Sport Touring on the SV from Seattle to Northern California
By Phil Wong

A friend with a Beemer 1150 RT called to ask if I wanted to blast down to California with him for a long weekend in early October. He needed a new seat and had an appointment at Russell Day Long in Redding

Sure, why not.

Time to get away and see what the "Ichiro the Suzuki" could do on a longer trip. I easily managed to get all my clothes for four days into the Givi box mounted where the pillion seat used to be. Soft saddlebags held the fishing gear I hoped to use on the Upper Sacramento River while Mike was getting his seat done. The tank bag held the assorted goodies, water and electronics, Autocom, 2 way radio for communications, Walkman. GPS perched on the handlebar mount.

The night before, I did one last check of the bike. It had been commuting regularly the last month so it was in good shape. Everything was fine except the rear tire was very low. I should be checking that all the time but the quick trip to work didn't really merit the check each day, did it? I raised the pressure to the recommendation and checked the tire for obvious flaws. The tire was flattened in the middle after 7000 miles but otherwise, nothing. So I crossed my fingers and berated myself for neglecting my bike. However, I did not sleep easily as I hoped for a fully inflated tire in the morning, listened to the rain on the window and anxiously anticipated a quick getaway in the morning.

Thursday morning. The rain hadn't blown through and it would be a wet first day. The tire was a fully inflated 36 pounds. Great. But I resolved to check it at each stop just in case. Rain fell from Seattle to Gig Harbor to pick up Mike. More rain down I-5 to Portland on the way to hopefully drier Central Oregon. I could feel the wet creeping inside the Joe Rocket two piece suit but thought ahead to wear fleece which kept me from feeling cold. Over the top of Mt. Hood, the rain relented and the roads got dry and a lot more fun.
We spent the first night in Klamath Falls after buzzing down US 97. 500+ miles the first day. We hooked up with another Beemer, an 1150 GS who would ride with us the next day to Redding on his way south to SFO. He had been spending the last weeks in Seattle and was touring south.

Friday morning was foggy. But the rear tire was still rock solid at 36 pounds. It was time to finally relax. We cruised carefully through the fog on Oregon 36, until it started to warm a bit and finally had blue sky all around for the first time in nearly 24 hours. We buzzed CA 136 to US 299 to Redding with sun, curves, minimal traffic. A great ride! We kept speeds in the 80s for the most part since we weren't in a hurry. We passed the few cars with triple digit bursts but we couldn't match the Mercedes who passed us at speeds above the top end of the SV. By the time we reached Redding, it was the temperature that was in the 80's. A mesh jacket sounded good now.

Dinner was in Weaverville, 50 twisty miles of US 299 to the west of Redding. After dinner, I notice something on the rear tire which looks suspiciously like a nail. Damn! The bad news is that I had been probably riding on a nail for the past 750 miles. The good news is that the tire is still full. Knowing that there really is a nail in back made for a slow ride back to Redding.

Fortunately the local shop in Redding was open early on Saturday and I could replace the back end with some new rubber. I had planned to finish the trip and put on some Bridgestones. But all the shop has are stock Metzelers. It worked for me, not that I had a real choice. I was wrong about riding on a nail though. There were THREE nails and a staple in the tire. Worst of all, fishing was out with all of the messing around.

We left Redding at 4 on Saturday and headed north with shorts under our gear. From the 80's in Redding, the temperature dropped steadily into the northern California hills and we froze across the Oregon Border. We gassed up, added warm clothes and rode on to Grants Pass for the night. We planned to leave at seven Sunday morning but Mike woke up at 5. A quick shower to wake up and we're off. A surprisingly twisty I-5 became an incredible ride in the dark as we quickly buzzed north. An hour later, the sun rose and the rest of the trip was an unremarkable ride up I-5.

Nearly 1500 miles in three and a half days riding. The SV is fine as a tourer if set up for it. What did I learn? Check the bike every day. You never know which day that nail will come to bite you. A comfortable seat is imperative. Mine is a stock seat with gel added and cut down to match my short inseam. Hard bags are very nice. Rain covers will fly off at speed and melt on an exhaust pipe. A wind screen, heated grips and heated vest are very handy, (especially if the vest works, something else I forgot to check regularly.) My Joe Rocket gear leaks some, time to waterproof the zippers. Autocom for communications works great at triple digit speeds. Expensive but worth it. Changing batteries in the various electronic devices can get old. Its time to devise a multiple output power supply. The SV can easily manage reasonably brisk cruising speeds all day and can match the purpose designed touring Beemer mile for mile except in range. I have since identified a small one gallon jerry can to minimize scanning the horizon for gas stations. As it was, I was always good for at least 160 miles, though sometimes, not much more

Now I have a long, dark winter to plan for the long ride next summer.

SEPTEMBER