My Clan Gathering Photos

[suecanada]

Here we go I hope:

http://sue5762.fotopic.net/c1537881.html

Now you will note there is one wee pic of a Suzuki DR200. Well....that's the bike the people at Micatech lent me while they had the new F650GS in for prototyping for new alum. sidecases! I had one heck of a good time on that bike as nhmaf will attest to I am sure. Mike took Stewart and I all along his favourite roads in s. NH and VT. You will see a pic or two of Mike's LS "Tillie". For some odd reason we arrived to meet him at the side of the road just short of the Micatech factory in Hillsboro. We suspect his gas was almost boiling or something. Lots of bubbles in his fuel filter and she was running rough. I think Tillie ran OK after cooling down and maybe letting off some vapour locked vapours when the gas cap was opened. Mike had just been caught in a tailback on the highway and it was very very hot. We all "melted" into the tarmac when we went to a nearby restaurant for cooling drinks. In Fact Tillie was found at a almost falling down drunk angle by the time we got outside again. Phew. Thank goodness we came out in time. As you can see Mike is one handsome guy!!

I may also have the one group photo where ALL of us are smiling and looking at the camera at the Gathering.

Someone asked if I had named the new bike. I was thinking I'd call it formally "Ascend". Why you ask? Well, the very first view of this bike was when Paul my dealer took me down into their assembly room at the dealership and opened the crate containing my bike..all I saw was its rear end....thus...ascend!!  Get it...assend!!!!

Ok, Ok.....maybe just Big Red most of the time will suffice?

[NC Steve]

Yes indeedy, Sue, I vote that you win the "Grand Prize", such as it were, for Best Group Shot.
That one's a keeper, for sure!  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Thanks for all the other pics too, and more details of your travels.
Why don't you plan to run down here weekend after next, for the big Ural Rally at Willville?  8-)

[not-so-fast-ed]

Thanks Sue.  
My wife loved the pic of me in my new chair wearing my new BMW shirt & hat.
Ed

[Melena]

Great pictures Sue.  It's almost like being there!  

[Ed Miller]

Why is it called an F650 if it's an 800?   :-/

I'm sure impressed with the mpg you mentioned in your other post.  I'll have to research that model.

[nhmaf]

Ed.

Leave it to the Germans - they've basically "detuned" the engine with different EFI mapping, softer cams, and I think smaller valves
such that the HP rating is ~70 HP (still substantial, but down from the F800's rating).  But, I think that the engine's displacement is
still 800cc, not 650cc.  So, for insurance/registration purposes, I don't see how this works/flies with them.  Surely, there are 800cc
bikes that make 70 (or less) HP, and there are 650cc bikes (or less) that make more HP, but at least engine displacement is a constant,
verifiable thing.  And displacement was/is used in many places to differentiate insurance and licensing requirements.

I haven't ridden one yet, but Sue's bike seems like a very interesting model to investigate !   I am sure that Sue's bike gets better
fuel mileage with someone her size on it than someone my size, though !

[msbuck]

[smiley=camera_sm.jpg] Yes, great pics Sue!  It's great to put a face to NHMAF as well.  Yep, he's one handsome guy alright! It's too bad that Jonathan got left out of the group shot - hey, Semper Gumby, you got your wife working on fixing that problem?   [smiley=whip.gif]

[Justin B.]

Makes me feel good seeing everybody wearing their r65.org gear!  

[SCJJR65]

Excellent pics, Sue! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Looks like everyone had a great time, too!  

[Melena]

Makes me feel good seeing everybody wearing their r65.org gear!  

Oh, yeah!  I was going to mention that.  And there are some nice pictures of "The Patch"  on a couple of those jackets.   [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[Ed Miller]

Sue, is that an Olympia Phantom one piece?  Looks like mine, which I bought after somebody mentioned it on a thread a long time ago.



Edit:  No, mine doesn't have those snap looking things along the edge.  I bet it's Olympia something though.

[jusgus]

Hey Sue, Great Pics.  Thanks for puting them up.

Where was the one on the dock taken?

[suecanada]

The jacket is the ladies AST Olympia hi-viz and I do like it a lot. Pretty waterproof for those afternoon rains and a bit hot for out west but the large vents really work!

The pic on the dock?? Hmmm. Nhmaf took us to the longest covered 2 span bridge in....NH/VT errrr....help me here Mike!!

[suecanada]

Oh yeah, I always forget to mention that those glasses I wear are NOT my usual eyewear. Normally I wear contacts or smaller framed glasses. Those aviation style ones are for riding only and they have progressive lenses (reading tankbag map) and transitions for light/sun. They are huge as you can see as I hate looking through frames!! The frames are very old and I had them around as simple sunglasses but the optometrist was willing to put my prescription in them...save big buckos!  I have worn contact lenses since 1969 and many a time have I had to ride to the side of the road to remove some bit of flying dirt from my eye. These bits always feel like lumps of coal. I thought that maybe I should stop putting my life in such danger and thus decided to turn to real glasses for riding last summer. Once I even got both eyes full of dirt! That makes for some tricky riding to the soft shoulder!

For those who do wear contact lenses...do you find that the light really hurts your eyes AFTER they have had dirt chunks removed? I think the iris expands under stress?!  letting in gobs of light.

[Ed Miller]

I never noticed any particular light sensitivity related to dirt in my eyes, just pain.    That's with my contact lenses.

Lately I've been wearing some kind of really old mountaineering sunglasses, almost more like goggles, under my helmet to keep out the cottonwood cotton and grass pollen.  At night I just put my face shield down.  :-)  That's all behind the Windjammer on the R65; on the Triumph I either have to use real goggles or always use the face shield.  It's a small sacrifice to pay for full body cooling.