Kamloops

I remember passing through here over the years... but I wasn't ready to see how this little town in the valley has grown up big time.

 

Ron and I spent some time wandering downtown, along the river front and through city parks.  What a jewel this is.  I remember a somewhat industrial dirty, and unkempt place nothing like we saw.  Urban re development, shopping areas, housing reaching up into the hills, spectacular desert views punctuated by the lushness of the river valley.  If I were a dinosaur (no comments) I'd find it a great place to live.

The better part of a day we roamed the downtown area, taking time to walk the waterfront most casually.  Cool, misty treed park ground.  Heritage buildings, people walking their dogs, pushing kiddies in strollers.  Well kept and with obvious pride, it was nice to see a city that has aged nicely.

Traffic especially along the Trans Canada thruway maybe the only negative I can think about, even a die hard Russian judge would give the city and area a 5.9!

A late afternoon cone at Scoopz was the cherry on the top for our Kamloops day.

 

Pain.

 

I've covered a lot of ground on the seat of various motorcycles over the decades.  From my '66 Honda S 90, to various two stroke mid displacement mounts, customs, sports bikes, dual sport bikes and even full blown touring bikes.  Yup, this butt has been intimate with a lot of seats.  Good thing motorcycles don't get jealous! 




I even rode a YSR 50 from the Island to Toronto with a couple of pals to attend the 1989 Yamaha dealer show.





In all those miles and all those padded (?!) perches, I have clearly maintained when ever asked, that 'touring... depended on your threshold of pain.'  Consider the bike I am currently touring on... it's a Japanese imported 1985 Suzuki LS 650, then known as the Savage and as of late, the Boulevard
S 40... this number denoting the displacement in cubic inches rather than centimeters, obviously in some attempt to Americanize the engine size. When I say Japanese import, I mean just that.  The bike is a homeland model slightly different than that designed for the CDN market.  It has a switch allowing the rider to select 'no lights, parking/running lights or full on.'  In addition it has a very annoying RED light in the speedo face warning that you have exceeded 80kph.  The engine can be started without drawing in the clutch lever and the side stand when deployed appears as another RED light on the mini dash.  Plus... it has a 5 speed transmission... something we didn't get till years later.



The engine is an upright 652 cc (40 cid) air cooled single four valve four stroke with a single  overhead cam.  The seat is very low, 28" off the deck.  Even for a shortie such as myself this is knee bending height.  In order to get this low seat hgt, the seat is ahem... pretty thin and the rear suspension very limited. 



Of course as a rider may occasionally carry a passenger on the pillion seat (and I use that word loosely) the rear non adjustable shocks are rather firm. 



All this translates to a stiff ride and cramped limited riding position.  The raised flat bar exasperates the whole thing and the message the bike conveys is that of a little factory built chopper.  I'd admit, when I ride these bikes I feel like a 'bad boy', well just a little.  Many people at a glance have no clue what size this bike is.




Okay, so it's a burger bike more suitable for posing down at the Dairy Queen or Burger King than out on the road luggage attached covering thousands of kilometers.  Having said that, remember... touring by bike depends a lot on your threshold of pain.




While visiting with Ronnie, I mostly rode his 650 cc (40 cid) Suzuki Burgman or V Strom 650.  Both are infinitely more comfortable and suited to long distances in the saddle and having had limited time on big scooters, I chose the Burger more times than not.  Like when we did the north shore of the south Thompson followed by a jaunt east on highway 1 to the DreamCycle museum, it was Burger all the way.

This museum is conveniently located on the Trans Canada highway and is certainly worth a visit whether riding by or driving.




Not only is there a good collection of interesting, historic and even rare motorcycles, but they have a very cool little café on site named Sprockets. 



From there we motored these dinky toy ribbons of back country asphalt to view a few old bikes as various friends of Ron's.  They included a pair of immaculately restored mid sixties,305 Yamaha's and farther along, after a 'trail/trial' ride up a mountainside in pouring rain, some more modern Yamaha's in the form of RD 350 LC models.  My friends know I am particular to two stroke rides, some have even said I have pre-diluted injection oil in my veins... but as I have said many times, I really don't care if it's an RD, a CB, a GS or an HD, I LOVE bikes!

Enjoy the pics...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loops from Kamloops

Hitting the road.

RON just bought a V Strom 650, days prior to my arrival.  In addition he has a well kept GS 1000G and his favourite bike, which really isn't a "bike" at all, but a scooter.  A Burgman 650 scooter in fact.

Two distinct Suzuki 650's.

The Burgman line from Suzuki, are likely the most popular scooters in North America, available, well known and with several displacement choices from 200-650cc.

Pretty little ranch/farm on rte 5A

I had never ridden a Burger and was anxious to try it.  I loaded some gear on his DL 650 and he led me across the city and out of the Thompson River Valley south on 5A.  Before the day was done, we would cover 355 km of road varying between 4 lane freeway all the way down to sinuous two lane  unmarked blacktop.






I rode the V Strom for the first half of our trip through desert country and on into high pine forest.  Our ride took us through Quilchena, pretty little Nicola, Merritt for lunch, before continuing to Lower Nicola, Spences Bridge, a short hop on the TC H/W #1 to Ashcroft, then Logan Lake on to Savona and back into Kamloops.

