Bought an R 1200 RT ... keeping my C 650 GT.

Delray

Well-known member
And the winner is ....

Fly 'n Ride.

With riding my GT from Florida to New York and back as an agreeable default plan, I kept looking for bikes up north. It was always my preference to ride that distance one time, not twice.

Today I found a pretty 2003 Honda Silver Wing in the top of New York State and bought it. This is my third 2003 Honda Silver Wing -- that classic Honda red keeps calling my name and I keep answering. Cost was $2,000. Owner is kindly leaving his New York plate on the bike until I get home, so I don't have to worry about tag or title.

Body is in mint condition and the owner's best friend, a mechanic, went through the bike and updated everything. New OEM CVT belt and Dr. Pulley rollers. New spark plugs. New brake pads. New tires and battery. New oils and filters. Strobed brake lights on the top case. The owner bought it to tow behind his motor home but his wife refuses to get on the Silver Wing, so he had to sell it. Lucky me.

The week after next, I will fly to Plattsburgh, New York, just south of Montreal, and ride to Rochester through the heart of the Adirondack Mountains in the middle of summer. Did I mention lucky me?

The Silver Wing doesn't hold a candle to the C 650 GT. I've owned four Wings. They are bare bones and buzzy and prone to understeering. But man, they are carefree and fun -- I can add to the 24,010 odometer with a vengeance. Practically, I can probably double my money if I sell it in Florida. I love Honda reliability. I swear you could bury a Silver Wing for ten years, dig it up, and it would cough once or twice and start up.

Odd how I began with a powerful BMW touring bike and ended with a humble, reliable Honda. I feel happy, though. Eager for the road ahead.

Right Profile.jpg
 
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wspollack

Active member
Mike:

Although it's difficult to find a bad road in the Adirondacks -- and I've been on nearly all of them, except some those in the far north (i.e., beyond day-trip range) -- let me recommend two of them in particular, if you're not too familiar with the area:

1) Rt. 30 is beautiful, has gobs of nice sweepers, and not much traffic, for most of its long length. And just a few small towns along the way, to bring your speed down to 30 at times.

2) Rt. 10, from its northern terminus going down south is one mighty fine road -- kind of first among equals -- and has gobs of tight-ish sweepers, and pretty much no traffic. You'll find this starting point a shortish ride east of Speculator, which village is has both a gas station and some eateries. I made a few videos of that romp down 10, on the Big Burger and, just a few weeks ago, on the C 400 GT, i.e., this one:


So, a potential route for you might be something like this:


Just some suggestions, of course, especially if you're conversant with the region already.
 

Delray

Well-known member
Bill,

You do such a nice job on the videos. So smooth. It is exciting to see that beautiful, rolling countryside. I can't wait!

Riding anywhere other than the pool-table flat, N-S-E-W grid of Florida will be like escaping from prison. Speaking of which, remember those two convicts doing life for murder who dug out of Clinton Correctional Facility? David Sweat was one, can't recall the other. My Silver Wing seller is a correctional officer at that prison and was on duty the night they escaped. I am looking forward to a couple good prison yarns when we meet.

I am with you on Route 30. Fantastic. That was on my normal run from Rochester, through Saranac and Tupper. I veer west toward Old Forge and "come out of the woods" around Utica. Your routing is (understandably) a little Albany-centric. You're right, though. Hard to find a bad route up there. I rode a Suzuki 650 up to Placid one year and vividly remember inhaling the wonderful scent of the mountains long before I could see them.

One option I will explore is following the St. Lawrence and shores of Lake Ontario to Rochester, routes 11 and 37. I've been in every corner of NYS except that one. A good buddy just bought a cottage in the Thousand Islands -- I've never seen one island! So that sounds appealing. Good problems to have. I envy you having all that wonderful riding territory nearby. I will enjoy the heck out of it.
 

wspollack

Active member
...

