Member Contributer SGVridgerunner Posted August 4, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted August 4, 2008 Well, I have now finally experienced the full VFR spectrum. I've been pretty much commuting and running the canyons with it since I bought it, and I was always curious to try out this "Touring" thing. What? no comfy reclining seat? No wind protection? NO AC???? I've put in some pretty long days before in teh local mountians, but I've never ridden this far from home before. So I started prepping by picking up a set of OEM hardbags on Ebay (What a Godsend these are). Then I spent the week checking the bikes and trying out different gear layouts to optimize the storage space we had. I was amazed at what we were able to fit. We departed Beaumont, CA at around 0530 to make the 170 mile trip to the meetup point at Starky's in Santa Barbara, CA (SB). I was so worried that we were going to show up late and miss the boat, that I had Keri lead on the Hayabusa. No problem making up time now! :goofy: :biggrin: We actually ended up intercepting (no pun intended) Birdman on the 101 enroute to Starky's. It was his red painted/polished rear wheel that gave him away (mine's painted exactly the same), that I spotted him from a good half-mile away. We all rolled in to SB and had breakfast waiting for the rest of the group. I like how my bike (middle) is doing the permanent wheelie on the centerstand from all the junk in the trunk :biggrin: :wheel: We departed SB and headed up the 101 to the 154 to take the mountian pass over to the other side of North SB. This is actually a shorter route than taking the freeway and is much more scenic. The only problem is that we didn't plan on the road construction which had both directions shut down and used a pilot car to get people through. Fortunately, it only set us back about 20 minutes. We were back on the 101 in no time and transitioned to the 1 for the rest of the trip. (Video to be inserted here later) We stopped in Cambria and had lunch at our favorite BBQ spot the Main Street Grill. If you've never been here, make a point to stop in next time. Keri and I were camping onsite and exited at Hwy68 and headed for the track. Now, we've been camping at Seca for many, many years and have been to many events there. I have never had such a worst time at this facility that this trip. Our camping was on Fox hill which was dedicated to motorcyclists and was supposed to be graded and prepped for camping. Was it? - HELL NO. They didn't even have sidestand pucks available even though our camping pass said they would. So. I'm looking for a camping spot on the side this hill (with helmet off cause I'm sweating like crazy and cranky) and start to set the bike on it's side, my helmet slips off and lands on the ground. Oh well, it's not like it's going to roll all the way down the...yup, there it goes. I can't even jump off the bike and chase it, cause the bike will tip over in the sand. So my helmet rolls and bounces all the way down the hill. To make matters worse, we set up the tent and find that our trusty, go everywhere with us, wedding present tent, decides to break the door zipper, so now we have no usable door. No worries, I checked the weather before hand, it's supposed to be cool, but mild and we've never had a bad experience here. WRONG, it was SO COLD!!!! There was a decent off-shore wind that night and guess where it hit us - right in the open door. This is what we woke up to every morning: That's the track in the background, nice huh. The weather channel said night lows partly cloudy in the mid-upper 50's. I turned on the VFR to check the air temp - 42 degrees!!! And all I brought was shorts!!! Things got better from there, especially once the racing started. We had hospitality suite passes off of turn four and got free food and drinks, so I was a happy camper (no, spectator, the camping still sucked) To keep the Busa from getting stolen, I came up with this security measure :fing02: (With a good view of the broken door) Here's a new one for ya!! Adventure-touring on a Hayabusa! People actually stopped what they were doing to watch me ride it up the hill. We had a great time at the races and got to see a lot of VFR's. Here is our whole gang (from the IE) hanging out with BLS and his schweet RC45 Check out his post for a video clip of the exhaust. After the first two nights of torture, we decided to stay in a hotel in Salinas Sunday to get rested up for the ride home. We took the 101 down, and had a great time while making great time. For those who still don't believe it, here's Keri riding the Busa: And...here's me. The car in the background was like, WTF? We made such great time that we stopped off in Solvang for some pastries and walking. We love Solvang. I REALLY love Solvang (or, pastries in general) So that was our trip. I would have liked a bigger group to ride with, but it was fun anyway, and the trip down of just Keri and was great too. We are definately doing this again, but one thing's for sure - I'm reserving better accomidations next year!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer spinalator Posted August 4, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted August 4, 2008 Don't you two look happy as clams! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 Nice report. Wife rides a Busa? I'm impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Old School Posted August 4, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted August 4, 2008 Did you go from a Hayabusa to a VFR? If so what are the pro's and con's? Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer SGVridgerunner Posted August 4, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 4, 2008 Did you go from a Hayabusa to a VFR? If so what are the pro's and con's?Stephen No, I got the VFR first, now we have both. I prefer a more aggressive riding position, so for me, there are no cons switching to a Busa. For other riders who prefer a more touring stance, the riding position of the Busa would be a con. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShayneJack Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 nice report Dave :rolleyes: too bad about the weather... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Always fun to ride with the wife. I tried to convince mine to go/ride to the race but if you check out where I live, its across the country. And she said What! I don't think so! I guess she didn't want to ride that far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer SGVridgerunner Posted August 5, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 5, 2008 Always fun to ride with the wife. I tried to convince mine to go/ride to the race but if you check out where I live, its across the country. And she said What! I don't think so! I guess she didn't want to ride that far. Yeah, this was a starter ride to see how we would do. We want to take a trip all the way up the coast someday, but it's the ride home that kills you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soichiro Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Nice report, thanks. Wife on a busa, sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer skuuter Posted August 5, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted August 5, 2008 Great Write-up and Pics........Motorcycle riding with your Wife is great.......CONGRATS....... :fing02: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 thanks for sharing....great pics...great time.... :fing02: Sweet Busa! I sat on one not to long ago and was impressed by the ergos. They feel much lighter than they look and felt extremely well-balanced...cool for her... And lucky you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Looks like a blast! Thanks for posting! :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFR Capt.Bob Posted August 6, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted August 6, 2008 Thanks for a great post ride post. I have to agree the racing and the ride up are the best with the camping at the track being just OK. I was at a nicer camp with real bathrooms and showers but the tiny tent I had to use to fit on the bike made it very awkward. Next year a room near Cannery Row is the ticket. You and the Missus should check out the cottages in Big Sur. Have to book a year in advance but the place is absolutely beautiful and worth it. Pfiefer Campgrounds, I believe. Short ride up Hwy 1 to the track each day. Everything from cottages, house tents, cabins, to tent spaces. On the side of a stream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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