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Ride to Multnomah falls


pdx650

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Good day, fellow Vfr riders.

 

     I’m heading to Multnomah falls via the scenic hwy off of Troutdale exit (16) east off of I-84. Anybody want to accompany?

     Last week I did a boring route. Went on 205 north from the Bridgeport area to the sellwood bridge to hwy 26 west. Exited at Jackson school road going south. Went through west side of Hillsboro on towards hwy 219 south towards Sherwood and ended near Tualatin. My a$$ was sore, holy cow. I’m not a spring chicken anymore. And that’s with a sergeant seat. Not stock, although I still have the stock seat. 
    Have a great day every one.

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Ducnut, 

 

Hi there. Where is swfl? Southwest Florida? Sorry, not familiar with the lingo. 
 

     Well, today was pleasantly sunny. 43.3 miles to the crown point vista house overlooking the gorge. I forgot my frakin’ mask (battlestar galactica reference anyone? No…? Okay never mind) and I had to use my shirt as a face covering to go inside the vista house. Anyway. Me backside was getting a bit sore after nearing the end of my ride back home. Had some chow and headed back out to check out a brand new (6.7 miles on the clock) royal enfield continental gt 650 at the Tigard Harley Davidson shop. It is a distributor of the RE. It is a tad tall. My feet lay flat on the ground whilst sitting on my vfr, but noticeably not so flat when seated on the gt in the showroom floor. I am taking it for a test ride tomorrow. Two new gts were sold yesterday. I’ll get a photo of it to share. It looks very nice. I might need a heavily padded seat if I ever get a gt.

 

20220225: Updating info: I originally posted this message above on 2 October 2021. Eight days later my 47 year-old hot ‘Kiwi’ (NewZealand) wife cheated on me. She would say we were separated. I disagree on the technicalities of this claim. I asked her on the night of the 13th of October, as she was walking out of the neighbors house, and she admitted to it. The next door neighbor is 15 years older than her. WTF?! The SOB was 62 years old last October. Yuck. And the other neighbor actually congratulated him for doing it through her. What an asshole. Divorce pending.

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Superfunkomatic,

 

     Until I looked it up on my map, I never heard of rowena curves. Now I know where they are, but I’ve never ridden that far on two wheels before.  
     On a different note, I did test ride this royal enfield today. That’s not me standing by the bike. That’s Phil, a sales rep. at the Harley dealer in Tigard, oregon. It was a quick and fun ride. It is new (2022), but I don’t want to give up my vfr. 

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Rowena curves is a remnant of the old US 30 alignment before the interstate highway system.  The viewpoint up there is the best view in the Gorge.  Worth the ride.  If going on a w/e, be VERY careful of our friends on human powered two wheels . . . I've ridden it many times and had probably gotten a bit too complacent on one occasion going East.  Climbing the grade was well leaned over in a left hander, going plenty fast and had an "Oh F*2K" moment as I got just past the apex and found 3 bicycles 3 abreast in the corner.  A bit more trail braking and leaned it in to the max and I squeaked by them.  It could have ended badly.  It was bad judgement on my part, but also on the bicycles - riding 3 abreast through corners is just plain suicidal.  Anyway, some moderated speed through some of those is a good idea unless there is plenty of visibility - there are tons of bicycles on it over the summer weekends. 

 

Another place with a spectacular Gorge view is just off SR 14  . . . Take Cook-Underwood road turnoff about 1/8 mile West of SR14 / SR141 intersection, follow Cook-Underwood uphill 3 miles to left hand turnout. Spectacular view of the Gorge and Hood on a sunny day.  Can also see Hood River across the River as well as H/R bridge.  Best views are in a.m. up 'till noon when sun is at your back for viewing Hood. 

 

https://goo.gl/maps/F7uLSoXtLPSmbsHZ6

 

As far as sore arse goes, best antidote for that is mileage.  The backside will toughen up to it as the miles pile up.  I go through that every spring. 

