11/8/2009 - Central PA, Gold Mine Rd.

camaroz1985 · November 9th, 2009, 12:12 PM

**To start this off the pictures of the scenery and road are not mine. I am not very good at stopping to take pictures when I see something interesting.**

Weather was excellent yesterday so I got some friends together and we went for a ride. Before we left home we put my second Scala Rider Q2 headset in my roommate’s helmet, just to try it out and it proved to be very good. It was like he was standing right next to me talking. Was nice for organizing stops or route changes.

Here is the route.

We meet our friend at Fort Hundter Park in Harrisburg, PA around 10am, and get underway. (its easier just to say names instead of roommate or friend, so my roommate’s name is Dan and our friend is Chuck.)We began on PA-443 (Fishing Creek Valley Rd.). It is a fairly smooth road, not very twisty, but with decent scenery. It is more a road to get where you are going, while not having to get on the highway. Towards the end of road you pass through Fort Indiantown Gap.

At one point you round a corner and it looks like this guy is coming down the road at you.

It is a C-130 Hercules on display. Across the street are 3 Helicopters also on display (Only remember that the center one is a Cobra, Dan told me what they all are.)

A little bit farther and we reach the first destination. The road is Gold Mine Rd. near Lickdale, PA.

While not very long it does provide some fun twisties up over the mountain. The road surface is generally pretty good, but they have grooved most of the corners which provides a weird sensation.

Some pictures I found that someone took along the way.

We pulled off on the other side of the mountain and took a few minutes break.

We then switched off bikes and rode over back and forth over the mountain on each bike. I have only ridden the ninjette, and my Dan's Seca II before so this was a fun experience for me.

I'll take this time to do a quick review on the other bikes.

I'll start with my Dan’s Seca.

It is a 1996 Yamaha Seca II. It has a 600cc air-cooled inline 4. The engine is very smooth (it has a spot around 4k rpm where there was some vibration, but mostly very smooth). It obviously had more power than the ninjette, and is nice not to basically only have one gear choice for powering out of corners. It is a bit heavier than the ninjette, but still handles nicely, and turns in quickly. The suspension is pretty soft, with noticeable dive under braking (more on that shortly), but very compliant over bumps. Nothing seems to upset it. I didn't push that hard (I didn’t have a lot of confidence in the brakes) but it was fun. The seat was very cushy and you sit very upright. The bars fall nicely at hand, and the clutch is light. One thing I notcied immediately were the mirrors. They are easy to see out of and very high. You can actually see what is behind you!!!

As for the brakes, they aren’t very good

It was a little alarming going into some of the corners (especially going downhill) and not feeling as if you are slowing. To be fair they are older, and they do stop just fine, they just take quite a bit more effort.

Next was Chuck’s SV650S (actually I rode this first, but wanted to talk about the Seca first).

It is a 2006 Suzuki SV650S. I’m sure I don’t need to introduce it but it is a 650cc v-twin. Again very smooth, but unlike either the ninjette or Seca, is fuel injected, and was a bit more sensitive (I would say direct) to throttle changes. I would say the engine powerwise was on par with the Seca, with a slight edge going to the SV, but the torque was just amazing. (At one point when Dan was riding I hear “Oooooohhhhhh!!!” from the intercom as we go through a little uphill s-bend. I told him that he just had a torque-gasm

) I had sat on the bike in his garage before, but never had both feet on the pegs. I didn’t realize how high you sit, or how aggressive the riding position is. The pegs are high, and the S has clip-ons instead of the normal bar like the naked version. While sporty feeling, it was still pretty comfortable and natural feeling. The handling again is excellent. You do notice more weight transfer, and not quite the same willingness to turn it (possibly the wider tires), but once it starts is very quick. The forks and shock are obviously of a higher quality with better damping, and while stiff are able to absorb the little irregularities in the pavement and not let it catch you out. Brakes were excellent, though he had the rear brake set a little low so it required more movement than I was used to in order to get to it.

That was a great experience, and something I think we all will do more often. Everyone loves throwing the ninjette around. They praise the brakes, and the suspension (at least the Seca rider did

), and love how flickable it is.

Had to throw a picture of my bike in somehow

A short disclaimer. I would not recommend doing this with people you do not trust completely, or if you are a very new rider. I still consider myself a new rider (only 2 years and nearly 9k miles), but am comfortable enough to realize my limits. Trusting the others on your bike is one part of this equation, but also trusting that they have kept up on the maintenance of their own bikes is something else you need to consider.

After 3 runs over the mountain we were all ready for a little break and a drink.

We then headed down PA-325 west toward Harrisburg. My Dan takes the lead (still on the SV, and I’m on his Seca, Chuck is on the ninjette). It is quite possibly one of the straightest roads in Pa. It again has nice scenery as you pass the Dehart Dam and reservoir which supplies water to Harrisburg (Dan is from this area, and was a history major so having him on the intercom provides for some nice stories

).

