be like when mikedbike got a Husky for awhile, and then had to return to a DR-Z. But, since I still have the DR-Z sitting in my garage..............

[Brakelate]

Sounds like the local AV gunslinger acquired a potent, shiny new six gun (690 gun) has completed his minor mods, familiarization miles and is now looking to get into a situation where he can put it to the test and hopefully carve a few new notches in it's grips.

He aims to take on the big dogs, and apparently is packing the right gear and a whole new elevated and refreshed level of interesting!

Where is Norton John to step up and a take his shot at silencing his new menace haling out of the Antelope Valley. Fight the Orange and Black Attack like fire with fire... NJ still needs to zero in his sights on that highly capable 500cc-plus black powder big bore of a converted machine that, as far as I know is just hanging around ready, and waiting to take on any man, woman or child willing to stare down the barrel of it's lightly muffled boom stick of an exhaust system!

Someone better be running a GoPro or two, is all I have to say for when the fur begins to fly and the battle for over all "king of the hill" begins to shape up...

[xbacksideslider]

On the EXC, I'll be spotting Tetge about 200cc, 100 lbs, a muffler, and a bike that's 12 yrs older . . . .

[Tetge]

On the EXC, I'll be spotting Tetge about 200cc, 100 lbs, a muffler, and a bike that's 12 yrs older . . . .

It is 90% rider, at least, and only 10% bike, at most, so, you would be spotting me nothing. Your Norton has previously left me in your dust, as has your big Honda since I have no game when it comes to riding quickly in the canyons as what little I used to possibly have in the past has evaporated. My excuse is that after a couple of stops by the CHP recently , and near encounters with deer and dogs and traffic, I am afraid to push it at all. I have even stopped passing over the double yellow, and, naturally, I never exceed the speed limit. Also, the KTM still does not feel comfortable, like the DR-Z came to feel after many, many miles, and years of riding it.

But, I figured that if Mike were riding to breakfast I might hook onto the back of his ride and cruise out for some coffee and wine in Leona Valley. It is a nice scenic run. And, who know, maybe life at the back of the ride is relaxing and serene?

[jhwalker]

On the EXC, I'll be spotting Tetge about 200cc, 100 lbs, a muffler, and a bike that's 12 yrs older . . . .

It is 90% rider, at least, and only 10% bike, at most, so, you would be spotting me nothing. Your Norton has previously left me in your dust, as has your big Honda since I have no game when it comes to riding quickly in the canyons as what little I used to possibly have in the past has evaporated. My excuse is that after a couple of stops by the CHP recently , and near encounters with deer and dogs and traffic, I am afraid to push it at all. I have even stopped passing over the double yellow, and, naturally, I never exceed the speed limit. Also, the KTM still does not feel comfortable, like the DR-Z came to feel after many, many miles, and years of riding it.

But, I figured that if Mike were riding to breakfast I might hook onto the back of his ride and cruise out for some coffee and wine in Leona Valley. It is a nice scenic run. And, who know, maybe life at the back of the ride is relaxing and serene?

Yep, someone got the 1000 km service and is feeling frisky...

[Brakelate]

Yeah, boy that sure was a thinly concealed line of total horseshit, wasn't it?

Sort of like the time I amazingly held off that super-quick, calculated and precise Supermoto rider guy (totally forget his name, but MUST have a serious biking resume') who rides that high dollar Yamaha MX-to-Supermoto conversion, lives out in Acton and rides with that equally quick and seriously competitive female rider, who rides horses, has a big BMW sporty-tourer and Supermoto also, I believe.

