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Mexico (NY) XS Mini-rally Report by Ron Lyman
Mexico XS Mini-rally Report
by Ron Lyman
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Got home late last night from the Mexico XS mini-rally. Too bad no one was there but Gary and me.
Left Toronto Friday about 2pm, holiday traffic was horrendous! I baked my ass off on the 401 (Canadian version of an interstate) for literally hours in stop and go traffic. Took a nap under a tree at a rest stop and waited for traffic to get better. It did, but not much. Like the new cell phone... I managed to email Gary and let him know of the delay. Although, I didn't know at the time (7pm) that I still had FIVE hours ahead of me. The whole trip should have been 5- 6 hours.
Eventually made it to the 1000 Islands border crossing, and then onto I-81... no more traffic! Yippee! One stop for fuel along the way, pump didn't seem to register the button push, so I stuck my hand in the pump (where the nozzle goes) and flapped the flapper to see if I could wake up the machine. OUCH! There's a damned wasp/hornet in there! My whole arm tingled for about 5 minutes from the sting on my knuckle. It's still a little swollen, 4 days later. Pulled in minutes after midnight, those cold beers hit the spot! Rolled into bed, and then right back out, it seemed, at about 7am.
It was already pretty warm, but looked like clear weather. A mess of sausage and eggs a la Granger prepared us for the road. First stop, Triumph dealer to finish off some paper-work on Gary's new Trophy. What a nice looking bike. While they pushed pencils, I accepted the owner's offer of a demo ride. Moto Guzzi Jackal. 1100cc in a sideways V twin. That bike was a hoot to ride. Gobs of torque, smooth power band, and nice handling. I found the rev limiter in no time
. It vibrates a lot at low RPMs, but smooths out very nicely when it's wound up. I'd tell you what RPM, but there's no tach. Probably 2500 RPM, I would guess. Limiter kicks in around 6500, again, a guess. Very tall gears... 30mph is right between 1st and 2nd... when I was givin' her hell, I shifted to 3rd, looked down and saw the needle at 75mph. The owner didn't seem to impressed at my report but he's a great guy, and I think I'd be welcome back.
The 'California' version; some fancy goodies added, but close to what I rode: http://www.moto-guzzi.com/bilder/cjg.jpg
Done paper-shuffling, we decided on a route around Onieda Lake to kill the afternoon. Decent roads and we were chased by a nasty looking storm. After rounding the lake, and skirting much of the storm, we did catch some rain for 15 mintes or so. Winds were quite bad. My leather gloves and boots held up very well in the rain. If you want to protect leather, I recommend SNO-SEAL very highly.
http://www.atsko.com/snoseal.html
I saw Gary wiping his visor to clear it... my 'trick', picked up from a veteran rider when I started riding, it to use Lemon Pledge. on the visor and wind screen, water beads off nicely. Many riders use it, but there are some who haven't heard of it (in this application). A bonus is the silicone(?) in Pledge fills in tiny pits and scratches, eleminating haze. I'm sure there's better/longer lasting product, but Pledge is available everywhere, easy to use, and it works. So I will continue to use it.
Back at the Granger homestead, Sat afternoon, played some games on the 'puter, did some e-mailing, and discussed routes and timings for the upcoming CO rally. Went out for grocerys, Gary decided to exercise the Venture. Bought beer and chickens (do we need anything else?). Beer in the Venture trunk, chickens in the side bag. Got back, and the bag wouldn't open. ****!! This was so ridiculous, it's funny. Got the bag off the bike, drilled pins outta the hinges, drilled the interior, and unscrewed the latches. Took a while of messing around, with plenty of curses and chicken juice flying around. A very memorable event. Those birds were delicious! Gary has a great barbeque, y'all should come out next time he invites you, and enjoy some BBQ.
Chewed the fat for a while that night, had some beers, discussed CO some more, had some beers, laughed about those damned chickens, had some beers, and hit the hay early (9:30ish)
Sunday, we woke shortly after 5. Weather looked poor, time to hit the garage. Had a bunch of odd jobs done on various bikes by 7, then stopped for breakfast. Checked the weather reports, riding was out for the day. Decided on going to Hooters in Syracuse, as I hadn't been there before, and hitting the local arcade for some head-to-head racing. Took our time, did some shopping (beer supply was getting woefully low) and got back around dinner time. Popped online and ordered a SuperBrace for the Wing. Man, the front end on the '81 wing is worse than the stock XS! I'll be ordering progressive springs today. Another evening well wasted with some fine company.
