Suzuki TU250X Does it Again

The weather in central Florida has been wetter than usual lately.  We are known as the sun shine state and the sun does shine nearly every day, but summer is also the wet season.  For the past six weeks we have had rain in the form of afternoon thunderstorms nearly every day.

The storms are grand affairs with huge rain drops that can come down at a rate of 2 inches an hour.  To keep our minds off the heavy rain, the storms also produce some of the most intense lightning anywhere on Earth.  We have the nick name of the lightning capitol of the world.

After a busy weekend with no bike riding, I had been feeling pretty antsy to get a ride in.  There was plenty of moisture in the air this morning, but my plan was to ride to work before the rains came and, depending on lightning severity, ride home through the afternoon monsoon or wait until things died down in the evening to make a run for home.

The ride in was so nice.  I left home a bit early and had very little traffic.  The clouds had that beautiful pink and gold hue that we get when the moisture is high and the dawn is young.  Last nights' dew still smelled nice and fresh on the air as I slipped down the road.

Once at work, I stuffed my helmet and jacket into my office and nipped out to greet customers and fellow employees as they arrived for the day.  (some would view this as dodging work, but I like to think of it as relationship building)  I should have had a camera.  The TU250 attracted attention all day long, there would be individuals and little groups of 2 or 3 around it off and on throughout the day.  A couple of my coworkers stopped by to see how old it was and to learn if I had rebuilt an older bike.

It hadn't rained by 1 PM so I slid out to grab a sandwich.  As I walked to the bike I was chatting with a customer that I thought was also heading out to lunch.  Turned out he had seen the helmet in my hand and just wanted to take a look at what he thought was a restored Triumph.  Now, I don't think the TU  looks much like a Triumph, (maybe a 250 Ducati Mach I) but I was flattered that he thought it was a beautifully restored vintage bike.

After returning from lunch I was hanging around the break room, building relationships again, when 2 of our long term customers sought me out to ask if the bike was an old BSA.  They were plenty surprised to learn it is a modern Suzuki.  Later it the day I saw them out in the parking lot giving it a good looking over.

Around 3 PM the monsoons hit and dumped a good amount of rain on us but not too much lightning.   By 5 the sun was back out.  Whahoo!  As I worked my way out to the parking lot, I was joined by another that had thought the bike was an older restored bike, but the rumor had made it to him that it was in fact a newish Suzuki.  Still, he joined me for the walk out to look it over and listen to it run.

I have to say that this bike draws a lot of attention where ever it goes.  I am flattered that so many people think it is a vintage bike that I have rebuilt, but in truth, it is a thoroughly modern bike and I am very happy that it is.  The TU250X manages to retain some of the beauty and simplicity of the vintage bikes many of us enjoy, yet it is a completely modern machine with an oil filter, fuel injection, disc brake etc.

The ride home was super.  My route neatly split between two big areas of thunderstorms.  Great towering giants to the east and the west.  I had the nice benefit of enjoying the smell of the rain and riding in the cool outflow air of the storms.

So the TU250 did it again! It gave me a great ride both to and from work and helped build relationships with customers and coworkers.  If only it would have done a little more of the work I needed to accomplish in my office...

Little Switzerland, N.C.

We had a chance to get away over the long 4th of July weekend so decided to head for the hills of North Carolina.  Because time was limited we decided to trailer the bikes up rather than ride them.  This would have been my first experience at trailering bike, as I prefer to ride them to the destination.  This of course makes getting to the destination part of the fun rather than something to "get through".  Our plan was to rent an open U-Haul.

We had every thing packed and ready except for loading the bikes.  We'd been watching the weather and in the last few minutes before departure decided to leave our bikes at home.  It was a choice that hurt, but was the best.  I don't think we'd have taken them from the trailer.  It not only rained but rained extremely hard the entire time we were there.  They had flash flooding all through the area and the visibility in the mountains was often less than 100 yards.

Even without the bikes we had a great time and still plan to get back up to the mountains later this summer.  Because we had packed for riding bikes we had plenty of rain gear with us and thought maybe we could rent a couple bikes if the weather gave us a break.  We had made contact with Action Cycle Sports http://actioncyclesports.com in Boone, NC.  Turned out the weather did not give us a break, but we'd still recommend the good folks at Action if you need to rent while staying in the area.  They had a number of bike choices and we had planned to ride a BMW 650GS and a Suzuki V-Strom 650, two bikes with great reputations. 