Point being, I had heard, and vaguely encountered him in passing, coming or going with other groups on other rides - they REALLY prefer the "Malibu Hills" scene (gack) , but the ONE time we happened to be in the same place, in the same mood, at the same time, (7-11 Little T start of a Breakfast Mike Ride) I just happened to be on the big old "Incredible Hulk" mighty green old "Retro" Kawasaki ZRX1200) I lead up the hill, and he (like Norton John all the time) was on and off my wheel -at will, I am sure, but the one time he tried to use his advantage of being nimble and quick, by overtaking me in a brief straight, going into a bumpy, dirty, sharp, upcoming decreasing radius left hander up against a rock slide faced hillside, he poked his nose out in the opposing lane for a pass, and I just did a incredibly (stupid) brave "pin the throttle, run in DEEEEP, get on the brakes HARD, and whip and hold it over at max lean angle, rear tire skipping, chirping, frame flexing and me elbows up - ass out in the wind, prevented his pass. Something that goofy old bike could actually do, if one was brave / confident / insane enough to force it to perform, with that goofy low riding position, raised pegs, great - actual brand spanking new!!! (Dunlop Q2's) and big, upright wide handle bar I had fitted off an old Yamaha quad I happened to have laying around in the corner of the garage, that just boosted leverage, and gave it that "supermoto - old, original "Superbike" feel, I was able to halt his over take move and hold him off. Oddly, he faded and never came back to re-challenge me for the lead. Now, if that was due to his conclusion that I had more than he had, or he flat was scared (for me) and likely didn't want to push me any further to the point where he would have watched me burn into a hillside, highside that pig or go up in in a spinning, tumbling mess, likely sucking him into my massive mushroom cloud of fire, smoke, flying parts and flailing body bits, I do not know. But, he held back, and stayed there all the way up the rest of the hill to the scenic stop / vista point, turn out where we always re-group, before heading down the top-side to the 14 on Sand Canyon by the In & Out fast food joint.

Anyway. Many more thanks due to many more people... the riders, the "higher power" that prevented me from killing myself (yet again) or props to that crazy old Kawasaki that I jelled with so well, allowing us both to do things we had absolutely NO business doing.

But, it was a fun machine, that surprised a lot of folks in the brief time that I had it. Many a "road racy, RR riding, leather-clad bad-ass" was taken to school by that big goofy machine. Even up on the 'Crest. Ahhhh, the good old days. And, yes; Tetge regardless of WHAT he says, he was RIGHT on my ass, to watch, witness and occasionally film some of those events. So, yeah. He's a wolf, no matter how many times he tells the "sheep" story. As pictured below, in a shot taken from the dash of his DRZ as we BOTH strafed past a fat-tired "fast guy" up on the Angeles Crest Highway one day.

[Tetge]

Same day, same ride. It was the first time that Brakelate took the old Kawi beast out for a spin on ancient hard as a rock touring tires and not having ridden it previously. In the pic I attached, he has his arm out waving me to catch up as he had caught a glimpse of some bikes up ahead of us and he wanted to slay them before Newcombs. Natrually, I was slowing him down, but, it turned out that the two bikes were stone crawlers, which is why we caught them even with Brakelate hanging back on account of my slow pace. There is a youtube video of that maiden ride by him that tells the full story.

And, remember, he had just got the bike started and it still was not restored with better tires and bars and all the ups he added. He also made Norman crash his supermoto, but, I was not on that ride, which, I believe was over by Malibu.

phpBB [video]

[jhwalker]

smite
smīt/Submit
verb
1.
literary
strike with a firm blow.
"he smites the water with his sword"
2.
be strongly attracted to someone or something.
"she was so smitten with the boy"
nounarchaic
1.
a heavy blow or stroke with a weapon or the hand.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So I just gave up 14:01 of my life waiting for a smite.

But nice ride. I think I have Terri talked into a little ride.

[Tetge]

If you want to have some hits on a youtube video, you have to have a catchy title. "Bloody Chain Saw Attack" was too far off topic to use, but, the 1200 fan boys, all five of them, were all over the video. I never said that it was exciting to watch, as it was really a documentary video of the very first outing of the bike. And, as time went by, crazy Brakelate started to push those ancient, hard, dried out, budget touring tires. He never saw a tire that he didn't like, except for those giant used Viper tires that looked so good on his Cobra, but, which even he could find no merit in. But, that's another story.

[mikedbike2002]

Next time a breakfast rides happening I'll post it here! Busy ordering stuff to convert my Honda CRF150RB into a motard for track play days!!