Renting 07 FJR

[Smoky Mtn Rider]

California Dreaming,

My wife and I are in the planning stages of a trip out to the north coast of CA in late May (fly n ride a rental bike). Till I saw this post I thought we'd have to settle for a BMW rental in San Jose. Monterey looks like a long and expensive cab ride from San Jose. Is it?? Renting an FJR would be just too cool.

Any suggestions on riding in the coastal area north of San Francisco?? The wife really wants to hug a giant coastal redwood tree. Sounds like I need to subscribe to Pasnit's website, I've already gotten lots of riding ideas from it.

Regards,

Richard

 

[HIGHLANDER]

Hey Smoky,

your correct, it's an expensive cab ride to Monterey !!

If your heading north skip the part of Hwy 1 that is immediately accross the Golden Gate bridge and head for Bodega Bay and start heading north from there. The first section is very very bumpy and patched up. The road is always sliding in that area and constantly patched up.

You didn't say how long your riding plans are. Hwy 1 is great all the way to the top of the state.

The Avenue of the Giants is the place your wife can hug many giant redwoods !

Hyw 36 and 96 are among the best in the state, but they're the furthest north.

Pashnit will only confuse you as there's so much good info there. Spend a couple hours on there and you'll be packing up and moving to Cali !

Don't forget to visit the Cali section of this board. We are riding and picture taking fools.... all the best roads are documented already !!

 

[temp357]

Check this route out....

Um, I beg your pardon, Highlander... :glare: Now, I know this is your patch and all, and that you know best. But, did you forget that Highway 1 south from where our Coneticut Conneticut Connectticut East Coast friends are going to be is one of the top M.C. ride destinations IN THE WORLD?! (Excuse me for raising my voice.) Yet, you've got them heading inland and staying there. I just don't understand. Did I miss something? Did the sun rise in the west today? :blink:

Jb

Highway one blows. Very pretty, yes. The road is awful and full of tourists. It's not my first choice for a nice ride in california. Check out this web site. Just about every decent ride in California is in it.

Clicky

Bullshit, it's all in the timing and your frame of mind. If you want to haul ass on the road you do it late sping or fall when the tourists go home. In summer you have to resolve yourself to a tourist role, as there's a lot of sightseers. It's idiotic to rail past camper after camper in the height of the season.

Pashnit does have a fine site though. You'll need to pay to join and see the full road descriptions. Tim's put a lot of time and hardwork into developing that site, and you can tell. If anyone coming to vistit Cali for a week or so , it's worth the $20 or so to join up and read all the details.

Well, i've ridden through it three times and i regret every single time...and i'm hardly the type of person that haul's @ss. On your point however, each of the three was during the spring and summer. I found the road conditions questionable with lots and lots of potholes and campers everywhere. Do you know how fast a camper goes through a 340 degree hairpin turn? Very slowly One of the best roads of all time however was CA 89 from south of Tahoe, all the way north to CA 36.

 

[HIGHLANDER]

Check this route out....

Um, I beg your pardon, Highlander... :glare: Now, I know this is your patch and all, and that you know best. But, did you forget that Highway 1 south from where our Coneticut Conneticut Connectticut East Coast friends are going to be is one of the top M.C. ride destinations IN THE WORLD?! (Excuse me for raising my voice.) Yet, you've got them heading inland and staying there. I just don't understand. Did I miss something? Did the sun rise in the west today? :blink:

Jb

Highway one blows. Very pretty, yes. The road is awful and full of tourists. It's not my first choice for a nice ride in california. Check out this web site. Just about every decent ride in California is in it.

Clicky

Bullshit, it's all in the timing and your frame of mind. If you want to haul ass on the road you do it late sping or fall when the tourists go home. In summer you have to resolve yourself to a tourist role, as there's a lot of sightseers. It's idiotic to rail past camper after camper in the height of the season.

Pashnit does have a fine site though. You'll need to pay to join and see the full road descriptions. Tim's put a lot of time and hardwork into developing that site, and you can tell. If anyone coming to vistit Cali for a week or so , it's worth the $20 or so to join up and read all the details.

Well, i've ridden through it three times and i regret every single time...and i'm hardly the type of person that haul's @ss. On your point however, each of the three was during the spring and summer. I found the road conditions questionable with lots and lots of potholes and campers everywhere. Do you know how fast a camper goes through a 340 degree hairpin turn? Very slowly One of the best roads of all time however was CA 89 from south of Tahoe, all the way north to CA 36.

Well different strokes for different folks I guess.... I find 89 mostly boring and straight.....except going over Lassen...... but 36... now your talking !! :yahoo:

 

[madmike2]

Well different strokes for different folks I guess.... I find 89 mostly boring and straight.....except going over Lassen...... but 36... now your talking !! :yahoo:

But Hwy 36 from 89 to I-5 is just as boring. The part of Hwy 36 we rode in Oct....Teeeee-riffic! If one is riding Hwy 89 North of Tahoe and misses riding Hwy 49 up Bassett's Grade and West to Grass Valley, somecody missed some of the best riding and scenery in the Sierras. Alas, too many great roads...too few days to ride them all.

Hwy 1 from Bodega to Eureka is some great riding. AND, there are many "loops" through the back country of the coastal range. There will be "tourist traffic", particularly around Bodega but it thins out North of there. Plan to stop at Ft. Ross and spend an hour or so...the Southern most outpost of the Russians in the 1800s.

If you belong to AAA, their maps of the area are great.

 

[panayoti]

you may have checked this out already.

when i rented a bike in HI i found out while signing the paperwork that there was no medical and a $3000 deductable ! Of course I was charged a "fee" for insurance.

caveat emptor !

