Touring by "scooter"

[lowbuckrider]

Sadly it does not look like I will be making it up to Tahoe this year maybe in the spring. but I thought my scoot did just fine on our trip up north



I will let you know when I or we head up.

[miboso]

Great trip report. I'll have to do one. Anyone coming up through Weed, give me a shout.
I just returned from a 2 month trip to Indiana, down through the south to Florida, up to New York (including riding 2-up into the city to see a Wicked) then back to Cali.
People were surprised to see I was touring on my Burgman 650 at all, then shocked when they realized I had ridden from California.

Yeah, there is a reason that it is called a "Scootour"

[gumshoe4]

That's right, Dave! People are shocked you're travelling on a "scooter"...it's really kind of funny and you get into all kinds of interesting conversations about it-way more than when I was riding a motorcycle. I think maybe non-riders are more willing to approach and talk because they feel less threatened or confronted. Or not...a psychologist, I ain't, but it is an interesting phenomenon.

I was through Weed and Redding on my return leg...nice country up there.

[knucklehead90]

Next time you tour on your scooter up this way try riding the gorge from east to west or west to east on Washington Highway 14. Had you turned left at Maryhill onto 14 you'd have been there. It runs opposite Interstate 84 which is on the Oregon side - it is not heavily traveled. It comes out at Vancouver Wa. Ride it all the way to highway 101 to Astoria Oregon if you are heading back south from there - or go north along the Washington Coast. Not as scenic as Oregon 101 but there are lots of places to turn off and enjoy a quiet beach by yourself. Can't do that in Oregon.

Another great highway is Highway 20 from Winthrop Wa. towards Mount Vernon and interstate 5. Its a great ride through scenic mountain passes (2) - gas up in Twisp or Winthrop - its (IIRC) 160 some miles between gas stations. Highway 20 begins on Whidbey Island in the San Juan Islands. If you were to ride highway 101 all the way north out of Oregon you'd either have to turn south towards Olympia or take the Port Townsend Ferry to Whidbey Island. Its a great way to see some of the San Juan Islands too. Great ride - I've done the ride through the Gorge over to 101 and north to Port Townsend and followed highway 20 several different times - just not recently. The ride over the North Cascades Highway (20) is something special. Kind of like driving in the Redwoods. You'll want to do it again once you've done it once. I've rode it many times - maybe 30 or more! I used to live in Arlington and had my motorhome and trailer in Winthrop for the summers - I'd ride the Harley over to the motorhome then trailer it up north of Wihthrop and camp along the river. From there I'd go riding or hiking or fishing - or just take it easy and unwind after a hard week of work.

[brodon]

Thanks for the photos and travel log. I absolutely love blogs like this where I can "share" the ride with the poster.

This is a great reminder to take lots of photos to share on my trip to the Big Bend TX in April.

A great choice. . . Silverwing. It was a Burgman or Wing that were my choices for my recent purchase, and I happened to find the Burgy first.

Don

73,s N4TFF

[gumshoe4]

N4TFF de W6LPH...

Hey Don, in addition to my cell phone, I generally take a 2m/440 HT with me when I go touring or on local runs on the SWing. In some areas, there is no cell coverage, but there's often a repeater in range most places I go. This is important in case of an emergency.

I don't talk with it while I'm riding, but when I stop for the night, it's also fun to dial up the local repeater and have a ragchew with whoever happens to be around. Sometimes, I get ignored and sometimes, particularly if the others on the machine find out I'm motorcycle touring, I have a pretty nice conversation.

The HT and charger take up little room...