BestScenicRoutes.com

Posts Tagged ‘Vstrom’

A recent realization is that a certain motorcycle company has always been a part of my life. It all started when my father brought home an early 70’s Suzuki TC90. It was a barn find that he took home for the price of free! He tuned it up, put tires, chain, sprocket and grips on it and we fired it up to ride around the yard.

This TC 90 is very similar to mine as a kid. Photo courtesy of http://maddmedic.files.wordpress.com

This was the bike that my sister immediately learned that motorcycling was not for her. The incredibly well-executed wheelie in our yard landed her and the bike in the shrubs that lined the perimeter of our yard. Her decision to not ride was solidified as my parents pulled the numerous woody thorns that were 2-3 inches in length from her flesh.

A couple other Japanese branded machines filled my teenage years. It wasn’t until college that the big “S” made another appearance. This time, I was on the lookout for affordable commuting around campus and town. This really made little sense as my college in the far reaches of Northern Minnesota had a limited riding season. For a mere $400, I picked up a 1977 Suzuki GS400X. The bike was a gas-sipping blast. I got my endorsement on that bike. Rode the wheels, chain and very worn sprocket off that bike during the summer. A beautiful young woman donned a helmet and leather jacket to go on many rides with me. That little 400cc bike gave me enough badass credo that I won her over. Later that year, I put a ring on that woman’s finger and she said “yes.”

The GR 650 Tempter is now owned by my dad.

Fresh out of college I landed a job with the Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Center. It was a great gig that let me put my college training to use with my passion for two wheels. Of course, I was flat broke at the time and without a motorcycle. That situation felt a bit off. The fire in my gut needed two wheels again. That’s when a 1984 Suzuki GR650 Tempter entered my garage. It was a real beast of a bike, but with some elbow grease it took my new wife and I on numerous trips. I never did take it much further than 200 miles from home. The weak metal of the gas tank constantly sprung leaks. One such pin-hole leak sprung as I was dressed in a suit and commuting to work. The stench of gasoline filled the office air. My colleagues asked that I leave! The bike remained parked as I took the city bus home. People on the bus were obviously disturbed by the gas smell, but couldn’t place from where it was coming. It seemed to come from the direction of the guy decked out in a business suit, but it couldn’t be him that smells this bad.

At this point, my wife and I had decent jobs and we worked on the side managing a 36-unit apartment building. Being a country kid that was stuck in the city, there was a tremendous need within me to get out and explore rural America. Managing that apartment building was like having three extra jobs, but it allowed me to pick up a new motorcycle. This time, I didn’t pick up some 20-30 year old bike. This was going to be my first (and only to this point) new bike.

There were many options for new motorcycles. It was a 2007 Suzuki DL 650 V-Strom that fit my need for a commuting and touring steed. All the hard work paid off as I paid cash for the bike.

The bike needed a strong name that depicted its adventurous personality. When spoken, the name needed to elicit day dreams of far off places. Victor Stromboli was born.

Here we are several years and nearly 50,000 miles later. In a garage with four motorcycles in it, Victor is still my primary motorcycle. It has taken us across the country on several trips, over the mountains, down fire service roads and has gotten me in over my head on several dirt trails.

The "new" Suzuki in my garage. The 1991 Suzuki DR 350S. It's proving to be a fun dual sport for trail exploration.

It is the last situation that recently got me looking for another motorcycle. A limited budget and a deep internal “need” for a capable off-road explorer got me researching the many small to mid-size dual sport bikes available on the used market. Suzuki answers the call again. A 1991 Suzuki DR350S fit my desire for a simple motorcycle that could get to the single track trails on its own accord and still manage the rugged terrain.

I am not tied to any particular brand of motorcycle. I don’t count myself as a “Suzuki” guy. It just so happens that the company always has a reliable, affordable and good solution to my motorcycling demands. This is a recent realization for me that 90 percent of the miles that I’ve put on motorcycles has been on a single brand, Suzuki.

Kudos to you, Suzuki. I may in fact be a “Suzuki” guy.

The hotel room is cozy, but the road beckons. Today promised to be a very memorable ride.

I head south from Grand Coulee on SR 174. The landscape rolls gradually. It is scenic, but I was hoping for more excitement to pull me from the no-coffee fog I was in. The sun rises quickly in the eastern skies as I point the bike directly into it on Jurgensen Road. Luckily, I’m only heading east for two miles until I head north on SR 21.

Highway 21 switchback. One of many.

SR 21 is exactly the excitement that I needed. The short 12-mile ride take you from the rolling fields to steep cliffs that ocerlook the Columbia River. I didn’t count switchbacks, but they are plentiful as the road carries me down to the Keller Ferry. This stretch of Highway 21 will make motorcycle riders of all types very happy.

The Keller Ferry is a 12-vehicle vessel that crosses the 1.5 miles across the Columbia River, which is known as the Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake in this area. The river isn’t naturally this wide in this area. The Grand Coulee Dam is just 15 miles down stream from here and creates the easy-going pool of water known as Franlin D. Roosevelt Lake. This is the only way to connect Hwy 21. Luckily, the ferry is free.

