Modern Vespa

Earlier in the month GoPam and I transversed the USA on two very different machines, both of which proved reliable, even though for many days we were riding in 95 degrees plus.

I rode from San Jose to Glendale solo but from there to Kurtstown PA we rode as a pair.

Here is the route and the daily mileages -

Day 1 San Jose to Glendale CA - 351 miles
Day 2 Glendale to Mesquite NV - 377 miles
Day 3 Mesquite to Moab UT - 250 miles
Day 4 Moab to Aspen CO - 156 miles
Day 5 Aspen to Colorado Springs inc Pikes Peak - 184 miles
Day 6 Colorado Springs to Hays KS - 341 miles
Day 7 Hays to Oaklahoma City OK Via Witchita - 323 miles
Day 8 Oaklahoma City to Little Rock AR - 339 miles
Day 9 Little Rock to Nashville TN - 349 miles
Day 10 Nashville to Hendersonville NC - 313 miles
Day 11 Hendersonville to Charlestown WV - 305 miles
Day 12 Charlestown to Somerset PA. around 231miles
Day 13 Somerset to Kurtztown PA. Possibly 202 miles.
Day off
Day 15 Kurtztown to Wildwood Crest - 162 miles

The next day Pam headed off to Maryland and I hung on a day then set off for Wildwood Crest via Phillidelpia to stay with friends for a week.

We were reunited a couple of days later but then she started her way back West home to LA while I crashed out in the New Jersey heat.

I think that we laughed and sweated in equal amounts during the ride but even though we had a couple of issues we resolved them quickly mostly due to the helpfulness of localised motorcycle dealers.

Last edited by Bill Dog on Fri Jul 29, 2022 12:01 pm; edited 1 time in total

Any pictures? It sounds like an epic tour.

An epic adventure. And what did each of you ride?

Pam rode a BMW R9T and I had a 2007 Suzuki Burgman 400 with about 50,000 miles on it and I have to say it was brilliant by returning 56 mpg all day every day.

The Suzuki is now for sale and being stored near Cape May New Jersey.

Pictures and video will follow at a later date.

A total of 3883 miles ridden.

You must have been really moving along quick to just get 56mpg. My 2008 Burgman get 69 mph, but I don't really go over 70mph much. They are great cruisers for just 400cc.

Much of the time we were riding between 75 and 80 mph indicated.

We rode on two lane highways when we really had to but most of it was on the highway because we like to actually get there before it reached 100 degrees.

There were many highlights such as -

Riding out of LA at 5.15 am and smelling weed on the highway.

Being transfixed by the huge Solar Farm in Nevada.

Meeting the best looking Barista/Adonnis/Physcopath in Moab.

Meeting a Waitress who identified as an OCD Squirrel.

Having Lunch in a Waffle House in 98 degrees with broken AC.

Having to explain who Father Christmas is while crying with laughter.

Getting the last room in a hotel while getting the best and the worst Customer Service at the same time.

Fending off the advances of an amorous Manager of a Hotel in Kansas.

Attempting to ride the Burgman up Pikes Peak with no oxygen and then getting pulled over.

Route 81 just south of Wichita. What a road.

Oaklahoma City or as I call it Zombie Town.

Meeting Trout Bum, Miguel and Feb31st.

Running very low on fuel and finding a gas station with no gas.

Running very low on fuel then finding a gas station with no power.

The level of Customer Service at Suzuki Dealerships. Unbelievably high.

Killing the Burgman battery by being a sausage fingered twat.

The effect that La Crosse can have on all of us.

Realising that there are two Nashvilles.

Riding with an incredible Woman who made me laugh more than my own reflection.

Carving through the canyons in Utah and the sheer beauty of North Carolina and West Virginia.

I feel that I have to ask. Was this you, Pam or both of you?

I didn't know Max was a hotel manager.

Neither one of them would be able to fend off my amorous advances for very long. My powers of seduction are still pretty intact.

Fair. I can't argue with that. I feel bad because we rode straight by your home town while on our way to Oaklahoma City.

The Manageress, who I'd met in the past had reserved two rooms for us which was a bit pressumptious as we'd been sharing a room up to this point and she seemed a little disappointed that I didn't invite her to my room once we'd showererd.

To confirm this suspicion that I was being targeted for love as we were leaving she leaned in and said - The next time you stay I'm going to visit your room. Which was enough reason not to. Visit again that is.

She was really nice but romance wasn't on my list after 350 miles of riding.

Insert your own joke.

Okay, I'll take the bait.

Bill Dog has obviously stayed here before.[/u]

Next door was a Terrible's Hotel and Casino that was so Terrible they closed it.

Just Terrible.

It must take a lot of nerve for someone to just come on to you like that without any provocation or attempt at seduction on your part. I could never imagine me doing anything like that.

I can.

Now that report makes my day. Glad you had a good time.

I can't imagine why.

We both had a brilliant time. I can't remember laughing so much for so long while riding.