We turned off on Carsonville Rd. to cross the next mountain as we head toward Elizabethville. It is a nice road up and over the mountain with nice s-bends, and little tricky blind turn over the crest.

We stop at the bottom of the other side to get back on our own bikes, and take a few more pictures.

Found a handy log to take this picture. It was pretty far away, and I had to use a full zoom to get it close, and thought for sure it would be a picture of me running back toward the bikes.

Dan continued to lead as we made our way toward E-ville. It was nice roads, though had to be careful of leaves and other debris. Some great sections where you could ride fairly aggressively, at least enough to have fun while still feeling totally within your limits. The elevation changes really make the roads in my opinion.

We stopped at Jo-Jo Pizza and Sub in E-ville and split a Buffalo Chicken pizza. Very good (a bit heavy, but not to be passed up). We then headed back PA-225 toward Harrisburg. We normally go over Peter’s Mountain as it is a great view, and a fun road, but being a nice Sunday there were a lot of people out, and the rather slow (below the speed limit) driver we were behind went that way so we diverted on to PA-147. It too is a fun road (normally, but I’ll touch on that shortly), starting with gentle sweeping curves, and reaching a climax in some tighter turns, before meandering along the Susquehanna River.

It was in the tighter section where we met a stark reminder of how careful we need to be. Before your mind starts racing nothing happened to any of us, but it was a fellow motorcyclist. We arrived a while after the incident, and they were already pulling the bike (looked like a KTM, but hard to tell as most of the bodywork was gone) onto a flatbed, but it appeared that the rider crossed the line laid it down, and slid into the guard rail on the opposite side of the road. I didn’t see any other cars involved, and I didn’t see anything in the news, so I’m hoping the rider was ok, but it gave you an eerie feeling.

After passing that we headed back onto 322 and Chuck split off at I-81 as we made our way back home.

It was a great day. It was one of those days that you wish you could just keep riding until you needed fuel, then decide if you turn around or continue on. I’m afraid it might be one of the last really nice days (at least warm ones) that we have before winter hits. (If you don’t know what winter is, just google it. I’m talking to you Kelly) Hopefully I am wrong and I have a route picked for next week in hopes that I am.

sombo · November 9th, 2009, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camaroz1985

It is a C-130 Hercules on display. Across the street are 3 Helicopters also on display (Only remember that the center one is a Cobra, Dan told me what they all are.)

I’m afraid it might be one of the last really nice days (at least warm ones) that we have before winter hits. (If you don’t know what winter is, just google it. I’m talking to you Kelly) Hopefully I am wrong and I have a route picked for next week in hopes that I am.

Helicopters from left to right: UH-1 Huey, AH-1 Cobra, Hughes 500 defender. They have those same aircraft at Tobyhanna Army Depot where I used to work. Also I love military vehicles in general.

I know all about the PA winters, main reason I left PA this year lol. Last year in October I lost power for 36hrs in that sudden blizzard we got. I also spun out and missed hitting a PA snowplow head on by about 30secs (I was spun out on my side of the road about 30secs before a snowplow came down the other direction) in a snow/sleet storm. Yah, I won't miss the winters up there.

Alex · November 9th, 2009, 12:44 PM

Nice report!

bob706 · November 9th, 2009, 01:14 PM

Awesomer ride report

BlueTyke · November 14th, 2009, 10:53 AM

Joo!!! Forgot to call someone!!

Looks like you had a great time though!

camaroz1985 · November 16th, 2009, 08:20 AM

Sorry. You will be even more disappointed when I post my report from yesterday.

BlueTyke · November 16th, 2009, 01:44 PM

Dah! You tease me so! Why must you tease me so!?

kkim · November 16th, 2009, 02:21 PM

Ryan,

Thanks for the ride report and your impressions of the other bikes. Very well done.

I agree with you about swapping bikes with other people. There are only a few people I would trust with my bike and that's only because I value their friendship more than I value the bike and I'm aware of the level of their riding abilities. Neat that you guys could swap off.

Wish you a few more great riding days before you need to store for winter. I'll be thinking of you when I'm sweating at a stop sign in January.

p.s.- I did Google "winter" and do get the concept... just don't know if I believe if it's real or not.

Snake · November 16th, 2009, 02:51 PM

Great ride report and great shots of the helicopters and the C-130.

JeffM · November 22nd, 2009, 05:28 PM

I like it. Nice words and photos.

