On May 28th Ian and I packed up our sleeping bags and tent and headed out to Bucks Lake. We got a late start after I found a puddle of gas under my bike in the morning. I had left the petcock in prime position after changing out my pilot jets the night before which led to the discovery #4 float valve was leaking. I swapped out a float valve from my old RS-36 carbs and we were on the road by 10:30. My gas mileage increased from 34 mpg to 44 mpg.
We drove up the Mt Rose hwy and around the lake towards Kings Beach and down to Truckee. Lake Tahoe is Beautiful but once we got to the lake the traffic was so slow I felt like I was commuting .It was a relief to get back to open roads again on hwy 89.I'm still sporting my lockdown haircut.
We drove down hwy 89 through tall trees,high altitude meadows,rivers ,ponds and past old ranches untill we reached hwy 70.We rode into Quincy and stopped for gas then on up to Bucks Lake. It was even nicer than the last time we came up. The roads were now clean and almost all of the snow was melted. The temperature was in the mid eighty's. All the trees were leafed out . The dogwoods were in a massive bloom and plenty of wild flowers. We stopped at Bucks lodge and talked Rebecca into renting us a room at the Timberline Inn.I think we got Pat and Paul's room. We found out later we were there with a construction crew who were laying pipe down by the lake.
After checking in and unpacking we drove down hwy 119 to the oroville dam.119 was a really nice stretch of road about 45 or 50 miles of slalom like road twisting left then right all the way down to the dam. I can't keep using the word beautiful because the entire ride was top notch scenery. At the dam we took 162 untill we hit Forbes road where we headed east to hwy 120 Quincy Laporte road which we rode back to hwy 70 just east of Quincy. This section was the most thrilling of our trip. It rises up to a high summit and back down again. There were many diminishing radius corners. Sections of it are similar to the mini dragon down in RPMs stomping grounds. We stopped in Quincy for an inside dining meal at the Paradise Grill ,then drove back up to Bucks Lake. At 9:00pm there was no traffic untill two miles from the lodge. There we followed a work truck untill it to turned into the Timberline Inn. Apparently we scared the shit out of the driver of the truck when we pulled in behind him but all was good after we introduced ourselves as the only non essential workers.
Friday morning we rode back down to the dam and then into Oroville heading to the section of hwy seventy that runs up the Feather river canyon. We stopped for lunch and when getting ready to leave I discovered my rear tire that I put on in january and only had 2400 miles on it was now bald and showing its first threads. There was nothing I could do about it so up the canyon we rode. The Feather river canyon is a nice stretch of road,the most scenic of the trip. It is twisty but not particularly thrilling. It is a great rode for two up riding. By the time we got back to Quincy I had a complete stripe around my tire. We still had 90 miles back to Reno on the shortest route so we had to cut the trip short and head home. This area has very nice roads. We only hit half of what we wanted to ride. It could have been a good rally if the shutdown had not occurred. When I got home I pronounced my tire dead at 2648 miles.
What a great trip! Nice pictures too the Nature looks very similar to here in Norway.I think its about time for a new rear tire :good:
Can always hold WCR 2021 at Bucks Lake. It looks like the right kind of environment.
2648 is about half what a Michelin gets. Even then I've never seen the wires. Are you doing burn outs at every stop sign?
Maybe they wear quicker at altitude?
my last michelin road 5's tended to overheat and had interesting wear. this was ridden on the same roads as the pirelli tires and same pace
You are a BEAST Ian!!! Or just cheap bastard like myself...
Goodness, those are toast.
Tires must fall into the personal taste/style category and when you find the ones that work for you, make note.
I marvel at how far tire tech has advanced since those nervous tea trolley offerings of the 80s, when I first started riding.
The perfect tire is out there for the both of you. Keep experimenting.
pics...finger got in the way taking action shots while riding
pics
more pics
more
Quote from: FJmonkey on June 06, 2020, 08:24:28 PM
You are a BEAST Ian!!! Or just cheap bastard like myself...
I'd like to think a little of both. ;p I tried to only run it until the middle of the tire hit the bar indicator, you can slightly see the center grove left on the rear
Well Ian your pictures are sideways. I see you got a picture of the Oroville local we met five or six miles above the dam. The gentleman was riding an 88 Honda Hawk 650. He looked to be in his mid to upper seventys. He left in front of us heading down to the dam. I was wondering if it would be rude to pass him but I didn't have to worry about it since after the first four or five corners I didn't see him again untill we ran up on traffic. Never judge a book by it's cover,or engine displacement.
I have reposted in this thread so that any one who is thinking of attending a 2022 W C R can see pictures of some of the ride possibility in the area .
nice.
2022 WCR rally possibility number 4 - Buck's lake
Quote from: T Legg on March 12, 2022, 12:49:52 AM
I have reposted in this thread so that any one who is thinking of attending a 2022 W C R can see pictures of some of the ride possibility in the area .
Travis,
If this is the location for the 2022 WCR, you should post all of the information for the exact location, lodging accommodations and rates ASAP over on the WCR thread.
Fred
Quote from: aviationfred on April 06, 2022, 04:15:35 AM
Quote from: T Legg on March 12, 2022, 12:49:52 AM
I have reposted in this thread so that any one who is thinking of attending a 2022 W C R can see pictures of some of the ride possibility in the area .
Travis,
If this is the location for the 2022 WCR, you should post all of the information for the exact location, lodging accommodations and rates ASAP over on the WCR thread.
Fred
Fred all the roads we rode on our Bucks lake trip are reachable from the thunder hill raceway area as an option for those who wanted to attend the WCR but not do the track day part . The Bucks lake area would also be a great area on its own for the rally if the track day option is decided against . I know Bucks lake lodge and the Timberline Inn survived covid and the fires. I will call and see if the facility's are available and what the room rates are now for the sake of discussion . It is a great area to ride . Travis