February Ride

[My Strom]

We have met and plan to do a trial run in the morning. The ride will be on the 24th. We will meet at Mikes house in Orange City. More info will be posted soon so mark your calendars. Mystrom

[Cpope]

As of right now the 24th is a free weekend for me. Sounds good.

[PonchoV]

You will have 2 up from Jax.
How did the ride go today, wet?

[JRShaw]

The weather here cleared up right around the time they were to meet for the trial run that we planned yesterday. Hoping to have a good weekend weatherwise for the 24th. See all over on "our" side of the state. Should be a fun ride and day. More details forthcoming.

[Oldschooler]

Hold on to your hats!

Hope your all sitting down!

This is gonna come a s a shock!





Yup you guessed it, I goota work. AGAIN!

I'm beginning to think I'm jinxed.

[JRShaw]

Wouldn't say jinxed, just a sring of unfortunate bad rotten horrific terrible luck. But on the bright side..................... See you soon, we hope.

[Clyde]

We have met and plan to do a trial run in the morning. The ride will be on the 24th. We will meet at Mikes house in Orange City. More info will be posted soon so mark your calendars. Mystrom

I am a little west of Tallahassee and have a couple of WeeStrom buddies in Panama City...we will be watching to see your posted route. We would love to join in if it is doable from our location.

Clyde

[JRShaw]

Clyde, great to hear from you and would love to have you and your buddies make the ride. Basically the ride starts in Orange City and winds down to Titusville and then back to Sanford on Lake Monroe. We are trying to accomodate as many riders and areas as possible by way of start time and distance. Keep watching and more will be coming out soon.

[My Strom]

The trial ride went fine with about 2.5 hours in the saddle. As Jim stated the route is simple and relaxing. Mike will post the route in detail from his GPS but here is the basic plan. Start out at Mikes house in Orange City. Holly drive to 17/92 south. Enterprise rd south west to Rt415. 415 to Maytown rd. Maytown rd east to US1. US1 south to Rt 3. RT3 to 406. (Rest stop at visitors center) 406 to US1. US1 North to 46. 46 West to 415. 415 south to back roads by lake Jessup. Stop for pics at the lake then Sanford ave to the lake front. Lunch at Wolfy's on lake Monroe. About 110 miles. This was a nice ride and hope to see as many as possible on the 24th. Wolfy's has been notified about the ride and will be ready to serve our group. Mystrom

[fatalerror]

enjoy the ride you buggers...:mrgreen:

[JRShaw]

Don't miss it Ray, come on over and enjoy the 'other' coast for a change. We are trying to plan start and finish times so folks that need to travel to get here can make the ride. Daylight is increasing and the weather should be co-operating for us. Just before the big shindig up in Daytona and just after the start of the Nascar season. Only folks left in the area will be residents (yippie). We will miss you if you cannot make it. Next month.

[readytoride]

Here's a route sheet for our ride in a spreadsheet format. Directions are based on leaving my house with your tripmeter reset to 0:

http://home.cfl.rr.com/ready2ride/V-Strom/2-24-07.XLS


I live here:

370 W. Holly Dr., Orange City FL 32763

N28° 55.639'
W81° 18.423'

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=370+W+Holly+Dr,+32763




Ride is subject to change, and although verified by an authentic 1000 V-Strom odometer, YMMV :)

Details to follow so watch this space! I will post a map as soon as I figure out how...

[fatalerror]

Don't miss it Ray, come on over and enjoy the 'other' coast for a change. We are trying to plan start and finish times so folks that need to travel to get here can make the ride. Daylight is increasing and the weather should be co-operating for us. Just before the big shindig up in Daytona and just after the start of the Nascar season. Only folks left in the area will be residents (yippie). We will miss you if you cannot make it. Next month.


That's not the problem mate. I am leaving for South Africa on thursday, and will only be back in 5 weeks. That's a LONG commute for a ride.:mrgreen:

I'll see you guys when I get back!

[Cpope]

Whats for breakfast Mike? WE always meet at a breakfast place. :)

I will have my eggs over easy, steak, pink in the middle, home fries.
Coffee black. :)

[Winnie]

Spinach Omelet, Whole wheat toast and hot tea for me please.