November 9th, 2009, 12:12 PM	#1
camaroz1985 ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Ryan Location: Carlisle, PA Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): 2008 WR250R, 2006 Ural Raven (Sold), 2009 Versys Green (Sold), 2008 Ninja 250R Green (Sold) Posts: A lot.	11/8/2009 - Central PA, Gold Mine Rd. To start this off the pictures of the scenery and road are not mine. I am not very good at stopping to take pictures when I see something interesting. Weather was excellent yesterday so I got some friends together and we went for a ride. Before we left home we put my second Scala Rider Q2 headset in my roommate’s helmet, just to try it out and it proved to be very good. It was like he was standing right next to me talking. Was nice for organizing stops or route changes. Here is the route. We meet our friend at Fort Hundter Park in Harrisburg, PA around 10am, and get underway. (its easier just to say names instead of roommate or friend, so my roommate’s name is Dan and our friend is Chuck.)We began on PA-443 (Fishing Creek Valley Rd.). It is a fairly smooth road, not very twisty, but with decent scenery. It is more a road to get where you are going, while not having to get on the highway. Towards the end of road you pass through Fort Indiantown Gap. At one point you round a corner and it looks like this guy is coming down the road at you. It is a C-130 Hercules on display. Across the street are 3 Helicopters also on display (Only remember that the center one is a Cobra, Dan told me what they all are.) A little bit farther and we reach the first destination. The road is Gold Mine Rd. near Lickdale, PA. While not very long it does provide some fun twisties up over the mountain. The road surface is generally pretty good, but they have grooved most of the corners which provides a weird sensation. Some pictures I found that someone took along the way. We pulled off on the other side of the mountain and took a few minutes break. We then switched off bikes and rode over back and forth over the mountain on each bike. I have only ridden the ninjette, and my Dan's Seca II before so this was a fun experience for me. I'll take this time to do a quick review on the other bikes. I'll start with my Dan’s Seca. It is a 1996 Yamaha Seca II. It has a 600cc air-cooled inline 4. The engine is very smooth (it has a spot around 4k rpm where there was some vibration, but mostly very smooth). It obviously had more power than the ninjette, and is nice not to basically only have one gear choice for powering out of corners. It is a bit heavier than the ninjette, but still handles nicely, and turns in quickly. The suspension is pretty soft, with noticeable dive under braking (more on that shortly), but very compliant over bumps. Nothing seems to upset it. I didn't push that hard (I didn’t have a lot of confidence in the brakes) but it was fun. The seat was very cushy and you sit very upright. The bars fall nicely at hand, and the clutch is light. One thing I notcied immediately were the mirrors. They are easy to see out of and very high. You can actually see what is behind you!!! As for the brakes, they aren’t very good It was a little alarming going into some of the corners (especially going downhill) and not feeling as if you are slowing. To be fair they are older, and they do stop just fine, they just take quite a bit more effort. Next was Chuck’s SV650S (actually I rode this first, but wanted to talk about the Seca first). It is a 2006 Suzuki SV650S. I’m sure I don’t need to introduce it but it is a 650cc v-twin. Again very smooth, but unlike either the ninjette or Seca, is fuel injected, and was a bit more sensitive (I would say direct) to throttle changes. I would say the engine powerwise was on par with the Seca, with a slight edge going to the SV, but the torque was just amazing. (At one point when Dan was riding I hear “Oooooohhhhhh!!!” from the intercom as we go through a little uphill s-bend. I told him that he just had a torque-gasm ) I had sat on the bike in his garage before, but never had both feet on the pegs. I didn’t realize how high you sit, or how aggressive the riding position is. The pegs are high, and the S has clip-ons instead of the normal bar like the naked version. While sporty feeling, it was still pretty comfortable and natural feeling. The handling again is excellent. You do notice more weight transfer, and not quite the same willingness to turn it (possibly the wider tires), but once it starts is very quick. The forks and shock are obviously of a higher quality with better damping, and while stiff are able to absorb the little irregularities in the pavement and not let it catch you out. Brakes were excellent, though he had the rear brake set a little low so it required more movement than I was used to in order to get to it. That was a great experience, and something I think we all will do more often. Everyone loves throwing the ninjette around. They praise the brakes, and the suspension (at least the Seca rider did ), and love how flickable it is. Had to throw a picture of my bike in somehow A short disclaimer. I would not recommend doing this with people you do not trust completely, or if you are a very new rider. I still consider myself a new rider (only 2 years and nearly 9k miles), but am comfortable enough to realize my limits. Trusting the others on your bike is one part of this equation, but also trusting that they have kept up on the maintenance of their own bikes is something else you need to consider. After 3 runs over the mountain we were all ready for a little break and a drink. We then headed down PA-325 west toward Harrisburg. My Dan takes the lead (still on the SV, and I’m on his Seca, Chuck is on the ninjette). It is quite possibly one of the straightest roads in Pa. It again has nice scenery as you pass the Dehart Dam and reservoir which supplies water to Harrisburg (Dan is from this area, and was a history major so having him on the intercom provides for some nice stories ). We turned off on Carsonville Rd. to cross the next mountain as we head toward Elizabethville. It is a nice road up and over the mountain with nice s-bends, and little tricky blind turn over the crest. We stop at the bottom of the other side to get back on our own bikes, and take a few more pictures. Found a handy log to take this picture. It was pretty far away, and I had to use a full zoom to get it close, and thought for sure it would be a picture of me running back toward the bikes. Dan continued to lead as we made our way toward E-ville. It was nice roads, though had to be careful of leaves and other debris. Some great sections where you could ride fairly aggressively, at least enough to have fun while still feeling totally within your limits. The elevation changes really make the roads in my opinion. We stopped at Jo-Jo Pizza and Sub in E-ville and split a Buffalo Chicken pizza. Very good (a bit heavy, but not to be passed up). We then headed back PA-225 toward Harrisburg. We normally go over Peter’s Mountain as it is a great view, and a fun road, but being a nice Sunday there were a lot of people out, and the rather slow (below the speed limit) driver we were behind went that way so we diverted on to PA-147. It too is a fun road (normally, but I’ll touch on that shortly), starting with gentle sweeping curves, and reaching a climax in some tighter turns, before meandering along the Susquehanna River. It was in the tighter section where we met a stark reminder of how careful we need to be. Before your mind starts racing nothing happened to any of us, but it was a fellow motorcyclist. We arrived a while after the incident, and they were already pulling the bike (looked like a KTM, but hard to tell as most of the bodywork was gone) onto a flatbed, but it appeared that the rider crossed the line laid it down, and slid into the guard rail on the opposite side of the road. I didn’t see any other cars involved, and I didn’t see anything in the news, so I’m hoping the rider was ok, but it gave you an eerie feeling. After passing that we headed back onto 322 and Chuck split off at I-81 as we made our way back home. It was a great day. It was one of those days that you wish you could just keep riding until you needed fuel, then decide if you turn around or continue on. I’m afraid it might be one of the last really nice days (at least warm ones) that we have before winter hits. (If you don’t know what winter is, just google it. I’m talking to you Kelly) Hopefully I am wrong and I have a route picked for next week in hopes that I am.