I am with you on Route 30. Fantastic. That was on my normal run from Rochester, through Saranac and Tupper. I veer west toward Old Forge and "come out of the woods" around Utica. Your routing is (understandably) a little Albany-centric. You're right, though. Hard to find a bad route up there. I rode a Suzuki 650 up to Placid one year and vividly remember inhaling the wonderful scent of the mountains long before I could see them.

...
Your St. Lawrence plan sounds very interesting. I haven't ridden around there, but what's not to like. (I did do a two-up ride on my '07 Exec, a dozen or so years ago, going the other way, i.e., to join some Canadian friends at the Gaspe peninsula.)

I like that, "Albany-centric" -- good one. By the way, coming out of the southwestern area of the Adirondacks, over by Utica, is something I've done a bunch of times, too. I have a good friend in Poland (NY, not Europe -- look it up) whose farmhouse I often wind up at, around midday. Gorgeous farm country (a lot of Amish) roads out that way; just watch out for (fairly rare, but slick) horseshit on the curves.

My two favorite lunch places more or less in the area are Rick's Famous in Utica and Crazy Otto's in Herkimer. if either of those is unknown to you.
 

Delray

Well-known member
I am liking the St. Lawrence Seaway option. This trip seems all about new roads so I might as well start right in.

That's funny, horseshit on the curves. I need to get my deer awareness re-sharpened. That's not an issue in Florida. I am way out of practice with keeping an eye on the woods for them.

Thanks for the restaurant recommendations. I'll guess they are meat-first places? I've been a vegetarian for many years out of empathy for animals, so in most restaurants I end up ordering side dishes. Honestly, I end up ignoring most restaurants, as seeing what's on most plates disturbs me.
 
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wspollack

Active member
Food: okay, ignore that. A daughter in NC is a vegan; the restaurants we go to together usually serve all kinds of food. A daughter in TX is a foodie, so no problem there.

Deer sense: yep, probably need to up your game. That's the main reason I don't ride at night, and haven't done so in a about a decade.

Here's a Big Burger vid from last year, in the sticks about an hour north of me: cows at 2:00 and a deer at 11:46. You can't tell this from the vid, but the mama cow was big and really mean looking, gave me the hairy eyeball several times. The deer was small; it's unusual not to have them with bigger ones, in groups of two or three, and it's fairly uncommon to see them during the day, but still ...

 

Delray

Well-known member
Wow, mama cow gave you one imposing look. I wouldn't mess with her.

Speaking of the power of mama's ....

Month ago I was getting dive-bombed by a mockingbird because I had the audacity to park my motorcycle under its tree. They are fiercely territorial. I made friends by offering broken up peanuts on the ground. Next day I was standing by the bike and heard a bird singing loudly. Turned around to see the mockingbird perched on my windscreen, looking at me. Peanuts were served.

This became a regular thing. To make the operation more efficient, I broke up peanuts in advance and kept them in a tupperware container. One day I started holding the open container high in the air, to see if the bird would land and eat. I did this for several days, standing in the same spot, saying the same thing with a friendly tone. The bird progressed from fly-by's to touch-and-go's to landing on the container. Finally it landed and ate. This became the new normal.

The bird would land, eat a few pieces, then stuff its beak with all the peanut pieces it could carry and fly off. After a few days I followed it. Turns out it was a mama bird bringing food to three young chicks. Mama would set down all the pieces and carefully drop individual pieces into the open beaks of the little ones.

Seems it wasn't my magical St. Francis of Assisi charm that caused the mockingbird to land on my tupperware. It was the protective instincts of a mama.

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Greg goes wild

Active member
That mama cow how the mad cow look when you advanced she was very aware. Good thing she did not
come at you right after you passed the truck. Nice ride thru the backroads. Out here in Central Tx. past San
Antonio there are the 3 sisters in the high hills n TWISTY rds.. Alot of motorcyclist head out that way a lot.
Yep you gotta keep aware of the deere n others on the rds. Good videos thanks for sharing
 
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