Author Topic: World Guzzi Day - Northern Colorado - September 12, 2015 -- Ride report (Read 7984 times)

Testarossa · « **on:** August 16, 2015, 01:35:56 PM »

***UPDATE***

Meetup:
Howling Cow Cafe
5821 W Co Rd 54E
Bellvue, CO 80512

Depart:
10:00 AM

Ride:
-To Walden via Poudre Canyon (State 14).
-Lunch in Walden
-Route back to Fort Collins via Rist Canyon

We could probably round up half a dozen folks from the Front Range North for a ride into the mountains on Saturday, Sept 12.

What say you?

Seth

dxhall · « **Reply #1 on:** August 16, 2015, 02:31:12 PM »

Not much going on that weekend. What time were you thinking of starting, and how far do you plan to ride?

LowRyter · « **Reply #2 on:** August 16, 2015, 04:43:45 PM »

you're only 580 miles to Gary's campout at Canton Lake.

M0T0Geezer · « **Reply #3 on:** August 16, 2015, 06:05:28 PM »

Quote from: Testarossa on August 16, 2015, 01:35:56 PM

We could probably round up half a dozen folks from the Front Range North for a ride into the mountains on Saturday, Sept 12.

What say you?

Seth

I'm in.

'Geezer

Dan Martin
303-709-6488 cell
Longmont CO
2004 Bteva 750

blakebird · « **Reply #4 on:** August 16, 2015, 06:22:28 PM »

tentatively IN

charlie b · « **Reply #5 on:** August 16, 2015, 08:04:25 PM »

will be headed home on the 12th.

Will be in staying in Leadville 8 to 12. Riding to a lot of places those days. RMNP, Pikes Peak, etc.

Testarossa · « **Reply #6 on:** August 16, 2015, 09:10:33 PM »

How about Fort Collins to Walden via Poudre Canyon (State 14), varying the route back by coming down Rist Canyon.

About two hours each way. Leave FoCo around 10am, which will give everyone time to get there. Lunch in Walden and back in Foco by about 3pm.

alanp · « **Reply #7 on:** August 16, 2015, 09:22:58 PM »

Sounds good. Count me in!

dxhall · « **Reply #8 on:** August 16, 2015, 10:32:01 PM »

I could do it. Where in Fort Collins do you want to meet? I'd vote for a coffee place.

LongRanger · « **Reply #9 on:** August 16, 2015, 11:38:05 PM »

The River Rock Cafe in Walden is always worth the ride. If you're not watching your waist, their chicken fried steak is the best around!

Testarossa · « **Reply #10 on:** August 16, 2015, 11:59:27 PM »

Howling Cow Cafe
5821 W Co Rd 54E
Bellvue, CO 80512

0:0xcffcac1ea8fcbbe9!6m1!1e1" class="bbc_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.google.com/maps/place/Howling+Cow+Cafe/@40.6514299,-105.1796264,15z/data=!4m5!1m2!2m1!1sFort+Collins+coffee!3m1!1s0x000000000000000 0:0xcffcac1ea8fcbbe9!6m1!1e1

rocker59 · « **Reply #11 on:** August 17, 2015, 08:28:43 AM »

Great idea!

I edited the subject line to be more descriptive.

M0T0Geezer · « **Reply #12 on:** August 18, 2015, 09:20:17 AM »

Quote from: Testarossa on August 16, 2015, 11:59:27 PM

Howling Cow Cafe
5821 W Co Rd 54E
Bellvue, CO 80512

I've been around those parts a lot and I can't recall anything on or near 287 called Howling Cow.

Google Street view shows nothing but some industrial area and MS Streets & Trips doesn't understand county road designations.

I'll try to cruise around the general area and find exactly where it is and post some more directions.

Dan

Testarossa · « **Reply #13 on:** August 18, 2015, 09:26:37 AM »

http://www.yelp.com/biz/howling-cow-cafe-bellvue

https://www.facebook.com/HowlingCow

http://www.morningfreshdairy.com/howling-cow-cafe

rocker59 · « **Reply #14 on:** August 18, 2015, 01:22:41 PM »

Quote from: M0T0Geezer on August 18, 2015, 09:20:17 AM

I've been around those parts a lot and I can't recall anything on or near 287 called Howling Cow.

Google Street view shows nothing but some industrial area and MS Streets & Trips doesn't understand county road designations.

I'll try to cruise around the general area and find exactly where it is and post some more directions.

Dan

Type this into your Google Maps search: "Morning Fresh Dairy Farms, Bellvue, CO"

Or, check out their website: http://www.morningfreshdairy.com/howling-cow-cafe

Testarossa · « **Reply #15 on:** August 18, 2015, 11:02:07 PM »

It would appear that Norton Colorado will be camped out at Glen Echo Resort on the Poudre for that weekend. We could strafe them.

Mike Harper · « **Reply #16 on:** August 19, 2015, 01:42:06 PM »

That has to be a BMW hangout. They serve Quiche

blakebird · « **Reply #17 on:** August 19, 2015, 02:46:18 PM »

Missed this turning into a sticky... I was thinking Vern's in La Porte, but Howling Cow works too.

