Coast to Coast (Florida) on a Yamaha SR400 and Kawasaki Vulcan 500

Always wanted to make a long trip on our small bikes.  Having the time and the cash at the same time seems to keep a long ride a dream.  There are great ways to enjoy shorter trips though, so we decided to ride coast to coast across Florida.  I talked my good riding buddy Gary into joining me.  We also promised our wives a nice camping trip and combined both in one weekend.

Loaded down for the coast to coast dash

 

I got up and on the road early on a Friday morning so I could reach our rendezvous point at the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp before Gary.  My plan was to get a few pictures of him arriving on his new/used Vulcan 500.  My plan took a wrong turn almost as soon as I left the driveway.  Less than three miles from the house, I turn onto the wrong road and didn't realize it until I had ridden ten miles in the wrong direction.  Sometimes I get little glimpses of the things that had to try my parents patience...

No matter, once on course and onto one of my favorite back roads, I bumped the SR up to an indicated 65 MPH.  This is a speed the SR can handle with no trouble, but it is right at the point it begins to vibrate and let you know it is a bike from an earlier era.  In this department the Suzuki TU 250 is quite a bit smoother.  Still the SR doesn't put your hands or feet to sleep and your feet will not be vibrating off the footpegs the way some bikes use to do to us.

I pulled into the Lone Cabbage to see my efforts were in vain, Gary was there waiting for me and enjoying the sunrise.

A final look at the map before heading to Cocoa Beach.

After taking a couple photos, we were ready to head east to our journeys' starting point near Cocoa Beach, Florida.  We could see rain clouds moving toward us from the coast, but we knew we had time before the sea breeze picked up and moved much real rain inland.  We were wrong...

The Atlantic Ocean just beyond the green hedge behind the bikes

A grey lonely day to be on the ocean

After enjoying the morning rain we hopped on our bikes and headed west toward our destination of Bayport on the west coast - of Florida.  We slipped out of town on highway 520 and picked up Nova Road as we headed for our breakfast destination of St. Cloud, Florida.  We rode out of the rain a few miles west of the coast line and had super weather most of the rest of the day.

We skirted south of Kissimmee on Dean Still Road, after crossing highway 27 we came upon a hang gliderport called Wallaby Ranch.  We stopped for just a few minutes, but not much was going on as the day was still young and the thermals had not started to pop.  I didn't think to take pictures, but the place is impressive and the people are super friendly, so if hang gliding is your pastime you might want to look this place up.

West of 27, Dean Still Road takes on the look of old Florida.  There is a lot of open country, a few cattle grazing and plenty of swamp.  The road twists and bends as it works the high ground westward.  The further west we rode the closer to the Green Swamp we got.  To skirt the thickest part of the swamp we turned north on highway 33 , we turned then west and north again on Lake Erie Road and route 565.  This area is all nice and lightly traveled.  The roads wind through very pleasant and rural countryside.

Near the town of Masvotte we picked up route 48 and transitioned to 476.  476 takes you across the north end of the Green Swamp.

As we neared our destination of Bayport on the west coast of Florida, we could see afternoon thundershowers developing to the north west.  Once again, the sea breeze off the gulf was pushing rain toward us.  It looked like it would be a race with the rain.

Bayport is now a ghost town or at least semi-ghost town.  It was formed on the coast near where the Weeki Wachee and Mud rivers converge. The area was an important small port for shipping foods and supplies prior to the civil war.  A battery was built to protect the area during the war and bits of that battery can still be seen at the Bayport Park.  The park is about all that remains of the old town of Bayport.

We raced toward the park as lightning pitchforked down just a few miles to our north.  We stopped just long enough to snap a couple photos for proof that we rode two smallish, 400 & 500cc, bikes coast to coast.  We then had to race back inland to get around the east side of the thunderstorm and hopefully make it to the campsite at Chassahowitzka springs campground.

Bayport Park on the west coast of Florida

As we sped east the lightning continued just to our north and pounded the ground only a mile or so off our left side.  As we edged east of the storm, we worked our way north again to catch up with our ladies at the campground.  When we arrived, they had the tent up, chairs out and a cold drink waiting for us.  Super women by all counts.  The rest of the weekend gave us picture perfect weather.

Chassahowitzka Springs area

While we were away shooting these pictures our campsite was visited by a family of squirrels.  These marauders chewed their way into the tent and thoroughly destroyed everything they could get into.  Seems we had left some M&Ms in there that they thought should be theirs.  Another lesson forgotten and relearned about no food in a tent.

On Sunday morning we packed up and the girls headed home with the camping gear and we wandered our way home on the bikes.  A very super and memorable weekend!

Heading Home

International Vintage Motorcycle Show and Swap Meet

Bike week is getting underway and that means it is time for the annual International Vintage Motorcycle Show and Swap meet in Eustis Florida.  Eustis sits in Lake County north of  Orlando.  The show is held the first weekend of bike week and is one of the nicest low key events of the year.  The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club hosted the meet and held it at the Lake County Fairgrounds, a large and clean venue.

I'll add comments and history as I sort through my notes and photos.  For now, enjoy the pictures.

Suzuki's water cooled GT 750 two stroke sometimes called the "Water Buffalo"

Suzuki's RE 5 rotary engine bike.  Displacement was about 500cc

These two mid-seventies Suzukis looked like could have just come from the showroom.  From the early seventies came another very good Suzuki two stroke, the T-500 Titan.  I owned one of these in this same orange and gold color scheme.  Put many carefree miles on it.

