Where did you ride your Super X today?

[Donkey Hotey]

I saw that others were commemorating the birthday of their bikes over on bookface. I never really thought about the fact that the manufacture month and year is stamped right on the VIN decal on the steering head. DOH!

Well, it's still October for a few more days. It's appropriate then that 1663 got some very much needed love during the month of her 20th birthday.

I finished up a long list of cosmetic repairs on Sunday afternoon and still had time to take her for a fifty mile loop through the mountains for fish tacos.

She got a VERY long list of new or refinished parts, including a new front wheel, new front springs, new tires, an upper steering head bearing, replated rigid fork, two NOS mirrors, new E-H grips, a new horn housing and emblem, Kuryakyn chrome levers, a rebuilt ignition lock, a proper black air cleaner emblem, a new oil filter emblem and these flame-themed IRC Wild Flare tires (pic attached).

The accessories came off and went on the shelf and all the original, stock parts went back on the bike. She spent her birthday looking almost as good as the day she was born.

[wytfut]

Nice Greg!!

[Donkey Hotey]

Last weekend was unseasonably warm. The forecast in Yosemite Valley was 74 degrees. That meant the higher elevations would be cool but, not unbearable. Even crazier, it's the middle of November and the road to Glacier Point and Washburn Point were still open.

But I am a cold weather wimp. Departing early in the morning from my house would mean temps in the 30s for the first few hours. Not going to happen. Fortunately I recently picked up an old Chariot Cycle Sled trailer I was dying to try out. After replacing the wheel bearings on Saturday, I decided it was Jennie's turn to go somewhere.

Loaded her up and killed the 260 miles between home and Wawona (inside Yosemite NP) from the comfort of my van. Fifteen minutes and she was unloaded and straps put away. It was 4.5 hours of pure, distilled riding: out to Glacier Point and back, down to the valley floor, a couple of laps down there to make sure all the pics that needed taking got taken, then back to the van: exactly 100.0 miles.

Loaded her back on the trailer and arrived home just after 9:00 PM.

[blackheart]

Well, in midway USA it's been unseasonably warm the last few days and we broke a 64 yr record yesterday by a few degrees.   So today I took out the old EH on a nice ride up the river to Rulo Nebrasxi and back across the river to Mound City then back home after stopping to see a friend North of St Joseph Mo.  A nice 120 miles on decent roads at unheard of temperatures.   I couldn't resist since I'm still breaking in the #204 engine in my chassis after I disassembled and pinned the bearings,  grooved the early style crank on the RH main to aid in rod oiling.  I've actually come to appreciate these are pretty decent bikes at the core although they have some issues which would have had to be addressed.

[franknsr]

Yea, crazy weather for sure. I'm in Northern Illinois and have been riding every day just because I can.

Got 'ol 1080 dialed in and dare I say; its probably giving me the best overall experience of any bike I've owned. Man I just love riding this thing.

[Donkey Hotey]

I’m jealous. I’m in “sunny Southern California” where it has snowed TWICE this year already. Snow isn’t impossible where I live but it’s unusual and never been twice in the same year in the 25 years I’ve lived here. It hasn’t been out of the 40s in days and the yard is still covered.

A friend is home outside of St. Louis for the holidays and rode Christmas Day and the day after. Enjoy it while you can.

[rt66john]

I live probably within 15 miles of Frank and managed to get out on the Vulcan for a bit a couple of Sundays ago.  Had to take advantage of the "global climate warming changing". 

[Donkey Hotey]

Damn. Been a long time since updating this. Anybody out riding their Super X? Share those pictures...

1525 is now old enough to drink. Like any relationship, it's been a lot of ups and downs but she still looks as good as the day she came out of the crate. This was just a short evening ride down Bouquet Canyon Road between my house and Santa Clarita, CA on August 21st.

[bobbybhb]

Short ride north of Calgary. On 1488.

[Donkey Hotey]

Ooh, solid Henderson Blue. That was the first color I saw in the wild, June 2000. That led to buying a Super X a month later.


I was about to put my foot in my mouth with a comment about antique tires. Haha. Man, they still make those? Dunlop got their money out of those molds.

[Donkey Hotey]

0738 needed the fluids stirred. I was out before sunrise to give her a bath before a short 240 mile ride yesterday.

Scenic southbound Maricopa Highway (CA 33) on the way toward Ojai, California.

[Donkey Hotey]

Today was Sinclair's (1940) turn for a ride in the sunshine. 260 miles in the Mojave Desert, southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Tehachapi Mountains.
CA 178 climbing west to Walker Pass


Climbing Caliente-Bodfish Road south, leaving Lake Isabella (in the background)



Winding down the mountainside, still on Caliente-Bodfish Road.

[Donkey Hotey]

Nobody out riding? Sinclair (1940) got another outing today. The California Central Coast Classic Motorcycle Show was today in San Luis Obispo. It's a short 200 mile ride along the San Andreas fault out to the coast for this one. Woke up when I woke up and headed out, wearing a vintage Excelsior-Henderson t-shirt.

The shirt paid off. Not ten minutes inside the show & swap area and another X owner found me: Jim Alford. We had a good chat, ended up going back to where Sinclair was parked to continue swapping notes and stories. It was a first meeting but surely not the last.

Also had a conversation with a tall, older gentleman who was looking at the bike and also spotted the shirt. "Is that yours? I test rode one of those back in the day!"

Okay, lots of people test rode bikes back in the day. I wasn't sure what he meant by "test rode." I asked some questions and he was full of energy on the subject. I suspected I knew who this was but, with the modular helmet instead of his trademark beret and the beard more scruffy than the photos we've seen, I wasn't sure.

About that time, one of his friends walked up to tell him where they decided to go after the show, "Clem, we're going to head over to..." When they finished I looked at him and quizically asked, "Salvadori?" He nodded.

Been a fan of his writing for far too many years. 40 years in moto-journalism?
https://ridermagazine.com/2017/09/28/retrospective-1999-2000-excelsior-henderson-super-x/

Parking lot in San Luis Obispo. Lots of bikes represented.




Passing the remains of the Neenach Volcano on the western end of Antelope Valley. 400 total miles today.

[bobbybhb]

Almost sounded like you were talking to Willie G but Clement Salvadori is best. Cool guy.

[Donkey Hotey]

Agreed. San Luis Obispo is his backyard. Being a classic bike event on a perfect weekend pretty much guaranteed he'd be there.

I really should have arrived earlier and parked in the non-competition, exhibit-only area. It was a small event. There was a Gilroy Indian with a sidecar parked over there. Oh well. Next year.