We spend our nights at the Big Lynn Lodge http://www.biglynnlodge.com in Little Switzerland, NC.  The lodge is located on NC 226A, a well known bike and sports car road that is known as the Diamondback.  Lots of twisties and steep grades, similar to the Tail of the Dragon in Tennessee, but without all the traffic.  The view from the Big Lynn was spectacular during those short glimpses we had during breaks in the clouds.  Our room was a cabin that was clean as a whistle and finished in knotty pine.





View from our porch at the Big Lynn Lodge

 

Breakfast and dinner were included in the price of the room and they have space to park bikes and welcome bikers.  There were a couple other places to stay in the area, but no gas at the top of the mountain, so you don't plan to gas up when you get to Little Switzerland.

One really nice part of being in the mountains when there is so much rain is the waterfalls run full.






The rivers and waterfalls ran full

We spent a good part of our time hiking and taking pictures between rain showers.  The Blue Ridge and the nearby areas are some of the most relaxing back roads to explore and there are so many trails to hike that you could spend a lifelime and not walk them all.





A creek along a foot path





Foot path to a rushing stream

Above is one of the many footpaths we walked.  Because there had been good rain, most foot paths led to streams and waterfalls that might not exist during drier days.  I have to say we were fortunate to be here during this period of heavy rainfall.





The view from the roads is beautiful, this is biker country

During times of good visibility the views were spectacular.  We noticed that we could be in heavy rain and fog that reduced visibility to a few yards, then round a bend that put us on the other side of the ridge and into clear weather for a few minutes.  These little gifts really added to an already fantastic trip.





Sunshine! What a surprise to round a bend to see this.

We have been on the Blue Ridge many times and it is always beautiful and it changes so much with the season and the weather that we are compelled to return time and time again.



Port Canaveral

Summer is here and that means afternoon thunderstorms most days. Today the forecast was for a 60% chance of rain. After sniffing the air early this morning we thought we'd have until about 2 PM to ride and get back home before the rains began.

We made a plan to ride to the Port for an early lunch. Kim and I would ride the Vulcan and the TU250X and good riding buddy Gary and his daughter Margie would ride the Concours and meet up with us enroute.

We were on the road by 0930 and already the clouds were beginning to build. We turned east on Hwy 192 just east of St. Cloud and road a few miles out of town to Nova Rd. Nova is one of those little travelled back roads that cuts through ranch land and swamp as it meanders generally east and north. Nova is about 35 miles from 192 to Hwy 520 where it ends.

We poked along at about 50 MPH and enjoyed the sight of hundreds of cattle egrets along the freshly mowed roadside. There were more egrets along that stretch of road than we'd ever seen at one time. They were rummaging through the cut grass looking for bugs and lizards. The smell of freshly cut grass from a bike is one of the all-time great smells and we breathed it in deeply.

Once at the end of Nova Rd. we turned south east on Hwy 520. After crossing the St. Johns River, we pulled into the Lone Cabbage fish camp to wait hook up with Gary and Marge.




It is possible that herons can't read



Airboat at the Lone Cabbage

 



Bikes...



And friends

 


Fish camps are pretty much what the name implies. They are places to put airboats and other shallow draft boats into lake, river, or swamp. Most fish camps catered only to fishermen and hunters in years past, but now they often entice tourist and locals by having a restaurant and sometimes airboat excursions into the swamps. The Lone Cabbage has been around for many years and has great old Florida food. You can try gator, frog legs, turtle, catfish and much more. Today our plan was just to catch up with our friends and head to the port for a quick lunch and try to beat the storms home.

There is a sea breeze that drifts in from the ocean and tends to help the development of thunderstorms inland while keeping the coast clear and sunny. We hit the road east bound and turned our backs to the thickening clouds to the west and rode into sunshine. As we worked our way northeast, the air cooled and took on the salty smell of the ocean. We pulled into the port in time for an early lunch and welcome drink of iced tea.