Just got off the phone with Jim at Moto Italia - they just rolled the 1100 Sport off the lift, now to find the time to ramble up and get it.
If this shindig was sooner I'd just wait until then

Testarossa · « **Reply #18 on:** August 19, 2015, 04:56:44 PM »

Participating:

Alanp
Dxhall
Motogeezer
Testarossa

Tentative:
Blakebird
Skippy

skippy · « **Reply #19 on:** August 20, 2015, 09:07:49 PM »

Quote from: Testarossa on August 19, 2015, 04:56:44 PM

Participating:

Alanp
Dxhall
Motogeezer
Testarossa

Tentative:
Blakebird

I guess I will put my name on the tentative list. should be a good day.

Skippy

M0T0Geezer · « **Reply #20 on:** August 30, 2015, 08:33:30 AM »

Quote from: Testarossa on August 18, 2015, 11:02:07 PM

It would appear that Norton Colorado will be camped out at Glen Echo Resort on the Poudre for that weekend.
We could strafe them.

Strafe the Beemophiles... What a great idea!

But, oh bother, their quiches may go cold in all the Moto Brando chaos. Dare we ruffle them so?

BTW, I did find the Howling Cow Cafe - have driven by the place 100 times but never looked sideways.

See y'all there.

'Geezer

Testarossa · « **Reply #21 on:** August 30, 2015, 10:15:40 AM »

Norton Colorado isn't a Beemer quiche group. They ride old Britbikes and drink warm beer.

alanp · « **Reply #22 on:** September 09, 2015, 06:01:52 PM »

Bump. The day is right around the corner. I will be there!

Testarossa · « **Reply #23 on:** September 12, 2015, 04:42:58 PM »

Only AlanP, MotoGeezer and I showed up at the coffee shop, but that's fine. We last rode together two years ago at the Ouray NAR. AlanP is riding his new Sport 1100; MotoGeezer still has his very cool Breva 750, now with many thousands more miles. And I'm on the T again, two rebuilds and much drama later.

I didn't know if I'd make it on the T because I'd been struggling with a persistent charging problem. Thanks to a clue from Kiwi Roy, at 7:30am I finally traced it to a loose spade connector in the fuse box I installed after the flood. Fixed with a little judicious squeeze on the rivet with a needle-nose plier and off we went.

We left the coffee shop at 10:30. Route was up Poudre Canyon, AlanP leading -- I took up the caboose position in deference to the age and post-flood infirmity of Signora T. It's a 5,000-foot climb from Fort Collins (at 5,000 feet) up 60-mph sweepers, and AlanP set a smooth rhythmic pace. For the T this is a fourth-gear cruise. But shortly after we overtook the Britbikes of the Norton Colorado crew, I lost fourth gear. Uh, oh.

Continued, double-shifting between third and fifth, which is awkward only when passing and you upshift from 5000 in third to 3000 in fifth, losing much momentum.

Photo: AlanP and MotoGeezer at the top.

We stopped at noon with the Norton group at the summit, a reservoir at 10,000 feet, and admired many beautifully-maintained Triumphs, Beezers and Nortons (a couple of age-appropriate Beemers among the group too).

Photo: The three geese: Alan's 1100 Sport, my T, MotoGeezer's Breva. That's me in the background looking at the Monobloc carb on a '66 Triumph TR6.

When I admitted the fourth-gear problem, AlanP suggested we all turn around and head back down. This would be the second time I returned from a group ride under escort for mechanical reasons, so I advised the guys to continue on to Walden, but they wouldn't leave me and AlanP insisted he needed to meet his wife in FoCo anyway, so we cruised back down the canyon, AlanP leading again at a steady 60 knots, hardly touching the brake. We turned right onto Stove Prairie Road (County 27), a tight twisty two-lane that rises and falls sharply -- basically a third-gear cruise, so I was all set and was able to stay tight on AlanP's tail. We stopped at the top of Rist Canyon, where AlanP turned east to return to FoCo and Martin and I continued south on this very entertaining road, back toward Longmont.

After the cool-down, I found that fourth gear was back, and took advantage of it to rediscover the T's wonderful handling. When something hangs up, then unsticks, it's gotta be a lack-of-lube problem. After MotoGeezer turned off for home, I cruised home and drained the gearbox. As expected, only 250ml drained out -- capacity is 750. I last filled the box just 800 miles ago, so this is disappointing. Need to figure out a way to dipstick the box.

200 miles in five hours, with four lazy stops. Great ride!

M0T0Geezer · « **Reply #24 on:** September 13, 2015, 01:41:54 PM »

It was a great ride, west out of Fort Collins Colorado on highway 14 to Cameron Pass and the Continental Divide. Wish more could have been with us - maybe next time.

People: TestaRossa and alanp

Meeting up with the Norton Colorado Brit bike group was an added treat. There were even a few right shift/left brake classic Brit bikes there.

'Geezer

alanp · « **Reply #25 on:** September 15, 2015, 07:00:51 PM »

A belated weighing in.
Thanks to Seth for the great write-up and to both he and Dan for a great ride. It was one glorious Colorado Day.

Seth, glad to hear you got 4th back and at least know the cause of the problem. Seemed to be motor oil on the rear of your bike, but guess it must have been gear oil?

Testarossa · « **Reply #26 on:** September 15, 2015, 09:51:39 PM »

Maybe gear oil. Maybe a combination. I changed the motor oil too, and drained 3.5 qt, so it wasn't low but maybe a bit less than I'd topped with that morning. We're running happily now, but still weak at the top end.

I'm on for another ride in October.

News:

Author Topic: World Guzzi Day - Northern Colorado - September 12, 2015 -- Ride report (Read 7984 times)

blakebird

LongRanger

blakebird