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Sounds like a nice ride.  Thanks for sharing the photos!

 

The local BMW dealer also sells Royal Enfield.  I briefly looked at a couple last year when I was bike shopping.  Not that I'm a speed demon, but I just couldn't have one of those as my only bike.  I bet they're fun to run around on, maybe even do some easy trips on, but it just wasn't a bike I was going to fall in love with.  Having said that, if my only bike was an adventure or touring bike, a Royal Enfield would make sense for a daily rider - commuting, running errands, etc.  😉

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  • 4 months later...

I test rode the ‘22 RE INT650 two weeks ago. I liked it, but I am not going to sell my vfr for it. I would rather have two bikes. Also, I just installed the Givi side racks and top case mount on my vfr last Wednesday evening. I am adding a stock photo to show you. I don’t have the large cases or a top case. I do have a pair of the older E-21 smaller, rounded cases my wife got me over a year ago.

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RE: One of my riding buddies has a Himalayan and loves it. I've ridden with him on and off road and he does fine. 

 

VFR: I own the old style bags and like them more than the newer ones. E36 sides and E45 top, but I'm running the 36s on top. I think that the 45 just looks goofy unless you/re really on a long trip. 

 

3: Why would you limit yourself to three bikes? Are you into self punishment? 😛

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Along the RE is this SWM I really like. Unfortunately, it’s not available in the states. 
 

 

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Reading through this thread again...very sorry to hear about your divorce, @pdx650.  That really stinks.  If there is a bright side, if you're single you can go ride as much as you want and never have to worry about a resentful spouse.  Anyway, I hope things get better for you soon!

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  • 1 month later...

Rode on the 2nd of April with ocmag (oregon city motorcycle adventure group). There were six of us. I’m second from the left and the only Interceptor.

And I installed my Givi rack setup I bought as a Christmas gift to myself.

 

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At Bmart: I’m sorry. I just noticed, today 12 April ‘22, your response. I apologize. 1: Thanks for letting me know about your friend and his Himalayan. Good to read. 
2: I have not ridden, ever, with a top case. I only just now ever started riding with any cases. New experience for me. My uncle says he will never ride with a top case, will ride with side cases, but a duffel he would put on a rack or on the seat on the back. Never a top case though.

3: About the self-punishment: Routinely, I visit my dominatrix just for the kicks……oh…..oops, you meant how many motorbikes. I got it now. That kind of self-punishment. Disregard the former and stick to the latter. 😉


At Ducnut: I like the look of that SWM. A bit of a scrambler look to it. 
 

At TimC: Thanks for the thoughts. I appreciate it. There is a lot to say. One thing: I should have never left my first wife. She was a much better wife to me. The grass is never greener on the other side of the fence. I like your outlook on not having to worry about a spouse wondering where I am and why I’m not back yet, unless she’s riding with you/me/anybody on your ride or on her own ride. That would be nice. No, I have not a new person to be connected to. If I did, it would be my first wife. I can find a photo of her and I together and I will put one up. I don’t mind sharing. And, thanks, I hope things get better for me too. I appreciate that. I hope life is going well for you and all of us bike riders on this site. Thanks.

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Why no top case? It is the one that makes the most sense to me. 

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Once you have a topcase you'll wonder how you did without it.  Despite the fact that I'm not crazy about how the TC looks on my 6th gen, I find myself keeping it on all the time - I use it constantly.  I sort of have a love / hate relationship with it, but the utility of it wins out.

 

Good group photo.  I'm not sure you could have a much more diverse line up of bikes. 

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2 hours ago, Cogswell said:

Once you have a topcase you'll wonder how you did without it.  Despite the fact that I'm not crazy about how the TC looks on my 6th gen, I find myself keeping it on all the time - I use it constantly.  I sort of have a love / hate relationship with it, but the utility of it wins out.

 

Cogs, you have described my feelings about top cases exactly!

