NT1100

One of the big reasons I enjoy blogging is posting the pics that I've taken...but I keep forgetting to take my pocket camera which is what I take most pictures with as I can get it out of my pocket and snap a pic in seconds...and with the lanyard I don't have to worry about dropping it.

I need to mend my ways and get back in the habit of carrying the little red camera, instead of relying on the cumbersome smart phone.

Anyway, back to the blog, we picked up a new bike. 

A Honda NT1100.  The Super Tenere, which has performed flawlessly for 7 years and has 170,000 miles on the clock and still runs great but.....well in my advanced years, I was ready for a lighter, lower bike and the NT seemed to fit the bill.

So the plan.... I would motor across the loneliest highway (50) then pick up the Lassen National Park stamp then ride along the coast north to meet Beverly in Seaside, Oregon.

And the plan worked...pretty good.

My first night I stayed here;

And the lights outside reflected to the inside and this is what my ceiling looked like all.....night.....long.

Actually is was not to bad, I found that watching it was more potent than counting sheep!

Not long after leaving Ely I notice that the bike is smoking...a little. Long story short, I had changed the oil and oil filter before I left home and also the DCT filter. Apparently the filter housing is extremely touchy as to how it is reinstalled. And I wasn't careful enough so I had a tiny bit very hard to see oil leaking down on the headers. Of course I didn't know this yet and wasn't quite sure what the problem was.

I called Bev to see if she could see a bike shop along my route. She came up with a couple but only one, Motorcycle Mania on Main Street in Fernley, Nv was willing to look at the bike. I made the short ride to Fernley and talked to Scott, the owner of Motorcycle Mania and he agreed to make the fix. Price wasn't discussed and I was just happy to have the problem fixed.

Scott waited until the bike cooled down so he could work on it then he moved my bike to the front of the line and had it fixed in short order. 

When he rang up the charge, I didn't look at the receipt, I just signed it happy that I could get back on the road with very little delay. Later when I looked at the receipt I was shocked at how little he had charged me, especially since he had made my repair a priority! On top of this more than fair price, and fixing the bike quickly Scott also tried to make me feel better for making such a bonehead mistake! What a guy!!

So if your motoring on highway 50 when you go through Fernley stop in and tell Scott "Hello" for Ken.  If you need anything I have total confidence that Scott will treat you as good as he did me!

Bike back in good order I made my way to Lassen NP and got that stamp. Then pointed the bike North in order to meet up with Beverly in Seaside.

Later on we both arrived in Seaside and spent a few days with son Fenton and his family. It is always hard to leave there as they make us feel so welcome!

Laurie told me about these falls and the cool road leading to them.....both were very well worth the ride - but I forgot the name of both the falls and road.

Good grief, it seems like the older I get......the......hmm ... what was I going to say? I can't remember now.

 

While wandering around Seaside we saw this spiffy HD trike, and couldn't resist taking a picture.

Very nice!

Then we finally departed for home, in a round about way,  and visited Mt St Helens visitors center and took the Mt Rainier road up to Paradise and visitor center.

We then stayed overnight in Yakima. While there we met the two guys riding these Wings.

It was decided I would tag along with them to Lewiston, while Beverly would head straight for home.

(again with the little red camera and getting more pictures)

It was fun meeting both of them and riding a day together.

When we got to Lewiston they continued east and I headed south, ending up overnighting in Grangeville.

From Grangeville to home was 570 miles, a full days ride.

The new NT did very well. Its not a love affair yet, but most likely will be soon.  Haha....

Thanks for reading!

Life is Grand!!!

So....what do I like and not like about the NT1100?

Like:

DCT - It took very little time to appreciate the DCT

Ease of handling - smaller, lighter bike...very good!

MPG - this trip was somewhere between 2500 and 3000 miles. I averaged 49 mpg.

Don't like;

DCT - while it was easy to get used to this nice feature, the shifting is 'clunky' its a little un-nerving teh first few times I heard it, I thought something had broken. .And  it is slow to respond when the throttle is twisted. But when it does finally respond, it has plenty of get up and go! Or you can use your finger to shift down faster.

