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From Auburn to Downieville and back

Started by fret not, June 21, 2012, 01:18:56 AM

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fret not

I finally had an opportunity to break away from work and go for a ride with some old co-workers and friends.  (they're all friends)  I met the gang of 3 bikes at 10:00 at the junction of Magnolia Rd. and Dog bar Rd. which is maybe 5 minutes from my home.  Up the twisty Dog Bar to the short stretch of freeway from Grass Valley to Nevada city to the left turn that separates HWY 49 from HWY 20 going north and east.  The day was wonderful, not chilly not hot, just right and the little traffic we did encounter wasn't anything to be bothered about.  The road surfaces were dry but there is some dust and dirt in places from the late spring clean up of the winter storms.  They use a road grader to clear the ditches of weeds and debris, and some dirt gets on the pavement, but it will soon be blown away by the locals who do know the road rather well and waste no time getting to town or home.  We crossed the forks of the Yuba river and climbed up to the ridge and through North San Juan, a small village the highway runs through, and a center for medical gardens of the California kind.  I didn't see any.

The road stretches down and up through tall pines and cedars as it winds it's way along ridges and drops to river crossings and up again along the next ridge and down again to follow the river for a while and onward to Downieville. 

Downieville is an old gold mining town perched on the banks of the river and wedged against the feet of mountains that rise abruptly from the riverbank.  Not much room in town.  The highway north from there was under some construction with sections of single lane travel and flagmen to hold things up.  We turned around and went about a mile back toward home and stopped at Coyoteville, a cafe/bar with simple but decent food.  Lunch with a beer and tip was less than $15. 

Cell reception there is almost nonexistent except for a spot near the corner in Downieville, and as one of our group needed to make a timely call he went into town as the rest of us headed back down the highway to retrace our steps from the other direction, making a completely different ride going back toward home.  By now the day was getting warm, and I was enjoying the air flow through my jacket.   

This time of year the sunlit trees of the forest are a vivid green against the clear blue sky and deep shadows of the severely steep mountain faces rising from the edge of the road or across the river, and everywhere big trees, rocky mountainsides covered completely with the same vivid green color.  It's awesome to see and difficult to express adequately the impact such views make, but needless to say, it's worth the ride! ;D
Retired, on the downhill slide. . . . . . . . still feels like going uphill!

Rikugun

Sounds beautiful, thanks for sharing.  :)
It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is then to persist in delusion, however satisfying or reassuring.  Carl Sagan

fret not

HWY 49 goes up north into the Sierra Valley where Sattley and Sierraville are, and loops around to connect with HWY 89 and I-80, which heads back down the Sierra toward the central valley.  In years past I have been on rides over this area that entailed coasting races down the steeper parts, speed tests, nerve tests, and just plain enjoyment .  Life was very good when I was younger and less effected by the knowledge of what reality can bring.  Some of my friends are no longer here to participate, add color, make suggestions to the group, or tell everyone to stuff it.

That section of road is fairly lightly traveled, so it can be reasonably "safe" to get it on, within reason.  If you want to go fast get on a track, NOT a public road.  One concept that was impressed upon me in 1971 is that when you take chances on the road you are putting anyone else on the road at risk, and that is not fair.  It's OK to take risks but not OK to risk others without their permission, as on a race track.  The Highway Patrolman was impressive and I have not had a ticket since.  That was Norton Commando time, now working on Suzuki SV time and very soon to be in the XZ time zone.  I think I have most of the necessary parts to complete my XZ, some jobs are done but a few more to do.  Seriously thinking of SV carbs or FI throttle bodies for the XZ.
Retired, on the downhill slide. . . . . . . . still feels like going uphill!

Rick G

#3
by SV carbs , are you referring  Constant velocity carbs ? I don't believe they would be a performance  improvement. But , you could probably remove the flapper and its mechanism, but I don't believe that would be an improvement either. The HD XR 1200 is injected and still has a a flapper mechanism, although it would Shirley be computer control ed.
If you considering CV carbs , look at the front carb on a VX800, its a 34 mm CV down draft carb. The carb on the rear cylinder is a side draught carb and won't work , but 2 front carbs would. There cable controlled  and have a separate cable to sync the idle as well.
Rick G
Go soothingly on the grease mud, as there in lurks the skid demon
'82.5 Yamaha XZ550 RJ  Vision,
'90 Suzuki VX800, 1990 Suzuki DR350.
'74  XL350   Honda , 77 XL350 Honda, 78 XL350 Honda, '82 XT 200 Yamaha, '67 Yamaha YG1TK, 80cc trail bike

fret not

Thanks Rick.  Over the past few months I find SV 650 fuel injection throttle bodies available for less than the CV carbs of the early years ('99 - '02).  So it seems to me I should be looking further into the more modern system if the benefits are worth the drawbacks of making a system work. 
Retired, on the downhill slide. . . . . . . . still feels like going uphill!