With blue skies overhead I watch the Keller Ferry, also known as the Martha S., approach the southern shores. The basalt cliffs across the river are so big and beautiful that they don’t appear real. It is this kind of view that my meager photography skills can’t do justice.

Silver Creek Road winds up, up and away.

The ferry is light with my Suzuki V-Strom being the only vehicle onboard. We make the short crossing and I climb up from the river on Hwy 21. About 10 miles from the ferry dock, I turn east onto Silver Creek road. This is a gem of a road. Some riders may shy away from the dirt surface of the road. It undulates and wraps around and over itself. The road is loose and requires a slower speed for the hairpin turns. That is completely fine with me. The slower speeds allow more time to enjoy the incredible scenery that fills the valley below. This is yet another scenic route that Washington state hies beyond the reaches of pavement. Everyone looking to make time and simply get from point A to point B misses the splendor hidden in Eastern Washington.

After a few stops, the motorcycle finds pavement and begins to burn it up. The surface heaves and swallows from its age. The V-Strom’s suspension soaks it up as I lean from peg to peg in a dance high above the Columbia River.

The road descends to the Gifford-Inchellium Ferry that carries vehicles across the upper Columbia River from Inchelium to Hwy 25 and the town of Gifford, Washington. This one is slightly larger than the first ferry. It carries several cars. The ferry jostles out from the dock. The moving water pushes the boat sideways almost as fast as the captain can power across the wide river. A skilled captain he was, as I sat on the bike and it hardly moved as he docked on the east side of the river.

From here it is just 25 miles up Hwy 25 to Kettle Falls. Kettle Falls has gas, food, coffee and most amenities that a rider may need. I fill the gas tank on my motorcycle, buy a cup of coffee and eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before continuing out of town. US 395 takes me the short distance north to FR 61 or Boulder Creek Road.

The ride along Boulder Creek Road slices through the northern tip of the Colville National Forest. The scenery is again spectacular. There are ample dirt roads that branch off of the paved Boulder Creek Road for additional exploring. This area certainly whetted my appetite. I’ll have to journey back to explore Little Boulder Creek Road and other Forest Service roads around the Deer Creek Snopark and Green Mountain areas.

I continue my westward journey to the small community of Curlew, Washington. It appears that this is a former railroad stop town, but now lives on the few farmers, loggers and miners that remain in the area.

There isn’t much to explore in Curlew, so I leave town on West Kettle River Road following the snake-like pattern of the Kettle River. The river provides ample drink for plant life. The river, trees hugging the shore and mountains combine for an easy place to enjoy being alone on a motorcycle. Some roads are easy to daydream and drift off on. This is yet another road on this ride that demands attention to the quickly changing details.

Along a short straight-away is a historical interpretive sign. It talks about Ronald McDonald. No, not the clown of restaurant fame. This is the Ronald McDonald who happens to have been the first person to teach the English language in Japan. This Pacific Northwestern-born man grew up near Oregon and apparently met some shipwrecked Japanese sailors as a young lad, which sparked an interest in their homeland. Eventually, he travelled there teaching actual samurai the English language. The sign says that his final resting place is just north a mile or two. I head in that direction but soon after crossing a river the road comes to a “T” intersection. A few teenagers swimming at the river didn’t know which direction the burial site was in. I get back onto the main road and chase the sun instead as time didn’t allow for too much added exploration if I was going to make my destination before dark set in.

Black and white treatment seems fitting for the ghost town of Bodie, Washington.

West Kettle River Road connects with Toroda Creek Road which makes a large curve and begins heading south. Just as the sun begins to warm the right side of my body, I notice several old weather worn buildings just off both sides of the road. The Okanogan County historical society is nice enough to place information boards to keep the curious traveler informed of the areas rich history.

The old buildings are the remnants of Bodie, Washington. It is a ghost town now, but it was once the nearest town to the gold mine of the same name that was established in 1896 and helped spur the Okanogan County gold rush. In 1902, the Bodie Mine was purchased by the Wrigley family. You know, the same Wrigley’s of chewing gum fame. They actually started what became the Bodie Mining Company in 1903. At the time, the mine was worth $1.5 million. Here we are, more than a century later and all that is left are several run down buildings that make for incredible photo opportunities right next to an incredibly fun motorcycle road.

The Ghost Town of Bodie, WA is easily viewed and explored from the road.

From Bodie, the road passes through Old Toroda before connecting with SR 20 in Wauconda. My wheels push up and over the great North Cascades Highway and don’t stop turning until I reach home on the wet side of the mountains.

This trip included viewing the largest concrete structure in the United States, climbing dirt switchback mountain roads, two small ferries and finding a ghost town and mine once owned by a famous gum manufacturer. How’s that for a weekend well spent on two wheels?