Fantastic ride to Izu pensiula yesterday

turbodave_98 · Feb 22, 2009

On Sunday morning I met up with the riders of the Sukkari Touring Club in Tokyo at 0700. Destination was the Izu pensiula SW of Tokyo. Weather was perfect for riding, great mountain an seaside secondary roads, some of them less than two lanes wide but most silky smooth very curvey with painted lines. In Japan the driving is on the left hand side.

The majority of the riders were on one liter plus BMW sport bikes while I was on a rented BMW 2009 BMW GS 800. I showed the riders pics of my FJR 1300AE and all were saying WOW at the extent of my farkles. Most were in awe of my telling them about the LD and rally rides that the FJR is used for us. They could not imagine sitting in the saddle for over 24 hours and doing thr mega distances done for IBA certifications.

I was extremely impressed with the GS 800 balance, torque, acceleration and cornering and perfect riding position for my 5'9" body. Seat and windshield need some improvement but overall it is a great bike, that weighs about 400 lbs with fuel,oil, etc. I could keep up with the 1 L. beemers in all speeds and cury roads. These guys are really experienced riders but I must be honest that they ride on the edge a lot. Being a "Vintage Rider", I of course ride my own ride. We had a tradition lunch of sushi and various other things during our sitting on the floor type table. Has been many years since I ate so much rae fish includin ocytopus, shark tuna, squid, oysters and of course the staple rice.l

We covered about 275 miles of beautuful mountain and seaside terrain. There were periods of severe wind gust but overall the GS handled them very well. Rental price for the GS was appx. 120USD perday and insurance coverage about $100 for a specified period.

I truly enjoyed being with the Sukkari riders again. I rode with them from 1976-1980 when I was living in Tokyo being in the USAF. I look forward to annual visits here to ride with these riders. Have a good excuse as my daughter married a Japanese man on 14 Feb. and will continue to live inTokyo.

Sorry for no pics but cannot download without my cable which is at my home. Forgetting things is part of a "Senior moment" which I go through often these days. Pics will be posted upon return to LA.

Indian Scout · Feb 27, 2009

turbodave_98 said:
On Sunday morning I met up with the riders of the Sukkari Touring Club in Tokyo at 0700. Destination was the Izu pensiula SW of Tokyo. Weather was perfect for riding, great mountain an seaside secondary roads, some of them less than two lanes wide but most silky smooth very curvey with painted lines. In Japan the driving is on the left hand side.
The majority of the riders were on one liter plus BMW sport bikes while I was on a rented BMW 2009 BMW GS 800. I showed the riders pics of my FJR 1300AE and all were saying WOW at the extent of my farkles. Most were in awe of my telling them about the LD and rally rides that the FJR is used for us. They could not imagine sitting in the saddle for over 24 hours and doing thr mega distances done for IBA certifications.

I was extremely impressed with the GS 800 balance, torque, acceleration and cornering and perfect riding position for my 5'9" body. Seat and windshield need some improvement but overall it is a great bike, that weighs about 400 lbs with fuel,oil, etc. I could keep up with the 1 L. beemers in all speeds and cury roads. These guys are really experienced riders but I must be honest that they ride on the edge a lot. Being a "Vintage Rider", I of course ride my own ride. We had a tradition lunch of sushi and various other things during our sitting on the floor type table. Has been many years since I ate so much rae fish includin ocytopus, shark tuna, squid, oysters and of course the staple rice.l

We covered about 275 miles of beautuful mountain and seaside terrain. There were periods of severe wind gust but overall the GS handled them very well. Rental price for the GS was appx. 120USD perday and insurance coverage about $100 for a specified period.

I truly enjoyed being with the Sukkari riders again. I rode with them from 1976-1980 when I was living in Tokyo being in the USAF. I look forward to annual visits here to ride with these riders. Have a good excuse as my daughter married a Japanese man on 14 Feb. and will continue to live inTokyo.

Sorry for no pics but cannot download without my cable which is at my home. Forgetting things is part of a "Senior moment" which I go through often these days. Pics will be posted upon return to LA.

Wish I could have been there with you.

dcarver · Feb 27, 2009

Way cool Dave, the BEST! Are some of the guyz from back in the day still riding or is this a new crop?

jzzmusician · Feb 27, 2009

Dave,

I own a restaurant and truly enjoy food of most types. When I ride with my friends, a good food stop is my personal requirement.

I adore Japanese food and you're killing me with your description. I'm stuck in Eastern Washington and good Asian food is very hard to come by.

Thanks for the report and good riding to you.

Bob

turbodave_98 · Feb 28, 2009

Jim, wish you could have been there also, look forward to seeing you soon.

Dan, only one of those men were from the 1976-1980 period. In addition to the ride, we had a reunion dinner of about 10 of the old timers. I asked each of them how many were still riding and the answer was only 2 of us regularly then rest rarely ride or cage/bicycle it. One guy is using a scooter!!

Bob, glad the info was enjoyable. I make it a habit when in other countries to try their local dishes. I also like Japanese cusine a lot. In the USA, I rarely eat sushi but while there ate more of it than ever. Even found the octopus, and shark pretty good.