dcarver
Well-known member
[SIZE=12pt]Ride to Dad's House[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]After months of waiting, finally it was NAFO time! I would start from San Luis Obispo, CA, head to Salem Oregon to see pops, spend Sat and Sunday then off to Oregon City to GP Suspension to have my rear Penske re-valved and have the front forks worked on.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Left the salt mine at noon, Friday July 18th. The bike to the right of Crzy8 is Miss Beemer, a 1984 R100T I sold to my buddy.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]East of Paso Robles on CA 41 is pretty boring. This stretch of dirt is now consumed with vineyards, a good or bad thing depending upon who you talk to.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Ran across this FJR on 41 East, quietly wondered if he too was heading to NAFO. Interesting fellow; ¾ helmet, fingerless gloves, riding with his bud on a Harley. Perhaps he recently acquired the FJR and is not in Power Ranger mode yet?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]At the junction of I5 and 41, stopped for ice and water to fill the Skyway hydration system. While pumping gas, this fellow walks over with a 1 gallon can and asks if I can afford ½ gallon to help get him back on the road. I look over, here's his rig. Notice the custom AC.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]July and August is carnie time for many small towns; on I5 saw this contraption:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Near Shasta Lake, Whiskeytown, evidence of the fires is clearly visible:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Only 419 miles to go! (and I'm bored already of this I5 droning stuff)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]More smoke:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Arrived in Weed, CA for fuel, dinner, and to buy a new hat. I always buy a new WEED CA hat when I'm in the area. BTW, for folks who travel through Weed, this is a new restaurant, BBQ, and it was really good, 2 thumbs up![/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]While eating a delicious BBQ rib salad, yeah, you heard it right, BBQ rib salad, I started wondering if I was up to ride all the way to Salem. I was already feeling tired, had been stressed at work, and immediately decided to ride as far and long as I felt safe; as soon as I felt otherwise the day's journey was done and I would head to a hotel. This was the first smart decision I made on this journey.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]After dinner, headed back to the bike to find Weed's finest paying close attention to my FJR? Oh, just a bit of paranoia sneaking in; they had been called by store management to deal with a customer a bit too unruly.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Night time presents opportunities for unusual pictures; like this one of 'A **** House Under Night Lights'.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Only made it to Philomath, OR, I was having visions of deer jumping out from alongside the forested I5 corridor, even applied panic brakes for one imaginary deer.. then decided it was time to hold true to my own safety promise and stop for the night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The next day opened with beautiful sunshine, great vision and the promise of a new day, one I've never lived before.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Stopped in Philomath, OR, to visit an old friend and see their local street faire. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]What a nice little farmers market they have! Every Saturday morning, fresh food from the fields, music and lots of doggies walking around obidently following the law by keeping their own leash firmly clenched in their teeth![/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]This young gypsy girl could really sing:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The veggies were weird looking. We don't have veggies in Creston![/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Another thing we don't have in Creston, or CA for that matter, are old brick buildings. Evidently they don't have earthquakes in Albany Oregon.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Had to laugh at this sign:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]This old Studebaker truck actually brought fresh veggies to the farmers market![/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]After taking in the Farmers Market, it was time to head north up to Salem. Decided to let GPS provide directions and boy oh boy did it get lost. It's ok though, I had a full tank of gas and no arrival time. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]A farmers field:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]An old barn picture, taken for in memory of Andrew.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Spent 2 days in Salem with Pops and family, doing family 'stuff'. Pops is nearly blind now, here are his new tools for getting around town.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Ok, this one is for all you gamers who started on DOS games. In the 1980's there was a game called 'Lounge Lizard Larry' and I loved that stupid game. IIRC, the bar that LLL was drinking in was called Lefty's. Imagine my surprise when serendipitously I found an EXACT sign of a real bar that matched the game from so long ago. Could it be the gamers used this sign?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]GP Suspension[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Monday, July 21 2008 found me in Oregon City at GP Suspension. I had purchased a new 3-way Penske rear shock in January, but decided to not have the forks done as Crzy8 was fresh back from a deer strike and had new fork tubes, seals, bushings, oil, etc. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Here's Crzy8 looking really red neck, up on blocks..[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Fork internals:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The suspension guru, Dave, at work on my forks.