 

[painman]

you may have checked this out already.
when i rented a bike in HI i found out while signing the paperwork that there was no medical and a $3000 deductable ! Of course I was charged a "fee" for insurance.

caveat emptor !

If renting a car or bike, check with your personal carrier to make sure your covered on rentals. The rental people will always try and stick you with their insurance fees. PM. <>< B)

 

[GAPS]

Oh man, you guys are killing me, July is a long way off.....Nacimiento looks like too much fun to miss out on, here on the east coast we have our fair share of tight twisty bits but this looks like something special. Sure I would prefer to be on a Motard but I'll just have to suck it up and ride the rent a FEEJER thru there..... :yahoo:

BTW, the rental co Im working with includes insurance in thier rates, not optional as I understand it. If anyone wants the direct line you can call Al Porter toll free at 888 500 6646, he has been nice to work with on this.

 

[Smoky Mtn Rider]

Highlander,

Thanks for the tips. Yep, I figured a cab ride to Monterey is out of the question. We will probably just rent the RT1200 Beemer in San Jose as it makes for easier logistics of getting to and from the airport to the rental agency.

Last May we toured the Zion/Grand Canyon area of southern UT on a Goldwing, ok but a little too big of a bike for the twisty roads of NorCal me thinks.

We will be out in NorCal for 7 wonderful days and nights of riding and sightseeing. Several old friends are riding up from SoCal to join us. (I was born and raised in the LA/Orange Co. area but managed to escape to the mountains of TN many years ago) Can't wait for our left coast vacation!!

In late May just look for a couple of hillbilly's with cameras around their necks and a bike under their butts acting like they never been out of the mountains.

See you somewhere down a twisty left coast road...........

Richard

Hey Smoky,your correct, it's an expensive cab ride to Monterey !!

If your heading north skip the part of Hwy 1 that is immediately accross the Golden Gate bridge and head for Bodega Bay and start heading north from there. The first section is very very bumpy and patched up. The road is always sliding in that area and constantly patched up.

You didn't say how long your riding plans are. Hwy 1 is great all the way to the top of the state.

The Avenue of the Giants is the place your wife can hug many giant redwoods !

Hyw 36 and 96 are among the best in the state, but they're the furthest north.

Pashnit will only confuse you as there's so much good info there. Spend a couple hours on there and you'll be packing up and moving to Cali !

Don't forget to visit the Cali section of this board. We are riding and picture taking fools.... all the best roads are documented already !!

 

[drew231506]

California Dreaming,
My wife and I are in the planning stages of a trip out to the north coast of CA in late May (fly n ride a rental bike). Till I saw this post I thought we'd have to settle for a BMW rental in San Jose. Monterey looks like a long and expensive cab ride from San Jose. Is it?? Renting an FJR would be just too cool.

Any suggestions on riding in the coastal area north of San Francisco?? The wife really wants to hug a giant coastal redwood tree. Sounds like I need to subscribe to Pasnit's website, I've already gotten lots of riding ideas from it.

Regards,

Richard

You could always just ship your FJR out there. Thats what Im doing for our honeymoon trip...but we are going to be riding about 14 days. Renting came out more expensive and plus I'd like to have my bike out there. $675 each way. (VA to WA)

 

[Dr. Rich]

California Dreaming,
My wife and I are in the planning stages of a trip out to the north coast of CA in late May (fly n ride a rental bike). Till I saw this post I thought we'd have to settle for a BMW rental in San Jose. Monterey looks like a long and expensive cab ride from San Jose. Is it?? Renting an FJR would be just too cool.

Any suggestions on riding in the coastal area north of San Francisco?? The wife really wants to hug a giant coastal redwood tree. Sounds like I need to subscribe to Pasnit's website, I've already gotten lots of riding ideas from it.

Regards,

Richard

The road out of San Francisco winds up to Point Reyes, where it follows Tomales Bay. Beautiful Ride. From there you head to Bodega Bay ( just inland from the coast ). From Bodega Bay you have some wonderful twisties up to Fort Ross (old Russian fur trading fort) then up to Fort Bragg. The road is wonderful and the views are great. There are wonderful B&Bs on the road with lots of wineries and great restaurants. Further up the coast are the big redwoods and Eureka. Have ridden it many times. I highly recommend you spend a couple of days doing the wineries in the Sonoma and Napa Valleys. They are great on a bike.

 

[unclekunkle]

California Dreaming,
Monterey looks like a long and expensive cab ride from San Jose. Is it?? Renting an FJR would be just too cool.

Any suggestions on riding in the coastal area north of San Francisco?? The wife really wants to hug a giant coastal redwood tree. Sounds like I need to subscribe to Pasnit's website, I've already gotten lots of riding ideas from it.

Regards,

Richard

I'm out of So. Calif...once flew into San Jose and was picked up by a company car for the ride to Monterey...seems as though its about an hour drive. Cab fare would be stiff, but try one of the airport shuttles. Check with the hotel in Monterey about San Jose Airport pick up service, bet you'd find they'll help you out. Oh! ... and north of San Francisco...put it this way, if you're coming out to California, you owe it to yourself to take it all in, including the hugging of the Redwoods.

 

[James Burleigh]

California Dreaming,
My wife and I are in the planning stages of a trip out to the north coast of CA in late May (fly n ride a rental bike). Till I saw this post I thought we'd have to settle for a BMW rental in San Jose. Monterey looks like a long and expensive cab ride from San Jose. Is it?? Renting an FJR would be just too cool.

Any suggestions on riding in the coastal area north of San Francisco?? The wife really wants to hug a giant coastal redwood tree. Sounds like I need to subscribe to Pasnit's website, I've already gotten lots of riding ideas from it.

Regards,

Richard

PM me with the dates. We'll take you on some rides that'll knock your socks off. And of course we'll stop by my "Happy Place" (pic link under my signature). Jb