[JetJaguar]

I'll have lobster stuffed with truffles and foie gras. :)

[readytoride]

Well, I don't know about the gourmet catered breakfast, but here is the plan so far. Since this event is being put together by 3 of us, it has to be 3 times as good, right?

1) A nice 100+ mile ride as previously described.

2) Coffee and donuts for early arrivals.

3) 2-3 hour mini tech session before the ride if there is any interest.

Wheat toast, tea, and even bagels are not out of the question, but there will be none of that duck liver stuff... :)

[PonchoV]

What is the tech going to be about?
Should we bring all of our problem to the light?:rolleyes:

[motoxusa]

Count me in for the ride on the 24th. Thanks to the 3 Musketeers for putting it together.

I won't mind having a tech session some time, but 3 hours plus 110 mile ride with a lunch may be a very long day for those that have to travel any distance to the starting point.

[Winnie]

Rick and I have cleared our schedule so that we can join. I’ll try to locate some plastic to throw on Rick’s Sportster so that he fits in a bit better :-)
It’s about 2 ½ hours to the start from our place so we may miss the tech session if there is one.
Mike, I would like to send a donation your way to fund the doughnuts and bagel fund. I think that is a great idea. If you’ve got a PayPal account let me know and I’ll send you some seed money.

[My Strom]

I think that between Mike, Jim and myself we will be able to have what we need for everyone. We just will need to have a head count so we know how much to buy. A small donation for what you eat will be OK with me. The 3 amigos will meet again to complete the ride and details. Thank you, Mystrom

[garrisonstudio]

Hello everyone --

This is my first post. My wife and I have V-Stroms and we'd like to get in on that February Ride -- It looks like most of the info is in this thread...

Anyway -- I'm sure I'll have questions and I'll contact somebody with those as soon as they pop up.

Thanks -- I look forward to meeting everyone.

-- Doug
Palm Coast

[My Strom]

Welcome to our group! We all look forward to meeting both of you. If you have any questions please post them or send a private message. Mystrom (Bob)

[readytoride]

What is the tech going to be about?
Should we bring all of our problem to the light?:rolleyes:

I don't have any "theme" in mind. I was thinking that someone might want to learn to do something on their own that they haven't worked up the nerve to try yet. It could be as simple as adjusting the chain or changing the oil. If someone wants to change their tires or add some farkles we can do that too.

I have a lift and the tools we will need, but you will need to bring any consumables (oil, filters, etc.).

If anyone is interested in modifying his/her gas cap to close without the key we can do lots of them in a couple of hours...

Any ideas?

[Winnie]

Hello everyone --

This is my first post. My wife and I have V-Stroms and we'd like to get in on that February Ride -- It looks like most of the info is in this thread...

Anyway -- I'm sure I'll have questions and I'll contact somebody with those as soon as they pop up.

Thanks -- I look forward to meeting everyone.

-- Doug
Palm Coast

Hi Doug,

Were you and your wife at the Williston start in November? I remember a couple who said they had two new bikes (ABS ? perhaps) on order. They did not ride with us and I did not get their names. If that was you congrats on your new rides and we look forward to seeing you at Mikes house!

[Winnie]

If anyone is interested in modifying his/her gas cap to close without the key we can do lots of them in a couple of hours...

Any ideas?

Oh that would be ME! Yes I hate having to put the key back in so that I can close the cap. If you can show me how to fix this little anoyance I would love it.

[PhantomX]

New to the Board and the VStrom, I got one and so did my buddy, If you don't mind we would love to tag along...

[RodK]

I'm in. Looks like another two grouper, folks.

Rod
05 Wee
Riverview, FL

[PonchoV]

readytoride,
I bought, from Twisted Throttle, an electrical power outlet box that goes under the seat. Is this item too much to consider?
The gas cap mod is a great improvement.
If the under the seat power box is a go, please advise as to what extras I should bring along. Ball-peen hammer & cold chisel, worry beads.

