As some of you may know, I broke my shoulder while dirt riding up in Oregon 3 weeks ago. I thought I was going back to work last Monday so I wanted to get out of the house for a few days. Being the conservative safety-conscious sort that I am, I decided that what I needed was a weekend up at the Lost Coast on my friend David's brand new Super Tenere....riding pillion, of course Where the pavement ends... Looking downhill on one of the switchbacks... The beach was absolutely stellar...and deserted... This huge driftwood tree was balancing perfectly on the wood beneath it without touching the ground anywhere... The labyrinth could use some sweeping... Crazy windy day up on the bluff... A good day for this sorta thing... Good day for playing in the sand, too... And the whoops... Don't let anyone try to tell you the Super Tenere is a dual sport bike. It's not. We were both pleasantly surprised, though, at how well the suspension worked in the bouncy stuff. We never bottomed out with the two of us on the bike. It felt solid but needs knobbies... Eric liked it better without me on the back... And before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, thinking we thrashed our friend's new bike, you gotta know David. It's a small miracle he hasn't destroyed this thing yet...lord knows he's tried on several occasions He told me he was glad he wasn't the first one to put it on the ground Still and all...doesn't this guy look a little sheepish? Screamin' for knobbies... More to come...
I would love to have me one of those globetrotter segment bikes, almost got me a used GS1100R but it had too many issues for what the guy was asking Sorry to hear about your shoulder Woodsy, hope you'll heal fast
It's been pretty good...I guess. Thanks for asking! The first doctor I saw looked like he was in 8th grade and he gave me 2 weeks off work. The next doctor I saw called him a "Doogie Howser" doctor and gave me 2 more weeks off...which would be great if I could go somewhere. Thanks, Muddy! Yeah, those big bikes have their place, for sure. Not sure if the sandy banks of the river is one of them, though We both had waaaay more fun that we thought we were going to have. I could totally see a big 2-up bike in our future someday...although one a little more dirt-oriented (i.e. not so heavy) would be preferred. That Tenere is super-plush for the passenger, though. If Eric had pointed it towards central America I'd have been hard pressed to tell him to turn around Yeah, no kidding I'll say this, though...for it being so ginormous and right on my leg I never even noticed it. Cool as a cucumber all day, even in the slow-going stuff. The big bulbous thing on the left below the tank is the fan and it's about the same size as the one on my MR2. When it comes on that motor get ice cold, like, right now! It's big and it's heavy...but it's a super-duper cool bike. Very civilized.
Another chapter for the digital coffee table book. Keep it going. Shoulder? I don't need no stinkin shoulder to rule the ride report world.
Yeah, it was a little chilly...I think it was 43 degrees when we took off. Not too bad. We were expecting rain both days but we didn't get hit at all Nice warm gear is worth every penny we pay for it. thanks, Walt
Hey! What's over there? Lotsa ducks... And lotsa deep river bed gravel... I couldn't afford to hit the ground so I bailed and let Eric have fun pretending he was on a dirt bike. A reeeallly big dirt bike... Let's get outta here... We rode down this together, then rode up it together, but Eric just wasn't ready to leave yet, so... We headed out to Samoa Dunes but bailed on the sand track. We checked the day's menu at the Samoa Cookhouse (pork roast and fried chicken! Yumm!) and then headed down to the north jetty so as not to waste our daylight... The jetty has seen better days... I love sunsets in the fall and winter... We hopped back on the bike, had a totally killer dinner at the Samoa Cookhouse (salad, cream of cabbage soup -I know, sounds like crap, but it was probably the best soup I've ever had!- pork roast with gravy, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, brownies, applesauce cake and coffee) and then headed back to the hot tub in our hotel room. I needed it after a day of piloting the pillion spot...it uses totally different muscles than I'm used to! Where we going tomorrow?
Thanks, you guys! Glad you're enjoying them Don't know how I would do on the other coast, but I've seen some beautiful photos from MuddyWaters from the outer banks and it looks lovely out there! Nothing like the wild northern CA coast, though...
It was dry when we got up so we hit the gas station for 6 gallons of premium and hit the road outta town heading north... We didn't stop much during the next 260 miles so not a lot of photos of our second day... I had to resort to taking photos on the fly. Not easy working with only one hand in a puffy glove... It got even more dicey when going around corners... I made him stop for this one. A much better experience and photo... The Tenere is super-comfy, but it's nice to stretch the legs every now and again... I'm glad I got to see the fall colors... They were much prettier than the fall colors on my arm and shoulder... The Klamath River patiently waiting for winter rains... We bombed back on pavement and had a great time doing it. I think the SuperTenere is slightly out of its element in real dirt simply due to its size and weight, but it performed much more admirably than we thought it would, and it would be a good choice for long-distance touring and easy gravel/dirt road exploring. I'd like to go back out on it with knobbies and no broken bones so we could get a little more adventurous on it...I bet it would be totally kick-ass! Super plush and compliant suspension, comfortable seat, good ergos for the passenger (my short arm could reach the grab bar, seat-to-footpeg ratios for people with actual legs, good view from raised rear seat, etc.) a pleasant and very willing motor that feels like a super-smooth single due to crazy firing order, headlights that magically turn nighttime into day for miles around, and very good looking...except for the ginormous muffler I think I could get into this 2-up adventuring stuff...it was fun to sit back and enjoy the ride for once. A huge thank-you to our buddy David for trusting us enough to offer up his new ride to us, and also a big to our buddy David for potentially causing us to spend a large sum of money in the future so we can do this sort of thing more often WoodsChick
Nice to see you enjoying the big bike experience. It opens up some options and closes others, but there's still plenty of enjoyment to be had. Beautiful sunset you got there! Why would you buy an old Suzuki standard for adventure riding? I know they made a GS1100E and a GS1100G, but I don't recall the R.
Very sorry to hear you broke your shoulder. I'm glad you are on the mend and doing better. I look forward to reading more of your GREAT ride reports soon as I enjoy them so very much. A group of about 40 friends rode last Sunday on some pretty tight / technical stuff here in SC. There were a lot of fast movers and I got passed so fast, I thought my bike stalled ..lol. At 58, I'm happy to just ride and enjoy the day. I crashed my Husky about 4 times, once hitting a tree...they don't seem to move at all. Both bike and I were OK though. In any case it was indeed a good day riding with everyone. I took some pictures and as soon as I figure how to get them on Cafe Husky, will post them. I'm not real computer savy. Again I hope the healing process is easier as time progresses. Take care and God bless.