Rick G

It seems that the ECM also controls the injection? Has anyone looked into this ? How can this be grafted onto a xz!  
Rick G
Go soothingly on the grease mud, as there in lurks the skid demon
'82.5 Yamaha XZ550 RJ  Vision,
'90 Suzuki VX800, 1990 Suzuki DR350.
'74  XL350   Honda , 77 XL350 Honda, 78 XL350 Honda, '82 XT 200 Yamaha, '67 Yamaha YG1TK, 80cc trail bike

Rikugun

I've heard not great things regarding some SV's throttle response. Could that be from those early models?
It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is then to persist in delusion, however satisfying or reassuring.  Carl Sagan

fret not

I have no problem with the CV carbs on my '02 SV.  They are a little touchy before the motor warms up but after that there are no problems I have encountered.  In '03 they went to fuel injection.
Retired, on the downhill slide. . . . . . . . still feels like going uphill!

Rikugun

Sorry, I left something out.  "I've heard not great things regarding some fuel injectedSV's throttle response."

Not being uber familiar with the SV models and years I'm not sure when they went to FI. My cousin owns one and I remember him telling me some complained about throttle response on FI models. This came out of research he did prior to purchase. Maybe isolated rather than across the board or limited to a certain year range? His is a FI model and he claims it's fine. In our riding group he's the only one to not offer his bike to me to ride so I can't confirm.  :(
It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is then to persist in delusion, however satisfying or reassuring.  Carl Sagan

motoracer8

 Mike, I do that ride at least once a year but the other direction. Up 70 through the Feather River Canyon to Quincy, then to 89 and then 49 to Downieville and Grass Valley. Dog Bar road is cool, then through Sierra Vista to Auburn and home.

The canyon has been on fire lately and has been full of smoke. We took some trucks up to Quincy to Cal Fire a couple of weeks ago, we will have to go back and get them soon.

  Ken G
83 Vision and 11 others, Japanese, German and British

fret not

I'm back, been gone a few days to a music festival near Yosemite.  Now there is a place to feast your eyes.  The narrow road out of Camp Mather to the Cherry Lake Rd. and back to HWY 120 has some fairly remote  and very striking scenery.  There are a very few mail boxes along the road, 3 or 4 at one spot and single mail boxes at 3 or 4 other spots and only one house could be seen.  That's about a 12 mile stretch and worth a trip to be there.  Unfortunately I was in my Ford Aerostar, not a bike, but that's what the situation called for.  Been doing on site instrument repair at that festival for 24 years and just turned the booth over to a couple great and talented guys.  I can go riding now instead of working, sometimes.

Ken, the loop you mention is a great ride, and a pretty full day if you do it all at once.  The SV saddle sucks for anything but canyon carving and I'm pretty much out of that frame of mind anymore, so unless I can find a decent seat for it I'll likely let it go down the road since comfort is becoming more important to me than when I was young and a more aggressive rider.  It's a great bike for the zippy crowd, and I used to be, but I don't want to pay the price for momentary lapses of attention or misjudgement.  Life is a lot easier when you don't go too much over the limit.

I could see some smoke both east and west of where I was driving from the Yosemite area but not enough to smell.  Most of the fires are burning farther north or in southern CA.  The air is decent here in the Auburn and  Grass Valley area for the time being.  Put those fires out, ya hear? ;)
Retired, on the downhill slide. . . . . . . . still feels like going uphill!

VisionMeister

I just rode the Vision up Hwy 120 to the Evergreen Road turnout last Thursday. Had lunch at the Iron Door Saloon in Groveland.
The Camp Mather road is a nice ride but can be a little dangerous with bicyclists, tourists and bears. The Cherry Lake Rd is a good ride that is very remote and has little traffic. You can do a loop out via Cottnwood Road to Tuolumne City, which has some awsome stretches, but a lot of it has fallen into disrepair.
I have been chasing demons out of  my carburetor for the last two months and this was my first ride for fun, rather than a test ride. I finally found some hairline fractures in the brass downtubes from the upper body. Replaced this and alll seems fine.
I'm now ready for normal riding. We should try to get together with motoracer8 for the Feather River loop. I'm in the Jackson area. 

fret not

That ride always sounds good to me.

Friday we leave for the Bonneville salt flats and the "World of Speed".  Again, in my Aerostar, not a bike.  Hope to get the pit set up Friday, racing starts Saturday.  1131 MPS/F 500cc  (an old '73 Suzuki T500 with a pretty nice skin to shed the wind)

The record got bumped to 182.xxMPH at the BUB meet a couple weeks ago, and this may well be the last time we participate, as domestic reality has made an appearance.
Retired, on the downhill slide. . . . . . . . still feels like going uphill!