R & R wheels to help keep down the cost of replacing our tires.
What is a good all round tool for the chain replacement?
Hey, I better stop before I get uninvited.
But honestly, what you guys are doing could catch on & really save a lot of riders, not just $$ but headaches.
Thanks,
Wolfgang & Carol

[readytoride]

I'm in. Looks like another two grouper, folks.

Rod
05 Wee
Riverview, FL

We're planning on 3 groups, based on preferred riding styles....

[readytoride]

readytoride,
I bought, from Twisted Throttle, an electrical power outlet box that goes under the seat. Is this item too much to consider?
The gas cap mod is a great improvement.
If the under the seat power box is a go, please advise as to what extras I should bring along. Ball-peen hammer & cold chisel, worry beads.

R & R wheels to help keep down the cost of replacing our tires.
What is a good all round tool for the chain replacement?
Hey, I better stop before I get uninvited.
But honestly, what you guys are doing could catch on & really save a lot of riders, not just $$ but headaches.
Thanks,
Wolfgang & Carol

The outlet box will be easy, did it come with a relay to turn it off and on with the ignition switch? I can't think of anything else you will need to bring. I have a nice assortment of hammers and chisels. :)

[Keith Falkner]

Fatalerror, I realize that you are in the Southern Hemisphere, and cannot attend the February ride. I charted two routes from your city, Punta Gorda, to the starting point of the February ride. I learn that I-75 is longer by 36 miles, each way, than the US-17 route through Arcadia.

The January ride in Lake County was not very far from Orange City. You could have saved over 70 miles, round trip, on the January ride, which was over 400 miles of travel for you. I think that reduction in distance might help you decide whether to attend the next ride in Central Florida.

What a guy! He lives in Florida, where summer spends the winter, and then he goes to South Africa to get even more summer. To top that, he doesn't even take his V-Strom with him. (Maybe he has another V-Strom parked beside his diamond mine.)

Best wishes,
Keith

[JRShaw]

To all of the "new" folks, WELCOME!!!!. I'm going to ride the route early next week to see what the final version that my 2 cohorts discovered. Should be a good time far all. Don't worry about your riding style, we have it covered. I'm really excited about the ride and seeing all again. Rumor has it that I really do have a SO, she might even grace us with her presence for this ride to eat. I'll most likely HAVE to ride the 'other' bike, as it way more comfy for the pillion. We shall see. Since I'm likely to take the 'other' bike, I will probably be relagated to the consevative riding style group. Ha, little do they know!!!! We shall have supreme fun. See all soon.

[PonchoV]

Mike,
I have spoken to a couple of 1 litre types, Steve, a member will bring front brake pads & a most willing attitude. As well as a riding guess. All in all there may be 4 bikes headed south.
About the stuff I ordered:
The stebel horn & under the seat power multi outlet has arrived from Twisted T.
There seems to be a relay in the electro kit w/ an interuption unit. It must be female.;)
Glad to hear about the chisels.
Please me know if we need connections, etc.
Maybe we should begin a left over box of reuseable "stuff" for just such an event.
later,
Wolfgang & Carol

[PonchoV]

Forget Steve's FT brakes pads, they are good.
But his clutch fluid is very dark, 25k on it. Should he bring along some DOT 4 fluid & do a bleed out?

Wolfgang

[rosebud314]

Looking over the posts I'm counting about 13 planning to join us on Saturday. I just want to get a count so I know how many donuts and such to buy. The weather is looking good, temps in the low 80's. Anyone else planning in riding with us?

[PonchoV]

Hey , just so some of us don't get there to early......what would the neighbors except & when do you want us there for the tech ?

Currently from NE Fl, there are 3 bikes & only 3 riders of which plan to attend, that I know of.

[Tampa Tom]

From Tampa we will have Tampa Tom and Wayne coming.

RodK, Subagon, Seffner Mark and Stromsavage....If any of you want to calibrate to ride over to Orange City together give a shout.

[rosebud314]

I'm not sure what time the guys decided on. I'll check with Mike in the morning when he gets home from work and will post then.

[JetJaguar]

Anyone else planning in riding with us?

I can make this ride.

[Winnie]

Rick and I will be coming form Gainesville. Anyone from this area want to join us for the ride south? Roy?

