July 6th, 1997 To the owner of the blue NOS-injected Harley chopper at Hollister: Thanks for the delightful runs this afternoon, I enjoyed them immensely. Unfortunately I was so far ahead that I couldn't really tell whether you had hit the nitrous or not. The guy on the Royal Star around us felt that you had, judging by the cloud emanating from your pipes. It seemed you shut down rather early; I hope you didn't hurt your engine. I'd have doubled back to find out, but by the time I hit fourth gear I'd just about reached the next time zone. Regards, The owner of the red GTS1000A. July 6th, 1997 John Thoo, Michael "Coveman" and I had a good ride today. We met at the fairgrounds in Pleasanton. After the discussion of different maintenance and customizing techniques we headed off to the Lick Observatory atop Mount Hamilton. This was my third trip there, and their first. The trip up the hill started out being a little frustrating, as we were stuck behind a guy in a Volkswagen Rabbit. He was doing no better than 20 mph, and to make matters worse, his cage was belching smoke. Farvergnugen indeed! I managed to pass, slowed him to a crawl, and waved John & Mike around him. We proceeded up the hill unimpeded from then on. It was great! The day was clear and dry. We stopped a few miles short of the observatory to enjoy the view. We could easily make out Moffet Field, and all points in the South Bay. Breathtaking! After a 5-minute break, we continued up the mountain. I'd never seen so many bikes up there- It reminded me of Alice's Restaurant (no, there weren't THAT many). We enjoyed the view and the other bikes for about 10 minutes, and then saw our friend in the rabbit coming up the road. If we hadn't passed him early on, we'd have had an abysmally slow trip up! We took some photos, and Mike says he'll scan and post them on the net. Our trip down was fun, we hit the road with a little more gusto than we did coming up. That is, until we noticed the tar "snakes" softening up. On more than one occasion I found my trusty Virago sliding sideways on them. THAT'S a clue to slow down! We got to the bottom, and John and I switched bikes for the trip to lunch in San Jose. He thought his new 1100 wasn't behaving as it should. I concurred. It seemed to me to vibrate excessively at all RPMs, and I felt certain I heard too much noise coming from the engine. I could pick out both valve train and excessive gear whine noise. Good luck, John, getting the dealer to take care of it. John knew of a little falafel place on Stevens Creek, just east of 880. Mike insisted on springing for lunch for the three of us. (Thanks Mike!) After lunch I said goodbye to John and Mike, went home to switch bikes, and took the GTS down to Hollister. I'd been there on the Fourth, but had only gone to the vendor booths. So today I buzzed down the main drag. It was fun, but the party was winding down. I had a couple of beers at the local microbrew. Okay, I know it was wrong, but I felt compelled to- After all, it WAS the "Wild Ones" anniversary. And as I'd just had lunch, I felt certain I wasn't going to be out of control. I wasn't about to risk life or license by trying to measure up to days of old! The high point came as I was heading north out of town. I pulled up to a light with two other guys. One was on a Royal Star (yes, someone actually BOUGHT one), and the other was on a chopped-out Harley with Nitrous Oxide injection. Now, for those who think that a "chopper" is simply a bike with a steep rake on the forks, there's a lot more to it. To "chop" a bike is to strip off all extraneous parts to reduce weight, and make the bike faster. This was REALLY chopped. And for those who aren't familiar with nitrous, it's used for more than just a painkiller at the dentist's office. Injecting it into an engine boosts the horsepower tremendously. Well, the other two guys were talking about the NOS on the Harley, and its owner mentioned that it really "beats the hell out of the engine." Well, the light went green, and we all left the line. *grin* Some a little faster than the others. The Royal Star wasn't in the running (after all, he DID have his girlfriend on the back), but I left the Hog in a MOST spectacular fashion. After I hit 115, I slowed down for all to catch up. The Hog pulled alongside, and I heard him hit the gas. I downshifted to second (at 60 MPH), took the tach to nine grand, and he was history once again. By the time I got through fourth gear, I could barely see him in my mirrors. I must have been a third of a mile ahead. He shut it down and turned a corner. By now I suppose we've all heard of the little race Darryl, Pat and I had. The GTS pulled away from the chopper about the same speed my Venture pulled away from Darryl's Virago. Admittedly, the Virago's 750cc motor isn't anything like the Venture's 1300cc four-valve V-four. But then, the Virago wasn't built for speed. This Hog was. I dare say that Darryl's 750 would have been a match for the chopper! Go Yamaha! The guy on the 'Star caught up to me at the next light, and we had a good laugh. I asked if the Hog rider had hit his nitrous, and he felt sure that he had. There was apparently a huge cloud of smoke as the guy kicked it in. He said he'd be amazed if the Harley hadn't blown his motor a little while later. I hope he didn't- It'd have been demoralizing enough to have been beaten THAT badly without losing a motor! And by a "rice-burner", too! I'm STILL grinning broadly. I followed a garlic truck to Gilroy foods, and I did it with the face shield open. It was wonderful! I jumped on 101 north, and pulled up along side some guy in an Acura NSX. Now, I was still pumped from blowing a built Hog off the road, and I wanted an NSX in my trophy case too. He didn't look like he was in the mood to race, so I just waved and hit the throttle. I rocketed away so fast that he must have wondered if the bike next to him was just his imagination. Good stuff! I could hear Tim Allen making his gorilla "more power" grunts all the way home. Okay, it was seriously squid-like and irresponsible, but what the hell. :-) It's tough to be a grown-up ALL the time!