T-500 Titan

On the Honda side of things, we found this C110 with full factory race kit.  According to the owner it is 1 of 5 in the world.  The engine is 50cc.



 

Honda C110

Another Honda 50cc racer was this single cylinder dual overhead cam racer.  It is actually a 2004 AC15 that Honda produced to commemorate their early 60s racer.



Honda AC15

Zundapp with Steib sidecar

 

 

 

 

BSA

 

 

 

Harley Davidson 125 Hummer

Gilera 106

 

 

We had a Gilera 106 when I was young.  A relative gave it to my Dad.  I remember that it was delivered in a number of cardboard boxes.  Someone had taken it apart for a reason that was unknown to me.  We raced through the fields all year long on it, pulled each other on sleds with it in the winter and used it to ride the railroad tracks and pick asparagus in the spring.  I remember it as being nearly bullet proof.  I think both Sears and Wards sold this bike for a time.

Ducati 350

I nearly bought a 350 Ducati back in about 1970, but didn't.  I bought a Harley Davidson / Aermacchi 125 instead.  Wish I had both bikes now...

Rickman Metisse

I didn't catch up with the owner of this Rickman Metisse, but saw it cruising the grounds a couple of times.  The engine looks like a Triumph 650.

1928 Harley Davidson JD 

 

 

1963 Honda 300 Dream an early Japanese big bike.

Yamaha SR400 Review Update

The miles on the SR are slowly building.  Like many that own an SR, it is not my only bike, so it shares duties with others.  It has given us exactly what we had expected and it is a very good bike.

Some months back we did the 600 mile check on it and thought I'd pass on what we have learned.  Well, experienced maybe, I am slow to learn and it is too early to know if anything has stuck.

I have a copy of the Yamaha service manual and spent some time reading and studying.  The 600 mile check looked very straightforward and in fact it really was, after a fashion.  I thought the oil change would be a little messy and I had paper towels on hand and my oil catch pans in place.  There are a few more steps than I would have expected.  I warmed the engine but didn't get it hot.  I don't like hot oil running down my arms.  First the oil filter housing is drained, then you can remove and replace the filter.  The oil from the housing ran down the right side of the engine, dribbled on to the exhaust pipe and then dripped down to the floor not far from where the oil drain pan was placed.

Next I drained the engine sump.  The SR uses a dry sump, but there is still a bit of oil in the sump that must be drained.  The sump plug is on the bottom rear of the engine and it is easy to catch the oil.  The remote "oil tank" is actually the frame.  To drain the frame, a plug is removed from the from the front side of the down tube.  A catch pan had been placed under the down tube and the plug was easily removed.  It was at this point that my planning (or lack of it) let me down.  The front down tube is essentially a tall column and the plug is located at the bottom of the column.  There was more head pressure on the plug than I had planned.  (I had not planned on any)  So when I removed the plug, warm not quite hot, oil squirted forward onto the front tire.  In my rush to "plug the dike" I managed to get my hand against the hot exhaust pipe.  I still have a burn scar to help me remember to do it different next time.  So now I have a burned hand, an oiled tire, and a second oil puddle on the floor.  Once the head pressure dies to a dribble, the oil follows the front down tube and flows behind a small skidplate.  I cleaned and dried the area around the skidplate, but the oil managed to find its' way to the floor for a good day after the oil change. Of course I had removed the oil catch pan because I absolutely knew I had wiped up all the oil...   I replaced the oil with Mobile synthetic.  The shifts were always good, but now they are butter smooth.

A couple days later I checked, but did not need to adjust the cam chain.  I then set the valves.  Setting the valves is pretty easy. There is a little work to get down to the engine, although nothing like a full faired bike where you can lose half a day removing plastic.  First I removed the seat and the fuel tank.  I had run the tank nearly empty to make it as light as possible and followed the manual to empty the fuel lines.  By doing this, I did not have any fuel dribbles as the tank was removed.  There are a number of lines to remove as well as one electrical connection.  With these disconnected the tank lifts off easily.

Next I removed the spark plug so I could turn the engine over easily by hand.  The left engine side cover is removed so the TDC marks can be found.  I turned the engine over counter clockwise to TDC on the compression stroke.  I had expected the valves to be a little loose as I could hear some pecking.  Turned out the intake was spot on and the exhaust was a little tight.  Now there is a little more valve train noise than before, so that must be a normal noise for this engine.

Reassembly of the parts was easy except for one fuel hose that connects to the bottom of the tank.  A long 90 degree needle nose pliers are a big help for this chore.

After reassembling everything, the bike started right up and settled into a smooth idle.  As it has broken in, it is running freer and is noticeably quicker than when new.  It isn't quick, but it is quicker...

The fuel mileage has seen a low of 68 and the high tops 75, but I have noticed when we ride the SR and the TU250X (a well known standard of accuracy) together the SR manages to travel a little farther than the TU.  So the mileage could be a little optimistic.  I have measured the odometer using mile markers and in 10 miles the odometer will read 10.1, so that isn't really too far off.  The speedometer reads a couple miles per hour more than the TU at the same speeds.

The SR has been a blast to ride.  It is happy running down gravel roads and it is quick and lively on the curves.  We are having a great time with both the SR and the TU.  They attract attention where ever they are parked.  Both bikes will introduce you to people and new friends.  Both are great accomplices for exploring back roads.