Port Canaveral has docks for a few cruise lines, but more importantly to us, is it is also home to local fishing vessels. There are a number of restaurants at the port and they all have fresh fish brought on shore at the nearby docks. Like many places in this part of Florida, there is open air dining. Today we enjoyed our lunches while watching sea turtles and porpoises playing just a few yards from our table.

Following our lunch we felt the urge to head for home as the sky was getting dark inland to the west and rain could be seen falling from some of the better developed clouds. Gary and Margie headed northwest toward home and visible rain, while Kim and I rode southwest toward slightly better looking skies.

We threaded our way through the growing showers with little trouble and managed to stay reasonably dry. There was thunder to our south, west, and north as we rolled our bikes into the garage right at 2 PM.

What a nice way to spend a day, good friends, a fun motorcycle ride, and a chance to explore a little bit of central Florida.

Searching for Eagle and Hawk Nests

Took the Suzuki TU250X out today in search of eagle and hawk nests.  Only saw one bald eagle, but saw many hawks and was able to get a nice picture of hawks on the nest.

The summer weather pattern is beginning to set in and that means afternoon thundershowers most days.  The rain starts anywhere from noon to five, and although the rain is isolated (usually) you can plan to get wet sometime during the afternoon or evening.

On one trip a couple years ago, Kim and I had ridden to St. Augustine for the day.  It had been a killer hot day with no rain along the coast but as we headed home in the dark we could see flashes of lightning inland.  We slid south along the coast thinking we'd get around the south end of the rain before we needed to turn inland.  Well, we didn't ever get to the south end of the storm and eventually had to turn west for about fifty miles to get home.  Again, we thought we'd make it home just short of the storm and all would be good, but that didn't happen either.  About 20 miles short of our home, we had to cross over one of those triple decker overpasses.  We made it to the top of the over pass at the same time the storm hit.  There was lightning everywhere and I can tell you that the lightning was intense and very scary.  I may still have the bruises on my ribs where Kim was hanging on...

That was a long way to go to tell you I got out early and returned early, just as the first little rain shower of the day began.

The first nest I have pictures of was off the road a little way. Eagle and many big hawk / falcon nests are very course. They seem to be made of large branches with minimal padding for the chicks. They are nearly always at the very top of tall trees and are added to and reused each year





Eagle Nest

 

  

 

 

 

 



 I can't resist taking pictures of this bike. You do get a very nice idea of what rural Florida looks like in this part of the state, but you have to look around the bike. :)

On one of my stops, was at Lake Marian. I had placed the bike under a nice looking tree and was taking pictures of the bike, great blue herons, and wood storks when a couple alligators started croaking a few yards away. Some say an alligator sounds like a bull frog. They actually make many noises from squeaky sounds to big booming croaks. On this day they were croaking. It is a sound that sends chills up my back. No need for me to trek any deeper into the swamp!




Parked at Lake Marian.  Gators croaking in the swamp just down the bank from the bike.


 



 

 

 I don't know for sure what type bird these fellows are.  If anyone knows, please drop me a note.  I thought they were Peregrin Falcons at first but I couldn't see the tell tale "sideburns" of a Peregrin.  There was a parent in the nest with them and another on a wire just out of view.  The parent on the nest flew off and the youngsters popped their heads up to take a look at me.

 

As you can see, the sky was beginning to fill in and I had to head for home shortly after taking the photo of the chicks.  I stopped at the Ural/Enfield dealer to slip into my rain suit only to ride back into the sun for the last 20 or so miles.

 

I did see one bald eagle soaring over an orange grove near the house.  What a sight, I always think they are one of the most beautiful of our birds.



The ride that didn't happen



In the driveway - Where good bikes don't belong

We had planned all spring to take the Suzuki TU250X and the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a long Memorial Day weekend.  Seems life and work, (work mostly), conspired against us.  We have moved it back to mid summer. 

We are both curious to see how our TU250 will do in the mountains.  We know it'll be a hoot on the curves as it is so light and agile.  The plan now is to ride or trailer up to the Little Switzerland area and explore up and down the Blue Ridge from there.

Kim and I have made a number of very short rides, but haven't had the time to put an article together.  Will try to get out for a good trip this weekend.