November 9th, 2009, 12:44 PM	#3
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	Nice report! __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

November 14th, 2009, 10:53 AM	#5
BlueTyke So slow I'm first! Name: Sunny Location: San Jose, CA Join Date: Oct 2008 Motorcycle(s): 06 Kawasaki Ninja EX250 Posts: A lot. Blog Entries: 10	Joo!!! Forgot to call someone!! Looks like you had a great time though! __________________________________________________ Learn from the mistakes of others, you cannot make them all yourself. Save yourself the trouble and Learn.

November 16th, 2009, 01:44 PM	#7
BlueTyke So slow I'm first! Name: Sunny Location: San Jose, CA Join Date: Oct 2008 Motorcycle(s): 06 Kawasaki Ninja EX250 Posts: A lot. Blog Entries: 10	Dah! You tease me so! Why must you tease me so!? __________________________________________________ Learn from the mistakes of others, you cannot make them all yourself. Save yourself the trouble and Learn.

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November 9th, 2009, 01:14 PM	#4
bob706 ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Sean Location: Mary Esther, FL Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250 1998 HD Road King Posts: A lot.	Awesomer ride report

November 16th, 2009, 08:20 AM	#6
camaroz1985 ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Ryan Location: Carlisle, PA Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): 2008 WR250R, 2006 Ural Raven (Sold), 2009 Versys Green (Sold), 2008 Ninja 250R Green (Sold) Posts: A lot.	Sorry. You will be even more disappointed when I post my report from yesterday.

November 16th, 2009, 02:21 PM	#8
kkim Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: Too much.	Ryan, Thanks for the ride report and your impressions of the other bikes. Very well done. I agree with you about swapping bikes with other people. There are only a few people I would trust with my bike and that's only because I value their friendship more than I value the bike and I'm aware of the level of their riding abilities. Neat that you guys could swap off. Wish you a few more great riding days before you need to store for winter. I'll be thinking of you when I'm sweating at a stop sign in January. p.s.- I did Google "winter" and do get the concept... just don't know if I believe if it's real or not.

November 16th, 2009, 02:51 PM	#9
Snake ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Rick Location: Alexandria, Louisiana Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 05 Blue Ninja 250 Posts: Too much. MOTY - 2017, MOTM - Jan '19, Oct '16, May '14	Great ride report and great shots of the helicopters and the C-130.

November 22nd, 2009, 05:28 PM	#10
JeffM Mr. 988 Name: Jeff Location: Sandy, Utah Join Date: Aug 2009 Motorcycle(s): One Posts: A lot. Blog Entries: 1	I like it. Nice words and photos.