Packed up Monday morning and Gary, Dena, and I zipped over to the local truck stop for brekkie. Nothing like a 16oz steak and eggs to keep me going! I was in no hurry, so we three took a nice scenic route by Lake Ontario to the 1000 Islands Bait Shop. Fuelled up, said our goodbyes, and I'm off to Canada.
Border crossing guard (a very cute young woman, for a change) tried not to smile, but couldn't help laughing. "Have you bought anything you're bringing back to Canada?" ... "Yeah, *points back to cargo* a case of Labatt's and a bag of pork rinds." heheh, t'was a nice moment.
I expected the 401 to be incredibly bad, even worse than Friday, so I planned on taking a scenic route, along the lake. This turned out to be a good idea. Roads were clear and in great shape, so I made decent time, and enjoyed the scenery until I hit the ferry crossing onto Quinte Island... there was a long, long line up. Another motorcyclist pulled up, I told her I thought the line was only for the ferry, and she, demonstrating more wisdom than I, mentioned there's usually room to squeeze a couple of bikes on. We went along the wrong side of the road for a long ways, and stopped at the ferry gate. Introductions were made, stories swapped, I gave her some beef jerky, and got some cherries in return (really! get your minds outta da gutter). She highly recommended the Shenandoah (route, road?) for the return trip from CO, so we may work that in somehow. Her Kawasaki Zephyr carried her all over the continent. A cool person. I've seen nothing like riding to bring strangers together. We rode through the island to a buddy's place, where we parted ways. He had XS11s years ago, and his brother had one almost ready to go, but the barn burned down and melted it, along with his racing sleds.
He has another XS11, but 2nd gear is toast, so I'll be sending some info to him for that.
Meandering through side-roads and one gravel road to avoid an inexplicable line-up, I maintained good speed, but at the cost of a longer route. I didn't mind one bit, as I passed near the 401 east of Cobourg, traffic was backed up and doing about 70 km/h. That is a long long way from Toronto... Absolutely the worst traffic I have ever seen. Stopped at my uncle's NE of Toronto for a bit, showed off the bike to my 6 year old cousin, and then zoomed home on the 407. The toll is a lot, I think it's one of the most expensive toll roads on the continent, and well worth it this time. I was able to hold full speed the whole way across the top of Toronto and into Mississauga. Pulled into the driveway about 9pm.
The End. of another excellent XSive rally.
by Ron Lyman
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Got home late last night from the Mexico XS mini-rally. Too bad no one was there but Gary and me.
Left Toronto Friday about 2pm, holiday traffic was horrendous! I baked my ass off on the 401 (Canadian version of an interstate) for literally hours in stop and go traffic. Took a nap under a tree at a rest stop and waited for traffic to get better. It did, but not much. Like the new cell phone... I managed to email Gary and let him know of the delay. Although, I didn't know at the time (7pm) that I still had FIVE hours ahead of me. The whole trip should have been 5- 6 hours.
Eventually made it to the 1000 Islands border crossing, and then onto I-81... no more traffic! Yippee! One stop for fuel along the way, pump didn't seem to register the button push, so I stuck my hand in the pump (where the nozzle goes) and flapped the flapper to see if I could wake up the machine. OUCH! There's a damned wasp/hornet in there! My whole arm tingled for about 5 minutes from the sting on my knuckle. It's still a little swollen, 4 days later. Pulled in minutes after midnight, those cold beers hit the spot! Rolled into bed, and then right back out, it seemed, at about 7am.
It was already pretty warm, but looked like clear weather. A mess of sausage and eggs a la Granger prepared us for the road. First stop, Triumph dealer to finish off some paper-work on Gary's new Trophy. What a nice looking bike. While they pushed pencils, I accepted the owner's offer of a demo ride. Moto Guzzi Jackal. 1100cc in a sideways V twin. That bike was a hoot to ride. Gobs of torque, smooth power band, and nice handling. I found the rev limiter in no time
. It vibrates a lot at low RPMs, but smooths out very nicely when it's wound up. I'd tell you what RPM, but there's no tach. Probably 2500 RPM, I would guess. Limiter kicks in around 6500, again, a guess. Very tall gears... 30mph is right between 1st and 2nd... when I was givin' her hell, I shifted to 3rd, looked down and saw the needle at 75mph. The owner didn't seem to impressed at my report but he's a great guy, and I think I'd be welcome back.The 'California' version; some fancy goodies added, but close to what I rode: http://www.moto-guzzi.com/bilder/cjg.jpg
Done paper-shuffling, we decided on a route around Onieda Lake to kill the afternoon. Decent roads and we were chased by a nasty looking storm. After rounding the lake, and skirting much of the storm, we did catch some rain for 15 mintes or so. Winds were quite bad. My leather gloves and boots held up very well in the rain. If you want to protect leather, I recommend SNO-SEAL very highly.
