choco

Thanks, it's not too late . . .

Come with Rob it's not too late, I'll at least buy you a beer. Have a heart to heart with your new boss I'm sure he'll understand show him the vfrd posts really try it!!!! Hey Derek and Tammy and Jeff who's staying with Pauline and me Tuesday night I need to plan dinner and need to see if anyone has room in saddlebags for T-shirts

It would seem they would want a two-up review as well. Jim glad your coming we will meet Wed. Night either at Best Western or brewpub to be named later after bikes are parked fed and rubbed down

In his article he said . . . "Fire the Interceptor to life and riders are greeted with a familiar V-Four cadence. I can’t vouch for improvements compared to the 2008 model, as I haven’t ridden the latter model . . . " I can supply him with just such a model year for his comparison (even has ABS and will have some brand new PR2's on it). Does that put me in contention? :smile2: It may, we will have to let him decide how many get a chance on it. In my opinion you and Jimbob are in the running because you were the first to request a ride on it. I'd like to see Jeff get a ride as he lost his beloved Viffer on an Oregon ride a couple of years ago, I would like a ride on it, so that's four already.

Breaking News! Bart Madsen from Motorcycle USA will be joining us for the Saturday ride around Twisted Sisters loop. He will be riding a 2014 Interceptor and hinted there may be some chance of a select few trying it .... Swapping bikes on the ride. He said not everyone will be able to and those that do have to sign some legal agreement !

Are you going to be able to Ride to HR with us or are you going to baker city?

I forgot to mention that the reason I invited them is because they are based out of Medford, Ore. The editor might be in Southern California and this article was from So Cal. Hey Oregon Trail riders, I noticed most of you have not added the Icon to your event ride merit badges, what gives?

So read this review on the 2014 VFR. I think it's a good review. It's from the on-line mag Motorcycle USA. I've written to them twice in the recent past inviting them on our Oregon Trails trip and asked them to bring a new VFR for us to try out. I mentioned that the VTEC is no concern and that I've got over 70,000 miles on mine. I wrote twice and never heard back, now I read this review and am confused, so I wrote the editor, author of the review, again and asked him who he was referring to when he said he has corresponded with someone with 70,000 miles and was planning on joining a Pacific Northwest VFR rally. http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/115/18858/Motorcycle-Article/2014-Honda-VFR-Interceptor-First-Ride.aspx All I can say at this point is huh?

Depends on which way we come down from Duvall. If we drop down from Yakima then we can take the Rowena curves back to Hood River

Purrfect

I just sent Cogswell a message about departure time on Thursday morning. If it takes you guys an hour from Portland we should be able to leave Hood River around 9-10. It's about 5 hours to Baker City, not counting stops.

I don't think that many are coming, a few dropped out, it will be a good sized group with a focus on riding some of the best roads. Should we just find you randomly parked by the roadside somewhere by chance? haha LOL! Yah ... maybe ... who knows? :^) Well, we had a lot of irons in the fire lately ... so was a bit tardy on booking rooms. Here's our tale of success and woe. The Hood River Best Western was out of the "VFRD" block of rooms ... but got us another room at the same price. But even with the discount ... it's a bit pricey for us. (The FunBudget is really getting a workout this summer.) So we may bag the room and just show up on Wednesday morning as Hood River is only an hour's ride from Portland. We'll see. Booked at the Bridge Street Inn in Baker City ... no problemo. Went to book in Bend. And ... uh-oh. Guess who discovered that there is a lacrosse tournament in town that weekend and all motels are booked for Friday and Saturday? But we lucked out and found a room at the Motel West just down the street from the Red Lion. About a 6 block walk or a short zip on the mo-mo. So we're in! eh. :^) 1. Choco 2. Axel_7 3. DfnsMn69 4. jimbob 5. MaxSwell 6. Willy 7. Veefer800Canuck 8. jviffer 9. Didit 10. Harhond60 11. yycviffer 12. YWGVIFFER 13. Radar 14. Huckleberry 15. E-Ticket 16. Flying Ant 17. GabeJ 18. VFRAG 19. Frogn8r 20. Q-Dawg 21. Dragonfly 22. FSAE 23. E-TIcket 24. Flying Ant (Susan P. : '04 Honda 600 F4i) Cheers! - ET

I am like a kid waiting to go to Disneyland

Is that the same one? surprised it hasn't sold. Your going to make fun of my sissy bike. Of course, why wouldn't I? By the way, You can ride ahead and clear the deer off the road for us, eh? Getting close to go time. I hope everybody has good tires, because the weather looks to be hot and the roads are conducive to rapid riding!!!