Highlands Hammock, Sebring, Florida

We spent the weekend camping and hiking in the Sebring area.  For the ride down from south Orlando, I take the Orange Blossom Trail.  The road has a great name and no doubt it once travelled through many orange groves, but now you ride through traffic until you get past Kissimmee.  The Orange Blossom Trail passes through Davenport Florida, a town that began as Fort Cummings.  Fort Cummings was a military fort built in the 1800s and its' reason for being built, in what was then the middle of nowhere, was to establish a base to communicate with the Seminole Indians as the second Seminole war came to a close.  Today it is a sleepy little town with a strong country feel.  Many old buildings still exist and as so often happens with time, the roads have widened a bit so the buildings all seem very close to the road.

Just south of Davenport, we turn off the Orange Blossom Trail at Haines City and continue south on Hwy 17.  Hwy 17 doesn't get a lot of traffic and it takes you through many orange groves and a few small towns.  One of those small towns is Dundee. The area that is now Dundee was developed by speculators that saw the potential for citrus crops .  One of those that came to the area with citrus dreams was William Shepard of Minneapolis.  Shepard purchased about 14,000 acres of land . He developed not only the citrus groves, but when the railroad came through, he began developing and selling housing lots. Shepard was a visionary, as the area grow to become a major citrus producer.

South of Dundee, Fort Clinch once stood.  Fort Clinch was abandoned after only a few months, but by the mid 1800s it was resettled by its' first permanent settlers.  The settlers were attracted to the area by the plentiful game and fishing.  By the time William Shepard was developing Dundee, the name of the Fort Clinch area was changed to Frostproof.  Although the area is not exactly frost proof, frosts are rare.  With the catchy name and good soil, grove owners moved into the area.  Now the stretch from Dundee all the way to Sebring is packed full of groves.  This time of year the scent is almost unbelievably good!

It must have taken a tremendous amount of work to clear the land for the groves.  As you can see from the photos, the vegetation in the area without groves is very thick and often swampy.  I think, if left alone, the land would reclaim itself and you'd find very little signs of human habitation in just a few years. 

 

 

This is a foot path through a section of the Highlands Hammock State Park.  Something that cannot be seen from the pictures and that few non Floridians would know is that Florida is a state with hidden dangers.  The ocean is full of fish and sharks that can and do bite, there are salt water crocs, and swamp living alligators, venomous snakes and spiders.  It seems every type of palm has thorns or leaves can stab and cut.  There is a fantastic beauty about it all, but it had to take hardy men and women to settle the land.

 

 

Seconds after I snapped this picture an alligator that I hadn't seen slid quietly into the water just beyond the tree that is to the left of center.  

 

 

The swamp has a beauty of its' own and is nearly silent in the day.  It comes alive in the evening with the sounds of frogs and night birds.  

 

 

One of the neatest sounding night birds is the Limpkin.  It has a cry that sounds like it should have come from the deepest jungle.  In fact, their call was used in the Tarzan movies that were filmed in the area years ago.

 




Swamp

 





More Swamp



Still more swamp



1000 year old tree





This tree is approximately 1000 years old.  Much of the old growth is gone now, but some still stands.


Road through the hammock



This road and the two below cut through the state park.  There are always campers in the park, but the trails and roads get little use.

 

 

 

The deer flies were bad in a few places and I mentioned to my riding buddy, best friend, and wife, Kim that I'd been shooing one away from my head for the last few minutes and that it had bit me and left a red mark.  She didn't show much sympathy.  Then later in the day as we walked the path below, she stepped on a snake and was bitten.  She is so competitive and always has to show me up...

 

Anyway, it was a fantastic weekend with plenty of solitude and beauty.



 

Snake bite alley

The Snake Bite

Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Review

 




Kawasaki Vulcan 900

It can be difficult to write a review on a bike you have researched and finally committed to purchasing. Seems the review is bound to have a bit of bias in it. So with no apologies, here is my view and comments on the Vulcan 900.

