Where was your last ride?

[Gizmo]

Wounded Warrior Run

Departed on a 120 mile ride (a poker run) for the Wounded Warrior Run on Sunday. What was interesting about this ride was that most of the bikes were "scooters." Now this was my first exposure to scooters, especially on a long distance ride. What was amazing to me the speed and acceleration of these "bikes," probably due their use of the CVT tranny. I have primarily dealt with "sportbikes" and "cruisers," this new type of ride ... I was impressed! The ride ended with a cook-out consisting of: pulled pork/barbecue chicken/potato salad/baked beans/cole slaw, seconds were readily available. Many of the scooter riders were impressed with my Dino with its "true" automatic transmission (hydraulic). Hopefully, in the near future, I can convince some of these riders to the "darkside" of DN-01 ownership!

 

[Gizmo]

Biketoberfest in Florida

Saturday, I meet up with several of my good friends for our annual Biketoberfest Run to Daytona Beach, Fla. We first ventured to The Cabbage Patch, which is nearby to Daytona. It had multiple vendors ... motorcycle parts/clothes and food, adult entertainment AND it's famous: women's Cole Slaw Wrestling contests. It was my first time going, the temperature was HOT and CROWDED! Next, we took off and stopped at a "hole-in-the-wall" bar on US 1 (Whiskey River) which I really liked. The only trouble was that "diet" soda was only available, which sucked since I DON'T drink alcohol! Left there for downtown Daytona ... cruised about halfway down main street (stop & go, bumper-to-bumper traffic) before we parked the bikes on a side street. What they say about main street in Daytona during either Bike Week or Biketoberfest is true ... people EVERYWHERE and a real pain trying to get anywhere. We were able to find food, at VERY high prices but you have got to eat! Finally, we left there and went to Ormand Beach (US 1) to our "usual" hangouts/bars. I was glad we make it there, NOW I could really relax and enjoy Biketoberfest! We checked out a few of our usual spots. The clouds gradually turned nasty but luckily the storm never quite made it to the celebration. And as usual, I left my buddies early and headed back home ... setting the cruise control @ 75. The traffic on Interstate 95 North was very light, making it back home by 10 PM. My little venture for the day was about 180 miles round trip ... with still gas to spare!

 

[SARider]

Hey Gizmo read with interest all those places I'd love to visit some day - big trip for me from South Australia though! Got really interested when I read 'cruise control' - please tell how/what/where..
Cheers SARider

 

[Gizmo]

Cruise Control

Let me start off with that "my" cruise control is NOT one of those
"electronically set" cruise control. It is mechanically set by a thumb lever, which I set when my "speedo" reads the speed I want to cruise at. It is a screw attached to the thumb lever that goes in, pressing against the throttle cables inside the right hand grip. Fairly simple design that DOES work!

 

[SARider]

Spring ride in SA

Well into spring weather in South Australia so took the DN-01 for a spin through the Adelaide hills this afternoon, 20 degrees (c for our American cousins) just right for a cruise. My thoughts about the bike are changing every time I ride, it's a relaxed cruising style of ride, but handles better than my Valkyrie (cruised the same roads to compare) light and easy to change direction, stable and solid through rough bends, confidence building kind of bike. I just had fun and that to me is why I ride. RAM mount on the brake cylinder held my iPhone with GPS so headed off to some new roads trusting i'd find my way back ok, I did and the new mount is really cool. That and the L/Lip have made this a totally 100% better bike than I picked-up last month, really looking forward to the summer now dri-mesh jacket dusted-off and ready.
Stay upright folks. SARider

 

[Gizmo]

I always dreamed to be able to go to Australia and enjoy the great weather. I know the weather here in Florida is good too BUT with the rain, it's a pain! AND due the number of "cage" drivers ... it very dangerous too. I constantly hear about people go down or being hit/killed because the car driver says: "I just don't see the motorcycle!" Riding a motorcycle ... you take your life in your own hands.

 

[Gizmo]

5th Annual Ride for Dreams (The Original Seven Bridges Ride)

What a beautiful day for a benefit ride. Registration began @ 8:30 AM (Saturday) with KSU (Kick Stands Up) @ 10:30. We left Jacksonville's main Adamec Harley Davidson dealeship escorted by 8 Sheriff's Department Motorcycle Patrolmen. The route took us over 7 bridges here in Jacksonville before coming back to this dealership for food and entertainment. What I particularily noted was the number of Can-Am Spyder bikes and riders. I counted 15 "different" color schemes on the various Spyders, some riders coming from 100+ miles away for the ride. Spyders ARE as unique as one can find ... kind of reminds me of snowmobiles from up north in New York but with wheels vice skis. I took one for a ride a few years back as a demo, quite an experience ... NO lean, tried to throw me OUT of my seat! I like to lean ... it works for me. My Dino has become commonplace here for the rides ... the oohs and aahs has died down. Only 2 Dinos here in Jax which I can still live with!

