What bike would you ride... Zen Route

[drbone641]

Well the decision was made with the heart. My buddy was thinking of getting a Guzzi franchise 4 years ago and I fell in love at first sight with the Cali Touring. Sorry Pete😜 But unless we just don't get along, she's my dance partner. Shipping in from the left coast as we speak. I look forward to getting to know her and I really appreciate all the input. 'The heart wants what it wants' and 'be careful what you wish for ' both come to mind. I'm keeping the Duc for those days when > 400 lbs just won't do.

[Chuck in Indiana]

You've been warned.  Hey! Have a great trip and give us a report. 

[Lannis]

Well the decision was made with the heart. My buddy was thinking of getting a Guzzi franchise 4 years ago and I fell in love at first sight with the Cali Touring. Sorry Pete😜 But unless we just don't get along, she's my dance partner. Shipping in from the left coast as we speak. I look forward to getting to know her and I really appreciate all the input. 'The heart wants what it wants' and 'be careful what you wish for ' both come to mind. I'm keeping the Duc for those days when > 400 lbs just won't do.

Well, you know all the worst of it.   Pete's given you some data .... although "Characterless" is VERY subjective, you may think that the bike is just FULL of character.   

Weight - There's lots of posts praising the mighty HD Road King.   It weighs about (depending whose figures you read) 100 pounds more than a California 1400.   So maybe the weight won't be an issue for you.

No quick-disconnect luggage - This WOULD be a PITRA for Fay and I.  We really like being to take the luggage off the Stelvio or the Trophy and take it into the motel with us.    We had a local seamstress make some nice inserts for the Stelvio bags since the TRAX bags don't have handles - maybe something similar could be done for you, OR just keep a good-fitting carry-on bag in each side .....

Good luck!!   As I was riding Pete's Cali 1400 down the Colorado highway and back, I felt like I was sitting still and the earth was turning under me.   It DOES have its good points!

Lannis

[Huzo]

YOU make the memories, the bike doesn't. It'll make bugger all difference what you're on, it will just alter the "flavour" of the trip. (BTW, should'a got a 2 VPC Norge.)

[oldbike54]

YOU make the memories, the bike doesn't. It'll make bugger all difference what you're on, it will just alter the "flavour" of the trip. (BTW, should'a got a 2 VPC Norge.)

So like rhubarb VS rutabaga ?

 Any bike that will get the job done will get the job done .

 Dusty

[Kiwi_Roy]

The man is still alive , heck , ask him 

 Dusty

Too late now, he passed away a few weeks back, made me pull out the book and read it again, it's a struggle.
His son is not around either.

I'm sure he would approve of a Guzzi, he was all about quality after all.

[oldbike54]

Too late now, he passed away a few weeks back, made me pull out the book and read it again, it's a struggle.
His son is not around either.

I'm sure he would approve of a Guzzi, he was all about quality after all.

 Yeah , but my post was from Feb when Bob was still with us . Chris was killed in about 1985 .

 I've wondered about what Bob would ride in his later years , he didn't mind doing a bit of fetteling

[Kev m]

Well the decision was made with the heart. My buddy was thinking of getting a Guzzi franchise 4 years ago and I fell in love at first sight with the Cali Touring. Sorry Pete😜 But unless we just don't get along, she's my dance partner. Shipping in from the left coast as we speak. I look forward to getting to know her and I really appreciate all the input. 'The heart wants what it wants' and 'be careful what you wish for ' both come to mind. I'm keeping the Duc for those days when > 400 lbs just won't do.

Ha ha, I've made mistakes buying bikes before... But never I think when I followed my heart instead of my head.

Best of luck and enjoy.


Lannis, more like only 50# at most IIRC, I'll check my figures when I hit my desk.

[Denis]

I would take my Eldorado if I was planning on duplicating that ride. Dead reliable, in the spirit of the thing, and completely capable of crossing the country at 45-50mph, which is probably what Pirsig managed with that 305, two-up with gear.

[Northern Bill]

This question can be answered in at least two ways.  The best touring bike for you or the best bike to recreate the spirit of the journey. Either answer will be interesting but the latter seems more thought provoking so I will try at the latter. Clearly the bike chosen would have to be small with a fairly low cruising speed or old enough that the cruising speed would still be slow.  To take a newer touring or adventure bike would not be in the spirit of things.  For me, being mechanically challenged,  a Yamaha XT250 with an aftermarket seat might be the ticket.
 
A couple of years ago a fellow in the local vintage club rode a Honda 50 passport from coast to coast. That was one journey I would not want to duplicate!

[Lannis]

Lannis, more like only 50# at most IIRC, I'll check my figures when I hit my desk.

Could be, I just looked up several sources for "wet" or "curb" weight and averaged them.

Manufacturers will lie about that stuff like an aging movie star will lie about her age ..... !

