I've created another Meetup group to bring together women who love riding motorcycles. You may or may not remember (Bay Area) Moto Girls, which I ran with my friend Aleks a la Moto Shop.
Check it out, join and let's ride once the ice melts!
http://www.meetup.com/phillymotogirls/
Last week I went home to see my family for Christmas. Of course, I had to carve out some time to go riding on some of my favorite roads! Luckily, a wonderful friend of mine had this gorgeous little lady for me to ride up to Bodega Bay. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, except that I now know a Ducati Monster isn't really in my future :)
First off, I have to say that a Monster is a really really great motorcycle. And I can definitely see why many people love them so much, especially as first or second bikes. However, after having ridden many different bikes with really really great suspension, performance and handling it's very difficult for me rank this bike near the top of my favorites.
I thought the height and weight were nice, certainly a lower ride than what I'm used to on my SV650 and the Speed Triple. However, after having ridden the (Triumph) Speed Triple, I can definitely say that I want a Triumph of my own. But the STreet Triple, the smaller and more compact version of the Speed. The main reason is the suspension!
So this is where I'm coming from, having ridden an amazing bike with superior handling especially on the front end. I would definitely recommend a Monster to anyone moving up from 500-600cc or looking for a mid size twin over a mid size inline 4. I certainly enjoy my twin very much. But I'm tired of stock suspensions that aren't adjustable so saving up for a used Street Triple R is my current plan for next Spring.
As far as the Monster, I would have to say it's a much better version of the SV with a little more power, ABS, nicer wheels and a few other bells and whistles. But for me it just doesn't compare to what a Triumph has to offer, so unless it had an upgraded suspension you don't find me looking for one anytime soon.
However, what I would recommend is riding these two roads!
The big yellow highway is 1, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The white road is the Panoramic Highway which takes you to Muir Woods. It's one of the most perfect, twisty roads that I love love love to ride. Something I can't find anywhere near the state of Pennsylvania. Perhaps down to West Virginia but I still need to find it. Le sigh....
I also wanted to mention the pants my friend Aleks and I are wearing. Unfortunately those exact models are discontinued (Rev'it Marryl and Gear Pants). However, the latest version is the Gear 2 pant, which I reviewed a couple seasons ago here. There's a reason why Rev'it is my favorite brand, and it's because they know how to put us in gear that fits and looks great!
(my friend's Triumph Speed Triple on the right and my borrowed Monster on the left)
Happy Riding, and don't forget to Gear Up!
PS, If you live in the Bay Area, you owe it to yourself to ride these roads, asap. You just have no idea how much I miss them.
I still need to replace my rear tire, and the man is out of town til Thursday. So what's a wife to do? Take the Triumph out for a spin in a new direction that I hadn't explored before, North! I decided to try and shoot for RT 97, Hawk's Nest, a popular destination for local motorcyclists. I decided to send Benny to his awesome dogsitter, and try a solo overnight so I could try to ride as far north as I could. Since I have Sunday and Monday off, I tried to start Sunday morning. I had a rather late start and ended up not leaving until 11am. As a result I only got about 150-180 miles (my goal was closer to 300) in but still had a fabulous time!
As always, I used one of the Kriega packs, the 20-Liter since I wanted to have enough supplies for the night. Remember to fully pack your Kriega so it cinches down easier. I scribbled down my ride route and off I went.
Oh and for the record, I'm NOT keeping my husband's bike. Just borrowing until I swap that damn tire. I have decided however, that I will be selling the SV and buying a gently used Street Triple next spring :D. An R model if I can find one I can afford, fingers crossed.
I had a really late start Sunday (~11am) so I didn't quite hit the roads I wanted to. Here's the route I wanted to do but once I got to 15 I had to keep going and take the obvious route to get there before deer o'clock. Did you know that Pennsylvania has one of the highest deer collision rates in the country? Eek!
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zWtuq3HMVCRs.k_T9H2q9bEQg
Before I got to Chester, PA I did have a nice detour through Black River Park because of tremendous traffic heading into Chester. It was at least a mile of bumper to bumper. And the last thing I wanted was to sit there clutching on this tall, heavy beast. So I made a right turn and followed another guy on an R6 who was obviously hoping to do the same. I got to this funky intersection (after riding some goaty, unpaved roads to get there!):
After awhile I stopped for lunch at Hilltop Deli & Catering in High Bridge, NJ at 513 and Cregar Road. I had a tasty BLT and a nice view of my ride. Sandwiches were inexpensive and delicious. A lovely family ran the place, dad making sandwiches and mom running the place with their teenage kids working the counter. Love it!
