My son had a 2006 1300c that he had purchased near Twenty-Nine Palms in SoCal. He decided that it wasn’t for him so I purchased it from him.
I am from Yelm, WA so I flew down to Palm Springs to pick up the bike. It was a great plan. I would take the Pacific Coast Hwy from where it began in San Clemente CA and take all the way to where it ended in Legget, CA. Then various highways to get home to Yelm. I had eight days. Plenty of time.
First, the bike ran great. The only mechanical issues I had the entire trip was a loose mirror and I lost a license plate bolt. Easy fixes. Gas, check the oil every day and everything worked wonderfully.
Things I didn’t like:
I would never recommend doing the LA part of Hwy 1. It was slow and my hand was tired of pulling in the clutch. There was really nothing all that special to see that made all that time worth while. In fact, for the most part, the SoCal portion of Hwy 1 was boring.
It had been over 15 years since I had ridden a bike other than a safety course I took to appease the wife that I still could ride without falling over a month before I flew down. So the four to six hours a day involved some pain after day two since I was not used to sitting in the saddle.
My son had told me that the reserve would get me 50-80 miles. I learned that it didn’t on day one. I ran out of gas on a toll freeway just an hour into my first day.
Halfway through Oregon I started running into rain. Wow, Rain gets through everything. I couldn’t believe that my boots filled up with water. My waterproof gloves were not and I was pretty cold and numb by the time I got home.
Things I loved:
it was great getting on a bike again. It was my first cruiser and it was also the biggest bike I had ever owned. A 650 being my previous biggest. I was also used to having my feet underneath me so the BarcaLounger feel of a cruiser took some getting used to but it did make for a comfortable journey.
Wow, the tourque and power was awesome. I was very pleased.
The Viking saddlebags and tunnel bag I used gave me plenty of room for my things. I even added stuff as I drove up the coast.
The hotels were all comfortable and I slept very well. I stopped early twice on the way up. Once on day three because I thought that a hotel with a jacuzzi would help a lot with my newly found pains. It did help. And once in Oregon because I just wanted out of the rain.
Hwy 1 from central California to Legget was awesome. The trip though San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge were the fullfillment of a goal and also very neat. Then the ride got serous. Hwy 1 on the coast became a very interesting ride as it wound along the coast. The Pacific was always on my left and the road went up and down sheer cliffs to sandy beaches. The hotel I stayed at had a great view of the sunset and I just felt so good.
At Legget, CA Hwy 1 ended and then I followed 101 into Eureka. Those huge redwood trees were a site to behold. From Eurka I went inland on 299 up and down through the hills and valleys. It was fun but not as much fun as I had on hwy 3 off of 299. It was the most magnificent ride I had ever been on which includes 20 years of riding in SoCal while in the Navy and western Washington. I would love to do it again. Hwy 3 hits I-5 at Yreka. From there is was a quick trip up I-5 to get home. Since the weather changed I kept on the freeway to get home as quick as possible.
I am really enjoying my VTX and I want more opportunities for great rides. I currently have it on a jack hooked up to a battery float charger and covered. As soon as the temperature gets about 60 I will roll it out of the garage and seek more adventure.
Ken
I am from Yelm, WA so I flew down to Palm Springs to pick up the bike. It was a great plan. I would take the Pacific Coast Hwy from where it began in San Clemente CA and take all the way to where it ended in Legget, CA. Then various highways to get home to Yelm. I had eight days. Plenty of time.
First, the bike ran great. The only mechanical issues I had the entire trip was a loose mirror and I lost a license plate bolt. Easy fixes. Gas, check the oil every day and everything worked wonderfully.
Things I didn’t like:
I would never recommend doing the LA part of Hwy 1. It was slow and my hand was tired of pulling in the clutch. There was really nothing all that special to see that made all that time worth while. In fact, for the most part, the SoCal portion of Hwy 1 was boring.
It had been over 15 years since I had ridden a bike other than a safety course I took to appease the wife that I still could ride without falling over a month before I flew down. So the four to six hours a day involved some pain after day two since I was not used to sitting in the saddle.
My son had told me that the reserve would get me 50-80 miles. I learned that it didn’t on day one. I ran out of gas on a toll freeway just an hour into my first day.
Halfway through Oregon I started running into rain. Wow, Rain gets through everything. I couldn’t believe that my boots filled up with water. My waterproof gloves were not and I was pretty cold and numb by the time I got home.
Things I loved:
it was great getting on a bike again. It was my first cruiser and it was also the biggest bike I had ever owned. A 650 being my previous biggest. I was also used to having my feet underneath me so the BarcaLounger feel of a cruiser took some getting used to but it did make for a comfortable journey.
Wow, the tourque and power was awesome. I was very pleased.
The Viking saddlebags and tunnel bag I used gave me plenty of room for my things. I even added stuff as I drove up the coast.
The hotels were all comfortable and I slept very well. I stopped early twice on the way up. Once on day three because I thought that a hotel with a jacuzzi would help a lot with my newly found pains. It did help. And once in Oregon because I just wanted out of the rain.
Hwy 1 from central California to Legget was awesome. The trip though San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge were the fullfillment of a goal and also very neat. Then the ride got serous. Hwy 1 on the coast became a very interesting ride as it wound along the coast. The Pacific was always on my left and the road went up and down sheer cliffs to sandy beaches. The hotel I stayed at had a great view of the sunset and I just felt so good.
At Legget, CA Hwy 1 ended and then I followed 101 into Eureka. Those huge redwood trees were a site to behold. From Eurka I went inland on 299 up and down through the hills and valleys. It was fun but not as much fun as I had on hwy 3 off of 299. It was the most magnificent ride I had ever been on which includes 20 years of riding in SoCal while in the Navy and western Washington. I would love to do it again. Hwy 3 hits I-5 at Yreka. From there is was a quick trip up I-5 to get home. Since the weather changed I kept on the freeway to get home as quick as possible.
I am really enjoying my VTX and I want more opportunities for great rides. I currently have it on a jack hooked up to a battery float charger and covered. As soon as the temperature gets about 60 I will roll it out of the garage and seek more adventure.
Ken
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