The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

Discovery":3ik1aswq said:
Nice photos, particularly liked the shot of the "kids choir".
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You noticed? :wink: The kids choir was facing away from us. During the game, it was more like a 3-ring circus: there were at least 3 different cheerleading and dance squads, guys on bikes, the Suns Gorilla, giveaways, tossing t-shirts into the crowd, and a DJ type announcer. Oh, there was some basketball, too. :mrgreen:

Hugs to you and Dixie,
Jim
 
Captains Cat":2r99wvzu said:
He told me that they were going back to Friday Harbor, same as last summer!
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Yeah, Joan told me we were going back to Friday Harbor. :wink:

I understand there are some whales that need watching. 8)

Best wishes,
Jim
 
oldguy83":29dxywv0 said:
How do you get away with doing :lol: bottom paint in a white shirt?
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I am very careful. Oh, and it is an old shirt, relegated to grubby duties, like bottom painting, oil changing, yard work (which I no longer have to do), and occasional kayaking. The long sleeve white is muy bueno in a warm climate. :hot

The Blonde keeps trying to throw out that shirt, I keep recovering it. After today, I may have to let it go.
 
I must have missed something, when did you get rid of (or not) your previous bike you had for the two of you? And what is the model of scooters you now have? I'm interested because my Harley Road King is s-l-o-w-l-y getting too heavy for city riding...ha.
 
Dora~Jean":32jyh0d4 said:
I must have missed something, when did you get rid of (or not) your previous bike you had for the two of you? And what is the model of scooters you now have? I'm interested because my Harley Road King is s-l-o-w-l-y getting too heavy for city riding...ha.
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Hi Steve,

Nice to hear from you! I sold the V-Strom about 10 days ago. I really wasn't riding it all that much... in fact, I was about ready to be done riding. Then, while we were in Arizona in February, Joan said, "Let's get a couple scooters!"

That wasn't completely out of the blue. She had looked at a Yamaha Vino 125 a year and a half ago, while we were visiting our motorcycle dealer friend in Sturgis, SD. She liked that scooter. I encouraged her to get it, but she declined, saying it would be a hassle to get it home.

Apparently, she hadn't completely put that out of her mind. So, I did some research and we started scooter shopping. We decided on a pair of Honda PCX 150s. They have 14" wheels (bigger than many scooters), fuel injection, and are water cooled. Legal to ride on the Interstate, but they top out around 65 - 70 mph. Perfect at 55 mph or less. I am surprised at how much we are enjoying these - they are SO easy. Peppy, too.

Some background: I have been riding motorcycles for 45 years. I started at 14 on a nearly worn out Honda 150 Dream. Over the years, we have owned 25 motorcycles, including 9 Harleys, 4 Goldwings, a couple BMWs, a Triumph Bonneville (the bike I taught Joan to ride on when we were both teenagers), and a bunch of other Hondas and Yamahas. She is a good rider, and has had her own Wing, a Harley Heritage, but really smoked the canyon where we lived with a couple of Yamaha sport bikes. We have rented scooters when we vacationed in the Cayman Islands and Hawaii... they were gutless. I didn't have a lot of regard for scooters prior to this.

I was wrong. I have gone from ready to give up two wheels to having a blast! Kinda gone "full circle" from my first Honda 150 as a kid and now back to a Honda 150. I want to ride more, again. No, not coast to coast stuff (we've done that) - these scooters are great running around town (we actually enjoyed riding all over Phoenix while we were there), and they are big fun on twisty two lanes. I am OK if we don't do Interstates.

Joan has plans for where we're going to go when we're done in Friday Harbor this summer, and there will be some scooter riding. I was hoping to take the scoots along to Friday Harbor, but getting the boat, all our stuff, and the scooters... well, there is a limit to how much you can take... easily.

So, if you think scooters are for kids who can't afford a "real" motorcycle, or for those who can't handle shifting... well, I have sure learned a lot in the past two months. 8)

You and I have some past things in common: sailing Corsair trimarans was big fun... cruising on a C-Dory is different, but just as enjoyable. There was a time I couldn't imagine NOT sailing. That's kinda how this scooter stuff feels to me in regards to the motorcycles we've had... I enjoyed them all. A few years ago, I would not have considered this... timing. :D If I had known how easy and fun these things are, I would have said, "Let's take two of 'em!" when Joan first looked at a scooter a year and a half ago.