[RodK]

From Tampa we will have Tampa Tom and Wayne coming.

RodK, Subagon, Seffner Mark and Stromsavage....If any of you want to calibrate to ride over to Orange City together give a shout.

Fine with me Tom. Say where. Jim, don't forget your Canon lenses. I'll let you drive the Rebel XT. I have an extra CF card so you can take it home and look things over.

Rod

[Bill]

Going to try and make it, put me down as a positive maybe. when will the "how to" session start?

Bill

[JRShaw]

Rod, thanks for the reminder. I will bring the camera and lenses and make some comparison shots. See ya Saturday. Bring warm weather from the west side, please.

[seffner mark]

It would be nice to ride over with the Tampa group.
Mark

[readytoride]

OK folks, the day is drawing near and the forecast is good! Sunny and 80 or so. We'll put the coffee on about 8:00 and we will be heading out at 11:00.

Please have enough gas in the tank to go the 120 miles, as no gas stops are planned along the way.

If you have any questions or need some directions, post it here, send me a PM or give me a call: 386-774-6954. We're looking forward to seeing you all Saturday!

Mike

p.s. Charlie, can't you put the flip-flops on and ride on over? :)

[readytoride]

Mike,
I have spoken to a couple of 1 litre types, Steve, a member will bring front brake pads & a most willing attitude. As well as a riding guess. All in all there may be 4 bikes headed south.
About the stuff I ordered:
The stebel horn & under the seat power multi outlet has arrived from Twisted T.
There seems to be a relay in the electro kit w/ an interuption unit. It must be female.;)
Glad to hear about the chisels.
Please me know if we need connections, etc.
Maybe we should begin a left over box of reuseable "stuff" for just such an event.
later,
Wolfgang & Carol

PonchoV: PM on it's way!

[Tampa Tom]

Tampa group....Hello....If we meet at Hwy 39 and I-4 (Shell station) it is about 100 miles to Mike's house. We can take the super slab there and hit the country roads for the way home since it takes doubles the time.

Leaving around 9:00 AM would get us there in time to enjoy a donut and some conversation before the ride.

[PhantomX]

Tampa group....Hello....If we meet at Hwy 39 and I-4 (Shell station) it is about 100 miles to Mike's house. We can take the super slab there and hit the country roads for the way home since it takes doubles the time.

Leaving around 9:00 AM would get us there in time to enjoy a donut and some conversation before the ride.


What Exit number is that? Thinking about joinin you guys there...

[RodK]

What Exit number is that? Thinking about joinin you guys there...

I believe that's 21 A. Main drag of Plant City. See you guys there.

Rod

[Tampa Tom]

RodK is right.....21A...You might want to hook with Wayne and ride over there together since he is in you neck of the woods.

Hope you can make it. We'll try to kick up the kickstands at 9:00 AM.

[PhantomX]

RodK is right.....21A...You might want to hook with Wayne and ride over there together since he is in you neck of the woods.

Hope you can make it. We'll try to kick up the kickstands at 9:00 AM.


Ok we'll be there, I'll call Wayne tonight and see when he's leaving, my buddy with his DL1000K7 is coming as well.

Wayne if your reading this give me a call!

[My Strom]

I'm not sure how to post the pics from today! Please help!!

[rosebud314]

Hope everyone had a good time. Mike and I enjoyed having everyone at the house this morning. We had 18 bikes and 20 people in our driveway by 11:00. But, you guys left me with too many donuts:)

How would everyone feel about having a cookout out our house in April sometime? The ride would be getting to our house and getting yourselves back home again. We could plan to eat around 12:00ish. Maybe we could get some of the wives to come along. I sure would like to have more female company around to balance things out a bit.:D Let me know what ya'll think. If we get enough positive feedback we'll pick a date.

[Cpope]

My Strom

If you want e-mail them to me and I will post on Fotki blog below.
Check it out. Has most of the V-Strom rides on it.

[Cpope]

Roseanne, are you serving us the same old donuts? :(
Just kidding. Glad it was a great ride.

[JRShaw]

How's the toe, Charlie?? We missed you today.