 

[martin@swad]

Only a short one today, probably as well as the roads are full of wet leaves and we had a frost this morning. Met up with a few guys called the 'maxi muppets' at a cafe for a brew and a natter, and met another new DN owner.

 

[Gizmo]

Lunch in Fernandina Beach

Off on another adventure today ... rode north along the coast to Fernandina Beach. My meetup group (For Anyone Who like Motorcycles) met up with 27th Riders meetup group @ 10 AM at a Wal-Mart here in Jacksonville, FL. KSU (Kick Stands Up) at 10:30, 2 groups: 27th Riders first, followed my group. Weather was a little too chilly, especially coming off the Atlantic but everyone was smart enough to dress warm. Traffic was light, we made good time. We arrived at the seafood/beachside restaurant BEFORE they officially open at noon but they did seat us early (we numbered about 20 people). Good business sense. Most of these people were new to me, by the time lunch was over, I now had "new" friends! Everyone continued on into Fernandina to do some shopping and look around. I headed back ... wasn't feeling too shiny! The Dino was back into the "oohs" and "aahs" category again because of the new people. I had fun.

 

[zebra03]

Off on another adventure today ... rode north along the coast to Fernandina Beach. My meetup group (For Anyone Who like Motorcycles) met up with 27th Riders meetup group @ 10 AM at a Wal-Mart here in Jacksonville, FL. KSU (Kick Stands Up) at 10:30, 2 groups: 27th Riders first, followed my group. Weather was a little too chilly, especially coming off the Atlantic but everyone was smart enough to dress warm. Traffic was light, we made good time. We arrived at the seafood/beachside restaurant BEFORE they officially open at noon but they did seat us early (we numbered about 20 people). Good business sense. Most of these people were new to me, by the time lunch was over, I now had "new" friends! Everyone continued on into Fernandina to do some shopping and look around. I headed back ... wasn't feeling too shiny! The Dino was back into the "oohs" and "aahs" category again because of the new people. I had fun.

Thanks for posting about your rides Gizmo . I like to hear about people riding since The riding is about done here in Pa.

 

[Gizmo]

Thanks for posting about your rides Gizmo . I like to hear about people riding since The riding is about done here in Pa.

I hate to hear that ... even though I AM in Florida, weather here is pretty IFFY, no two days are the same! And talk about major changes in weather in just one day ... that's where I live! Enjoy while you can. L8r

 

[Gizmo]

On the road AGAIN yesterday ... meet up with the First Coast Friends and Riders meetup group out of St Augustine, FL for lunch. We headed further south to Flagler Beach via A1A. The traffic was a little heavy so speeds were not to our liking. The food was great at some "hole-in-the-wall" seashore restaurant that our "pack" leader chose. The weather decide to "mess" with us too (typical Florida) on the way back ... not heavy but a definite pain! Truth of the matter was, the crappy weather was ONLY in the St Augustine area ... north or south of the city, it was GREAT!! Like I've said before, you would be amazed as to the Florida climate changes within only a few miles.

 

[zebra03]

Temp climbed up into the 50's so Mrs Z and I went for a 40 mile ride in the country . Very nice . A little cold .

 

[Gizmo]

Back in the saddle again yesterday, this time I headed to Destination Daytona via US 1. Originally, I WAS suppose to be leading a group from Jacksonville to Daytona via St Augustine, but due to Florida weather (in the 50's), my riding "buddies" backed out. So, here I am, do I go anyways or "chicken out" because it's TOO cold! I purposely had "bundled up" to make the trip, so off I went, ALONE! What was good about that was that I could go at my own pace (speed) and not worry about the other riders. Made good time, got to check out all the "new" Harleys at Bruce Rossmeyer's HD dealership (largest one on the east coast of the good ol' US of A.) (If they don't display it ... it don't exist!) AND as a bonus, J & P Cycles (like Parts-R-Us for motorcycles), sits right next door to Rossmeyer's. Eye-candy, like you wouldn't believe, for the motorcycle parts/accessories shopper! I'm happy to say, the "Dino" DID make the trip back ... no trade-ins here. Yet I did come away with a few ideas on how to "better" my DN-01, IF you can believe that! I hated to leave, but I'll be back next year to dream and drool some more.

