A Day trip to Joshua Tree National Park with Motorcycle...

[BusyWeb]

Hello, there.

Here is my sharing for the day trip to Joshua Tree National Park with motorcycle.
It's hard to visit all the parts in the park in a day, so I took my favorite road side journey.
As coming Monday is part of holiday, all the campground were full.. ha ha ha
I could see Green Joshua Tree in this trip luckyly.

[youtube:25dym6ex]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyoqBEf-jrw[/youtube:25dym6ex]

Thanks

[alanmcorcoran]

Busy! Is this your first repeat? I could swear you been there before!

(Today was a good day to go, what with the weather being so spring like.)

[Moedad]

Good job Busy! I love Joshua Tree!

Do you know what the temps were coming back on Interstate 10 past Palm Springs? Today might've been one of those days it was warmer here than there.

[BusyWeb]

Busy! Is this your first repeat? I could swear you been there before!

(Today was a good day to go, what with the weather being so spring like.)

No, one of many repeat riding.
At the Joshua Tree, I didn't have HD version of video clips; so I decided to to go again.
Wished little traffic, but many tourist and trailers.
However, no winds at all, even wind mill turbines were stopped >> could enjoy some speed at the Fwy. 10. ha ha ha
Anyway, it was very nice weather condition for the ride.

[BusyWeb]

Good job Busy! I love Joshua Tree!

Do you know what the temps were coming back on Interstate 10 past Palm Springs? Today might've been one of those days it was warmer here than there.

Hi, Mr. Moedad.
Temp. of yesterday was just perfect; no wind, not hot as altitude was high so no need to have cold drink at all.
Today, I got up late so decided to stay at home and fun with video editing.
How about you, any ride today?

[Water Warrior 2]

I could sure use a good day's riding about now in those conditions. It was a good day to ride here weatherwise but not safety wise with the Games going on. We will not be riding till after the games are finished and everyone goes home.

[Moedad]

How about you, any ride today?

I went for a short ride to try out my bike after installing a fork brace and some Progressive shocks, but I didn't have time to be gone very long. Sure would've like to head up to the mountains but I bet it was really crowded on the good roads this weekend.

[BusyWeb]

I went for a short ride to try out my bike after installing a fork brace and some Progressive shocks,

Did you install the fork brace and shocks by yourself?
I really want to have some hard-core bike maintences... and might very fun and learning...

[Water Warrior 2]

A fork brace is easy to install. I have one on the Vstrom and it does make a big difference in wind and on rain grooves. You might want to contact Blair at SV Racing in Blaine Wash.

[Moedad]

Did you install the fork brace and shocks by yourself?
I really want to have some hard-core bike maintences... and might very fun and learning...

Yes. Actually the shocks were easier to install than the fork brace because there's a brake line bracket right in the way of installing the back half of the brace. You can see it on the backside of the fork in this picture.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/danmartin56/Motorcycle%20Stuff/Mods003.jpg
I figured I'd just take the fender bolt all the way out, slide the bracket out, reinstall the fender bolt, and then put the brace on. The brace has a little clip to secure the brake line, so I wasn't concerned about not having the bracket. The bracket seemed frozen in place, however, and rather than scratch up my fender trying to get it out, I "adjusted" (as in bent) the bracket so I could get the back half of the brace in between the bracket and the fork. Then it took a long time to get the fork, bracket and fender threads all lined up (because I bent it, you think? :biggrin: ) to put the bolt back in. After that the shocks were a piece of cake.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/danmartin56/Motorcycle%20Stuff/Mods004.jpg

[BusyWeb]

Yes. Actually the shocks were easier to install than the fork brace because there's a brake line bracket right in the way of installing the back half of the brace. You can see it on the backside of the fork in this picture.
After that the shocks were a piece of cake.

Wow, you did great job.
I thought that shock installing was harder thatn fork brace install...
Its weight looks much more than brace... ha ha ha
Thanks for the photos, I might try it later on.. but not sure that I could do??
(any special tools or work bench for my bike???)

[alanmcorcoran]

What is the value of the fork brace? Does one install shocks for reasons other than the old ones are shot? Just curious.

[Water Warrior 2]

Alan, a fork brace reduces fork flex. Have you noticed the way a bike wants to wander/dance in rain grooves ? Cornering forces can also flex the forks and reduce cornering abilities and precision. Overall your bike will handle better when pushed and you will gain more confidence in the bikes capabilities. My Vstrom just laughs at grooved curves and rain grooves. The whole bike just seems more solid.

[alanmcorcoran]

The GZ wants to wiggle and wander and bounce around, so yes, I am familiar with that. The Strat rides on rain grooves, scallops, ridges, gaps, cracks what have you, like a locomotive on rails. Seriously, the thing really just hums down the highway and feels absolutely rock solid - like a Datsun 240Z if anyone remembers those. I might already have a fork brace on the Strat - I'll have to look at it.

I just returned from a night out on the Strat on the SoCal freeways. I really enjoyed the trip home - it's a real joy to ride the thing at night on the four (or five) lane, right at about 75 - got to be the definition of "cruising."

[Moedad]

What is the value of the fork brace? Does one install shocks for reasons other than the old ones are shot? Just curious.

WW answered the brace question, and I will concur based on my limited experience to this point. I replaced my shocks mostly because they were the OEM and were more or less 17 years old with 40k miles on them. Plus the left side shock had some corrosion on the spring that was pitted into the spring.

[Easy Rider]

The Strat rides on rain grooves, scallops, ridges, gaps, cracks what have you, like a locomotive on rails.

The tread pattern on the tires is often the biggest factor in what the bike feels like on things like that. IIRC, a center rib will cause it to try and follow the grooves more. I think my GZ front tire had a center rib (and a groove on either side).