[Cpope]

Hi Jim

Toe is doing real good, back to wearing shoes and I will be good as new in a week or 2. Hope you all hade a great ride. Sorry to miss it. I can post any pictures to my blog if anybody wants me to.

[Tampa Tom]

Hey everyone....Made it home safely. We enjoyed the ride the weather and the company. Wolfy's was pretty good too. Heck...I would have been content sitting at Mike and Roseanne's house all day long talking bikes and eating those donuts.

Speaking of food....I saw your post about having a BBQ in April....Great idea. I'm sure Becky would like to participate as well. Hope it works out.

[RodK]

Thanks East Coasters. You guys did great. It was a wonderful ride. I enjoyed the relaxed pace. Just got back. I think about three fiddy on the day. My bike just turned 25 K. Tom had a very nice route for us on the way back west. Except in Tavares some crazy arsed COP forced Mark and I into death skids. Lost about 2000 miles on my tires, I think.

Rod

[JRShaw]

West Coaster; glad to hear that you all made it back home safe and sound. That part of the equation always makes for a "good" ride. Look forward to next ride. We could do BBQ at Mike and Roseannes, sounds good.

[rosebud314]

Roseanne, are you serving us the same old donuts? :(
Just kidding. Glad it was a great ride.

I promise we won't have the same donuts ;) . I'm sure they'll be long gone by then. At least I hope so :) I can promise you some good eats, though.

[Tampa Tom]

in Tavares some crazy arsed COP forced Mark and I into death skids. Lost about 2000 miles on my tires, I think.

Rod

Didn't realize you guys had to lock it up for that cop. I hope he wasn't in a hurry to get to the Golden Coral before the snowbirds line up for the early bird specials in Leesburg.

[PhantomX]

Sorry we couldn't go further with everyone today but did Enjoy meeting everyone and hope to particpate longer on the next one.

Speaking of the next ride I have tons of parking (live on a culdasac) and have some of the bestest (hehe) and twistiest roads in the area and some really nice scenary. I would love to have all you guys come by and ride with us!

[Cpope]

Some of the pictures of the ride on Feb 24th are up. If anybody else has pictures they want me to post just send e-mail and I will post them.
Feel free to add comments, just don't pick on Lou, orrrrr me.

Check Fotki below for pictures

[Wayne]

Thanks to all who came out yesturday. It was nice to meet folks and attach faces to folks on the board. Had a great time. Where's the pics?

ISYHTRAH

[Winnie]

I sure wish we could have made it for some of the pre-ride BS.... Ah I mean information session :-)

Unfortunately the police had blocked of a critical section of the Ocala Forest roads due to smoke and we were forced to take about a 40 mile detour. Nice road. Would like to go back and ride some of it again but it got us to Mike and Roseanne’s at exactly 11 am.

We really enjoyed the ride and lunch. Ended up back home with just over 380 miles for the day.

It was great to meet some new faces: Wayne and Steve it was great meeting you.
Sounds like all made it back to the barn safely. Rod, we had a close call as well. A guy pulling a big fancy horse trailer was not paying attention and almost turned us into hood ornaments at a traffic light. Lucky for us he had a left turn lane he darted into at the last moment but Rick and I had already scoped him out in the mirrors and had taken the right shoulder. :shock: WHEW!!!! I expect the poor horses in the trailer were scrambling as well.

Ride Safe Everyone!!!

[PonchoV]

Thanks again, MIKE, for the neat wiring thingy under the seat. You do have a neat shop too. Thanks to your nice wife for fine hospitality.
Steve & I did just over 350 miles total. Sure was a lot warmer going back.
My average fuel comsumption was on 50 mpg for entire trip. The 235+ mile dash on I-4 & I-95 made it interesting between all the FHP.
It is always neat to see the regulars & to meet new riders.
So now, where next?
Later,
Wolfgang & Carol

[JRShaw]

Other than Bike Week, who's got the ball? The parks trip may be the March thingy if it gets legs. Anyybody ready to grab the ball and run? I know Lou was talking about a trip south, maybe, just maybe!!!

[Cpope]

Don't forget all, we still need to do an overnighter to Key West this year.

