New to me Ducati 900 SS/SP

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Having a great time here with John and Mike! Really looking forward to seeing Jeff and Jim! Bike is awesome!

[herr_oberst]

[Scott Douglas]

Did they leave a map of their route with you herr_oberst?

[rwest]

Safe journeys guys, hope you have great weather.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Did they leave a map of their route with you herr_oberst?

Not really. I know JH will lead them on a great tour for the first two days.

[Baz]

Thanks for the updates and pics!

Safe riding guys!!!

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Pretty amazing few days in Portland staying with John and meeting Herr Oberst and Jim (Superman) and he very lovely wife Lisa. John made a great paella over an open fire and lamb chops and salad and we all ate and talked and had a great time!

Jeff came down early this morning and he and I hit the road around 9 and worked our way through some beautiful Oregon country along the Columbia river. Phenomenal weather, not a cloud in the sky, a little hot but could ask for better weather. We just got done with dinner and relaxing now in lovely Enterprise Oregon. Big day tomorrow getting to Missoula Montana

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Can’t upload pics now, will have to wait until I get back. Pretty exhaustified too. More to come!

[gsxrken]

Any updates???

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by gsxrken

Any updates???

The short version is it’s been a fantastic 3 days of riding. I’m in Sheridan Wyoming now and hoping to get to Mount Rushmore tomorrow.

Haven’t taken very many pics and will only be able to post those when I get back. Those and aerial maps to show where Jeff and I went.

Bike has been great.

[911boost]

Be safe!

[Jeff Higgins]

Well, I finally made it back home last night after what turned out, for me, to be a 1,697 mile loop. Four days of riding and one day of rest, hanging out with my brother in law in Old Town, ID.

Shaun and I rode together for two days, making it to Missoula, MT, where we parted ways. Our first day (after I had ridden down from the Seattle area to meet him in Portland) was spent riding along the north, or Washington side of the Columbia River, which serves as the border between Washington and Oregon. Here's Shaun at one of our more famous landmarks along the way, our own version of Stonehenge:



We spent the first night in Enterprise, OR, at the south end of Hell's Canyon on the Snake River.

The next day was spent riding north, up Hell's Canyon, to Lewiston, ID. From there, we continued on over Lolo Pass on Highway 12 to Missoula, where we spent the second night. Here we are at an overlook of Hell's Canyon:



Here's Shaun in Missoula, right next to one of its most notable avenues:



The next morning, Shaun continued east and I went north to Kalispell, then over to Sand Point ID and on to Old Town. After spending a day there with my brother in law and his lovely wife, I made for home over our North Cascades Highway (Hwy 20).

I heard from Shaun last night, he was 170 miles north of Chicago. He decided to ride all the way home to Boston, which he figured at his pace would be three more days. So, all in all, a grand total of over 3,000 miles over the course of a week. On a Ducati 900 SS. He's a better man than I, that's for sure. I wouldn't have made the first 200 miles to Portland on mine, and I knew it, hence the switch to the Road King.

I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of the story after we parted ways in Missoula. I'm sure Shaun will update us with photos and all of that once he makes it to Boston. What an epic adventure. I have to thank Shaun for allowing me to share in at least the first part of it. We had a wonderful time.

Lastly, what a pleasure it was to put faces to names at our gathering in Portland. I've known the two Jims (Superman and Jim Horton) for years, but it was the first time I had met Mike (herr_oberst) and John (jyl) in person. We had far too little time together before Shaun and I hit the road, but it was a pleasure nonetheless to spend the time we had together.

So, that's my small piece of the story. What a grand adventure for Shaun.

[Baz]

Awesome - thanks for the update and pics, Jeff! So glad things went so well for you guys! So cool!!!

[Tobra]

He fits on that bike way better than you would, Mr Higgins


Would not want to make too long a run on that thing though. I would probably do the video with a frame every second or so, maybe a little higher frame rate, but something where you could compress a run across Nebraska or Eastern Montana. I could see covering Eastern Montana a brisk pace.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by Tobra

He fits on that bike way better than you would, Mr Higgins

Oh, absolutely. With my 6'1", 250 lb aging weightlifter/powerlifter build, I look like the proverbial "monkey fornicating a football" when I'm on mine. This bike is built for guys like Shaun. He is suffering, though, believe me. Tough little fker, though.

Originally Posted by Tobra

Would not want to make too long a run on that thing though. I would probably do the video with a frame every second or so, maybe a little higher frame rate, but something where you could compress a run across Nebraska or Eastern Montana. I could see covering Eastern Montana a brisk pace.

Yes, he covered eastern Montana at a rather "brisk" pace. He told me as much. The only problem with these bikes, though, is their massive faired in side area. Any crosswind blows them across lanes like a leaf. Kinda like a sailboat tacking downwind. It gets really tiring. There is a "sweet spot" for speed vs. buffeting that, when exceeded, actually slows progress because we just have to stop so much more often. I've found about a buck ten is a really comfortable "cruise", even though they can go much faster. The classic "slow down to go faster" when considering average speeds over distance.

I just pinged Shaun. Waiting to hear back. He might be in bed by now, of course.

[jyl]

Shaun is one tough cookie.

I enjoyed meeting you, Jeff. Wish we’d had time to talk spoons.

[Jeff Higgins]

Heard from Shaun this morning. He is 336 miles from home. If he doesn't make it today, he'll certainly make it tomorrow on a very short day. What a stud.

John, one of these days we'll have to get together and do just that. Or, better yet, do some shooting.

[Scott Douglas]

Thanks for the updates on Shaun, Jeff.

[gsxrken]

Shaun, if you want to spend the night in NY 10598 PM me. Looks like we’re about to have some weather.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I’m home! 645 mile day. 8am to 7pm. What an amazing trip!!!! More tomorrow!