Horn button - Horn button? Yep! It is in the wrong spot and very easy to hit by mistake. Extremely annoying!

 And a few other things, but I'm guessing I'll get used to them as time goes by.

 

Southern Utah done fast.......no rose smelling

A small group are going to southern Utah, so we join in.

Six bikes in all and one WRX

We met in Springville, Ut - then rode south about 180 miles and ended up in Torrey, Ut 

While in Torrey, we stopped in to "Slackers" burger joint for a tasty sandwich.

Leaving Torry we had a little over 200 miles left to go to get to Monticello where we overnighted.

While riding on the in the Fry Canyon, SR95 I snapped these shots

 

Got up the next morning and booked it home. That's it....about 730 miles.  We did have fun chatting at the hotel - a fast ride is better than no ride!

Az,Tx,NM National Parks

 Beverly and I take 2 weeks to motor down through Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to get some more National Park stamps. Bev drives the Subaru and I'm on the Tenere                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      At a fuel stop just after Price Utah I see this car, it is a "Trebani" 

They were made in East Germany and were the only cars available while the wall was up..... If I understood the owner correctly.

The owner is a young man named Max he and his girlfriend and another friend are touring through the US. Max is from Holland and rebuilt the 600cc engine before they came over to America. Max is also a motorcycle enthusiast.

All three of them seem like real adventurers, I truly hope they have a great visit in the United States. I really enjoyed talking to Max and learning about his awesome car. 

A little while later we arrived in Green River and stop to have lunch in one of my favorite places, Ray's tavern.

(Trust me the sign actually does say Ray's tavern, but the Sun was shining bright and I couldn't see the picture on my screen to check it.)

Sufficiently fed we then proceed to Moab where we will spend two days before we go farther south to Pagosa Springs, Co 

Wednesday morning I depart for Pagosa springs, and before I leave the Moab area I stopped at a gas station to get a drink. While there I meet this young man and we had a very enjoyable and lengthy conversation and solved all the problems of the world.

Shayan is a motorcyclist also. Maybe someday we will get together and eat up some miles.

Looking off the deck of our lodging in Pagosa springs. 

 I'm not sure if this is a miniature submarine or a fish swimming past or deck.

Next we motor through beautiful New Mexico on our way to Roswell.

We have a photo op at a alien display outside of Roswell.

From Roswell it was a pleasant drive (via Subaru) to bag the Carlsbad caverns and Guadalupe Nat Pks stamps. 

Now that we are on our trip, we changed our carefully made plans on the fly. I'll ride South to get White Sands and Big Bend parks. Bev will wander over to Pinetop... then we will meet up either in Pinetop or Flagstaff. So we will end up getting two more stamps than we had planned on.

These next two pix are somewhere in New Mexico miles apart.

On my way I run into this guy....or rather he runs into me, we ended up riding together for a number of miles because it was a two lane road and Gabriel (sp?) was patient enough not to pass me.

We both finally stopped at this gas station and gushed about how great a bike the Tenere is....no matter what version.

While we were talking 3 couples from the Netherlands approached us and explained they had gotten lost and asked us for directions, They were trying to get to Route 66. I happened to have a New Mexico road map which I gave to them and Gabriel was able to orient them enough to help them get back on track.

After we chatted and helped the visitors we parted ways and I continued to  Pinetop, Az to meet up with Beverly. Next day we rode to Flagstaff to have dinner with biker buddy Howard. After a great dinner and conversation we went our ways and the next morning departed from Flagstaff to get Grand canyon national Park and Glen canyon national recreation area stamps 

On our way to Flagstaff we made the stop in Winslow Arizona to stand on the corner and more importantly, to get a Almond Joy Sundae. 

A friendly local LEO

Rest and shopping stop at Cameron, Az.

And the next day we ride through the Grand Canyon.

The seemingly docile cow elk lying in the shade at the edge of a huge parking lot was a  photographic hit!

Then after 12 days and 2800 miles the day comes that we have to return home.

The dam from the front yard of our hotel.