Jeff come come down early and we can go look at that Vfr in Lynwood

I'm on a tight schedule, so I'll probably be making the most direct (but interstate-free) route back to Edmonton... Looks like a good route, I may do the whole thing with you, not sure yet. It takes you past the Spruce Goose in McMinnville and through McMennimins Grand Lodge in Forest Grove. The road from there to Astoria is nice and the Astoria Bridge is pretty awesome.

I have a route book on west Oregon roads I'm thinking the best route nw to coast not sure yet I will look at your route when I get home from work

Not sure how that little side jaunt got in there, never noticed it before.

This is the ride that awaits us after we wake up in Baker City, It's called the Little Dragon. http://oregonmotorcyclist.com/ridepage.php?page=hwy245 Both sections are rewarding in their own way but it is the first half thrill ride that draws the motorcyclists. Beginning at the elusive Salisbury, there are less than two miles of easy riding until you hit the corners. Starting innocently enough with nice 45 mph sweepers it is only two miles before you see the first 20 mph corner. From there it doesn't let up until you're down the other side of the mountain. The 1700' elevation gain to the summit is about an eight mile ride with a steeper, seven mile descent down the south side. The pavement is great going over the mountain with some gravel in a few corners, due to the fact the shoulders are mostly nonexistent and the turns are so tight. This mountain run is great fun but very tecnhical. At first you see some suggested speed signs but after a while they seem to disappear and leave you on your own to judge appropriate entry speeds. Either the highway engineers figure you get the message by now or else they simply ran out of 20 and 25 mph signs :-) The road doesn't give you a break until about 15 miles when it begins to mellow with some nice 45 mph-type corners, a few welcome short straights and a less precipitous descent. At 16 miles you leave the forest and the land becomes rolling prairie. Following the Burnt River there are just enough curves, combined with great vistas of the river valley to keep the ride interesting. Even though you're off the mountain and the road is downright tame compared with the ride so far, it is not boring. If the whole ride was made up of this type, it would still be a worthwhile adventure. This is a remote and rugged landscape worthy of appreciation. At 20 miles the pavement gets a little rougher. Not bad, just not the near-perfect asphalt going up and over the mountain. A relaxing ride now with the occasional 40-45 mph sweepers, the view of the irrigated valley with herds of cattle and horses with a backdrop of distant mountains is fine indeed. A good time to reflect on the previous 20 miles. About the time you think all the fun stuff is behind you, at the 33 mile point the road takes a fairly dramatic turn for the better as you enter a narrow slot canyon just wide enough for the river and two lanes of asphalt. With a towering bluff on your right the road winds along the river in a series of wonderful compound curves for at least a mile. At the end of this canyon is Unity Dam and Unity Reservoir. Besides a few widely scattered farms along the valley, this is the first sign of real civilization since leaving Hwy 7. After passing the reservoir, the road is a real drone for the approximately five miles to Unity. This is a really fun road, especially the northern half, and well worth seeking out. I highly recommend it! Some of you remember this road, this is what we wake up to after the first night in Hood River. Derek, did you get a GoPro yet so poor Tammy can concentrate on hanging on? Just think after the long hot hard ride from Baker City to Bend, after the bikes are put on their center stands, chain lubed, bugs washed off, after a cold shower, then we have option, lots and lots of options: http://www.visitbend.com/Bend_Oregon_Map/Maps/Bend-Ale-Trail-Map/ This is the location of our hotel, Red Lion http://redlion.com/our-hotels/oregon/bend/map-directions/

This will be our Saturday Ride http://oregonmotorcyclist.com/ridepage.php?page=mckenzie_hwy http://oregonmotorcyclist.com/ridepage.php?page=aufderheide http://oregonmotorcyclist.com/ridepage.php?page=cascadelakes Oregon Motorcyclist Ride Report of what I call the Twisted Sister scenic byway. I intend to run this loop counter clockwise so we can get through the very tight McKenzie Curves before traffic, then the Aufderheide, then the Cascades Lake scenic highway back to Bend.

I have a room booked in Bend and am looking forward to meeting up with you all in Baker City in less than 3 weeks These last days will be very distracting at work. This is when we start counting down the sleeps. BTW, how come you are not riding down with us?

Awesome, you don't have far to ride, I suppose you can leave at noon and be in Hood River by late afternoon. I bet you watch the Motocross races there. Glad to have you and better get some T shirts.

Sorry to hear that, maybe next time.

There are three rooms left in the VFRD block at Red Lion Inn, The block will be dropped June 27 so I suggest get them booked, you can always back out later, you don't need to pay now, just give CC info. You guys know how it works. Also, order T shirts as soon as possible and I'll get them printed up and they will be waiting for us in Hood River.