The rest of my ride to the border was rather uneventful. I found a room for the night at the Red Carpet Inn, nothing fancy but clean and inexpensive ($78/night+tax). I picked this location so I could ride further up north in the morning.
The next morning, I headed West on 6 and then went north on 97. I underestimated how cool it was going to be, given that it was 8am. I also wanted to get back home before rush hour, since traffic can be heinous heading into Philly. Being a California girl, I certainly had high expectations. I would say that 97 is definitely a lovely road and worth the trip if you've never ridden that way before and are looking for scenic routes. The road is certainly twisty but nothing highly technical (think switchback and hairpins with changing elevation). I did manage to get a few pretty pictures on this cute little bridge:
At the end of the bridge was a very goaty, gravel filled road with a sign that basically said Go Away. Something about needing permits if you go beyond this point. So like a good girl, I hopped off the bike and did a 3 point turn to get back on the bridge back to 97.
I had a crazy ride planned but with the chillier weather I decided to get back home sooner than later. I turned around at 41/Barryville and took a rather direct route home that Google suggested, avoiding the Interstate.
Riding without winter gloves and no heated anything definitely pushed my limits as far as what I could bear. I'm a weather wimp and was definitely missing my heated accessories. Of course I was wearing head to toe Schampa underneath, a windstopper vest and my awesome Rev'it suit. It was just barely enough to keep me fairly warm but I really could've used some heat! The temps were mid 40s to low 50s, definitely colder than I'm used to without my creature comforts.
I MUST redo this ride once I install my heated liner. There appear to be some amazing roads further north which definitely require a much earlier start to accomplish more than 400 miles in 2 days.
Last week I rode a DRZ 400 SM. Wow, I learned so much and rode the tallest bike I've ever ridden. Yes, You Can.
I learned that a Suzuki Drz400sm isn't in my near future. Not because it was really tall (35"+!) but I didn't like the way it rode. I'm still very much a sporty girl and love the handling, feedback and stability that modern sportbikes offer. If you know me at all, you know I'm a sucker for twisties and don't care much about straight lines either. This bike was definitely a demon in the twisties, but in a different way.
I only had the chance to ride it for one afternoon, down to Alice's Restaurant from San Francisco. We took a very simple ride route, a little slab to get to the twisties!:
Although short but sweet, it was heavenly. We left around 12, so it was too late of a start to head further south towards Boulder Creek as planned. Oh well, that's what Christmas vacation will be for! So my friend generously let me borrow his DRZ 400 SM and my husband rode another friend's KTM RC8 (we have awesome friends!!), and my girlfriend joined us on her DR650.
I definitely wouldn't have ridden a heavier bike of the same height. Since it was skinny and lightweight, I felt fairly confident that I could handle it. But to be completely honest, I probably would've said no if I took a minute to think about what I was going to ride.
I'm glad I didn't think about it too much and just rode my brains out. I also didn't wear my big girl boots which didn't make it much easier but I guess I like a challenge.
Here are some specs for the one I rode:
If there's one thing I love about riding different bikes, it's that I usually learn something new. On this bike, I had to relearn how to make my lines. I was having trouble through corners and my friend reminded me that I can't ride it like a sport bike because it isn't one. It's a supermoto! After she gave me a couple tips, it was a lot easier to stay smooth through the corners and increase my entry and exit speeds.
I quickly learned that in the twisties, I still love the way street bikes perform and am not sure if a smaller supermoto is in my future. I definitely love how mid weight supermotos like KTM's 690 SMR and 690 Duke feel and would love to have one someday.
I'm a bit on the fence about this bike, I mean besides the fact that it's annoyingly tall. I loved the riding position and how far I could see up ahead. You're almost the same height as SUVs so it's really easy to see down the road. Of course, the riding position was really comfortable. I did have to jump on the highway to get down to Alice's but doing 75mph was easy.
When you ride something that's barely tall enough to throw one leg over, curbs suddenly become your best friend. As soon as I'd see one at a stoplight or freeway offramp, it was always convenient to pull up next to one and rest my wayward foot. My right leg is typically rather useless because I can only get my toes down, but on this one it was *completely* useless! I also avoided dirt and uneven pavement and always got off the bike to park it. Luckily I was able to balance it just perfectly to hop right and get my right foot down to kick the sidestand down with my left foot. Whew!
It's just too bad I didn't have time to throw a leg over my friend's RC8!
At the end of the day, I feel like I accomplished a lot and rode something I never expected to be able to ride. If someone told me that someday I'd be able to throw a leg over a bike with almost 35" seat height I would've told them they were nuts.
I guess the moral of the story is, don't think about it, just do it. (Of course, after you've perfected your braking and balancing techniques :D)