[JRShaw]

My wife wants to make that trip to the Keys soooooo bad. Just might have to do it!

[JRShaw]

Rod, send me over a couple of shots from your camera that I took. jrshaw950@gmail. I just saw the camera, kit lens and a 512 card for $538 plus shipping. Might just have to pull the trigger.

[Magblast]

Had a great time my day started out at 3 am.went to Wolfgangs house and we headed out to make it to Mikes place to get the wiring done on Wolfgangs bike.Had the Strom slip a little getting on I95 as some sprinklers made the road slick didnt drop her though. Made it to Mikes place and my Strom sounded like it was missing on one cylinder Mike was cool enough to want to look at it but it started to run good again.Strange its never done that before
Roseanne thanks for the donuts and coffee you had a good setup and sorry for dropping all the sugar ...I really got some ideas on setting up my Strom with some radio mounts and a lot of riders had some good mounts for their bikes.Winnie I am glad you and Rick didnt wreck into that horse trailer.Hope to see everyone soon...Steve

[RodK]

Rod, send me over a couple of shots from your camera that I took. jrshaw950@gmail. I just saw the camera, kit lens and a 512 card for $538 plus shipping. Might just have to pull the trigger.

Oh yeah, here's the shots. Click on "original" to see everything. One thing about digital SLRs is they do not like bright directional sunlight. I still can't figure out why your flash didn't fire.

PS- will everyone here please change their names to Bill, Bob or Mike so I have a 1 of 3 chance of getting it right?


http://imageevent.com/rodk/orangecity

Jim I looked at the EXIF data . The reason your flash didn't light was because I had the automatic setting on the little track and field guy. Flashes don't work with him :-)) Sorry. BTW, look at Jet Jaguar's new ding proof front fairing on the last shot (2nd from the right)


Rod

[JRShaw]

Thanks Rod, pretty darn good pics if I saw so myself. I saw his fairing at Mike's house. Looks like he did it up with pickup truck bedliner. Won't scratch, might still break, but no dings. How's the tendon coming along? Stay off of it, just ride, no walking. Ha!!!

[JetJaguar]

I saw his fairing at Mike's house. Looks like he did it up with pickup truck bedliner. Won't scratch, might still break, but no dings.

Those were my "ruggedized offroad fairings". I got a pair of crashed fairings (you can see the right side panel is from a blue bike if you look inside), cleaned them up a bit, and rolled on Herculiner truck bedliner. I got the idea from a coworker who offroads Jeeps. He says lots of guys do their fenders in bedliner.

I swap my good "street" panels with these when I ride off pavement so I don't have to worry about messing them up. I also did the black exhaust heatshield in bedliner, but that looks nice enough that I keep it on all the time. It actually helps my riding a bit. I was in the Ocala National Forest the weekend before and I rode with a lot more confidence since I wasn't afraid of dumping the bike all the time.

[motoxusa]

I do have a route mapped out that starts south of Clermont and wanders through Lake Wales and surrounding area. We can take that any time.

For those wanting to do a Key West trip, I suggest Spring versus Summer. Key West might make a good March or April trip. Of course, there's nothing that says we can't take a couple of trips in a month. The more the better. The trip to Key West will also make it nice for some of our South Florda riding buddies.

Maybe a couple of you that are familiar with the Key West area can get together and map out the trip. I'd be happy to help out any way that I can.

PS - I did make it home okay and even managed to put my kickstand down before getting off the bike. I've got a nasty looking knee, but it's certainly not the kind of injury that one can boast about.

[My Strom]

try to post a pic!

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l54/Rpstrom/P1010300.jpg

[My Strom]

Well, I guess that worked, now I need to learn how to post all of them.
(very slow at this stuff, please bear with me.)

[JRShaw]

Robert one good shot deserves another. Good Picture, now just get the rest posted and we all will be happy campers. Did some one mention campers, oh dare that's next month. Can't wait. Maybe my cold will be gone by then.

[My Strom]

To see all the pics I've taken check out Charlies site. He was kind enough to post them for me. Thanks Charlie

[My Strom]

I have down loaded some pics from the bucket, I hope this works.

http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l54/Rpstrom/February%20Ride/