I went on a number of trips while I was in California. They were great and I will never forget them, however the best were those weekend rides in the San Diego area. Since I did so many of those weekend rides I don't really remember the individual rides that well. I remember bits and pieces. It is possible that I will get the chance to go back and visit all the great places again some day but there is no way I will ever be able to re-live the the exciting days of sport riding of that time. The roads were fantastic to ride on
The weather was great almost all the time
and I had a couple of really fun bikes!
A big part of the fun was the riders I had the chance to ride with and become friends with. I often wonder were all those people are today and how they are doing.
So, it's time to talk about sport riding again. Much of my sport riding was done on the FJ but the Venture also made a surprisingly good sport bike. After I got the Venture, I don't think Debbi ever rode on the back of the FJ again. The Venture spoiled her. So any sport rides that Debbi came along on were on the Venture.
The Venture had an Awesome V-4 engine that pulled really hard and sounded and felt great while doing it. The Venture was heavy at around 750 pounds but the steering was really light due to the wide handlebar and the steering geometry. The steering was actually lighter than that of the FJ. Cornering clearance was also very good for a touring bike. On top of that I would hang off on the inside to increase clearance even more.
Back to the people I rode with. There was a restaurant in San Diego that was a meeting place for riders on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Go there on any weekend or holiday and there would be one or more groups there eating and then heading out for a ride. I have no recollection of the name of that place but by using Google Maps to research it I'm pretty sure it was Giovanni's on Clairemont Mesa Blvd. I wonder if it is still a popular rider's meeting place? Any San Diego area riders out there reading this?
Riding with these guys was an experience in itself. Most of them were really experienced riders with a lot of great stories to tell. As a relative noob I was in awe of these guys. I would meet these guys for breakfast, we would ride all day and then sometimes stop some place for dinner where I had the chance to hear all kinds of great stories.
I really regret not taking more pics of these rides and the people I rode with when I had the chance. I am trying to not repeat that mistake today.
At least I took a few pics. Here's a great one this was taken one of those days Debbi came along on the Venture:
There is a story behind this pic but first I'm going to talk about the people in this pic.
Starting on the left:
Kim rode an EX500 and rode it very well. She was a nurse and the GF of the guy with his thumb in the air.
Tony, sitting down, rode a GSXR 750 ( I think) with a personalized tag that read IKIKA55
Somehow he got that past the license plate censors.
Jonesy was one of the fastest riders around. When I met him he rode a BMW K100RS. Although the BMW was not exactly a super sport he ride it ridiculously fast. In 2 and a half years he put 80,000 miles on it. He then traded it in. If I remember right he paid $3500 and the trade for a new BMW K75S. He got a great deal but keep in mind that the 80,000 K100RS was still under warranty!
The K75S was no super sport either but Jonesy was even faster on that bike than he had been on the 1000! I remember riding with him one day. I was on the FJ and my riding had improved greatly. We were coming up on one of my favorite sections of road. Nice medium speed sweepers that I knew really well. I would finally be able to keep up with him
So I ran through those curves as fast as I dared and hung way off to the inside like the racers did. On the straights I used all 125 horsepower......
It wasn't enough. He still left me in the dust.
To add insult to injury he had Dunlop K491 tour Elites on his bike. He rode so much he couldn't afford to use sport tires!
Just to the right of and behind Jonesy was Big Bill. He got his nick name because he was.........BIG. He rode a Hurricane 1000.
Next was John. He was a real motorcycling celebrity and legend. I'll talk more about him in a separate post. After that was Debbi and me.
The story behind this pic is coming up...........