 

[Gizmo]

Get up a little early, (8:30 AM), to meet up with the 7 Bridges Scooter Club out of Jacksonville, FL. I met several of their riders a few months back on a Wounded Warrior ride during the summer. As stated before, I am amazed as to the speed capabilities of these "economical" 2-wheel machines. I travelled in middle of the pack ... I was being "tested" as to IF I was a "fairly safe rider" since this was my 1st time "officially" riding with the group. (I did pass the requirements ... if you needed to know!) We travelled to Fernandina Beach for brunch along the coast. Mistakenly, I assumed that the weather would turn warm (expecting temps in the 80s, with fog disappearing), no such luck though. I was definitely cold during the ride, the others were smart enough to wear jackets! Again, the unpredictability of the Florida weather in December, the weather gurus were wrong! The ride back was a little better ... only 10 degrees less than anticipated. I guess the only "good" part about the ride was that again the Dino got a bunch of oohs and aahs, from the scooter people. My DN-01 has found a new "scooter" home to park it's wheels in.

 

[tlyons]

Zebra...I guess we are the only ones that ride or at least ride and post? I guess everyone else has resigned to the winter time couch and the football games?

I had my last ride to work 4 weeks ago. About 40 miles there, I wore double layer Carharrt jeans, rest of the usual gear and a neck gaitor to block the wind. It was 45 Farenheit and I was plenty warm. Most enjoyable ride ever. The New England fall foliage was in full color and the weather was crystal clear. I got off the highway and took winding side roads through to the Blue Hills Reservation, detoured by Wollaston Beach and along the South Boston coast. For some reason there was almost no traffic on the roads. This time of year all the roads are freshly paved, smoothed and repaired ready to be wrecked by the winter.

*BUT* I got in a meeting that ran way over and I was late heading back. By the time I was on the road it was dark and 34 degrees.

40 miles at 65MPH heavy traffic in the dark and I couldn't feel my fingers 1/2 way home. Too cold for me. But I will head out every time its >50 just not the 80 mile round trip.

 

[Gizmo]

Busy day yesterday (Sunday). Was suppose to go on a ride to St Augustine FL, with the 27th Riders group, departing at 10 AM but due to rain and wet roads, the ride was postponed to next Sunday. I did head out at noon to attended my monthly ABATE meeting (MRO) though, returning home a couple hours later. At 6 PM, I met up with the 7 Bridges Scooter Club at their "clubhouse" for a evening ride/dinner. By this time the weather had gotten chiller, dropped about 10 degrees since noon and would continue to drop as the evening progressed. Our ride took us through Riverside/Avondale area of Jacksonville for the 8th annual Luminaria festival. (People add lights to their bicycles/themselves/towed floats and "parade" down several different streets). It was pretty cool! It was my first time attending the festival ... the only downside: VERY slow moving, on the Dino. An hour to cover 2 street blocks because of the number of people participating. From there we went to the European Street cafe in San Marco to relax and eat, finally leaving there about 10 PM. And I am glad I had "bundled up" for the ride home ... when the sun goes down in Florida, it gets mighty COLD!!

 

[Gizmo]

Cranked up the red machine yesterday, Dec 22th, temperature for the high was in the 80's, go figure! Met up with the 27th Riders group at a local Wal-Mart for a long, leisurely trek (mostly back roads), to St Augustine, FL for lunch and to visit some of their little "tourist" shops. It was my first "official" ride with this bunch ... I can definitely see myself going on many more rides with them. (Serious riders, no "showboaters," ie riding fast or sweaving in and out of traffic) And as usual, I mis-read just how warm the day was going to be. A heavy leather jacket just don't cut it here in Florida when the temp gets in the 80s! BUT on the ride back, @ 7 PM, when the sun goes down, the leather jacket DEFINITELY came in handy. I think layering my clothes just might be the solution to my little dilemma. How where do I find a place to store my clothes on the Dino?

 

[zebra03]

The GIVI Monokey system works great .

http://www.giviusa.com/givi-products/cases/monokey-cases/e52g730a-52ltr-gloss-silver-detail

This is what I have and it swallows alot of stuff .

 

[Gizmo]

The GIVI Monokey system works great .

http://www.giviusa.com/givi-products/cases/monokey-cases/e52g730a-52ltr-gloss-silver-detail

This is what I have and it swallows alot of stuff .

Kind of UGLY though ... silver on a red or black DN-01 just doesn't look right!