Wow, what a welcome. One member asked if that was a speaker on the trunk. Yes I made them enclosures from coffee cans. I put polk audio speakers all the way around with 2 amplifiers , one is a 500watt for the rear and a 400 for the front. The receiver is a mechless radio, cirrus, HD and Bluetooth with auxiliary and USB inputs by Clarion. Yes I can hear it well at any speed and I only need to use half volume to do so. Another asked where am I that I can ride still. Well last black Friday I headed out from Portland in the rain, wind and cold to California. Visited a friend in the hills towards Tahoe at 3500 feet. Then on to Los Angeles to Saddleman through a bunch of fog till Bakersfield and finally encountered nice warm weather in LA. On the way back over the Grapevine I5N the wind was getting crazy and the heavily grooved pavement was not helping. I was the only MC to be seen that windy (Gusts to 80mph) afternoon heading north. Plenty of truckers and cars though. It was a white Knuckler all the way to the Harris Ranch near Coalinga where I got a hotel. Next morning tumble weeds, heavy dust in sections and again heavy winds. I decided to have a Mexican meal and some Negro Modelo to try and relax. I found that going between 80 and 100mph against the heavy head and Quartering winds offered me much more stability especially blasting past 100s of trucks. Only a couple Mercedes Benz tried to hang but couldn't since some cars would pass the trucks at a snails pace. The only problem was after 55 miles of this I was near reserve. So for 110 miles I got 15mpg! But it only took 35 minutes to go 55 miles. It calmed down before Stockton and hit another White Knuckler going on the 12w to Fairfield. Heavy cross wind over water on a 1 lane Highway Safety Corridor with a bunch of plastic poles separating you from the oncoming traffic. My trip through Redding and on to Oregon saw the temp dropping to 30. By 11pm I had cold feet and hands. Made it to Grants pass and moteled it. The Next day I waited for the fog to lift and high tailed it home. Was it worth? You bet. Looked at my rear tire and it is toast. I am picking up a new one next week so I can do some more riding locally till it snows or gets icy or my wheels fall off. Thanks again, Manny...
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