Skaggs Spring Rd: Trip Report

Northern CA Hawk Ride: Skaggs Road

February 18, 2003...that's right, East Coast / colder climate Listers, you read correctly...FEBRUARY, Ha-ha!

It had been quite some time since the last West Coast Hawk Ride, and we regulars were definitely up for a good day of riding. Rick Holtzman and Dan Hershberger, both of Albany (just N. of Berkeley), suggested a ride up through Napa and over to the famous Skaggs Road.

Here's a map of the route I took

The weather had been iffy for the past couple of weeks, but we got a certain one day break from the wimpy drizzle we've been getting here lately, and we took full advantage of it. As usual our meeting place was Rick Holtzman's quaint and friendly home in Albany at 9:30. Rick is about an hour away from me, so I was up at 7:00 and planned on leaving no later than 8:00. Since I was riding my Yamaha SR500, and it's not the greatest freeway bike (what an understatement!), I wanted to leave plenty of time so I could just cruise up. Well, there was to be no cruising, as you'll soon see.

Ahh, a beautiful crisp February morning in N. CA.

8:00 sharp, saddled up and on my way. For the past 3 years I commuted up 880 to school in Fremont, so I had my favorite gas stop and planned on filling up there. When I got to the exit I pulled off and rode up into the gas station. All the pumps had "Out of Service" signs on them. I went inside to inquire and the clerk told me they were out of gas. Um, okay. So I got back on the freeway and exited a second time to fill up. All gassed up. When I pulled up to the on-ramp merging light to get back onto the freeway, the SR died. I could not, for the life of me, get her started again. A guy on a TLR who had filled up at the same time as me stopped to see if I needed help. Turned out he had the same bike, but was stripped and he used it as a stunt bike. I assured him she'd get going sooner or later. Well, she didn't. I kicked and kicked, sweating in my leathers. It was bright and sunny out and must have been at least 65-70 deg already. Finally I pulled the plug and tried a spare I had. Nothin' doin'. She wouldn't start, so I finally decided to try bump starting. I backed up the on-ramp, waited for traffic to clear, pulled the clutch lever, clicked into first, and began rolling down the ramp. "Pop! Vroooom!" My hand was on the gas as she fired to life and the front end got really light as she lunged forward. Boy, do those SRs have torque.

I was back on the road, after a half hour of messing with getting the SR started again. I didn't dare let off the throttle for fear of stalling. What's one thing you don't want to deal with when you have idle/stalling issues? Stop and go traffic. I had to split lanes for 20 or more miles. Finally I pulled up to Rick's house, never having let go of the throttle, and as soon as I did she died as predicted. Rick, Dan and I wondered what might be wrong, but we didn't have time to mess around with it. Dan and Rick kindly offered to let me ride their F2, the collaborative effort bike. I gladly accepted. I was bummed that I wasn't able to take the SR since I had been waiting to take it for a nice ride in the twisties, but now that I look back at how long the ride was I'm glad I didn't ride the SR.

We shot up into Napa Valley where we met up with Rick Blunden. Rick B. had come to several of Rick H's BBQs and wrenching session, but he always drove. We began to wonder whether he even owned a bike. Well, he most certainly does, and the nicest "stocker" I have ever seen. I'll let the photos describe it, and they really don't do it justice.

Rick's '91, with 10k on the clock, was flawless. As Tyson Lee pointed out, the exhaust clamp nut wasn't even rusted. Apparently this is the first thing to rust on a Hawk, since it is so close to the ground and gets wet in the rain.

At this point there were seven of us: Rick Holtzman and his SV, his neighbors: Rich "Yuri" DiGrazzia and his SV, Jesse (?) and his VFR, and Dan Hershberger on his Hawk. Then there was Rick Blunden, and Tyson Lee, also on Hawks. Finally, me, Kenzo Baxter, on Rick H. and Dan's F2. Rick B. rode with us up 128 for a bit, then headed back home as we continued on to Skaggs. I had a blast on the F2 up 128. Man! That F2 is so smooth on fast roads. I was going 80 percent and there was no way anyone was going to keep up with me. It's just too fast. I felt very confidant in the turns and didn't hesitate to twist the throttle a bit. What I enjoyed the most was dropping a gear and passing. Wheee! SEE-Yaaaaah!