Every day at around 3 to 4pm something would go a bit wrong but nothing so bad that we couldn't resolve within minutes.

I'll put my hand up to leaving the Burgman's ignition in the Park position with the running light on one night so by the morning the battery had run flat but Battery Pack Pam brought it back to life and I did sail past a sign saying last fuel for 150 miles when we both had half a tank so back we went to top up rather than run dry.

I'll let Pam tell the Bear Creek Mountain Resort story because I can't do it justice.

I'll do the Antlers Hotel Event a little later.

Technically, that was my battery pack. You're welcome!

Thanks regardless.

It ran like a sack of shit for about an hour while it recharged itself but then started on the button every time after that.

The only time it really burnt any amount of oil was when we rode up pikes peak when it was chugging a little as there wasn't any oxygen so I was running wide on the bends and using as much momentum as possible to make it through the corners.

Apart from that it barely burnt a drop. It had an oil and filter change 500 miles from the end to aswage the guilt.

What a brilliant piece of kit.

They really are a great machines. While not the most agile scoot in town, it is great on the road, a fantastic cruiser for the highway or even back roads. The only downer is when there
is some work to do on it, you do have to remove a fair amount of the panels.. But that does not happen too often.

Yeah the only two issues were a headlight bulb going pop on the eve of the ride and that got fixed the same day and the Oil Change light coming on in North Carolina and that resolved the nexy day by a really helpful multi franchise dealer in Hendersonville.

Yes it's heavy but it's solid and nothing broke.

I leave for the US weighing 15 Stone and 7 lbs.

I return weighing 14 Stone and 5 lbs.

Explain that.

American cuisine tends to lean toward healthier fare than overseas. Everyone knows that.

Irony detected.

Bill Dog,

I think I am too old for that pace of adventure. The mind is willing, but
the body is not. I have noticed that you. on the other hand, are a
Iron Butt aficionado. Many moons ago, far far away, I would log that
many miles. Perhaps, not that many days in a row.

Thanks for the super trip details. I especially liked the memory high points.
I really got a kick out of smelling weed in California. Those left coast folks
are out in orbit on their own planet.

I also second the notion that those Suzuki's are bullet proof. As reported, the
gas milage would be lower at constant high rpms and high winds. On mine, I
found the machine to be so reliable, I never checked the oil level.. At oil
changes, the tech would report that it had not burned a drop.

Thanks again for the ride report.

Bob Copeland
Frostbite Falls has melted - hotter than heck here!


Dog, that was a bunch of miles amigo! You also didn't hit any wild animals. Yesterday,
a motorcycle hit a black bear here in MN (killed it) rider just scraps.

I have to hand it to the Burgman. It performed incredibly well when you consider just how high the rpms were most of the time and the heat we rode through.

I also had a bunch of fun with it in the twisties when the opportunity arose.

The list of events above is about half of the stuff worth mentioning so I'm sure more will slip out when Pam finishes her ride.

We also got cursed out by a few drivers which was really funny as well as me turning into an absolute hypocrite when I spotted a rider on a V Strom.

That's a story for another day.

Tears at the departure gate?

You probably cut back on your meals after seeing the size of the average American.

I was doing that Breakfast like a King thing so that I didn't feel hungry later in the day and tried to drink less coffee but as I did very little walking while I was away I'm going to blame my weight loss purely on diet.

We followed a guy on a V Strom off the highway when we were looking for fuel and like an eager puppy I bounded up to him in 95 degrees to tell him that I had the same bike except that it's a Kawasaki KLV built by Suzuki.

I soon realised that I was being the very person that I couldn't bare when I had the Royal Enfield.

Speaking of which I'm taking Godzilla to Mulhouse and Riems in France at the weekend and then on to Stuttgart midweek as the BMW is still broken.

Pam and I soon realised her Google Maps was far better than my Waze as it was forever searching for a network but this meant that I was wringing the Burgman's neck to keep up her BMW so we agreed that I would lead for the majority of the time and Pam would blast past for the changes in direction.

Navigating Nashville and Phillidelpia got a little "videogamey" at times but we rarely had to stop to check our directions.

I presume you didn't run into any hot dog eating contest.

In a bizarre coincidence we watched one on TV from a Pizzeria in Charlestown WV.

I saw that too.

if I may ask what exactly did you eat for your all Champion breakfast?

Is the UK the only place in the world that uses "stone" as a unit of weight. I always have to look up the conversion: 1 stone = 14 lbs = 6.4 kg

Miguel

We only really use it for an actual human's weight. We never really use just pounds for that purpose. Maybe because our currency is pounds?

https://www.essentiallysports.com/f1-news-how-much-weight-do-f1-drivers-lose-during-a-race/

Except for babies.

Is "Stone" used as an official measure for human weight on government and medical forms? Do scales for weighing people show weight in Stone?

Miguel, 12 Stone and 7 lbs