On the way, shortly after I had entered Utah I see the sign for the "Dragons Belly".

I flip a Uey and go down a short road.

Hiking through the Dragons Belly was treacheous but I was able to make it without sprainging an ankle or falling.

After tickling the dragons belly, I was soon back on the road again.  Arriving home around 4 pm.

Life is absolutely GRAND!

Three National Park stamps

I bought a National Parks Stamp book back in 2024...so now I "have" to galivant all over the country to  get the stamps! Life is tough sometimes! haha.

As it happens, I suddenly have five days with no meetings and only one appointment. So we cancel the appointment and off I go.

My first night is spent in Naturita, Colorado (no pix). The ride from West Valley to Moab is a yawner, but from Moab through La Sal, Utah, into Colorado, past Paradox, and Bedrock to the tiny town of  Naturita is SPECTACULAR!

These two pix are on the way a few miles before arriving at Naturita.

Then the next morning I'm off to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP via the 550 (Million Dollar Highway).
At a gas stop on my way, a local describes the Black Canyon as a 'mini grand canyon', which is a good description.

Below is the model of the Black Canyon in the visitor center.

And the pix that I took while there that fall way short of what my eyes were seeing!

I didn't try to hike any of the (mostly) snow covered trails.

OK....I get the stamp and then point my front tire toward Pagosa Springs traversing even more miles on the 550 - from Montrose to several miles south of Durango, tken to Pagosa where I'll stay two nights. 

The Million Dollar Hwy is beautiful in the summer, but in the winter when nearly everything except the road is covered with snow....it is equally beautiful....stunning even!

WOW!

Typical "don't do it justice" pix

After I get checked in at Pagosa since my lodging has a full kitchen I head to the grocery store for some supplies. Its a good thing they gave me a strong paper sack! I 'seat belted' the full sack on to the pillion seat and CAREFULLY made the ride back to my place - and arrived with no drama! Whew! 

Now I have dinner and breakfasts for two days.

The Great Sand Dunes NP is next and....

the following morning I wait for the temps to warm up a bit and just as I'm about to gear up and walk out the door I hear the unmistakable sound of the burner in a hot air balloon. I step outside and hear a childs voice giving me a cheery "hello" and look straight up a hundred feet or so, to see the balloon - the basket carrying what I assumed to be a young family, and their tour guide.

And....the basket and balloon are desending. They landed on the lawn in front of my condo where the recovery team was waiting.

That was a neat and unique way to start out this day of riding, NP stamping and riding some more!

And its off I go toward the Great Sand Dunes NP.

I'm sure there are those people who can see beauty in an exceedingly large pile of sand, but I'm not one. 

For me, the ride there and then the park was underwhelming - still... a day on the bike is a good day.

I get the stamp and make the return ride back to Pagosa Springs, a two hundred-twenty miles round trip.

The Park sign.

The pile of sand

And off and return to the condo where I enjoy a meticulously prepared dinner....(LOL).... meh....it was filling! Followed by an exciting evening of crosswords and 'sets' playing.

After my 'fine dining' and game playing I start packing for the ride home in the morning. The wind HOWLS all night long as black clouds rumble their way across the sky....sheesh....I'm a little concerned about the weather.

My concern was for nothing, in the morning while it was CHILLY, the skies were mostly blue.

After scraping the frost off the bike seat I was on my way. 

The route home takes me right past the Mesa Verde NP...how fortuitous!

This depiction is at the entrance of the visitor center.

Stamp obtained, bathroom visited, and I continue my way home. By now the temps are quite pleasant, the ride equally so and I'm able to stay off the super slab until the last 50 miles.

But instead of going straight home I head for the Community Center where Beverly volunteers as a sewing instructor once a week.

But she is not there?? I call from the parking lot and Bev answers...Where are you? - I ask. 

I'm home waiting for you - She answers!

What a pair we are - 45 years and we still missed each other for the four days I was gone!

A happy wife, and a happy life is incredibly good stuff!!

Aaaand motorcycles are also incredibly good stuff!

Aaaaand - Life is sweet!