After we wrapped up the Washougal WORCS race on Saturday my motorcycle vacation wasnt quite over. I sold my trust old F150 ...which you have all seen loaded with red motorcycles in Bill's parking lot ... to my brother in Bend. Now to figure out the logistics of the transfer ... lets see I have 2 more days off and a "dual sport" motorcycle (TE250) and an unused Giant Loop Fandango ... First I mounted the taller gearing and chain that came with the bike, then I loaded the TE250 in the back of the pickup, headed north from Eugene, popped into BMP in Salem to mount some Shinko 705s and drove to Bend on Monday. Spent the evening with my brother and took off in nice 50+ degree weather early Tuesday. Stopped in Sisters for breakfast of French Toast with Applesauce ... If you are interested, Sisters is a bit of a theme tourist town about 30 minutes northwest of Bend. A nice side trip if you come to China Hat 2 this October.
Gassed up in Sisters (with only 2 gallons to work with I carried an MSR bottle spare and took the route with the shortest distance between gas stations.) Fortunately that is the legendary Old McKenzie Highway 242... ...which winds through some beautiful pine forests and extensive lava fields...... ..with this nice little park at the top where I ran into some riders from Alberta Canada ...... Heading down into the Willamette Valley ... (see next post)
Then I mounted up and rode the rest of the way home. Never did have to stop for gas until I got home ... 60mpg and my butt was numb :-) It was a great day and the TE and I arrived in better condition than when we left.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gDfxMDT8MwRydLA1cj72BTJw8jAwjQL8h2VAQAzHJMsQ!!/?ss=110618&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&navid=110000000000000&recid=4403&ttype=recarea&pname=Willamette National Forest - Dee Wright Observatory http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Oregon/HighCascades/dee_wright_observatory.html
Yes, a lot of the parks in Oregon have WPA and CCC projects. Crater Lake and Timberline Lodge being the most famous.
Freeway speeds !!! The speed limit on highways, except freeways, in Oregon is 55 mph and I spent no time on a freeway .... at 60ish the vibration wasnt an issue and Bill's balanced the tires; it was comparable to my 610 on the highway. I did run it up to 70+ a couple times for passes. At 60 it is turning right around 7000rpm ... or just at the beginning of the powerband.
What gearing are you running? At 100km/h or 60m/h my TE 310 sits at around 8000rpm with 13/47 gearing (Changed from the stock 13/50). Also with such a small sprocket at the rear do you find you have to ride the clutch in 1st to take off from a stand still?
I will have to check the sprockets. All I did was swap the rear sprocket for the smaller one that came with the bike. Didnt touch the front. Pavement launches dont require any excess clutch slipping with this setup for me.
Well I hit the Freeway today for a 14mi run to work. Running the stock gearing ( DS 13/40) with 17s from my 510 SMR. Speedo was off with the 17s 10+. Ha Ha I was slowing down on my 250 on the Freeway. Big fun, I took the long road home. Weather in SC has been to good not to ride to work....