The V Strom performed as it should and having one back home in PEI, I was very familiar with his bike immediately.  When I took over the Burgman in Ashcroft, I was a little surprised.  I had to remind myself on the long climb out of the valley that, even though this machine was capable of doing the 'ton' and quite easily at that, it was really a scooter and as such, the lever on the left bar was the rear brake and not a clutch lever!!!  Ask me how quickly I realized this fact...






Owning two road going scooters myself, I was familiar with the riding technique but of course it took some thought on my part not to yank the left lever at any time except when braking!

I have to admit, I like it.  A lot!  Electric motor smooth, powerful enough to pass uphill and fast enough to swing the digital speedometer up over the 160kph mark, the BIG Burgman would make an ideal motorcycle... ummm scooter for those people that maybe want something simpler and easier to ride than a large touring bike.

Never did I feel a new for more speed than the Burger offered.

Weather protection (as I found out later) was adequate although I could have used a shorter windscreen. Storage capacity under the seat in and the removable trunk is very useful.  I could likely pack all the gear I am carrying on the Savage into the cargo bays of the Burgman!

Turn of the (20th) century church in Nicola

As for the riding, let me repeat something that Ron is always spouting off about... having lived most of my life in the West, B.C. must have the best motorcycling in the country.  Whatever your tastes, four lane droning (Hey some people live for that) sport bike scratching, slow country touring, dual purpose riding and pure off roading, the province has it all.  The only thing missing here was ocean and that's only 200 miles due West!





Our day varied between numerous photo stops, lunch at a pub in Merritt operated by a native of Pugwash N.S. a steep climb to Logan Lake, and some four lane for a short distance leading us back to the city of some 90,000.

Big bucket

A slight detour down a gravel trail was all the off roading I wanted to do with the Strom!

I don't know when I will get out here again, so Ron and I have been making the best of it in the short time frame I have to visit.

Wouldn't want to meet this guy late at night on a dark road!

Arriving back home after 9 hours on the road I commented to Ronnie that there were three very different Suzuki 650's in his carport! The Adventure touring DL, the hooligan scooter Burgman and the little chopperish Savage.

Just goes to show I was right all along, claiming that mid displacement bikes are almost ideal for a variety of riding situations, maybe the Brits had something with their 500's and 650's all those years ago!

Ron's next scooter?

On the Road again...

Majestic Mt Robson,  Highest point in the CDN Rockies

Well... I didn't freeze my posterior off that first day, but came pretty darn close!  It is after all still spring, until the 21st.  I shivered through Drayton Valley, warmed up a bit gassing up in Entwhistle, while having a chat with two guys on a Honda Shadow 750 and a BMW F 650 (with the 800 twin engine).  They were heading for Revelstoke and even though they invited me to join them, I was traveling in a different direction.  


With a 10L fuel capacity I was filling up every 120-150 km.  While the bike delivers about 65mpg, there can be long stretches on western highways with limited fuel supplies.  Miss one gas stop and I'd be thumbing!

Jasper came and went, I didn't bother going into the townsite.  Instead I continued west to the junction of Yellowhead south, route 5.

The Yellowhead Pass

After a long day's total of 530km on the big single, I pulled off the road at 5 pm local Pacific time and quickly settled into the Yellowhead Motel where Francis checked me into a clean and tidy single room.

Terry and Milt Good peoples!

Pretty isn't it!

Within minutes a pair of Harley's rode in.  Milt was on a decker and his long time sweetie Terry, on a trike. I sat and chatted with the couple from Red Deer, on their holidays to the Okanagan, where I too will eventually spend a few days off the road visiting with family.  I have to admit, I always find motorcyclists in every province, every country, who are interesting, intelligent and fun.  I mentioned to Milt and Terry that if we were running the country, it would be more efficient, more honest, less wasteful and more fun to boot:)

The next day I left Valemont in a drizzle that soon cleared up, and I enjoyed sunny skies for the entire day.  

The ride south was nothing like the last time I was through here, when it was raining so hard, it got me on the way down and having bounced off the pavement twice more!

Simple. clean and affordable.

After filling Thumper in Blue River, where the ex and I had problems with the BMW in '76.  The electrics were drowned by the torrential downpour and we had to overnight in a room that had plumbing problems, but being the only show in town, we took it.  This time round, the Suzuki and I breezed right through without a hitch.  By the time I cleared Clearwater... the temperature had climbed substantially and I was shedding clothing.  

Is this the picture of a Bad Boy!?

I had a bit of difficulty finding Ron's trailer park having been given some directions by a resident of a nearby park that sent me in the opposite direction.  I eventually clued in and landed late in the afternoon but a day early.  

I was pleased to be off the road in the 30 plus degree heat, and satisfied that the Suzuki had done so well.  Apart from leaking fork seals which I band aided before leaving the Motel, I'd had no problems.  Even though the bike was never designed by the gang at Hamamatsu for traveling long distance, being essentially a street cruiser, she had got me here without tormenting me too much and I had to admit, with that low slung seat, flat bar and peanut tank... I was feeling a bit of a "Bad Boy".

Roadside fix, to keep fork oil off my knees.

Ron and I made a tour round the local bike shops before stopping at a local Wendy's for my obligatory "road food" a burger and fries with an ice cold Coke to wash it all down.

It was great to be greeted by an old friend once again, he and I have known each other since Fort Mac days and as you that ride will attest, the bond shared by motorcyclists may even be stronger than that shared by many married couples!  The biker family is like none other on earth.

Thumper and I had arrived in Kamloops!