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23 hours ago, pdx650 said:

Rode on the 2nd of April with ocmag (oregon city motorcycle adventure group). There were six of us. I’m second from the left and the only Interceptor.

And I installed my Givi rack setup I bought as a Christmas gift to myself.

 

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Looks like a great group to ride with. But only you show great taste in mc'c. :biggrin:

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On 4/12/2022 at 5:08 PM, bmart said:

Why no top case? It is the one that makes the most sense to me. 

At Bmart, I don’t mind having one. I have to save up for one. It was just an opinion my Uncle emailed me. I don’t know why he feels that way. He just does. 
 

     Here are three photos of my first wife, Jen, and our kids. The last photo is of us three dressed up, is when we were in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany in 2009-2010. There is a U.S. military hotel there for military families for sight seeing. While there, we went to the Zugspite (the tallest place in the Alps bordering Austria and Germany at 9,718 feet) in a cable tram and was a very scary endeavor for me since I’m afraid of heights. She made all three of the traditional ‘dirndls’ that they are wearing. I had no lederhosen to wear. (I was in the US Army, Active duty at the time. Now, Reserves). While stationed in Germany, we went to the Neuschwanstein castle, in Austria, (commonly referred to as the inspiration for the Disney Castle). No photos allowed inside. We went to the ‘Eagles Nest’ aka: Kehlstein Haus that was built for Adolf Hitler outside of Berchtesgaden. If you have ever seen HBO’s Band of Brothers, it’s ‘that’ place. Excellent views and had a late lunch of venison. We went to Munich a lot because we lived really close to it, at Katterbach Kaserne, near Ansbach, Bavaria. 
 

I miss my first wife and I am an idiot. I think she’s smokin’ hot.

On 4/12/2022 at 5:08 PM, bmart said:

 

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On 4/12/2022 at 8:24 PM, St. Stephen said:

Cogs, you have described my feelings about top cases exactly!

To both of you fine ‘gents’, I agree. I will have to try one out first. It does look a bit ‘off’, but I am as well a bit off. So, maybe, it’s perfect for me. Also, is there a specific model of ‘Monokey’ version I should try out first? Luggage capacity vs…..? 
 

Thank you for your input.

 

jim

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On 4/13/2022 at 3:18 AM, Dutchy said:

I rest my case ! :tongue:

 

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Dutchy, you made me chuckle. Haha. Thanks.

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On 4/13/2022 at 2:40 PM, MaxSwell said:

Looks like a great group to ride with. But only you show great taste in mc'c. :biggrin:

MaxSwell,  haha. Yes, only I showed great ‘gentlemen’s’ taste in riding a vfr. Thanks for that. Hehehehe.

 

Also, I’m taking a plunge into the Givi sport touring D200S model wind screen option. I am ready to try out what less air resistance feels like on my chest. It’s not too spendy and the benefit is what I am looking forward to. 

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11 hours ago, pdx650 said:

To both of you fine ‘gents’, I agree. I will have to try one out first. It does look a bit ‘off’, but I am as well a bit off. So, maybe, it’s perfect for me. Also, is there a specific model of ‘Monokey’ version I should try out first? Luggage capacity vs…..? 
 

Thank you for your input.

 

jim

One size criteria some owners use is whether it will hold a helmet.  Tho my TC will hold one,  I never use it for that.  It can be nice to to be able to have it safely stored when away from the bike. 

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On 4/16/2022 at 10:44 PM, pdx650 said:

MaxSwell,  haha. Yes, only I showed great ‘gentlemen’s’ taste in riding a vfr. Thanks for that. Hehehehe.

 

Also, I’m taking a plunge into the Givi sport touring D200S model wind screen option. I am ready to try out what less air resistance feels like on my chest. It’s not too spendy and the benefit is what I am looking forward to. 

The D200S works fabulous for me. Please let me know what you think of it after you've used it for a while.

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