A couple of riding buddies (Jack - riding a 1998 Road King 95cc & Red - riding a 2007 Ultra) and I - 2007 SEULTRA went on a little ride a week ago - a 50CC Ride. What's a 50CC ride? Coast to Coast (CC) in 50 hours or less. Why would anybody do that? Best answer is because we wanted to, and it sounded like fun. It was. Will not bore everyone with the hour by hour details - just some of the highlights, and a few pics.
Traveled from Jacksonville, FL (Neptune Beach) to San Diego, CA in 46 hours, 58 minutes. Miles traveled - 2,405. Route taken was basically I-10 West using the I-12 shortcut in LA, and the I-8 where it splits from I-10 to go to San Diego. Weather was good, except when we left Tallahassee for Jax, it was raining in Jax. When we left Jax that Sat. morning for points west, it rained for about an hour. Other than that, weather was very good. A little windy crossing the last set of mountains in Cali, but that was expected.
We rode 20 hours from Jax to Junction, TX (west of San Antonio) and took a 6 hour break that included a 4 hour nap. Then we rode the next 21 hours to San Diego. Jack's bike had a small oil leak and we discovered it about 100 miles out or we would have been there an hour sooner. We had been traveling 70-80 mph (speed limit in Texas is 80 in parts and 75 for NM & AZ). Slowed to about 65 and it took us awhile to assess whether or not his bike could make it. It did. Not much celebrating when we arrived - got motel rooms and crashed for about 9 hours.
We took Jack's bike in for evaluation and San Diego HD did an oil change and away we went. Took 78 East and ended up in Borrega Springs, CA for a Twilight Zone style afternoon. Jack's bike needed gas about every 120 miles and we were in the middle of a desert - nobody around. A white Ultra pulls up, says to turn north to Borrega Springs for gas. We did - had a beer there even. Thought the guy was stopping with us but he went on. Kinda surreal, and we were tired. Rode to Blythe, CA and the next morning Jack decided to take the quickest way home. BTW, he has a website for Long Distance Rider Certification -
http://www.longdistanceriders.net/. I have an app. in to the folks at Ironbutt for the 50CC cert. as well.
Red & I continued on to the Grand Canyon. Had a beer (Warsteiner) at the El Tovar Hotel and got our pictures & our bikes pictures taken a few hundred times by a variety of tourists. We were the only Harleys there & were the featured attraction, other than the big hole in the ground. Tough to leave, so we got a room a little south of the GC. 33 degrees the next morning for our ride to Amarillo. Next day we rode to Lake Charles, LA. Friday, we rode home. Gone a week - 5,300 miles and change. Heckuva lotta fun!!!!!!
My Jester had no serious problems, with the exception of needing octane boost due to 90 octane gas out west instead of 93 I assume. Had 2 minor problems - neutral light went out 2 days from home and 100 miles from home the tour pack lid would not open. Stopped at Capitol City HD - they could not pick the pack open, so Bob, the Service manager okayed Jamie to Sawzall the darned thing (after hours!), so I could get my stuff. Basically, the catch would not move, even after it was opened. New LED assembly (green LED burned out) & a new tour pack are on the way. Motor ran great!
Me, Red, and Jack in JAX at the beach
Sand & water sample from the Atlantic Ocean (traditional for the ride)
Me at the Mexican border - photo op side trip south of El Paso
At the beach in San Diego - La Jolla
Pacific Ocean sand & water sample
Happy riders at San Diego HD
Author
Topic: iski's 50CC Ride (Read 1921 times)