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Stock fork valves and GPS valves.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Rear shock valving:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Ben at work on the rear shock:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Shock install:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Shock rebuild part deux:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]I can't say enough good things about Dave and Ben. They bicker like an old married couple. Dave "Where you this morning, Ben?" To which Ben replies, "Camping, just like I told you last week. Oh, by the way, great job on scheduling an FJR when I'm not going to be here!" And so on and so forth throughout the day these best buds continually busted each other's chops, all in good fun.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Dave is a real perfectionist, and it took all day for them to finish the bike:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]1.[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]My rear shock came only 4 clicks away from full soft, not centered midrange. I mentioned this to Dave who immediately said to Ben "Pull that rear shock, we need to fix that!"[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]2.[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]After building the front forks, Ben showed me the proper to cinch things up so that the tubes are in alignment, preventing binding and stiction.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]3.[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]Dave allowed me to observe the entire process – teardown, inspection, parts replacement, how the computer CAD program is used to generate automated parts machining, his pistons vs. Traxxion vs. RaceTech vs. stock Honda. For Dave, it's a passion.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]4.[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]After completely rebuilding (revalving) the shock, it was installed. Dave wasn't happy with the sag settings so off came the 800 lb. spring and on went a 850 lb spring. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]5.[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]Then Dave noticed the hose connecting the remote reservoir to the shock body. "Why is it routed like that?" he asked. I responded, "It's the only way I could figure to get it to fit. I read the instructions but just couldn't see how it would work." [/SIZE]
Dave wasn't happy that the hose had an 'S' curve in it. Looking carefully, Dave deduced that my shock was shipped with a 13" hose when it should have been a 10" hose. So off comes the shock for a hose replacement. This essentially means a complete rebuild!
[SIZE=12pt]6.[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]Finally, Dave and Ben set the sag, front and rear, with me on the bike. These guyz are the BEST and I highly reccommend them![/SIZE]
...continued
[SIZE=12pt]After months of waiting, finally it was NAFO time! I would start from San Luis Obispo, CA, head to Salem Oregon to see pops, spend Sat and Sunday then off to Oregon City to GP Suspension to have my rear Penske re-valved and have the front forks worked on.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Left the salt mine at noon, Friday July 18th. The bike to the right of Crzy8 is Miss Beemer, a 1984 R100T I sold to my buddy.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]East of Paso Robles on CA 41 is pretty boring. This stretch of dirt is now consumed with vineyards, a good or bad thing depending upon who you talk to.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Ran across this FJR on 41 East, quietly wondered if he too was heading to NAFO. Interesting fellow; ¾ helmet, fingerless gloves, riding with his bud on a Harley. Perhaps he recently acquired the FJR and is not in Power Ranger mode yet?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]At the junction of I5 and 41, stopped for ice and water to fill the Skyway hydration system. While pumping gas, this fellow walks over with a 1 gallon can and asks if I can afford ½ gallon to help get him back on the road. I look over, here's his rig. Notice the custom AC.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]July and August is carnie time for many small towns; on I5 saw this contraption:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Near Shasta Lake, Whiskeytown, evidence of the fires is clearly visible:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Only 419 miles to go! (and I'm bored already of this I5 droning stuff)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]More smoke:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Arrived in Weed, CA for fuel, dinner, and to buy a new hat. I always buy a new WEED CA hat when I'm in the area. BTW, for folks who travel through Weed, this is a new restaurant, BBQ, and it was really good, 2 thumbs up![/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]While eating a delicious BBQ rib salad, yeah, you heard it right, BBQ rib salad, I started wondering if I was up to ride all the way to Salem. I was already feeling tired, had been stressed at work, and immediately decided to ride as far and long as I felt safe; as soon as I felt otherwise the day's journey was done and I would head to a hotel. This was the first smart decision I made on this journey.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]After dinner, headed back to the bike to find Weed's finest paying close attention to my FJR? Oh, just a bit of paranoia sneaking in; they had been called by store management to deal with a customer a bit too unruly.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]