Who knew there is a "scooter culture" out there (much like C-Brats)? Lightweight, peppy, fun, easy... and did I mention: FUN! :mrgreen: Of course, for those who want to long distance tour, there are maxi-scooters (Suzuki Bergman, Yamaha Majesty, Honda Silverwing, and a couple new BMW 650s)... but, you are back to a heavy bike again. There are cheap Chinese scooters that don't hold up worth a darn. Tiwanese manufacturers (Kymco, PGO, Genuine, SYM) who make nice scooters. And Honda and Yamaha, with a range of scooters. Oh, let's not forget Piaggio/Vespa, that everyone thinks of when you say "scooter." We picked the Hondas based on reputation, quality, technology, and size. Did I mention: fun?!

We were recently on South Padre Island during the Beach 'n Biker Fest. Plenty of Harleys and sport bikes there... we had fun with our scoots and didn't miss something bigger at all. 8)

Someone on one of the scooter forums referred to the PCX as "Superman's bicycle;" I get that.

Look around... if you find something easier and more fun for city riding than a scooter, let me know.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Hi Jim,

Well let's put some more "in common" things in the books. You got me on the bikes, I've only owned 16 (I think). Previous bike was a Harley Sportster 1200, in training for 9 yrs before the Road King. The Sporty was top-heavy, didn't like twistys at all with that bike. The Road King is actually a bit better in the mountains, hard to believe at 250+ lbs more, but it's CG is far lower and where it should be, even with 2-up as I ride >50% of the time.

On scooters, I've owned 3 (not counting a 1950's Cushman I 'tried' to ride when I was 14), and you don't have to tell me about the fun-factor, they're great and I had mine on the freeway (LA that is) about a third of the time.

My first was a Yamaha 200, not very good, and I'm a Yami person. The 2nd was a Honda 250, water-cooled, probably very similar to yours. A world of difference from the Yamaha, built solid, felt solid, much more stable -- but still had the smallish scooter-wheels, not like yours. That made it quite top-heavy with 2-up, so eventually I had to go back to motorcycles. The 3rd was another Honda 250 after the other one was stolen and thrashed for 2 months (jumping curbs, etc), totaled. Like you found out, with their constant velocity drive system, they're VERY quick off the line for their HP; in fact, I'd blow away all sorts of cars (not bikes) if the guy looked at me funny for riding a scooter -- usually blew past them up to about 45 mph! But as you know, there are no winners on the bike side in a race with a car -- or at least no one left to tell about it...!

I'm going to take a serious look at the Bergmans one of these days, it would be a good transition bike coming down from the Harley. But not right away, I'm still too attached to my Harley and love to ride it.

Well might-fine Jim and Joan, another great activity for the two of you to enjoy! Thanks for the details too.
 
We'll be heading out early; not because we're anxious to leave the Tropical Tip, but we lost a family member, and it is time to go be with family. Wild Blue is getting packed up a bit sooner than anticipated.

Not to sound preachy, but a reminder to get out there and enjoy life... and boat folks generally know how to do that.

We're looking forward to a summer on the boat, watching whales, and seeing friends at the Friday Harbor gathering.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Jim,

Condolences. You are right about doing it now. Looking forward to seeing you and Joan at Friday Harbor. Travel safe.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon
 
We're getting close: almost to Portland this evening. We've covered over 2,500 miles since we left the Tropical Tip. A short day of about 280 miles tomorrow, then we'll start getting Wild Blue ready to be on the water again.

Some folks here who use their boats as a camping conveyance while on the road haven't been turned away from an RV park. We had TWO of them turn us away today, when we called ahead for reservations. No matter how much you explain that the boat has a full cabin, 30 amp power, a head, a separate sleeping area (don't call it a v-berth, or you'll have even more to explain :roll: ), etc, etc... when they hear boat, they immediately think: ski boat.

No issue, since we do call ahead, and are in a very nice RV park in historic Troutdale - what a neat little town!

One of the highlights of the day was a phone call from Steve P. (Wandering Sagebrush) - we passed on I-84 (he was heading east, we were westbound).

More here, including some point of view photos...

http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2013/05/no ... -here.html

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RVSite_zpseab828d7.jpg

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
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