Lannis

[Kev m]

Lannis, more like only 50# at most IIRC, I'll check my figures when I hit my desk.

Lannis, let me correct myself, holy crap you're right.

How the hell did the Audace lose nearly 100# from the Cali 1400T?

That puts the Audace at more than 150# lighter than the RK!

Honestly if that's true that should make it a very interesting possible alternative to anyone who is comparing an RK and Cali 1400 and is looking for minimal weight. I realize you'd add some of it back with bags and a shield, but still.

[Lannis]

Lannis, let me correct myself, holy crap you're right.

How the hell did the Audace lose nearly 100# from the Cali 1400T?

That puts the Audace at more than 150# lighter than the RK!

Honestly if that's true that should make it a very interesting possible alternative to anyone who is comparing an RK and Cali 1400 and is looking for minimal weight. I realize you'd add some of it back with bags and a shield, but still.

I'm getting more sensitive to motorcycle weight as time marches on.   I own the two heaviest motorcycles I'll ever own again right now .... the '09 Stelvio at about 560 wet (4.9 gallon tank) and the '14 Triumph Trophy at 660 pounds wet (7 gallon tank).

They're wonderful at speed on the road, but horsing them around the shop or onto the lift, pulling into a gravel parking lot, pushing them through iffy footing, or stopping on a dodgy shoulder is a butt-clenching experience which I will not duplicate in the future.

I've got 'em because Fay and I have a lot of two-up riding planned in the next few years, and these are both good-fitting luxury liners for us - we just don't do well on the HD/Gold Wing "standard touring" bikes, we fit much better on a sport-touring sort of thing, we're just angled that way; forward instead of backward.

In the 70s and 80s, Fay and I did a lot of riding together on an RD400 Yamaha and an R65 BMW.   You can't scream down the interstate at 85 MPH two up on those, but then again we won't need to ... there's no reason that a 40 HP 425 pound bike can't do every single thing we want to do .... and do it WAY cheaper and easier overall than a Big Bike !

Lannis

[roadscum]

The 'zen' is not about what your ride or where you ride but rather about your state of mind. If ya got a schedule and a planned route, well, you're not going to achieve the 'zen'.

I've been across country many times, the best trips where those without schedule of specific destination, none were better then the trip on a Vespa 300 in 2012. Purchased it in Las Vegas, road to  L. A. to play in the canyons for a few days, then to San Diego for the 600 service, PCH, Yosemite, Mesa Az., Luckenbach/Austin Tx., then home to Florida. 28 days, 5+K miles, ate when hungry, slept when tired, rode only when I wanted, stayed over when I felt like I wanted to explore locally or to ride with folks I met along the way, made new friends, picked my way around local roads with no daily plan. Did a similar trip last year for 6 weeks, my only 'plan' was to visit a friend in Coeur d'Alene Idaho.

The new rider says lets go here or there, the old timers say 'lets ride'!!!

Paul

[oldbike54]

 Paul , that is the concept at work here . The trip was done in 1967 or '68 , guessing if Bob had made the trip in 2000 he would have done so on a 1997 model of something .

 Dusty

[drbone641]

Paul, I understand 'just riding'. This one is an exercise in symbolism for him. My buddy is retiring and is a big fan of Pirsig. This is a ride he has wanted to do for a while. He has sold his Bimmers and Ducs and is riding a Victory and a Triumph now. He's taking the Victory on this one. I could do this on my Duc, or any bike, but wanted a like bike, that I liked. 🤓 As usual, there's a destination, but it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. Picking a bike was to balance the wants, needs and the crucial, 'other' factors. This is my first Guzzi. I think for a trip around the perimeter, and a destination in Sa Fran, the  Cali is a decent pick for the journey. I have enjoyed the search.

[Huzo]

There'd be no point asking THE MAN, anyway. You're looking for something on your horizon not his. It's a fairly decent chunk of jingoistic crap all this "zen" stuff. I'd wager there'd be few of us here that could give a passable explanation of what it actually is anyway, simply because it's different things to different people, so you go looking for yourself. I've kind of lost the thread of where you're up to in your planning, just get on the bike and GO !! Oh, and as for re creating rides, last year I thought I'd do the Uppsala run that the Ghost Rider did. 70 km in under 15 mins, I took 40... Should have kept the mystique and not spoiled the dream by turning it into reality.

[G5]

You might be interested in Mark Richardson: Zen and Now: On the Trail of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
"Whenever possible, I plan to stick to the same route and the same rest stops and see how much remains. Pirsig was sometimes vague about names but always precise in description, so I expect to find the way. He left in July, and today's July 18; the journey should take two weeks, ending in San Francisco on my birthday ... I'm not the first to travel this road and sure won't be the last, but all that really matters right now, as the heat bears down and the landscape begins to flatten, is that the front tire stays true to the west. The rest will follow."
Used copies are available on bookfinder.com