http://www.atsko.com/snoseal.html
I saw Gary wiping his visor to clear it... my 'trick', picked up from a veteran rider when I started riding, it to use Lemon Pledge. on the visor and wind screen, water beads off nicely. Many riders use it, but there are some who haven't heard of it (in this application). A bonus is the silicone(?) in Pledge fills in tiny pits and scratches, eleminating haze. I'm sure there's better/longer lasting product, but Pledge is available everywhere, easy to use, and it works. So I will continue to use it.
Back at the Granger homestead, Sat afternoon, played some games on the 'puter, did some e-mailing, and discussed routes and timings for the upcoming CO rally. Went out for grocerys, Gary decided to exercise the Venture. Bought beer and chickens (do we need anything else?). Beer in the Venture trunk, chickens in the side bag. Got back, and the bag wouldn't open. ****!! This was so ridiculous, it's funny. Got the bag off the bike, drilled pins outta the hinges, drilled the interior, and unscrewed the latches. Took a while of messing around, with plenty of curses and chicken juice flying around. A very memorable event. Those birds were delicious! Gary has a great barbeque, y'all should come out next time he invites you, and enjoy some BBQ.
Chewed the fat for a while that night, had some beers, discussed CO some more, had some beers, laughed about those damned chickens, had some beers, and hit the hay early (9:30ish)
Sunday, we woke shortly after 5. Weather looked poor, time to hit the garage. Had a bunch of odd jobs done on various bikes by 7, then stopped for breakfast. Checked the weather reports, riding was out for the day. Decided on going to Hooters in Syracuse, as I hadn't been there before, and hitting the local arcade for some head-to-head racing. Took our time, did some shopping (beer supply was getting woefully low) and got back around dinner time. Popped online and ordered a SuperBrace for the Wing. Man, the front end on the '81 wing is worse than the stock XS! I'll be ordering progressive springs today. Another evening well wasted with some fine company.
Packed up Monday morning and Gary, Dena, and I zipped over to the local truck stop for brekkie. Nothing like a 16oz steak and eggs to keep me going! I was in no hurry, so we three took a nice scenic route by Lake Ontario to the 1000 Islands Bait Shop. Fuelled up, said our goodbyes, and I'm off to Canada.
Border crossing guard (a very cute young woman, for a change) tried not to smile, but couldn't help laughing. "Have you bought anything you're bringing back to Canada?" ... "Yeah, *points back to cargo* a case of Labatt's and a bag of pork rinds." heheh, t'was a nice moment.
I expected the 401 to be incredibly bad, even worse than Friday, so I planned on taking a scenic route, along the lake. This turned out to be a good idea. Roads were clear and in great shape, so I made decent time, and enjoyed the scenery until I hit the ferry crossing onto Quinte Island... there was a long, long line up. Another motorcyclist pulled up, I told her I thought the line was only for the ferry, and she, demonstrating more wisdom than I, mentioned there's usually room to squeeze a couple of bikes on. We went along the wrong side of the road for a long ways, and stopped at the ferry gate. Introductions were made, stories swapped, I gave her some beef jerky, and got some cherries in return (really! get your minds outta da gutter). She highly recommended the Shenandoah (route, road?) for the return trip from CO, so we may work that in somehow. Her Kawasaki Zephyr carried her all over the continent. A cool person. I've seen nothing like riding to bring strangers together. We rode through the island to a buddy's place, where we parted ways. He had XS11s years ago, and his brother had one almost ready to go, but the barn burned down and melted it, along with his racing sleds.
He has another XS11, but 2nd gear is toast, so I'll be sending some info to him for that.Meandering through side-roads and one gravel road to avoid an inexplicable line-up, I maintained good speed, but at the cost of a longer route. I didn't mind one bit, as I passed near the 401 east of Cobourg, traffic was backed up and doing about 70 km/h. That is a long long way from Toronto... Absolutely the worst traffic I have ever seen. Stopped at my uncle's NE of Toronto for a bit, showed off the bike to my 6 year old cousin, and then zoomed home on the 407. The toll is a lot, I think it's one of the most expensive toll roads on the continent, and well worth it this time. I was able to hold full speed the whole way across the top of Toronto and into Mississauga. Pulled into the driveway about 9pm.
The End. of another excellent XSive rally.