Once we got to our last stop before Skaggs we took a break, bid farewell to Rick Blunden, and it was on to the famous Skaggs Rd. Skaggs Spring Road is definitely all it's cut out to be. It takes you from 101 to the coast, by way of some wonderfully smooth sweepers and a bunch of white knuckle twisty stuff. www.Pashnit.com has better maps to illustrate. Wow, the scenery was awesome. The hills were at their greenest, and the blue sky with small puffs of white clouds made it all so beautiful. For the Skaggs portion of the ride Rick H. wanted to ride the F2, so we switched and I road the SV. Every time I ride the SV in the twisties I have a difficult time with throttle control and keeping the rear tire from breaking loose. Engine breaking on the SV is major, and I kept downshifting too low and losing traction on turns, which scared the crap out of me. When riding the SV, just call me "Kenzo 'Foot down' Baxter". The SV has an abundance of power, but, man, it sure has a touchy throttle. About half way up Skaggs we stopped and both Rick and I liked it better on the other bike in the twisties, so we switched again. So many V enthusiasts complain about the I-4s in the twisties and how you're always shifting. I didn't find this to be true. The newer 600+cc sport bikes have way more than enough hp and far more reves than Vs. In the really tight stuff on the F2 I found that if I just used 2nd and 3rd gears I could do anything, and I never had to rev past 8k or felt that I was lacking torque/power.

From left to right: Tyson Lee, Rick Holtzman, Dan Hershburger

Skaggs gets REAL twisty and bumpy as you get closer to the coast, but it is still fun. Had the sun not been directly in our eyes and messing with our visibility as it broke through trees (very distracting, almost blinding sometimes), we would have enjoyed it more. Quite suddenly we found ourselves out from under the trees and right there on the coast in Stewarts Point. Here we rested a bit, hydrated ourselves, and plotted our next move. Dan suggested riding south on Hwy 1 along the coast until Pt Reyes Station, where we'd cut in and across on Lucas Valley Rd. to San Rafael, then back on the freeway to home. And, so we did, and it was a BLAST. The ride down 1 was a thrill, as it had many nice sweepers and even some tight stuff. I guess Dan really wanted to get home or something, because I could barely keep up with him on his HAWK, and I was on the F2! He knew the road a bit, but still, he was jamming. Later he told us he dragged a peg. Gee, Dan, planning on hitting the track soon? The ride home (to Ricks house), was pleasant, but I was feeling the long day and my body ached. I was happy to pull into Rick’s driveway. Then I remembered I still had an hour to go before I'd be home and my SR wasn't even running right. Oh, boy. We all needed a break, so we kicked off our gear and relaxed for a while. After a breather I went to take a look at the SR. I tried starting it, and even though it took a while she did start. I cranked the idle screw so she wouldn't die and let her warm up. As I gave her the once over, I noticed quite a bit of gas had somehow spilled out past the gas cap. "Odd, I thought." Then it hit me. Of course! After filling gas up to the brim, my tank bag wasn't allowing the tank to vent properly on start-up, but at running speeds the vacuum was strong enough to suck air past it. This was the theory, and we crossed our fingers. Before I could take off, both Rick and Karen invited me to take a break and relax for a bit. Karen even "talked" me into a nice meal of a fresh green salad and her excellent Spaghetti (Karen, it was excellent despite your modesty). After allowing the food to settle (I didn't feel riding an SR 50+ miles on a full stomach would be a good idea), Rick and I went to the garage so he could lend me a cargo net and some bungee cords to strap my tank bag to the back of the bike. I thanked the Holtzman's once again, saddled up and took off around the block for a quick test ride. All felt fine and the bike no longer died at idle, so I was off. The ride home was pleasant; not too cold. As I pulled up into my driveway I noticed a familiar truck stop across the street. A guy hopped out and began crossing the street towards me. "Kenzo!" He called. "Dave?!" I called back. Heh, it was Dave Riffel (the High Sierra Hermit). He was just on his way home to visit his parents when he saw a guy on a SR with red, white, and black leathers merge onto the expressway. He figured it had to be me and followed me home. His parents house is only about a mile away from mine. We sat and chatted about the days ride and my SR and his broken thumbs healing progress, etc. The important issue at hand, however, was the next WCHRally! C'mon West Coasters! Let's get something going!