[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Night time presents opportunities for unusual pictures; like this one of 'A **** House Under Night Lights'.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Only made it to Philomath, OR, I was having visions of deer jumping out from alongside the forested I5 corridor, even applied panic brakes for one imaginary deer.. then decided it was time to hold true to my own safety promise and stop for the night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The next day opened with beautiful sunshine, great vision and the promise of a new day, one I've never lived before.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Stopped in Philomath, OR, to visit an old friend and see their local street faire. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]What a nice little farmers market they have! Every Saturday morning, fresh food from the fields, music and lots of doggies walking around obidently following the law by keeping their own leash firmly clenched in their teeth![/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]This young gypsy girl could really sing:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The veggies were weird looking. We don't have veggies in Creston![/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Another thing we don't have in Creston, or CA for that matter, are old brick buildings. Evidently they don't have earthquakes in Albany Oregon.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Had to laugh at this sign:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]This old Studebaker truck actually brought fresh veggies to the farmers market![/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]After taking in the Farmers Market, it was time to head north up to Salem. Decided to let GPS provide directions and boy oh boy did it get lost. It's ok though, I had a full tank of gas and no arrival time. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]A farmers field:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]An old barn picture, taken for in memory of Andrew.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Spent 2 days in Salem with Pops and family, doing family 'stuff'. Pops is nearly blind now, here are his new tools for getting around town.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Ok, this one is for all you gamers who started on DOS games. In the 1980's there was a game called 'Lounge Lizard Larry' and I loved that stupid game. IIRC, the bar that LLL was drinking in was called Lefty's. Imagine my surprise when serendipitously I found an EXACT sign of a real bar that matched the game from so long ago. Could it be the gamers used this sign?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]GP Suspension[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Monday, July 21 2008 found me in Oregon City at GP Suspension. I had purchased a new 3-way Penske rear shock in January, but decided to not have the forks done as Crzy8 was fresh back from a deer strike and had new fork tubes, seals, bushings, oil, etc. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Here's Crzy8 looking really red neck, up on blocks..[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Fork internals:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The suspension guru, Dave, at work on my forks.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Stock fork valves and GPS valves.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Rear shock valving:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Ben at work on the rear shock:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Shock install:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Shock rebuild part deux:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]I can't say enough good things about Dave and Ben. They bicker like an old married couple. Dave "Where you this morning, Ben?" To which Ben replies, "Camping, just like I told you last week. Oh, by the way, great job on scheduling an FJR when I'm not going to be here!" And so on and so forth throughout the day these best buds continually busted each other's chops, all in good fun.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Dave is a real perfectionist, and it took all day for them to finish the bike:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]1.[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]My rear shock came only 4 clicks away from full soft, not centered midrange. I mentioned this to Dave who immediately said to Ben "Pull that rear shock, we need to fix that!"[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]2.[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]After building the front forks, Ben showed me the proper to cinch things up so that the tubes are in alignment, preventing binding and stiction.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]3.[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]Dave allowed me to observe the entire process – teardown, inspection, parts replacement, how the computer CAD program is used to generate automated parts machining, his pistons vs. Traxxion vs. RaceTech vs. stock Honda. For Dave, it's a passion.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]4.[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]After completely rebuilding (revalving) the shock, it was installed. Dave wasn't happy with the sag settings so off came the 800 lb. spring and on went a 850 lb spring. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]5.[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]Then Dave noticed the hose connecting the remote reservoir to the shock body. "Why is it routed like that?" he asked. I responded, "It's the only way I could figure to get it to fit. I read the instructions but just couldn't see how it would work." [/SIZE]
Dave wasn't happy that the hose had an 'S' curve in it. Looking carefully, Dave deduced that my shock was shipped with a 13" hose when it should have been a 10" hose. So off comes the shock for a hose replacement. This essentially means a complete rebuild!
[SIZE=12pt]6.[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]Finally, Dave and Ben set the sag, front and rear, with me on the bike. These guyz are the BEST and I highly reccommend them![/SIZE]
...continued
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