I could never have been called a cruiser fan, I like simple bikes, fast bikes, and I like soft core trail riding. Cruisers were just not in my sights. Then one day my Dad bought a cruiser and rode it out to the farm to show it off. I wondered what had ever made him decide to buy a cruiser. I had (still have) a Kawasaki Concours and didn't see the attraction of the cruiser. I think he saw that in my eyes, because he just smiled and offered me his bike. It was sooo nice and sooo easy. (He did that to me with scooters too. Thanks Dad for opening my eyes to so many things)

That nice and easy stayed in my head long after that ride and several years later, with the encouragement of my best friend, riding buddy, and wife we purchased the Vulcan. Now after riding it for 12,000 plus miles, I have to say I like it better with each mile I ride it. Just as no bike is the perfect bike, this one gives and takes in different areas, so read on and we'll talk about the good and the bad of this very nice machine. Is there any bad after 12,000 miles? Not really, but there are things we can talk about so you are better informed if you should be in the market for a cruiser.

When reading magazine reports on the Vulcan 900, you hear them call this bike a middleweight or sometimes even a light cruiser. Let me tell you that a 660 pound 900cc bike is not light. It may be middle weight, but only because middle weight is a relative term. Just the same the weight is very low and because of this, the bike is easy to move around the garage and it is almost laughably easy to maneuver at walking speeds. It gets moved around less in the wind than my Connie and TU 250 and those wide handlebars make it super easy to roll into and out of the curves.

The fit and finish is quite good, the paint is flawless and the chrome is very pretty. I like plastic and am happy the bike has plastic fenders - no rust - but chrome plastic engine parts strike me as odd. Just the same, Kawasaki has pulled this off very well and the chrome is very nice. It has a belt drive and, again, I was not sure I'd like that feature, but I have become a convert. There is nothing to worry about with a street bike and belt drive, and it never needs oiling and seldom (none so far) needs adjusting. The final little thing that I'd change if I were King, or wealthy enough to buy aftermarket, is the spoke wheels. Not the spokes really as they are pretty and they compliment this type bike. They do run tube type tires though. I prefer the ease of patching a tubeless tire to a tube type.

There is no other bad for me and all these minor things are just that, minor. The windshield does a great job of splitting the wind, in fact it is the best bike I have owned for weather protection. The engine has fantastic torque and chugs up and down the road as easy two up as solo. It makes easy work of the eastern US mountains. This bike is at it's absolute best cruising through the countryside showing off the sights and smells of our rural areas. It is like riding a big old lawn chair. The seating position encourages you to look around and enjoy the world we so often just blast through when we are trying to "get somewhere". The Vulcan is happy at 45 mph and it is happy at highway speeds. I think the big windshield starts to drag a little as speeds climb above 70-75 mph. The bike can travel at these speeds and higher without any problem, but you do see the gas mileage begin to suffer.  The mileage on the open highway is 45 MPG but on last summers' ride to Tennessee and North Carolina the mileage ranged from 48 to 54+ MPG.  The bike has a 5.3 gallon fuel tank.  I run about 190 miles between fillups when riding back and forth to work (mostly turnpike travel)and will usually go 215+ when I get to ride it on the back roads I enjoy most.  When the fuel warning light illuminates, there is still a gallon of fuel in the tank. 

An interesting thing I have noticed with the Vulcan as well as the Concours is that they just keep getting better.  It is as if it takes them 30,000 miles or so to fully break in.  They get smoother and quicker with miles.  With the Vulcan, the mileage has continued to improve with age and even though I have always felt the engine was smooth, it also seems to keep running freer and smoother.  There is very little vibration from the Vulcan. The floorboards and handlebars remain steady all the way up to 70-75 MPH.

My father in-law and I rode to Tennessee and North Carolina last summer and we had intended to trade bikes now and then to give us sore spots in different place than we'd get if we stayed on just one bike. Turned out my father in-law enjoyed the Connie so much and I enjoyed the Vulcan so much that we did not trade at all. After a full week of steady riding neither of us was sore or tired.

It'll never be confused for a dual sport bike, but we have taken the Vulcan down a number of gravel roads as well as paved roads. I think the combination of wide tires and steering geometry make this an easy ride. There is no need to worry as it remains stable in both hard pack dirt and gravel.

I think the Vulcan 900 will be in Kawasaki's lineup for a long time. It doesn't try to be macho, it doesn't try to be a hotrod, it doesn't try to be anything other than a very pleasant to live with bike. The Vulcan will stay in my stable for a long time, it is just sooo easy and sooo nice!

Video Links you might enjoy:
Klausenpass - Teil 1
Klausenpass - Teil 2
Klausenpass - Teil 3